CANAAN / First Impressions

Summary:

Canaan has arrived at the conference hall and makes her way past the guards, dodging and running with such speed that they end up shooting each other. Liang Qi wants to do something about it, and much to her shock, Alphard no longer cares what she does. Meanwhile, the White House has learned of the Ua Virus being released, and the U.S. vice-president’s first option is to get the anti-virus developed by Maria’s father in Japan. However, his car appears to get hit with a bomb soon after he departs, and his apparent death leaves the vice-president no choice but to take the drastic measure of bombing the conference hall. Back in the control room, Maria questions why Alphard is using the Ua Virus, and this gets Alphard angry. After telling the world leaders that they’re going to die, she explains to Maria that there used to be a mercenary who trained young girls, and they were all called Canaan. Alphard, however, has abandoned that name.

Alphard then leaves the facility with Cummings, and shortly thereafter, Canaan arrives to save Maria. Unfortunately, the bomber is now closing in on the facility, and Canaan gets a call from Natsume who is using some of Santana’s old equipment. The plan is to change the bomb’s target, and Natsume needs Canaan’s help. Meanwhile, Maria’s father arrives safely outside the conference hall after everyone had thought that he had died. The bomb has already been dropped though, and no one can call it back, so Canaan is forced to use the full extent of her powers on the GPS guidance system. The bomb impacts moments later, and fortunately, Canaan was able to get it to miss. Both she and Maria are okay, and Maria is ecstatic. When the two of them go out onto the roof afterward though, Canaan suddenly starts feeling dizzy, and she realizes that she can no longer see the colors that she usually can.

Preview

Now that was an intense episode. Coming into this, I thought that it would be more focused on Canaan fighting her way through the building to save Maria, perhaps even going up against Liang Qi at some point, but that was a surprisingly small part of the episode. Instead, there was a lot more movie-esque action-thriller-type material with a race against the clock and some White House politics and stealth bombers thrown in. There was never any doubt that Canaan and Maria would survive, but the episode still kept me on the edge of my seat, and I loved every minute of it. In fact, I didn’t even miss the fact that Canaan didn’t get to fight Liang Qi or Alphard again, though now that she appears to have lost her powers, I’m not sure I’d want to see those fights anymore because I imagine she would lose horribly. Canaan might be able to find a way to beat Liang Qi (who I bet is going to come after her pretty soon), but she’ll likely need her powers back before trying to take on Alphard again. Regardless, I’m very curious to see how things play out from here, and I’d love it if they can keep the intensity level this high.

40 Comments

  6. Ima predict Canaan and Liang will fight it out either episode 09 or 10. Right now, I think episode 08 will allow Canaan and Maria to rest and the rest will be focus on Santana and Hakko.

    Do
    Reply

  7. A B2 in broad daylight is nothing but a giant target. Oh well, atleast it can fly out of the range of most RPGs. They definitely did a great job with this episode & I loved the twist at the end…loosing her powers when she needs them the most, cliché but still very entertaining. Go figure 😛

    Megas
    Reply

  8. i wondered if canaan lost synesthesia temporarily. likewise, did real life individuals which allegedly had the talent lost it too at some point of their lives?

    i just wished they get to cover up the events from the visual novel since i doubt majority of the viewers were able to watch it, giving them more background on the story

    baka~
    Reply

  11. @ megas: thats why they red-phoned Chinese DoD, to put aside any interceptors.
    otherwise it woul dbe escorted by swarm of F-22s from Kadena AFB.
    end of military otaku rant
    fine episode plot-wise bordering on good hollywood action movies, I am even more curious on the past of the Alphard, Canaan, their dead mentor and Japaneses spy woman, mysterious bar owner, hell, even Maria seems to have lost some important memory due to virus.

    ewok
    Reply

  17. @ magnumslinger: If if was, I certainly wouldn’t watch it. There’s way too many anime out there that focus on that crap while shitting on their plots of fighting, military battles, & general good v. evil shit. Its about time that an anime can actually develop a damn good story with a boring ass plot w/o romance.

    Megas
    Reply

  19. HORII SHIT that episode was crazy. Also, Alphard showed her cruel side again (beneath the placid/cordial exterior) this time, which was creepy as usual. She’s easily one of the most interesting antagonists I’ve ever seen.

    Maipeisu
    Reply

  22. @magnumslinger

    Yes, there is romance and possible romance in the series, though concurrently it’s only part of the subplot.

    Romance 1 – Hyakko/Santana, you can see them kissing in the preview for the next episode. I do like that couple.

    Yuri (my favorite) – Maria x Canaan, Liang qi being all hot for Alphard and Alphard’s love/hate thing for one of the former (at this point, her intentions aren’t clear, so it’s pretty much guesswork)

    @Episode
    My poor Maria! What ever did she do to deserve this? Yet so brave, taking in punishment without complaining. Amidst the crash-pounding action, things are progressing very nicely. Can’t wait for the next episode.

    Kere
    Reply

  28. Amazing episode. High Tension!
    Canaan is so bad-ass yet with such a gentle, noble heart.
    Alphard is so evil!

    I hope Canaan’s ok. Looks like she lost her powers using so much Synthesia.
    How will Maria cope with it?
    How will Canaan cope with it if the moment comes when she has to face Alphard and that crazy Liang Xi.

    Dunk Mask
    Reply

  33. i don’t think canaan lost her power, she said about a “true color” in the last sentence to correct herself right before fainting. I think she gain new power instead of losing

    Aster
    Reply

  34. The pigeon disappeared….Holy SHIT! LOL awesome episode especially with more intense-mode taxi.

    Question though…do pilots for stealth bombers always nod at each other before fulfilling their duties? Also, does the NSA use Windows XP o_O?

    Spirit 03
    Reply

  37. I’m loving Maaya Sakamoto as Alphard! She is such a multi-faceted character. She can be a totally charming, seductive woman one moment, and then totally kick ass and cruel in the next (the scene where she kicked Maria was brutal and made we wince).
    Like some of the other posters, this did remind me of 24. What tension. It was a pity that the episode was only 20 minutes or so. I am so hoping for a 2nd series, cuz there is so much more that they can do.

    Canaan rocks
    Reply

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