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View Poll Results: Kanon 2006 Total Series Rating
Perfect 10 235 52.34%
9 out of 10 : Excellent 135 30.07%
8 out of 10 : Very Good 38 8.46%
7 out of 10 : Good 25 5.57%
6 out of 10 : Average 9 2.00%
5 out of 10 : Below Average 4 0.89%
4 out of 10 : Poor 1 0.22%
3 out of 10 : Bad 0 0%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad 0 0%
1 out of 10 : Painful 2 0.45%
Voters: 449. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 2007-03-21, 19:45   Link #61
Skyfall
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Asianknight82 View Post
@Zaris

So basically, if we had gotten a Nayuki ending, it would've been a 10 right? lol jk,
What i got from his writing, he implied that any other ending than Ayu would have been more "fitting". Or at least that the Ayu ending didn't "feel" right.

Which i would agree to certain extent. The turbo boosted Ayu-Yuuichi romance after Shiori's arc is one of my main gripes. It felt like coming mostly from the left field with no proper buildup. Up until that moment their interactions didn't seem romantic at any level.

Sure, they spent time together bla bla bla... but it didn't strike me even remotely as romantic or romance oriented. Good buddies, yes... romantic interest - no. I would have felt much more comfortable with Mai or Shiori romance aspect getting explored - they both had events that would be a much better foundation for blossoming romance. (Especially Shiori)

Now, while the Ayu buildup might be half decent on its own, unfortunately we have two others standing beside it - Shiori and Mai. And it falls flat on romance potential buildup when compared to those two. I have nothing against Ayu romance - just make it so that his choice seems believable on the font of what is already presented.

It felt like: "Ok, guys. Ayu has to disappear in 2 eps, but we need to have Yuuichi in love with her by that time, so - kick the engine in to overdrive and have that thing rolling. *snaps fingers* - Yuuichi x Ayu in progress.

Up to that point they had 3 buildups for a relationship (Not counting Nayuki, because she barely registers on Yuuichi's radar at this point) , and they chose to go with the weakest one, which was Ayu.

In this aspect i agree - the romance part is the weakest link of the series.
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Old 2007-03-21, 20:04   Link #62
Asianknight82
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I do agree that romance is rather weak but, can you truly say that you weren't expecting it? I mean the ending and opening scenes is full of Ayu, that within itself is a dead giveaway. Also, the guy dreams about Ayu nearly every day. Its not unbelieveable for romance to occur at the spur of the moment, it happens in real life. It was shown that Yuuichi was in love with Ayu from childhood but he blocked it all out from trauma, but I think the feelings were still there, but just "hibernating". Ack, I haven't typed much, but I don't wanna write anymore, lol.
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Old 2007-03-21, 20:12   Link #63
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Originally Posted by Asianknight82 View Post
I do agree that romance is rather weak but, can you truly say that you weren't expecting it?
Oh, i was most certainly expecting it. It is not hard to predict the winning girl in 95% of all animes The problem is not whether i was expecting it or not, but how we got there... which was a rather murky road in this case, considering the alternatives presented.
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Old 2007-03-21, 20:47   Link #64
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Maybe my biases are getting in the way of seeing this objectively, but I still think the Yuuichi - Ayu romance was handled commendably, and given a decent build up in the episodes leading up to it. But, I still argue the most important scene in regards to their romance was the one in which they first came together in episode 19... it was a time in which they were both emotionally vulnerable and it just seemed to make sense to me at that stage that in that moment they would reach out to each other romantically and for support.
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Old 2007-03-21, 20:54   Link #65
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Nuts, can't cookie Zaris yet.

Some nice points, especially about the handling of the pace towards the end, but there are some points that I do not agree with. Mainly with regards to Makoto.

Cheers.
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Old 2007-03-21, 21:32   Link #66
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I'm going to do what I did in the Haruhi Suzumiya thread: I'm going to average my votes for each episode towards my overall vote.

Quote:
 01: 09  02: 09  03: 10  04: 09  05: 09  06: 09
 07: 09  08: 10  09: 10  10: 10  11:0 9  12: 09
 13: 09  14: 10  15: 10  16: 09  17: 10  18: 10
 19: 10  20: 10  21: 10  22: 10  23: 10  24: 10

230 out of 240 = 9.58 >round up to 10!
As to my thoughts: I really don't need to repeat what has been said before except to point out that Yuuichi is the first male lead in a "harem-type" anime (I've seen) who didn't cause you to cringe and wonder just how anyone likes him.

As to Yuuichi and Ayu: Wasn't Ayu in charge of this relationship? Thinking on that, I got the feeling that Yuuichi was following her lead while he was in charge of the others (for good or bad).

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Old 2007-03-21, 21:43   Link #67
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There are quite a few things I would diagree with you about, Zaris, in that review, but I'll leave it to it as your own opinion. Tho, I do whole heartly agreed about "The Unrequited Paradox" section, specially regarding to Ayu's ending; that being illogical. There are some other nice points, but some points you seem to not be informed about when you watched the series, which leaved you a bit of dismay. However, since that's your understanding from watching Kanon, and like I said, I'll leave it to as your own opinion and won't go into an agruement about it.
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Old 2007-03-21, 21:48   Link #68
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Yes. Some very nice points indeed, Zaris. If I could, I would cookie for sure.

Although I do not agree on some points, you explained your reasoning very well and I can understand where you're coming from. However, I do agree with you on a good number of points.
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Old 2007-03-22, 08:03   Link #69
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Very well done critique, Zaris. Although there's quite a few points on that I don't agree with, I simply cannot deny the effort you have so obviously put into that. As it is, made for excellent reading.

Here, have a cookie.
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Old 2007-03-22, 16:30   Link #70
Zaris
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirrinus View Post
Hmm...this brings up an interesting question. Do we judge an adaptation based on how it appeals to your average joe anime watcher, or do we judge it based on how it appeals to its intended audience?
Since adaptations have fans to the original source, you're basically presenting material to two different audiences. My personal take on your question, and I'm being very general about this, is that when you watch something, you want to appeal more to those who are new to the subject matter. There's just a lot more out there. The most that people will know about the adaptation prior to seeing it is a cast of characters, general setting, general mood, and a summerized plot or tagline ("The Fight for Freedom Begins" or whatever). That summery might even contain how you're supposed to watch a piece - as a romance, as a mystery, or as how faithful to the comic book it was like the movie 300.

And I mean you're also showing this to the public. You want it to appeal to as many people as possible so they tune in and investors will perhaps support future endeavors from that company.

Fans are important too since they play a part in spreading the word on how great the plot is or how lifelike the characters are. But what some of them are unaware of is that in TV or in a film, drama takes precedence. Sometimes you have to sacrifice accuracy for the sake of making a scene dynamic or powerful, otherwise you end up having the majority bored or falling asleep at their seats.

I initially viewed Kanon from an outsider's point of view. I knew nothing about it. The only thing I had going for me was the fact that this was recommended to me for its successful past, and that it was a harem, a drama, and dealt around love - past and present (so Anime News Network classified it). Without knowing how things would turn out, I focused mainly on how well it would enrage me, please me, shock or make me tearful-eyed. Being able to elicit emotion is the kind of thing that entertains me. Television is entertainment. But you know, people are amused for different reasons so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

But understand that my screenwriting ethos is identical to that of Nicholas Meyer, "My job is not to weep; my job is to make other people weep." That's the point of view I'm coming from.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx
Zaris had a lot of interesting things to say .... some of which I thought made sense, some I was less sanguine with -- but he gave examples of why he thought the way he did. Useful because if I want to point out something he might not have considered or I think he misconsidered, I now have a common reference point to pursue with him
(unfortunately, not much time tonight )
Is that a challenge? lol

And you know, maybe everyone's right, that I probably took some important plot points and viewed them incorrectly. Most likely regarding Makoto. I don't mind a debate; this is a forum. We're here to talk and get facts straight.

And Skyfall is on the ball with me. I'm not saying an Ayu ending is inappropriate. I'm saying it could've used more justification, more spicing up, more drama to sufficiently suspend my disbelief on the matter. From the path Kanon was charting, Nayuki was the most appropriate choice. But episode 24 threw a mean curve ball that was difficult to follow. Any of the girls - Ayu, Shiori, Mai, even Makoto - could've been Yuuichi's #1 prospective mate (I exaggerate lol). But me and Skyfall agree that if it was gonna go that way, it needed to be more convincing.

But everybody's definition and perspective on love is different, eh?
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Old 2007-03-22, 17:16   Link #71
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Originally Posted by Zaris View Post
Without knowing how things would turn out, I focused mainly on how well it would enrage me, please me, shock or make me tearful-eyed. Being able to elicit emotion is the kind of thing that entertains me. Television is entertainment. But you know, people are amused for different reasons so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
An interesting comment and concession on your part. I hope you'll take this as a bit of constructive crticism in reference to your original post. You write very well, but I couldn't determine what your goal was. Was it to inform people of your opinion on the show, to criticize the show's objective flaws, to convince people to see the show in a different way... or something else?

I felt your argumentation was weakened by the way you couched some pretty arbitrary personal preferences and opinions (characters you liked/didn't like, ways you interpreted events, endings you would have preferred, etc.) in a shell of "I'm a screenwriter and filmmaker, so I know better". Maybe you didn't actually intend it to come across that way. Of course it's perfectly fine to mention things you would have liked to see done differently, but be careful not to couch it in an air of presumed authority or de-facto objectivity -- unless your arguments are in fact authoritative and/or objective.

Asianknight82 joked that "So basically, if we had gotten a Nayuki ending, it would've been a 10 right?" In fact, I felt it was pretty astute of him to see through the argumentation like that. Many of your arguments came down to "I didn't like this character", or "I thought this character deserved more attention", or "I was looking at this as a romance show", and so on, but they didn't really prove why others should feel the same way. You then built a case around how the fact that the show didn't match your personal preferences suggested flaws in the storytelling -- supported by "I'm a filmmaker/screenwriter". Because you didn't make a compelling argument (though it was certainly well-written), most of the replies you received were "I agreed with some parts, and disagreed with others".

Which brings me back to the original point -- what was the purpose and goal of the write-up? Maybe you were just trying to express your opinions and be as eloquent as possible in the process. In that sense, I would share the opinion most frequently stated: nice writing, I agree with some parts, and disagree with others. But if your goal was either to learn more through subsequent discussion, to convince others of your opinion, or to provide an objective overview of the show's strengths and weaknesses, then I wonder if a different tact might have better-served the purpose. As always, that was just my own personal impression.

For what it's worth, my purpose in posting this was so that hopefully we can learn from each other, and that others on the board can learn too. In the end, I think we can get a more insightful view of Kanon too. But the success of that is equally up for debate and discussion.
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Old 2007-03-23, 03:53   Link #72
Zaris
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No problem, relentlessflame. I know it's all good intentions and everything. Part of what I wanted to do by writing my review was to provide not just a score, but to justify the numbers I gave. I cited my sources and I gave examples. But the other thing that I felt was important was to give people a sense of how I came to my conclusions, and I thought that discussing myself would help that out a little.

The people who have posted their comments on this forum come from different backgrounds. Some are anime enthusiasts and I don't know how they judge. I can't speak on behalf of them nor can I speak on behalf of the fans who know Kanon better than I do. The only point of view I can really give is mine, someone who received a B.A. in filmmaking last June and is in the process of becoming a freelance writer. I was taught to view and criticize things in a particular way, record and edit with respect to particular rules. But I'm not saying things have to be done my way because I know what's best... because chances are I don't! There are other opinions and methods out there that make perfect sense. And ultimately, anime and film are two different things. Perhaps I tried to hard to make them seem alike. If I have appeared authoritative or condescending, it's only because I wanted to share with this community a couple things that I learned in school that could also apply here.

I wanted to be impartial when I wrote my column, but at the same time, I also wanted to state my personal opinion on how I thought Kanon could have been made better too. Like Meophist said, we are still writing our personal take on the series. But I guess I took advantage of my position which clouded my objectivity. In the end, I suppose I was just curious if others felt the same joy and frustration as I did when particular events unfolded. That by describing the changes I wished for in detail, it would culminate into some sort of group response such as "I agree with you" or "I disagree". I'm happy that a lot of people concur with my suggestions, but I can't help but feel a little selfish and guilty now.

You asked me what was the write-up's purpose? Half of it was to see if others could relate to what I was thinking; half of it is simply the ramblings of a fool who couldn't get the ending he wanted. I won't joke; Asianknight82 read my mind. I wanted a Nayuki ending very badly because I liked her more. I suppose I let my frustrations carry my discussions forward that, upon rereading my write-up again, is more about what I would have liked to see done than honest-to-god objectivity.

Everything in my review was intended to be just an opinion. If I have sounded like a bigot or have been insulting in that or subsequent posts in this thread, then I apologize right here and right now.
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Old 2007-03-23, 04:14   Link #73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrowKenobi View Post

As to my thoughts: I really don't need to repeat what has been said before except to point out that Yuuichi is the first male lead in a "harem-type" anime (I've seen) who didn't cause you to cringe and wonder just how anyone likes him.
Not me. Well I mean the character is fine, not being a total weakling or afraid of girls or the usually harem-type lead (that is if you can call this a harem), but its his voice thats the problem. You can't really speak for absolutely everyone, especially oddballs like me. Oh well, I'm not even supposed to be here by my own decision, just thought I'd throw in something regarding that the "you" is a bit of a blanket term that can't hold up for everyone and I actually physically have cringed on Sugita Tomakazu's spaz outs in this show a number of times, though I don't wonder how anybody could like him, because its easily understandable for those who don't have my issue with his voice. Whether that means Yuuichi caused it all for me I'm not entirely sure, it depends how much you tie the voice actor to the character.

And please for the love of god folks, don't take this as a thread jack or whatever it is everybody calls a comment these days, I'm just stepping in to give a response to something relating to how I view a character overall and not liking Yuuchi's voice had a huge impact on my overall enjoyment of the show so far. I virtually guarantee were it not for him (Sugita) this show would be getting a solid 8 or a 9 from me since depending on my tilt (more likely 8 for various reasons I don't feel like talking about) as voice acting would be a perfect 5 and his character interactions wouldn't be as annoying giving my character element a 4/5 meaning 5, 5, 3, 4 for Animation, Audio, Plot and Character, 17/20= 8.5.

Anyway back to the matter at hand, I understand he's popular to all but a few (Both Yuuchi and Tomakazu), and that criticism in the face of an overwhelming majority can be seen as insanity and poor judgement, but just take this one nitpick at face value (and I do have my reasons), for once, without getting defensive or taking it out of context or anything. Everybody feel free to disagree on their own grounds, absolutely of course, as is the god given right of any free human being, but don't go saying I'm wrong for this and this and this reason on something so subjective, because it won't help matters at all. Thank You ahead of time. Ah,just one small question while I remember, who are all those people who voted in this thread? Half maybe more of these names I've never even seen before on these boards even once. That's it. *Praying for once I won't be mistaken for an asshole*.

Last edited by Kaioshin Sama; 2007-03-23 at 05:03.
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Old 2007-03-23, 04:16   Link #74
Skane
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Arrow

The nice thing about Kanon is that all five girls have their real merits, and it is relatively easy to sympathise with the other girls. So even if your premium choice is not the chosen one, the others can still see where you are coming from.

For example, if it were up to me (and many fanboys wheeze in relief that it was not), Ayu, Makoto and Shiori would be dead. Nayuki's issues will get resolved but she will remain as a friend (not lover), while Mai ends up being the romantic interest. Note that this is merely the bare-bones summarised version (and thus seems rather extreme at first). You can read more about my thoughts in the "Spoilers Thread" if you want to.

The interactions between Yuuichi and the five girls (six if you count Sayuri, but hey, what do you know? They left out her problem in this adaptation ) are amongst the highlights of the story in general, and lends a lot of weight to the idea that any one of them can develop a real romantic relationship with him.

These girls are not falling head over heels over Yuuichi for superficial reasons. An important point lost on many anime (or most shows in general, not just anime) that attempts to explain why a girl ends up liking a guy (note that I am only referring to anime where the romance is a serious theme and not a comedic one like Love Hina).

So yeah... I have no beef with other people who support the other pairings in Kanon.

Oh look... I think I just lost a couple hundred words from my write-up to this post. I just made it that much shorter.

Cheers.
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Old 2007-03-23, 08:48   Link #75
Pellissier
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I chose a different approach for this Kanon 2006 review, so instead of mentioning all the ups and down in a unique circle, I preferred to go through a quick journey throughout the whole series. It made it a lot easier even for me, to make my final assesments. I hereby decided to travel through the arcs, and so my analysis is divided between the various parts, delivering there praises and criticisms. All the following contents, naturally, are in my humble opinion.

PRELUDE

As all of you already know, on 2002, Toei made the first attempt in animating Kanon. I watched that anime (3-4 years ago), without prior knowing what “Kanon” was, yes at that time it was famous already but I didn’t know what it was about.
The Toei version left me quite cold. Not that it was a bad anime, on the contrary it had a lot of powerful scenes, but the fault probably was that those scene seemed pasted one after another, and at the end, too many questions raised and remained unsolved.

INTRODUCTION

That’s why, when Kyoto Animation announced its Kanon’s remake, I wasn’t particularly excited. Nor the fact that Suzumiya Haruhi aired in the middle raised my interest. Kanon was a remake of an anime I probably wouldn’t have ranked even in my top 50.

Kanon 2006 started airing, and my approach was still cold. “A chance, just because it’s KyoAni”, I said myself.
With the first few episodes, my enthuxiasm certainly didn’t increase. What I could immediately see, was how better the character were drawn in regard of the 2002 version. I simply loved Nayuki’s new look, Yuuichi looked more mature than his “ancestor” (this will be very important for the story) and the same feeling of being better went for the other characters, from Ayu to Kaori, from Mai to Shiori.
At a point, Makoto was introducted. Quite a funny burden in her first appearences to say the truth, but another new thing of this Kanon was the presence of the comedy. I have to say, a brilliant yet very humorous comedy. Delivering a fantastic episode 6, with some of the most entertaining scenes of the whole autumn anime season ("The variations of the uguu"). It was an anticipation that Kanon 2006 had ended its gestuation phase and it was definitely started.
From now on, I’ll dismiss my 2002’s watcher clothes (it was just to state what my point of view was) and I’ll talk about 2006 only, without comparisons.

And so, one of the girls suddenly began to be under the spotlights.

1 - MAKOTO

"Love is something eternal ... The aspect may change but not the essence." (Vincent Van Gogh)

Makoto’s arc aka the most emotional of KyoAni’s Kanon. It feels like a lot of efforts were put here, for a 4 episodes long run. Some might say that they were too much, but I don’t particularly agree on the matter. The pace was just fine.
The girl being a fox spirit was hinted slowly but quite well, and the whole process of her “illness” was dealt in the right way. Being a lover of animals, I got really commoted by the whole part of the flashback when they showed Makoto’s true nature, and all that followed. An unbelievably powerful closure episode for this arc gave to most of the attendance teary eyes.
But at the same time it probably sown false expectations about the future of the series. Makoto’s story was sad and depressing, but also tragic, even if withouth catharsis.
Great job from Makoto’s voice actress, Iizuka Mayumi. Her “auu” won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
The animation was on really high levels for the most of the time, the plot development got a bit arrested instead, since basically Yuuichi did spend time only with Makoto and/or Mishio.
A good point though, was raised with the underline of the concept of “family”, near the end of Makoto’s vital power.

2 - MAI

"Promise me you'll never forget me, because if I thought you would, I'd never leave." (Winnie the Pooh)

After a superb “intermezzo” episode, the focus moved on the mysterious girl, Mai. Which is in my opinion, the arc with better single animations of the whole series (meaning particular outstandingly animated scenes. Some others were a bit less on the top).
With a particular glance at the dance sequence, truly and simply spectacular. The shadows of the story got unveiled little by little and another tragic ending seems to approach before our protagonist is able to avoid it (honestly, I think that scene in particular could have been executed a bit better, since we don’t even have time to realize that Mai has attempted sucide, that Yuuici has already “saved” her). That’s a point for the theory that KyoAni’s Kanon is not first-time watchers friendly.
If compared to Makoto’s arc this one is much different for many reasons. First (and this will count for all the other upcoming stories) there has been much time to get a character and his/her indepths inside us, second: not only Mai’s story is brought ahead – excepting – the very end, but also that of the other girls. Third and most important, this arc hasn’t one protagonist but two.

SAYURI

"Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest" (William Shakespeare)

Here it is, the one who probably is the most dramatic heroine of the story. The scene when she was assaulted by a demon made my heart skip a bit. Though, what really steals the spotlight, it’s when Sayuri tells about her past and her background story about the poor Kazuya.
KyoAni dedicated a good amount of time to it, with amazing results. It’s useless to exaggerate with superlatives, but that part was probably , along with the Makoto ending, the most sad of the series. I kept wondering why her laugh (“ahaha”) was so dry, and the explanation made me shiver.

Said of the animations, this arc was slightly better than Makoto’s in convenient regard of the whole story. One of the best scenes is the one where Mai lets go out her rage and destroys all of the surroundings with her sword, very impactful. The whole flashbacks puzzle worked well too.
I’m not totally fond of the ending here, a bit abrupt (as the pacing of Mai's past story. It seemed all too much standalone, like: "ok, this is the way this went, so what?". I've to put a small minus for this part.)

Thanks to Tamura Yukari, one of the most versatile seiyuus we have, for Mai, and to Kawakami Tomoko for voicing all the pains of such an unfortunate character as Sayuri.

After having conveniently set Mai’s healing power out (an acceptable idea executed with questionable manner. Too direct), it’s time for the story to move ahead.

3 - SHIORI

"In the end, it doesn't matter how many breaths you take, but how many moments took your breath away." (Anonymous)

Despite Shiori being my favourite Kanon 2006’s character, this is not my favourite arc. I feel to say it is the one arc with the best animations on the whole (from the beginning to the end). As far as I’m concerned, I doubt I have ever seen something that good as the river animation on the beginning of episode 17, that sequence alone seemed to be screaming “Hey! This is art!” from every point of view.
While this arc could seem totally Shiori-centered, that is not true, as we have a key bond.

KAORI

"The only thing grief has taught me is to know how shallow it is." (Ralph Emerson)

In all honesty, I don’t share the reasonings who brought Kaori to alienate her sister, but I can understand what her feelings might have been.

Back to Shiori, she’s wonderful. Beautiful and classy, with some unforgettable quotes (“I don’t like people who say such things!”) and a flawless, admirable behaviour. I mean, she’s facing death everyday. Yuuichi is particular good here in enlighten Shiori’s weights, and the birthday party is a colorful feast for the eyes. It’s good to see Kaori redeeming too.
A major flaw of this arc though, it’s the ending, which is abrupt and cruel at the same time. Also, a 3 episodes span didn’t seem allright to me. I’d given at least one episode more, so to have care of making spend to the two a bit more time together and to give a less rushed cut to the story.

If the writers thought that for Shiori’s arc 3 episodes would suffice, I think they were wrong. I think this objectively, as Shiori is the girl who has had less time among the main protagonists (bringing her back in episode 24 won’t make up for this).
Kudos here go to Satou Akemi (Shiori) and Kawasumi Ayako (Kaori).

As for the remaining girls in this part of the story, it’s to note down a certain reaction of Ayu to a "simple" cold of Akiko. As for Nayuki, well, whichever of her long sad expressions tells long about her feelings.

4 – NAYUKI, AYU & YUUICHI

When thinking to Kanon, and to these characters, it’s difficult to separate them. I consider this arc as one and unique, I’d say going from episode 19 to 23. (with episode 24 being sort of a “standalone”, a wrap-up of all events).

Along with the last episode, the 19th must have been the most discussed one. After a seemingly normal encounter near the end of the episode... suddenly something epic occurs.
It’s to say that yes, the kiss between Ayu and Yuuichi felt rushed and coming out of nowhere. Another point for the unfriendliness of Kanon 2006. I for one, felt that a bit unexpected.
In defence of the show, I can say that the number of hints placed previously is countless, through flashbacks and everyday happenings. Certainly, nothing really romantic seemed to be popping out.

I can understand from when the kiss came from, but again, something seemed to be missing, because half of the episode was dedicated to Nayuki, and only the last part to Ayu.
Standing ovation, however, for the kiss scene execution, the camera movements, the clody sky at the sunset, the details. It makes for an unforgettable moment.

The following narration, up to dramatic Ayu’s farewell, is very well built, and quite redeeming for the previous “flaw”. The final revelation has yet to come, but the climax brought to the screen has a big impact already.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." (Dr.Seuss)

If they ask me, “who’s your favourite Kanon character?” probably I’m going to say Shiori. But if they change the question to “who’s the one you admire the most” my answer would be different.
Nayuki suffered the pains of an unrequited love for years. She always kept a determined temper and tried to show no weakness. In the second part of the show, she has really become a silently shining star to my eyes (I have to say that Mariko Kouda as her seiyuu has a consistent part in this bunch of merits, and she would win an ideal “best Kanon seiyuu” prize from me, if there was one). Now it’s time for her story to reach the peak.
The trigger is a tragic event that I deem as a badly executed scene by KyoAni’s part. I have already explained this in long terms in the episode 21 discussion thread, but in two, I didn’t like the accident’s depiction, since I have preferred more subtleness.
At this point, Nayuki’s strenght collapses. If there’s a pillar in her life, outside Yuuichi, it’s her mother. Withouth Akiko, Nayuki’s world would probably mean nearly nothing.
The anime portrayed this situation just perfectly, in a depressing yet unstoppable run of events with a common key: pain and sorrow.

Yuuichi himself is lost because other than Ayu (and partially Nayuki) there’s something other missing: a part of his memory. When he realizes, there’s the most noticeable interpretation of Sugita Tomokazu for the character: in episode 22, when Yuuichi remembers what really happened to Ayu, the “uh!” he breathlessly shouts while quickly waking up is worthy one million praises.

It was a nice touch by KyoAni to put the real Sawatari Makoto, and the ending of episode 23 is also heartwarming, great work of the flashbacks and finally Yuuichi and Nayuki can reunite, in another epically animated and rendered scene.

Basically all the pieces of puzzle are together now, a small percentage is left with just one episode to go. The longer awaited Kanon finale will also become the longer discussed, since certainly the key of lecture provided was... surprising ?

5 - KANON AT THE END OF A DREAM

"When the world says, << Give up >> , Hope whispers: << Try it one more time >> " (Unknown)

A direct approach is chosen to show the solution of the problems: skip and show them all resolved.
It was hazarded, yes. But I for one, liked it. Because it wasn’t easy to put together all of the pieces for Kanon, but it was done well and withouth blatant plotholes. Somehow, they managed to untie all the bonds and answer to all the questions. It wasn’t easy, in an episode time.

Remarkable things: Shiori outburst (finally, poor thing), Mai helpfulness and Nayuki’s strenght through resignation. The continuosly hinted “miracle (kiseki)” was the only explanation one could provide, and it worked. If I put myself on that point of view, I can accept everything, even Shiori’s healing.

Qualm: not showing Ayu’s awakening from coma was not nice. It would have been a magnific anime moment.

The sequence when Ayu walks through the seasons is simply delightful, and feels like KyoAni put there its last effort in terms of great animation quality. Horie Yui’s voice then, here, always and forever, sublime.
Finally, goose pimples for fox-Makoto apparition at the very end. Wih this, all of the girls were basically gathered together, and all is well that ends well.

CONCLUSION

"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." (Andy Warhol)

Yuuichi, my sir, you did very well in this series. Heh, oughta give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

Having shown my point of views on the whole coverage of the series, it is much easier for me now to explain in a few words my thoughts.
First of all, let me say that I don’t care about whatever resolution the screenwiters may have chosen. They were all believable paths, so I’d have been ok with any of them. Certainly, I felt really bad for Nayuki near the end, so I’d have hoped for her share of happiness.
It didn’t happen, but it’s ok. It makes sense that Yuuichi ended with Ayu, as it would have made sense if he ended with Shiori, or Mai, or even Sayuri.
So my opinion won’t really be changed from this or that happening. Also because romance is not what Kanon is mainly made of.

As abundantly explained, the storyline has some weak points, costing some points in my judgement.

For a dramatic series, it may be anti-climatic to see all finishing well, and probably this choice has detract something to Kanon 2006 in terms of unforgivability: it’s a common thought that you’ll remember more a tragic epilogue rather than a positive one. At the end, we may count 2 dead peoples (Makoto and Kazuya – Sayuri’s brother - , but I’m tempted not to count Makoto as really dead, since she’s always wandering around, either in spiritual form, either in her animal form).
This aspect can really divide people’s opinions.

As for me, I like drama but I also like fairy tales with their magic when they occur. I’m a dreamer. A dream is the key of Kanon 2006. It’s not difficult if I can sort it all out saying that I liked the ending in its whole.

--

I think I've really said all that I had to say. Oh, and I chose a friday to say it: for one reason: it's the first "Kanon-less" friday. Just wanted to make it "Kanonly" special in some other way.

All in all, I don’t think this series would be deserving a ten. It is plenty of merits, really. It’s near to be a masterpiece, really. But for a reason or another, there’s something missing. I don’t know if 26 episodes could have solved the deal (by adding the point I mentioned as probably lacking), but as a matter of things, I can call this series “excellent”, without going further.

With a brief summing up of all the ratings I’ve given around the way, I ended up giving:

Overall Rating: 94%

But all considered, I have to round down that total, and so my final rating for Kanon 2006, as it will appear in this poll, is a solid 9
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Old 2007-03-23, 12:32   Link #76
CrowKenobi
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Thumbs up

Pell, that was an excellent review of Kanon and I'd give you a cookie, but I need to spread them around.

Did you also know that you're post was so good that I got logged off while reading it!

Two thumbs up!

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Old 2007-03-24, 00:46   Link #77
Skane
Anime Snark
 
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 41
Cool

Apologies for the delay in posting my write-up. I had less time than I expected during the past week. I must say though, it was fun writing this much about anime in MS-Word. This is probably the longest I have ever written about any anime since Strawberry Panic.

I will be using the [spoiler] tags to split up my write-up into manageable sections (so that your eyes don’t bleed from trying to read all of it in one go. You can read one section first, then come back to read more). The following is representative of my own personal opinions, and so it is more than likely that we will come to a disagreement on some points (hopefully not most).

It is not usually my habit to compare and contrast between a source material and its’ respective anime-adaptation, but since it was KyoAni’s ambition to portray the Kanon game faithfully in anime-form, I will be making several references to the game, and point out where it got better, and where it got worst (which is of course, subjective).

If you suspect that there are some typos in the following sections (and I will not be surprised if there are…), feel free to inform me so that I may correct them when necessary.

Contents:.
---- ----
I will begin with the protagonist, Yuuichi.

.
Spoiler for thoughts on Yuuichi:

~~~~ ~~~~

The following sections will talk about the five main girls according to their aired arcs.

.
Spoiler for thoughts on Makoto:

.
Spoiler for thoughts on Mai:

.
Spoiler for thoughts on Shiori:

.
Spoiler for thoughts on Nayuki:

.
Spoiler for thoughts on Ayu:

~~~~ ~~~~

The following sections deal with the secondary characters.

Random Thoughts on the Secondary Characters:
---- ----
.
Spoiler for Mishio & Piro:

.
Spoiler for the real Sawatari Makoto(SMakoto):

.
Spoiler for Sayuri & Kuze:

.
Spoiler for Kaori:

.
Spoiler for Akiko:

~~~~ ~~~~

The following sections deal with technical merits.

.
Spoiler for Animation Consistency & Quality:


.
Spoiler for thoughts on BGM & other Audio:

.
Spoiler for thoughts on Plot Pacing & Progression:

~~~~ ~~~~

Conclusion?.
---- ----
Spoiler for conclusion:

~~~~ ~~~~

I hope I have not bored you with this write-up. I chose to do it in a more flamboyant style as that is my preferred method of conveying my thoughts. I am not good at maintaining a serious tone in my write-ups like Zaris, as that tends to bore me as I write it (this even applies to my technical reports). I can read it though.

I would also like to thank NightWish for helping me with my problem of using some of the vB Code utilised within this post; and of course I would like to thank you, the reader, for reading this.

Onwards to Lucky Star!

Cheers.
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Old 2007-03-24, 04:21   Link #78
Skyfall
Lost in my dreams...
 
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Age: 37
^ A nice write up, and i enjoyed reading it I am dissapointed you shafted the Shiori section though - i was very much looking towards to reading that one

... when(if) i manage to get over that dissapointment i will give you a cookie
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Old 2007-03-24, 07:10   Link #79
Lilith
Your average fangirl
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: U.A.E. - Dubai
Age: 37
I rated it 8 out of 10. Kanon was a Very Good anime series. I enjoyed it a lot, might re-watch it once, would recommend it enthusiastically and shall always remember it.

Following CrowKenobi, I averaged my vote for each episode
Spoiler for my votes:

The average is 8.75. I've omitted the 0.75 to "compensate" the Perfect-10-spree I went in the end.

I'd like to take the chance to thank all the fansub groups for doing a wonderful (and speedy! ) job. Also, I'd like send my regards to the mods for maintaining this sub-forum ("no spoilers"! ). Ofcourse, I won't forget the awesome posters *hands everyone e-cookies*. Seriously, I've begun to look forward to discuss the episode more than actually watch it.

I love Kanon.
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Old 2007-03-24, 11:10   Link #80
Sai the Dreamer
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NSW, Australia
About the Ayu arc... I think a good way to put it is with comparisons to Air.

In Air, the first couple of episodes were spent on introductions and getting to like the characters. The next two episodes focused on Kano, though it did come a bit too quickly. Then we get Minagi/Michiru's story for another two episodes, during which Misuzu's state begins to show and develop. After that, it's six episodes of full-swing Misuzu (including the Summer arc - that's just as important).

Contrast this to Kanon. It takes two episodes before Makoto's even introduced. I actually liked the pacing at that point, but over the next 4-5 episodes it just slowed to a crawl. Makoto's arc spanned 3 and a half episodes, which helped give it a full impact, but it could have worked with just two episodes to be honest. Mai's spanned 5 episodes, even better. Shiori's was another 3, but imho it was one episode too long. This meant they only had 6 episodes to tell everything left, from her past, to Nayuki's story, and even Ayu waking up.

They just ran out of episodes to be honest. Had they cut down on the introductory episodes, and actually mixed the characters' development into other arcs (whilst not nearing their climax, of course), it would work a lot better. Something like this, perhaps:

Spoiler for Kanon all episodes:
The point is that Misuzu's arc got more than half of Air dedicated to it, whereas Ayu's got less time than Mai's (if you exclude Nayuki and Sayuri's stories, respectively). It really was rushed, no matter how you look at it.

Ooh yes, that reminds me. Thanks to Eclipse, SS, TWH, and Sprocket Hole for your super-fast, but still awesome, subs! Really, having two consistently high-quality 24 hour releases (and another that's usually out within a few days) is just somewhat of a godsend. You guys are awesome, and I only hope we'll get the same dedication for Clannad. <3

Last edited by Sai the Dreamer; 2007-03-24 at 11:21.
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