Canaan (TV series)
Canaan is a 13-episode anime television series, conceptualized by Type-Moon co-founders Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi, based on the scenario that they created for the Wii visual novel , which is noted for being one of the few games to have been awarded a perfect score by games publication Famitsu. The series spawned manga and light novel adaptations.
Taking place two years after the events of 428: Shibuya Scramble, Canaan centers on three women, their connections to one another, and an upcoming anti-terrorism summit in Shanghai, China. The first woman is Canaan, a Middle Eastern assassin and mercenary. The second is Alphard Al Sheya, Canaan's rival and a skilled assassin who heads the terrorist organization known as 'Snake.' The final girl is Maria Ōsawa, a returning character from the Shibuya incident, who came to Shanghai with her fellow reporter, Minoru Minorikawa. Their subsequent encounters lead to armed interventions between Canaan and Alphard, along with the reveal of their deep and tragic past.
Plot
Two years after the events of 428: Shibuya Scramble, Maria Ōsawa and Minoru Minorikawa are dispatched as reporters to Shanghai in order to cover the upcoming Shanghai NBCR International Anti-Terrorist Conference. Prior to their current assignment, both Maria and Minoru were survivors of the Shibuya bio-terrorism incident, where Maria was kidnapped by terrorists and was infected by the Ua virus but was cured by her scientist father using an experimental anti-Ua virus vaccine. On her first day in Shanghai, Maria is targeted by masked assassins but saved by a Middle Eastern girl named Canaan, whom she befriended in the Middle East prior to the events of 428: Shibuya Scramble and her Shanghai trip.Their presence in the city is being overshadowed by a mysterious event being planned by Alphard, Canaan's rival. Unknown to the two, Alphard is preparing a big plot related to the anti-terrorist summit after being rescued by Cummings and Liang Qi, a pair of mercenaries and Alphard's allies. Maria's life was placed in danger once more when Snake assassins were dispatched to harm her, placing Canaan at the forefront of it all in order to protect her friend. Minoru investigates a strange purple mark that he spotted from one of the assassins Canaan had killed recently, tying it back to the events in Shibuya.
Canaan and Alphard continue to violently confront one another before and after the terrorist attack on the anti-terrorist summit, the latter trying to make Canaan fight her with all of her strength. The reason for their rivalry was Siam, a mercenary and mentor to Canaan, who was gunned down by Alphard during a joint mission together in an attempt to forge her own path without being influenced by Siam as she also was raised by him with the name Canaan once before she discarded it for her current name. Canaan later goes on a journey with Mino, Maria and several others to Western China where a new Ua virus was first used to find out about its origin and track down Alphard.
After Maria and Minoru made their safe return to Japan from their journey in China, Maria opened a photo gallery and reflected on the friendship she and Canaan shared. One of the portraits she had for public display was named Canaan. It consisted of pictures of Alphard, who was formerly known as Canaan, and the Canaan she knew back from her Middle East trip.
Characters
Main characters
Secondary characters
Supporting characters
Terminology
- Snake: Snake is a secret terrorist organization led by Alphard. The goals of Snake is unknown but what is known is they profit from any conflicts they get involved. The organization has many spies around the world from Japanese hoodlums, to scientists and even within the CIA. Officially, many countries are opposed to them but some countries secretly work with them if they gain something from it.
- Ua virus: a biological weapon of mass-destruction that kills its victims within 12 hours, causing parts of their bodies to bleed. It was created by an unknown country and before the events of 428: Shibuya Scramble, it was the most dangerous virus in the world as there was no known cure for it. The use of the virus in a bio-terrorist attack in Shibuya forms the background of 428: Shibuya Scramble as the "Snakes" were trying to steal the newly discovered anti-virus developed by Kenji Ōsawa. Their goal was to keep the secrets of the anti-virus to themselves as the only one with the cure for the Ua virus thus making Snake profit from any country that was a victim of the Ua virus. However their mission fails thanks to actions of a group of people. A second generation Ua virus was later developed by a joint venture between the CIA and Snake. Ua is a word from the Swahili language that means flower or death.
- Borner: Borners are individuals infected with the 2nd generation Ua virus but managed to survive. As a result, their bodies mutate and possess unusual abilities, with few exceptions. When someone becomes a Borner, blood vessels from a random part of his/her body would surface to form a mark with the shape of a flower. In order to suppress the virus, Borners require regular intakes of a special medication, or they will still die. Some are under the employ of Snake for this very reason as assassins against opposing factions and Unblooms who attempt to escape from Snakes control.
- Unbloom: Unblooms are also victims of the 2nd generation Ua virus who survived before the advent of the anti-virus. They, too, have blood vessels from a random part of their bodies surfacing to form a mark with the shape of a flower. Unlike Borners, however, they did not gain any special ability or otherwise mutate, except that they become deadly vulnerable to UV rays and outside noises. Those individuals who venture outside the Factory must wear masks that look like a mascot head costume, the removal of which invariably ends up killing them.
Development
The title was subsequently changed in December of the same year to Canaan, with Sega also announcing that they would host a booth for the series in the 2008 Winter Comiket, where DVDs featuring specials and trailers for the show, packaged with a booklet featuring original character designs by Takashi Takeuchi and completed animation designs by animator Kanami Sekiguchi would be featured, along with CDs of the theme song, "Arousing Soul", performed by Faylan. A seventeen-second promo was subsequently streamed on the series' official website, featuring the dual DVD/CD release at Comiket.
It was announced in 2009 that the show's 13 episodes would be compressed into one film. As of 2011, there is no word on the official release of the movie in Japan.
Media
Anime
The series was animated by the animation studio P.A.Works, directed by Masahiro Andō, who previously directed the Bones movie Sword of the Stranger, and features series composition by Mari Okada, who previously wrote Vampire Knight and True Tears, and also features animation character designs by Kanami Sekiguchi and original music composed by Hikaru Nanase. Bee Train Digital contributed 2D graphic works for the ending theme. The opening theme is "Mind as Judgment" by Faylan and the ending theme is "My heaven" by Annabel.Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America, and anime distributor Section23 Films released the series on October 26, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The Anime Network streamed the series on their website and their On Demand service for Cable and Satellite users. In Germany, Austria and in German-speaking parts of Switzerland, Canaan is released by Universum Anime with four DVDs released. They are retailed with original Japanese and dubbed German audio with volume one having episode one, volume two having episodes two to five, volume three having episodes six to nine and volume four having episodes ten to thirteen. In Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, China and in Chinese-speaking communities in Malaysia and Singapore, the series is licensed for distribution by Mighty Media, which has released the series in a DVD Box Collection featuring all the episodes.
Printed media
A manga adaptation, illustrated by Akira Ishida, was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine between the August 2009 and March 2011 issues. Three tankōbon volumes were released between January 26, 2010 and February 26, 2010. Another manga titled Canaan Sfill, written by Chunsoft and illustrated by Jun Sasameyuki, was serialized in Bandai Visual's web magazine Comic Gekkin from March 1, 2010 to 2011. Two volumes were released between December 10, 2010 and May 10, 2011. Ichijinsha published an anthology titled Canaan Comic Anthology on September 24, 2009Two light novels were released by Kadokawa Shoten, the first on January 1, 2010 and the second on March 1, 2010. The Canaan Official Fanbook was released by publisher Ichijinsha on February 12, 2010. It contains character sketches of the various characters in Canaan with episode commentaries and interviews from the show's cast and crew.
Other
Two volumes of Canaan radio DJ CDs, known officially as Canaan DJCD Shanghai Hanten de Aimasho, were released on December 23, 2009 and February 24, 2010.Several Canaan figures were released, concentrating on Canaan and Alphard. A poseable Figma Canaan figure was made by Miki Asai and released by Max Factory in November 2009. Three PVC-made figures were released by the Good Smile Company. The first PVC figure was a Nendoroid Canaan, sculpted by Reiichi Ito and released in December 2009. A regular Canaan figure soon followed, sculpted by Kunihito Iwamoto and released in January 2010. A regular Alphard figure, also sculpted by Iwamoto, was released in March 2010. Both of the figures are made on 1/8 scale.
Reception
Canaans DVD volume one was on the top 30 Japanese Animation DVD Ranking from October 19–25, 2009. In the Japan Animation Blu-ray Disc Ranking, DVD volume one limited edition was third on the top ten list from October 19–25, 2009, followed by DVD volume two limited edition at eighth place in the top ten. The limited edition release of Blu-ray volume six was ranked third on the top ten Japan Animation Blu-ray Disc Ranking from March 15–21, 2010.At the fourth annual Seiyu Awards, Miyuki Sawashiro was announced to be the Best Leading Actress for her role as Canaan. Canaan was awarded at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards as part of Jury Recommended Works in Long Animation.