Characters / Shakugan no Shana

Character page for Shakugan no Shana. Due to the length of the series, there will be unmarked spoilers.

Main Characters

General Tropes

• Battle Couple: Unofficially, Yuji and Shana become this once he develops tactical sense and, later, fighting ability. It's unofficial because they don't confess mutual love until they're technically on opposite sides. They "officially" become this once they travel to Xanadu and hunt down Denizens that refuse to live in peace.
• Eternal Love: Yuji and Shana since they're both ageless, so both need to be very committed to each other to stay together forever.
• Strong Girl, Smart Guy: Yuji starts out as an average guy who mostly relies on his intelligence and analysis skills to help Shana in battle, while Shana is a tough monster fighter who was raised to be the perfect Flame Haze. Yuji becomes more combat-capable after regular training with Shana, but never comes to match her except when hosting the Snake of the Festival.

Yuji Sakai

The World-wandering Ascetic

Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (JP), Kristian Ayre (Geneon), Josh Grelle (Funimation) (EN)

Yuji, the Supporting Protagonist, is just an average high school student. However, his world is turned upside down when he discovers that he is already dead and does not have much time before he disappears. Fortunately, Yuji is a Mystes who contains a Treasure known as the Midnight Lost Child (Reiji Maigo). The Treasure inside him restores his Power of Existence every night at midnight. With the Midnight Lost Child, Yuji has the possibility to live on like an average human as long as he makes sure that his Power of Existence does not run out before midnight. Yuji is a kind person who puts others before himself. This often causes much confusion and annoyance in the Flame Haze Shana, as prior Torches she encountered exhibited selfish attitudes. However, Yuji's compassion and empathy sow the seeds of attraction between him and Shana.

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• Above the Influence: He and Hayato are the only boys in their class to refuse to try to sneak a peak at the girls while they're at the hot spring. As such, they're the only ones to not be kicked out by the girls, who anticipated the boys' antics.
• Accidental Pervert: Yuji falls out of the closet a bit too early while Shana is changing.
  Shana: I should have hit him at least ten more times.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: He has brown eyes in the light novels, but they are blue in the anime.
  • Additionally, his flame in the final battle with Shana received a dye job, going from a black flame that represented the influence the Snake of Festival had on him to an azure flame that contrasts with Shana's crimson.
• The Ageless: The final light novel confirms that he will never age after he becomes a complete existence, courtesy of Leanan-sidhe's Unrestricted Spell.
  • Even prior to his becoming a complete existence he was this, as the Midnight Lost Child perpetually replenished his Power of Existence.
• Angst? What Angst?: Invoked. He cares more about people being sad because of him dying than of death itself. To be exact, he's even glad that death would turn him into a Ret-Gone, because of his nature as a torch. He does angst about his own identity twice or thrice, but usually whenever he's worried, it's about everybody but himself, who's the resident Tomato in the Mirror.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Yuji demonstrates a keen tactical mind that makes him integral in Shana's victories against her enemies. Among his feats are:
  • Figuring out Friagne is using Rinne as suicide bombers and saving Shana from being caught by surprise.
  • Realizing that Friagne's use of the Treasure Tool Dance Party to detonate the Rinne is a decoy, and that he's actually priming the Devourer of the City spell to go off. He orders Shana to cast a Seal, trapping Friagne in a Phantom Zone where Dance Party's signal can't reach the Torches outside.
  • Deducing that Sorath and Tiriel are using a Treasure Tool to create their unusual Seal. While Shana and Alastor also realize this, Yuji has only just begun to get involved in the conflict between Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens, and this demonstrates how quickly he picks up the rules and implications of this new world. He also is the one who figures out how the Treasure Tool, Cradle Garden, works and together with Margery comes up with the plan to neutralize it.
  • Unraveling the secret to how Sabrac is able to come back after being destroyed, specifically figuring out that the body the Flame Hazes are fighting is just a fragment of Sabrac's entire being, which has been infused into the entirety of Misaki City. He also comes up with the plan to separate Sabrac's current body (which holds his consciousness) from the rest of his essence so that they might permanently kill him. Had Sabrac not had a special Treasure Tool to help him escape, it would have worked, and even so it still forced him to retreat.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's one of the nicest and most empathetic people in the series, but he's not soft. Yuji consistently demonstrates a ruthless streak when it comes to protecting his loved ones and himself, ranging from intimidating a bullying PE teacher to snapping a Denizen's neck with his bare hands to trying to kill Wilhelmina when her guard was down after she tried to kill him.
• Brainy Brunette: During most the fight scenes, he's usually the one overseeing Shana's moves and detecting flaws in enemy Crimson Denizens.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Prior to meeting Shana, he was a completely average guy in terms of athletics and academics. When he starts applying himself to aid Shana in protecting the world from dangerous Crimson Denizens, he is revealed to be exceptionally cunning and in possession of a keen analytical mind.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Invoked once in manga; in the light novels and anime, Yuji is a rather odd case as he is aware of Shana's feelings for him but was waiting for her to spit it out just to make sure. It's ironically subverted as after Shana confirms her feelings with her love letter, Yuji, who merged with the Snake of Festival, confesses his feelings for her almost in every chance he gets.
• Cast from Hit Points: As the Mystes of the Midnight Lost Child, Yuji can lend his power to Shana, and later, cast his own Unrestricted Spells, using his very existence. This is not debilitating unless he uses up all of it before it can be replenished at midnight, and even that is mitigated by his massive reserves following his synchronization with Hecate.
• Chewing the Scenery: When Yuji freaks out and begins screaming in custody of Zarovee. Justified in that he's trying to attract Tanaka's attention, who he knows can alert Margery and Shana to what's going on.
• Chick Magnet: Downplayed in that he really only catches two girls' eye (Shana and Kazumi), and maybe a third's (Hecate). The light novels also imply that Yukari had a crush on Yuji, in contrast to her anime counterpart who had a crush on Ike.
• The Defroster: Before she met Yuji, Shana only focused on her mission as a Flame Haze and cared about nothing else. Yuji approaches Shana to teach her about morals and empathy, including giving her the name "Shana" to make her realize she's a person before a Flame Haze. Gradually, Shana warms up to Yuji and grows to love him, becoming more open and caring towards him and others.
• Defusing The Tykebomb: From the moment Yuji meets Shana, he tries to change her original worldview as the "perfect Flame Haze" and even gives her a name. Eventually, Yuji's influence changes Shana, making her think of herself as more than just a Flame Haze.
  • His motives as a whole. One of the major reasons he joins Bal Masqué is to create a future where Shana doesn't have to be warrior forever.
• Devoted to You: Shana's love for Yuji becomes as important as being a Flame Haze to her identity and purpose. She won't let anything stop her devotion to Yuji, not even Yuji himself, who at the end of the war tries to estrange himself from Shana to atone for his crimes as the Snake of the Festival.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: He has to join a Forever War, fight many superhuman enemies, and train in numerous abilities before his adventure is over. This is most prominent in the story's final arc, where he seeks an end to the Forever War between Crimson Denizens and Flame Hazes so Shana won't become a casualty in it. He himself describes this trope when thinking about how his path will be "long and difficult" but worth it if he gets what he wants.
• Fatal Flaw: Insensitivity and self-destruction. He's loving, selfless, and empathetic, which paradoxically means that when he realizes or just thinks that a certain course of action would benefit his loved ones he'll do it unilaterally, regardless of the personal cost to himself or of his loved ones' feelings. Case in point, Yuji joining the Snake of the Festival all in order to save Shana, protect humanity, and resurrect the citizens of Misaki City killed by Crimson Denizens.
• First-Name Basis: With Shana. Granted, she only has one name, but he doesn't use Honorifics when addressing her.
• Good Is Not Nice: Yuji breaks the Crimson Denizen Zarovee's neck with his bare hands! And after he joins the Snake of the Festival, he brutally beats Shana in battle (temporarily traumatizing her) and then imprisons her, drives Margery past the Despair Event Horizon, and demoralizes the Flame Haze army arrayed against him to the point that they prove easy prey for his followers.. Most of his actions are largely pragmatic in nature, but some of them have no reasonable explanation other than Yuji being a dick.
• Guile Hero: While he isn't as capable in combat as Shana, Yuji shows a great amount intelligence and logic that helps him think up smart strategies to fight off their enemies.
• Heroic Willpower: As several characters note, Yuji manages to take his Tomato in the Mirror and the whole "being dead" thing, which would cause any normal person to have a Heroic BSoD on the spot, calmly enough that it freaks other people out.
• Idiot Hair: Despite being smart, he has the hair antenna, thus making this a Inverted Trope.
• I Just Want to Be Badass: At first, his desire is to become stronger in order to fight alongside Shana.
• Immortality: Considering that it replenishes his existence every night, the Midnight Lost Child will make him live forever. In the manga, he freaks out for a moment when Shana casually informs him that the previous Mystes of Midnight Lost Child lived for three hundred years. It only takes him a moment later to change his mind and considers this a good thing because it means he can stay with Shana forever. Once he becomes a solid existence at the end of the story, he no longer needs the Midnight Lost Child to be ageless.
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: Shana and Alastor refer to him as an "it" at first, due to only seeing him as a Torch.
• Jade-Coloured Glasses: Becomes this over time after realizing that the Flame Hazes are fighting a Forever War against the Crimson Denizens. This eventually leads him to make a contract with the Snake of the Festival, determined to change their fates, along with Shana's.
• Jumped at the Call: He figures that he's going to disappear soon anyway, so he should help Shana protect Misaki City while he can.
• Love at First Punch: Shana gets him run through with a sword when they first meet (granted, being a Torch meant that is was neither fatal or even painful, but it was still very traumatizing). It didn't stop Yuji from blushing when Shana got closer to fix him up.
• MacGuffin Super-Person: The Mystes with the Midnight Lost Child, which Bal Masqué desires and the Flame Hazes want to make sure they never get.
• Magic Kiss: In the second-to-the-final novel (final episode of the anime), Yuji becomes a solid existence thanks to a spell activated as a result of kissing Shana.
• Manly Tears: Sports these during the final episode◊ of season 3, after angsting over how he will, and should, never be forgiven for the ruthless actions he took to change the fate of humanity, Flame Hazes, and Crimson Denizens.
• The Matchmaker: He tried to be this for Ike and Yukari, hoping that them getting together would keep Yukari from disappearing (or at least ensure Hayato remembers her), but failed.
• Meaningful Name: His father later reveals that Yuji actually had an older brother who died at birth. Thus, in memory of the first baby and from the parents' wish, the second baby was given the name Yuji, which means "Second (child) who shall live long".
  • Literal translation of his name is 'Tranquil Second Child' and his last name Sakai refer to slop from Hirasaka.
• Morality Pet: Is this for Shana, who originally was indifferent and even callous towards human life. His selfless willingness to lay down his life for his fatally-injured classmates is a significant challenge to Shana's pessimistic worldview, and the catalyst for her evolution.
• Mission Control: His role in the Battle Couple is initially provide to Shana with information and tactical advice so she can fight more effectively.
• Nice Guy: He's friendly, selfless, and compassionate. However, while Yuji is a Nice Guy in all of Shakugan no Shana's media incarnations, the anime tends to overemphasize his Nice Guy traits, while the original light novels and manga establish that he has pretty ruthless streak. Incidents that indicate this, such as Yuji trying to kill Wilhelmina when her guard is down in retaliation for her trying to kill him, are downplayed or even omitted. This makes Yuji's joining the Snake of the Festival rather more jarring in the anime.
• Non-Action Guy: At first he's got next to no ability and is often in Shana's way when fighting the Crimson Denizens. Then he starts getting training from Shana (and later Wilhelmina) and gets Blutsauger, and merges with the Snake of the Festival in the final part of the story.
• Oblivious to Love:
  • In the anime, this is Lampshaded by himself. He had to get Hayato's help to realize Kazumi's feeling toward him and is still very oblivious to Shana's love.
  • In the novels, it's clear that he's not that oblivious to Shana's love, but he's rather waiting for her to take the first step, just to be sure... which is interesting, since it's traditionally the man who's expected to take this step.
• One Head Taller: Than Shana, because she is a "midget".
• One Hero, Hold the Weaksauce: Yuji is a Torch, which means that he's supposed to disappear when his Power of Existence runs to zero. However, because of the Treasure inside him, he can keep restoring his Existence indefinitely.
• Ordinary High-School Student: He was perfectly ordinary when his Power of Existence was devoured and turned into a Torch. It was the Midnight Lost Child that changed this.
• Pitbull Dates Puppy: His relationship with Shana, at least early on. Yuji is a kind-hearted and sensitive Non-Action Guy, while Shana is a tough Tsundere monster fighter who has No Social Skills and at first doesn't care about anything or anyone, only thinking about fighting.
• Power Dyes Your Hair: In the third and final season of the anime adaptation, Yuji's hair changes from dark brown to black after merging with the Snake of the Festival. It stayed in that color in the end.
• Power Makes Your Hair Grow: Dantalion created the Unrestricted Spell "Dragon Tail" and gave it to Yuji when the latter merged with the Snake of the Festival. With it, he can extend his hair to whatever length he wishes and even weaponize it. However, after Dantalion was killed in an explosion, Dragon Tail was rendered inaccessible, giving Shana the chance to cut Yuji's hair back to its original length.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Shana's Red because he is more cautious and thoughtful.
• Ret-Gone: After merging with the Snake of the Festival, Yuji disappears in the same way a Torch would. All his belongings disappear and all of his human friends (save Kazumi, Keisaku, and Eita) forget him; even his mother forgets about him, sadly and innocently enjoying her soon-to-be-born baby as her "only" child. The only thing that didn't disappear was Shana's and Kazumi's letters.
• Ridiculously Average Guy: Appears to be this as he is not exceptionally good-looking, is not an ace student, not particularly athletic, and does not appear to have any particular passions or hobbies. Then he's caught up in the Forever War, where he demonstrates cunning, courage, selflessness, and even ruthlessness. Justified, as his decidedly un-average traits are not frequently called upon in average life.
• Snot Bubble: Has one during the Shana-tan omakes.
• The Strategist: Yuji discovers the secret behind Friagne's Dance Party weapon, the secret behind Sabrac's invulnerability and how to defeat him, how to end the Forever War and save numerous humans, Flame Hazes, and Denizens, and finally how to resurrect all the humans of Misaki City whose existence had been devoured.
• Supporting Protagonist: The story is his viewpoint of Shana's part in the Forever War. Then he becomes Snake of the Festival and becomes more of a deuteragonist.
• Token Good Teammate: Originally, Shana and the other Flame Hazes cared more for preserving the balance over protecting innocent lives. Yuji was the only one who cared about protecting people, but his influence turns Shana, and, to a lesser extent, Margery and Wilhelmina, to his way of thinking. And then, when he merges with the Snake of the Festival and leads Bal Masqué, he (and the Snake) are the only ones to care about protecting human lives. The rest of Bal Masqué's leadership, the Trinity, could care less about humanity, and one of them, Hecate, is notorious for casually murdering humans.
• Tomato in the Mirror: He has to find out that he's a Torch, the diminishing "flame" of a person who lost the majority of his/her life force to a Denizen. Usually that would mean that he's doomed to be become a Ret-Gone, but a MacGuffin is protecting him from this fate.
• Took a Level in Badass: A few of them, actually, due to his regular training sessions with Shana and others in order to develop his combat ability. Becoming a vessel for Snake of the Festival results in one such level.
• Unstoppable Rage: In one of the novels, Yuji goes completely insane, and brutally attacks and almost kills Wilhelmina with Blutsauger after the latter's attempt to make Shana give up on him by force. Since Wilhelmina's idea of making Shana give up on him involved killing him, his fury is rather justified.
• Useless Protagonist: Downplayed. At first, he has no fighting skills, so the first episodes are his perspective of Shana's fights. Nevertheless, he's key to figuring out Friagne's plan and gives Shana critical advice on how to stop him. As the story progresses, he builds his skillset to move even further and further from this trope.
• Weak, but Skilled: In contrast to Shana's Unskilled, but Strong, Yuji is not that strong (though he has potential), even after becoming capable of beating the tar out of a Crimson Denizen. His real utility lies in tactical acumen, meaning he usually serves as Mission Control to Shana's Action Girl. This gets turned around when he becomes the Snake of the Festival.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Shana. They end up in a romantic relationship at the end of the series.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Subverted. Shana tells him right at the start of the series that he's going to burn out soon, but thanks to the artifact inside him that continuously refills the depleted Power of Existence that sustains him, he is free to continue doing whatever. ^note  It'd be tricky if that wasn't the case since he's the protagonist. Averted at the end, where a spell from Leanan-sidhe returns him to a state of complete existence.

Shana

Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter

^{Click here to see her as a civilian}

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (JP), Tabitha St. Germain (Geneon), Cherami Leigh (Funimation) (EN)

Shana is the female lead and a Flame Haze. At the beginning of the story, Shana is solely concerned with her duty as a Flame Haze. Her life is one of constant fighting, and she's so dismissive of her humanity that she doesn't even bear a name. One day, during another fight, Shana meets Yuji. Because of the Treasure Tool inside him, she decides to stay to keep a close watch at him and takes the identity of his classmate Yukari Hirai. She sees Yuji as nothing more than another Torch though, an object interesting only because of its status. However, as Yuji begins to demonstrate perplexing selflessness and courage, particularly human traits, she slowly opens up to him, coming to think of him as an actual person. Going through many different battles together, Shana eventually comes to fall in love with Yuji. Yuji eventually names Shana after her Sword, Nietono no Shana. Shana has a funny habit of saying 'Urusai' ('Shut up!') three times in a row whenever Yuji makes a remark which disturbs her way of seeing things. Also Shana is very fond of melon bread.

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• Academic Athlete: She's the best athlete in the school and gets perfect grades without ever needing to study.
• The Ace: She's considered the most powerful Flame Haze, and is the best student and athlete in the school.
  • In the light novels and manga, Friagne uses Trigger Happy on her to force Alastor to manifest. Usually a Flame Haze's existence is not enough to contain a Crimson Lord's fully-awoken power and the manifestation kills them. Unfortunately for Friagne, Alastor reveals that Shana possessed such great talent that, had she not become a Flame Haze, she would have altered the course of history (what a 19th-century historian would call a "great man," i.e., Alexander the Great, Caesar, Napoleon, etc.). As a result, her existence can contain Alastor's full manifestation, meaning that not only does she not die but Alastor still has a host, allowing him to remain on Earth without destabilizing the balance.
• Action Girl: She was raised from childhood to fight Crimson Denizens and is a powerful swordswoman with fire powers.
• Action Girlfriend: She's one to the (initially) Non-Action Guy that is Yuji Sakai, because she is the reason he was pulled into the Forever War she's fighting against Crimson Denizens.
• A-Cup Angst: An exceptionally mild version. She only indicates twice that she might be dissatisfied with her breast size during the entirety of the anime. A side story in the novels has her showing blatant irritation toward Margery flaunting her own large chest, leading to the two Volleying Insults.
• Anime Chinese Girl: Shana was found originally in Hong Kong, likely making her this in ethnicity. She even wore a qipao during her training prior to being a Flame Haze.
• Anti-Hero: Initially, she cared nothing for the damage she caused or the lives lost. She just focused on killing Denizens.
• Badass Adorable: This is a little girl who goes up against monsters capable of devouring the existence of humans, and is one of the best fighters at that.
• Badass in Distress: While being kept captive by Snake of the Festival Yuji.
• Badass Longcoat: It's technically a fragment of Alastor's wing, and contains Hammerspace where she stores weapons.
• Barehanded Blade Block: Pulled this off in a flashback when she awakens to her abilities. Deconstructed because catching a blade with one's bare hands naturally leads to injury and she is shown visibly injured.
• Bathing Beauty: She doesn't need to bathe at all, since she can just use Alastor's "purifying flame" to cleanse herself. She just spends an hour or so every day soaking in hot water because she enjoys it.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: She wanted Yuji to become stronger so he could fight by her side. While he was quickly becoming a competent fighter due to her, Wilhelmina, and Margery's tutelage and the large amount of Power of Existence he possessed, he eventually became much more powerful by merging with the Snake of the Festival and it didn't go at all as she expected.
• Betty and Veronica: Veronica to Kazumi's Betty, because she is a mysterious and Tsundere girl who appeared in Yuji's life from out of nowhere.
• Blade Reflection: The Trope picture. It also crops up a lot in official artworks, namely the final season's second ending credits, which has a reflection of Yuji as the Snake of the Festival.
• Bodyguard Crush: As part of her duty as a Flame Haze, Shana must look after Yuji because of the Midnight Lost Child inside him. It took her a while to admit that there was a more personal reason.
• Book Smart: Shana excels academically as well as athletically on her first day at school, being a superhuman and all.
• Break the Haughty: Snake of the Festival Yuji utterly beats Shana down, captures her and seals her powers; ALL OF THIS after he already confessed his love for her and is still confessing at any time given. She got better.
• Cannot Spit It Out: She either stops talking of her own will, or is cut off by a Moment Killer.
• Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest: Shana refuses to strip in front of Yuji, showing she sees him as more than a Torch (a mere "thing").
• Catchphrase: Whenever she gets frustrated, she'll shout "Urusai, urusai, urusai!"^note "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Her chibi form in the omake uses a childish, slurred form of this. Enough to qualify as a Shout-Out when done by her VA in similar roles (see Pigeonholed Voice Actor).
• Chaste Heroine: Since she was merely raised for combat, Shana knows little to nothing about romance and sexuality. She didn't even know about the significance of kissing until Chigusa explained it to her. At one point, she starts asking everyone how babies are made, which makes for some really awkward moments...
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Shana doesn't take it well when Yuji hangs out with Yoshida or Konoe but can't bring herself to openly show romantic affection for him. What's more, she once thinks of cutting Yoshida down while the latter is frozen in a Fuzetsu.
• Clothing Damage: Shana ends up partially or completely naked during especially difficult fights.
• Coat Cape: Shana frequently forgoes the sleeves of her Badass Longcoat and wears it as a Badass Cape.
• Crucified Hero Shot: When Sorath and Tiriel caught her in episode 12, vines held her up in this fashion. It's fitting, given what she attempts in the finale of that season.
• Curtains Match the Window: When she's in Flame Haze mode, her hair and eyes turn red.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: As Alastor's Flame Haze, she is able to materialize Alastor in the living world, causing widespread damage in a large area. However, casting the spell costs an enormous amount of Power of Existence and it will likely kill the Flame Haze. Shana uses this spell once, but manages to survive thanks to having enough Power of Existence (this is in the anime season 1, where it is used as a climax much later after they fought and killed Friagne.)
  • In the light novel, manga and the movie, Shana is depicted as the Great One of Alastor, that is a being with exceptional capacity as a vessel, able to hold the whole of Alastor's being, even when forcibly summoned after Shana gets shot by Friagne using Trigger Happy.
• Dead Person Impersonation: Sort of. She "becomes" Yukari Hirai after she fades away by absorbing her remaining Power of Existence, thus preserving everyone's memories about her and making them recognize her as Yukari.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Shana starts off cold and not caring for anyone. She sees herself as 'just a Flame Haze' and Yuji as 'just a Torch'. After some heartwarming from Yuji she comes to realize that he is more than just a Torch and warms up to him.
• Demon Slaying: Her entire life is based on slaying demons.
• Deuteragonist: She is of equal importance as Yuji in regards to the plot, although the latter is ultimately the one driving the story forward.
• Devoted to You: Yuji becomes so obsessed with her that he willingly becomes the Snake of the Festival so he can create a world in which Shana can have life where, if not exactly peaceful, it isn't one where she's trapped in a Forever War that will inevitably end in her death.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Although compared to other anime Tsunderes she doesn't beat Yuji up too much; she still gets to beat him up more frequently in the manga.
• Dramatic Drop: Shana drops the cell phone she's using when Margery informs her over the phone that the immensely powerful Crimson Lord they sensed entering Misaki City is Yuji, who had been missing for several weeks.
• Elemental Hair Colors: Her hair turns red when she uses her fire powers. Also qualifies for Elemental Eye Colors because her eyes turn red too.
• Elemental Personalities: She has fire-based abilities and her temper is very fiery until she starts to soften.
• Empathic Weapon: Nietono no Shana, due to containing Tenmoku Ikko's spirit, responds to her cries. You know how samurai consider themselves to be a sword for their master? It's literal in this sense.
• Fiery Redhead: She's an abrasive Tsundere whose hair is red when she uses her powers. She does mellow out over time, though.
• First-Name Basis: With Yuji. Unlike his classmates, she never calls him "Sakai".
• Flaming Hair: While normal in form, when she activates her Flame Haze powers her hair is colored like a blazing flame with ember-like sparks flying off.
• Flaming Sword: Being the Flame Haze of the Flame of Heaven, Shana can set the Nietono no Shana on fire.
• Foil: She and Yuji, as lampshaded by the latter.
  • Both are the contractees to not merely Crimson Lords, but Crimson Gods.
  • Both are motivated by love for one another; Shana's goal is to redeem Yuji, while Yuji's is to create a future where Shana can find peace and avoid becoming a casualty of the Forever War.
  • Both are leaders of their respective factions; Yuji as leader of Bal Masqué, Shana as leader of the Flame Haze making a last-ditch effort to thwart Bal Masqué's plans.
  • Both have had enormous influence on the other's development; Shana becomes kinder and more empathetic under Yuji's influence while Yuji becomes more ruthless and aggressive under hers.
  • Both wield unique swords; Shana's Nietono no Shana can cut through virtually anything, even that held to be indestructible, while Yuji's Blutsauger can, when infused with Power of Existence, cause injury to anyone it merely touches.
  • Both are immortal.
  • Both are hit by Just a Machine, with Shana being a Flame Haze, a "hunting tool," and Yuji being a Torch, a normally impermanent copy of a dead person.
  • Both, over the course of the story, find and define their identities, acknowledging and embracing "what" they are (a Flame Haze, a Torch), while also transcending it.
• Friendly Rivalry: Develops this with Kazumi later, with Hayato noting that they appear to be best friends despite their love rivalry.
• Fun Size: Shana-tan is smaller and cuter.
• The Gadfly: She's usually serious and no-nonsense, but whenever her sense of humor is revealed it tends to be of this variety. One notable example takes place after her and Yuji's battle with Friagne. Yuji just has dregs of Power of Existence left and, assuming he's dying, gives Shana a touching farewell. Shana takes it in with a straight face, not telling Yuji he has the Midnight Lost Child and that his power is seconds away from being replenished. When his power is restored, Shana dissolves into hysterical laughter at Yuji's utter shock.
• Girlish Pigtails: She wears her hair in pigtails sometimes, which is fitting for her Tsundere personality.
• Godiva Hair: Several times when she's shown in the nude, her long hair covers anything important.
• Go-Go Enslavement: Sort of. While Yuji as the Snake of the Festival keeps her captive in Seireiden, her wardrobe consists of fancy dresses, including an Elegant Gothic Lolita one. However, there's no indication Yuji forces her to wear them (and in fact appears pleasantly taken aback when she wears said Elegant Gothic Lolita dress), suggesting that the real reason behind her fashion choices is that these were simply the clothes available during her captivity (she is kept in a medieval-esque castle, after all). If anything, it is more like the Gilded Cage treatment since everyone except Hecate is treating her like a princess.
• Goofy Print Underwear: The first episode of Season 3 shows that Shana wears panties that have a rather childish anime character on the seat.
• Gratuitous English: This happens when she corrects the teacher during English class. The sentence "That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet" can just barely be understood.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: She comes to understand and accept her feelings for Yuji when Kazumi confronts her and tells her she's going to confess to him and pursue him more actively.
• Green-Eyed Monster: After Kazumi approaches Yuji, having become taken with him after he stood up for her to the abusive PE teacher, Shana quickly becomes displeased by the rapport growing between them and yanks Yuji out of class with her to hunt for Friagne. The manga gives readers a glimpse of Shana's thoughts during this encounter, revealing she doesn't understand what exactly is going and what's she's feeling, but she doesn't like it. Rather than pull Yuji away, she bodily drags him out of the classroom.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Shana probably had a short temper by nature, but being raised by non-humans left her without the patience for or understanding of basic human behavior, making her even more volatile. Add in the fact that she was raised since she was a toddler to be a warrior (an occupation where aggression is the default solution to any problem) and it's no wonder why Shana gets so angry, so often. As she begins to socialize with other people over the course of the series she mellows out considerably, though it is still somewhat easier to set her off than with other people (and if you do, watch out).
• Hammerspace: Her Badass Longcoat can appear out of nowhere, and she keeps her sword in it. Of course, it is explicitly magical.
• Hates Being Alone: She realizes this in the first fight she enters without Yuji since she met him.
• Hot-Blooded: When it comes to fighting, Shana is all-in, all the time, relying on her fierce determination to be the perfect Flame Haze to carry her through the fight. She also demonstrates this while feuding with Kazumi over Yuji, literally summoning flames and ranting about her bond with Yuji is much deeper than Kazumi can imagine whilst the latter is frozen within a Seal.
• Hot Wings: She gains a pair of fiery wings relatively early on. It's worth noting that many Flame Hazes and Denizens can fly unaided.
• I Can Change My Beloved: After Yuji becomes Snake of the Festival, she makes her goal to defeat him and redeem him in order to be with him. It helps that Yuji has legitimately good reasons for doing what he's doing, with the point of contention about how feasible his dream is and way he's pursuing it.
• Idiot Hair: Despite being an excellent student, she has the sticking-up-hair. She's a bit of a Leeroy Jenkins at first, but becomes more strategic later.
• Ignored Confession: At the end of Season 1, Shana confesses to Yuji that she loves him when they think they are going to die, but he barely heard it and considers it so unlikely that he thinks he's probably misheard it.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: To Yuji after he becomes Snake of the Festival, because she thinks she needs to beat the Snake out of him. However, it quickly becomes clear he isn't being controlled.
• Image Song: EXIST, Blue Sky & EXIST II.
• Immortal Immaturity: Her age is unknown, but she certainly doesn't behave much more mature than most Adorably Precocious Child examples. Part of it is due to her sheltered life.
• In a Single Bound: Before she gets wings, she jumps high.
• Indifferent Beauty: While this series has its share of beautiful girls, Shana is acknowledged as a very beautiful girl by Crimson Denizens she 'hunted' and they note it in rumors they circulate on her. She doesn't care, which is pretty understandable due to how she was raised as a perfect vessel for Alastor.
  Friagne: "Flame Haze of Nietono no Shana. How beautiful you are, just like the rumor."
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: Shana used to strip naked in front of others and let Alastor purify her with fire instead of bathing. Fortunately, Sophie Sawallisch managed to shame her out of it before she met Yuji.
• Insistent Terminology: She was originally a bit irritated with Yuji's naming her "Shana." After she begins to fall in love with him, and especially after she accepts her feelings for him and openly comes to value him (though confessing her love remains an issue for a while), she insists that she be called both the "Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter" and "Shana."
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She can be a rather big insensitive jerk and her usual treatment of Yuji doesn't help. Justified due to limited social interaction. She's a good person deep down, which becomes more obvious thanks to Yuji and Chigusa.
• Katanas Are Just Better: A nodachi, to be precise, is the only physical weapon she ever uses, even when she acquires others.
• Lack of Empathy: Initially, Shana considers Torches to be "things," and even when dealing with humans, doesn't see any reason why they should matter to her. This causes her a fair bit of grief, particularly when she fails to take Yuji's feelings into account, despite him mattering very much to her indeed.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Not tactically, but quite strategically. While she plans her actual, immediate combat moves quickly but carefully, her default solution is to attack the enemy directly until she kills them, which is not always an option. There's a reason why Yuji is usually the one to figure out how to actually defeat the enemy (Friagne, the Aizen twins (to a degree), Sabrac, etc.).
  • She does get better by the third season, largely due to the fact that after the Flame Hazes' defeat by Bal Masqué at the Palace of the Stars, only she and a handful of Flame Hazes are able and willing to continue the fight. These Flame Hazes look to her for leadership, and she does an admirable job in formulating a plan to alter Xanadu's creation to prevent Crimson Denizens from eating humans in the new world. Unfortunately, Bal Masqué's strategist Bel Peol anticipated such a plan.
• Legacy Character: The second Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter after Mathilde Saint-Omer.
• Lethal Chef: Her original attempts to cook, even under Chigusa's supervision, were disasterous. Eventually she learns better.
• Lie to the Beholder: Thanks to having absorbed Yukari Hirai's remaining Power of Existence, normal people perceive Shana as Yukari despite them looking nothing alike.
• Little Miss Badass: She's among the shortest characters in the cast, but it belies her nature as one of the most powerful Flame Hazes in the story.
• Love Hurts: In the early part of the series, her growing feelings for Yuji, which she does not understand, cause angst, frustration, and self-doubt that Margery and Friagne ruthlessly exploit in their fights with her.
• Love Is a Weakness: Alastor suggests killing Yuji, and Wilhelmina actually does try to kill him, because Shana's attraction to him was distracting her from her duty as a Flame Haze and making her emotionally vulnerable. They fail to recognize that they are also at fault for Shana's condition because the way in which they raised her is a major reason why she reacts to love in this way.
• Mentor Archetype: She begins training Yuji to fight Crimson Denizens after the latter learns he won't disappear like most Mystes and Torches. This backfires on her spectacularly when Yuji ends up putting that training to use against the Flame Hazes, as the leader of Bal Masqué.
• Morality Chain: Shana appoints herself as Yuji's at the end of the series. Rather than let him separate himself from her in penance, she insists that she accompany him on his quest for true peace between Denizens and humans, correcting him and keeping him on the straight and narrow when necessary.
• Ms. Fanservice: Shana has a few issues with keeping her clothes on during the series and has at least two Furo Scenes.
• Mundane Utility: She mentions that she doesn't need to bathe, since she can just use Alastor's "purifying flame" to cleanse herself.
• Named Weapons: Her nodachi, Nietono no Shana.
• The Napoleon: She's one of the shortest characters, and has a pretty nasty temperament at first, often beating up Yuji.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Demonstrates this twice with her Badass Longcoat. Once after beating up Yuji for dropping in while she was changing, and again when her school uniform is slashed neatly down the chest by Sorath.
• Never Given a Name: Shana was raised since childhood to be a warrior and was not given a name, though she was sometimes referred to as the "Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter". When Yuji asked for her name, she said she didn't have one and didn't see the point; when addressed among other Hazes, she is called "Nietono no Shana" after her nodachi. Yuji decided to name her Shana and she eventually accepted it. This raises the strange question if swords are equally or more important than Hazes, since they're given names while their users aren't.
• No Social Skills: She was raised for combat, and Alastor and Wilhemina failed to see the importance of anything besides that, not even a name. As a result, Shana is unaware of many social norms and doesn't know how to interact with people very well.
• One-Note Cook: She only makes melonpan, her favorite food.
• Only One Name: Aside from her moniker as the "Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter", she is only known as Shana (and that's only recently).
• Person of Mass Destruction: Her ultimate technique, which allows her to materialize Alastor. Even without resorting to this, she's strong enough during the fight with Sabrac that she can incinerate several square miles of Misaki City, and only gets stronger from there.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Shana's tiny, but her being a Flame Haze means she's superhumanly strong.
• Pitbull Dates Puppy: Shana is a tough Tsundere monster fighter who has No Social Skills and at first, she doesn't care about anything or anyone, only thinking about fighting. She inevitably falls in love with the kind-hearted and sensitive Non-Action Guy Yuji.
• Playing with Fire: True to her moniker, she's one of the most powerful Flame Hazes, and fights with extremely fiery Unrestricted Spells.
• Power Dyes Your Hair: When she activates her Flame Haze powers, her hair color changes from black to red, usually accompanied with embers.
• Power Fist: Made of fire no less.
• Power Gives You Wings: After her second fight against Margery Daw, Shana gains a pair of wings although she wasn't able to use this spell without Yuji in range at first.
• The Power of Love: Feels that Yuji's presence gives her a power boost: "I feel stronger because Yuji's here; I can do anything!"
• Rapid-Fire "Shut Up!": Her Catchphrase. "Urusai, urusai, urusai!"^note "Shut up, shut up, shut up!
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Yuji's Blue because she is more passionate and aggressive.
• Sacred First Kiss: An entire episode is devoted to explaining to her the "milestone" nature of this. She reacts as expected.
• Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Shana is the ultimate Flame Haze, but her training left her crippling ill-equipped to deal with life when it came to things besides combat. While there are some humorous consequences to this (such as her innocently asking Yuji and his family how babies were made), the trope is played very seriously as well. In the early story arcs, her incomprehension of her growing feelings for Yuji caused a lot of angst and frustration on her part.
• Samaritan Relationship Starter: She began to see Yuji as more than a mere Torch after he allowed her to use his Power of Existence to restore the places that were destroyed in the Fuzetsu barriers in his school so she wouldn't use his classmates instead. Since all the Torches Shana had met before Yuji exhibited selfish attitudes, this left quite an impression on Shana.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: She impresses Yuji when she puts on a dress that Chigusa gave her.
• Shower of Angst: In the beginning of the third season, she takes a shower while she is sad about Yuji's mysterious disappearance.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She falls in love with Yuji because he's such a Nice Guy.
• Sitting on the Roof: Does this after her first day in Yuji's world, waiting for Friagne to return so that she can fight him again.
• Sociopathic Hero: Originally, due to being raised as the "perfect Flame Haze", Shana didn't care at all about people, considering preserving the balance the only thing that mattered. She would even casually use human lives to restore the places that were destroyed in the Fuzetsu barriers. Yuji's influence makes her care more about people.
• Sweet Tooth: Melon bread in particular, but any sweet food in general. In manga omakes depicting Shana's first encounter with Sophie Sawallisch, Sophie attempted to find a nickname for Shana (this occurred before she encountered Yuji and was dubbed "Shana" by him). She fires off a series of pet names and notices that Shana reacts to some of them, only to realize that she's responding not because she likes the names, but because some of them have sweet connotations like "Candy". Shortly after, Shana responds to a coming ice-cream truck with such seriousness that Sophie at first assumed that Shana somehow sensed a Crimson Denizen that escaped her notice.
  • In the manga, Yuji offers her coffee, which she promptly spits out proclaiming that she's never tasted anything so bitter...after Yuji had emptied several packets of sugar into it.
  • In the first episode of Shakugan no Shana S, Shana consumes several pounds of ice cream. She was in Yuji's body at the time, and Yuji's body doesn't quite have the same tolerance for so much junk food as Shana's.
• Tears of Joy: She cries in relief when she discovers Yuji is still alive despite the Midnight Lost Child being stolen from him by Bal Masqué.
• They Call Him "Sword": In an interesting twist, her sword has a name, but she doesn't. So Yuji names her after her sword.
• Tiny Tyrannical Girl: At the start, Shana acts very bossy and intimidating towards humans and especially Yuuji who she considers a "mere Torch". This is understandable since she never learned how to interact with normal people and she didn't think much of those who aren't Flame Hazes. She grows out of it as her social skills improve.
• Token Mini-Moe: The shortest character among the main cast and has many cute moments, but this "token" is also the star of the show.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy to Kazumi's Girly Girl because of her aggressive aloofness and fighting prowess.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She's mostly a no-nonsense Action Girl, but even she has her bouts of girliness, such wanting to look her best when confessing her love.
• Took a Level in Kindness: She softens up a bit later in the series after continuous interaction with Yuji, Chigusa and Kazumi.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Melon bread. She's rarely seen eating anything else, and the few times she smiles is before and while eating the stuff.
• Tsundere: Tsun-tsun type. She has difficulty understanding and managing her growing love for Yuji, which frustrates her and makes her act harshly towards him. She surprises herself with how jealous she was when Kazumi made a move on him. It is justified, see What Is This Thing You Call "Love"? below.
• Tsurime Eyes: The narrowness suits her battle-focused personality.
• Tyke-Bomb: She was raised with the sole motive of becoming a Flame Haze.
• Unscrupulous Hero: While Shana chooses fights Crimson Denizens in order to preserve the balance, she didn't care about protecting people and wouldn't hesistate to sacrifice lives in order to complete her missions. She changes over time.
• Unskilled, but Strong: She received training from Wilhelmina, but her fighting style basically boils down to rushing in and beating their enemies in straight forward battle.
• Vague Age: It's not clear exactly how old Shana is. She became a Flame Haze outside of a very modern-looking city, she's small and flat (the light novels describe her as looking like an 11-year-old) and can be rather childish, but it's never specified how old she was when she stopped aging or how many years she has been a Flame Haze.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Essentially being a Tyke-Bomb solely raised for combat is skimpy when it comes to romance; never even being taught what love was helps explain why she reacts to her obvious feelings the way she does.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Afraid that Yuji was distracting Shana from her purpose as a Flame Haze, Wilhelmina attempted to kill him and remove the Midnight Lost Child. Shana was not pleased about this.
• When She Smiles: Yuji comments that her smile is beautiful in the manga.
• Will They or Won't They?: Given her Tsundere attitude, any relationship she might start with Yuji is a amibigious. [[spoiler: It becomes more unlikely after Yuji's face-heel-turn until they do at the end.
• Worf Had the Flu: During her first battle with Yuji, she had a key disadvantage other than the fact that she didn't want to fight Yuji. After all the time they spent together, he knows her fighting style and abilities better than anyone. The only time she landed a solid blow against him was with a technique she developed after he disappeared.

Alastor

Flame of Heaven

Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (JP), Paul Dobson (Geneon), Kent Williams (Funimation) (EN)

The Crimson Lord to whom Shana is bound. He expresses his will through a pendant as his divine vessel, called Cocytus. Alastor is considered to be one of the strongest of all Lords or Denizens; in fact, he is one of the true Gods of the Crimson Realm, the God of Atonement. But even so, he tries to keep the Denizens from consuming Power of Existence. Alastor is like a father-figure to Shana and cares for her, as he had watched over the future Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter as she grew up.

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• Amulet of Concentrated Awesome: Technically, most of him resides within Shana herself, but he uses a piece of himself in the form of a pendant, Cocytus, as his mouthpiece.
• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad:
  • Acts a little bit like this towards Shana at first. He wanted Chigusa to stop talking to Shana about matters such as kissing, knowing about the emotional conflict her growing feelings for Yuji cause. Chigusa talked him out of it.
  • Alastor specifically opposes Shana's relationship with Yuji, believing both that Love Is a Weakness that will distract Shana from being the ultimate Flame Haze, and that Yuji is flat out not worthy. Eventually he changes his tune after Yuji manages to impress him as a fighter and leader.
• Eldritch Abomination: His true form, depicted in the movie as a giant, bat-winged minotaur Wreathed in Flames. Of course, he has the power to burn everything in his wake.
• Foil: Has two of them:
  • Marchosias: Whereas Alastor is a Consummate Professional who sees hunting Crimson Denizens as his solemn duty, Marchosias is a Blood Knight who's hunts for, well, the thrill of the hunt. Alastor (at first) sees little point in fostering Shana's humanity and is reluctant to encourage Shana's relationship with Yuji. Marchosias will go out of his way to ensure Margery Daw develops bonds with others and is a gleeful Shipper on Deck for Margery and Keisaku. Futhermore, Alastor is Shana's mentor and a father figure whom she greatly respects, while Marchosias is Margery's partner and frequent target of her (often deserved) abuse.
  • Snake of the Festival: They are both Crimson Gods who are hosted by contractees, both who are or become the respective leaders of their factions. Both have an extremely potent power, a Divine Summoning, that requires a ritual and sacrifice to activate. But while Alastor is aligned with the Flame Haze and has a duty to prevent the Crimson Denizens from accomplishing their desires, the Snake of the Festival is aligned with the Denizens and his purpose is to fulfill their desires. Their Divine Summonings have opposite purposes as well; Alastor's Heaven-and-Earth Sundering is a technique of ultimate destructive power, whereas the Snake of the Festival's Ritual-Grounding can create virtually anything.
• God Is Flawed: Alastor has his short comings as a Crimson God. His emphasis on raising Shana to be the perfect Flame Haze meant that Shana was very ignorant of human interactions and relationships. The worst example of this was how Shana used to strip naked in front of others and let Alastor purify her instead of bathing, something Sophie Sawallisch managed to shame her out of (thankfully before she met Yuji).
• God Is Good: He and the Snake of the Festival are the closest thing to a Physical God in this universe, although Alastor does his best to prevent the Crimson Denizens from devouring the power of existence, making him a clear-cut benevolent being.
• Leitmotif: Alastor
• Meaningful Name: Alastor is one of Zeus' epithets, particularly in his form as the avenger of evil deeds.
• Not So Above It All:
  • He normally acts wise and serious, but even he squirmed when faced with the prospect of giving Shana The Talk.
  • He also joins Shana in teasing Yuji over his mother's pet name ("Yu-chan") for him.
• Parental Substitute: To Shana. He's the one who raised her in her second life. He also poses as her guardian.
• Physical God: His power is such that he, the Snake of the Festival, and the God of Guidance Shaher, are put on a tier higher than the rest of the Crimson Lords.
• Playing with Fire: All Crimson Denizens and Flame Hazes count to an extent, but Alastor and his contractors are notable for Unrestricted Spells revolving around fire.
• Shipper on Deck: He eventually comes to approve Shana's relationship with Yuji. In Season 2, right before seemingly killing Sabrac, he tells Shana that he wouldn't have interfered with her had she decided to tell Yuji that she loved him.
• Worthy Opponent: The Snake of the Festival views him as the only credible threat to his plan.

Humans

Kazumi Yoshida

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (JP), Chantal Strand (Geneon), Brina Palencia (Funimation) (EN)

Yuji's classmate. She has a crush on him, but is a bit too shy to tell him directly. When Shana becomes her love-rival, she vows to tell Yuji her feelings and to let him decide between her and Shana.

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• Barehanded Blade Block: Played straight in one of Shakugan no Shana-tan OVAs, where she casually blocks Shana-tan's sword with her fingers.
• Betty and Veronica: Betty to Shana's Veronica because she's nicer, more feminine, and Yuji's ordinary classmate (for real instead of a cover).
• Cannot Spit It Out: She's entirely too shy to ask Yuji out, and continually stumbles over her tongue. It lasts until Episode 19.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Kazumi gets involved in the Secret War through Khamsin, who recruits her to be part of his Tuning, a ritual to suppress distortions in a location caused by disappeared humans and the presence of Crimson Denizens. Kazumi is chosen because she has a strong attachment to Misaki City, and had a strong sense of how it should be that Khamsin could use as a foundation for his spell. After the Tuning is taken care of, Kazumi sticks around mainly through her friendship with Yuji and company. Her role in the Tuning comes back into play in Season 3, when Snake of the Festival Yuji uses her to reverse the Tuning and use the distortions to open a tear in reality through which Xanadu can be created. Yuji also later uses her mental concept of Misaki City to restore all humans who have been devoured by Crimson Denizens.
• Crush Blush: She tends to go slightly red around Yuji.
• Curtains Match the Window: Brown hair and eyes.
• Feminine Women Can Cook: She often makes bento for Yuji — which is an ability that Shana will not have.
• Friendly Rivalry: With Shana eventually, with Hayato noting that they appear to be best friends despite their love rivalry.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Tries to do this by using a Treasure Tool that would use up her existence to summon the Crimson Lord Pheles to the battlefield. Although it turns out that it is the single-minded dedication one must have in order to be willing to die that summons Pheles, and her death is not actually necessary.
• Hidden Buxom: Kazumi obviously has Hammerspace for her breasts, as she barely seems to have any in her school uniform, but they're huge in her swimsuit.
• Hopeless Suitor: Yuji values her deeply as a friend, but there was never a chance he would feel anything more for her.
• I Just Want to Be Special: She wishes for powers in order to be with Yuji.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Realizing that her feelings for Yuji would be dwarfed by Shana's, she still wishes for Yuji to find his own happiness.
• Ms. Fanservice: When in her swimsuits due to Hidden Buxom. Otherwise, no.
• Nice Girl: Ike rattles off her 'nice girl' qualities such as 'loyal' and 'attentive' immediately before realizing he's in love with her.
• Oblivious to Love: Never realizes Ike's feelings for her until he confesses.
• The Rival: A love rival for Shana. They eventually get on better terms.
• Romantic Runner-Up: At the end of season two, she and Shana ask Yuji to choose between them. She's passed over.
• Shrinking Violet: She's shy, bashful, and needs Ike to give her a push to say anything to Yuji. She gets bolder as the story goes on.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Even she doesn't know what a Plucky Girl she is. She's a Shrinking Violet who doesn't have the nerve to confess to the boy she loves, but in the clutch, she has the nerve to invite a Crimson Denizen who had just tried to kill Yuji to the Autumn Festival to show her what love is, and later be willing to sacrifice her life to summon that Denizen into battle.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Just like Shana she likes Yuji because he's such a Nice Guy.
• Tareme Eyes: Round eyes to show her sweet and friendly nature; another contrast with Shana.
• Through His Stomach: Usually cooks to show her affection for Yuji, but sometimes for friends, such as Ike and Shana.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Shana's Tomboy because she's a good cook and more gentle in her relationships.
• Yandere: Played for Laughs in the Shana-tan omakes, where her jealousy of Shana and irritation at her rude behavior leads to a few murder attempts.

Hayato Ike

Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (JP), Matthew Erickson (Geneon), Joel McDonald (Funimation) (EN)

Yuji's friend since Junior High School. Carries the title "Megane-man" ("Glasses Man"). He is secretly fond of Yoshida; however, as Yuji's loyal (and best) friend, he is the one who helps her express her feelings toward Yuji.

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• Above the Influence: He and Yuji are the only boys in their class to refuse to try to sneak a peak at the girls while they're at the hot spring. As such, they're the only ones to not be kicked out by the girls, who anticipated the boys' antics.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Eventually averted with him simply confessing to Yoshida.
• The Chew Toy: This guy can not catch a break.
• A Day in the Limelight: The theme park episode in the second season, though mostly just to get chewed on.
• Hopeless Suitor: With Kazumi being lovestruck over Yuji, he never had a chance. Ultimately subverted in Shakugan no Shana SIII, an anthology of side stories that take place after Shakugan no Shana XXII/Shakugan no Shana Final, where it is heavily implied he and Kazumi are now dating.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Hayato cares more for Kazumi's feelings than his own, enough that he helps her get closer to Yuji. He eventually grows tired of Yuji's Selective Obliviousness over this and tells him that he's being rude and cruel. Yuji, in turn, pointedly asks what the nature of Hayato's feelings for Kazumi are. Shortly after this, Hayato begins courting Kazumi himself and he finally ends up confessing to her on Christmas Eve, despite knowing she's still in love with Yuji.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Never learns about Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens.
• Love Epiphany: One morning he's wondering why Yuji doesn't hook up with Kazumi. He rattles off her good qualities absent-mindly while preparing for school. The snap you hear is not his pencil case closing but the gears clicking in his head!
• Matchmaker Crush: He has feelings for Kazumi; despite that he tries to help her get Yuji.
• Only Sane Man: Where Yuji's romantic affairs are concerned, he's this. He can tell that there's a Love Triangle going on and that Yuji's hurting the girls' feelings, though he doesn't quite realize just how dense Yuji is, or that Yuji has other things on his plate distracting him.
• Serious Business: His frankly ludicrous level of planning for the theme park visit; that entire episode is largely poking fun at how seriously Ike takes things in general. The dramatic battle music even plays when something goes wrong.
• Shipper on Deck: Favors Kazumi x Yuji. Also, he really wants Yuji to pick a girl already instead of bouncing three of them.
• Tsurime Eyes: An interesting case where they are purely aesthetic, as his calm and thoughtful personality is at odds with the strong will, pride, and aggressiveness these eyes usually represent.

Chigusa Sakai

Voiced by: Tomo Sakurai (JP), Lalainia Lindbjerg (Geneon), Lydia Mackay (Funimation) (EN)

Yuji's mother. She can seem gentle but she's strong and very intelligent. Her husband, Kantaro, works outside the country. Chigusa remains ignorant of Shana's and Yuji's true nature, but becomes a source of good advice for Shana on matters where Alastor can not counsel her. The Crimson Lord himself acknowledges and bows to her wisdom after a phone call between the two of them when he posed as Shana's guardian.

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• Eyes Always Shut: A reflection of her general contentedness and down-to-earth personality.
• Determinator: Kantaro gives her the credit for making their marriage a success, saying that it is all due to her unshakable determination.
• Feminine Women Can Cook: She makes snacks for the leads and dinner too. This earned her envy from Wilhelmina.
• Good Parents: She clearly loves Yuji and helps him with his relationship troubles.
• Happily Married: She and Kantarou have successfully made a life together despite the bumpy start to their relationship. According to him, she was determined to make it so.
• High-School Sweethearts: She and Kantaro got married while they were still students, due to an early pregnancy.
• Housewife: She takes care of the Sakai household.
• Let Her Grow Up, Dear: Not to her husband, but to Alastor. She convinces him to let Shana adapt to muggle society and accept her feelings for Yuji.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Throughout the entire story, she never catches on with the nature of Shana and her son Yuji's predicaments.
• Parental Substitute: Serves as one to Shana until Wilhelmina comes back. After Yuji disappears, Shana becomes a Child Substitute instead, as Chigusa needs to have someone around to parent. She does hesitate on giving her The Talk, mostly because she thinks it should be Wilhelmina's place (she's not aware just how bad Wilhelmina's parenting is).
• Shipper on Deck: Encourages Yuji x Shana from both ends; she gives Yuji (platonic) relationship advice, invites Shana to dinner, explains the signifiance of kisses and puts her in a dress to show off to Yuji.
• Teen Pregnancy: Deconstructed. Chigusa and Kantaro were still students when she became pregnant with Yuji and his twin brother, the latter of whom died from complications during pregnancy. Teen pregnancies are dangerous.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Alastor remarks how nothing fazes her; she's always cheerful and has snacks prepared. A 'Crowning Moment' would be when he called Chigusa to tell her not to talk to Shana about romantic matters and she talks him out of it while remaining polite and flattering and not-quite-disagreeing with him.

Kantaro Sakai

Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (JP), Chuck Huber (EN)

Yuji's father. His business keeps him away from home months at a time, but he maintains an excellent relationship with his wife and son despite this fact. He rarely announces his visits, preferring to surprise his family instead. Despite some brief confusion upon first meeting him, Shana comes to admire him and see his relationship with Chigusa as a role model for her own developing relationship with Yuji.

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• Big Eater: In the light novels he eats a frankly ridiculous amount of food in an equally ridiculous manner.
• Good Parents: He's not home often, but he provides a good male role model for Yuji to look up to and also praises Yuji for his growing maturity.
• Happily Married: He and Chigusa have successfully made a life together despite the bumpy start to their relationship. He also jokes about being a Henpecked Husband, eliciting a teasing reprimand.
• High-School Sweethearts: He and Chigusa got married when they were still students, due to an early pregnancy.
• I Have No Son!: His parents disowned him for getting Chigusa pregnant.
• So Proud of You: His attitude towards Yuji, who he sees is maturing tremendously. Feeling that Yuji is ready, Kantaro has a heart-to-heart talk with Yuji about responsibility and also informs him that he had a twin brother that did not survive childbirth.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: His work keeps him overseas for months at a time. He's so absent, that when he returns for a visit Shana mistakes him for an enemy.

Keisaku Satou

Voiced by: Kenji Nojima (JP), Brad Swaile (Geneon), Greg Ayres (Funimation) (EN)

A somewhat (one friend) Lonely Rich Kid who, along with his friend Eita, becomes Margery's retainers\henchmen. He's rich, and his house becomes Margery's by extension, and both he and Eita have a thinly veiled crush on her, albeit his is stronger.

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• Adaptational Personality Change: A little. In the light novels, Keisaku starts out cheerful and sociable and is in fact friends with Yuji from the get-go, though he has broody moments due to being a Lonely Rich Kid. In the anime, his broodiness is played up, at first his only friend is Eita, and he doesn't start becoming sociable until he finds his clique in the other teens who have managed to see beyond the masquerade.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: He was 'meh' before meeting Margery and discovering the truth of the world. After that he jumped at a call he never got to assist her in battle and near the end of the first season, tells Yuji he'll leave Misaki city with him because "There's nothing for me here."
• Dogged Nice Guy: Margery pretty much commandeers his home, drinks his home dry of alcoholic beverages daily, and generally tends to be really high maintenance. However, he keeps his mouth shut and helps her (as a Mission Control) with her job as a Flame Haze due to being deeply in love with her. She tries to keeps him at arms length with her Dark and Troubled Past, but this epically backfires, and by the end of Season 2, she's rather aware he hasn't given up. It all pays off in the end and he and Margery become an Official Couple in the third season.
• Dude, She's Like in a Coma: Kisses Margery while she is in an Angst Coma. It turns out she was actually awake, but he didn't know that. He's also led to believe that his kiss would wake her up, so it's not him simply taking advantage of her in a helpless state.
• I Just Want to Be Badass: He spends all his after school time training so he can join the fight. By the second season, he even considers becoming a Flame Haze himself just to be better able to support Margery.
• Jumped at the Call: Eagerly helps Margery with her Flame Haze stuff; so eagerly she produces a sword he could never hope to lift to demonstrate the difference between them. Instead, he shifts his training to picking it up.
• Likes Older Women: The woman he loves is physically about twice his age (in reality she is hundreds of years older than him).
• Living Emotional Crutch: Becomes this to Margery after she loses any other purpose in life after discovering the truth about the Silver. He is the only reason that she doesn't drop dead on the spot.
• Lonely Rich Kid: He's not deprived of friends, but he does have a small social circle. Until Margery comes he's also living in a small mansion by himself, the result of a feud with his father.
• May–December Romance: With Margery. A rare example that's also Mayfly–December Romance; biologically, Margery is well into her twenties at the youngest, and could easily be in her thirties.
• Mayfly–December Romance: Margery will almost certainly outlive him.
• Mission Control: Since he can't fight by her side, being human and all, he assists Margery by giving her intel from the crystal altar. By the third season, he attempts to join Outlaw, the Mission Control organization for Flame Haze in general. Unfortunately, they decide to hold him hostage in an attempt to convince Wilhelmina to report in and not to go rogue.
• Non-Action Guy: Hates his non-combatant status, and wants to be more proactive than Mission Control.
• Parental Abandonment: Keisaku is estranged from his relatives thanks to some sort of a feud, and as a result lives alone in a small mansion owned by the Satou family.
• The Resenter: To Yuji, albeit due to the fact he's not action-capable like Yuji. He has no actual hatred for Yuji himself.
• Subordinate Excuse: Though it was initially a barely hidden sexual attraction at first for both himself and Eita, he started gaining true feelings for her.
• Those Two Guys: Starts out as this with Eita, being a rather ordinary (if wealthy) high school student that observes and comments on the dynamics between Shana, Yuji, and Kazumi. Then Margery came along, and they cheerfully leave their ordinariness and observer roles behind.
• Tsurime Eyes: Probably meant to reflect his aloofness and roughness at the beginning of the (anime) series.

Eita Tanaka

Voiced by: Takayuki Kondō (JP), Alistair Abell (Geneon), Ian Sinclair (Funimation) (EN)

One of Yuji's classmates, and Keisaku's friend. After meeting Margery, he starts helping her along with Keisaku.

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• Amazon Chaser: His introduction to Margery was her beating up thugs. Afterwards, he has a goofy look on his face and asks for premission to call her 'elder sister'.
• Beta Couple: He forms a secondary civilian style couple with Ogata.
• Eyes Always Shut: Most of the time, only opening them when the situation is dire or during a tense conversation with Yuji as the Snake of the Festival.
• Freak Out: Has a pretty bad freak out when Margery kills Ogata. Since they were in a Seal the damage could be undone, but the event ends up mentally scarring him quite severely and ultimately prompts him to try to Opt Out.
• Insult Backfire: Margery was afraid she insulted him after off-handedly mentioning to someone else that he was her "minion". Instead, he was happy!
• Lovable Jock: He has the build and personality for it, with Hayato even calling him a "jock-type guy." He never appears to participate in any sport activities outside of PE though.
• Mission Control: Like Keisaku, he provides tactical information to Margery.
• Mistaken for Gay: In the first season's OVA, while visiting a hot spring Tanaka and Keisaku race each other up a set of stairs, which, unbeknownst to them, local tradition says guarantees marriage between any two people who go up it together. Ogata, who is crushing on Tanaka, is understandably upset about this and Hilarity Ensues for the rest of the episode as she tries to derail Tanaka and Keisaku's budding "relationship".
• Opt Out: He decides to never deal with Flame Hazes after seeing Margery kill Ogata in an Unstoppable Rage (Ogata got better), but he reluctantly gets involved once more when Snake of the Festival Yuji arrives in Misaki City the first time around. He finally goes through with it near the end after meeting Snake of the Festival Yuji, hearing out his plan to save the world, and throwing away the Phlebotinum that allows him to operate inside a Fuzetsu as a sign of his trust in Yuji.
• Positive Friend Influence: In the anime, Eita was this to Keisaku. Prior to hanging out with him, Keisaku had a reputation for "running wild" in junior high. Seeing how standoffish Keisaku is at the start, one can only imagine what he was like before Eita.
• Those Two Guys: Starts out with this along with Keisaku, but graduates from it by the second story arc when he and Keisaku are dragooned by Margery to be her minions in the hunt for Lamies. Not that they're complaining...

Matake Ogata

Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi (JP), Nicole Bouma (Geneon), Brittney Karbowski (Funimation) (EN)

One of Yuji's classmates. She is tomboyish, extroverted, and very social. She often suggests that the group do things together when everyone else is too shy.

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• Applied Phlebotinum: After Margery accidentally kills her. She was able to get better because they were inside a Seal.
• Beta Couple: She forms a secondary civilian style couple with Eita.
• Boyish Short Hair: Meant to emphasize her tomboyish personality.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Positively freaks out when she briefly mistakes the bond between Eita and Keisaku as more than platonic on a school trip, not out of homophobia but because she wants Eita. Her attempts to derail their "budding relationship" only appears to drive the two closer together, much to her horror.
• Fiery Redhead: Auburn-haired and very gung-ho.
• Genki Girl: She's athletic, loud, and nosy.
• Huge Schoolgirl: Not huge, but she stands a head taller than Shana, Kazumi, or Konoe. She is also the only freshman allowed to play in the volleyball game.
• Locked Out of the Loop: One of the few characters who don't know about Flame Hazes.
• Muggle: A completely normal human. She doesn't even have Phlebotinum like Eita.
• Passionate Sports Girl: A talented volleyball player, and the only freshman to take the court in an actual game.
• Tomboy: She's brash and interested in "masculine" activities like sports.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She behaves more traditionally "feminine" whenever her crush on Eita comes into to play.
• Tsurime Eyes: Probably meant to reflect her tomboyish nature.

Yukari Hirai

Voiced by: Masumi Asano (JP), Ashleigh Ball (Geneon), Alison Viktorin (Funimation) (EN)

She was Yuji's classmate. In the light novel series, she starts already dead. In the anime, she dies when Friagne's Rinne Marianne appears on her way home and killed everyone in the vicinity of the attack, except Yuji, who is rescued by Shana. Shana makes a Torch of Yukari, and everyone who was involved, that same day. Unfortunately, her flame burns out on the next day and her existence disappears as a result. In both versions, Shana uses the remains of Yukari's existence to shift the perception of others' identification of Yukari Hirai as herself.

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• Adaptational Personality Change: She's shy and reserved in the light novels, but a Genki Girl in the anime. It's also implied she has a crush on Yuji rather than Ike.
• Back from the Dead: In the final novel, she is revived by Kazumi, who uses her memories of Yukari as well as the fragment of her power of existence that Shana took in order to assume her identity.
• A Death in the Limelight: In the light novel series, Yukari starts off "dead," with Yuji coming to class and finding that Shana had replaced her shortly after learning the truth of the world. In the anime, viewers meet Yukari in the first episode, get a glimpse of her personality and characteristics (such as a crush on Ike), and see her consumed in the attack that reveals to Yuji the Secret War between Flame Hazes and Denizens. The bulk of the second episode revolves around Yuji trying to ensure that her rapidly diminishing Torch is remembered by someone.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: After she is devoured and replaced by a Torch, Yukari's eyes become gray and listless, reflecting her loss of sense of self and resulting apathy.
• Expy: She somewhat resembles Yukari Tatsumiya from Doomed Megalopolis, both in looks (bar the animation style, obviously) and the role as a tearjerking victim of supernatural influences. Her first name is directly taken from her, while her surname comes probably from a character named Hirai from the same work.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: She shows Yuji the reality of the world, spurs him to let her enjoy her last days, and then after her Torch fades and Shana takes her place she is never mentioned again. Justified, considering Yuji wasn't really close to Yukari and her crush was on his friend, not him.
• Genki Girl: In the anime, she's very upbeat and eager to lend a hand.
• Girlish Pigtails: Has two small ones on either side of her head for added cuteness.
• Ret-Gone: Semi-averted. She would have disappeared completely after her Torch's Power of Existence burned out, if Shana didn't take the last ember of it and use it to insert herself into Yukari's identity, thus preserving everyone's memories about her.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Her death is meant to demonstrate the stakes and cruelty of the Forever War.
• Shipper on Deck: In the movie, she supports Yuji/Kazumi because if they got together she could get closer to Ike.
• Tareme Eyes: As befitting her kind nature and sad fate.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Gets devoured in the first episode and her Torch rapidly fades away by the second episode. In the light novels, it's a case of We Never Knew Ye, as Yuji walks into class to discover Shana, having taken the last bit of Yukari's Power of Existence, in her place.

Fumina Konoe

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (JP), Lindsay Seidel (EN)

A transfer student who bears an absolute resemblance to Hecate. She develops a bond with Yuji, which bothers Shana and Kazumi. She is actually the Faux Vessel of Hecate, sent to both keep an eye of Shana and company and collect emotions and memories to enable Hecate to control the Silver, which in turn would control the Statue of Pride, which was meant to be the Snake of the Festival's host prior to Yuji and Shana destroying it.

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• Canon Foreigner: Konoe is an anime-exclusive character. Neither she nor her plot appear in the light novels.
• Caught the Heart on His Sleeve: To Yuji, all the time because she's an apparition sent by Hecate to monitor him. It's a non-romantic example, but the other characters think it is romantic.
• Cloudcuckoolander: She's usually seen chasing birds and butterflies, when she's not spilling her books on the floor and wondering why they won't come up again.
• Empty Shell: Starts out as this, for good reason: she's a Faux Vessel of Hecate created to collect memories and emotions.
• Friend to All Living Things: Fascinated by birds and butterflies, she frequently tries to get them to perch on her finger.
• The Mole: Unknowingly, but she was still inserted into Yuji and Shana's group of friends to monitor them.
• New Transfer Student: Is added to the main cast's class, much to their alarm as she looks exactly like Hecate would as a schoolgirl.
• Ret-Gone: When Hecate absorbs her into herself, Fumina is erased from not only existence but having ever existed, and only those with Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory remember her.
• Third-Option Love Interest: Subverted. Shana and Kazumi see her as this, but Konoe has no romantic feelings towards Yuji, and Yuji never expresses any attraction to her.

Mystes

Tenmoku Ikko

Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (JP), Mark Gibbon (Geneon), Chuck Huber (Funimation) (EN)

A Torch who created Nietono no Shana. Reputed as the most powerful Mystes in the world.

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• Absurdly Sharp Blade: His sword easily cuts through anything that isn't on its level.
• Badass Normal: A Mystes, by definition just a Torch holding a Treasure Tool, that can go toe-to-toe with high-tier Crimson Lords.
• The Dreaded: Feared among Crimson Denizens.
• Implacable Man: Single-minded in his search for a worthy wielder of Nietono no Shana, he cuts down anything in his path and none of the foes he encounters can so much as delay him.
  • This later extends to his loyalty to Shana, and not even Fecor's Magnesia, which was shown capable of tanking Sophie's full power, could hold him back.
• Katanas Are Better: His sword is held in high esteem, even above magical swords like Blutsauger.
• Samurai: A katana wielding Japanese warrior seeking a worthy opponent.
• Sealed Badass in a Can: His spirit stays in Nietono no Shana, and can manifest physically if needed.
• Ultimate Blacksmith: He made the famous Nietono no Shana, after all.
• Undying Loyalty: He resides within his sword as Shana's familiar, and in times of extreme distress, will fight his way to return the sword to her.

Johann

Eternal Lover

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (JP), John Burgmeier (EN)

The former Mystes and one of the creators of the Midnight Lost Child. The Midnight Lost Child was created to ensure eternal life for Johann and to enable Pheles to cease consuming humans. However, due to a fight against the Bal Masqué's assassin Sabrac that severely wounded Johann, she sealed her lover into the Midnight Lost Child. She was unaware that Sabrac had also placed a piece of Bal Masqué's Xanadu-creating spell (Psalm of the Grand Order) and a version of the Silver (Tyrant I) into the Hougu simultaneously. The Midnight Lost Child then transported itself into Sakai Yuji, who is currently possessing it.

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• Abusive Parents: His father tried to sacrifice him for a useless Power of Unrestraint to gain eternal youth.
• Breaking Speech: After being released from the Midnight Lost Child, Johann delivers one to Snake of the Festival Yuji. Ironically, Johann is not criticizing Snake of the Festival Yuji's goals, which are noble, or even the means by which he's trying to achieve said goals. He condemns Yuji as too selfless and too logical. Johann rebukes Yuji for not trusting enough in the power of love and emotions, and for his intent to separate himself from Shana as penance after the creation of Xanadu. He disagrees with Yuji's belief that in order for everyone else to have happiness, he by necessity needs to sacrifice his own. He'd rather Yuji forego the penance (which ultimately does happen) and be with Shana.
• Devoted to You: Pheles is hopelessly obsessed with him, and will do anything to get him back.
• Eternal Love: He created the Midnight Lost Child so he could become immortal and be with Pheles forever. They managed to be together for 200 years.
• Fusion Dance: In the finale, he and Pheles combine their existences and give birth to Justus.
• Gadgeteer Genius: As mentioned above, he helped invent the Midnight Lost Child and invented bandages that cancel out Sabrac's deadly Stigma. Unfortunately, the latter did not stick.
• Meaningful Name: Named after Johann Faust.
• Sealed Good in a Can: A Nice Guy trapped inside his own invention to preserve his life.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: With Pheles. Pursued by the relentless Sabrac until he succeeded in mortally injuring Johann, which forced Pheles to place Johann's soul in the Midnight Lost Child. The Midnight Lost Child, being a Treasure Tool, relocated to a new Torch, Sakai Yuji, setting the stage for the entire series. When Pheles attempts to force Johann and Yuji to switch places (Johann would take Yuji's Power of Existence and have a body, while Yuji would be locked within the Midnight Lost Child), Johann convinces Pheles to let him go. In the final light novel, Johann is released from the Midnight Lost Child (without harming Yuji) and he finally is reunited with Pheles, who he merges with to create the infant being Justus.
• Wife Husbandry: A gender-reversed example with Pheles. After Pheles murdered his father when he was a child, she raised him while they wandered the world together until he created the Midnight Lost Child so they could have Eternal Love.

Flame Hazes

Margery Daw

Chanter of Elegies

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (JP), Janyse Jaud (Geneon), Colleen Clinkenbeard (Funimation) (EN)

Margery is a tall, "well-endowed", and mature blonde Flame Haze with a drinking habit. She uses the book Grimoire, which is the divine vessel through which Marchosias, to whom she is bound, expresses his will. Her main powers focus around chanting spells and turning into a werewolf. She casts spells by chanting "Improvisational Poems of Slaughter".

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• Action Girlfriend: Her arrival into Keisaku's life gets him involved with the world of the Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens, but he isn't as useful in battle as he would like to be and his feelings were unreciprocated until the third season.
• The Alcoholic: She drinks all the time; whenever she's not in combat, she's likely drunk.
• Angst Coma: She spends the beginning of Season III in one, after Snake reveals to her what the Silver actually is, and how it made her centuries of hunting pointless.
• Anti-Hero: She's hunting down a vicious monster known as "the Silver" and will destroy anything and anyone that gets in her way.
• The Archmage: According to several individuals, she is widely known for her brilliance with Unrestricted Methods (spells).
• The Baroness: The Sexpot type but has the Rosa Klebb age trait, even though she's Western European (possibly British or German), not Eastern European. She gets better.
• Bears Are Bad News: Her fighting form is some sort of cross between a bear, a wolf, and a wolverine. It's also purple.
• Blood Knight: She enjoys combat. She has this confident smirk on her face.
• Broken Bird: The repeated betrayals in her past, before she was a Flame Haze, made her sour and vengeful.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite being a lazy, drunken sot with a penchant for nursery rhymes, she's one of the most effective Flame Hazes once she gets off the couch, is the undisputed expert on Unrestricted Methods, and is nearly as effective as Yuji when acting as a team commander.
• Byronic Hero: She suffers from a lot of internal angst and personal conflict while she hunts Crimson Denizens. She also has a fair amount of charisma considering how quickly Keisaku and Eita become her minions.
• Canis Major: Her fighting form is a giant wolf.
• Catchphrase: Whenever Marchosias gets on her nerves, she'll punch the grimoire and say "Odamari, baka Marco." ("Shut up, stupid Marco.")
• Cool Big Sis: Sure, she's jaded, cynical, and drinks herself retarded whenever she's not doing anything else, but she also has a fair bit of insight to offer (she is Really 700 Years Old, after all), and does come to care for the rest of the cast at least a bit.
• Dark Action Girl: She is introduced as a remorseless antagonist who fights with a bear's ferocity.
• Dark and Troubled Past: The reason she drinks so much is because her past is terrible. She was once a daughter of a landlord in medieval times, but after countless betrayals, her father was killed and she ended up in a brothel. She gained a chance to take revenge for her misery and humiliation, only to see her enemies destroyed by the Silver. Her fury at her last reason to live being stolen attracted the attention of Marchosias.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Shana defeating her starts her Heel–Face Turn.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Quite cold and violent when introduced, she slowly warms up when working with Eita, Keisaku and "Midget". By the third season, Marco teases her for being a model team player who worries about Keisaku.
• Devoted to You: Keisaku has unbelievable patience in regards to Margery. He gets her hangover medicine whenever she drinks herself half stupid, he often helps her onto the couch or into bed after she nearly collapses from her booze drinking, and whatever she wants he does without fail. In short, he is VERY devoted to her for good or ill.
• Doppelgänger Spin: One of her signature moves is creating copies of herself for battle.
• Femme Fatale: Margery's dangerous and sexy, and makes no attempts to disguise it.
• Femme Fatalons: Has long fingernails that taper to a point, emphasizing her role as a predator.
• Godiva Hair: In her flashback, when she first meets Yuri, her long hair covered anything not suitable for a kid his (apparent) age.
• Heel–Face Turn: She's introduced as an enemy for Shana and Yuji, but ends up becoming their ally.
• Heroic BSoD: She suffers a mental breakdown after Snake of Festival Yuji explains to her that the Silver is actually a projection of her emotions, a mirror of her hate towards everyone who abused her and has done the things Margery secretly wanted to do to them on her behalf. Her realization of her feelings for Keisaku is the only thing that saves her from crossing the Despair Event Horizon.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: She's a jerk and does some pretty awful things in the name of Revenge, but quickly forms attachments that she's willing to protect in spite of herself. She's also surprisingly good at dispensing life advice.
• I Choose to Stay: She is one of the few Flame Hazes who don't go to Xanadu at the end. She says it's because there are still some Denizens on Earth to fight, but actually it has more to do with staying with Keisaku.
• Insult of Endearment: She continues calling Shana "chibijari" (can be translated as "pip-squeak" or anything else denoting how short Shana is) even after they become allies.
• Ironic Nursery Tune: She is named after one and uses them for her spell chants. For instance, "Humpty Dumpty" is a battering-ram style spell.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even after she becomes an ally of Yuji and Shana, she remains rather cynical and acerbic.
• The Lad-ette: She enjoys alcohol, likes fighting, and is hygienically challenged and cheerfully ignorant and aggressive.
• Lady Drunk: She's older than the rest of the group except Wilhelmina (obviously barring the Crimson Denizens), easily the most cynical, and runs from her Dark and Troubled Past right into the bottle.
• Love Epiphany: After Snake reveals to her what the Silver actually is and nearly crossing the Despair Event Horizon, she realizes her feelings for Keisaku and they give her a reason to live.
• May–December Romance: Her relationship with Keisaku on the outside appears to be a simple age difference. Margery is Really 700 Years Old and looks in her mid-twenties at the youngest, and he's only 15 years old.
• Mayfly–December Romance: Unlike Yuji, Keisaku will not live forever and she will.
• Ms. Fanservice: Doesn't mind flaunting her body, though she draws the line at being caught in the buff by Yuri.
• Multiple Head Case: Her multi-headed werewolf form.
• Mundane Utility: She shrugs off her heavy drinking, telling her Lord she can just use the flame to make herself sober if she needs to fight.
• Naked First Impression: She was naked when she first met Yuri.
• Nominal Hero: Initially, while she's a Flame Haze she doesn't care at all about people or protecting the balance. She only cares about picking fights and finding the Silver.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Her motivation in life is defeating the Silver. Thus, she would have crossed the Despair Event Horizon if Kazumi didn't provide her with a different reason for living.
• Our Werewolves Are Different: Her Toga power cloaks her body with a second body, that of a massive bipedal wolf made of purple flame. Toga's final form is that of a several-story, multi-headed wolf.
• The Power of Hate: Her hatred for Crimson Denizens is her reason for being (until a certain point, at least). She does not distinguish between good Denizens and evil Denizens.
• Purely Aesthetic Glasses: The flashbacks to her pre-Flame Haze days reveal she did not wear glasses, and as a Flame Haze she does not suffer vagaries of time. As such, she has no physiological need for glasses.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: On occasion the light reflects off her glasses, making them opaque, all to hammer in the message what a dangerous individual she is.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Calls Yuri out of his idealism and naivete. She also frequently tries to dissuade Keisaku and Ike from becoming more involved in the Forever War, at one point giving them an impossible test.
• Sociopathic Hero: Starts out as this. She's only in this for her Revenge on Denizens in general and the Silver in particular, and makes no distinction between good and bad ones. Any Flame Haze who gets in her way will get stomped.
• Specs of Awesome: She's one of the most powerful Flame Hazes alive and she wears glasses.
• Squishy Wizard: She's the best spellcaster in the Crimson World, but in combat, she relies on transformation spells rather than a weapon and is not very durable. Sabrac easily knocked her out with Splash Damage from his mega-blast in II-20.
• Took a Level in Kindness: In her first appearance, she cares about nothing but battle and revenge. By the end of the second season, she's willing to prioritize saving human lives over her hunt for the Silver, something very few Flame Hazes would worry about.
• Tsurime Eyes: Like Shana, she has sharp eyes as a visual cue for her dominating personality.
• Unscrupulous Hero: After Shana beats her down in her attempt to kill Lamies and she decides to stick around with Keisaku and Ike a little longer, Margery develops into this. She's cynical and still dangerously revenge-driven, but she starts caring for other people and begins to hold to a code of ethics.
• Unstoppable Rage: When Yuji casts a fuzetsu during Pheles's attack, revealing his silver flame. She goes absolutely insane.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Always bickering with Marchosias but they have excellent teamwork
• Walking Swimsuit Scene: Again, in the semi-Beach Episode.

Wilhelmina Carmel

Specialist of Everything^note Except cooking.

Voiced by: Shizuka Itō (JP), Anna Cummer (Geneon), Carli Mosier (Funimation) (EN)

A young lady that wears a maid's uniform all the time and the one who took care of Shana during the girl's training. She is bound to "Crown-and-Sash of Fantasies" Tiamat, whose will resides in the divine vessel Persona, which shifts forms between a headband, and a mask when in battle.

She is one of the great Flame Hazes from the age of the Great War, fighting alongside her friend, Mathilde Saint-Omer (the previous "Flaming-Haired, Blazing-Eyed Hunter"). Her ability is the power to control an infinite number of ribbons which appear from around her. Wilhelmina, who always speaks in an overly formal and polite manner, has nearly no expression.

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• Action Girl: She is a flame haze and a fearsome opponent during the last Great war.
• Arch-Enemy: She has a long history with Sabrac, and fights him more seriously than other crimson denizens.
• Chekhov's Gunman: A distinctive, heavily-burdened Meido is occasionally shown trudging through exotic locales without any explanation; she eventually appears in the main setting and is introduced as an important character. In the movie, she walks past the camera (and turns to look at it) in two news reports in the span of a day — one in the Gobi Desert and one on Mount Everest.
• The Comically Serious: As she only occasionally drops her stoicism, she ends up bringing a disproportionate level of seriousness to everything.
• Emotionless Girl: She always speaks in a monotonous manner and has nearly no expression. Although that doesn't mean she's completely devoid of emotions.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Pheles, to an extent. Their friendship began when Pheles saved her from Sabrac.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: Part of her maid uniform includes very large sleeves, which can be useful when you throw bandages as weapons.
• Heroic BSoD: When Wilhelmina thought Shana died using her ultimate technique, she could not stand on her own. More humorously, she enters one when Yuji, in Shana's body (something she was unaware of), unabashedly proclaims that "she" loves her. While this is true, Wilhelmina's stoicism and Shana's Tsundere traits meant that this was never openly stated by either of them. Wilhelmina is frozen in shock, not sure how to respond, when Yuji and Shana make their get away before she can deduce their body swap.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Mathilde, Rebecca, and Pheles, all of whom she traveled with at one point in her life.
• Hopeless Suitor: Wilhelmina was in love with Merihim, a Crimson Lord who in turn was in love with Mathilde Saint-Omer, Shana's predecessor as the Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter, who was in love with Alastor. Merihim died using up his existence in one last duel with Shana (to test her skills as the new Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter), never returning Wilhelmina's affections, even platonically.
• I Am Your Opponent: Wilhelmina declares this when she must buy time for others during battle.
• Lady of War: She's elegant, reserved, and an absolute badass.
• Lethal Chef: You'd expect that Feminine Women Can Cook, especially if she's a Meido, but Wilhelmina can't do much more than operate a microwave or a stew pot.
• Limited Wardrobe: She always wears a maid's uniform. it is lampshaded in the third season, which shows that she has several identical maid uniforms.
• Love-Obstructing Parents: A surrogate example. She highly disapproves of Shana's budding relationship with Yuji and dislikes Yuji as an overprotective mother might dislike her daughter's boyfriend. She even attempted to kill Yuji because she viewed him as a distraction for Shana and in the light novels, she tries to make Shana give up on him by force. This behavior on Wilhelmina's part becomes a little more understandable when you know she was in love with a Crimson Lord who rejected her because he was hung up on Alastor's former Flame Haze. Wilhelmina doesn't want Shana to be at risk of experiencing that sort of heartbreak, ever.
• Mask of Power: Tiamat's transformed form is a pink-red-white tiger-like mask that Wilhelmina wears in serious combat.
• Master of Threads: Wilhelmina's main ability is manipulating ribbons that she uses to whip and constraint targets.
• Meido: The first thing she does upon encountering Shana again is to clean her apartment (which had become dusty from disuse while Shana was living with Yuji).
• Ninja Maid: She's a skilled fighter that constantly wears a maid uniform, an affectation she adopted after becoming the Palace of Heaven's Road's caretaker..
• No Social Skills: Like Shana, she has no experience in the human world, and shows this by putting the coaster on top of her tea instead of beneath it.
• Not So Stoic: Occasionally, when something big and/or personal happens, she show an outpouring of emotion such as when she thought Shana to be dead from using a Dangerous Forbidden Technique.
• Parental Substitute:
  • Is the closest to a mother figure that Shana has ever had, and practically raised her from childhood. For example, Shana's love of melon bread? It's her fault.
  • In the finale, she is entrusted with Justus, Johann and Pheles' child.
• Parents as People: Wilhelmina does her best to raise Shana, but she simply doesn't know how. She can train Shana and provide her with melon bread, but she can't help Shana with emotional support, she can't cook for her, and can't help her grow as a human being because she never learned to live as one herself.
• Power Makes Your Hair Grow: Tiamat's ribbon-adorned mask form achieves a very similar visual effect.
• The Spock: She thinks in terms of risks and results, and considers emotions to be unnecessary baggage.
• The Stoic: Her voice rarely changes and her expression rarely shifts. She goes about her tasks in a calm manner.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She's cold, aloof and distant, coming off as entirely emotionless. It's clear she cares about Shana in her own way, though. She also could never openly admit her affection towards Merihim, and referred to him as a "detestable person".
• Swiss-Army Superpower: She has one power (aside from the basics like flight and creating seals): she can create ribbons. She is versatile enough with that one power to have earned the moniker "Specialist of Everything."
• Trademark Favorite Food: Gingered Pork. Hail Pork.
• Tsurime Eyes: Her narrow eyes felct her stoic focus on duty, and occasionally ruthless action.
• Unscrupulous Hero: Like Shana, her first priority is maintaining the balance. Individual human lives don't matter to her (except for people she cares about personally), and early on, she tries to kill Yuji because "the Mystes" is a distraction to Shana. Unlike Shana, while she comes to respect Yuji as a person, her morality really doesn't change all that much over the course of the series.
• Verbal Tic:

  • ~de arimasu. "Indeed" in the dub.

  • Tiamat also has a habit of adding short two-word comments to Wilhelmina's sentences.
• Worthy Opponent: Sabrac says that she is the only opponent who truly makes his blood boil.

Khamsin Nbh'w

Khamsin Nbh'w ^note Apparently read as "Nebhau"

Mobilizer of Ceremonial Equipment

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (JP), Cathy Weseluck (Geneon), Todd Haberkorn (Funimation) (EN)

Contracted with "Steadfast Sharp Peak" Behemoth whose will resides in the divine vessel Sabia (the bracelet he wears), Khamsin is supposedly one of the oldest Flame Hazes in history, but looks like a young boy that hasn't reached his pre-teens yet. Unlike most Hazes, Khamsin acts as a Tuner, dispelling the distortion caused by battles between the Flame Hazes and Denizens.

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• Ambiguously Brown: Definitely has an African or Middle-Eastern appearance, complete with brown skin and dark hair, but his procedence is obscure. Given the references, he could be Egyptian or Hindi.
• Badass Adorable: A cute 10 years old or so boy who is also immensely powerful.
• Badass Normal: Back when he was a regular human, Khamsin faced a Denizen without the aid of any Crimson Lord, relying only in his natural Power of Existence. Even although he was defeated, it remains an unmatched feat in the series. Later, his contract with Behemot made him an Empowered Badass Normal.
• Braids of Action: He wears his hair in a single braid when going about his duties.
• Broken Bird: He wasn't always the stoic, taciturn character he is by the series's events, and has quite of a troubled past.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: He starts the series completely indifferent to human life and much more preoccupied with existential balance. However, this changes after his interactions with Shana, Yuji and especially Kazumi. He's still distinctively unemotional, though.
• Disappears into Light: His death near the end of the story sees him vanish without a trace.
• Dishing Out Dirt: His combat ability is earth-based, both in flinging it at enemies and using it for Kadesh's Blood Seal, which forms his golem armor.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has scars across his mouth, under his eye and around the torso.
• HumongousMecha: He can form armor in the form of a towering Golem made of rocks, which he pilots as if it were a metal mecha from a cockpit-like sphere in the center. It uses an Epic Flail and has a Rocket Punch.
• Immortal Immaturity: Averted; by his looks alone, he's clearly a lot Wise Beyond His Years than a normal child of his age, whatever it is. By his personality and views on the world, he's just like you would expect of a 3,000 years person.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Khamsin's name comes from an Arabic word for a hot, sandy wind. However, his surname ("Nbh'w", also transliterated as "Neb-Khau") is a royal title from ancient Egypt. Both allude to his exotic, desert-related background, while his surname alludes to his being a prince.
  • Behemoth is the name of a mythical land monster in the Book of Job.
• No Social Skills: Not in Shana's sheltered teenage way, but more in Alastor's indifference about human feelings and customs. Khamsin's first appearance has him approaching a random female and showing her, politely but bluntly, the supernatural reality of the world, which naturally freaks her out. However, said female, Kazumi, ends up becoming somewhat of a Morality Pet for him in his views towards humans.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: In his human form he is around Shana's height, but his rock golem spell turns him into a literal Big Guy.
• The Stoic: Very serene and collected.
• Taking the Bullet: He shields Kazumi and Hyakki Yakou van from a barrage of fireballs, getting badly burnt in the process.
• The Unpronounceable: This is averted as no one in-story has trouble pronouncing his name, although Rebecca prefers to call him "old man" rather than say "Khamsin Nbh'w".
• Vague Age: Very much like Shana, he looks around 10 years old, but the real age at which he did his contract with Behemot is never given.
• Verbal Tic: Adds "ah" at the beginning of every sentence. Similarly, Behemoth starts every sentence with "mhmm".
• Warrior Prince: In his backstory, he was a prince who fought a crimson denizen in defense of his homeland.
• Your Size May Vary: Unrelated to his literal giant transformation spell, the anime's character designs are indecisive whether he is shorter than Shana, the same height or a bit taller.
• You Shall Not Pass!: In the final battle, during Kazumi's escape with Pheles and Johan, he stays behind to protect her from Dantalion's mechas. It ultimately gets him killed.

Mathilde Saint-Omer

Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter

Voiced by: Akemi Okamura (JP), Kelly Sheridan (Geneon), Martha Harms (Funimation) (EN)

The previous owner of the title "Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter". She was Wilhelmina's friend and companion. She was in love with Alastor.

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• Action Girl: Naturally, being Shana's predecessor, she was also a "hunter" of crimon denizens.
• Badass Cape: Also like Shana, she wore the same Alsator Wing cape.
• Curtains Match the Window: Red eyes and red hair.
• Divine Date: She was in love with the Crimson God, Alastor.
• Fiery Redhead: Literally.
• Flaming Hair: Alastor's power died her hair red just like it does Shana's.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Died using her ultimate technique, though she was already mortally wounded.
• Idiot Hair: Like her successor, she has an omnipresent cowlick.
• Lady of War: Had a rather elegant appearance and was also the world's most powerful Flame Haze.
• Magic Contract Romance: She was both Alastor's contractee and his romantic admirer.
• Magic Knight: Fought with both a spear and Unrestricted Methods.
• Playing with Fire: Alastor's contractee, so of course she has fire magic.
• Posthumous Character: She died long before the series started, but the effects of her final decisions are still felt.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Comes with the fire powers.
• Shipper on Deck: Merihim and Mathilde made an agreement that whoever lost the battle between the two of them would do whatever the other wished. Mathilde considered using this promise of Merihim's to force him to accept Wilhelmina's feelings.
• Tsurime Eyes: As suits her aggressive nautre.

Rebecca Reed

Scatterer of Sparkling Light

Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (JP), Trina Nishimura (EN)

Rebecca Reed is a Flame Haze, one of the Outlaws. Her contractor is the "Widened Eye of Incineration" Balar, whose will resides in the golden bracelet she wears, the divine vessel Cruach.

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• Action Girl: She is a flame haze that likes blowing things up aggressively.
• Blood Knight: A more low-key example than others, but she's always spoiling for a fight.
• Boyish Short Hair: It is a visual cue of her aggressive and masculine manner of fighting and interacting with others.
• Having a Blast: Her basic ability is to cause explosions, which she does with great aplomb.
• Hot-Blooded: She is quite reckless and aggressive, especially in battle.
• The Lad-ette: Her manner of dressing, speaking, and acting all point to a very masculine woman.
• Meaningful Name: Balar is a variant of Balor, the name of the king of the Formorians in Irish mythology with a giant eye in the middle of his forehead.
• Pretty in Mink: Her fur-lined jacket.
• Running Gag: Early on — being showered by fire sprinklers triggered by her explosions.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Upon hearing about Shana and Wilhelmina's troubles, she takes off to help them, despite the Outlaws in general refusing to intervene.
• There Was a Door: She tends to blast doors rather than opening them.
• Tsurime Eyes: Her narrow eyes reflect her lack of feminine softness.
• Undying Loyalty: Rebecca takes her friendships and promises very seriously. After Wilhelmina saved her from a Rinne, Rebecca forced her to accept that she owed her one. Centuries later Rebecca would repay this debt by choosing to help Wilhelmina save Shana rather than staying with Outlaw to coordinate the war effort as both were ordered to.
• Working with the Ex: At some point in the past, she and Ernest Flieder were in a relationship until she jilted him. While the two still talk frequently when present in the same place, Rebecca refers to him as "pretty impostor" and disdains his tendency to eschew face-to-face confrontation for traps. When Flieder holds Keisaku Satou hostage to compel Wilhelmina to report in to Outlaw, Rebecca is the one that frees him, taking on Flieder in the process.

Sophie Sawallisch

Braider of Trembling Might

Voiced by: Masako Katsuki (JP), Pam Dougherty (EN)

A Great War veteran and the supreme commander of the Flame Haze Army. She is bound to "Thunder Blade of Banishment" Takemikazuchi, who expresses his will through the divine vessel Donner, a blue-star shaped cross on Sophie's veil. Her flame itself is not flame at all, but lightning.

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• Cool Old Lady: This old lady not only gives great personal advice, she can also flying kick a giant serpent hard enough to kill it.
• Domestic Abuse: She was a victim of particularly nasty case at the hands of her husband, who frequently beat her, killed their children, and pursued her when she retreated into a nunnery.
• Elemental Punch: Her most destructive attack is a lightning-infused flying kick.
• Meaningful Name: Takemikazuchi is the name of a Japanese god of thunder.
• Mentor Archetype: While Alastor, Wilhelmina, and Shiro taught Shana how to be a Flame Haze, their single-minded focus on combat left her woefully inadequate when it came to social skills and norms. Sophie set about rectifying this and taught Shana basic social skills and encouraged her to be more open to her emotions. Ultimately, Yuji would have an even greater impact than Sophie when it came to causing Shana to embrace emotions and view herself as more than just a Flame Haze, but Sophie laid some groundwork for it. Thus, Shana came to see Sophie as her primary source of advice when it came to emotions (while Yuji caused her to open up to her emotions, the personal nature of Shana's emotions, especially since it concerned him, precluded her going to Yuji for advice).
• Parental Substitute: Briefly serves as one when the girl-who-would-be-Shana ventures out into the world as a Flame Haze. Shana still looks to her for advice. Sophie sees her as a child substitute, having lost her own children to her husband.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Sophie's killing of Decarabia, and her victory over his forces in general, awesome though they were, was ultimately not worth the cost. Due to Decarabia's enormous amount of power, Sophie had to use most of her energy to kill him. This proved unfortunate, since Decarabia was not performing a Last Stand, but a Delaying Action. Sophie and the Flame Hazes were left exhausted from their fight with Decarabia and his soldiers, which is precisely when a much larger Bal Masqué army arrives. The ensuing battle turns into a rout so devastating for the Flame Hazes that, with the exception of Shana and a few like-minded individuals, the Flame Hazes are knocked out of the war.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: She is the commander of the Flame Haze army, and she one-shots Decarabia.
• Shock and Awe: Unusually, her "flame" takes the form of purple lightning.
• Spell My Name With An S: Viz Media translated her name as Zophie Saballisch
• Stern Nun: She was a nun a long, long time ago, and continues to wear a coif and have the attitude.
• Tsurime Eyes: An indication of her dangerous nature.

Samuel Demantius

Guardian of Steady Passage

Voiced by: Akio Nojima (JP), R. Bruce Elliott (EN)

The veteran Flame Haze bound to "Peaceful Shield of One's Scales" Zirnitra, whose will resides in the divine vessel Tábor, a thumb-sized silver cup. He is known by alias of Sirotci and is the one who coins the name "Flame Haze Army" during the Great War.

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• Barrier Warrior: In addition to solid fortifications, he can also generate shields of energy.
• Combined Energy Attack: He has an Unrestricted Method that pools Power of Existence from his allies to enhance the durability of his walls and shields.
• Cool Old Guy: While all Flame Hazes are or become Really 700 Years Old if they live long enough, his appearance reflects that Samuel became a Flame Haze later in life. His senior position in the Flame Haze Army also reinforces his atmosphere of experience.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Earth is his favored element because he uses it for fortification.
• Four-Star Badass: He is implied to have been an officer in his past life, and his current position is indeed ranking in the Flame Haze Army.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a large scar on the left side of his face which literally erases his left eye and cheek. He has a been a soldier longer than a flame haze, after all.
• A Good Way to Die: As he sits on the top of the decoy tower, fatally wounded, he declares it is "exactly where I want to die". It happens shortly afterward.
• Meaningful Name: Zirnitra is the Wendish black dragon god of magic.
• Old Soldier: He wears a WWI-era German uniform and behaves like a veteran soldier.
• Ridiculously Fast Construction: His specialty is fortification, which is appropriate for a soldier. In the beginning of the attack on Seireiden, he creates a fortress in a span of several seconds.
• Worthy Opponent: Enemy general Haborym views him as a rival, and salutes him with cannon fire.
• You Shall Not Pass!: He stalls the Crimson Denizens to allow the Flame Haze army to retreat.

Chiara Toscana

Archer of Aurora

Voiced by: Ai Kayano (JP), Carrie Savage (EN)

A young girl who holds a contract with a Crimson Lord with two personalities named Outreniaia and Vetcherniaia, "Forerunner of Daybreak" and "Successor of Twilight", respectively. Her choice of divine vessels, named Zorya, is two arrowheads that she uses as hair accessories.

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• Cool Plane: She uses a plane made of fire for transportation.
• Energy Bow: One of her Powers of Unrestraint, Bow and Arrows of Aurora, turns her Divine Vessel into the tips of one of these, which fires energy arrows. Her other Power of Unrestraint, Gripen's Howl, fires arrow-like energy beams from flying platform, which also takes the form of an arrowhead made of energy.
• Genki Girl: Her spunk is a contrast with her partner's dryer attitude.
• Guilt Complex: She made her contract with Outreniaia and Vetcherniaia when she and her scientist father were attacked by a Crimson Denizen. Her father pushes her off a mountain in a desperate attempt to save her, which is when Outreniaia and Vetcherniaia appear. She's so mesmerized by the Crimson Lord's aurora power that she arrives too late save her father, and witnesses his being devoured. So traumatized is she by the experience that she developed a mental block from using her power to its full potential.
• Meaningful Name: Outreniaia and Vetcherniaia come from the names Utrennyaya and Vechernyaya, both epithets to Slavic goddesses both named Zorya. Zorya Utrennyaya is the Morning Star, while Zorya Vechernyaya is the Evening Star.
• Legacy Character: The successor of the title "Archer of Aurora". The previous holder was Karl Berwald.
• Ramming Always Works: One of her attacks is ramming the enemy with her Cool Plane. She chopped Mammon in half with that.
• Split Personality: Sort of — her contractor is a Crimson Lord with two personalities who use separate (albeit complementing) vessels.

Sale Habichtsburg

Puppeteer of Devilish Skills

Voiced by: Shinobu Matsumoto (JP), Christopher Bevins (EN)

The Flame Haze contracted to "Gorgeous Hanging Strings" Gizo, who expresses his will through the divine vessels Länge and Saite, a pair of wooden crosses.

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• Artificial Human: His contract was not one he entered into willingly, it was an artificial one created by Dantalion. Thus, he is an "artificial" Flame Haze.
• Cowboy: He has this appearance, which makes sense as he was once an exhibition shooter in the 19th century.
• Deadpan Snarker: Dealing with Dantalion will make you that.
• Embarrassing Nickname: According to Dantalion, Sale's true Flame Haze title is "Crystallization of Self-Research Experiment 13261, Invincible Combination Superhuman." He finds it very embarrassing.
• The Gunslinger: While not actually using firearms, Gizo's vessel is dual marionettes that Sale used to keep in holsters. Prior to being a Flame Haze, he was an exhibition shooter.
• Marionette Master: Gizo's vessel is a pair of puppeteer's crosses, and Sale uses puppeteer strings to manipulate his surroundings.
• Meaningful Name: Gizo is a spider and Trickster God from Hausa mythology.
  • Sale's name comes from Seir, a demon listed in the Ars Goetia. Unlike most demons, Seir is indifferent to evil, being the demon of good nature. This reflects Sale's being a Flame Haze created by a Crimson Denizen and his being a good guy in spite of his origins.
• Mentor Archetype: He originally taught Chiara to be a flame haze. She is now his partner.
• Spell My Name With An S: His name is translated as "Sale" by Funimation, but a more accurate rendering is "Seere."

The Four Gods of Earth

A group based in the Americas consisting of four powerful Flame Hazes who protect the American continent from attacks by Crimson Denizens.

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• The Dreaded: The Crimson Denizens and Lords shat in their pants as soon as they made their way to the battlefield in Misaki City. Sophie Sawallich also initially feared that if they decided to side with the Snake of the Festival's ideals, it would spell doom for the Flame Haze army.
• Four Is Death: They are four and has a scary reputation, and one of them has a death theme.
• Leitmotif: "Raisons du monde".
• Neutral No Longer: Initially, they don't join any of the warring sides. It changes when one of them is killed by Bal Masqué.
• The Nicknamer: They use special titles for themselves, their Crimson Lords, and their allies and enemies, different from the "standard" ones.
• Nonindicative Name: They are not gods, and neither are their contractors; "The Four Gods" only references the Theme Naming.
• One-Man Army: All of them have wield tremendous powers through their contracts, easily killing hundreds of Crimson Denizens in their wake.
• Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Their contractors are named after Aztec gods: Tlaloc, Quetzalcóatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Chalciuhtlicue.

Centerhill

Invoker of Brightened Dew

Voiced by: Yutaka Nakano (JP), Charles Campbell (EN)

The Native American Flame Haze contracted to "Drum of Exceptional Love" Tlaloc, whose will resides in a a squarish-shaped stone medal as his divine vessel. He and his contracted Crimson Lord are widely feared by many Denizens, calling him a "monster". In all four, he is the least excelled in combat and fighting.

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• A God I Am Not: Despite putting on airs and referring to himself as "one of the four gods of the earth", he doesn't actually see himself as a god but a priest. He says that Shana is the one that serves a "true god".
• Bare-Fisted Monk: He fights bare-handed with great skill and precision.
• Field Power Effect: His Unrestricted Spell Tlalocan covers an area with heavy rain, which allows him to Flash Step freely inside its limits, and turns slain Denizens into trees.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He stays to fight Sydonay to allow others to retreat, despite losing an arm earlier.
• Lightning Bruiser: As long as he has Tlaloc active, he can move fast, hit hard, and is only inconvenienced by the loss of an arm.
• Meaningful Name: Tlaloc is the Aztec god of rain and agricultural fertility.
• Reluctant Warrior: He is said to be the least willing and able to fight of the Four Gods.
• Sacrificial Lion: He is killed by Sydonay, causing the other Gods of Earth to enter the war.
• Super-Speed: When inside Tlalocan barrier, his speed greatly increases. Common denizens feel the pain of his blows before they see him and even Sydonay has trouble following him.

Eastedge

Summoner of Star River

Voiced by: Kenji Nomura (JP), Andrew Chandler (EN)

The Native American Flame Haze who runs the Outlaw disguised as a news agency in New York. He is contracted to "Flute of Enlightenment" Quetzalcóatl, whose will resides in a stone medal with engravings as his divine vessel.

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• Badass Creed:
  We are the stars.
  We are the singing stars.
  We are the stars who sing with dazzling light.
  We are the birds.
  We are the birds who show disapproval.
  We fly the sky free.
  Therefore, we, the stars and the birds...
  ...Turn into a burning galaxy.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He is first seen in Season II, in Margery's flashback.
• Death from Above: His Unrestricted Spell, which rains falling stars upon his enemies.
• Meaningful Name: Quetzalcoatl is the Aztec god of the morning star, among other things.
• The Slow Walk: When he enters the battlefield in Misaki, he is in no hurry. Denizens fall all around him.
• Star Power: His Unrestricted Spell causes stars to fall, which smash and burn denizens.

Southvalley

Evoker of Demon Horde

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (JP), Chris Burnett (EN)

The Native American Flame Haze who is contracted to "Pipe of Hesitation and Fear" Tezcatlipoca, whose will resides in a pointed stone medal as his divine vessel. He runs one of the Outlaw branch in the United States after the clash between the Four Gods of Earth and fellow Flame Hazes known as the Civil War.

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• Artificial Limbs: He has a wooden leg prosthesis. Supposedly, an enemy got past his minions in the past.
• Blood Knight: Really enjoys fighting and killing his enemies.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Although he seems to be a little evil in the classic sense, aside from being a necromancer, he's ultimately a heroic character.
• Dishing Out Dirt: His army of the Dead takes the form of clay constructs.
• Eyes Always Shut: Unlike his fellow "gods", his eyes are always closed, which makes him look shiftier. As if the necromancy wasn't bad enough...
• Meaningful Name: Tezcatlipoca is the Aztec god of night sky, night winds, hurricanes, enmity, discord, rulership, sorcery, war, and strife, among many other things.
• Necromancer: His army is referred to as "the Dead" and anyone slain by them is then consumed and resurrected as more soldiers.
• Smug Super: Looks down on normal humans, referring to them as "commoners".
• Weapons That Suck: The Dead, his army of clay soldiers, can devour their enemies and multiply themselves.
• Zerg Rush: The Dead, again, can rush an enemy and overwhelm them with numbers.

Westshore

Waver of Great Billows

Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi (JP), Apphia Yu (EN)

The Native American Flame Haze who is contracted to "Bell of Cleansing Flutter" Chalciuhtlicue, whose will resides in a undulating contour-shaped stone medal as his divine vessel.

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• Apologetic Attacker: She apologies to the denizens as she steam rolls over them.
• Making a Splash: Water is her element as a Flame Haze (ironically).
• Meaningful Name: Chalciuhtlicue is the Aztec goddess of water, rivers, seas, streams, storms, and baptism.
• Tender Tears: She has such a soft and gentle heart that battle distresses her, and she cries while fighting.
• Unusual Eyebrows: Her eyebrows are large, do not arch, and have fat ends at one side that taper into points on the other.
• Walk on Water: She stands upon water while manipulating it to attack her enemies.

Yuri Chvojka

Leader of Spirits

Voiced by: Yuko Sanpei (JP), Sean Michael Teague (EN)

A Ukrainian boy who lost his family to a Crimson Denizen attack while crossing the Atlantic to immigrate to the United States during the late 19th century, he formed a contract with the Crimson Lord Valac, "President of Reptiles". He slew the Crimson Denizen responsible for his family's death, so a lust for revenge never developed within him. He became an agent of East-edge, leader of New York City's Outlaw branch. After a year of service as a Flame Haze, he met Margery Daw and attempted to become her partner, only to be killed fighting Sydonay and the Crimson Denizen Annaberg, who were being hunted by Margery.

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• Accidental Pervert: When he first meets Margery, he sees her naked because she was using the Purification Flame to clean her body at the moment.
• Adorably Precocious Child: He became a Flame Haze at fifteen and was only one for a year, and remained enthusiastic and idealistic until the very end.
• Apologises a Lot: To Margery and Valac. In fact, his Last Words are an apology to the latter.
• The Beast Master: Yuri's Power of Unrestraint is the ability to control insects and other small animals.
• Foil: To Margery. While she's selfish, cynical, old, and experienced, he's selfless, idealistic, young, and naïve. His death only reinforces Margery's conviction that idealism will get you killed.
• Half the Man He Used to Be: Gets bisected diagonally by Sydonay, and then finished off by his and Margery's Flame Bullets.
• Meaningful Name: Valac, as Volach, is a demon from the 15th-century Munich Manual of Demonic Magic that has the form of a boy with angel wings that rides upon a two-headed dragon.
• My Greatest Failure: Yuri's death is this to Margery. She's sunk very low for the sake of claiming her vengeance, but killing Yuri to save her own skin was her rock bottom and it haunts her for decades.
• Posthumous Character: He introduced via flashback. He's long dead by Yuji's time.
• Skilled, but Naive: Margery views him as such, and there is some truth to this. She shuns his attempts to become her partner until the end, at which point he bravely but recklessly attacks the much more experienced and powerful Hero Killer Sydonay, resulting in his death.
• Sorry That I'm Dying: Apologizes to Valac for getting killed, who reassures him that he did nothing wrong.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Yuri killed the Crimson Denizen that killed his family as soon as he became a Flame Haze, so a thirst for Revenge never set it. As a result, he made protecting humanity his mission and still thought of himself as human. Naturally, his good nature leads to his death.
• Trial by Friendly Fire: After being severely injured by Sydonay, he is caught in the crossfire between the Crimson Lord and Margery Daw, who ruthlessly fired Power of Existence at him to save her own skin due to the fact that was she obsessed with obtaining her revenge on the Silver, even at the price of killing her ally and admirer.

Ernest Flieder

Transposer of Corpses and Bodies

Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (JP), Mark Stoddard (EN)

A Flame Haze of English descent and the leader of the Tokyo Outlaw branch. He is contracted to the Crimson Lord "Arts and Crafts of Application" Brigid, whose will resides in Ambrosia, a divine vessel in the form of a rose. In a reversal of the usual Flame Haze-Crimson Lord dynamic, Flieder generally acts as the senior partner, being mature and confident whereas Brigid is child-like and timid.

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• Combat Pragmatist: Despite being a powerful Flame Haze, Flieder eschews straight-up fights if he can, preferring to hide underground while tricking his enemies into attacking explosive duplicates of himself. This has earned him the derisive nickname "pretty impostor" by Rebecca Reed.
• The Dandy: Hence why he's called "pretty imposter" by Rebecca.
• Doppelgänger Attack: One of Flieder's Powers of Unrestraint is to create duplicates of himself from the soil. Explosive duplicates to boot.
• Four-Star Badass: Is put in charge of the Tokyo Outlaw branch and manages to protect it from Bal Masqué's assault for half a day until the attack on the Castle of the Stars forces Bal Masqué to withdraw.
• Intangible Man: One of his Powers of Unrestraint allows him to control the density of his body, which he tends to use make himself incorporeal.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Is willing to resort to unsavory tactics to carry out his mission (such as holding Keisaku hostage), but he is ultimately dedicated to protecting the balance of the world from Crimson Denizens.
• Meaningful Name: Brigid is the Irish goddess of spring and fertility, among others things.
• Something about a Rose: Brigid's divine vessel, Ambrosia, is a rose, and this fits with his image as a dandy.
• Take a Third Option: After the Flame Haze Army's defeat in the battle of the Castle of the Stars, he and another Flame Haze capture the Denizen Rofocale, servant of the Crimson God Shaher, in the hopes that the former can contact the latter. The "why" is not explicitly made clear, but it is likely he was hoping to convince Shaher to issue a mandate that the Crimson Denizens would be compelled to obey.
• Working with the Ex: At some point in the past, he and Rebecca Reed were in a relationship until she jilted him. While the two still talk frequently when present in the same place, Flieder refers to Rebecca as "Stupid Bomb" while she refers to him as "pretty impostor." When Flieder holds Keisaku Satou hostage to compel Wilhelmina to report in to Outlaw, Rebecca is the one that frees him, taking on Flieder in the process.

Contracted Crimson Lords and Gods

Marchosias

Claws and Fangs of Violation

Voiced by: Mitsuo Iwata (JP), Trevor Devall (Geneon), Justin Cook (Funimation) (EN)

The Crimson Lord to whom Margery is bound. He expresses his will through the divine vessel Grimoire, which takes the form of a book. He talks wildly, makes comments without remorse, and often teases Margery, often earning a retaliatory punch. He does genuinely care about her, however, perhaps not in the form of friendship, but as a companion in battle.

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• Blood Knight: Most Crimson Lords that contract with humans see hunting down their renegade brethren as a solemn responsibility. Marchosias does it for fun.
• The Conscience: He's a Blood Knight and indiscriminate when it comes to Crimson Denizens, but he encourages Margery to embrace her humanity and will call her out when he feels she's being to callous to her friends.
• The Hyena: He is often heard laughing when taunting or mocking.
• Large Ham: Constantly shouting, laughing, and given to grandiose turn of phrase.
• Mad Libs Catch Phrase: "My [adjective] [noun], Margery Daw!"
• Meaningful Name: According to 16th-century demonologist's Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Marchosias is a demon in the form of a she-wolf.^note  Weyer stated that the source of his demonic hierarchy is a now lost grimoire, Liber officiorum spirituum, seu Liber dictus Empto. Salomonis, de principibus et regibus daemoniorum. The Ars Goetia identifies Marchosias as male, ascribes to him the title "Marquis of Hell," and describes his form as being chimaeric, but primarily lupine. Naturally, the Crimson Lord Marchosias' manifestation is that of a giant wolf made of purple flames, and Margery Daw's Toga form, despite looking vaguely ursine, is a massive bipedal wolf.
• The Nicknamer: Has an endless supply of them for Margery Daw, always in the form of a Mad Libs Catch Phrase.
• NO INDOOR VOICE: Rarely talks below an outrageous shout.
• Savage Wolves: His true form, or at least the one that most accurately reflects his nature to humans, is a giant wolf made of purple fire.
• Shipper on Deck: He is much more approving of his contractor's growing feelings than any other Crimson Lord, and at times is more in favor of Margery having a relationship with Satou than Margery herself is.
• Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: He is a Crimson Lord that speaks through a book and teases Margery Daw whenever possible.
• Tome of Eldritch Lore: At least in appearance, given that he speaks through a book and his contractee is known as an expert in Unrestricted Methods (though again, Crimson Lords reside within their Flame Hazes, and their divine vessels are how they communicate).
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Marchosias and Margery regularly abuse each other verbally, but when Shana defeats Margery after she attempts to kill the Crimson Denizen Lamies, he threatens to kill Shana and Yuji if they harm her.

Tiamat

Crown-and-Sash of Fantasies

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (JP), Lisa Ann Beley (Geneon), Clarine Harp (Funimation) (EN)

The Crimson Lord to whom Wilhelmina is bound. She expresses her will through the divine vessel Persona, which shifts forms between a headband, and a mask when in battle.

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• Cool Mask: She speaks through a mask that Wilhelmina wears; it is three colors and tiger-like.
• Deadpan Snarker: Her short statements are often quite pithy.
• Mask of Power: When engaged in particularly difficult battles, Persona can be transformed into this by Wilhelmina, with numerous prehensile, extendable ribbons flowing out from it. This means that Wilhelmina does not have to construct said ribbons like she normally has to, and the explosions that these ribbons cause (the ribbons can channel Power of Existence and then detonate) are greater than the ones she constructs herself.
• Meaningful Name: Tiamat is a primordial goddess of the sea and sea serpent in Babylonian mythology.
• Terse Talker: Her usual manner of speaking is to add short comments after Wilhelmina's sentences.
• The Quiet One: She bears the nickname (not to be confused with her "true name," the "Crown-and-Sash of Fantasies") "Great River of Reticence."
• The Stoic: She is even less expressive than Wilhelmina.

Snake of the Festival

God of Creation

Voiced by: Show Hayami (JP), Bruce Carey (EN)

Along with his peer Alastor, the Snake of the Festival is the most powerful of the Crimson Gods. The leader and founder of Bal Masqué, he attempted to create a paradise for Crimson Denizens with unlimited Power of Existence to feed on. Fearing that his plan would disrupt the balance and destroy both Earth and the Crimson Realm, an army of Flame Hazes and Crimsons Lords defeated him, sealing his body in the Abyss. His followers continued to work relentlessly for three thousand years to restore him, with the Midnight Lost Child often being at the crux of their plans. This causes several clashes between Shana, Yuji (who carries the Midnight Lost Child within him), and their allies and Bal Masqué.

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• Affably Evil: He holds no malice toward the Flame Hazes, and is quite polite to them while he is butchering their army. He also legitimately likes and respects Yuji. After the two separate, the Snake of the Festival tells Yuji that, while others may not forgive him, as a god who grants wishes he understands and admires the lengths the latter went to achieve his dream.
• Anti-Villain: While his goals are sympathetic, he will crush anyone might try to stop him from achieving them.
• Batman Gambit: Snake of the Festival Yuji is one step ahead of the Flame Hazes the entire third season, and the only reason that the Flame Hazes partially succeed in their goals is because the Crimson Denizens entreat him to allow them to.
• Big Bad: He is the true leader of Bal Masqué, and the only one capable of completing the Evil Plan of the final arc, making him the chief enemy that Shana must defeat. As it turns out, he was a Well-Intentioned Extremist that disagreed with the Flame Hazes.
• A God Am I: It's downplayed because he really is a god, but his ambition to fundamentally change the world by creating the paradise of Xanadu is treated as a similar sort of madness.
• God Is Evil: When he first appears (merged with Yuji), the Snake of the Festival appears to be this, particularly due to his ruthless nature and due to the fact that Shana and the Flame Hazes are the Main Characters. However, the final light novel reveals that God Is Good, just not nice.
• Good All Along: His motivation is eventually revealed to be the creation of a perfect world for the Denizens where they would not have to eat humans to exist, thus ending the Forever War in a way that doesn't involve exterminating the Flame Hazes. He still has to be pushed into accepting the no-eating-humans rule by his many followers.
• Hero Antagonist: He's trying to create a paradise for his followers where they will have endless food and nobody hunting them, but the lead in this story is Flame Haze Shana.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: The Flame Hazes consider him a Sealed Evil in a Can because of his idea of Xanadu, and he is remembered as some ancient demon among the modern ones like Shana.
• Large Ham: Courtesy of Show Hayami. He doesn't exactly chew the scenery, but he has a grandiose personality and manner of speaking, and he talks a lot.
• Leitmotif: Le Serpent De Ceremonie.
• Manipulative Bastard: He got Yuji on his side easily enough by showing how their goals aligned, and then played the Flame Haze army like a troupe of fools.
• Meaningful Name: Before he cast it aside, the Snake of the Festival's name was Fu Xi, the name of a Chinese culture hero with the face of a man and body of a snake who co-created humanity alongside his wife.
• Physical God: He is beyond the standing of a Crimson Lord with power far greater than any of them. He's even prayed to by them.
• Poor Judge of Character: The first time he tried to create a paradise for Crimson Denizens he noticed Flame Hazes starting to gather at the ritual ground and he happily invited them attend his new world's creation. They were there to sabotage his ritual, which they did, sealing him within the Abyss in the process. For his second go-around, he's much savvier and doesn't try playing nice with the Flame Hazes.
• Red Baron: His nicknames include "Black God", "Monster that breaks Heaven and swallows Earth", and "God out of a fairy tale".
• Sealed Evil in a Can: He was trapped in the Abyss ages ago by the Flame Hazes because he tried something truly dangerous with the balance of the worlds. He's actually Sealed Good in a Can because he wanted to avoid/end a Forever War.
• Sharing a Body: Yuji Sakai becomes his host and they freely trade places as the dominant personality in his body.
• Split-Personality Merge: While Yuji and the Snake are not technically split personalities, they fulfill this trope pretty well by having such similar goals and mannerisms that it is difficult for others, be they the Trinity or Shana, to tell them apart.
• The Extremist Was Right: It turns out that creating a world of endless Power of Existence in the Abyss really was the key to peaceful co-existence between Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens.
• The Maker: He is the God of Creation, and he's capable of creating powerful Treasure Tools and entire worlds (though Earth and the Crimson Realm were not created by him).
• Threat Backfire: Inverted. Yuji keeps Shana alive because he loves her, but he gets the Snake of the Festival and Bal Masqué go along with it because as long as Alastor is bound to Shana he can't seek out a new Flame Haze that wouldn't have a problem with summoning him to kill them. Shana later makes it very clear to the Snake of the Festival that they're correct in this assumption, and that should the Snake of the Festival decide to dispose of Yuji there would be nothing holding her back from using this ultimate move.
• Visionary Villain: The very reason for his existence is essentially to be one of these, making the dreams of Crimson Denizens come true.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Creating Xanadu is such an extreme, massive, and risky undertaking that the Flame Hazes considered it to be madness, but his motive is a bountiful and peaceful place for his followers to live.

Crimson Denizens and Lords

Sydonay/Chi You

Thousand Changes

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (JP), Eli Gabay (Geneon), Jason Douglas (Funimation) (EN)

Entitled "General", he stayed outside of the Bal Masque, preferring the freedom to do as he pleases, with "personal bodyguard" as his hobby. Upon finding the Midnight Lost Child, he's returned to the Bal Masque, leading the Denizens in their war with the Flame Hazes. A shapeshifter, he usually looks like a tall, middle-aged man with sunglasses and dark-colored suits.

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• Affably Evil: He never shows any malice or hatred to his enemies, not even as he kills them.
• Arch-Enemy: Margery may view Silver as her archnemesis, but Sydonay and Margery often end up fighting each other whenever the two are present in the same battle.
• Berserk Button: Harming Hecate will earn you his violent and undivided attention.
• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Even if they're not related, all his talk of keeping Hecate "pure" and his focus on her safety make him sound like a father that wants his daughter to stay an innocent little girl.
• Co-Dragons: He's the most action-oriented of the Trinity. His role is to lead the Denizens in battle.
• Cool Old Guy: His human guise is that of a burly man at least his early 50s.
• Cool Shades: Always wearing sunglasses when he takes on a human appearance.
• Corrupt the Cutie: Inverted. "Hecate you are pure and unsoiled. Please stay that way."
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He cares a lot about Hecate.
• Extendable Arms: A favorite technique of Sydonay's is to stretch his arms to extraordinary lengths... with tiger heads in place of hands.
• Four-Star Badass: Sydonay is the leader of Bal Masqué's armies.
• Hellish Pupils: They reveal his true nature as a Crimson Lord, and a particularly bestial one at that.
• Hero Killer: Yes. He kills the following Flame Hazes: Karl Berwald, Yuri Chvojka, Yu Xuan, and CenterHill.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: When he notices that Tiriel is dead and that Shana and Yuji have taken the Orgel, he concludes that Sorath has no chance and he won't fare too well against a re-energeized Margery Daw in his injured state. He promptly books it.
• Meaningful Name:
  • "Sydonay" is a variant name of the infamous Asmodeus, a demon who first appears in the Book of Tobit, considered non-canonical by Jews and most Protestants and deuterocanonical by Catholics and Orthodox Christians. According to Jacques Collin de Plancy's demonological manual Dictionnaire Infernal, Asmodeus is a chimeric being.
  • Chiyou is a Chinese god of war as well as the mythical king of the Nine Li tribe who fought the future Yellow Emperor. The first Flame Haze to fall to Sydonay in the Second Great War is Yu Xuan, whose Lord is Di Hong, another name for the Yellow Emperor.
• Morph Weapon: His Treasure Tool, a spear that can change shape and size at will.
• Papa Wolf: Neither of them are young but given his much older and bigger appearance, he looks like this trope when coming to Hecate's defense.
• Purple Is Powerful: The color of his flame is muddy violet, and he's one of the most powerful Crimson Lords alive.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He is the General of Bal Masque's army and also its most powerful soldier.
• Rasputinian Death: And how. He fights through getting mauled by Margery's final form and getting his arm almost casually lopped off by an enraged Shana, endures a blast from Shana that was able to overpower both Grammatica AND Azure, and forces Margery to expend every last bit of her power in a massive firestorm just to finally put him down.
• Reincarnation: The Snake of the Festival spends most of his time sleeping while waiting for the Crimson Denizens' desires and faith to grow strong enough to awaken him so that he might grant their wish. Each time, Sydonay (if he has perished) and the rest of the Trinity (if the other members of the Trinity have perished) are reborn to prepare the way.
• Smoking Is Cool: He is often seen smoking, which shows how much he has grown accustomed to human life styles (and vices). Hecate tells him on several occasions to stop but he doesn't.
• Suicide by Cop: After the successful creation of Xanadu, Sydonay decided to stay behind, both to help Sakai Yuji, as well as to die so he can be together with Hecate.
• Together in Death: He throws his final fight with Margery so he can join Hecate in the afterlife.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: He isn't called "Thousand Changes" for nothing. He can change into many different forms at will.

Hecate

Supreme Throne

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (JP), Brenna O'Brien (Geneon), Lindsay Seidel (Funimation) (EN)

Entitled "Priestess", Hecate is a small girl with a cool hat, a staff and a white cape, who controls the movements of Seireiden, the base of the Bal Masqué. Melancholic and quiet, frequently lamenting herself as "empty", she habitually prays, but to nothing in particular, which Bel Peol finds odd.

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• Becoming the Mask: After absorbing her fragment Konoe, Hecate ended up developing genuine feelings for Yuji.
• Character Development: Gained quite a few feelings, most notably love, following contact with Yuji as Konoe (but not like that).
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Kind of cuckoo, between her praying tendencies and her emotionlessness, and most of the time just sits off the field. However, she is one of the most powerful Denizens short of a Crimson Lord, and her attacks are terrifyingly powerful.
• Co-Dragons: Her role in the Trinity is to divine the will of their master and perform the Pslam of the Grand Order.
• Emotionless Girl: She has no emotions to express and is instead an empty vessel for the Snake of the Festival to express his will, until he finds a true contractor in Yuji. In the anime, she becomes more emotional after absorbing Konoe. In the light novels, its Yuji's merge with the Snake of the Festival that triggers a change in her personality, as at last she can walk and talk with her god rather than pray to him across vast distances.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In order to fully awaken the Snake of the Festival's power so that he might create Xanadu, she has to sacrifice herself. It is not without some hope, as her spirit resides with her master until the time comes for her to be reborn.
• Hopeless Suitor: Hecate also joins the loser side about the same time she starts developing strong feelings for Yuji. That was when he already became Snake of the Festival and had only Shana in his mind.
• Humanity Is Infectious: She creates a fragment, or faux vessel, of herself known as Konoe Fumina. Konoe's job is to experience emotions as a human, which, after absorbing Konoe back into herself, Hecate can use to control a version of the Silver (Tyrant II) who in turn controls the Statue of Pride. By absorbing Konoe, she does more than "collect" her emotions, she feels them for herself. Konoe's attachment to Yuji causes Hecate to redirect her attack on him, and later enables Shana to land a killing strike on the Silver, as described below.
• Light Is Not Good: She is a cleric garbed in white who generates golden-light, but she is a villain. The third season sees this perception change, given what she means to the Crimson Denizen community.
• Meaningful Name: Hecate is a Greek goddess associated with, among other things, magic, witchcraft, and sorcery.
• Morality Pet: To Sydonay. It's hard to think of him as 'evil' when he dotes on Hecate.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: She attempts this on a powerless Shana in the third season because she's an obstacle in her new feelings for Yuji who also happens to be the vessel for her boss, which increases her motivation.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: While Konoe was gathering memories and feelings during Season 2, she was fascinated by birds and kept having them land on her hands. After Hecate transfers said feelings/memories and the stolen Midnight Lost Child into the Statue of Pride, cue a Curb-Stomp Battle between it and Shana/Yuji. Unable to get close enough to attack, Shana tries one last attempt by flying towards the statue. During that attack, the statue sees Shana like a little bird, which causes the it to reach out with its hand instead of attacking her. Shana and Yuji then use this opportunity to reclaim the Midnight Lost Child and leave Hecate wondering what the heck just happened.
• Proper Tights with a Skirt: Wears black tights beneath her white skirt, which makes her look more clerical modest and sets a contrast with fellow Trinity member, Bel Peol.
• Psychic Link: She has one with with the Snake of the Festival, and is capable of contacting him even when he's trapped in the Abyss. Her praying? That's her communing with him. It is through this link that the Snake of the Festival passes on the instructions for the Psalm of the Grand Order, the impossibly complex spell (composed of 82 lesser spells) that serves as the blueprint for Xanadu.
• Rei Ayanami Expy: Pale skin with short blue hair? Check. Emotionless Girl? Check. Non-human nature? Check. Eventually comes to understand emotions better, as well as developing feelings for the main character? Check.
• Reincarnation: The Snake of the Festival spends most of his time sleeping while waiting for the Crimson Denizens' desires and faith to grow strong enough to awaken him so that he might grant their wish. Each time, Hecate (if she has perished) and the rest of the Trinity (if the other members of the Trinity had perished) are reborn to prepare the way.
• Shy Blue-Haired Girl: In appearance, but her quiet demeanor is due to her being an Emotionless Girl.
• The Stoic: The result of a very limited sense of self is little emoting.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Her lack of self and obsession with completing her god's task for her makes her cold and distant in general, but every so often one gets a peek behind her frosty exterior and sees she does genuinely care for a few people.
• Together in Death: She greets Sydonay in the afterlife and they walk into the light together.

Bel Peol

Judge of Paradoxes

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (JP), Paula Lindberg (Geneon), Caitlin Glass (Funimation) (EN)

Entitled "Strategist", Bel Peol is a tall, three-eyed woman with an eyepatch over her right eye. Scheming and manipulative, she holds no qualms with sending off her subordinates to die, but she can inspire loyalty in many, all the same.

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• The Baroness: Of the Sexpot variety. She loves making war and is utterly dedicated to the Snake of the Festival's vision.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Unlike most Denizens, she enjoys the obstacles that come against her plans, feeling that overcoming challenges makes life interesting.
• Chain Pain: Her treasure tool is a length of chain known as Tartaros, which she doesn't use to fight. Instead, it performs non-combat functions like depowering and summoning.
• The Chessmaster: The Snake of the Festival sets out the objectives, but Bel Peol is responsible for developing the actual strategy to achieve them.
• Co-Dragons: Her role in the Trinity is to devise the long-term plans that will see their master's plans fulfilled.
• Eyepatch of Power: The missing eye was used as the seal for the Snake of the Festival's real body.
• Meaningful Name: Bel Peol is possibly named after Baal Peor, who, according to the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, was a Moabite god associated with Mount Peor. The name possibly translates to "Lord of the Opening," which, given Bel Peol's role in opening the gate sealing the Snake of the Festival's body, fits quite nicely.
• Ms. Fanservice: She has a voluptuous figure and wears a very revealing dress.
• Power Nullifier: She can use her chains to suppress others' abilities, such as Shana's Flame Haze powers or Kazumi's Giralda.
• Reincarnation: The Snake of the Festival spends most of his time sleeping while waiting for the Crimson Denizens' desires and faith to grow strong enough to awaken him so that he might grant their wish. Each time, Bel Peol (if she has perished) and the rest of the Trinity (if the other members of the Trinity had perished) are reborn to prepare the way.
• The Strategist: She plans Bal Masqué's actions which the others execute.
• Third Eye: It has the traditional place in her forehead. Since she's missing her right eye, this brings her back to two. It has the usual associations of wisdom and forethought.

Sabrac

Destructive Blade

Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda (JP), Brad Jackson (EN)

A Crimson Lord assassin infamous for killing Flame Hazes, he was hired by the Bal Masque. As a hobby, he collects bladed weapons, from swords to katanas, and he actively used them in fights, a la General Grievous.

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• Animal Motif: A shark. The guide book Shakugan no Shana no Subete Kan explains that his design is meant to call to mind a shark's dorsal fin, and his ceaseless muttering has its parallel in a shark's ceaseless swim.
• Arch-Enemy: He has a personal grudge against Wilhelmina because she is one of the few people he has failed to kill.
• Blood Knight: Not as boisterous as other examples, but lacking a purpose to call his own he deliberately "hires" himself out to anybody who will give him a fight.
• Despair Event Horizon: Realizing his (relative) impotency when compared to the Snake of the Festival, he chooses to die in the Abyss, the void between Earth and the Crimson World. At the same time, he enjoys his feeling of despair, realizing that it finally caused him to understand and connect with Mare.
• The Dreaded: All Flame Hazes dread seeing or hearing of him, so great is the terror invoked by him.
• Dual Wielding: Sabrac uses twin swords, summoning replacements as they are broken.
• The Faceless: The only thing visible are his glowing red eyes; sinister yes?
• Fisher King: Becomes this in the Abyss. After the Flame Hazes learn the secret of his implacability, Sabrac fuses his Power of Existence to one of the Abyss' ruins. When the Flame Hazes attempt to separate him from his reservoir of power like they did before, the ruins immediately begin to fall apart, threatening to send all the combatants to their deaths.
• Fighting a Shadow: He fought against the group the first time by spreading his true presence across the city, then sending fragments of himself to attack Wilhelmina.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: He has permanent glowing eyes (but other than that, no visible face).
• Hero Killer: Sabrac was about to deal a killing blow to Wilhelmina and was only prevented from doing so when Pheles and Johann swooped in and rescued her. He was responsible for the mortal injury of Johann, which forced Pheles to place Johann within the Midnight Lost Child. In each of his defeats, it took the combined power of some of the most powerful Flame Hazes to beat him, and in the final defeat his loss was due mainly to his being distracted by the Snake of the Festival's emergence.
• It Only Works Once: Sabrac alters his Stigma so that Johann's countermeasures no longer affect it, and later chooses a battleground where the Flame Hazes can't separate him from his Power of Existence reservoir without dooming themselves.
• Implacable Man: His Fighting a Shadow technique makes most attempts at defeating him futile. He just recovers and continues hunting his target. He followed Pheles, Wilhelmina and Johann for ages before dealing one of them a critical blow.
• No Holds Barred Beat Down: Sabrac throws Wilhelmina around like a rag doll and severely injures Shana before Yuji figures out how to defeat him. In his second battle with the Flame Hazes (that we see in the series), he inflicts brutal damage on the Flame Hazes (the three Flame Hazes involved being among the most powerful alive) before losing his will to fight upon viewing the overwhelming power of the Snake of the Festival.
• Power Nullifier: His Unrestricted Spell Stigma is applied to his swords, which nullify a Flame Haze's Healing Factor on any wounds caused by said swords. Stigma causes the wound to rapidly worsen as well. Wilhelmina and Shana use bandages specifically devised by Johann to cancel out Stigma, but by their next encounter Sabrac has altered Stigma (now called Stigmata) so that the bandages no longer work.
• Professional Killer: His job is killing.
• The Stoic: Not necessarily by training or inclination, but because he inherently finds it difficult to experience emotion. Ironically, he wants to feel emotion, in order to better understand his fallen friend Mare. The most emotion he shows during the series is when Wilhelmina reveals that Johann discovered a way to counter Stigma, whenever he's around Dantalion (whom he loathes, and even then it is a very reserved loathing), and as he lays dying.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Doesn't merely throw his swords, but rockets numerous swords at his enemies.
• Underestimating Badassery: Sabrac tends to emotionlessly chide himself whenever his opponents manage to surprise him due to his underestimating them.
• Villainous Friendship: He traveled with denizen known as Mare for a while, and he thinks of her often after they parted ways. In fact, his final thoughts are of her, and how they are both equally insignificant before the power of the Snake of the Festival.
• Worthy Opponent: Sabrac views Wilhelmina as this, though she views him with loathing and even a bit of fear.
• Wound That Will Not Heal: Stigma inflicts Healing Factor proof wounds.

Pheles

Caprice of Beauty

Voiced by: Marina Inoue (JP), Monica Rial (EN)

A green-haired Denizen that isn't aligned with the Bal Masque, Pheles fell in love with a man named Johann. Forged the Midnight Lost Child with Johann so she doesn't need to consume other humans' power of existence; she can get enough to survive from Johan without him being in danger of disappearing. She's also friends with Wilhelmina, whom she once saved from a trap set by Sabrac.

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• Blow You Away: Her specialty involves wind-based unrestricted methods, such as appearing in a tornado
• Cleavage Window: Her arms, shoulders, and breasts are covered, but not a single stitch of fabric covers her cleavage.
• Curtains Match the Window: She has green eyes and green hair.
• Even the Girls Want Her: When she goes to the festival, several girls coo over her beauty.
• Faux Action Girl: Before she is introduced, Wilhelmina describes her a tremendously powerful Denizen, but although she does give a bit of trouble with her wind powers, she is defeated each time she shows up. Aside from that, she has no significant victories to her credit and is not even seen defeating mooks. Shakugan no Shana XV, which was not adapted into the anime, mitigates this somewhat by showing her fighting very effectively in the Révolution War.
• Fire-Forged Friends: She spent time traveling with Wilhelmina in the past and they bonded by fighting off Sabrac.
• Fusion Dance: In the finale, she and Johann combine their existences and give birth to Justus.
• Hoist by Her Own Petard: Pheles cruelly manipulates Yoshida and betrays Wilhelmina's trust in order to find out how to free Johann from the Midnight Lost Child, which would result in Yuji's death. Upon finding out that Sabrac altered the Keeper on the Midnight Lost Child (which prevents others from tampering with it) for Bal Masqué, she instead attempts to summon Johann from within the Midnight Lost Child (switching places with Yuji). Instead, she ends up summoning the Silver, who partially emerges from Yuji and spears her through, nearly killing her.
• Leitmotif: La Visiteuse.
• Manipulative Bitch: As befits her title, she's more than willing to pretend to be redeemed by The Power of Friendship if it'll get her what she wants.
• Meaningful Name: "Pheles" comes from "Mephistopheles," the cunning and manipulative demon from the Faust legend who later became associated with the devil.
• Scarf of Asskicking: She's a very powerful Crimson Lord who sports a scarf.
• Shoulders of Doom: Her tight-fitting suit comes equipped with big shoulder pads, perhaps an indicator that she's not to be trusted.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Her romance with Johann was doomed to tragedy due to their conflicting natures. Even creating the Midnight Lost Child only made them a more tempting target.
• Theme Naming: She is named after Mephistopheles from the story of Faust.
• Wife Husbandry: Genderflipped, as she raised Johann, not the other way around. This also wasn't the intention of raising him, as the two only fell in love once Johann reached adulthood.

Dantalion

Seeking Researcher

Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (JP), Michael Dobson (Geneon), Barry Yandell (Funimation) (EN)

A Mad Scientist of Bal Masque. He's disliked by most Denizens.

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• Archnemesis Dad: His artificial Flame Haze creation, Sale, is currently hunting him down.
• The Evil Genius: He makes all those huge unrestricted systems. The Sacred Chapel in the first season? His design.
• Evil Plan: Conducts tremendously dangerous experiments with Power of Existence....so he can see what happens. He's so nutso Alastor remarks that it wouldn't be out of character for him not to have a plan at all.
• Expy: Of The Doctor from Hellsing, only (even) hammier and with shorter hair. Interestingly, given that Hellsing and Shana ran at the same time for many years, it is not easy tell who is an expy of who.
• For Science!: He seems to have no qualms about blowing up the universe as long as he gets to watch.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: His Opaque Lenses serve to reinforce how detached he is from everything save for his beloved and dangerous experiments.
• Gratuitous English: In the original Japanese anime, he likes speaking randomly in English while... commenting... on the situation. "Exciting" and "excellent" are two favorite words of his.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He is killed by an explosion from his own robot (which he himself set to self-destruct), launched at him by Sale, himself one of Dantalion's creations.
• Idiot Hair: After returning to the Seireiden at the end looks like he got a bad afro.
• Large Ham: He sounds ecstatic while gesturing to machines and creating scary glasses glint.
• Light Is Not Good: Wears white, has Scary Shiny Glasses, and one of the few villains to be portrayed with no redeeming features.
• Mad Scientist: He doesn't care if his experiments succeed or fail, as long as they do so spectacularly.
• Meaningful Name: Dantalion is a Great Duke of Hell in the Ars Goetia whose domain is the arts and sciences.
• No Indoor Voice: He's constantly shouting as he describes his latest work of scientific passion.
• Opaque Lenses: His glasses are always like this, hiding his eyes, although an Eye Catch shows him without them.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Moments before his death, all he can manage to squeeze out is a flat "huh?" as he sees one of his creations heading straight for him about to explode.
• Truly Single Parent: He created Sale artificially, so the guy has no mother.

Friagne

The Hunter

Voiced by: Jun'ichi Suwabe (JP), Trevor Devall (Geneon), J. Michael Tatum (Funimation) (EN)

A powerful Crimson Lord. Unlike other Crimson Lords and Denizens, he doesn't associate with the organizations like Bal Masqué.

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• Adaptational Wimp: In the anime adaptation. While he's no pushover, he goes down easier than he does in the light novel and the movie and manga adaptations, in which he actually shoots Shana with Trigger Happy, a weapon normally instantly lethal to Flame Hazes.
• Ax-Crazy: He desperately wants to gather enough power of existence to give his Rinne Marianne life so she doesn't disappear without his power. What makes him this trope is his methods and the fact that after Marianne tried to pull a Heroic Sacrifice (it didn't work) he still thinks he's stroking her in his arms.
• Collector of the Strange: He collects Treasure Tools.
• Curtains Match the Window: His silver eyes match his silver hair.
• Death Dealer: Among the weapons he uses is "Regular Sharp," a Treasure Tool in the form of the ace of spades that can produce an indefinite number of other cards, which are both razor sharp and capable of firing magic blasts.
• Evil Plan: As the first major villain, it's his plan for Misaki city that starts the plot. He wants to collect the city's power of existence so Marianne can exist without his power and they can live forever together.
• Faux Affably Evil: Presents a facade of being polite and charming, but when his plan to turn Misaki City into a giant mass of Power of Existence begins to fall apart he reveals a petty, vicious side.
• Hero Killer: Notorious for killing Flame Hazes.
• Immortality Seeker: Singlemindedly focused on obtaining "eternity," not just for himself, but his Rinne Marianne.
• Light Is Not Good: White suit, silver eyes-and-hair, and utterly depraved.
• Marionette Master: His Rhinne, such as Marianne, look like puppets.
• Meaningful Name: According to the 15th-century grimoire known as the Heptameron, or Magical Elements and the 17th-century MS Harley 6482 (Rudd manuscript), Friagne is an angel, specifically an angel of the fifth Heaven ruling in the East on Tuesday.
• One-Hit Kill: His artifact "Trigger Happy" forces the targeted Flame Haze to unleash their Crimson Lord, killing them in process.
• Perverse Sexual Lust: He is in love with a doll, and not even a particularly realistic-looking one. Notably, he was attracted to said doll before it became a Rinne, as described below.
• Power Perversion Potential: Rinne are unstable existences created by Crimson Denizens to serve them. Marianne was once an ordinary doll until Friagne came across it in Turin in 1848, lusted for it, and gave her life as a Rinne.
• Starter Villain: While he's not the first Crimson Lord Shana has faced in her lifetime, plot-wise, Friagne is the first villain to present a major threat to Misaki City and the first to be defeated by Shana in tandem with Yuji. Once he's dispatched, he along with Marianne are never heard from again. Only the ring and altar he leaves behind would prove significant to the plot later on.
• Villainous Breakdown: His confident demeanor begins to crack when Shana and Yuuji are on the verge of undoing his plan. Then when Shana kills Marianne, he goes into denial about what happened and continues to talk to and stroke empty air as if he was still carrying her, and starts raving that Shana can't take their eternity.
• Yandere: He wants to make it so his Rinne Marianne can live without needing his power. This combined with the nature of his kind means he won't shy from wiping devouring an entire city at once nor getting to fights with Flame Hazes on purpose. Though this has caused him to become a bit Axe-Crazy.
• You Have Failed Me: Defied. Marianne thinks he will do this but he consoles and comforts her instead.

Sorath and Tiriel

He-Who-Loves-Himself (Sorath), She-Who-Loves-Others (Tiriel)

Sorath voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi (JP), Aidan Drummond (Geneon), Micah Solusod (Funimation) (EN),

Tiriel voiced by: Yukari Tamura (JP), Jocelyne Loewen (Geneon), Apphia Yu (Funimation) (EN)

A pair of blonde, blue-eyed villains who start sloppily making out any chance they get without care for their surroundings (which leads to an aesop for Shana about what love really is).

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• All Take and No Give: Tiriel gives Sorath anything he wants so she can keep him pleased even if it means giving up her life for him. In return, Sorath only cares about getting what he wants and as long as Tiriel can give it to him, he doesn't really care about what happens to her.
• BFS: Sorath is the original owner of Blutsauger.
• Brains and Brawn: Sorath, in spite of his petite form, is a deadly fighter. Tiriel doesn't get her hands dirty, but she conceives of and sets up the plan, creates the Cradle Garden spell and the Rinne "Pinion," and is generally responsible for most of the moves the pair makes.
• Brother–Sister Team: Sorath and Tiriel are siblings and united in their goal to get Sorath whatever he wants.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Tiriel in the light novels and manga. She won't allow Sorath to even think about another girl.
• Creepy Blue Eyes: Both have blue eyes and are villains of inhuman nature.
• Creepy Child: They're far too physically intimate given their prepubescent appearance and relatedness. They're also immortal monsters that eat people and aren't very good about keeping that secret. As such, everyone around them quickly picks up on their being something wrong about them, and even other Denizens are off-put by them.
• Creepy Twins: Their being twins makes their appearance and behavior even more uncanny, and ups the Squick factor of their Twincest.
• Death by Irony: Sorath's own obsession leads directly to his death. The whole reason behind his attack on Shana is to take her Nietono no Shana. He's so fixated that when at the end of their battle Shana throws Nietono no Shana up into the air, Sorath takes his eyes off his incredibly dangerous opponent to try to catch it. Shana promptly sucker punches him, reclaims the sword, and bisects him.
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: Tiriel wears a puffy dress bedecked with ribbons and a frilly bonnet. Given her nature and personality, her clothing only makes her more disturbing.
• Evil Plan: Sorath wants to steal the Nietono no Shana; Tiriel wants to help him do this. She couldn't care less about the sword but it appears that the plan is of her design.
• Half-Identical Twins: They're both short, have wavy blond hair, and are fair-skinned, but one's a boy and the other's a girl. Given their nature though, genetics is irrelevant.
• Hero Killer: Sorath has killed Flame Hazes in the past.
• It's All About Me: Sorath's title is "He-Who-Loves-Himself" for a good reason. He's utterly self-absorbed, entirely focused on his own gratification.
• Lack of Empathy: Not only does Sorath not care when Tiriel dies giving him her Power of Existence, he doesn't even seem to be aware that it happened.
• Make-Out Kids: They're always sloppily making out any chance they get without caring one bit about how awkward and squicky it is for people around them (especially given how visible is that they are brother and sister). After seeing how shallow and shameless they are about kissing, Shana deems this relationship is entirely physical and not true love.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Sorath is the name of the demon of the sun associated with the number 666 in 19th-century occultist Francis Barrett's The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer.
  • Tiriel first appears in Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy as the intelligence of the planet Mercury; it's also the eponymous name of the exiled king with an incestuous attraction to his daughter in "Tiriel," a poem by William Blake and an early part of his Mythopoeia.
• Pimped-Out Dress: In keeping with her Elegant Gothic Lolita style, Tiriel wears a long, puffy dress with plenty of frills and ribbons.
• Pitbull Dates Puppy: They zigzag this trope. Sorath is more sensitive and submissive compared to Tiriel, but Sorath is the one swinging a sword around.
• The Sadist: Tiriel reveals that Sorath tends to play with his Flame Haze victims by carving them up, first skin, then muscles, then bones, and then each individual internal organ.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Tiriel dies by transferring the last of her Power of Existence to Sorath. This only buys Sorath a few more seconds of life before Shana cuts him down.
• Tsurime Eyes: Tiriel has them, an indication of her cruel personality.
• Villainous Incest: They're villains, they're twins, and they make out in public.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Tiriel does not take kindly to Shana injuring Sorath, becoming vicious and enraged even though she knows that the injury will be instantly undone thanks to her Cradle Garden spell.
• Would Hurt a Child: In a scene that doesn't make it into the anime, Sorath cuts a young boy in half when he takes a toy that Sorath had his eye on.
• Twincest: They're Half-Identical Twins sharing a downright disgusting incestuous relationship. Considering they're not human, though, genealogy may be a moot point.
• Yandere: In the light novels and manga, Tiriel throttles Sorath for expressing admiration for another girl.

Merihim / Shiro

Rainbow Wings

Shiro

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (JP), Brian Drummond (Geneon), Eric Vale (Funimation) (EN)

One of the Nine Eternal Divine Scales, the nine great Crimson Lords that served as the inner circle and commanders of the organization of Töten Glocke. He was crazily in love with the previous "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter", Mathilde Saint-Omer, who in turn, loved Alastor. After her death, he hid his last portion of Power of Existence which would be used for the last purpose; to test the successor of "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" and changed his shape into the skeleton known as Shiro. He trained Shana along with Wilhelmina and was eventually defeated by her.

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• And Now You Must Marry Me: During the Great War, he fell in love with Mathilde Saint-Omer, who simply saw him as a Worthy Opponent. They made a deal that the loser in their fight had to do whatever the victor wanted. Merihim hoped that by winning, Mathilde would have to return his love (as well as join Töten Glocke).
• Bash Brothers: When he served Töten Glocke, he was one half of a pair known as the "Pair of Wings." The other half of the pair was a Crimson Lord dragon known as Illuyanka.
• Dem Bones: As Shiro, he appears as a skeleton.
• Everything's Better with Rainbows: The origin of his title "Rainbow Wings" are the rainbows associated with him.
• Heel–Face Turn: Mathilde defeated Merihim in battle and made him promise to train her successor. Due to his love for her, and a previous agreement that the loser had to do whatever the victor wanted, Merihim agreed.
• Heroic BSoD: When Shana pranks him into falling into a pit filled with tomato paste, Merihim flashbacks to when he was covered with the mortally-injured Mathilde's blood, and he absolutely loses it.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He uses a lot of his Power of Existence saving the-girl-who-would-be-Shana from Orgon, though his death was inevitable. He used up the very last of it dueling the new Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter to test her skills.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Illuyanka, a draconic Crimson Lord. The two were inseparable Bash Brothers who always went into combat together until Illuyanka was killed by Wilhelmina.
• Hopeless Suitor: Mathilde was already in love with her contracted Crimson Lord, so he never had a chance with her romantically.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: His hair is as long as Mathilde. It gives him this delicate-prince look.
• Love Redeems: His Heel–Face Turn stemmed from his love for Mathilde. He promised to no longer devour humans to sustain his existence, which ultimately causes his collected Power of Existence to dwindle until he uses up the last of it in one final battle.
• Meaningful Name: "Merihim" is one of the many variants for Meririm, which, according to Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy, is the prince of the power of the air referred to in Ephesians 2:2, chief of aerial fallen angels creating thunder and lightning, corrupting the air, and spreading pestilence and other evil.
• Posthumous Character: He is only seen in flashbacks.
• The Power of Love: Merihim, as he lays dying, teaches Shana about how love is the strongest Unrestricted Method, and can defeat even a Crimson Lord (he would know after all).
• Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: He never stopped loving Mathilde; not after her death and not even at his own death.
• White Hair, Black Heart: He used to fit the trope as a Crimson Lord and general, but then he had a Heel–Face Turn. Incidentally, he spent much of his time after that as "Shiro" (that is, "white), a skeleton with no hair.

Lamies

Corpse Collector

Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa (JP), Ron Halder (Geneon), Jerry Russell (Funimation) (EN)

A Crimson Denizen that jumps from Torch to Torch to avoid the notice of Flame Hazes. His policy of only feeding on Torches that are about to burn out anyway has earned him the title of 'Corpse Collector'. In the first arc this makes him a direct threat to Friagne's Evil Plan. Further, he informs Yuji of it and encourages him to stop it.

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• Anti-Villain: He eats Torches but only the ones that were about to go out anyway and gives advice to Yuji.
• Body Surf: "He" is actually the Crimson Lord Leanan-sidhe, and "his" body is actually that of a Torch that she uses in order to hide her existence, allowing her to travel and collect Torches without being pursued by Flame Hazes or Denizens.
• Cool Old Guy: He looks like somebody's grandfather and just as wise.
• The Mentor: The wise old mentor figure for Yuji.
• Red Baron: 'Corpse Collector' is used as often as his name.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: With a hat and cane to boot.
• Shipper on Deck: He encourages Yuji and Shana's relationship from the beginning and even sets the Unrestricted Spell that will turn Yuji into a complete existence to trigger upon Yuji kissing Shana.
• White Sheep: A rarity among Crimson Denizens in that he respects the balance of the world. By feeding on flickering Torches, his impact is zero.

Leanan-sidhe

Spiral Organ

Voiced by: Azumi Asakura (JP), Leah Clark (EN)

A female Crimson Lord and inventor of countless Unrestricted Methods (including the Fuzetsu).

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• Body Surf: The old man that Lamies is introduced as is only the latest of many bodies she's used.
• Curtains Match the Window: She has violet hair and eyes.
• Disturbed Doves: Doves appear around her when she returns to her original form.
• Love Redeems: Long ago, Leanan-sidhe fell in love with a human artist. He unfortunately caught her consuming humans one day, which led her to cease consuming humans. The artist made a painting of her, but it was destroyed in a fire. Her goal is to gather enough Power of Existence to hopefully one day activate a Power of Unrestraint that would restore the artist's painting of her.
• Meaningful Name: The leannán sí is a beautiful fae woman from Celtic folklore who takes a human lover, typically an artist, and serves as their muse (which usually ends in madness and death for the artist).
• Sentient Phlebotinum: During the Great War between the Flame Hazes and Töten Glocke, Leanan-sidhe was key to the renegade Crimson Lord Asiz's plan to resurrect his deceased Flame Haze Tis. By placing Leanan-sidhe in a Treasure Tool known as the Nachtigall, massive amounts of Power of Existence could be placed within her, while simultaneously compelling her to perform a special Power of Unrestraint that would revive Tis.

Decarabia

Officer of Boundless Seas

Voiced by: Kiyohito Yoshikai (JP), Jeremy Inman (EN)

A brilliant strategist and powerful Crimson Lord, Decarabia was supreme commander of Bal Masqué's armies during the Second Great War. When Snake of the Festival Yuji, the Trinity, Sabrac, Dantalion, Dantalion's assistant Domino, and the Crimson Denizen Rofocale travel into the Abyss to retrieve the Snake of the Festival's body, Decarabia is left in charge of the Castle of the Stars when the Flame Haze Army attacks. He is slain defending the Castle of the Stars against the Flame Hazes, but his actions buy enough time for Haborym's army to arrive.

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• Barrier Warrior: He can cast protective shields on his soldiers when he enters the field himself.
• Breath Weapon: Like the serpent he appears to be, he can shoot out devastating attacks form his mouth.
• Comm Links: Decarabia can detach scales from his body through which he can communicate. They also allow him to cast Powers of Unrestraint.
• Delaying Action: Despite it putting him in serious risk he decided the risk was worth it to allow Haborym's army to arrive in the nick of time.
• Four-Star Badass: He is supreme commander of Bal Masqué's armies for a reason; his might as a commander and a soldier.
• Gut Feeling: He is the kind of being that listens to their gut feeling. And as it turned out, he did the right call.
• Heroic Sacrifice: While he doesn't intentionally die, he risks and ultimately loses his life to stall the Flame Haze Army long enough for Bal Masqué reinforcements to arrive and save the Castle of the Stars.
• Kraken and Leviathan: He is a giant serpent that resembles these legendary creatures. He spends most of his time in a water filled dimension and flys out when necessary.
• Meaningful Name: Decarabia first appears in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum as an earl or king of Hell; the Ars Goetia calls him a Great Marquis of Hell and associates him with the pentagram (which is part of Providence's spell insignia).
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Several characters note that it is extremely strange for him to come to the front-lines. They figure that either the defenders are so severely lacking in manpower that things are getting desperate, or that the reinforcements are close enough that Decarabia just have to buy enough time for them to get there.
• Pocket Dimension: His Power of Unrestraint, Providence, enables him to conceal himself within a spell insignia, which from within takes the appearance of an endless ocean.
• Properly Paranoid: Decides to order everyone to their posts and be ready for a potential attack, all based on just a hunch. As it turns out, he was not far off the mark.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: One of the most powerful of the Crimson Lords. Sophie Sawallisch uses up most of her power killing him.
• The Strategist: Serves as Bal Masqué lead strategist in their leaders' absence. He frequently proves himself to be a very careful one, never taking unnecessary risks. If he has even the slightest hunch of impending danger, then he immediately orders all troops to return and to tighten their defenses
• Teleport Spam: Can do this, and does do this during the battle for the Castle of the Stars to support his soldiers with buffs across a large battlefield.

Haborym

Burning Agitation

Voiced by: Itaru Yamamoto (JP), Scott Freeman (ENG)

A Crimson Lord and leader of one of Bal Masqué's armies, and a most feared foe of the Flame Hazes. He leads one of the forces tasked with destroying Outlaw, and later shows up right on time during the battle for the Castle of the Stars to turn the tide of the battle and the war itself against the Flame Hazes. Afterwards, he fights SouthValley during the battle of Misaki City. He is one of the first Crimson Denizens to travel to Xanadu.

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• Advantage Ball: His Power of Unrestraint, Burning Fields, is a near-literal version of this. All of his soldiers within the field's effect are empowered and encouraged by it.
• Antagonist in Mourning: Haborym expresses genuine regret for enemy general Samuel Demantius' death.
• The Cavalry: Shows up right in the nick of time to save the Castle of the Stars from the Flame Haze Army.
• Cool Mask: He has two faces so both of them wear a gas mask.
• The Dreaded: The Flame Hazes refer to him as "the utmost among the utmost dangerous of Denizens."
• The Faceless: He wears gas masks so we can't see his faces.
• Field Power Effect: His ability Burning Fields improves the rate of fire of his Rinne cannons, encourages his allies, and allows him to teleport anywhere within its range.
• Four-Star Badass: He shows his might as an army leader in the Battle of the Palace of the Stars
• Gas Mask, Longcoat: His choice of attire is two gas masks (for his two heads) and a long black cloak.
• Meaningful Name: Haborym is a variant name for Aim, who, according to the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and Ars Goetia, is a three-headed Great Duke of Hell who sets cities, castles, and great houses on fire. Appropriate, considering what the Crimson Lord Haborym does to Samuel Demantius' castle.
• Multiple Head Case: He has two heads, but they don't argue.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He is a Crimson Lord in addition to being a leader of one of Bal Masqué's armies, and his arrival is bad news for his enemy.
• The Stoic: A pitched battle in front of his HQ is not enough to make him emote in the slightest.
• Warp Zone: Burning Fields serves as this for him. He can teleport to any location within his Power of Unrestraint's area of effect.
• Worthy Opponent: Views Samuel Demantius as someone worthy of his best efforts, and a salute of cannon fire.

Ribesal

Dashing Earthly Fiend

Voiced by: Taro Yamaguchi (JP), Phil Parsons (ENG)

A Crimson Lord who serves as a Wanderer, or warrior, for Bal Masqué. His partner is the Jaeger Pirsoyn, with whom he as a close friendship. One of Bal Masqué's most powerful soldiers, he leads the organization's strike against the Tokyo branch of Outlaw, and later participates in the final battle in Misaki City. For is loyalty, he and Pirsoyn are selected to be the first Denizens to journey to Xanadu.

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• An Arm and a Leg: Ribesal loses an arm fighting EastEdge. Being a Denizen, though, he must merely consume more Power of Existence to regenerate it.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: Looks like a humanoid beetle.
• Defeat Means Friendship: A mild case. Ribesal is at first offended that Bal Masqué's leader is Yuji, a "mere" Mystes. When Snake of the Festival Yuji effortlessly stops his attack and praises him, Ribesal bends his knee before him, acknowledging him as his leader.
• Doppelgänger Attack: Ribesal's Treasure Tool, Dark Pearls of Seven Treasures, are a number of orbs attached to his torso that can detach and transform into duplicates of himself.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Unlike some Wanderers, who look down upon Jaegers, Bal Masqué's scouts, Ribesal is protective and respectful towards Pirsoyn. When the Snake of the Festival rewards him with being the first to enter Xanadu, he is hesitant to leave without Pirsoyn by his side, prompting Bel Peol to summon his partner.
• Meaningful Name: His name comes from Rübezahl, a giant from German, Polish, and Czech folklore.
• Undying Loyalty: To Snake of the Festival Yuji, after the latter demonstrates his power. He even remonstrates Pirsoyn for expressing a derogatory attitude towards Yuji. He is repaid for his loyalty by being the first Denizen to travel to Xanadu, along with Pirsoyn.

Pirsoyn

Cup of Corrupting Indulgence

Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (JP), Lara Woodhull (ENG)

A Jaeger, or scout, for Bal Masqué. He takes the form of a small child, but is an exceptionally dangerous Denizen. His partner is Ribesal, and the two participate in the battles at Outlaw's Tokyo branch and Misaki City. Both he and Ribesal survive, and are the first Denizens to enter Xanadu.

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• Ambiguous Gender: The light novels do not identify whether Pirsoyn is male or female, but according to the Japanese Wikipedia article on the Denizens, he's a male.
• Badass Adorable: He is a scout for Bal Masqué and no stranger to battle, but he looks like a small child wearing a hoodie. Admit it; you know you wanna hug him.
• Brown Note: Pirsoyn's Power of Unrestraint Daimōn takes the form of a mist that causes insanity in whomever it touches. The Flame Haze that are affected by it have killed each other.
• Creepy Child: His physical form is at odds with the things he says and does because he looks like a human child.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Ribesal. Ribesal refused to depart for Xanadu until Pirsoyn is summoned to join him.
• In the Hood: He wears a hood for an unknown reason, but one presumes it helps with his scouting.
• Meaningful Name: Pirsoyn is a variant name of Gusion, a Great Duke of Hell from the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Ars Goetia.

Mammon

Golden Palm of Wishful Demands

Voiced by: Masayuki Kato (JP), Chuck Huber (ENG)

A Crimson Lord and one of Bal Masqué's generals, he participated in the Ancient War during the Snake of the Festival's first attempt to build a Crimson Denizen paradise. He fought Chiara and Sale in Egypt when they attempted to delay Harborym's Western Outlaw Destruction Army. He fights the two again during the battle of Misaki City, where they succeed in severely injuring him. He refuses rescue in order to use his power to prevent Dantalion's out-of-control, self-destructing Iron Giants from destroying the Mandala Shrine of Ruling Celebration, seemingly necessary for bring about Xanadu's creation. He loses his life in the process.

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• Four-Star Badass: He's a general in Bal Masqué.
• Half the Man He Used to Be: Being a Crimson Lord, this is not necessarily fatal, but what happens after does kill him.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He pulls Dantalion's self-destructing Iron Giants towards himself so they won't blow up near the Mandala Shrine of Ruling Celebration.
• Meaningful Name: Mammon comes from a Semitic word for money or wealth and is used as such in Matthew and Luke in association with greed; in the Middle Ages it became personified as the demon of wealth and greed.
• Selective Magnetism: His Power of Unrestraint, Self-Indulgent Coveting Palm, allows him to attract and repel objects. He used this power to attract Dantalion's self-destructing Iron Giants to himself to protect the Mandala Shine of Ruling Celebration.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Sort of. He dies to protect the Mandala Shrine of Ruling Celebration, which is not actually necessary to create Xanadu, serving merely as a decoy. His sacrifice, however, does continue the charade long enough for the real plan to go into action.
• Villainous Valor: For a given value of "villain," given the Second Great War's Good Versus Good, his devotion to his cause in the face of death is certainly admirable.

Spoiler Character

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Snake of the Festival Yuji Sakai

At the end of the second season, Yuji, whom Shana and Kazumi both harbor feelings for, suddenly vanishes on Christmas Eve, only to return with the assistance of a powerful Crimson God called the Snake of the Festival. He is determined to change Shana's fate as a Flame Haze, revealing that he ultimately chose her over Kazumi.

Tropes applying to Snake Yuji:

• Abduction Is Love: Subverted. He curbstomps, captures, and depowers Shana because she, as the world's most powerful Flame Haze, is the greatest threat to his plans. His only other option would be to kill her, which, because he does love her, he's quite unwilling to do. The Snake of the Festival goes along with because Shana being alive means that Alastor cannot seek out a new Flame Haze, a Flame Haze that would not be averse to using Alastor's Dangerous Forbidden Technique.
• A God Am I: Zigzagged. The Snake of the Festival is a literal god worshiped by the Crimson Denizens, but his plan to create a paradise for Denizens is seen by Alastor (his fellow god) and Flame Hazes as an act of hubris greater than anything the world has ever seen, one that threatens to destroy both Earth's universe and the Crimson World. The danger to reality is relieved by the Denizens, having come to respect humanity and moved by Shana and her party's desperate fight to protect the humans of Xanadu, agree to the Flame Hazes' demand that a limit be built into Xanadu preventing them from devouring humans' Power of Existence, something that would have destabilized the balance faster than it already was.
• The Antichrist: As the Snake of the Festival's host, he fulfills the surface traits of this trope by being a charismatic leader of demons that will bring about the end of the world. In actuality, he subverts it because his motive is actually to Save the World by means of creating a duplicate world where the Denizens can live without consuming humans to survive, all to protect humanity and prevent Shana from spending her who-knows-how-long existence in an unending war.
• Anti-Hero: From Volume 16 (third anime season) and onwards, he becomes a mix of both this trope and Anti-Villain by becoming a Hero Antagonist for the sake of changing Shana's fate and protecting humanity, and being perfectly aligned with the Snake of the Festival, himself an Anti-Villain.
• The Atoner: By the end of the series, he says he needs to atone for the unsavory things he's done in pursuit of his goal and one of the things he plans as penance is denying himself the happiness that a relationship with Shana would bring him. Johann tells him to put more faith in love and Shana herself says he's an idiot for thinking that she didn't still love him. This doesn't mean he doesn't try to fix as much of the collateral damage as he can, he'll just do it with Shana at his side.
• Batman Gambit: He knows Shana and company very well, so he plans for how they would react to his and Bal Masqué's plans. They fall for it hook, line and sinker.
• Big Bad: Eventually becomes the greatest enemy of the Flame Hazes after ascending to become the Snake of the Festival and leading Bal Masqué. In truth, not only are his and the Snake's intentions noble, but they're completely right in believing that their plan will save the world.
• Big Bad Friend: Once Shana's friend, ally, and love interest, he becomes her greatest enemy. He acknowledges this, which is why he feels a need to atone when it is over.
• Breaking Speech: He made an epic one against the Flame Haze army, taking away their purpose to fight Crimson Denizens. The Flame Hazes are shaken to the point they retreat in hysteria, thus marking Bal Masqué's victory.
  • Marchosias of all people lampshaded it as Yuji dropping a bomb on them, and it would take a while for them to get back to their feet.
• Byronic Hero: As the Snake of the Festival and a card-carrying example: Morally questionable? Check. Largely concerned with personal interests? Check. Disrespect of common authority? Check. Defined by conflict, inner and outer? Definitely. Guilty of crimes? Definitely. Tall, Dark, and Handsome? Oh yeah. An exile? Definitely. Intelligent? He's a strategist. Cynical and self-destructive? Definitely.
• The Chessmaster: Snake of the Festival Yuji is one step ahead of the Flame Hazes the entire third season, and the only reason that the Flame Hazes partially succeed in their goals is because the Crimson Denizens entreat him to allow them to.
• Dark Is Not Evil: His Mystes flame when he's merged with the Snake of the Festival is of a distinct black color. However, he himself is siding with the Big Bad for good intentions. Then it turns out that the Snake of the Festival isn't bad either, furthering their status as this trope.
• Dark Messiah: As the Snake of the Festival, he is very determined to break the system the Flame Hazes live in and create a paradise for the Snake's followers, the Crimson Denizens, in response to their prayers. It just happens that a lot of death and destruction is necessary to make that happen.
• Domestic Abuse: Although he doesn't mean to, his treatment of Shana after she's held captive in the Palace of Stars gets very close to this. In addition to the captivity itself, he unintentionally scares her, grabs her wrists when she is scared, and then there's the whole depowering thing.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: His looks as the Snake of the Festival◊ sometimes look near-identical to Hildegard◊.
• Easily Forgiven: Downplayed. By the end of the series, Yuji ends up killing thousands of Flame Hazes and Outlaw-associated humans in order to end the Forever War, but Shana has the guts to forgive him and tell him that she still loves him in spite of it all. However, he's also well aware that the surviving Flame Hazes and those who still know him won't be as charitable, which is what drives his desire to make right by them.
• Evil Costume Switch: For this final part of the story, he gains a dark red set of armor and a hairstyle change, all to reinforce the fact that he's changed, and is siding with the Snake of the Festival. While he's more anti-heroic now, he's still plenty heroic so it is a downplayed trope at best.
• Evil Overlooker: The main page's picture foreshadowed Yuji's eventual rise to the status of Big Bad.
• Evil Overlord: After he becomes the Snake of the Festival's contractor, he becomes their new leader and rules from the Palace of the Stars.
• The Extremist Was Right: It turns out, the Snake of the Festival's plan to create a new world (a self-styled paradise for the Crimson Denizen) was mostly free of consequences, unlike what Alastor and the Flame Hazes feared would turn out (the "mostly" is for the no-eating-humans rule, which the Four Gods of the Earth said was necessary).
• Face–Heel Turn: After he joins Snake of the Festival and turns against the Flame Hazes, he leads the people he used to fight against. In the end, it proves to be more of a Hazy-Feel Turn.
• Fallen Hero: After merging with the Snake of the Festival, he takes some major risks with the balance of the world that he formerly protected with Shana. That said, his intentions are still heroic and end up saving the world.
• Fatal Flaw: Insensitivity and self-destruction. Despite having good intentions, and despite the fact that his plans actually do benefit the people he loves, he never takes into account their feelings nor depends on them, and his pursuit of his goals always comes at great personal cost (which only hurts his loved ones more).
• Foil: To Shana as the Snake of the Festival. Both have a contract with a Crimson God and are extremely obstinate towards their goals. Yuji even lampshades it as the reason they fell in love with each other.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He began as an Ordinary High-School Student. After getting involved in the war between Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens, he becomes increasingly focused on finding an end to the war and willingly merges with the Snake of the Festival to do so, becoming more ruthless overall in his approach.
• Good All Along: His intentions, as well as the Snake of the Festival's, are revealed to be genuinely good from the onset of the final part of the story.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: By the end the story, he's gone from a Supporting Protagonist to a Fallen Hero (and a very powerful one at that), then back to being a misunderstood hero when all is said and done, and Shana forgives him for his reckless actions.
• Heel Realization: When he decides to separate from Shana until a true peace between Denizens and humans is established, she hits her Rage Breaking Point. She's through with him acting unilaterally and not considering her feelings; she loves him and wants to be with him and she's not going to stand idly while he destroys himself to appease his guilt. After losing his fight against her, he realizes that he hasn't been trusting in their love and depending on the person he cares most about, and accepts that Shana's being by his side is best for him.
• Hellish Pupils: He flashes these at times when the Snake of the Festival temporarily takes over to speak out.
• Hero Antagonist: From volume 16 onward until when the Forever War ends; he is still a hero but is working against Shana, who has the primary share of protagonist duties from this point on.
• Innocently Insensitive: Yuji has an awfully difficult time understanding that he completely traumatized Shana after curbstomping, capturing, and then depowering her. He sincerely doesn't get why she becomes so upset when he tries to get close to her afterward.
  • Later, when Yuji makes his motives clear, that he joined the Snake of the Festival for her sake, Shana is very upset that he apparently puts so little trust in their love that he didn't tell her any of this. His attempted penance, a thousands-year-long separation from her, only further enrages and grieves Shana, as he still isn't taking what she wants into account.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After merging with the Snake of the Festival, he becomes a bit rough in his methods, though he still means well.
• Kick the Dog: During the course of the third part, he drives Margery Daw towards the Despair Event Horizon by revealing to her just what she had been chasing after all this time. Then, there's what he does to Shana while she's captive in the Palace of Stars.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: His hair has become very lengthy, and he's overall more handsome than his previous appearance.
• Love Makes You Evil: Eventually it was revealed why Yuji was so willing to become the Snake of the Festival; with his godly powers he planned to make a new Earth, a mirror of the current one, where existence flows infinitely and Denizens never have to feed on humans. This would make Flame Hazes unnecessary, and allow beings like him and Shana a chance for genuine peace. His thoughts show that he is aware how morally dubious his actions are, and it is why he is so filled with guilt when all is said and done. So it's more like Love-Makes-You-Commit-Dirty-Business.
• Must Make Amends: He sincerely believes that after all the atrocities has has committed, he has to pay his dues and make right by the people he wronged. Shana and Alastor are quick to forgive him, but he's aware that others won't be as charitable.
  • He originally intended to travel Xanadu without Shana until true peace between humans and Denizens was achieved (which he predicts may take thousands of years) as penance, believing his actions made him unworthy of being with Shana. Fortunately, Shana has no inclination to wait any longer to be together.
• '90s Anti-Hero: His new look extends the length of his hair (which possesses prehensile powers boot), and, when combined with the massive Blutsauger, certainly makes him physically reminiscent of the trope. His ruthless methodology is also another commonality with this trope, but it's actually subverted as Yuji does not possess the self-righteous assurance that what he does is morally right and that heroes that oppose him are deluded idealists; instead he's filled with self-loathing that he only keeps from overcoming him through willpower alone.
• Not So Stoic: His mask slips and he reveals he's actually tormented by guilt over what he's done and furthermore deeply pained about what he's lost.
• Physical God: Even without the Snake, Yuji is one, though he does not yet know how to use his power to its full potential. In the anime, Alastor explicitly states he has the power of a Crimson Lord due to Hecate's synchronization with him. Then Yuji gets Grammatica. We never get to see its full potential, since he just literally learned to use it within the last hour of the series, but it's basically a spell that can become any other spell by structuring the composition of a spell, similar to how language works. So if he had a bit more experience and mastery of it...
• Power Makes Your Hair Grow: His hair grows to ridiculous proportions in his new appearance as the Snake of the Festival, and it can be used as a weapon.
• Pragmatic Hero: After becoming Bal Masqué's leader, his tactical genius is put to good use when it comes to fighting the Flame Haze's army, and he rarely loses a chance to incapacitate Shana and her companions in the first half of the third season.
• A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Yuji ends up putting Shana's training to use against the Flame Hazes, as the leader of Bal Masqué. While he isn't evil, he definitely appears as such to the Flame Hazes.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: His new attire gives him a black chesplate with red outlines, which make him look more evil, even though he isn't.
• Reformed, but Rejected: Over in Xanadu, he does atone by trying to have the humans and Denizens coexist and many Crimson Denizens do respect him. That said, he still often ends up becoming a target of aggression, getting involved in fights and frequently on the run. Notably, Flame Hazes except for Shana want nothing to do with him, and Wilhelmina refuses to let him set foot in the Palace of Heaven's Road, which she has made her new home with Justus.
• Rousing Speech: He delivers two to Bal Masqué's Denizens to get them fired up for battle.
• Screw Destiny: One of his motivations as the Snake of the Festival is that he refuses to accept the fact that Shana and the other Flame Hazes being trapped in a Forever War against Denizens with innocent humans caught in the middle.
• Sharing a Body: With the Snake of the Festival, and yet it doesn't change Yuji that much — by his own words, "there's no one in his body but him". Shana and friends, however, at first insist that the one before them is the Snake of the Festival, not Yuji, a claim they come to recognize is incorrect. The two of them switch back and forth effortlessly.
• The Stoic: While operating as the leader of Bal Masqué he's very cool-headed and almost always politely affable. While he does emote at certain points, he very quickly regains his emotional equilibrium.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: His new look could make him pass for a handsome young man.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: During the course of the story's final part, he's incredibly more rough in his actions, having two noticeable Kick the Dog moments to boot.
• Tragic Villain: There was no other choice to fulfill his goals other than to pull a Face–Heel Turn, but since he gets exactly what he wants at the end, he is disqualified for the "tragic" part.
• Tsurime Eyes: At times after becoming Snake of the Festival, in sharp contrast to his usual Tareme Eyes.
• The Unfettered: After merging with the Snake of the Festival, he sets many plans in motion to achieve his goal of saving humanity and changing Shana's fate, no matter how many Flame Hazes die and regardless of Shana's own opinion.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: Creating Xanadu is his ultimate solution to end the Forever War between the Flame Hazes and the Crimson Denizens, which would save humanity from he depredations of the Denizens and allow him to finally be together with Shana.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: As the Snake of the Festival; there wasn't any other choice available to him that could fulfill his dream of ending the Denizens' threat to humanity and granting Shana a chance of peace other than doing a Face–Heel Turn and joining the Bal Masqué in order to accomplish his goals.
• Yandere: Subverted. A lot of his actions on the surface smack of Yandere, such as abducting Shana or embarking on an insanely risky plan to alter how the universe works for her (and to be fair, humanity's) sake, an act that smacks of hubris of the classical type. In truth, while he's insanely devoted to Shana, his actions are the result of paradoxical mix of cold-blooded pragmatism and Screw Destiny idealism.
• Younger Than He Looks: Despite looking like a handsome young man in his Snake of the Festival attire, he's still very much the same 15-16 years old Yuji.

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