Kanon: The Complete Series [4 Discs] [DVD]

This is the 2006 version of the anime: This series has a lot of great characters as well both sad and happy parts to it that really draw you into it. I felt that the series had a good ending and is definitely worth watching.

Here is a truly fantastic anime. Kanon starts off as a slice of life series but as the series progresses supernatural elements come into play. The series protagonist, Yuichi, moves in with his aunt and cousin who live in Japan's snow country. Yuichi remembers something happening the last time he visited his family there, but does not remember what. Slowly, he begins to piece together his memory. Along the way, we encounter the supernatural in the form of shape-shifters, mysterious spirits and psychic powers. All of which feel real in the context of the series. The main focus is of course on the characters themselves. Each of Kanon's diverse players is very well developed and you feel like you have a real emotional bond with them. From likeable guys like Yuichi, to energetic girls like Ayu and Makoto, to quiet types like Mai and Shiori. Each character gets time in the spotlight and adds to the overall drama of Kanon. There are a few action scenes, but most of the suspense is emotional. There are some truly shocking moments in Kanon, moments that will leave you breatless! All serves to draw you in to this brilliantly realized world that could be just a few doors away. The animation from start to finish is astounding. Some of the best 2D cel animation I have ever seen, even more astounding when you consider this was a weekly TV series. The movements are smooth and fluid and all charaters and backgrounds are expertly drawn. The direction is masterful as well, even when nothing major is happening, you still can't take your eyes off it. The Japanese cast does a superb job. All are very well cast and do a tremendous job. As emotionally powerful as Kanon is, you really need to hear the Original voice cast. The Japanese cast helped to create Kanon and the story was structured around a Japanese spaeaking cast. The English cast is not at the same level as the Japanese cast and, because Japanese has a different grammatical structure than English, emphasis can come at inappropriate times in the English version. The English dub loses a great deal of the Original Japanese version's impact. It's well worth it to watch this with English subtitles. And reading subtitles is not even half as hard as you might think. In fact, after a while (and you'll be surprised at just how short a while) watching the anime and reading the subtitles becomes second nature. No giant robots and no grand space battles, just quality anime.

Genre: Drama, Comedy Length: 24 episodes "Can the future exist without the past? Yuichi hasn't seen his cousin Nayuki in years. Now that he's back, all knowledge of ever visiting has vanished. He tries to adjust to the vaguely familiar surroundings, but the gaps in his memory haunt him as time grows short. The pieces of the puzzle have appeared - an eerily silent beauty with blazing tresses, the mysterious girl with the winged backpack, and the sword-wielding demon slayer - but it's up to Yuichi to discover how they fit together." Like the first reviewer stated, this one is first and foremost, an emotional roller-coaster. All you need to know is that it was made by the great folks at Key/Visual Art who are the same ones that put out Clannad, Air, and Angel Beats. It will do everything in its power to make you want to curl up and cry in the corner. However, there's also a good dose of comedy to help keep the mood from making you want to slit your wrists the entire time. Kanon is a very solid anime series that you just love to hate. You love it because it's so engrossing and has incredible character development. You hate it because you honestly don't know if they're going to try to kill off someone that has captured your heart. You can break the series down into arcs that deal with the ladies in Kanon and how Yuiichi's interactions with them help to restore his memories. If you want to be really judgemental, the plot is pretty standard with a lot of plot tiwists thrown in to keep it fresh. Young man used to visit a town and met several young girls there; comes back after several years but can't remember anything about the place; amnesia caused by a traumatic event; solid harem build up but one is actually chosen in the end. You're not enjoying the series if you break it down like that, though. Kanon was based off of a visual novel/eroge from 2000 like all of the series that Key has been a part of. How each female in the series builds up their relationship with Yuichi is a testament to this. In the games, he can end up with any of the heroines, but there's just one that he's focused on in the anime. I much prefer the non-harem ending as it actually gives a sense of closure whereas the other leaves it wide open. Something that is done very well here is the overall animation and music. Just having something sad happening isn't always enough to cause you to burst into tears, but when it's combined with excellent facial animations and a sorrowful song, then it usually does. Every character has their own face with unique characteristics and virtually every scenes has its own musical score. Everything ends up in a wonderful anime series. Like with most of the highly emotional series, I had to watch this with the original Japanese audio and subtitles. I appreciate the hard work the English voice actors put in, but they just can't match the emotion that's in the original audio. Also, don't expect much out of the extras. There are about 8-9 trailers and that's it. There's no overall about this series for me; Kanon is a fantastic anime series that had me enthralled from the very beginning. Even as I felt my heart being pulled up my throat, I couldn't stop watching. The story might not be completely unique, but it's orchestrated in such a way that I would label it a must-own series. Bring a box of tissues with you and enjoy!

This is an awesome anime. I love all of the characters, it has great action, really funny scenes and some scenes will make you cry. It may seem at times that Kanon will confuse you as to what some of the characters are talking about, but not to worry the story gets revealed and everything will be understood by the time you are done watching it.