Each year at the Tristain Academy of Magic, the 2nd year students are expected to pass a test that requires them to summon their very own familiar. Louise, better known as ‘Zero Louise’ due to her inability to cast even the simplest of spells, is determined to show everyone her true power and summon a familiar worthy of a master mage. But to her (and everyone else’s) surprise, she somehow manages to mess up again and summons a…Japanese high school boy?

Zero no Tsukaima follows Louise and her familiar Saito Hiraga as they learn to live together, fight together and find some romance along the way. But with countries on the brink of war and questions arising about how Louise managed to summon such an unusual familiar, they’ll have to get their act together pretty quick!

Despite the different settings, Zero no Tsukaima and Shakugan no Shana both have a swathe of quirky and fascinating characters, exciting battle scenes and a good dose of romance. Shana and Louise are like twins separated at birth, with the same long haired loli character design and tsundere attitude, even sharing the same voice actress, Rie Kugimiya. If you enjoyed watching Shana and Yuuji, then Louise and Saito are reason enough to give Zero a try.

Academy City: a city of schools, and a haven for technology and science. In Academy City, esper powers mean everything, which for Touma Kamijou, a level zero, powerless esper, is less than ideal. His right hand however, contains a very unique power, the ‘Imagine Breaker’, allowing him to negate any power, be it other esper abilities, or any chance of having good luck for once.

When a short, robed girl named Index appears out of nowhere on Touma’s balcony, incessantly rambling about magic and forbidden books, he gets drawn into a hidden war between magicians and scientists. With Index on the run from the mage organization Necessarius and rumours of bizarre murders occurring around the city, Touma quickly finds he has a lot more to worry about than his own bad luck.

Toaru Majutsu no Index follows a similar formula to Shana, with a seemingly powerless main character and an array of powerful female characters, making the character dynamics of both shows very similar. More importantly, Index and Misaka Mikoto should quickly fill the tsundere shaped hole in your heart left by Shana. With a good mix of comedy, action, and drama, Index is definitely worth giving a go.

Kazuma was born to the Kannagi family, well respected for their abilities as fire wielders. But after pitifully losing a battle against his cousin Ayano, Kazuma was disowned from the family by his own father, and banished.

Four years have passed since then, and Kazuma has returned under the name Yagami Kazuma. Now as a powerful wind user, he hopes to prove himself to be stronger than the very family that cast him out.

Ayano and Shana share a lot of similarities as heroines, both fighting with a sword and fire magic, and both having a cute, tsundere personality. The genres of Kaze no Stigma and Shakugan no Shana are also almost identical, with a strong focus on action and fight scenes, with some romance and drama added in as the story progresses.

Butei: armed mercenaries designed to combat increasing crime rates. Kinji Tooyama is a student attending the Tokyo Butei High School, also known as Academy Island. Unfortunately, one day he just misses the morning school bus, and has to cycle all the way there. To add insult to injury there’s a bomb attached to his bike, and he’s being chased by a remote controlled Segway, with an uzi.

Luckily for him, Aria, an S Rank Butei, is on hand to help him get to school in one piece. What’s more, she was so impressed by his fighting ability, that she’s decided that from now on, he’s going to be her slave.

Rie Kugimiya, the voice of Shana, makes an appearance once again as the gun touting, katana wielding, flat chested tsundere Aria. Add to that an apparently powerless protagonist and a mix of action, romance and drama, if you liked Shakugan no Shana, you’re bound to find something to like about Hidan no Aria. As a little extra, Hidan no Aria also adds a bit of ecchi into the mix. Fun fact, school uniforms make excellent parachutes.

Half youmu, half human, Akihito Kanbara was born with the incredible ability to regenerate from almost any wound. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s very good at fighting, he’s just excellent at not dying. The youmu that exist in this world are strange creatures, often feasting on the negative emotions of humans. Spirit World Warriors, who possess the ability to see youmu, frequently hunt down these evil youmu for the valuable stones that they leave behind upon death.

One day on his way home, Akihito sees a freshman girl, Mirai Kuriyama, about to jump off the roof of his school. When he tries to stop her, she abruptly turns around and stabs him through the chest, with a sword of blood. How unpleasant.

Kyoukai no Kanata’s Spirit World Warriors serve a very similar purpose to the Flame Hazes of Shakugan no Shana, with each having their own unique powers, and the ability to see and destroy otherworldly beings. Mirai’s character as a cute, sword wielding warrior, with a weak male partner, also very much resembles Shana and Yuuji from Shakugan. With the ever-reliable KyoAni behind Kyoukai no Kanata’s animation, you can also look forward to some stunning action scenes and visuals.

In this world, exists beings called ayakashi, created from the emotions of humans. Normally ayakashi reside in the far shore, a world where only they and deities exist. Sometimes, though, they manage to make their way to the near shore, where humans reside, and cause all manner of problems.

It’s at these times that deities like Yato are needed, to send the ayakashi back to the far shore where they belong. But as a minor deity of war, without even his own shrine, Yato is pretty strapped for cash, and barely gets by doing favours for a measly 5 yen a piece. One day when chasing a cat across a road, Yato narrowly avoids being hit by a bus when Iki Hiyori pushes him out of the way. The problem now is, Hiyori’s spirit isn’t quite attached to her body anymore, and she could really use some help putting it back.

Noragami and Shakugan no Shana have very similar character roles, only with the genders reversed: with a male katana wielding protagonist and a heroine in need of protecting. The deities of Noragami and the Flame Hazes have a lot in common, from their quirky personalities to their different abilities and fighting styles. With very similar genres and settings, Norgami should satisfy your need for action after Shakugan no Shana.