灼眼のシャナS (review) ep. 01
Shakugan no Shana S episode 01

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

While Sato and Tanaka go buy ice cream, Shana and Yuuji are at the residence of Friagne, the deceased tomogara, looking for a special hougu amongst all of the stuff in his treasure room. Yuuji finds a peculiar telescope and upon looking through it at Shana, he finds himself in her body and she within his. Alaster is horrified by this and insists that this must be kept from everyone else no matter what. So, Yuuji-Shana gathers up a big portion of the stuff nearby to sort through later for a switch back and the two of them ditch the returning Sato and Tanaka, Shana-Yuuji making sure to take all the ice cream.

Shana-Yuuji eats all the ice cream as they look for a secluded spot to sort out the junk and find the hougu (named “Reshuffle”) to return them to their normal bodies. They happen upon a drunk Margery Daw and Marchosias and are forced to make a casual but hasty retreat lest Margery or Marchosias discover what happened. Heading to the school, Yuuji and Shana again encounter people they know, this time classmates Ike and Kazumi are there, along with others. Entering the school, they happen upon Ogata’s volleyball team who are changing, thus another forced retreat.

Back in town, they are trying to make it to Yuuji’s house and hoping they don’t encounter Wilhelmina when at a nearby fast food burger joint, they see Wilhelmina on the 2nd floor eating area. Wilhelmina, upon seeing Yuuji and Shana, wolfs down her food and beverage so that she’s able to meet them as they pass the establishment. Wilhelmina and Tiamat are suspicious of Yuuji and Shana’s actions, more so when Yuuji suddenly displays extraordinary skills in deflecting Wilhelmina’s ribbons. Yuuji-Shana stands in front of his body and loudly tells Wilhelmina that “she” loves her. Wilhelmina and Tiamat are both floored by this, which allows Yuuji and Shana to escape.

At Yuuji’s home, Yuuji’s mother ends up forcing Shana to cast a Fuzetsu. Shana-Yuuji appears in pain, so Yuuji-Shana quickly finds Reshuffle and uses it, returning them to their proper bodies. It is then that he realizes that Shana’s problem was that having eaten so much ice cream, his body desperately needed to go to the bathroom. Shana laughs at Yuuji’s frantic attempts to get to the bathroom. She and Alastor talk about Reshuffle, so Alastor reveals that the only reason it worked is that Yuuji and Shana deeply care about each other, much more so than either might admit. Thus he did not want anyone else to know just how deep their feelings for each other truly are.

Thoughts/Review:

One thing I have to say about watching this OVA episode is getting used to KUGIMIYA Rie as Shana again. *lol* That’s because having only recently completed Hayate the Combat Butler!!, I was used to her as Nagi. Now, have have to stop hearing Nagi speak and hear Shana. Fortunately, it didn’t take too long to get back into the groove. Of course, this means that if there’s another Hayate no Gotoku series, I’ll have to get used to her as Nagi again. *lol*

I didn’t know what kind of episode this would be but I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had a comedy piece in front of one. Shakugan no Shana S is funnier than its comedy parody, Shakugan no Shana-tan G.

So what worked?

Well, the body-swap action, while not original, is handled pretty well. Alaster fueling the “don’t let anyone know you’ve switched bodies” is what I believe helps set this above other body-swapping things I’ve seen in my life. Going from place to place to attempt to perform a swap back is something the audience knows is going to fail, but everything is done in such a way as to make it work and be amusing.

The funniest part for me came from Wilhelmina. The moment it was said that Wilhelmina had to be avoided at all costs, that only meant that she was about to immediately show up. What I didn’t expect was for her to be in the (parody) McDonald’s joint eating a cheeseburger. Naturally, because Shana and Yuuji need to get away quick, Wilhelmina suddenly scarfs down her burger and polishes off her soda in rapid fashion so that she can be down on the street to meet them before they can get away. *lol*

I’ve always liked how Wilhelmina and Tiamat have their deadpan style of speaking, which makes them not only well suited for each other, but perfect fodder for comedy moments such as the one in this episode. Yuuji suddenly showing great skills at deflecting the suspicious Wilhelmina’s ribbon attacks was the perfect setup for Shana to proclaim her love for Wilhelmina (as a mother-like figure), which actually causes Wilhelmina to show a bit of emotion, which in turn was a funny moment for me. So good stuff there.

I noticed that the episode managed to incorporate the central cast of characters and makes sure they all get some valid (even if brief at times) screen time. So it was nice seeing everyone back.

One aside, I did note that the OP featured a young Shana from her time at

Yeah, there may not be much of any story advancement in Shakugan no Shana S but if all of the proposed episodes are comedy ones like this one. However, the first episode was nicely funny and certainly entertaining with even some acknowledgment of the feelings Shana and Yuuji have. I’ll take a few more like this as an appetizer for the main story to be picked back up as a new TV series. ^_^