Hi, people! My blog post on the latest Nanoha movie is not getting as many views as I would have hoped. Anyway, before I get back into talking to about
Nanoha Reflection once again in my deep dive series, I will be talking about
Shakugan no Shana first.
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| Shana! |
Well, maybe this post will look to you as not really deep dive series but this observation thing takes time, energy and deep thought to it. I had been thinking about this for a long time. Since I am a Christian, I find NUMEROUS things related to Christianity in Shakugan no Shana more than ANY anime! You might or might not like this. Anyway, let's go!
WARNING:-
SPOILER ALERT!!! If you haven't watched it and plan to watch it without anyone being the spoiler, please DON'T CONTINUE READING!!!
P.S. If you want to be spoiled, well, go ahead and read it. You HAD been warned. Don't blame me for being spoiled if you INSIST on continuing to read this post.
1. The Similarity of the two trinities
The number three is pretty prominent in Shakugan no Shana, especially the trinity in Shakugan no Shana. Well, they are not exactly the same as the one in Christianity but there is some aspect of the Trinity in Christianity that is retained in this anime.
In Christianity, Jesus' sacrifice himself to save mankind and give them a way for them to have abundant life. Similarly, Hecate in the trinity of Bal Masqué, which is also the trinity of the servant of the Snake of the Festival (which coincidently is also called the God of Creation), sacrifices herself in order to create Xanadu, a paradise for the Denizens to live and give humans a way that is safe from having their Power of Existence extracted.
Also, both trinities have each of the person having different roles. Just like Christianity, each of them (the ones in SnS) have differing roles. Like in Christianity, Hecate (she is like the bridge to the God of Creation), Bel Peol (tactician and organizer of their missions) and Sydonay (leading in more aggressive campaigns against the Flame Haze). Well, even Hecate's staff has a triangle, which most possibly represents the trinity. Dantalion also mentions that NO ONE can enter the trinity, just like the God of Christianity.
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| The trinity in SnS. |
2. Shana is the perfect Flame Haze
Why did I make this statement? Well, you see in Shakugan no Shana, most Flame Haze is driven by hatred and vengeance. This is further shown when Yuuji's 2nd announcement leads to the almost immediate collapse of the Flame Haze army, which I will discuss it later in this blog post.
As for Shana, she is mostly not untainted by hatred and vengeance but rather, she is trained to be a Flame Haze instead of becoming a Flame Haze because of an incident involving the Crimson Denizen. So, Shana is not motivated by hatred and vengeance but have a pure motivation to maintain the balance the world. Most of the Flame Haze within the organization plays political games and mind games against each other BUT Shana doesn't do that and focuses ONLY on her duties, which defeat the Crimson Denizen and anyone who threatens the balance of the universe. Also, she still does focuses on her duties EVEN when Yuuji joins her enemies.
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| Shana taking on the contract... |
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| Shana and Yuuji facing off... |
3. Love is not just about what the other likes
Most people don't really understand what on earth is going on with the third season of Shana, which is what I was at first. After giving it a thought, I finally understand the reasoning behind Yuuji's decision, which A LOT of people don't understand. They are doing it for each other's benefit. It is written, "Love is NOT self-seeking." BTW, it's from the Bible, just being paraphrased a little. Well, this is phrase has been in my heart for a LONG time. Both of them have embodied the TRUE LOVE excellently. They do this not for selfish reasoning, they have been patient to listening to each other's reasoning, AND Shana has not recorded his 'wrongdoing' (in other words, forgive) during their final battle even when Yuuji plans to punish himself for it.
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| It is in this face-off moment... |
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| ...Shana's declaration of love to Yuuji to presented. |
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| Yuuji and Shana's final face-off |
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| Aww...they kissed... |
4. The concept of Yuuji's union with the Snake of the Festival
This one...is really a special revelation. This is very similar to Christian's union with Christ and the Spirit. In what way? His 'union' with the Snake of the Festival is actually the same as the 'union' between the contractor and the Crimson Lord in becoming a Flame Haze. The Crimson Lord uses the contractor as a vessel as they submit their body and themselves to protect the balance of the world. Same for Yuuji, Yuuji allows the Snake of the Festival to use him as a vessel and helps to fulfil the wish of the Snake of the Festival.
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| The essence of the Snake of the Festival |
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| Yuuji's last conversation with the Snake of the Festival |
5. The reference to Yahweh
Weirdly...Shakugan no Shana 3rd season 1st opening theme song, Light My Light by Kotoko has that reference. Don't believe go and get the lyrics (for the full song, of course). See it for yourself. Since this anime has a lot of its elements derived from Christianity, this fact shouldn't come as a shock.
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| The singles for the Shana season 3 1st OP... |
6. Hatred and vengeance are the strongest and weakest power
The theme of hatred and vengeance...not my favourite because it ALWAYS gets me asking, "What happens after the successful revenge?". It is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Well, this is an extract from Romans 12:9 in the Bible. This phrase also actually quoted from Deuteronomy 32:35 in the Bible. Enough of the Bible, YES, hatred and vengeance are powerful but it drains the heck out of a person, leaving the person empty regardless of whether the person succeeded in his quest for vengeance. That's why I say that hatred and vengeance is the strongest and weakest power.
This is shown by what happened to the Flame Haze army. They collapsed almost immediately after Yuuji made his 2nd announcement on his plan. Why? BECAUSE MOST Flame Haze had witnessed the consumption of the Power of Existence by the Denizens and are HIGHLY motivated by hatred and vengeance. AND this announcement really DECIMATED ALL OF THEIR REASON to fight and decimated their motivation completely to fight.
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| Yuuji and the Snake of the Festival's 1st announcement... |
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| ...forces the Flame Haze to retreat. |
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| Yuuji and the Snake of the Festival's 2nd announcement... |
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| ...completely destroy the Flame Haze morale. |
7. The Difference between the light novel and the anime itself.
Of course, like any adaption from the original source, there is a difference between the anime and the original source, the light novel. I ONLY can point out TWO: Dantalion vehicle (train in light novel vs airship in anime) and the way the final fight between Shana and Yuuji ends (the showing of the letter in the novel vs fighting until Yuuji is defeated in the anime). You might have found more BUT I only managed to find THESE TWO.
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| The airship back in season 1... |
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| Shana's final blow to defeat Yuuji. |
Conclusion (well, more like a way to end the post)
As I end this post, I would like to mention that I had finished my post on Saki. Well, not like you don't know. You don't know? You can read it
here. BTW, I would like to thank you for reading this blog post until the end. This will 98th blog post on this blog. Anyway, hope to see you again and God bless you. AND also, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Well, I didn't expect to post this on Valentine's Day BUT well, here we are.
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| That's the end. I absolutely love this couple. |
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