The Kanon conundrum « hontou ni

8Oct/0667

The Kanon conundrum

Kanon is indisputably the most hyped series of Fall. And given the treacherous nature of hype with its tendency to eventually bite the hand that feeds it, it’s interesting to read the array of responses to KyoAni’s Kanon debut. I really do wonder. How many nay-sayers would return years later lamenting how hype had supposedly repelled them from a most excellent series? Or how many current rave reviewers would complete Kanon with the strongest condemnation when they were actually defeated by unrealistic expectations?

I know fanboyism and objectivity are hardly found on the same plane but this fanboy is gonna attempt to inject a little objectivity by bringing some semblance of balance on Kanon perspectives. Below is my reactions to various common motivations for catching Kanon. It is my hope that, thru this process, Kanon could be demystified and placed within a framework of reasonable expectations to enhance viewing experience.

I’m catching Kanon because it’s by KyoAni of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu fame.

You can be sure that high production values and excellent art direction would be a common denominator. Otherwise, they'd have just as much similarity as Ouran high school host club and Wolf’s rain. And if you are catching Kanon because of KyoAni’s mecha design in Full Metal Panic TSR, I commend Kannazuki no miko to you instead.

I’m catching Kanon because it’s by KyoAni of AIR fame.

Now that’s enlightenment. If you had liked AIR, I bet the stripes on my tail, you’d love Kanon. While Kanon’s debut is nowhere the quality of AIR’s, Kanon would eventually win out with its more tangible basis and, without a doubt, the more satisfying end.

I’m catching Kanon in hope of the remake going down the Nayuki track.

It’s going to be an Ayu finish. I’m not psychic and this hardly constitute as a spoiler. It’s pure common sense for effective storytelling. Leave the most powerful tale for the last since her story also forms the backbone of the premise and unraveling that at the end would be perfect. I do hope you’d be satisfied with a stronger Nayuki presence this remake. And for those at the extreme end of this spectrum, frankly, I never understood this Ayu hate or *insert Kanon girl* hate for that matter. You are just doing yourself a disservice with that self-inflicted disability to immerse in the potent tales of the different girls.

I’m catching Kanon cos everyone says it’s a powerful tale.

You bet it is. But the intensity of the tale is directly proportional to one’s endearment of the character. If you find the Kanon girls annoying in general, chances are you going to roll your eyes when the poignant bits kick in. Plus, as the 5 tales spread over 24 eps, you are unlikely to get SUNRISE pacing. There would be many moments when the story would fade to the background leaving the series to feed off character charm, a MAJOR draw of Kanon. Not liking Kanon girls effectively more than halves your enjoyment.

I’m catching Kanon because I love Toei’s version but know KyoAni can bring it to greater heights.

Please, I beseech you, visit my humble blog, engage me on my Kanon posts and share your love. You, my friend, are the reason for the Kanon remake and the existence of this blog.

Well this list is nowhere near exhaustive since I skip less popular reasons like ~~I love all the Kanon doujins out there and want to see how Ayu look with clothes on~~ I love taiyaki.

Myself? The engineer in me says Kanon is 45% story, 35% character and 20% ambience but the fanboy in me says it’s 100% anime love. I watch it simply because it is Kanon.

Posted by Stripey

Filed under: Kanon (2006) Leave a comment

Comments (67) Trackbacks (2) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

crimson
October 13th, 2006 - 18:31

I quote Wontaek’s:
a: Guys don

( REPLY )
Skane
October 13th, 2006 - 21:42

Maybe reintroduce Kanon to your wife when they start to touch on Mai’s story? ^^;

On a more serious note, Kanon is meant to be leisurely-paced, because the gravity of some of the girls’ situation is pretty heavy and it will not do the atmosphere justice if they just went for high-paced hijinks in the buildup.

As it has been said before, the themes of Kanon is that of miracles and promises.

Did your wife like Air? If not, then well, I guess it is just a matter of personal taste.

Cheers.

( REPLY )
Xellos-_^
October 14th, 2006 - 10:04

wontaek, your wife has good taste. 12kingdom is great and Figure17 is great anime with very little hype. A great combination of action and slice of life.

( REPLY )
crimson
October 14th, 2006 - 11:25

its a pity 12 kingdom isnt the intended version near the end.

( REPLY )
vexx
October 15th, 2006 - 00:06

Our house is full of Ichigo Mashimaro goodness at the moment (I bought the series and both wife and elder son’s girlfriend love it).

random thought: you mean there’s some part of the planet where a guy wouldn’t like to pulled into an adventure by a cute girl he doesn’t know? 8\

( REPLY )
wontaek
October 15th, 2006 - 02:08

>>> random thought: you mean there

( REPLY )
crimson
October 15th, 2006 - 06:01

sounds like a futuristic sci fic show alrdy!

( REPLY )
Stripey
October 16th, 2006 - 06:50

gomen, late on the comments. Well maybe to add to the discussion, my significant half is enjoying KyoAni’s Kanon alot. Her favourite series are Azumanga and Angelic Layer and I need to catch 12 Kingdoms and Ichigo Mashimaro soon.

>you mean there

( REPLY )
vexx
October 19th, 2006 - 10:42

I typo’ed Ichigo Mashimaru in my last comment …..

( REPLY )
vexx
October 19th, 2006 - 10:44

and apparently using “less than”"greater than as brackets causes any text inside to vanish as a meta-tag or something, last post should have finished with:

[[slaps self into oblivion using one of those fan-shaped smackers I can never recall the name of]]

gomen…

( REPLY )
Stripey
October 20th, 2006 - 17:37

No worries, vexx, corrected it.

Now you gotten me wondering what those paper-fan smackers are called too….. XD

( REPLY )
Skane
October 20th, 2006 - 19:35

They’re called Harisens.

Cheers.

( REPLY )
Stripey
October 20th, 2006 - 20:12

LOL! Thanks Skane! The Japanese have names for everything.

( REPLY )
Daneel Rush
October 28th, 2006 - 12:14

I watch Kanon 2006 because Kanon 2002 was a turning point in my existence. Before Kanon, I had only watched terribly-dubbed age-old anime (I’m talking DBZ, Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon here, oh the HUMANITY!!!). I watched the subbed Kanon on my PC, and I was reborn. That was I gained four obsessions: anime, eroge games, I’ve Sound and the company Key.

I greatly liked the Toei version, despite its animation flaws and mostly forgettable music (except for Last Regrets and Kaze no Tadori Tsuku Basho, of course). Last year I had the immense pleasure of enjoying the original game, and then realized just how incomplete the Toei version truly was. Kanon, the game, is a masterpiece of the genre. Yuuichi was my God of Sarcasm until I watched SHnY (needless to say, I imploded when I learned that Tomokazu Sugita would take Yuuichi’s role). All the characters were vastly defined, detailed and enjoyable, and the girls’ stories are wonderful, rich in detail and never lacking of flavor and emotion. Even Sayuri, who doesn’t even have an ending, became (by far) my favorite girl (Sayuri’s conversations with Yuuichi are insanely awesome – I can’t wait to watch them animated: “I’d rather eat YOU!” FTW).

In any case, Kanon is an experience (above and beyond my fanboyism), and I plan to enjoy every second of it. So far, KyoAni has done an impressive job. The animation quality was expected, and so were the original seiyuus and Kyouichi (they just need Haruhi and Kyon to make a cameo and it would be the best series ever. Can you imagine Yuuichi and Kyon in the same room? I think their sarcasm combined would create closed space). The pace is also perfect, and the interactions are perfect, too, to the point of some of the dialogs being taken from the game word by word. As an adaptation, Kanon 2006 is doing its job marvelously. Well then, let us see how all the stories are played out. I, for one, am looking forward to it.

( REPLY )
Skane
December 28th, 2006 - 07:36

Reading Super Blog’s entries is like reading drunken poetry. Hmm… let me try.

Fie! Fie! And a flea on you!
For you have turned to flee!
Tail tucked inbetween thy thighs.
Stature of men, courage of mice.
~~~~ ~~~~

A more relevant entry.

He has returned! The promised one.
Tears shall flow. As he has his fun.
Death! Will come and go.
For the sad girls in the snow.

Cheers.

( REPLY )
Stripey
December 28th, 2006 - 12:10

LOL! Skane, I wished spam could induce such creative juices in me

( REPLY )
Raptor2023
February 14th, 2007 - 02:17

I watch it for the “uguu~!” haha…

( REPLY )