Mature (May contain sex, drugs, and extreme graphic violence)
Vintage:
July 4, 2009
Status:
Completed
Summary:
Two years ago, Shibuya was ravaged by a biological terrorist attack using the deadly Ua virus. Maria Osawa was saved when her father inoculated her against the virus, but is left with partial amnesia from the shock. Now working as a cameraman, she reunited with her friend Canaan in Hong Kong. Canaan is an assassin gifted with synesthesia, and she's being targeted by the terrorist squad Snake. Meanwhile, numerous groups converge on Hong Kong, all after either Canaan or Maria.
Written by stevodevo on December 23, 2011 at 10:16 AM
Overall Rating
Good
Story: 4
Dialogue: 3
Animation: 5
Entertainment: 4
I'll have to concur with another reviewer that this series reminded me of a John Woo flick although I'd say it would be crossed with something like Mission Impossible where the storyline can get a little too complicated for just one viewing...
What this series did have was hook - it was a very easy watch and I actually looked forward to seeing the next episode. The action is explosive and the premise is solid. It did try to throw in some silly humour but mostly it was pretty good storytelling.
The only aspect that brings this down a notch is the fact that it seems like the series tried to 'outsmart' itself in the end. The denouement where Alphard and Canaan are battling it out on the train is intense but that tension is almost lost in the details... there is so much dialog and not all of it makes a lot of sense TBH that you're almost left scratching your head a bit at the end. And the imagery of 'hope' and 'despair' was kinda dampened when Alphard reveals that Sham had called her 'loneliness'...
In any case, in spite of my unanswered questions and a less than solid wrap-up, the series is very well animated and has good storytelling throughout. It's worth a second look...