Shakugan no Shana #1 - Sometimes a boy's just gotta carry a torch
灼眼のシャナ #1
Story by 高橋弥七郎, Art by 笹倉 綾人 , Character Design by いとうのいぢ
Shakugan no Shana #1
Story by Yashichiro Takahashi, Art by Ayato Sasakura, Character Design by Noizi Ito
Rated: Teen +
Price: 9.99
Viz Media - Action/SeinenReview May Contain Spoilers
Yuji Sakai seems to have a little problem. He's dead! One day, everything freezes, and a creepy, super-size doll starts sucking up everyone around him. Just as he's about to be swallowed by the monstrosity, a girl with flaming red hair and a really long sword arrives to save him. Ah, but wait - she didn't really mean to save him. Now she's sticking with him like glue until he burns out and disappears. Bummer! What a perfectly crappy day!
I had such a hard time getting into this book! The explanations of concepts unique to the world of Shakugan no Shana were so awkwardly worked into the dialog that is was hard to follow. I haven't seen the anime and I was unfamiliar with the plot, so I felt like I was really at a disadvantage. Maybe all of the quotation marks around the words intimidated me.
In a nutshell, there's a world next to this one, a "Crimson World" that can't be reached on foot. "Denizens" cross over from the "Crimson World" to steal the "Power of Existence" from humans. The "Power of Existence" is necessary for them to survive in this world. The "Crimson Lords" Denizens of great power, began to fear that in the future, the distortion caused by the elimination of the humans whose "Power of Existence" was stolen would have disastrous effects on both worlds. The "Crimson Lords" made pacts with human beings who swore vengeance against the "Denizens." These humans, called "Flame Haze" became the vessels of the "Crimson Lords." They mercilessly hunt down and destroy the "Denizens." Whew! I think that's the gist of it. See all those quotation marks! Doesn't their sheer number frighten you, too?!
After Shana rescues Yuji, he notices that he has a flame burning inside of him. She tells him that he's just a Torch, a remnant of his real self. The Denizens consumed his power of existence, and his real self is dead. He'll soon burn out and disappear. When he burns out, everyone will forget about him, and their memories of him will disappear as well. As he grapples with the thought of his existence being totally forgotten, he wonders what will happen to his parents. Walking to school, he sees a boy, another Torch, just vanish into thin air, and his friends carry on with their conversation, unconcerned, his presence already forgotten. I found the concept of being there one minute, and then totally erased from existence the next, totally fascinating.
At school the next day, Yuji is alarmed to see Shana sitting next to him. She's taken over Yukari Hirai's identity. Yukari was a torch, and Shana forced herself into her remnants, taking over her existence. Yuji is confused, because he remembers what Yukari looked like before. None of his classmates seem to notice that there's anything different with Yukari. Shana is so indifferent to the fate of the Torches that it's somewhat chilling. As Yuji tries to reconcile the fact that Yukari is gone, Shana, who considers Torches to be things, not people, doesn't even try to understand his distress. The real Yukari had been gone for a long time, and he would have just forgotten about her, anyway. She is one cold chick!
There's another attack by a "Crimson Denizen", this time by Friagne. He's also known as the Hunter. He's a Flame Haze killer, and he's about as cold and calculated as Shana. He's mocks Alastor, Shana's Crimson Lord, for choosing such a weak vessel. He withdraws from the battle, fearing that Yuji will be damaged. Yuji is a Mistes, a special kind of Torch. Contained within him is a treasure, a powerful object that the Denizens want to use as they cause havoc in the world. Shana is determined to keep him from falling into their hands, and this is the reason she's become his shadow.
After wading through all of the terminology, the book read like a typical action story. There are some intriguing concepts, and Shana's reaction to Yuji at the end of the book piqued my interest. Shana is like a robot; unfeeling and unapproachable. I think my biggest dissatisfaction with Shakugan no Shana is the fact that the characters are both rather aloof. Yuji, despite his status in Shana's eyes as a "thing" was a heck of a lot more human that Shana, but he falls in the clueless category. You know the type; he's helplessly caught up in the action like a leaf in a stream, and doesn't do much to effect the outcome. Hopefully as the story continues he'll be less like flotsam and actually take an active part in the events.
The art effectively handled the visual aspects of the story. The action was easy to follow, and Yuji's usual expression of utter surprise was conveyed to the reader. He looks like a deer caught in headlights (we see this a lot in Michigan) quite a bit, and I was starting to feel sorry for him. Shana looked powerful and efficient brandishing her sword, and if she had an ounce of compassion, I might actually think she's pretty cool. The page layouts were never dull, though I thought the artist was miserly with full page spreads.
I found the first volume of Shakugan no Shana rough going. I felt it was too bogged down in explanations, instead of letting the events of the story untangle the new concepts presented. I also had a problem relating to the unfeeling Shana, and the befuddled Yuji began to get irritating. Hopefully the next volume will give them more depth of character.
Grade: C+
This review was written by Julie for the MangaCast.