You know, it’s funny how everyone and their brother is giving up on the second season of Shakugan no Shana, because I just recently gave up on the first season.
My first exposure to the series came at Comiket, of all places. It was about a month before the first season premiered, and Geneon was advertising the hell out of it. I still have a lot of promotional material boxed away somewhere. The first episode aired around the time I returned to the States, and with plenty of other stuff to watch and the series not looking like something I’d be all that interested in, I passed on it.
Fast forward a year, and I found myself having second thoughts, courtesy of Zero no Tsukaima. Friends dissuaded me, however, so I kept on ignoring the show. And everyone else kept on talking about it. Not like it was the first time I had skipped watching a popular show for lack of interest.
With the arrival of the second season last month, however, I decided, “enough is enough,” and gave the first season a try. It started off well enough. In fact, it got off to a great start, which would only make the show’s flaws all the more conspicuous in later episodes. I think it was around the time the french kissing twins showed up that I realized I should have just continued ignoring the show like I always had. I didn’t care about the characters, the animation stunk, the story was like something out of a high school creative writing class, and I couldn’t stand Shana.
And that last one proved to be the final nail in the coffin. After all, I’m generally fond of Kugimiya Rie tsundere characters (I have a thing for Louise, for crying out loud!), but Shana was so simultaneously bitchy and boring that I cheered every time she got her ass handed to her. I’m really surprised by how popular a character she is; perhaps she grows more interesting with time, but I wasn’t interested in sticking around to find out.
So, thirteen episodes in, and I was out. But, before I put the show to rest for good, I think it’s only prudent to ask: does it get any better? Or am I better off not knowing?
