Wakaranai

Rating:    

There’s no real other way of putting it, this episode of CANAAN just took my breath away. When I scoured the forums and saw comments saying it was fantastic I never expected it to be THIS great. This episode achieves what so few anime ever manage to do: it fully exploits the potential of the series, extracts all the tension, squeezes out every last drop of dramatic impact, beautifully interweaves all the emotional stories of its central characters, and does so with a relentless, gripping pace and truly impressive production values. After the disheartening mess that the last few episodes amounted to, this one gloriously redeems the series, grabbing it by the collar and hoisting it out of the mediocre rut it had stumbled into. Forget contrivances and logic gaps, this episode is a tightly-written achievement that single-handedly justifies the show with an emotional roller-coaster of a climax that expertly and somewhat poetically infuses all of the disparate character themes into one profound and explosive culmination.

I’m generally pretty fussy about the way a series caps of the end of a story arc, and this a resounding example of when it’s done right. The two core dramatic stories of the series, the relationship between Canaan and Maria, and Canaan’s history with Alphard and Siam rightly dominate this penultimate episode. The way in which the dialogue in this episode so perfectly recalls every meaningful snippet of character-building dialogue of the previous episodes, and fashions them all into a final resolve for the key players is really amazing. The script for this episode is like a crescendo that hits all the right notes, climbing to an ultimatum for each character. Maria is resolved to find her own way by making a sacrifice, Alphard is resolved to inflict poetic justice by completing what Siam started with Canaan, and Canaan herself is bought forward to finally face her past and understand responsibility (can she transcend the childish naivety with which she previously approached life and death?). It’s like something just clicked and all of a sudden I felt I genuinely understood these characters and that I was really invested in them. And all the poignant character development hangs in the balance of a bomb count-down.

As well as emotions running high, simultaneously dripping with sadness and catharsis, the episode carried over CANAAN’s trademark blend of action and humour. Yun-yun was adorable as ever (probably more so actually), and acts as the perfect comic relief. On the other side of the coin, the episode hits a new level of suspense at every beat, such that by the time Canaan and Alphard finally go at it in a fast, furious and impressively choreographed fight sequence, there is so much at stake and so much dramatic tension it just pulls you into the excitement!

The animation is essentially flawless and of a remarkable standard for a TV anime. The intimate and quick-witted melee between Canaan and Alphard is the action highlight of the show so far. Complimenting the technical excellence of the animation is some really excellent storyboarding/directing work that produces some really awesome visuals. This was definitely the most visually compelling episode of CANAAN yet. The music was also exceedingly good, unobtrusively underscoring and enhancing both the atmosphere and tension that heavily permeated through the episode.

To top off the excitement, the episode left us hanging in an evil cliffhanger. Just as Maria finally gains some real strength and braveness, her life is balanced on a knife’s edge. The ‘goodbye’ tone in her final words this episode were worryingly sad. After this episode really fleshed it out, I’m utterly captivated by the love story of Maria and Canaan (whether you want to call it yuri or not), and I think it would be absolutely crushing to see it end like this.

。。 I think the yuri side of the force has gained a pretty big power level increase from developments this episode. As they uncover more and more of each other, we’ve reached the point now where they are really coming to terms with what they mean to each other and what the nature of their relationship is. The word love was thrown about frequently this episode, with the Japanese word ‘aishiteru’ being used, which generally implies a great deal of depth to affections, beyond the more stock-standard ‘suki’. Certainly the way in which Alphard was talking about them gave the impression that she saw them as a couple, and her use of that word when talking to them seemed to trigger Maria and Canaan to start considering each other in that light. This, combined with all of the previous sentiments they’ve shared, which I discussed in my Canaan/Maria yuri breakdown, seem to me to strongly suggest that what they share exceeds friendship.

The missing link has been the element of physical or sexual attraction, but there were actually a few hints at that this episode too. Maria suggesting they share a bed at the hotel seemed to be a comfort to both of them. Also, when Canaan was describing what pulled her to Maria she mentions that Maria smells nice, which seems to suggest a physical component to their attraction beyond the broad emotional stuff we’ve already dealt with. And Maria admitting to herself, or acknowledging that she has been ‘longing for’ Canaan seemed pretty well on the money. I think that perfectly describes her attitude in the first half of the series; when she wasn’t with Canaan she was certainly pining for her. Whether you want to call it yuri or not, what they share isn’t merely a strong friendship. I think there’s a spark of non-platonic attraction there. Either way, it’s really interesting!

。。 Much like she used to before the confusion of the last few episodes, Alphard has a really strong presence here. Her unassailable confidence and prowess make the fear she imbues in people really believable. She shares a really charisma with Canaan, and seems to have a fondness forgetting right in her face which makes for some v ery nice screenshots! In a parallel universe there could have been something between them ;p.