Canaan

Guns, explosions, superpowers, and hot chicks duking it out in fast-paced action. Yeah, if there ever was a reason to watch this show, there you have it. I guess that's legitimate enough. Sorta.

What's good about this show is the action, artwork, and sound/music. So at the very least, the show is aesthetically pleasing.

The problem with this show is pretty much everything else. The plot, whatever it was, was pretty difficult to follow. Maybe it was a combination of this show being hard to take seriously during random hilarity (like the HIGH TENSION taxi chase done CHINA STYLE) that ensued during ... the first few episodes, or maybe it was due to people making a lot of metaphoric statements that really don't relate to the viewer very well until the last three episodes. The intentions of the protagonist/antagonist forces are pretty vaguely explained late within the show, and whatever reason Alphard was doing stuff to make Canaan's life miserable, the more I think about it, the less sense it makes. And generally, the characters show very little development. The same behavior like Maria constantly idolizing Canaan or YunYun being a noisy flat-chested klutz gets pretty stale.

At any rate though, the plot really doesn't have particularly huge depth, despite being as confusing as it was. There weren't any real plot twists for the most part, nothing that really would blow your mind away as x character did something ridiculously huge that changed the direction the story was headed. Nothing like that ever happened. So really, the plot is ultimately nothing outstanding for all the trouble it goes through to pretend that there is a huge awesome story behind it.

If there is one anime where I would tell you to watch a few specific episodes and ditch the rest of the show, this would be one of such. The first three or so episodes have some of the most epicly random action you will ever find in anime. Although I guess 13 episodes isn't a huge waste of time, watching the last ten episodes I believe is ultimately a disappointment waiting to happen.

This CANAAN review is for those who are a little bit sceptic about this show. If you have watched anime for a long time (like me) you will find this anime lacking, but it might intrigue the newcomers to the world of anime.

Alright lets get this on the road. CANAAN is not unique, it does not offer anything special or new, on the contrary is rather average. Why? This show has been covered with a high animation budget, therefore it looks better than most anime. You have to admit anime trailers with good animation tend to stand out than other trailers. With good animation comes ... good story, isn't that what you had in mind?

WRONG (watched 9 episodes), you might tell me to stick to the end before reviewing this anime entirely, but I'm writing this review for you before considering watching an average show. If you are still not convinced, read on.

CANAAN starts rather odd and might throw people off balance, which was for me a bad thing, it didn't intrigue me to watch further but since I try to have a policy of watching at least 2 episodes before judging. The main story is about Canaan, a typical stereotype gunslinger girl who obviously has issues from the past until she meet a friend who tries to get back to ''normal life'' (who is a very annoying stereotype). We meet people related to Canaan, not in the family way, they just share some sort of blood mark because of some incident. And that incident gave them some abilities, either good or bad. As you might have already guessed Canaan drew the longest straw in that contest, thats how average it gets.

The action sequences and animation is nothing new in the anime world, a little bit high jump and there, some dodging bullets, some villains doing the same here and there. It's not the same after Trinity showed how its supposed to be done. The antagonists are as stereotypical as Canaan herself, uncharismatic stereotypes, apparently they share some past ''cough''.

So is there anything good with this show, besides the good animation? Yes the sound, they actually put a lot of work in the little English that is spoken there.
If you just recently started with anime, this definitely is a good watch for most.

And if you must watch crazy girls with guns with good animation, watch Black Lagoon or Full Metal Panic Second Raid (And yes I know its mainly a mecha show.). If those girls don't impress you then nothing does.

Canaan is an assassin anime with excellent animation and intriguing fighting scenes. However, Canaan is a sequel to its game called 428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de. Unless you have played this game, the story will be confusing as some important events are left unexplored. The strong female leads, Canaan and Alphard, brought on the fast and furious action, but some of the characters were more comical than serious, especially the villains. Character development is quite slow. Some of the supporting characters seem irrelevant until late in the anime.

Story (7)
The pacing for the anime is excellent. The series immediately begins with fast action and later ... becomes something deeper with tragic and dramatic events. However, the background behind the story is vague and confusing for those who have not played the game. The little of the story that Canaan does tell is pretty interesting. There is not a solid conclusion to the anime, and it provides an open ending. The plot is not exactly original, but it is entertaining. The government is the main villain who are injecting random people with deadly viruses to give them superpowers.

Years ago, a terrorist organization called Snake performed an experiment in a ghost village known as Shibuya, which is several kilometers outside of Shanghai. It created an infection called the Ua-virus, which had very few surviving test subjects. The survivors from that village are broken into two categories: borners and non-borners. Borners have a purple mark on their body, giving them special abilities. They continue living by taking medication. Non-borners are like zombies, and their only chance of survival is to wear a special mascot head that blocks out UV rays and sound. No medicine can cure them. If the helmet is removed, they bleed out of their head and die instantly. The job is to stop Snake from creating more victims and find the cure to the virus.

Characters (6)
Canaan and Alphard (Canaan’s rival) are two active and serious characters in the anime by letting their guns do the talking. They are responsible for the entertaining nonstop action in the anime. Other secondary characters contribute to the series by solving the mystery within the plot. They show relevance to the story that helps viewers understand a few things about the background.

Canaan greatly lacks character development, and the relationships between the characters are not fully explained. E.g. Canaan and Maria are best friends, but the series barely emphasized on the background of their friendship.

Some characters, including the villains, take away the seriousness of the anime and makes it appear as a joke. Maria is introduced as a character who would play an active role in the story itself, but she turns out to be the character who always needs to be rescued by Canaan. She has a bubbly personality, jumping and screaming Canaan’s name in excitement in the majority of the episodes.

One of the main villains, Liang Qi (Alphard’s sister), primary objective is to please her sister by playing the “killer” role in her presence in hopes of earning her praise. This is sometimes done by either pointing a gun to someone’s head or playing with a BB gun. If Alphard ignored her, she’d run off screaming or wailing.

Some of the supporting characters appear irrelevant to the plot until near the ending. For example, Yunyun appears out of nowhere at random places but makes a contribution to the plot in the last few episodes.

Animation (9)
P.A. Works, the animation studios responsible for series like Angel Beats, is responsible for the good quality. The settings are unique and detailed, especially the streets of Hong Kong during fighting scenes. Character designs are pretty good as well, suiting their personalities. For example, Maria is drawn as an energetic character. It distinguishes the characters that are affected with the Ua virus with detailed marks on their bodies, contributing to the plot in general.

Sound (8)
I recommend watching it in English sub, because Canaan’s Japanese voice actor has a more serious voice that is fit for an assassin. Her English voice sounds dull. The other characters’ voices fit their personality regardless of the language.

The background music is not that attractive, but the OP and ED make up for it. The OP has a catchy tune to begin each episode, and the ED calms down the mood with a soothing tone. The closing song was my favorite, because it seems to fit your typical assassin anime.

Enjoyment (6)
I watched Canaan in hopes of another powerful Noir or Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, but it was not as exciting because of the characters. Also, I was confused with the plot, because most of the important events are only in the game and not emphasized in the anime. I don’t plan to re-watch it in the future, but its ED is one of my favorite songs in anime. The action is pretty good, too.

Overall (6)
Canaan has intriguing fighting scenes and detailed settings. It would’ve been a more enjoyable series if the characters were more tolerable and serious for an assassin anime. The minor plot holes and lack of character development are disappointing, unless you’ve played the game.

Dear lord, what a missed opportunity. Like many anime of this era, we are presented with opening episodes that promise amazing animation, world-class action choreography, and an intriguing story. Then, by episode 7 or 8, you realize that it is all just smoke and mirrors and the director and staff reveal that they have nothing more to offer but a shoehorned and forced final act. The first 2 episodes of this anime have a Bebop level of promise and what you end up with is a weaksauce Madlax imitation. Special thanks to ... Beretta and Fabrique Nationale for providing the not-so-subtle advertisements for handguns, though.

Canaan was an okay anime too me. The first few episodes were intriguing as the anime tries to draw the viewers attention. As the series progressed the quality started degrading.

Story: The story of Canaan stroke as something interesting at first glance but aftert a certain point the plot became kinda obvious and felt a bit generic. And by the end of the series it was all over the place.
For instance- A terrorist organization creating a virus to use people as biological weapons. The P.O.T.U.S being taken hostage. The close friend of the protagonist searching for her purpose and wanting to ... be self-dependant for being able to stand by her friend's side and in the process getting caught up in commotion and making things harder for the protagonist bla bla..

Characters: The characters didn't get much development through out the series. The motives of the antagonist was not clearly shown. Well the protagonist and the antagonist both were raised and trained by the same man. The protag possessed superpower where as the antagonist didn't. So it was kinda like the latter wanted to fight the former at her top level although she outmaneuvered her many times and purposely spared the former's life many times inorder to let her become stronger. Many questions remained unanswered also the protagonist's backstory didn't fully came to light as there were more and the post credit scene seemed like there might be a another season which would be able to cover the remaining story.

Animation: This is the redeeming department of the series. The fight scenes were well executed. The animation was very good.

But the enjoyment was quite good. The majority of the characters were female and they were hot, specially the antagonist If you want to watch hot chicks fighting around, shooting and dropping karate moves to kick ass then go for it. Not just that, you might end up liking the show yourself, despite it being an average one.

A thirteen episode Action/Drama series, Canaan is based on the manga written by Type-Moon. The manga is published by Kadokawa Shoten, but has yet to reach the states. The anime had it’s original run in the summer of 2009 from P.A. Works Studio, and has been dubbed in English by Anime Network in September 2010. The story actually takes place two years after the Nintendo Wii visual novel, 428: Fusa Sareta Shibuya de. I already watched the subbed version and recently watched the dub, so I’m gonna take on both versions.

Two years ago, Shibuya was ravaged by a biological terrorist attack using the deadly Ua ... virus. Maria Osawa was saved when her father inoculated her against the virus, but is left with partial amnesia from the shock. She works as a cameraman when she reunites with a girl named Canaan in Shanghai, China. A gifted assassin with synesthesia, she is under orders from an unknown organization for a yet unspecified mission. (Anime News Network)

There are two types of people who are infected by the Ua virus, Borners and Unbloom. Borners are those who survive being infected by the virus, some gaining powers (Hacko) or just some extra body parts (Yun Yun). Unbloom are those who also survived the Ua virus, however gain no special abilities and become extremely vulnerable to UV rays and outside noises. Snake, a terrorist group run by Alphard, ran experiments on people in a distant village a few years prior to the events in the anime. Their goal, to study the effects of Borners and Unbloom in order to use the Ua virus to, pretty much, cause war. The only person really standing in their way is Canaan.

The look of the series is pretty much your basic Action anime series with decent animations. The most interesting look of the series is Canaan’s synesthesia powers. Whenever we look through her eyes everything becomes color coded, depending on people’s emotions and condition(her targets are blue, hungry is gray, kindness is yellowish gold). The story is pretty basic: a girl working for an mystery organization (Canaan) and is also out for revenge against the person who killed her mentor (Alphard). At the same time she also befriends another girl eventually turning her into her new reason for living (Maria). Add in a strange virus and some sadistic characters and you’ve got this anime.

There are a few parts that are never explained at all in the series. For instance, in the beginning we are just told that Canaan and Maria are friends. The only thing about their past that the anime calls our “explanation” is a) Canaan saved Maria from bad guys and b) the two of them bond over Cat’s Cradle. Another piece that is never explained is why Minrou went to Shanghi, besides trying to get “the big scoop”. What kind of “big scoop” are we looking for? Did the gossip magazine get a tip that a teenage girl who can see colors and can shoot like a ninja-monkey would be tearing around Shanghi? However I did find out that Minrou was actually one of the main characters from 428: Fusa Srenta Shibuya de, and a survivor of the Shibuya incident two years prior. So if you haven’t even heard of the game then you are completely lost.

Both the English and Japanese versions aren’t bad, but if I had a preference I would stick to the Japanese. The voice actors in the Japanese version match the idea of the characters better then the English. Although both versions have very good portrayals. Both Maaya Sakamoto and Lesley Pedersen give a good performance as Alphard, as well as the actors for both Minoru and Santana. Shelley Calene-Black plays a decent Canaan, but I preferred Miyuki Sawashiro’s more tom-boyish and naive Canaan better. When it comes to Maria and Yun Yun the Japanese voice actors are certainly superior. But I believe the best portrayal of a character in either version is Liang Qi. Both Rie Tanaka and Jessica Boone do an amazing job with this role. Playing out not only her obsession for Alphard but the insanity that goes along with this character. You almost feel sorry for her and the torture she goes though both mentally and emotionally.

The downside to this series is, again, the fact that it’s your generic action series. It has huge gun fights, secret organizations bent on taking over the world, and the occasional necrophilia.... Oh wait.... That’s just this show..... however that’s also the major downfall of this series, the story itself. The characters are decent, with some of them developed nicely while others not at all. There are patches in the story where, unless you have seen it’s proceeding visual novel, then you have no idea where some parts of the story come into play, or why some of it matters. It’s still enjoyable to watch whether you want to see those gun fights or watch the complex mind games between Canaan and Alphard. Or, hell, see Liang Qi lose her marbles!

In the end, Canaan is a good action series that has a few twists to keep the audience’s attention. It sticks to the story through and through with a few fun parts at times. Mostly from seeing Yun Yun and her many many jobs, plus the jokes about her boobs(or lack thereof). It’s one to at least take a look at, and either you’ll love it, hate it, or just go “eh”.

"Canaan" is intriguing by staff alone. It’s not obvious why I skipped over it initially. Maybe my fascination with P.A. Works didn't exist yet. Maybe Type-Moon and Mari Okada weren't the rock stars they are now.

Some things age like wine, but "Canaan" is Pepsi Blue. If you have nostalgia for laser blue consumer products, perhaps you also have nostalgia for the George W. Bush era of blockbuster terrorism, dubious US military operations in tandem with evil paramilitary forces, black hawk choppers circling bombed out desert villages, a shadowy vice president and his cabal pulling the strings, the pervasive browns of tactical shooter video games, and ... more time bombs than you can shake a stick at. Canaan offers all this and more.

That said, it's watchable. Takashi Takeuchi’s familiar character designs are rendered crisply in its acrobatic bullet-opera shootouts. And Kinoko Nasu & Mari Okada’s grim sensibilities align in a story about a warrior of fate burdened by her supernatural “synesthesia” vision (or one could call like it is: The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception), and the web of guilt and envy that surrounds her. Unfortunately it rarely transcends the mundane of its era. Okada’s now-familiar brand of over-the-top melodrama makes for some entertainingly grotesque moments, but its drama is shortchanged by a semi-supernatural global conspiracy story that reaches for "Metal Gear Solid" levels of convolution. The hows or whys are hard to keep track of, and lack Hideo Kojima’s eccentric knack for camp and absurdist levity.

Though "Canaan" is only P.A. Works’ second TV series, proceeding Okada’s "True Tears", it feels older than it is. Perhaps by its 2009 release, it already missed the zeitgeist. The inauguration of Barack Obama was the culmination of post-9/11 fatigue reflected in popular media. "24" was already in its final seasons. The apocalyptic, terrorism-packed "Battlestar Galactica" just aired its tortured finale. "Metal Gear Solid 4" wrapped up its canon a year earlier. The market was not ripe for a terrorism-flavored action anime in the desert with cartoony analogs of Bush, Cheney and Blackwater. Oh, and Pepsi Blue ended its distribution in 2004. Perhaps it’s better to experience this era, and this anime, with curious nostalgia than with the contemporary viscerality it never fully grasped.

Guns and Girls, Tomboys and Terrorism, Sci-Fi and Supernatural, all for one big... bland experience? Disappointing.


Lately, Mino has found his time as a reporter to be somewhat unfulfilling. He only ever produced gossip stories, which one would read at sunrise and then promptly forget by sunset. So, in order to get that huge scoop, he made the decision to dig into a certain terrorist group while pretending to be writing an article about the "International Conference on Anti-terrorism" that's going to be held at the capital of the factory of the world, Shanghai. He is accompanied by Maria, his blond and jovial new photographer. But ... when Maria unintentionally captures images of the blood-coughing masked guys at the core of a carnival that everyone appears to be rather passionately involved in, things take a sharp turn. And to her amazement, Cannan, her one and only white-haired, gun-toting batman of a friend, arrives for her rescue. Mino notices that something strange is happening in the city.
What might it be, and what other unexpected and frightening facts are awaiting our team?

The essential characteristic of "Cannan" is how well it manages its cast of characters. There are close to 15 of them, and while some rapidly recede into the background such as the gun-hu old man with his young companion or the masculine Moe cab driver and his favorite idol, others have a significant impact on the plot. With the exception of YunYun, everyone in the story is paired: Mino & Maria, Cannan & Alphard, Sandy & Hakko, and Liang & Cummings. By the end of the story, everyone has undergone a complete transformation, but each character's development depends entirely on the pair counterpart they are interacting with because without them, you can't really like these characters and you might even detest a few (I hated Liang as much as I felt sorry for her).

I had the distinct impression that the titular two tomboys were descended from Shiki of the "Garden of Sinners". All three of them have a guy or girl they like or look up to and are both cool and strong. However, Cannan and Shiki are similar in terms of abilities, while Alphard and Shiki are more similar in terms of personalities (they even share the same VA). Although this was more prominent later in the narrative, the anime concentrates on their rivalry and how these two overcame their origins. Beginning with some comedy and fan service, there is also sporadically lighthearted action.

The fundamental issue with "Cannan" is that it falls short of conveying all of the different themes it set out to do. Themes of terrorization and human experimentation set the stage for a story of acceptance, but it was handled rather sloppily because the plot never really engaged the audience emotionally. Additionally, despite having so many characters and only 13 episodes, none of them really hit the emotional high points they were established for, which can leave the viewer with an unsatisfying experience. Although it makes every effort, it never succeeds in bringing about the progress it promises to bring about in its own characters, even if it breaks them in the process.

It contains some impressive gun-fu action scenes, one character moment when they elevate a woman who is amusingly strolling by a sparkling fountain, and of course, those buns' bounce is beautiful, but regrettably, there aren't many action scenes. Considering that both titles have the same creator, I suppose it makes sense that the character designs are extremely similar to those in Garden of Sinners. I paid no attention to the soundtrack other than the final song that plays as an insert, and I have no interest in looking it up either. However, the opening is quite strong.

Who should watch this?
Personally, I don't think this anime is worth the watch as its shortcomings outweigh its merits. But,
Watch this if you want to see some gun-slinging action or just want to waste some time. However,
I believe there are far better Anime.