Shakugan no Shana #1: dare I call it iconic? perhaps it is only so to me... #ShanaRW

But at the same time, you hear people say a lot that stuff like Shana and Haruhi has been overshadowed by things that came after and expanded on their formulas and thus feel tired, but I don't really agree.

Even if later derivatives have done their own things, or masses of imitators have have run their tropes into the ground, I still personally find these progenitor-type shows to feel fresh.

The first of many such glad happenings. #ShanaRW

Shakugan no Shana #2: it brings me great joy how immensely shitty this show looks. #ShanaRW

I've had the first Shana OP in my iTunes library for over five years...

Shakugan no Shana #3: melon pan number two appears, good Shana faces abound, MARGERY DAW. #ShanaRW

Shana bullying a doll is very good and important content.

Shakugan no Shana #4: may i someday have a nickname as badass as "chanter of elegies" #ShanaRW

I don't remember how exactly Margery and Shana end up as allies (??) but I'm looking forward to it a lot.

moe moe..........

Shakugan no Shana #5: cinematic melon pan (third appearance), yoshida make her first salvo in the love triangle, and other good things. #ShanaRW

Imagine thinking "reiji maigo" sounds cooler than "midnight lost child"

goshujinsama

calling spells "unrestricted methods" is inherently fascinating because it implies there are restricted versions

also it sounds awesome

Shakugan no Shana #6: YEAH YEAH drama, battles, romantic stirrings, Shana's first-time gentle smile as she says "You have a future." Everything. #ShanaRW

Incidentally, this moment shows up very briefly in #6 and it's key to understanding the fundamental appeal of Shana: when the fantasy becomes subsumed into the mundane.

Isekai anime actually get it wrong because the mundane gets deprioritized for the fantastical; Shana pendulums back and worth between the two and they reinforce each other. It makes either mode feel indulgent and special.

I think it's actually a similar appeal to AU fanfiction (something I tackled in an article a few years back wrt Railgun, which, incidentally, is derivative of Shana imo).

https://mageinabarrel.com/2016/12/13/aniwords-on-a-certain-scientific-railgun-and-canonical-fanfiction/

Also, MAJOR shoutout to Kou Otani's OST. It's grandiose and appropriately expansive and it elevates nearly every important moment in the show.

Shakugan no Shana #7: everything about this show is good now, it's amazing. #ShanaRW

Obviously, Yuuji's mom mothering Shana is the prime content here. Better dokis than Shana x Yuji content, even, imo.

Shakugan no Shana #8: this show is so nice. that touching moment with Margery and the boys at episode end is just such a wonderful cap. #ShanaRW

Flame angel Shana... powerful...

There was some quite nice FX animation this episode, not that you could tell from the ear-searing photography.

whyyyy must shana be cursed with that dreadful glow

"'Man versus man' conflict involves stories where characters are against each other. This is an external conflict. The conflict may be direct opposition, as in a gunfight or a robbery, or it may be a more subtle conflict between the desires of two or more characters."

Shakugan no Shana #9: pool episode has a lot of nice loose drawings, makes it very fun to watch. #ShanaRW

Important content (fourth melon pan appearance).

Stuff like Yuji pretending to box in the middle of a conbini after seeing a boxing magazine helps make him feel like more of a real character and less a blank slate. #ShanaRW

Shakugan no Shana #10: Yuji, don't leave Shana to suffer alone... #ShanaRW

In the midst of Yuji and Shana's first real fight, Chigusa Sakai offers a mother's words of wisdom.