Kanon

Director
Naoyuki Ito
Production
Toei, KEY, Fuji TV, Visual Art's
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
13 Episodes/25 minutes each
Year
2002

Kanon

By Bryan Hoang
25th Aug 04

Wow! When I first saw this anime, the first thought that came to mind was: Wow! They have BIG eyes, even for anime. I guess in a weird sense those huge eyes do have a purpose in the story. Kanon is based on a dating-sim game. The anime consists of thirteen episodes and one ova; although the ova isn't really needed to get the full potential that Kanon has to offer. I think that all you really need to do is to pay a lot of attention to the thirteen episodes that Kanon does offer.

The story begins with a boy named Yuichi Aizawa, and he's basically a normal male: goes to school, has a family, and has memories. Yuichi goes to visit his cousin's house in a town that he hasn't been to in seven years. His cousin, Nayuki Minase, is also another average girl: long purple hair, in the same grade as Yuichi, and lives with her mom Akiko Minase. This ends the setting of the story; let's get to the plot. Yuichi goes to the town and lives with Nayuki, and he tries to fit in while helping Akiko with chores. As Yuichi ventures around the town, he meets Ayu Tsukimiya. When Yuichi meets Ayu, he begins to vaguely recall his past seven years in this town, a memory that has been sealed up. So, as the memories are trying to be remembered, more characters help Yuichi remember by giving him problems that relate to him seven years ago. This story may sound and probably looks like one of those animes where 1 guy is surrounded by millions of girls, but it's not the same as a Love Hina type of anime, since it lacks the comedy to become like Love Hina. Although the story is pretty good to make up for the comedy lost.

***WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILER***
In the ova of Kanon, it's basically about the same characters, and follows the same storyline. It takes places just before the ending of Kanon, and only lasts about 15 minutes. The ova is really just a glimpse of what happens after Yuichi finally finds Ayu, and how everyone acted after Yuichi finds Ayu. It basically takes place just after the big flash in episode thirteen, when Yuichi wakes up Ayu.

Finally: the opinion part of the review. First of all, my first impression of the anime (from the first two episodes) wasn't much. It had a slow start with not much happening: just some comedy here and there, and getting to know the settings and characters. When you reach episode three though, it gets a little more exciting because you get to see Mai holding a sword and fighting ghosts. As you watch on, you are greeted with more depth to the stories until the end of the series. I think this anime has the best ending, and is one of the saddest anime I've ever seen. This anime should be some of the top tens of anime, since the storyline is one of the best, drawings are good, and rated up to the top 10s.

In the end, this anime is worth watching, but to some it may be boring. If you are one of those viewers who bawl over sappy moments, then remember to bring a tissue box because it might just come in handy ^^.

-- Bryan Hoang 25th Aug 04

Kanon Images