Shakugan no Shana OVA First, Season 3 Later

Just when we thought the wait was almost over, and that the 3rd TV season of Shakugan no Shana would finally begin this autumn (as last month's announcement seemed to imply)... turns out that, well, no. There will be no Shana TV series this year. There will however be an OVA, titled Shakugan no Shana S, whose first volume is set for an October 23, 2009 release on DVD and Blu-ray.



The package will include "a tentatively titled "Shakugan no Shanatan" video extra and an audio commentary track, and the first pressing will add a special sleeve illustrated by [Shana's artist] Ito", according to ANN. A more recent report picked up by Zepy reveals that the OVA will focus on the characters' back stories and "their deep relationships", from what producer Nobuhiro Nakayama says.

Once they're done with this retro-narative project, work on the third season will finally commence in full swing. However, once they're done with that, too, that'll be the end of it! The anime saga will allegedly end with Shakugan no Shana 3... or will it? Surely, there's more material left in the novels.

P.S. Shana gallery update incoming... Update: Done.