Subculture Anime Blog

I missed you, Flame Haze.

Summary:

A Flame Haze charges at a Guze no Tomogara as he causes havoc in the city. Despite the Flame Haze’s attempt, he is easily taken down by one of the Guze no Tomogara’s gunshots. Sakai Yuji drops his eraser during class, so the female student Hirai Yukari picks it up for him. He is suddenly called on by the teacher, and she helps him to find the right page as well. Yuji meets his friend Ike Hayato after school, but finds that he has University preparations as usual. Yukari bugs her friend Yoshida Kazumi about her crush on Yuji in a CD shop, but Kazumi runs out soon after seeing him walk inside. Yuji finds that Yukari is interested in Hayato, before bidding her off outside. Yuji becomes shocked at a sudden stop in time around him, and even more horrified when he sees a doll like monster in the area.

The monster starts to absorb flames from the people around, and it becomes interested in Yuji after describing him as a mystes. The monster grabs him, but its arm is sliced off before it can eat Yuji. Yuji looks up to see a flaming red haired girl standing above him, along with a talking pendant around her neck which she refers to as Alastor. This girl continues to destroy parts of the monster, and suddenly slices through Yuji in order to finish off the monster behind him. The woman monster refers to the girl as Enpatsu Shakugan, a Flame Haze, before warning the girl of her master. The monster’s true form is revealed to be a small doll as it flies away, and it manages to get away with a distraction. Yuji panics at the loss of his arm, but finds that there is actually no blood flowing out of it. The girl simply puts his arm back on, before emitting a light from her finger to return the surrounding area to normal.

Yuji wonders to himself if the people around him did not realize what just happened. He starts to call out to Yukari, but becomes shocked at the sight of a blue flame now emitting from the center of her body. This is also the case with the people around him, as Yuji even witnesses a boy disintegrating into the wind. Yuji rushes towards the girl next, now in a normal form. Yuji questions her about what just happened, and finds that she considers him an object rather than a human being. The girl explains that the monster they just faced was a Rinne, a servant of a Guze no Tomogara. They feed off the power of existence from humans, but because this throws off the world’s balance, torches are created. Torches are temporary replacements for humans, which disappear quietly. Noticing the torch in his own body, Yuji expresses that he is already dead.

The girl wonders how long Yuji plans on following her as night falls, but he tells her that his house is only in the same direction. Trying to keep Sakai Yuji’s death out of his mind, Yuji asks the girl what exactly she is. She replies that she is a Flame Haze, one that fights Guze no Tomogara and helps to keep the balance of the world stable. The enemy doll, Marianne, apologizes to her master elsewhere. She wishes to go after the mystes for him, but he doesn’t not think there is a need for a rush. He directs her attention to a glowing blue display instead, which currently displays torches in the city.

Yuji walks down for breakfast the next morning, and finds that his mother is acting the same as always. He realizes that when he disappears, it will be the same as if he was never born. As Yuji leaves for school, he wonders what he is worrying about. The real Sakai Yuji would be in despair in this situation, but he is something different. Yuji finds the Flame Haze waiting for him further along the road, and she expresses that the Guze no Tomogara would probably be drawn to him as a unique mystes. Yuji wonders what a mystes is, so the girl explains to him that it is a special kind of torch which contains a Hougu. A Hougu is a magical object that can provide special powers to its owner. He also finds that he has the memories of Sekai Yuji simply because he is a copy. The Flame Haze expresses that there are too many torches in the city, as Yukari passes by. Yuji is taken back by Yukari’s now sluggish aura, after seeing how small her flame has become. Yuji finds Yukari’s inability to return to normal too cruel, so he rushes to school with her.

The teacher only notices that Yuji is late once he arrives in the classroom, and no one else seems to notice Yukari. Yuji invites Yukari to have lunch with himself and Hayato, and they head to the arcade afterwards. The three have their picture taken in a photo booth, but Yuji is called out by the Flame Haze soon afterwards. Hayato quickly goes to play games by himself, but Yukari says something to him before leaving. Yuji believes that Yukari can be saved as long as no one forgets her, but the Flame Haze tells Yuji that it is impossible. Yukari is no longer in the arcade when Yuji returns, and he becomes angry at Hayato’s low interest in her. Yuji is glad that Yukari has not yet disappeared when he finds her by the riverside, and she expresses to him that she likes the view of the sunset. Yuji tells Yukari that she could bring Hayato there the next day, and not to disappear, but it is too late. Yukari’s blue flame burns out, as the Flame Haze catches a small piece of it behind them.

The Flame Haze again reminds Yuji that torches cannot be saved, and that they will only be forgotten about when they burn out. Yuji tells her that she is wrong, and claims that Yukari certainly existed. He also believes that he is Sakai Yuji. Seeing that the Flame Haze constantly refers to things as objects, Yuji insists for her name. After finding that she doesn’t have one, Yuji gives her the name Shana. This is after her sword, the Nietono no Shana. Elsewhere, Kazumi enters the bath after looking at a picture of her friends. She thinks to herself that she will ask Yukari for advice about Yuji, as Yukari’s face shifts in the photo outside. The next day at school, Yuji finds that Shana has taken Yukari’s place. She was able to do this by taking part of Yukari’s flame the previous day, and everyone now believes that she is simply Hirai Yukari. Yuji knows this is wrong, so he greets her as Shana before taking his seat. Finally taking his interest in the hougu into action, the Guze no Tonogara provides Marianne with a weapon.

Shana tries to prevent Yuji from leaving her sight at the end of school, and Kazumi notices that the Yukari from today seems a bit scary when Shana claims to be busy. Hayato asks Yuji to accompany him to the bookstore, but a Fuzetsu occurs at that moment. Yuji worries because of the location they are in, but Shana tells him that it doesn’t matter as long as he is there. Shana transforms and prepares for battle, while Yuji decides to move students out of harm’s way. The Rinne sends cards out to attack Yuji, but Shana blocks them with her cloak. Shana successfully stops the enemy Rinne, but Yuji panics at the sight of an injured Kazumi and Hayato. Shana prepares to finish off the doll Marianne after finding that she will not give her any answers, but her master Friagne appears to save her. Friagne soon disappears with Marianne, but not before announcing his plans to capture Yuji. Shana prepares to use Kazumi’s power of existence to repair the area afterwards, but Yuji cannot accept it while knowing the consequences. He instead offers his own power of existence for Shana to use.

Alastor recalls Shana’s large use of Yuji’s power of existence while she sits on top of his roof that night. Yuji soon comes up with an umbrella, offering for her to come inside because of the rain. Shana finally agrees, seeing the logic in being close to what she is guarding. Yuji panics when Shana begins taking off her clothes in front of him, so Shana makes him go into the closet. Yuji finds out more about Shana, and the possibility of another Flame Haze in the area. He suddenly hurts his hand inside, which makes him fall out of the closet to see Shana in just her panties. This makes Shana return to the roof in embarrassment, while Alastor brings up her sudden change of heart. Friagne further develops his plans with Marianne, while expressing that everything is for her sake. Elsewhere in the city, another Flame Haze named Margery Daw arrives with her Guze no O, Marchosias. The two sense another Flame Haze in the area, as does Shana. Kazumi decides to wait until she has more courage to give Yuji cookies that night, before taking a bite of one from the bag.

As they prepare to go to school the next day, Shana notices that Yuji’s power of existence has fully recovered from the previous night. This makes her and Alastor suspect the kind of hougu that is inside of him. Yuji takes note of the beating behavior of the torches around, as he walks in the city with Shana. Because neither she or Alastor can see this, Shana once again brings up Yuji’s unique hougu. She confirms that this is not normal behavior for torches, when a Jizaiho begins flowing through the city. Shana explains that this unrestricted method uses up power of existence, and that it is probably the work of the Flame Haze they sensed earlier. They are proved right, as Margery Daw chants on top of a building in the city. Friagne also notices the loss of torches in the city, and finds it to be a bother.

Shana confronts Margery Daw, and Yuji follows shortly afterwards. He wonders how she can dispose of torches so quickly, but Margery simply slaps him away from her. Tenjo no Goka, Alastor, calms Margery and Marchosias down, and the they share their information about the city around them. Friagne suddenly appears in front of them, so Margery and Shana prepare for battle. Friagne reveals his defensive ring to the girls after they find their attacks useless against him. He also unleashes another device, which takes hold of Shana’s sword. Margery and Marchosias are distracted by Friagne’s dolls, while Yuji notices yet another one of Friagne’s devices. Realizing that this bell will cause the dolls to explode, Yuji calls out to Shana so that she can dodge the blow. Friagne takes hold of Yuji, and uses him to block Shana’s attack when she charges towards him. Friagne floats away, inviting the girls to a high building later if they still wish to fight.

Yuji finds that Friagne’s plot is not for the hougu, but for something else eternal. Elsewhere in the city, Shana wonders about her actions, while Margery has a drink behind her. Margery eventually confronts Shana, so she expresses her will to fight. While waiting for Shana, Friagne reveals a weapon to Yuji. This gun, the Trigger Happy, has the ability to destroy a Flame Haze. Shana and Margery take off, so the battle starts soon after. Although she dodges his gunshots, Shana has trouble with Friagne’s exploding dolls. Yuji is blown back when trying to call out to Shana, and he notices something strange about the torches while looking out the gates. Noticing the bell in his hands, Yuji tells Shana that Friagne is after something bigger. Friagne confirms this to be the Miyako Kurai, something that will absorb the cities existence into one place.

Knowing that he is the only one who realizes the bell’s role in this, Yuji sets out to warn Shana. Marianne sets out to attack Shana, as she believes that Friagne can succeed with her sacrifice. Entangling Shana, she cues Friagne to ring the bell. He does, causing Shana to be knocked down. As the area around them burns, Friagne despairs at the loss of Marianne. He rings the bell once more, while preparing to fire at Shana. Yuji yells out for them to create a fuzetsu, which successfully stops the plan just in time. Friagne then aims his gun at Yuji, but only to have his fingers cut off by a shard of glass thrown by Shana. Friagne shoots at Shana right after this, causing her to fall into flames. However, Alastor’s power is revealed as he reappears as a huge behemoth. Alastor tells Friagne that Shana wll not explode, as he destroys Friagne with his extreme power.

Yuji prepares to disappear in the aftermath, finding his flame to be too small. Strangely, he no longer finds it painful to die. He only wishes to do what he can at the moment, but Shana confirms that he has done this from the start. Yuji asks for one thing from Shana, for her to use this name from now on. Shana agrees to do so with a smile, as the clock tower rings at midnight. Surprised that he is still alive, Yuji looks to see Shana and Alastor laughing. They explain that this is his hougu’s ability, to restore his power of existence every night. However, the fact that he has become a dangerous existence does not change. Yuji confirms to Shana that he has no problem with this, as they hold hands and look into the distance.

Insert Song: “Akai Namida” by Kawada Mami

ED: “Tenjou wo Kakeru Monotachi” by Love Planet Five

Impression:

Yes, like everyone else, I have been waiting for this movie ever since it was announced. So obviously, I was very excited to finally be able to watch it today. The animation was beautiful as expected, and I loved the sountrack. I have been listening to the I’ve Sound insert songs for awhile now, so I actually sang along when they started playing in the movie. Seeing my favorite characters and hearing all the great seiyus playing their parts really brought back great memories. This movie is basically a retelling of the original anime series, so what’s different? Well, not much. Most of the introduction is almost exactly the same as the first few episodes of the anime. The ending is definitely a twist though. Alastor plays a much bigger role, and the results were kind of shocking. With Shana 2 coming just around the corner, this movie was perfect to revive my memories of the series. Will I be blogging the sequel? I’m still not sure yet. I know that this will be widely covered by many, and I usually let those kinds of series go unless they are love comedies. However, this movie just might have brought back my interests. Either way, I’ll definitely be watching it. Get your melon bread really for the next season!