Kanon (2006)

Alright then, just earlier today I managed to finish off this series and gosh, I don't know how often I was on verge of tears while watching this. At first when I was recommended this anime, I was told that this would be a lot like Clannad. Oh boy was I lied so badly. These two may be made by the same company and belong to the same genre, but they're no way near the same, or even close.

First thing that hit me of this series was the OP. I fell in love with it the moment I heard it. There was just "something" in it. I'm currently listening the OP of Kanon & Kara no Kyoukai on repeat..Okay, enough of the OPs.

The series then.
Like I said already, I was more than once on verge of tears and honestly, at certain point I was thinking of dropping this.
Everything that happened in beginning, Makoto turning out to be born from a miracle and that she was actually the fox who Yuuichi had taken care of when he was kid. All of it was rather confusing. Were we living in a fantasy world or in "real world"? Although it did add nice touch to it, I found it little confusing since there really wasn't any explanations to as of why things happened and so on. Although the things said / suggested by Shiori in the last two episodes really made everything to fall into right places and that was all that was needed.

The little flashbacks given in beginning of the most episodes did gave plenty of information actually and I had actually figured out that the girl who'd Yuuichi would "end up with" was going to be Ayu.

Probably the most saddest story of all was the one with Kaori & Shiori. I just can't imagine how a person could possibly ignore the existence of another person, let alone not to accept her as your sister. In my opinion at least.

I mean, in the first one I thought of Yuuichi as a retarded playboy because of how *masculine*sneeze* he acted, and because of the ridiculous size of his chin. With this new one though... I really enjoyed all of the characters arcs, they were very touching.

Like when i Saw her mom disappear under the car I was just like NO WAY!

Where to begin... The beginning perhaps? Not impressed with the opening track. Way to slow and way to revealing to the plot. I look to opening songs to set the mood for each episode, and this one didn't do it for me.

Now on to the actual beginning of the series. Excellent! There is no better word for it. I really liked the setup and was impressed with the immense amount of comedy. The story was very gripping too and had me watching episodes left and right. Each girl had a different "story" it seemed and it piqued my interest to no end. I especially began watching the series rapidly when Makoto's story began picking up. It was very well done and heartwarming. I won't lie, at the end I definitely shed some tears But in my opinion a good show makes me laugh, cry, and go "HOLY ****!" The way it was explained made more sense to me too than any of the other supernatural events in the show, especially since she didn't get a free ride and disappeared in the end. And jumping forward an assload of episodes, I liked the meet up with the real Makoto later in the series. Was a nice break from the dribble going on with Ayu.

Mai's story was interesting as well. Normally you would expect such an arc to be the real story in another anime somewhere else, which was its only problem, especially since at the end both Sayuki and Mai ended up bedridden till the final episode. Personally I would have liked it more if Sayuki had died. That would have definitely gotten some from me and made for a better story. At any rate regardless of the ending it put two likable characters completely out of commission and nullified them.

Shiori... Her sister said it best. "Why was she born?" This arc was very, very predictable and made me dislike Kaori a lot. I am an older sibling to a sister as well and if she was dying... that is not how I would treat her. I think this makes it into my top 5 "I Want to Jump in the Anime in Strangle You" list because of that. At any rate this arc was pitiful and a bad attempt at adding more "drama." I cut myself? Oh my good god, go eat some ice cream and cheer up. Asking Yuuichi to be her brother and then kissing him was bad too... what are you doing with your life?

Ayu... I had a bad feeling Yuuichi was going to land his finger on this one. At the point in the series where he arc begins, like Shiori's it was predictable. It doesn't help she wearing wings either, or that Yuuichi won her an angel when they were kids, or that she has wings in the Opening, or that she seemed to not have parents. It was like Makoto all over again except not as emotional. In addition out of all the girls, Ayu looked the most like a grade schooler and therefore made their love even more... off. Ayu was a great comedic relief in the earlier episodes and I wished she stayed that way.

Nayuki :) A sweet charming girl with a little necrosis. Her arc in between Shiori's and combined with Ayu's was a gasp of fresh air when I was powering through the back half of this anime. Out of all the girls I wanted to see Nayuki with Yuuichi the most... expect for her being his cousin. Sorry girl, you're the best, but please lets not do any incest. Definitely a superior character though. I would have liked to see no Shiori and a more in depth Nayuki arc. Next to Makoto passing on and Akiko getting hit, Yuuichi slapping that bunny out of her hands was one of the more sad things.

Overall the series exponentially got worse what with the people living through life threatening situations, the over abundant flashbacks, and the over explanations. I had high hopes episodes 1-5. Episodes 6-10 were excellent tear-jerkers that made me like Makoto much more as a character. 11-15 were very interesting and brought an intense supernatural feel to the series. The rest were more or less garbage. The only thing the series stayed consistent with was its comedy. I must say I did not expect to laugh aloud as much as I did. Whoever was on comedic duty for this show needs a pat on the back for sure. However, comedy does not save a drama. 6/10

im gonna call a prediction now, ayu died along time ago before he left. it would make perfect sense- this whole time alot of this stuff is a figment of his imagination from a traumatic event from when he was a kid. lets see - i got 4 episodes left to go, lets see how it pans out.

i was close.