:::Tsundere Spotlight:::

Hey everyone!

(deredere) First off I just want to say thank you to all our followers for helping Shiyu-chan (who's still "getting ready" for her Grand (2nd) Appearance) level up to 25! ^^
(tsuntsun) But it's not like we needed your help or anything! (Mattaku...)

Alright, so this TSL goes to another one of the Four Tsundere Wonders! And that is none other than the "Flame Haired Red-Hot Eyed Hunter": Shana from Shakugan no Shana!

(Warning: Minor spoilers ahead (mainly from episode #1); escape option: watch the first episode!)

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Have you ever taken a walk through the city one day to find that all of a sudden time just decided to... oh, I don't know... stop? And then a flame haired girl with a wicked-cool katana appears out of nowhere and saves your soul from being eaten by some giant freaky spirit-like monster? Oh, and then you find out that you're actually already dead and your existence is slowly fading away from reality? You know, everyday stuff.

Hmm, w-what's this? Y-you haven't?? Then you obviously have n-never met Sh-Shana! (I can hardly believe it!) Well then!--allow me to introduce you to her! >:)

Shana comes from a romance / comedy / action anime entitled Shakugan no Shana (literally: Shana of the Burning Eyes). Voiced by my favorite voice actress, Rie Kugimiya, she stars as a mysterious unnamed Flame Haze in this spectacular anime. Well then--how does she get her name?

That's easy!

Sakai Yuji, the lead male character in the anime, gives her a name: Shana--for proof that she's not "just a Flame Haze" but that she has value as a person. But he's one to talk--he's already dead! (Like he knows what it's like to be human... =P). Yuji learns that his current self is a "torch"--a substitute for people who had their souls "eaten" by "Guze no Tomogara". Unfortunately--it's a torch that loses its flame, which means he only has a limited amount of time to live before his existence is completely dissipated... or does he?

And so the romantic struggle in this anime is between Yuji and Shana--who both struggle to recognize their devotion to each other. Yuji is just typically oblivious while Shana struggles to see how someone like her, who's "just a Flame Haze," and not a human, can have or deserve to have a relationship. Plus, add a third wheel (Yoshida) and the fact that Yuji is hardly real and you've got yourself a complicated romance =P.

Alright, that's enough of an introduction, don't you think? And just so you know, it's not like I went out of my way to introduce her to you or anything! Mo...

Time for the Tsundere analysis!


Alright, so Shana is mostly a COT-type (Change over time) Tsundere because her overall personality changes from apathy (tsuntsun) to embarrassment (tsundere) to shyness (deredere) when dealing with the topic of "love" as the story progresses...

Alright, so we know she's multifarious on the inside--but what about on the outside?

If you haven't already noticed (angryface if you haven't)... Shana is very kawaii~ (well, at least to most anime lovers on the planet >.<...). Her art design is very original and moe--enough to build up a very frightening fan-base and garner millions of fan-drawn replicas and figurine models. All of which is more proof that Shana is beautiful--both on the inside and out (hauu~) :).

And if you didn't know already--part of what makes Shana so unique is her duality: her "human" form and her "flame haze" form. The latter being the one with the flaming red-hot hair :). And somewhat metaphorically, as you might have already read in my Top 5 Moe List (which is quite out-dated), her Flame Haze form resembles her Tsuntsun aspect while her Human form resembles her Deredere aspect.

So exactly how popular is SnS?

According to MAL, Shakugan no Shana ranks #29 in Popularity (which is 3 above One Piece (#32) and 2 under K-On! (#27) (incase you can't count)) and she's frequently referenced in many animes such as Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu and others that I can't recall off the top of my head--which is proof that it's a classic (and a masterpiece as well).

Other animes have tried mimicking the theme of Shakugan no Shana--most notably Kurokami and Hidan no Aria--but none have risen to the legendary status of SnS.

Well what makes Shana so popular?


Besides radiating a fiery personality and capturing people's hearts through moe (kya~), Shana is enveloped in a very fun and unique storyline that's geared more towards romance aspects while still containing just the right amount of action to satisfy a little shounen-hunger.

If you're a fan of Toradora--imagine Toradora with the genre trade-off of slice of life for action and a few details here and there... everything else is practically the same: Taiga and Shana have the same voice actresses and Yuji's name even resembles "Ryuuji" from Toradora!

Another interesting thing to note is that rumor has it that Rie Kugimiya (Shana) was actually going out with Satoshi Hino (Yuji) during their collaboration in both Shakugan no Shana and Zero no Tsukaima. I have yet to find proof of this, but it is definitely something to consider and might serve as a possible explanation as to how they were able to work so great together :S.

And so, Shana continues to stand on top of many as a symbol of fire and hope while sitting on her Royal throne on the Board of Legendary Animes (well... don't you think there should be such a board? =P). And by being the first of the Four Tsundere Wonders to reach an anime adaption, Shana has become the essence through which Rie Kugimiya has proudly taken up the title: "Queen of Tsunderes".

Won't you join Shana's fan-base and fuel her fire? If you do--perhaps someday she will rule the world >:)


Time for some snapshots! ^^













And here's the opening! (Couldn't find a good one with subs, sorry!)



Lyrics

Don't forget to catch Shana in Shakugan no Shana! She's burning with desire to meet you! >:)

And look out for the third season that should be coming out within the next 2 years (hopefully within 1)!

Well that's all for today! Thanks for reading! :),
:::Deretsun:::

Oh, and of course--a parting picture! :)

Update: The Otaku Reviewers are going to Otakon 2011! :D!