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. Development. The series was known in its initial planning stages as "428 the animation" when it was first announced  in "Newtype"s October 2008 issue and by Sega at the 2008 Tokyo Games Show, where a trailer for the series was aired and announced as an adaptation of Type-Moon's original scenario for the game. 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 would be compiled into three films, but they have not been released. 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" was released by Universum Anime on four DVDs . 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 , 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 on December 10, 2010 and May 10, 2011. Ichijinsha published an anthology titled on September 24, 2009 Two 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 , 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. "Canaan"s 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. Theron Martin of Anime News Network reviewed the anime, stating that while some elements are typical, it does "break new ground" in the sense that Canaan can "perceive the world differently from an average person," perceiving moods of people as colors, allowing her to  find enemies, see her "most beloved person" (Maria), while praising the "fluidity and expansiveness" of the anime's art style, and music score. Luke Carroll, another reviewer from ANN, also gave a positive assessment. He wrote about the "possessive love" that Liang Qi has for her sister (and the series antagonist), Alphard, the action scenes met with well put together scores, and noted some plot holes.