Shakugan no Shana (Japanese:灼眼のシャナ,lit. "Burning-Eyed Shana"), also known simply asShana (シャナ), is a Japaneselight novel series written byYashichiro Takahashi with illustrations byNoizi Ito.ASCII Media Works published 27 novels from November 2002 to November 2023 under theirDengeki Bunkoimprint. The story focuses on Yuji Sakai, a high school boy who becomes involved in an age-old conflict between forces of balance and imbalance in existence; in the process, he befriends a fighter for the balancing force and names her "Shana". The series also incorporatesfantasy andslice of life elements.

Shakugan no Shana
Shakugan no Shana light novel volume 1, featuring Shana
灼眼のシャナ
Genre	Drama,supernatural[1]
Light novel
Written by	Yashichiro Takahashi
Illustrated by	Noizi Ito
Published by	ASCII Media Works
English publisher	NA:Viz Media(formerly)
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Magazine	Dengeki Bunko Magazine
Demographic	Male
Original run	November 9, 2002 –November 10, 2023
Volumes	27(List of volumes)
Manga
Written by	Yashichiro Takahashi
Illustrated by	Ayato Sasakura
Published by	ASCII Media Works
English publisher	NA:Viz Media
Magazine	Dengeki Daioh
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	February 21, 2005 –August 27, 2011
Volumes	10
Anime television series
Directed by	Takashi Watanabe
Written by	Yasuko Kobayashi
Music by	Kow Otani
Studio	J.C.Staff
Licensed by	Crunchyroll AUS:Universal/Sony PH:TV5 UK:MVM Films
Original network	Animax,MBS,TVA,TVS,Chiba TV,tvk
English network	SEA:Animax Asia US:Funimation Channel
Original run	October 6, 2005 – March 23, 2006
Episodes	24(List of episodes)
Further information Video game Developer Vridge Publisher MediaWorks Genre Action RPG,Visual novel Platform PlayStation 2,Nintendo DS Released JP: March 23, 2006 (PS2) JP: March 29, 2007 (DS) Original video animation Shakugan no Shana SP Directed by Takashi Watanabe Written by Yasuko Kobayashi Music by Kow Otani Studio J.C.Staff Licensed by AUS:Universal/Sony NA:Funimation UK:MVM Films Released December 8, 2006 Runtime 24 minutes Anime film Directed by Takashi Watanabe Shigeru Ueda(co-director) Written by Yasuko Kobayashi Music by Kow Otani Studio J.C.Staff Licensed by AUS:Universal/Sony NA:Crunchyroll Released April 21, 2007 Runtime 90 minutes Manga Shakugan no Shana X Eternal song: Harukanaru Uta Written by Yashichiro Takahashi Illustrated by Shii Kiya Published by ASCII Media Works Magazine Dengeki Black Maoh Dengeki Maoh Demographic Seinen Original run September 19, 2007 –July 26, 2012 Volumes 5 Anime television series Shakugan no Shana Second Directed by Takashi Watanabe Written by Yasuko Kobayashi Music by Kow Otani Studio J.C.Staff Licensed by AUS:Universal/Sony NA:Crunchyroll UK:MVM Films Original network MBS,TBS,CBC, Animax English network PH:TV5 SEA:Animax Asia Original run October 5, 2007 – March 28, 2008 Episodes 24(List of episodes) Original video animation Shakugan no Shana S Directed by Takashi Watanabe Written by Yasuko Kobayashi Music by Kow Otani Studio J.C.Staff Licensed by AUS:Universal/Sony NA:Crunchyroll UK:MVM Films Released October 23, 2009 – September 29, 2010 Runtime 24 minutes each Episodes 4(List of episodes) Anime television series Shakugan no Shana Final Directed by Takashi Watanabe Written by Yasuko Kobayashi Music by Kow Otani Studio J.C.Staff Licensed by AUS:Universal/Sony NA:Crunchyroll UK:MVM Films Original network Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, TV Kanagawa, MBS, CBC,AT-X,BS11 English network SEA:Animax Asia Original run October 8, 2011 – March 24, 2012 Episodes 24(List of episodes)
Anime and manga portal

Twomanga adaptations were published by ASCII Media Works inDengeki Daioh andDengeki Maoh. Between 2005 and 2012, the series was adapted byJ.C.Staff into three 24-episodeanime television series, a four-episodeoriginal video animation (OVA) series, an animated film, and a standalone OVA episode. APlayStation 2 video game was released in March 2006, which was ported to theNintendo DS in March 2007.Viz Media licensed the novels and the first manga series for release in North America, but stopped publishing both prematurely.Geneon originally licensed the first television series for release in North America, but the license later transferred to Funimation, nowCrunchyroll, who also licensed the remaining anime properties. Critics praised the series for its execution of typical story elements.

Shakugan no Shana follows an age-old conflict between the human world and the Crimson Realm (紅世,Guze), which is aparallel universe to it. The inhabitants of the Crimson Realm, the Crimson Denizens (紅世の徒,Guze no Tomogara), can manipulate the Power of Existence (存在の力,Sonzai no Chikara), which serves as the "fuel" for a being's existence. Denizens with exceptional power among their peers are known as Lords of the Crimson Realm (紅世の王,Guze no Ō), while more powerful Lords are known as Gods (神,Kami). Denizens who do not care about the balance between the two realms aim to gather the Power of Existence from humans to use for their own purposes. It is the duty of Flame Hazes (フレイムヘイズ,Fureimu Heizu), humans who have contracted with a Crimson Lord, to maintain this balance by killing Denizens who disrupt it. Denizens and Flame Hazes fight using magic spells called Powers of Unrestraint (自在法,Jizaihō), which are also known as Unrestricted Spells or Unrestricted Methods. One such spell is the Seal (封絶,Fūzetsu), which creates a space where the Crimson Realm and the human world intersect and causalities, including time, are stopped.

The story mainly takes place in Misaki City in Japan. It begins when high school student Yuji Sakai enters the conflict after a Flame Haze tells him that he died some time ago and that he is a Torch (トーチ,Tōchi), a human with greatly diminished Power of Existence which will eventually run out. Yuji is also a Mystes (ミステス,Misutesu), a special kind of Torch who can move within Seals and contains a Treasure Tool (宝具,Hōgu), magical objects that the Denizens created which can provide special abilities or Powers of Unrestraint. Unfazed by his apparent death, Yuji befriends the girl and names her "Shana" after her sword. They later discover that the Treasure Tool within Yuji is the Reiji Maigo (零時迷子,Midnight Lost Child), which restores his Power of Existence each midnight.

Over time, Shana and Yuji encounter other Flame Hazes, such as Margery Daw and Wilhelmina Carmel, and Denizens as an organization of Denizens called Bal Masqué discover that Yuji possesses the Reiji Maigo and seek to use it for their own ends. The organization is led by Hecate, Sydonay, and Bel Peol, three Lords collectively known as the Trinity who serve under the Snake of the Festival (祭礼の蛇,Sairei no Hebi), a God who resides within the Reiji Maigo. When the Snake emerges, it merges its consciousness with Yuji's, taking command of Bal Masqué and planning to create a parallel world called Xanadu, which will serve as a paradise for Denizens with unlimited Power of Existence. Shana and the other Flame Haze oppose the creation of Xanadu, as it would eventually cause large-scale disruptions in the human world, the Crimson Realm, and Xanadu itself.

Shana formulates a countermeasure and adds a law to Xanadu that forbids the Denizens from eating humans. With Xanadu created, the Denizens depart along with other Flame Hazes who are determined to help enforce order on it. Yuji intends to go to Xanadu alone and ensure that humans and Denizens can learn to coexist, but Shana refuses to be left behind. Yuji ultimately accepts Shana's feelings and the two kiss, activating a spell Crimson Lord Lamia left for Yuji, which restores his existence and his humanity, meaning that he is no longer a Torch. With the help of another spell from Lamia, Yuji restores all humans in Misaki City whose existence the Denizens absorbed before he and Shana depart for Xanadu together.

In an early draft of what would later becomeShakugan no Shana,Yashichiro Takahashi set the story in a different dimension and described the main character as having the initial personality of Shana, but the appearance of an older woman similar to Margery Daw.^[2] However, after talking with an editor, Takahashi rewrote the character to have the appearance of a young girl. In doing so, he used Shana's small build to symbolize a story of growth and to emphasize the physical conflict between her and her opponents.^[3]Noizi Ito was contacted in early August 2002 to be the illustrator for the series, and she was very excited to work on the project after she read the manuscript for the first novel; this was the first time Ito drew illustrations for a book.^[3]

Shortly before writingShakugan no Shana, Takahashi made his debut as an author withA/B Extreme, which was awarded an honorable mention in the eighthDengeki Novel Prize byMediaWorks (now ASCII Media Works) in 2001.^[4] By his own admission,A/B Extreme was too difficult for readers to understand, so for his next work, he set out to write something easier to grasp.^[2] As such, the initial premise ofShakugan no Shana was to write a boy meets girl story in a school setting, though initially love was not one of the themes included. He was given the freedom to write as he pleased based on this premise after showing it to his editor.^[2]

Shakugan no Shana began as alight novel series written by Yashichiro Takahashi, with illustrations drawn by Noizi Ito.ASCII Media Works published 27 volumes between November 9, 2002 and November 10, 2023 under theirDengeki Bunkoimprint;^[5][6] 22 comprise the main story, while the other five are short story collections.^[7][8] Some short stories were initially published in ASCII Media Works'Dengeki Bunko Magazine.^[9]Viz Media licensed the novels for English distribution in North America, but they only released two volumes in 2007.^[10][11] The novels are also licensed inSouth Korea byDaewon C.I.,^[12] and inTaiwan andHong Kong byKadokawa Media.^[13]

A 160-page guide book titledShakugan no Shana no Subete (灼眼のシャナノ全テ,All About Shakugan no Shana) was published on December 10, 2005 by ASCII Media Works.^[14] Two more guide books were published by ASCII Media Works for the anime adaptations:Anime Shakugan no Shana no Subete (アニメ 『灼眼のシャナ』 ノ全テ) on October 27, 2006 with 176 pages, andAnime Shakugan no Shana II no Subete (アニメ 『灼眼のシャナII』 ノ全テ) on October 19, 2009 with 168 pages.^[15][16] Four 128-pageart books illustrated by Ito were published by ASCII Media Works:Guren (紅蓮) on February 25, 2005,Kaen (華焔) on August 9, 2007,Sōen (蒼炎) on August 10, 2009, andShana (遮那) on August 9, 2013.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Amanga adaptation, illustrated byAyato Sasakura, was serialized in ASCII Media Works' manga magazineDengeki Daioh between the April 2005 and October 2011 issues.^[21][22] The individual chapters were collected and published in tentankōbon volumes from October 27, 2005 and October 27, 2011.^[23][24] A special limited edition version of volume two was bundled with a booklet titledGrimoire including contributions from guest artists and writers for various illustrations, manga, and short stories.^[25] Viz Media licensed the manga for English distribution in North America. Viz released six volumes between April 17, 2007 and September 21, 2010,^[26][27] but then cancelled the release of the final four volumes.^[28] The manga is also licensed in South Korea byDaewon C.I.,^[29] in Taiwan and Hong Kong by Kadokawa Media,^[30] and in Germany by Egmont.^[31]

A second manga illustrated by Shii Kiya, titledShakugan no Shana X Eternal song: Harukanaru Uta (灼眼のシャナX Eternal song -遙かなる歌-), is based on the events of the tenth novel and began serialization in ASCII Media Works' manga magazineDengeki Black Maoh on September 19, 2007.^[32] The manga was later transferred toDengeki Maoh and ran in that magazine between the December 2009 and September 2012 issues.^[33][34] Five volumes were released between January 27, 2009 and September 27, 2012.^[35][36] The manga is licensed in South Korea by Daewon C.I.,^[37] and in Taiwan and Hong Kong by Kadokawa Media.^[38]

A 24-episodeanime television series adaptation ofShakugan no Shana aired in Japan between October 6, 2005 and March 23, 2006 onTV Kanagawa.^[39] Produced byJ.C.Staff and directed byTakashi Watanabe, the screenplay was written byYasuko Kobayashi, and chief animator Mai Otsuka based the character design used in the anime on Noizi Ito's original designs.^[40] The sound director is Jin Aketagawa, and the soundtrack is composed byKow Otani.^[40] The series was later released byGeneon in eight DVD compilation volumes from January to August 2006.^[41][42] Later, anoriginal video animation (OVA) episode titledShakugan no Shana SP, which takes place after the events of episode 13, was released on December 8, 2006.^[43]

An anime film based on the first novel that was released in Japanese theaters on April 21, 2007 as one of three films released at Dengeki Bunko's Movie Festival.^[44][45] The staff who produced the anime series returned to produce the film.^[46] The version shown in theaters was 65 minutes in length.^[47] Those who saw the film in theaters could buy a short book titledShakugan no Shana M containing two short stories written by Takahashi published by ASCII Media Works under the imprint Dengeki Gekijō Bunko.^[47] The film was released on DVD in Japan on September 21, 2007 in regular and special editions, which featured the full length 90-minute director's cut version.^[48][49] It was later released onBlu-ray Disc (BD) in Japan on July 27, 2011.^[50]

Shana's production staff would again return to produce two additional TV series^[51][52] and an OVA series.^[53] The 24-episode second season, titledShakugan no Shana Second (灼眼のシャナII), aired between October 5, 2007 and March 28, 2008 onMBS. The series was later released by Geneon to eight DVD compilation volumes from January to August 2008.^[54][55] A four-episode OVA series titledShakugan no Shana S was released on BD/DVD from October 23, 2009 to September 29, 2010.^[56][57][58] The 24-episode third season, titledShakugan no Shana Final (灼眼のシャナIII -Final-),^[59][60] aired between October 8, 2011 and March 24, 2012 onTokyo MX. The series was released by Geneon on eight BD/DVD compilation volumes from December 2011 to July 2012.^[61][62]

Geneon licensed the first TV series for North American distribution,^[63] but after Geneon withdrew from the North American market,Funimation Entertainment took up the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution rights, though Geneon still retained the license.^[64] A DVD box set was released by Funimation in September 2008, and was re-released in September 2009 under Funimation's "Viridian Collection".^[65][66] Funimation later re-licensed the first series and re-released it in a BD/DVD combo pack on August 21, 2012.^[67] The series made its North American television debut on September 10, 2012 on theFunimation Channel.^[68] The first season and its accompanying OVA were also licensed byMadman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand,^[69] and byMVM Films in the United Kingdom.^[70] Funimation later licensed the film, the second and third TV series, and the OVA series for release in North America,^[71][72] with a different English dub cast compared to the first anime season.^[73]

For the firstShakugan no Shana anime series, four theme songsingles were released for two opening and two ending themes. The first opening theme "Hishoku no Sora" (緋色の空,The Crimson Sky) byMami Kawada was released in November 2005, and the second opening theme "Being" byKotoko was released in March 2006.^[74][75] The first ending theme "Yoake Umarekuru Shōjo" (夜明け生まれ来る少女,The Girl Born at Dawn) byYoko Takahashi was released in October 2005, and the second ending theme "Aka no Seijaku" (紅の静寂,Crimson Silence) byYoko Ishida was released in February 2006.^[76][77] The original soundtrack for the first anime series was released in January 2006.^[78] For theShakugan no Shana film, two theme song singles were released: the ending theme "Tenjō o Kakeru Monotachi" (天壌を翔る者たち,Those Who Scale Heaven and Earth) by Love Planet Five—made up of Kotoko, Kawada,Eiko Shimamiya,Mell, andKaori Utatsuki—was released in April 2007; the insert song "Akai Namida" (赤い涙,Red Tears) by Kawada was released in May 2007.^[79][80] The film's original soundtrack was released in September 2007.^[81]

ForShakugan no Shana Second, two theme song singles were released for two opening and two ending themes. The first opening theme "Joint" by Kawada was released in October 2007, and the second opening theme "Blaze" by Kotoko was released in March 2008.^[82][83] The first ending theme is "Triangle" by Kawada and was released on the single for "Joint", and the second ending theme "Sociometry" by Kotoko was released on the single for "Blaze".^[82][83] The song "Sense" by Kawada was used as the final ending theme for episode 24, and was released on Kawada's albumSavia in March 2008.^[84] The original soundtrack forShakugan no Shana Second was released in January 2008.^[85] ForShakugan no Shana S, the single for the opening theme "Prophecy" by Kawada was released in November 2009, and the ending theme "All in Good Time" by Kawada was released on her albumLinkage in March 2010.^[86][87] The song "Portamento" by Kawada was used as an insert song in episode 4, and was released onSavia.^[84]

ForShakugan no Shana Final, four theme song singles were released for two opening and two ending themes. The first opening theme "Light My Fire" by Kotoko was released in November 2011, and the second opening theme "Serment" by Kawada was released in February 2012.^[88][89] The first ending theme "I'll Believe" byAltima was released in December 2011, and the second ending theme "One" by Altima was released in February 2012.^[90][91] The song "Kōbō" (光芒,Beam of Light) by Kawada was used as the final ending theme for episode 24. Three insert songs by Kawada were also used inShakugan no Shana Final: "u/n" in episode 15 released on the single for "Serment", "Akai Namida" in episode 19, and "Hishoku no Sora" in episode 24.

Three volumes of albums titledShakugan no Shana Assorted Shana containingimage songs,audio dramas andbackground music tracks were released between February and April 2006.^[92][93][94] Three volumes of albums titledShakugan no Shana II Splendide Shana containing images songs and audio dramas were released between February and May 2008.^[95][96][97] Three volumes of albums titledShakugan no Shana F Superiority Shana containing audio dramas, background music tracks, and short versions of theme songs fromShakugan no Shana Final were released between February and July 2012.^{[98][99][100]} The thirdSuperiority Shana album also included the song "Kōbō".^[100] A compilation album of songs used in the series was released on January 24, 2018.^[101]

A weeklyradio drama ofShakugan no Shana aired four episodes between November 29 and December 20, 2003 onDengeki Taishō.^[102] The scenario was an original side-story written by Takahashi, and takes place between the first and second light novel volumes.^[103] The cast for the radio drama was different from the anime adaptations. A CD compilation of the radio drama titledShakugan no Shana Drama Disc, including an additional audio drama, was eligible for mail orders up to March 31, 2004.^[103] Another drama CD was released with the April 2008 issue ofTokuma Shoten'sAnimage magazine; the cast is the same as with the anime versions.^[104]

Anaction RPGvisual novel titledShakugan no Shana, developed by Vridge and published byMediaWorks, was released on March 23, 2006 for thePlayStation 2 (PS2).^[105] A 36-pageA4-sized art book titledHonō (焔) featuring illustrations by Ito was available to those who pre-ordered the game.^[106] The game was re-released as a "Best" version on February 7, 2008.^[107] The story was written by Takahashi, and features character designs by Ito. The opening theme song is "Exist" byRie Kugimiya, which was released on volume one of theAssorted Shana albums.^[92] The player assumes the role of Yuji Sakai during the visual novel aspect, where much of the game's duration is spent on reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents the story'snarrative anddialogue.^[108]

The game follows abranching plot line through eight chapters with five possible endings, and depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction.^[108] Every so often, the player will come to a point where he or she is given the chance to choose from multiple options. Text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. Sometimes during text progression, an "active countdown"minigame appears, which requires the player to press the game buttons in a specific order in a set time limit. Success or failure in these minigames influence which endings are viewed.^[108] During theturn-based battle sequences, the player assumes the role of Shana. The player uses a combination of fire, powers of unrestraint, and treasure tools to battle Crimson Denizens; and Shana is also able to use a special attack and defend.^[108]

ANintendo DSport of the game titledShakugan no Shana DS, developed by Vridge and published by MediaWorks, was released on March 29, 2007.^[105] Those who pre-ordered the game received a calendar spanning April 2007 to March 2008, and an art book of rough sketches by Ito titledTōka (灯火) was available for a limited time with the purchase of the game.^[109] A new story for the DS version was written by Takahashi. The game also contains an image gallery that allows the player to see what Shana and Yoshida Kazumi look like in different clothes, and a battle mode that lets the player fight against the computer with a character other than Shana.^[110]

Shana appears as a playable character in the crossover RPGDengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus for the Nintendo DS, and other characters fromShakugan no Shana also appear in the game.^[111][112] Shana appears in the 2014fighting gameDengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax, which features various Dengeki Bunko characters.^[113]

In October 2014, the novels were reported to have sold over 8.6 million copies.^[114] As reported on theobi strip on volume 4 of theShakugan no Shana manga released in January 2008, 1.2 million copies of the manga had been sold.^[115] Theron Martin fromAnime News Network reviewed the manga and called it "inferior" to the anime, and notes the anime develops characters better than the manga.^[116] Martin also critiques the art, saying the background art has little detail, and while the action scenes are handled well enough, they are still sub-par compared to the same scenes in the anime. Martin concludes the review by warning the readers that "[if] this is your first exposure to the franchise, look to the anime version to see it done right."^[116]

When reviewing the anime, Martin thought the firstShakugan no Shana always manages to slightly exceed expectations, and while its story elements may be typical, its execution is not.^[117][118] Martin noted that Shana's Flame Haze transformation is a visual highlight of the series, and other details are shown equal care.^[119] Reviewer Chris Beveridge of Mania.com felt uncomfortable about the morbid nature of the series.^[120] While Beveridge did not think the series is "groundbreaking",^[121] it proves to be a "solid title" that continuously gets better.^[122] The pacing in the middle of the first season was criticized for quickly ending anarc before "going into a storyline that feels out of character for the show."^[123] Martin's review ofShakugan no Shana Final was less positive; he described Yuji as having been made into a different character (though his complexity was praised), criticized the addition of a large number of prominent characters without sufficient development, and described some things as not making sense, although he praised Shana's development over the course of the third series.^[124]

• Shakugan no Shana official website(in Japanese)
• Shakugan no Shana film official website at theWayback Machine (archived July 23, 2011)(in Japanese)
• Shakugan no Shana atCrunchyroll
• Shakugan no Shana (light novel) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia
• Shakugan no Shana atIMDb
• Shakugan no Shana Second atIMDb
• Shakugan no Shana Final atIMDb