# Canaan (2009)

> A traumatized cameraman reunites with a synesthetic assassin in post-attack Shanghai while an unseen organization dictates her mission.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/39572

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 13
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, action, science fiction
- Network: TOKYO MX
- Cast: Miyuki Sawashiro, Maaya Sakamoto, Yoshino Nanjo, Kenji Hamada, Akio Otsuka, Hiroaki Hirata, Rie Tanaka, Haruka Tomatsu
- TMDB rating: 6.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1480947/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: melancholic, propulsive, stylized, intimate

## What critics say

Audience reception is mixed, with a modest rating for its single season of action-driven anime built around a fast-paced assassin story.

## Synopsis

Canaan (2009) is a Japanese animated action thriller series produced by P.A.WORKS and Emotion for TOKYO MX, a single-season run of thirteen 25-minute episodes. Maria Osawa, a cameraman left with partial amnesia after a biological terrorist attack on Shibuya, reunites in Shanghai with Canaan, a gifted assassin with synesthesia. Voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro as Canaan and Yoshino Nanjo as Maria, the pair are drawn into the orders of an unknown organization whose mission remains unspecified for much of the run. The engine is a tug between Maria's fragmented memories of the Ua virus catastrophe and Canaan's obligations to a shadowy group, with each episode building around pursuits, hits, and tense encounters across a neon-tinged Shanghai. Supporting voices from Maaya Sakamoto as Alphard Al Shua and Akio Otsuka as Siam add to the ensemble of operatives. The mood is melancholic and propulsive, mixing stylized violence with intimate bonds between the two women. Fans of Black Lagoon, Psycho-Pass and Gunslinger Girl will find resonance in its shadowy conspiracies, stylized action, and damaged female protagonists.

## Shows like Canaan

- [Noir (2001)](https://ember.film/tv/978)
- [Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/169117)
- [B: The Beginning (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/67052)
- [Psycho-Pass (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/39909)
- [Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/20509)
- [Black Bullet (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54277)
- [Darker than Black (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/29208)
- [Gunslinger Girl (2003)](https://ember.film/tv/29219)
- [Ergo Proxy (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/1030)
- [Lycoris Recoil (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/117112)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt