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 GuldGowaBowman
21st Jul 05

This anime was beautiful. I had looked it up, to find harem anime, and this I heard was based off an H-game in other reviews, but surprisingly was noted to have little to no fanservice. Just what I was looking for, and it was refreshing.

First off, this anime is very heartwarming. Because of all the really nice people, the snow as a background and the situation. You also have the fact that people act more normal, with the exception of lots of women.

You have Yuuichi, returning to his childhood neighborhood to temporarily live with his aunt Akiko (who looks almost exactly like) her daughter Nayuki. Nayuki, is Yuuichi's cousin, and has been waiting for him for 7 years. She's not the only one waiting for him.

You also have Ayu, and Makoto. Then there are the girls he meets and helps: Sayuri & Mai, Shiori & Kaori, and a couple of other girls I feel bad for not remembering. Either way, this has such a family environment, and despite it's origins, you can show this to your family, or cuddle up with that someone, (if they get passed the enormous yet kawaii eyes and mouths). There's just so much love, almost no sexual tension, just romance and that somber snowy night feeling. I fell with each and every girl. Akiko-sama had to be the nicest person I've ever seen in anime or live-action. She was taking in every stray animal and stray girl to her home, and made them family. She was the true mother of the series, but you never get to see more about her past sadly.

I may repeat myself, but this series like any drama relies on the people interacting, through Yuuichi and his eyes. It carries the feeling of a dating sim, which makes sense anyway. Its also nice to see that the girls aren't jumping all over him like Love Hina or something.
*spoiler*
This review is actually my rant, if you were too dense to notice. But be warned, I have never cried watching a drama before, but maybe it was the 7pm to 2am of watching this series that enforced my attachment to each character. Lack of food+sleep+marathoning a 13episodedrama/romance= at least a tear down the cheek.

There is so much to offer, storywise and the character development/interaction was the focus and was done well. I was crying to find two characters disappear, one was dead from the outset as a ghost, and the other a fox that Yuu-ichi had nursed to health. Akiko getting in a car accident due to some ***hole speeding in the snowy night. That was sad, I expected it to happen, and I still cried like a *itch because I thought she was going to die.

There's a little plot twist that still has my head baking even now. You can take this series seriously up until you see a senior/third year student named Mai demonslaying with a sword during afterschool hours. However, at the end of her story arc, Yuuichi stops her, telling her she was creating them. The sword might have been the one to cut herself, not the demon. This was trippy to watch when my own conscious felt like sleeping (but I couldn't put this series down). Now can someone tell me, was this psychological for Mai, or did those demons really exist? Or did she create them through her own ability somehow giving her an enemy to fight?

-- GuldGowaBowman 21st Jul 05

Kanon Images