First Impressions / Shakugan no Shana

「掌にあるもの」 (Tenohira ni Arumono)
“In The Palm of their Hands”

I was expecting this episode to be subpar since it looked like there’d be no correlation with the over-arching story. Luckily, I was completely wrong as I watched one of the most enjoyable episodes since the start of the season. Not only were a few new Flame Hazes introduced but one of the most important ones finally got a little more light shed on her.

However, I was a little saddened that Keisaku didn’t get a bigger role when the spotlight was finally on him. Instead of getting the opportunity to finally do something to support Margery (ie: work for Outlaw), it looked like he was just used as an instigator to push Rebecca toward helping Wilhelmina. I’m sure that Rebecca could have come to the same conclusion without listening to a kid’s constant bickering and I don’t like how Keisaku keeps getting belittled every time I expect him to do something big. While he may not be a main character, he is the person you think of when you think of Margery Daw — which means he should get to do something relatively important, right?

On the other hand, I’ll admit that it was worth watching a side character get belittled a little to learn more about our main characters. They finally revealed who Wilhelmina’s “friend” is and showed her expressing some type of emotion, which she doesn’t do very often. Sure, the flashback doesn’t really emphasize what kind of relationship Wilhelmina and Rebecca share, but it does suggest that the two Flame Hazes were not only working together but enjoying it.

But the person who raised the most curiosity (except Shana) was Sophie Sawallisch. Up to this episode, I’ve had this sinking feeling about what her true motives are. Normally, the loving-mother-like characters tend to have some pretty dirty secrets, especially the ones who are known to be exceptionally perceptive like Sophie. However, I’m glad the way she comes off on the outside appears to apply to the way she is on the inside too. While I wasn’t sure if she had already foreseen Rebecca defecting to help Wilhelmina, it was awfully kind of her to lend Wilhelmina an extra Flame Haze in addition to Rebecca to try and rescue Shana.

With the past few weeks being full of plot development and developing side stories, I’m terribly excited about what’s in store for next week’s (I guess tomorrow’s) episode. Seeing how the title of this show is Shakugan no Shana, I can’t wait for Shana to take the stage again. Yuuji is furious and Hecate is on a rampage to kill Shana, so I hope that there’s a lot of action in store for us next week.

P.S. Hi guys! I’m sorry I haven’t been commenting in the comments but I have been reading them! Thank you to everyone who welcomed me back <3. Second, I’ve been really busy catching up with school and work but things are almost back on track and I’m happy that I’m still alive haha. Third, I quickly wanted to say thank you again for always reading my posts. Not only do I really appreciate it, but you, the readers, are my main source of motivation to continue episodic blogging. From the comments you leave to the conversations we have outside of RandomC, I love it and you guys rock! Finally, I have decided to drop coverage for Horizon. I don’t really care to explain in detail why I chose to drop it, but lack of time is one of the main reasons.

 

Preview

21 Comments

  2. That one-eyed military-looking flame haze looks badass to the core… seems Bel-Peol and the General might get a worthy opponent – and Hekate making her move on Shana certainly does surprise me – Yuji will be not happy about this… Oh and Rebecca was fun with blowing things up. LOL @ timid-voiced Crimson Lord!

    ewok40k
    Reply

  5. welcome back takaii, no worries on late posts we dont mind ^^
    I dont think we have the right to complain about horizon given how chaotic the plot seem to be
    and the intormation and details that need to be researched before fully understanding where the series
    is heading towards……I mean one might as well read the actual novel to know what the hell is going on! From what I understand
    the anime is leaving a lot of important details apparently and explanations from the author at the end of each novel are also missed out.
    Its going to be really time consuming just to understand it let alone blogging it.
    And mid terms, omg mid terms! I got sent to the hospital last week after all the stress and strain it put on my body. And Christmas is going
    coming soon next month which means the finals are coming soon T.T
    Anyway im just glad your still blogging shana, thank you!

    oliviaven
    Reply

  8. Dammit Takaii, you are one week slow in almost all the shows you’ve covered. As RC is one of the few places where I discuss anime, you’ve more or less left guys like me hanging in the blue eager to discuss the latest episodes. At time of writing this post, 30 minutes remain until Shana III episode 7 is aired in Japan.

    Still, welcome back. 🙂

    At last Rebecca makes her appearance, I was expecting Sawashiro Miyuki, but Kuwashima Houko got her character nuances just about right.

    Wilhelmina is hawt in her medieval gown, not to mention her blushing is extremely cute.
    https://randomc.net/image/Shakugan%20no%20Shana/Shakugan%20no%20Shana%20III%20Final%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2014.jpg

    I used to privately ship Margery x Wilhelmina yuri. But now with Margery in limbo, perhaps I may be shifting to Rebecca x Wilhelmina soon. 🙂

    (I am sure most novel readers would agree that Wilhelmina is in fact the cutest character behind all her deadpan mannerism. )

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  9. so uh… Rebecca Reed uses “Ore” instead of “watashi” or even “boku” (unless I totally misheard), she’s Wilhelmina’s “friend”, and to make Wilhelmina blush like that… would it be wrong to suspect a little yuri going on?

    Rise~N Seraphim
    Reply

    1. That’s because Tiamat manifested herself as an ornamental headpiece on Wilhelmina’s head back then.

      It was never explained why Tiamat changed to the current maid ribbon. The most likely answer would be that Tiamat was just going along with Wilhelmina’s attempt to “blend in” into modern society – albeit very poorly. lol

      Kinny Riddle
      Reply

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