Overall Rating
Excellent
Story: 5
Dialogue: 4
Animation: 5
Entertainment: 5
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Comparing this to “Clannad” is unfair, seeing as this is Clannad’s predecessor (thus “senpai” ~ older colleague), but it’s a fact that the parallels to “Clannad”, but also other Key anime, are extremely obvious. Where “Clannad” seems to start off in spring, where “Air” is set in summer, “Kanon” is the wintery counterpart. These shows aren’t copied off each other, but for an experienced Key viewer (who watched all other Key anime before, take out “One”, which I can’t seem to find anywhere), this show evokes definite nostalgia.
Story -- If you’ve watched “Clannad”, you probably know not to expect one stringent storyline… at least not right from the start. Things get tied up and resolved at some point, but at the beginning, it’s just a set of several substories. A bit disappointing? Wait till you got through the anime.
The storyline can be pretty predictable on some of the substories; that doesn’t mean it’s bad however. Tear-jerkingly poignant (I didn’t cry, but I know a lot of people who did, some of which will probably hit me over the head for putting this down), suspenseful, romantic, sad, deep, and heart-touching. A sense of mystery, supernatural/surrealism, and hidden detail also helps the gears turning and hints at a bigger picture, AKA some complexity. Slow, yes, but that makes it easy to follow and all the more emotive; and the end does pack some substantial twists and a whole lot of sentiment.
You probably know more or less what’s coming if you’ve watched other Key anime (Clannad, Clannad After Story, Air, Angel Beats!, or -maybe- One); seeing as the main draw of all of these lies in emotional entertainment value however, I don’t think it’s going to disappoint Key viewers; and those who’ve never watched Key before should prepare for some heavy emotional impact if they decide to watch.
For the experienced Key viewers, something that definitely sets this series apart is the fact that not only the anime itself, but also every episode is named after a musical term (kanon, ouverture, nocturne, requiem, etc.). If you have any knowledge whatsoever in the musical department, this brings about yet another level of complexity, and also makes the whole thing all the more interesting. But that’s only a side note ;)
Characters -- Now the range of personalities is pretty much standard, but nonetheless fairly enjoyable. The creators don’t exactly go overboard in terms of psychological design, but some deeper conflicts are hinted at, and the back-stories to each character fit and have their touching points and messages. The main guy is a little inconsistently characterised at times, but his moments of sarcasm bring a refreshing change after Clannad. Main problem for me was that, again, some female characters lack common sense. (After Clannad, where it was painfully obvious as there were relatively many of those charas, I’ve been keeping my eyes open and still getting a feeling there’s no helping that in Key anime. Now if only I could get my hands on “One” and if that proved me wrong… The chance’s low though. Sigh.)
Relationships -- Okay now, there is pretty much an overall sense of harem, what’s with all the sub-stories. It’s something that usually leaves me squirming, simply because the main guy’s always or almost always characterised in a way that makes the whole setup impossible to ever work for real. Besides, two-timing or multi-timing guys don’t exactly have my sympathy. Take out that absolutely personal bias however, and taking each relationship as a standalone one, the relationships are interesting enough, and character interaction is sure to get across both emotion and info about the characters well.
Dialogue -- Emotive with some comedy, with overall pretty good flow and script. It’s not Clannad’s style of “exaggerating completely”, rather a mixture of slapstick comedy, snarky comments, silliness, and insult exchanges (siiiigh), but it actually works with the characters and atmosphere for the most time. Some jokes are repeated throughout, but I guess there isn’t any changing that.
The sub and dub for once are pretty similar in terms of voice acting. The English script is a little loose compared to the Japanese (or rather the fansub) at times, and the fact that Sayuri is constantly using her own name instead of “I” (something that’s standard in Japanese but simply doesn’t work in English) can be pretty annoying, even if the reason’s cleared up later on. Other than that, however, there's no problem with either the sub or dub.
Music -- Pretty standard, especially compared to other Key anime. It works with the setting, it’s peaceful enough not to disturb any given scene, but neither does it stand out nor does it amplify the experience all-that-much. To me personally, the ending theme was the one that still offered the most in terms of atmosphere; that theme is without a doubt beautiful.
Artwork -- No doubt: it scores. There’s a pleasing character to the wintery scenery, especially snowy settings. (Not like there was much else besides snowy settings once the camera leaves the inside.) Colouring and shading is pleasantly done. A lot of character designs stop just short of cutesy overkill (see the wings on Ayu’s backpack? now c’mon), but if you like that or don’t let it get to you, it’s fitting enough. That there’s no ecchi also helps the emotion.
Animation -- Might not be the most recent 2012 style, but excellent it is nonetheless. No particular hiccups, fits the scenes, and together with the HQ art style makes for pure relaxation for the eyes.
Entertainment -- So the sense of humour definitely won’t fit everyone, but the emotion’s sure to get to you. It might be known and more predictable to those who’ve watched other Key anime before, especially Clannad, but the emotion still gets across, and it hits pretty hard. Mystery/suspense and humour work together effectively, drama and snippets of romance are sure to tug at your heart, and quality visuals only make it better.
As any Key anime, it’s not suited for the masses. Whoever is out for ecchi, action, or even fast-paced intrigue is at the utterly wrong place. For those who know what to expect, however, “Kanon” is sure not to disappoint. Look behind the apparent moe fad, and you get a touch of surrealism, some mystery, suspense, romance, some heavy drama, an approach of “miracles”, a slow yet beautiful story, overall emotion that’s sure to capture the viewers’ hearts, and last but not least something that ultimately makes you appreciate friendship and your loved ones anew.
I watched this the last out of all five Key anime available on this site (note: counting Clannad and Clannad After Story as two different anime right now), so I might not be as hyped as I was when I started off on the bandwagon, but “Kanon” still was a heart-touching experience to me. Recommended to especially fans of Clannad, as this is highly similar (maybe focuses a little more on drama and less on comedy), but even putting that aside, “Kanon” is highly emotive and definitely out of the ordinary. Think you’ll like that? Look no further.
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