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Summary:
Inside the Seireiden, the battle between Wilhelmina and Bel Peol rages on. Bel Peol gets the upper hand by getting a critical hit to her opponent’s gut. Further in, Shana faces off against Hecate. However, Shana can’t seem to break through the barrier that Hecate has erected. Inside, Yuuji knows that Shana is here and also that the city is in trouble. Back with Wilhelmina vs. Bel Peol, Wilhelmina loses her mask after suffering another hit to the gut. However, she refuses to give up. Outside, Margery and Shudonai are very evenly matched. And since they can regenerate their limbs, they could fight on for eternity. Below, Satou, Eita, and Kazumi have all noticed that the city is crumbling. Back inside the Seireiden, Shana spreads her wings for another go at the barrier. A combination of Yuuji rejecting Hecate by affirming his own feeling and his own existence, letting go of Hecate’s hand, and asking questioning Hecate’s identity, and Shana using all of her strength to break through finally results in the barrier being shattered. Shana pulls the Blutsauger out of her cape and chucks it into the gears of the machine. Yuuji breaks out of the shell that was holding him and gets reunited with Shana. Hecate laments that the thing that satisfied her is now gone, and Yuuji responds by saying that she’s always been empty. He then picks up the Blutsauger, faces toward Hecate, but then turns and destroys the Professor’s machine.
After the explosion, Yuuji apologizes because it’s his fault. Shana admits that she’s answering the request of Satou, Eita, and Kazumi to bring him back. Everyone was worried, but she was the most worried. Behind them, Hecate has Yuuji’s empty comment running through her mind. She starts screaming and wildly expelling power of existence. This causes the already saturated-with-power-of-existence city to become even more unstable. Shana and Alastor are left with only one option: for Alastor’s kengen (manifestation into this world) to consume all of the power of existence. But doing so also destroys his Flame Haze container. Shana knows that she must do this as a Flame Haze to fulfill her mission. Yuuji isn’t about to let Shana go alone though – he takes her hand because he wants to go together. As two slowly proceed back inside, Shana grasps Alastor’s pendant and says “Tenpa Jousai.” Before she becomes completely enveloped in flames, Shana confesses her love for Yuuji. A giant expanding yellow ball explodes in flames that surround the Seireiden. Before anything more can happen, the Professor escapes with Domino. Wilhelmina realizes that Shana has initiated Tenpa Jousai and falls into a state of withdrawal. Margery has to come pick her up and get her out. Shudonai, who had run from his fight with Margery when he heard Hecate’s scream, now comforts Hecate and flies off with her. Bel Peol chuckles to herself and also disappears. Alastor’s physical form then consumes all of the power of existence and vanishes in a pillar of flame and a bright flash of light.
Shana wakes up to Yuuji’s voice calling her. Alastor explains that Shana survived because her container was big enough to hold all of him. Yuuji, on the other hand, survived because of Friagne’s ring. Shana gets all embarrassed when she realizes that she’s not wearing any clothes. As she’s trying to prevent Yuuji from looking at her, Wilhelmina comes onto the rooftop and hugs her. As the sun comes up, it’s clear that everything in the city is back to normal. Margery ends up staying again there, much to the delight of Satou and Eita. Chigusa waves Shana and Yuuji goodbye as they go to school. Beside her, Wilhelmina is also waving goodbye, but she still doesn’t seem to like Chigusa. In front of the school, Eita and Ogata embarrassingly greet each other. When Shana runs into Kazumi again, Kazumi vows not to lose in the fight for Yuuji. Shana also promises that she won’t lose.
There’s going to be a Shana movie!
Boy, MOON PHASE was absolutely right when he called this episode a パンチラ祭り (panchira matsuri – panty-shot festival). That’s all I could think of when Shana was trying to break through Hecate’s barrier.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the final episode of Shakugan no Shana. It was the perfect combination of action and incredible production quality They allayed my fears from last week by actually managing to show all three fights and still having time to conclude the series. But my one complaint is that there was a lack of closure, which stems from the fact that no one died, not even any of the villains. I guess the open ending allows for the movie or even another season to pick up where they left off. But maybe even a kiss, as many people have been clamoring for, between Yuuji and Shana would have sufficed. Actually, instead of calling it a lack of closure, I should just say that it’s more like the series hasn’t ended yet.
As for do I think there will be a second season? Yea, probably. Do I know when? No, but I’d bet not until sometime after the movie is out. The official site now has an announcement for the movie along with some words from the cast and crew.
Final Thoughts: Shakugan no Shana is a series that started off on rather shaky ground. There’s a huge list of vocabulary terms to get used to, and I remember the second episode in particular being just plain boring. But once they got to develop the characters more (especially Yuuji, who was the wimp everyone hated when this started), the series really started to get good. I think I was finally hooked after the Margery arc (episode eight). I’m very glad I stuck with the series because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. And yes, I’m still a Kazumi fan, but I’m leaning more and more towards Shana. It’s a shame the series ends here (for now anyway).
Now to wait for the movie…
