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REVIEW: Shana Season Two BD+DVD Parts 1 & 2


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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18223
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:13 am Reply with quote
I haven't seen/heard the dub for this yet, but Carl's reaction to season 2 is otherwise pretty much the same as mine was when I first saw it: good when the plot and action dominate, but it gets bogged down badly in the romantic hijinks. Great to hear that they bagged all of the Extras.
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getchman
He started it



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9121
Location: Bedford, NH
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:24 am Reply with quote
I think Christopher Bevins did great job with recasting everyone. for the most part, i like the Funi VA's a lot more than the Ocean VA's
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Mikeski



Joined: 24 Sep 2009
Posts: 608
Location: Minneapolis, MN
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:31 am Reply with quote
I just started on this set myself; watched the Margery backstory episode last night.

Nice to hear it's going to stay more in that mode from here on. I agree with Carl about the first handful of episodes... I love a bit of Rie tsundere'ing as much as the next guy, but they were laying the jealousy down with a trowel, there.
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Dark Absol



Joined: 09 Dec 2009
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 1:15 am Reply with quote
In a sense: First Half = Boring with high-school stuffs-love-comedy; Second Half = much more action-packed with explosion stuffs.
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superdry



Joined: 07 Jan 2012
Posts: 1309
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 1:24 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Great to hear that they bagged all of the Extras.


Only thing missing now in the US is the Hot Springs OVA episode for in-print Shana stuff. It was part of the complete collection of season 1 Funimation distributed a few years back and it was also part of the season 2 JP blu-ray boxset.
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 1:49 am Reply with quote
Yep, that's basically what I came away with. Does the second season look any better on Blu-Ray than the first?
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Kalessin



Joined: 15 Aug 2007
Posts: 931
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:53 am Reply with quote
Quote:
There are two sides to Shana, a romance-focused personal side and an action-focused supernatural side. In the first season they were, if not inextricably intertwined, at least mutually supportive—each giving the other weight it might not have otherwise had. This season they're more like a chain-gang victim and his ball. The supernatural action is always looking to fly, but is constantly being dragged down by the romantic goop it's chained to.


LOL. Spot on! That's a fantastic description for season 2's shortcomings. This is definitely one of the more entertaining reviews that I've read in a while.

Season 2 has some truly fantastic stuff in it (especially the fight with Sabrac), but far too much of it is bogged down with romantic stuff that just doesn't work right (it would have been so much better without Konoe entering into it at all or at least making her a much more minor part of the story). They definitely managed a much better balance in season 1 (though I think that some of the fighting in season 2 tops anything season 1 was able to dish out). It's still well worth watching though. Speaking of which, I really need to rewatch it now that I have the US release. I haven't seen it since it aired. I'm not too happy about everyone being recast, but I guess that Funimation didn't think that it was worth dealing with The Ocean Group just to keep the cast the same. At least we're getting a US release though - and on Blu-ray no less!
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Exaar



Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 279
Location: Delaware
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:20 am Reply with quote
This review pretty much captures my feelings about Shana II as well. Despite really disliking some of the character designs (esp. Margery's goofy-looking bugbear form), I enjoyed the first season quite a lot. The second season just totally killed it for me though, with they way they mishandled the romance to the point of me wanting to club myself unconscious just to have to avoid watching any more of it. I actually believe I soldiered through to the end of this season (the fact that I don't even remember if I did or not should speak of how little I cared for it) but it so soured me on the franchise that when Shana III came along I didn't even start it.
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sailorsarah



Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Posts: 189
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 10:47 am Reply with quote
I'm watching this right now myself, and this review puts into words exactly how I've been feeling about it. I pretty much just stick with this franchise on the cuteness factor of Shana herself. I kind of like the Shana-tan shorts more than the actual show, especially for Yoshida because she almost has a personality.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:36 am Reply with quote
Both seasons 1 and 2 felt very unbalanced with heavy action on one side and school antics on the other. Then season 3 comes with almost pure action and zero breathing time, to the point where OPs and EDs are cut from about half of the episodes to squeeze in those vital extra minutes. Improper pacing seems to be Shana's thing.
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iamthevastuniverse





PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 1:18 pm Reply with quote
The english dub is far from sounding stiff like many of Funimation's recent dubs it comes off very natural sounding of course this is simply my opinion but its been years since Funimation has put out a mundane sounding dub.
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Thatguy3331



Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Posts: 1795
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 2:53 pm Reply with quote
Quote:

You kind of wish that they wouldn't keep calling attention to the show's shortcomings by comparing it to shows that are better (A Certain Magical Index), much better (Toradora!) or just more enjoyable (Hayate the Combat Butler) than it. In fact, that's a pretty good list of alternatives.


I can see the fanatics comming now...

Though I have to say I agree with most of this review, when I first saw this after season 1(and enjoying it) the school life stuff was so boring to me (with the exceotion of Ogata and Tanaka, I thought it was sort of nice...much better than the main triangle) and this was back when I didn't pay much attention to stuff like tropes or direction, it was just that dull to me, and while I did like it when it switched gears into action the overall season didn't leave that much of an impression on me. I'm considering getting the season 1 set but I'm really unsure about the other seasons... I look forward to seeing the review to season 3.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:03 pm Reply with quote
Yup, I agree with this review. The Fumina Konoe arc (the first 7 or 8 episodes) are downright awful. I hear that it's filler that JC Staff put in, but I honestly have no clue. I would advise anybody to skip them as they are not important in the slightest. The rest of Shana II ranges from okay to pretty good. Season 1 is my personal favorite, but there's a lot of good stuff in season two once you get past Fumina Konoe.
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 12:36 am Reply with quote
It all pays off at the end of Season 3 IMO. Everything fit together so well. STill my favorite ending of any anime.
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 3:46 am Reply with quote
walw6pK4Alo wrote:
Both seasons 1 and 2 felt very unbalanced with heavy action on one side and school antics on the other. Then season 3 comes with almost pure action and zero breathing time, to the point where OPs and EDs are cut from about half of the episodes to squeeze in those vital extra minutes. Improper pacing seems to be Shana's thing.

I thought Season 1 was pretty well-balanced. 2 was basically bipolar but I forgave 3 because really, constant intrigue and action is better than giant lapses of it.
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