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[WAD] Week #7: Canaan
Topic Started: Jan 17 2014, 05:02 PM (136 Views)
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Edited by savepoints, Feb 1 2014, 06:41 AM.
 
beastman721
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Will be watching/reviewing this one, looks very interesting.
 
savepoints
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This time I'm not really expecting any other posts, even if I knew a few others at least started watching the show. However, before anything else, I just want to say that I actually do really recommend this series. It might not be THE best, but it's definitely pretty great for what it is.

So why don't I expect other posts? Well me, Tien, and Chris actually watched the first few episodes together, and after 3 episodes we just stopped. While I wouldn't necessarily say it was straight up bad, there were no explanations of anything, and things were moving so fast that nothing made sense and it all just became a giant clusterfuck, really.

But I persevered, and as soon as episode 4 they actually start explaining stuff, and once you reach episode 6 it's actually turned out to be a good series. In short, it starts out really confusing, and then they explain stuff and build up some sort of story while adding in a lot of character development and whatnot, and once you reach the finale you'll realise that it was actually worth sitting through those first 3 episodes (they move so fast that you won't get bored even if you're confused as hell), just to watch the rest of it. That's not to say that the story is mind-blowing or anything like that, but it served its purpose and there were some pretty emotional moments now and then.

Now let's get into the negatives, woo! Apart from the lack of explanation and far too quick pacing at the start, there are basically 2 major problems I had. The first is that the series both tries to be somewhat dark and more mature a lot of the time, but then there are so many attempts at comedy which just fall flat 90% of the time (imo). It was almost never funny, especially since they keep reusing the same, unfunny jokes, and it totally ruins the moment when it goes from dark and depressing to attempted comedy. The second thing was actually one of the main characters. Osawa Maria, who through more than half of the series seem completely oblivious to the hell around her, she just spews dumb shit (she's also the source of most of the "comedy"), and it just feels like she's in the completely wrong show. She belongs in some mediocre SOL-show, really. I understand that they wanted someone that Canaan could feel attachement to, but a less retarded character would've been nice.

There was one third thing, but it was really minor, really...
Minor spoiler regarding Canaan's power


On the other hand, however, the series looks pretty great, and the fight scenes (not that there are too many of them, actually), look really good and flow very well. Speaking of which, I thought it was too bad we didn't get to see more of the powers, but at least Canaan is a total badass throughout the entire series. The story is somewhat simplistic and doesn't rely on twists to keep you interested, but instead try to make you connect with the characters.

So yea, there's often talk about a "grace period", where you give a series a certain number of episodes to redeem itself after a shitty one, or a slow start. This number is usually 3 episodes, but in this case I highly recommend watching past 3 episodes, since even right at the start of episode 4 the show starts picking up.

Recommend it if you want an action-y seinen, as long as you look past the confusing start. 8/10.
 
Tiennou
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Feb 1 2014, 08:05 PM
The second thing was actually one of the main characters. Osawa Maria, who through more than half of the series seem completely oblivious to the hell around her, she just spews dumb shit (she's also the source of most of the "comedy"), and it just feels like she's in the completely wrong show. She belongs in some mediocre SOL-show, really. I understand that they wanted someone that Canaan could feel attachement to, but a less retarded character would've been nice.
That's my main problem with it. I don't mind a beginning where you don't understand jack as long as it's explained later.

The thing I hate the most, after mermaids, giant robots and misplaced boobs, is dumbass characters. Unless they become cannon fodder later on, in which it's pretty damn satisfying.
Edited by Tiennou, Feb 1 2014, 08:25 PM.
 
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I think it got better in that aspect, but that "dumbass" side of Maria never really goes away completely. At some point in the series she realises that "Oh, Canaan's not a normal girl lol", but it's still like she doesn't realise just what kind of situation she's actually in.

It definitely got much better (to the point where it was bearable, I'd say), but depending on just how much of a problem it is for you, it might still be too much.
 
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