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Shakugan no Shana: Shana and Yuji As One of Anime's Best Couples in the Supernatural Genre

Shana and Yuji are an iconic anime couple that truly showed us how they merged each other's drastically different worlds.


By: Nicole S. Castro on August 18, 2022 at 14:15 PHT

Shakugan no Shana is definitely one of the iconic anime in the 2000s that no one has forgotten about to this day (and we know that's largely because the adorable and feisty Shana is voiced by Tsundere Queen Rie Kugimiya!).


Can you believe this anime first aired in 2005? It doesn't seem that long ago!

©Shakugan no Shana PROJECT
About

Shakugan no Shana (Japanese: 灼眼のシャナ, English: Burning-Eyed Shana) is a Japanese light novel series written by Yashichiro Takahashi, with illustrations by Noizi Ito. The light novel was published by ASCII Media Works as 26 volumes from November 2002 to November 2012 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint.


Two manga adaptations were published by ASCII Media Works in Dengeki Daioh and Dengeki Maoh.


Animation studio J.C.Staff adapted the series into a three-season TV anime with 24 episodes each from 2005 to 2012 (plus several OVA episodes and an anime film). Season 1 aired from October 2005 to March 2006, Season 2 (Shakugan no Shana Second) aired from October 2007 to March 2008, and Season 3 (Shakugan no Shana Final) aired from October 2011 to March 2012.

Plot and Throwback (anime)

The story begins in Misaki City, Japan, with high school student Yuji Sakai (CV: Satoshi Hino) thrown into the conflict between Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens, the latter being those who collect Power of Existence from humans to use for their own purposes.

©Shakugan no Shana PROJECT

Leading lady Shana (CV: Rie Kugimiya), who is one of the most powerful Flame Hazes, tells Yuji that he is already dead and is currently a Torch, a human with greatly diminished power of existence which will slowly run out. But both Yuji and Shana are shocked to discover that Yuji is a Mystes, a special kind of Torch who contains a Treasure Tool called the Midnight Lost Child, which will allow Yuji to live on like an average human as long as he makes sure that his power of existence does not run out before midnight.


In Season 1, Yuji and Shana spend their daily lives together in Misaki City, with Shana even attending his school as a way to continue monitoring the activity of the Crimson Denizens. But Shana also finds herself struggling with her developing feelings for Yuji, while Yuji struggles with his weakness and inability to fight alongside Shana.

Shana on Christmas Eve | ©Shakugan no Shana PROJECT