Canaan - Complete Collection [Blu-ray]

Canaan is a fast-paced-thrill-ride animated by P.A. Works ( True Tears and Angel Beats ) that will take you and won't let you go until you get to its ending credits, there are many cases where action anime have a very convoluted plot that causes its viewers to lose interest in finishing it, but not in this one, instead you'll be asking for more.

The main character is Canaan a mercenary currently operating in Shanghai who has a strong relationship with Maria Osawa a survivor of the new virus circulating the black market. The characters are superbly well written, even the villains have a special charm that makes them likable, the anime has a little for everyone, from mobsters to sexy hitwomen along with fan service, black humor and very clever innuendo scenes.

Overall is really hard to see a good anime now these days, because now everything seems to be MOE-MOE, I'm not saying that MOE is bad BUT WE need a break from it and CANAAN is a perfect option, also is great to hear Hilary Haag, Andy McAvin, Jessica Boone, Shelley Calene-Black and Rob Mungle are back in the industry and hope to hear more from them.

CONS
1- Plot holes.

PROS
1- Fast paced action/adventure thriller.
2- Well written characters.
3- Character design.
4- Vivid colors with fluent animation and movie type quality.
5- English and Japanese versions are topnotch.
6- Fan service.
7- A bittersweet ending to all the characters ( my personal favorite was Cummings )

Sentai Filmworks acquired a perfect action anime gem that if you like Gungrave, Ergo Proxy or Gunslinger Girl then by all means buy it.

The other reviews have covered what the story is about...this review is of the actual Blu-Ray release.

Unlike what is printed on the back of the case it is not 1080P, it is 1080i. Even so the visuals are excellent if not really sharp. Vibrant colors with no color banding I could detect. Nice fluid motion as well with lines well defined. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is Excellent as well (I watched in Japanese w/ English subtitles). Tried the English track and it's an excellent track as well, just couldn't take Yun Yun's dub voice. Either one has great use of surround sound and the audio is clear enough to hear the "t"s stressed in the opening.

There are 4 extras on disc 2: Minorikawa's Report, Clean Opening, Clean Closing, and Credits. Minorikawa's Report basicially just uses video clips from the show to explain what you already know if you have seen the show...AMV's on YouTube are better done than this. The Clean Opening and Closing are nice visually, but the audio is not in HD and has over a 10dB level drop over the DTS-HD Master Audio track along with less definition. The credited episode DTS-HD Master Audio opening is MUCH better in the audio department.

So to sum it up - the visuals and audio is excellent in the Episodes. The Extras are good visually, but not so good on the audio end. Definitely would recommend getting the Blu-Ray over the DVD, not only because of the quality, but the Blu-Ray version costs less as well. The price I see now is a little high compared to my pre-ordered price though...$10 higher to be exact.

If you are a fan of this type of anime (action/drama/suspension) and don't mind that it's really a Mature title ( I don't see how Canaan retains a TV14 rating...), Canaan is an excellent Blu-Ray release to get.

Bought this anime simply cause I wanted something to watch and didn't want to rent from Netflix. Read a review from Otaku USA and although the review wasn't all that great I simply liked the character design too much to care and because of the action. Turned out to be a pretty good buy as far as I'm concerned. Storyline is better than I thought and the action is where it's at. Overall, pretty interesting story and very good animation. If you like action and animation and not so much with the story this will probably do it for you.