Burning-Eyed Shana, written by Yashichiro Takahashi, with illustration by Noizi lto,
212 pages with illustrations, ISBN 978-986-7299-88-8, Taipei: Jiao Chuan Publishing
Co. 2005, NT$250.00.
Book Review of Burning-Eyed Shana b101099101 曾士剛
Burning-Eyed Shana detailed an age-old conflict between those who inhabited
the Crimson Realm, a parallel universe to the human world. The Crimson Realm was
populated by Crimson Denizens, who were able to manipulate the Power of Existence,
a fundamental power within any biological entity and functions as "fuel" for one's
existence. Denizens whose power stood out among their peers were known as Lords
of the Crimson Realm. Denizens did not care about the balance between the Crimson
Realm and the human world, collecting the Power of Existence from humans to use
for their own purposes. Some Lords contracted with humans to become a Flame Haze,
whose duty was to maintain the two world's balance by destroying any Denizens
disrupting it. The story started from a red-eyed girl called Shana, portraying how this
conflict ended.
Some think this imaginary novel is good, because it consists of fantasy,
romance, action, and plenty of moral lessons; however, I think the introduction of “the
Power of Existence” is the actual reason. In the first chapter, Shana told her human
explained how something gives an impact on its surroundings, and in her point of
view, this is also how human beings can feel this world. All living things are doing
their best to let others sense this world, so we have no right to neglect their hard work
which help us form memories and knowledge. We are impossible to sense ourselves
without the existence of other living things. Cherishing every moment is all what we
should do.
Overall, Burning-Eyed Shana is an interesting and inspiring novel;
nevertheless, I have some suggestion to make it even better. First of all, Yuji’s high
school life was too trivial, and I would advise the author to put more effort on the
change of his mind, especially when he knew the Power of Existence. Second, the
romance of the story should be more practical lest it should interfere with the main
idea; otherwise, I might doubt that Shana’s goal was really important. The last one, I
would recommend that the author should put more detail on some characters, such as,
why they think this way. If she can improve all of these, her next work must be my
