Anime Review: Kanon

Intro: One of the more reoccurring things in anime that I don't really mind but other people seem to hate is "Moe". The reason why I don't hate Moe is because it is nothing but a harmless style. The usage of large eyes, tall iris, and flat face is similar to the usage of different colors in a painting and to me the whole moe backlash is nothing more than an overreaction to an ubiquitous, but otherwise harmless style. You can use moe elements in a show but still give the characters good personalities to make it different and one of the shows that anime fans associate with the term "Moe" is Kanon. Now there are two anime versions of Kanon: one released in 2002 by Toei Animation, and one released in 2006 by Kyoto Animation. For this review, I'm gonna focus on the 2006 version because it's the one anime fans associate with when they hear the word "Kanon". Released in 2006 by Kyoto Animation, Kanon is an anime adaptation of Key's Visual Novel of the same name. Other anime adaptations of Key's visual novels include Air TV, Clannad, One, & the recent adaptation of Little Busters. Now I actually did watch one of the anime adaptations prior to Kanon and that was Clannad. While I will admit that I think Clannad is the better show compared to Kanon, I definitely liked Kanon as well. It has a great story setup, great characters, touching music, and awesome comedy that really made the anime a fun, and emotional experience.



Story: The story of Kanon follows a high school boy named Yuichi Aizawa who permanently moves to a small town that he used to visit when he was a kid. During his permanent stay, Yuichi tries to remember what exactly happened when he visited the town as a kid while living with his cousin Nayuki Minase and her mother Akiko Minase. One day Yuichi's life takes a surprising turn when a mysterious young girl bumps into him while he was waiting for Nayuki outside the grocery shop. The mysterious girl introduces herself as Ayu Tsukimiya and is lookingfor something that is very important for her. Yuichi decides to help her find the thing she's looking for and the rest of the story revolves around Yuichi helping Ayu to find her special possession while trying to remember his childhood visit to the town. Along the way, Yuichi meets some few colorful people: a prankster girl by the name ofMakoto Sawatari, a stoic second year girl by the name of MaiKawasumi and her best friend Sayuri Kurata and a girl named Shiori Misaka who always shows up outside Yuichi's school. Story-wise, I think it's great setup because it gives a lot of opportunities for character interaction, which the show utilizes. Additionally, Yuichi's quest to figure out what exactly happened when visited the town as a kids adds a sense of mystery and as the series progresses, you do want to know what exactly happened. Overall, the setup is great and it is a very touching story.




Characters:



Yuichi Aizawa



From Left To Right: Mai Kawasumi, Makoto Sawatari, Nayuki Minase, Ayu TsukimiyaI always look forward to what they are going to talk about. Not to mention the fact that she is also kind and very friendly.



NAYUKI MINASE: Nayuki is also great character, and my second favorite character in the show. Not only is she likable but she is also very optimistic and as mentioned in my review for 5 cm Per Second, I do have a soft spot for optimistic characters. Additionally, I find her relationship with Yuichi to be really bittersweet ( I won't spoil it), and the moments when she is sleepy is really funny.



Comedy:

The comedy for the show is also really good. There are the moments where Yuichi is playing tricks with Makoto, which always cracks me up every time I see them. Additionally when Nayuki is sleepy, it's really funny especially when she spots a cat and tries to keep it. Ayu also provides some comedic moments with her childish behavior, and plus it's also funny to see her attempts in cooking. Overall, the show's comedy is really good, and it provides a lot of funny moments especially this moment.



Animation: The animation for Kanon is really good. The colors are bright and poppy and the scenes that involve the snow falling especially during nighttime are breathtaking to look at. As I mentioned in the beginning, a lot of anime fans associate this show with moe and for good reasons. Most of the characters have all the characteristics of moe: large eyes, tall iris, colorful hair etc. But as I mentioned before I see Moe as a style and for me the character designs are really good. Overall, the show looked great in 2006, and it still does today.



Music: The music for Kanon is very emotional, and touching. The soundtrack uses two instruments that I'm a huge sucker for: the piano, and the violin. Each song sounds melodic and fits the scenes of the anime. I originally found the opening to be really boring but the more I watched the show, the more it grew on me and now I really like it. The ending is a pretty catchy dance number, which is a feel good song that I like. If I had to choose two of my favorite songs from the soundtrack it would be the opening and the track "Shojo no Ori (Mai's Theme)".



Overall the soundtrack is really good, and the songs fit the tone of the series.



Problems: So you have a show that has a great story setup, bizarre but likable characters, awesome comedy and touching music. What could possibly go wrong? Well Kanon does have its flaws. The first is that the show can be pretty slow, especially in the beginning. While there are comedic moments and interesting interactions between the characters, there were times when I felt bored and started yawning. But when the show picks up the pace, it does get better. Another problem- and this is just a nitpick- is the ending. Don't get me wrong I think the ending is good and it's really heartwarming. It's just that it took me a while to understand what exactly happened.



Final Verdict: Overall, Kanon was a show I was looking forward to watching since the beginning of 2013 and I'm glad I did watch it. It's not my favorite out of Key's works (I hold that to Clannad, and I still have to watch Air TV, Angel Beats, One & Little Busters) but it is a great show that I enjoyed till the end. The story is very touching, the characters are likable, the comedy is great, the animation is gorgeous, and the music is very melodic and touching. If you are the kind of audience who does not like Moe, and slow paced shows, then this show will not change your mind. But if you are a patient one who can overlook Moe, and is looking for a great drama that focuses on character interaction, then I definitely recommend this show to you. Overall, I really liked Kanon and it's a great staple for the winter holiday season.



RATING: 9/10
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