One fateful day protagonist Yuji Sakai's life changes in a way he couldn't imagine: as he walks through town everybody around him suddenly freezes and monsters attack! Just as it looks as though one will kill him a girl with flame-red hair appears and slays the creature with a sword. Everything then unfreezes but nothing is the same. Yuki sees blue flames burning inside those around him and himself
the girl explains that this is because they are all dead and once the flame burns out they will die and be forgotten! Yuji isn't like the others though; unbeknownst to him or the girl he possesses the treasure known as the "Midnight Lost Child" which resets his flame at midnight. The girl tells him that she is a 'flame haze' it is her job to defeat those from another dimension who's activities destabilise Earth; she has no name so Yuji dubs her Shana after the name of her sword.
Over the course of the series they grow closer together and battle several foes; each story taking a few episodes. As well as introducing more villains more Flame Hazes arrive and not all of them think Yuji should be allowed to continue to live! This was an enjoyable series; with likable characters and plenty of exciting moments even if the knowledge that there are further series made it unlikely that either of our two protagonists would die. Yuji and Shana's relationship develops nicely over the course of the series and new characters are introduced gradually so one doesn't have to spend the opening episodes trying to remember who is who! There is a fair amount of action although none of it is overly gory. The only thing likely to offend some viewers is a pair of villainous young siblings whose relationship is a bit too close for a brother and sister! The characters are nicely designed and the animation is pretty good.
If you are watching the series on DVD be sure to watch the 'Naze nani Shana' and 'Shana Tan' shorts; the first explains some details of the story and the latter just provides a few laughs.
These comments are based on watching the series in English with Japanese subtitles.
Over the course of the series they grow closer together and battle several foes; each story taking a few episodes. As well as introducing more villains more Flame Hazes arrive and not all of them think Yuji should be allowed to continue to live! This was an enjoyable series; with likable characters and plenty of exciting moments even if the knowledge that there are further series made it unlikely that either of our two protagonists would die. Yuji and Shana's relationship develops nicely over the course of the series and new characters are introduced gradually so one doesn't have to spend the opening episodes trying to remember who is who! There is a fair amount of action although none of it is overly gory. The only thing likely to offend some viewers is a pair of villainous young siblings whose relationship is a bit too close for a brother and sister! The characters are nicely designed and the animation is pretty good.
If you are watching the series on DVD be sure to watch the 'Naze nani Shana' and 'Shana Tan' shorts; the first explains some details of the story and the latter just provides a few laughs.
These comments are based on watching the series in English with Japanese subtitles.