AnimeSuki Forum - View Single Post - Shakugan no Shana III - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

Triple_R · 2012-03-27, 23:54

Archon's review really was extremely well-written and makes lots of great points, even if I did like Shana III a fair bit more than he did. Just so you know, Archon, I'd rep you for that review if I could.

Archon's right about some of the weaknesses he picked up on - Too many characters (or at least too many given how many were brand new and needed proper introductions), the plot was occasionally hard to follow, etc...

But ultimately, those flaws didn't mean a lot to me, and I'll explain why.

Shana III did a few things particularly well that I think it deserves a lot of credit for. First of all, if I was to use just one word that I think sums up the strengths of Shana III it would be this word:

Momentum

After a bit of a shaky start, this anime then proceeded to have simply spectacularly superb momentum. From the first time that Shana and Yuji met one another again (way back in Episode 5, IIRC) right through until the end, this anime went at a beautifully bold brisk pace and hardly ever let up (doing so only once when it truly needed to).

This was the core similarity I found between Guilty Crown and Shana III which made them my two most anticipated anime watches during Winter 2012 (yes, I know I might raise some eyebrows with that comment

). Both were consistently compellingly charging ahead, no looking back.

The differences were that Guilty Crown looked a bit better, but Shana III was executed much more smoothly and also enjoyed a better finale.

So this is one area where my perspective is very different from Archon's. If anything, I find modern anime often has a tendency to dick around too much, leaving me wanting its plot to get a move-on already.

And when compared to that, Shana III is like a breath of air so fresh it's from a gust of wind left in the wake of a Shana sword slash!

It also seemed like something big, bold, bodacious was happening almost every week on this show. From Shana clashing swords before clashing lips with Aizen!Yuji, to Khamsin donning his Super Robot Ceremonial Garb in order to help the rambunctious Rebecca Reed totally trash Bal Masque's HQ, to Sophia killing a giant Fish of some sort, to the Scooby Van hilariously rushing to the rescue of the increasingly attractive Kazumi, to Professor Dantalion receiving such a humorously poetic end of a great villain career, to the big climax of Episode 24, it was just one non-stop thrill-ride of truly amusing action-adventure!

And it felt epic. And I don't mean just in the more modern sense of the term, but rather in The Lord of the Rings sense of the term. Shana III felt larger than life; it felt like what a War to end Wars should feel like.

And so I happily rate Shana III a 9/10. Due to the flaws well-stated by Archon, as well as a shaky start, I can't give it 10/10. But it does deserve a 9, imo.

2012-03-27, 23:54	Link #9
Triple_R Senior Member Author Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Age: 42	Archon's review really was extremely well-written and makes lots of great points, even if I did like Shana III a fair bit more than he did. Just so you know, Archon, I'd rep you for that review if I could. Archon's right about some of the weaknesses he picked up on - Too many characters (or at least too many given how many were brand new and needed proper introductions), the plot was occasionally hard to follow, etc... But ultimately, those flaws didn't mean a lot to me, and I'll explain why. Shana III did a few things particularly well that I think it deserves a lot of credit for. First of all, if I was to use just one word that I think sums up the strengths of Shana III it would be this word: Momentum After a bit of a shaky start, this anime then proceeded to have simply spectacularly superb momentum. From the first time that Shana and Yuji met one another again (way back in Episode 5, IIRC) right through until the end, this anime went at a beautifully bold brisk pace and hardly ever let up (doing so only once when it truly needed to). This was the core similarity I found between Guilty Crown and Shana III which made them my two most anticipated anime watches during Winter 2012 (yes, I know I might raise some eyebrows with that comment ). Both were consistently compellingly charging ahead, no looking back. The differences were that Guilty Crown looked a bit better, but Shana III was executed much more smoothly and also enjoyed a better finale. So this is one area where my perspective is very different from Archon's. If anything, I find modern anime often has a tendency to dick around too much, leaving me wanting its plot to get a move-on already. And when compared to that, Shana III is like a breath of air so fresh it's from a gust of wind left in the wake of a Shana sword slash! It also seemed like something big, bold, bodacious was happening almost every week on this show. From Shana clashing swords before clashing lips with Aizen!Yuji, to Khamsin donning his Super Robot Ceremonial Garb in order to help the rambunctious Rebecca Reed totally trash Bal Masque's HQ, to Sophia killing a giant Fish of some sort, to the Scooby Van hilariously rushing to the rescue of the increasingly attractive Kazumi, to Professor Dantalion receiving such a humorously poetic end of a great villain career, to the big climax of Episode 24, it was just one non-stop thrill-ride of truly amusing action-adventure! And it felt epic. And I don't mean just in the more modern sense of the term, but rather in The Lord of the Rings sense of the term. Shana III felt larger than life; it felt like what a War to end Wars should feel like. And so I happily rate Shana III a 9/10. Due to the flaws well-stated by Archon, as well as a shaky start, I can't give it 10/10. But it does deserve a 9, imo. __________________ Last edited by Triple_R; 2012-03-28 at 15:37.