Shakugan No Shana III – Now With Pantsu

Shakugan no Shana’s third and final run is one which seductively starts with steamy tsundere Shana bathing – alongside a fresh addition of white pantsu service, served complete with the usual magical tale.

After the climatic battle with Bal Masque in Shakugan no Shana Second, everything appeared to have returned to normal and you were left with the impression that Sakai Yuji, the annoying indecisive male protagonist of the series, finally made an excellent choice for himself and picked Shana over Yoshida for his romantic affairs. However what entails is a completely different scenario that none of the fans could have predicted.

Upon the opening scene, you are thrown into the midst of a battle between Flame Haze, and what appear to be Rinne, servants of Guze no Tomogara. As Shana battles her way through the horde, she meets a man desperately attempting to establish his “coolness” within episode one as he stands atop a pillar with long dark hair, and ice cold eyes like that of a Samurai – much to the viewer’s surprise, it turns out this pseudo-samurai dweeb is none other than an entirely reoutfitted Sakai Yuji. Shana and Yuji exchange their greetings for but a moment, only to clash into a fierce battle that fades out…

Time then rewinds back to Christmas Eve, the night that Yuji was presented with the choice to either spend his life with Yoshida or Shana. As we find out however, neither were picked – instead, Yuji’s existence was disappearing from the world as a torch… but not as the Reiji Maigo.

After a scene at his former home, and then one taking place at the school accompanied with Shana to see how the world about them has changed since Yuji’s disappearance, you are taken to an extended flashback of that moment where Shana realized the situation which has befallen them. All that remained were two letters, one from Shana, and the other, Yoshida.

However, while the world may have changed, Shana believes firmly that Yuji must be out there somewhere – and with good reason. His existence remains one recalled by some – characters fitting the description of Flame Haze, Tomogara, and those have been in the Fūzetsu, i.e. Satou and Tanaka, remember him well as the insolent well-meaning fool he is.

As expected from episode one, this grand chessboard of a story has only but been set into place. While Shana is training for the tough road ahead, Yoshida is holding onto the hope she has left and the rest are investigating, the Bal Masque also made their first move, under the commend of Sakai Yuji to move West. How he managed to return to the world is but a mystery, though we predict that there are still many secrets to be revealed behind Yuji’s iniquitous actions, and the capabilities of the Reiji Maigo.

In all, the story pans out smoothly – you feel fooled by the ending of Shana Second, yet at the same time… you can help but feel moved to believe, especially after Shakugan no Shana S, that Shana and Yuji were destined to meet on the battlefield as lovers, and as rivals. Not only is there a great story that has yet another chapter to tell. But there is also an increasing amount of fan service – an always welcomed aspect when used in moderation and with cute female.

Within the first episode, you get to see two glimpses of Shana’s simplistic underwear. First while showering, and secondly when Shana dives for safety whilst sparring with Margery, at which point she’s wearing demonically adorable white pantsu. This is worth mentioning as the series is now transgressing into a realm of aesthetic enjoyment which it never has before. An overall exquisite introduction into a demonic world revived for a third time, well beyond par with what was previously in mind.

• 
  Shakugan No Shana III – Now With Cellphones
• 
  Shakugan No Shana III – “My Only Desire…”
• 
  Shakugan No Shana III – Call To Battle
• 
  Shakugan No Shana III – Flame’s Advent