Shakugan no Shana (light novels)

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Shakugan no Shana

This is the first novel in the series
灼眼のシャナ
Genre Drama, Fantasy, Romance, School life
Light novel
Author Yashichiro Takahashi
Illustrator Noizi Ito
Publisher Flag of Japan Dengeki Bunko
Demographic Male
Published November 10, 2002
Volumes 18

Shakugan no Shana (灼眼のシャナ? lit. Shana of the Blazing Eyes), also known simply as Shana, is a collection of Japanese light novels written by Yashichiro Takahashi and illustrated by Noizi Ito centering around Yuji Sakai, an ordinary Japanese high school boy who inadvertently becomes involved in a perpetual war between forces of balance and imbalance in existence. In the process, he befriends the title character: a fighter for the balancing force, whom he takes to calling "Shana". The series incorporates science fiction, fantasy, and slice-of-life "school days" elements into its tale.

The series began with the release of the first volume on November 10, 2002 entitled Shakugan no Shana which was originally published by the Japanese company Kadokawa Shoten, but has since been licensed for release in Taiwan by Kadokawa Media and in the United States by Viz Media. As of August 2007, there are eighteen individual novels, which pertains to fifteen novels numbered II through XVI (the first novel did not contain a Roman numeral), and two other novels 0 and S.

The novels later spawned additional media including a manga series, two anime television series, two video games and an animated film.

[edit] Outline and principal characters

Yuji Sakai, a high school student, expected his very normal life to last forever. However, this expectation is quickly shattered one day while on his way home.

The world suddenly freezes in time, leaving Yuji to watch in horror as blue flames engulf the people around him. Soon a monster resembling a large doll appears and begins sucking the flames into its mouth, until it notices Yuji. Surprised with Yuji's insusceptibility to the time-stop, it jumps with glee.

Just as the monster prepares to consume Yuji, a sword-wielding girl in black attire with flaming red eyes and hair that burns like embers appears, swiftly and confidently destroys the monster, before noticing Yuji moving freely. The girl calls herself a "Flame Haze" who hunts the "Denizens of the Crimson Realm" and the "Rinne" they send to do their bidding. When Yuji notices a blue flame in his chest, the Flame Haze tells him that the "real" Yuji died some time ago, and that he is a "Torch", a temporary replacement for erased humans. Torches take on the forms of those erased persons, but after a period of time, they will vanish from existence and the memories of the living. Unfazed by his apparent death, Yuji befriends the strange girl and names her "Shana" after her sword. Expecting Yuji to slowly fade away like all other Torches do, Shana is surprised to find that Yuji is not a normal Torch, but instead a special kind called a "Mystes": he has a treasure inside him, known as a "Hougu", a device possessing special abilities of sorts, and an extremely powerful and valuable one at that. Shana resolves to protect Yuji from the Denizens, who would use the treasure to disrupt the balance of the world, and Yuji decides to join Shana in her fight.

Shana's fight is actually a long-standing struggle between the Lords and Denizens of the Crimson Realm. The Denizens steal Power of Existence, the energy that forms the basis of the world, from living people and utilize it for their own selfish ambitions. Lords are the mortal enemies of Denizens, and utilize Flame Hazes to attempt to retain balance. Thus, the Flame Hazes create Torches in the image of the dead in order to relieve the strain on reality resulting from the actions of the Denizens.

During their time together both Shana and Yuji begin to realize that their affection for each other is more than just friends. During Shana's numerous battles with the Flame Haze she has come to realize that whenever Yuji is close and cares about her, her powers increase, thus awakening the Flame inside her.

[edit] Light novels

  1. Shakugan no Shana (灼眼のシャナ?)
    Published on November 10, 2002 (ISBN 978-4840222181)
  2. Shakugan no Shana II (灼眼のシャナII?)
    Published on April 10, 2003 (ISBN 978-4840223218)
  3. Shakugan no Shana III (灼眼のシャナIII?)
    Published on July 10, 2003 (ISBN 978-4840224109)
  4. Shakugan no Shana IV (灼眼のシャナIV?)
    Published on August 10, 2003 (ISBN 978-4840224390)
  5. Shakugan no Shana V (灼眼のシャナV?)
    Published on November 10, 2003 (ISBN 978-4840225199)
  6. Shakugan no Shana VI (灼眼のシャナVI?)
    Published on February 10, 2004 (ISBN 978-4840226080)
  7. Shakugan no Shana VII (灼眼のシャナVII?)
    Published on July 10, 2004 (ISBN 978-4840227254)
  8. Shakugan no Shana VIII (灼眼のシャナVIII?)
    Published on October 10, 2004 (ISBN 978-4840228336)
  9. Shakugan no Shana IX (灼眼のシャナIX?)
    Published on February 10, 2005 (ISBN 978-4840228817)
  1. Shakugan no Shana 0 (灼眼のシャナ0?)
    Published on June 10, 2005 (ISBN 978-4840230506)
  2. Shakugan no Shana X (灼眼のシャナX?)
    Published on September 10, 2005 (ISBN 978-4840231428)
  3. Shakugan no Shana XI (灼眼のシャナXI?)
    Published on November 10, 2005 (ISBN 978-4840232043)
  4. Shakugan no Shana XII (灼眼のシャナXII?)
    Published on February 10, 2006 (ISBN 978-4840233040)
  5. Shakugan no Shana S (灼眼のシャナS?)
    Published on June 10, 2006 (ISBN 978-4840234429)
  6. Shakugan no Shana XIII (灼眼のシャナXIII?)
    Published on September 10, 2006 (ISBN 978-4840235495)
  7. Shakugan no Shana XIV (灼眼のシャナXIV?)
    Published on February 10, 2007 (ISBN 978-4840237192)
  8. Shakugan no Shana XV (灼眼のシャナXV?)
    Published on August 10, 2007 (ISBN 978-4840239295)
  9. Shakugan no Shana XVI (灼眼のシャナXVI?)
    Published on November 10, 2007 (ISBN 978-4840240611)

[edit] External links


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