Canaan

Wikia Says!
Canaan is an anime television series, conceptualized by Type-Moon co-founders Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi, based on the scenario that they created for the Nintendo Wii visual novel 428: Fūsasareta Shibuya de, which is noted for being one of the few games to be have been awarded a perfect score by games publication Famitsu.^[1]

Worthy of mention here for those punters unfamilar with TYPE-MOON - founded by artist Takashi Takeuchi and writer Kinoko Nasu responsible for creating mechandising monstrosities like Tsukihime, Fate/stay night, Melty Blood, among others. Those of you unfamilar with the titles will nevertheless have seen the character Sabre, the face that launched a thousand figure/doujin adaptions.

Whats it all about?
Two reports in Shanghai discover the existence of an affliction caused by a strange virus known as the Ua strain. Victim who survive the 99.99% mortality rate become endowed with strange powers. There they meet with a strange girl possessing supernatural combat prowess, and become embroiled into an international terrorist plot by an mysterious organization known as Snake.

Plot 7/10
A strong cast of female leads each with interconnected pasts become the players and victims of an international terrorist plot. The protagonist, Canaan is an orphan with... a shocking past! The impact characters Alphard and Maria are equally leads with... a shocking past! The male leads are essentially sound boards and do very little except except provide background and motivations for the female leads. The plot is well paced, with each episode revealing a health dose of the plot development whilst still leaving enough of a question to logically link onto the next. (As opposed to say, Code Geas, whose plot is the metaphorical equivalent of a run over slinky) However the whole government conspiracy terroorist plot involves innocent bystanders who then becomes involved in extraordinary circumstances is about as original as Macdonald's new Angus Beef Burger (The Heart Buster). It is certainly works, but it is nether thought provoking, exhilarting, or contemplative. Scene where emotions run high are rather based on warehouse manufactured scenarios of death, violence, and loss rather than anything emotionally fortifying. What keeps this anime together however is the protagonist Canaan, whose mix of innocence and spunk keeps the bland plot heated.

Art 8/10
If you've watched a lot of anime, you will find the art of this anime to be both pleasant and eye catching. One of the topical aspects of Type Moon productions however is to move away from the stereotypical female toons. Canaan herself may be a loli, but she has defined muscles and her curves are drawn naturally. The combat has a high frame rate, with an exceptional level of attention paid to proportions. One gripe I found with the narrative however is the unimaginative use of close-ups and the lack of editing there of. As the narrative progresses, there is an increased frequency of edited close-ups of emotional shots - so many infact that it cheapens the effect and becomes quite annoying. Anyway, back to the point at hand, this is one of the few animes that focus entirely on a female cast, but neglicts to have any female toon with overtly large breasts, annoying little sister stereotype, and or gobsmacking fanservice. Its focus is the narrative and the art is made to supplement this. The art is sharp, the directing is focused, and the background detailed and fantastic.

Quality Control 10/10
Wait, did I just watch 11 episodes without any significant drops in quality, either in art, background, voice acting, or consistancy of the plot? Oh on I didn't!
Well, I did, and what I love most about this series so far and why I would continue to watch it is because it has the most consistent quality control I have seen in any anime this year. (As opposed to uber oppai panty anime Bakemonotagari - covered later)


Thoughts 6/10
Canaan - Canaan is the father of Sidon, his firstborn; and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered, and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

When I first read the title, I thought this would be a provoking anime (seeing as Canaan is supposed to be Arabic descent, and an earlier episodes described her antagonist Alphard as an 'decendent of Arabic royalty) about extrapolated fantasy regarding cannical Biblical affairs.

Canaan is also described as 'hope' (Jap-Hebrew mistranslation?) indicating that the protagonist would be the 'last hope' of her people. This has not come to pass after 50% of the series has expired, nor hinted that it will. I would say that the narrative is an enjoyable but ultimately forgettable experience.