Genre: Action, Drama
Ashamed with no regrets, I admit to finishing this anime in a timespan of 24 hours during the school holidays where I have 3 books to read for english, arguments for and against to create for historic debating, a game to make for multimedia and revision for maths. I only had about 5 days left of the holidays and this was how I as spending it -watching Canaan with as much glee as anyone could ever have. Although as I’ve read multiple times, this is quite common for an anime fan to do; ditch all their responsibilities in order to watch a super awesome looking anime that’ll rock the socks off our own feet.
That very paragraph alone should be able to summarise my heartfelt feelings towards this anime. Regardless of the heavy doubts i had for it during the first 3 episodes where I had absolutely no idea what was going on but still rather enjoyed the whole plot that was slowly unfolding out in front of me. Although with this in mind, while watching an anime that you absolutely no clue as to what was going on, your mind conveniently flows towards the thought of quickly looking everything up to add that needed background information and then forget about it as though that whole research session did not happen as soon as you continue onto the next paragraph.
This was exactly what I did.
The Canaan plot was all too random for one to somehow understand all in one go without looking bits up. Even during episode 4, I still had no idea as to who I wanted to play out good and bad (as what is considered good and what is considered bad all goes back to the person).
Surprisingly, this pre-research did not hinder my ability to enjoy this anime. Rather, with a strong hold of the actual plot and characters, I (personally) was able to enjoy this anime quite a bit.
Now let us go into the criteria of my reviews:
STORY: 9/10
Understandably, this anime was trying to control what was essentially given out to the audience -which I can understand completely as I myself am an aspiring author with no motivation (YES THAT IS MY PUNCHLINE I AM SORRY). Wether you do research before wait for the anime itself to essentially ‘reveal’ itself to you, there really shouldn't be negative effect. I personally found the unfolding of the plot quite exciting and I quite thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes I did know a few things before jumping into the anime (well more like episode 5), but like I stated before there’s absolutely nothing that hindered my ability to enjoy this anime to it’s extent. For that, I will be giving the plot line a strong 9/10.
ANIMATION: 8/10
As much as I agree as to how stunning the animation was (especially considering the release date ((yes it is not ancient but still))), I’ve got to admit -I’ve seen better. The animation in this anime isn't bad. It passes the level of ‘good’ and ‘enticing’ but doesn't quite make it into the ‘HOLY COW WHAT IS THIS PIECE OF BRILLIANCE THAT I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH’. For that, I will be giving the animation an 8/10.
CHARACTER: 8.5/10
To be completely honest, I don’t know how to summarise my feelings towards the characters and their development during the anime. It was a bit of everything really. Sometimes, character development got pushed back due to an issue or a conflict -and Canaan is perhaps one of the strongest anime in this category. The character development is amazing, but again, I myself cannot word its amazing-ness myself. Just watch the anime.
ENJOYMENT: 8
I don’t really need to explain myself do I?
OVERALL: a SUPER SUPER strong 8.5
DO I RECCOMMEND? Yes
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