Genres: Action, Mystery

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The streets of Shanghai are alive with the sights and sounds of a great festival. Minoru Minorikawa, a journalist, and Maria Osawa, a photographer, have flown in to cover this event. In parallel to their soon-to-become active lives, an assassin drops her target from a rooftop, apparently miles away. A battle between this assassin and a terrorist group know as the “Snakes” rolls onward in a collision course with the other.

Separately, a CIA convoy escorts the captured Snakes leader, Alphard, to a detention facility. Her sister and allies spring her in gouts of flames and blood. Noting that the assassin they have been seeking, named Canaan, has been found in Shanghai. The inner workings of their organization are hinted at, but are never completely spelled out.

As the two stories collide we are shown that Canaan and Maria have met before and are actually good friends. Maria’s pictures, however, get her into trouble with the Snakes. She has uncovered something that undercurrents every aspect of this series, but we are not yet treated to an explanation. A flashback informs us that a terrorist group had spread a bio-toxin of which Maria was the only know survivor (by way of her father’s research toward a vaccine).

The Snakes strike out at Maria and Minoru who are eating at a restaurant after the initial events unfold. Thanks to a REALLY spirited cabbie, the two make a successful escape and are eventually saved by Canaan. The Snakes switch targets and Canaan leads them away. Upon returning to their hotel rooms, Maria and Minoru find their places wrecked and film stolen.

This series has a great opening and a good style; the pace is fast and has action throughout. A minor drawback is the amount of data we are asked to recall as we continue toward a (hopeful) epiphany of the what and why in the story.

Overall Hook Rating: B

Tags: action, anime, mystery