Kanon (2006)

[Yukimura]

I was so scared Akikio was going to die (I would have had to go with her into the afterlife), but then they bring out the more obvious but still saddening Shiori is going to die plot. Of course that's not saddening enough since Makoto 'died' too, so now we get a sister who has sealed her heart of to the plight of her younger sibling, probably in order to protect herself, which will cause even more sadness. I don't know how I'm going to hold it together throughout this whole series.

[RyougaZell]

Another good episode.
And hell yeah... Shiori's arc is here. Have been expecting it for some time.
This episode was full of those little things you tend to not notice first time around. I won't tell though.
Kaori seems to break in front of Yuuichi, but will get back on her 'other persona' (the one that denies Shiori's existance as she said at the end) based on the preview.
This series should be watch even by non-anime fans.

[Kraco]

Let's continue with the ice-cream arc:

Episode 17 h264 - SS-Eclipse
Episode 17 xvid - SS-Eclipse

[Bucket]

Lately Friday seems to come a lot faster than it used to. Not that it's a bad thing.

[RyougaZell]

Great episode.
Shiori is so cute... damn Yuuichi...
Her reaction about the cafeteria... her obentos... and her reaction to spicy food was great... 'Tabasco' = 'Evil' or something like that... lolz

Ayu was great as well... dreaming about a ghost carrying her... LOLZ

[Akeruri]

Nayuki's not getting a fair treatment once again. She's been sent back to the bench, just dozing/sleepwalking/hanging around for most of the episode. I would've liked if Nayuki took part in Shiori's arc from the "worried about Kaori" angle, but...

[Yukimura]

Shiori is so massively Kawaii, especially in her uniform!!! This episode was chock full of rainbows and ice cream that I nearly missed some of the heavier stuff. I initially thought the ep was somehow less than some of the others because it didn't end with me wanting to cry like the last few have. However Kaori's combination of selfish heartlessness and underlying pain was a subtle but still firm emotional pull. I really like that I felt this conflict nearly subconsciously and that I didn't fully notice the scope of the emotions until the ep had had time to sink in. On watch number two I re-noticed all the cute things again, but also noticed the heavier parts more clearly. It was just as awesome as it should have been. I hope Yuuichi can get Kaori to come around, for Shiori's sake, but it might just not work out in the end, Kaori may not be strong enough to handle it. I can't wait till next Friday!!!!

[Kraco]

There's still a little ice-cream left:

Episode 18 h264 - SS-Eclipse
Episode 18 xvid - SS-Eclipse

[Yukimura]

Why must they do this to my emotions every friday! And why don't any American shows have anywhere near this level of emotional drama. Evenif everyone would be crying all the time it'd be worth it.

[Bucket]

^Apparently you've never seen the rabies episode of Scrubs.

Downloading now. I have to admit I had a lot of preconceived notions about this series, but it continues to surprise me with expert writing. I wonder if she'll hold out for the whole day...

[Kraco]

That's indeed a good question. It's a wonder how this series can have such an impact, and in so many episodes friday after friday. Of course the closer you are to crying, the better this has succeeded, for obviously that's a detail the creators have been keeping foremost in their minds.

Well, there are only a couple of girls left anymore, and not so many episodes either. Let's keep waiting.

[RyougaZell]

Damn... I almost cried when Shiori revelead she almost committed suicide...
Beautifully done episode... heck I can't describe it with no other word.
The scene were Kaori finally admits Shiori is her sister was touching... but her suicide speech was more... and she just leaves at the end...
Lets us see what happens next episode... but based on the preview it seems Nayuki or Ayu get to shine next.

Im getting this on DVD if it ever get licensed... definitely...

[shinta|hikari]

I cried when Shiori asked "Was I able to keep smiling?"

[kooshi]

Finally caught up with this arc and it has turned out pretty good. I didn't feel sad or anything like that, but then again, I kinda saw this result coming from a mile away. Regardless, the story was really well-done. For me, this arc is the best out of all of them so far, simply because it's the most realistic (no fantasy and/or supernatural stuff).

Also, Shiori has my vote for best girl in Kanon so far. She is way too cute and funny, especially when she came back to school. Best line = "<Tabasco sauce> is the enemy of all humankind."

[shinta|hikari]

Agreed about Shiori and her arc. Though I still love Mai the best for personal reasons. This is the only anime where I actually cried KNOWING how what will happen and how it will end up. It just serves as a testament to KANON's greatness.

[Ryllharu]

Well, I'll play devil's advocate. I don't like Shiori's arc, and moreover, I was let down by it. True, it does come off more 'normal' and believable given that the other two arcs have been embedded in such fantasy elements. I think they failed to bring it to the same level as the others. I wasn't as moved by her attempted suicide scene, the climax of her arc. Mai crying in the construction yard was considerably more powerful. I always disliked Makoto, but KyoAni really redeemed her in my eyes. The "wedding" was some of the most moving scenes in anime.

Shiori was great during the arcs of others. To me, they cast her in a very mature light compared to most of the others. The scene early on with them watching the sunset, their talks in the courtyard that seemed normal...for a married couple. But once her arc formally started, she turned back into a normal, 1st year girl. There wasn't anything new anymore, just inane cute moments we see everywhere. The air of maturity that had surrounded her had evaporated, never to be seen again apparently. On her suicide scene, it just make her look even weaker, giving into despair, but being brought back so easily. I know in real life, that it can be that simple, but felt nothing compared to the part where Mai attempted to kill herself out of guilt. I didn't even find her reconciliation with Kaori that impressive. It seemed too short, and too easy. The only part of her actually arc I found truly moving was the goodbye note at the very end.

What really lessened her arc was how easily the other girls were able to, from my perspective, steal entire episodes away from her, in her own arc! When Akiko got sick, Nayuki took control of everything, gently cradling the phone in her hands, and telling Ayu exactly what to do in an incredibly calm, motherly way. Even Ayu's desperation was a large part of her character. What do I remember of Shiori? Snowball fight, with little detail. In the next episode, Ayu's two short scenes sitting on Yuuichi's bed, quietly, just, sitting there, had a greater impression on me than the entire remainder of that episode. It was so atypically Ayu that it had it's own impact. I can hardly remember what Shiori did, I'm guessing the curry scene.

Shiori's arc was just completely underwhelming. I'm hoping for a Nayuki arc soon. For now though, Mai's arc has been the best, made the most impression, and Mai is very pretty when she dances (ballroom or sword-dance).

[shinta|hikari]

Good points, but still most of them are based on preference.

I think the reason Shiori didnt leave as much of an impression was because she was slowly developed, and most of the stuff about her has already been revealed or hinted on, like her impending death. With that much information, the sudden burst of emotion due to a realization utilized during the Mai arc would of course appear more impressive. But that is indeed the very reason why I was impressed by the Shiori arc so much. I knew what was going to happen, but I cried anyways.

The other scenes you mentioned were really good, but I still think that the characters you like best will leave the most impression to you, even if you only start liking them recently due to repackaging.

I didnt really think that Mai's attempted suicide was that touching. I also found her revival a bit cheap. If she died right there then I wouldnt even be arguing which arc was the best.

I agree on the point that Shiori's attempted suicide didnt really have much of an impact. I think they merely showed that to reveal her weakness, since all throughout the show she was playing strong. Then they finish it off with the line "was I able to keep smiling?". This line decided it for me, convincing me that Shiori had the best arc due to the way they handled it. If you think about it, it really wasnt such a heart breaking situation compared to the others. It may even be kind of cliche, but the delivery was so good. It is on this merit that I judge this arc.

Also, though Shiori's situation was disclosed gradually, her character actually remained a mystery until the end, when she revealed her weakness. That is probably why during her arc a lot of other characters got a chance for character development, while she just played the role of the 1st year student, also to emphasize how simple the thing she has always wished for (but could never get) is.

I dont find Shiori's arc underwhelming at all. Maybe if you liked Mai so much and enjoyed her arc so much, the following arc would seem underwhelming. I know that was also the case for me, but despite that the greatness of this arc still seeped through for me.

[Ryllharu]

I've generally known what's been coming this entire time, and the series is written in a way that fans of the old series, or the visual novel can catch a lot of the foreshadowing. There's also a lot of jokes that you can't see why they are so funny unless you know everything already. In the cases of both Mai and Makoto, I knew what was going to happen and they still blew me away. Shiori's...didn't.

I guess where I was trying to go with it is that most of the arcs took their characters, who had been introduced at a base level, and then really built them up, adding incredible depth to a lot of them. But in Shiori's case, her arc was about deconstructing her. I don't really think they went anywhere with her. Any percieved depth to her character that had been added in the earlier portions of the series seemed distant as she became closer to Yuuichi.

I think once you knew what her last name was, Shiori wasn't much of a mystery anymore. Shiori was weak from the beginning, and she always was. Yuuichi just didn't know it. Shiori came time and time again to the school, but not ONCE did she ever openly confront Kaori. She didn't even try to talk to her outside of home. Sure, telling him about her attempt at suicide may have revealed how weak she had really become, but not once had she ever tried to change a thing about it. Makoto sacrificed her life to achieve happiness just once more, Mai was killing herself to try to obtain and maintain friendships and fit in with others. Shiori just waited for other people to fix her problems. She had already given up.

The biggest problem I had with Shiori's arc was the reconciliation with Kaori. Shiori's impending death tortured Kaori. Kaori was the one who was really playing strong here. She ran away from her problem by ignoring Shiori, but when we saw her behind closed doors, she broke each and every time. I think how easily they reconciled cheapened everything. It was simply, "We'll talk and do things together more." It hit hollow, and left me feeling like there hadn't even been a problem in the first place, but from either side of them alone, we had clearly seen one earlier. That cheapened Shiori's arc far more than Mai resurrecting herself ever could.

On a side note, I don't really think that cheapened Mai's arc at all. It symbolized Mai forgiving herself for all the things that had happened to her.

[Yukimura]

For me the Shiori arc was just as lovebale as all the others because it made me feel like I didn't want her to die. I knew she was weak and irresolute and usually I'd be annoyed at that kind of charachter, as I was initially annoyed with Kaori. But as it pregressed I realized that I didn't want her to die. She was essentially a useless existance but because she was so simple and innocent it was all the more tragic that she was going to die. Also, her idol sister was completely ignoring her and she was just taking it to the face to make her feel better, which showed some kind of strengh in my opinion. When I compare it to the Mai arc, which I do like more, it's like the difference between a rapid flood of emotion and a slower moving but thicker current that pulls you towards inevitablity. With Shiori you see the end from a long way off, but they slowly drag you through her life and you have to watch this perfectly normal girl who you know is going to die try to have fun and enjoy what little time she has. That was morethen enough for me.

[Kraco]

While I do consider Shiori arc good, it's the weakest one as well, in my opinion. Simply because I always felt she's just an outsider, for two reasons: She didn't seem to have that strong a connection with Yuuichi like the others had for historical reasons, and Kaori, who was at least a class mate, got quite little screen time, and so the situation couldn't be viewed that much from her perspective. As much as Yuuichi spent time with Shiori at the school yard, I just couldn't make myself feel like Shiori really belonged to Yuuichi's groups of girls.

But then again, the Mai arc will remain the best in my mind. At least quite probably. There are still a couple of girls left, but I'm somewhat certain their stories won't beat Mai in my mind. Despite the fact Ayuayu is kind of the main girl in the series, and her story is beautiful (at least was in the original, and since this all the time surpasses the original, it will be in this one as well).