Underrated Gems

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by llj

Canaan--Not sure this is really underrated but I feel like it's not as well regarded by most people as I think it should be. Critics tend to knock its story, which is admittedly best to not think too hard about, but the dazzlingly choreographed HK style gun-fu action scenes simply cannot be ignored. Plus, it has great villains and a heroine who at least you can believe is as capable and competent as the show makes her out to be. That's really all you need in a good action story! I mean, Ong Bak is an action classic, but did any of you actually watch Ong Bak for the story? No, you did not. And Canaan has a better main villain than many great action movies. This is top calibre modern TV action anime by people who know how to animate action.

The main reason I love Canaan is for Alphard...simply one of the best female villains ever created in any medium! I didn't really care for the protagonist that much either - the psychotic underling to Alphard, Lang Qi, was more interesting and more endearing to me than Canaan. And that one episode regarding dropping the bomb... such tension/suspension I have never felt in an anime! It's also one of the very rare anime titles that shows proper gun handling/operation from the characters... the creators really paid attention to the details.

[llj]

Originally Posted by Vracer111

The main reason I love Canaan is for Alphard...simply one of the best female villains ever created in any medium! I didn't really care for the protagonist that much either - the psychotic underling to Alphard, Lang Qi, was more interesting and more endearing to me than Canaan. And that one episode regarding dropping the bomb... such tension/suspension I have never felt in an anime! It's also one of the very rare anime titles that shows proper gun handling/operation from the characters... the creators really paid attention to the details.

Totally agree. A great action series needs a great villain, and Alphard is one of the very best action series villains in an anime. I agree about Canaan's lack of charisma...but in her favour, she is at least believable as an ultra competent fighting machine, which is more than I can say for most action heroes.