Summary:

Lying in the snow, Yuuichi sees a bright light approach, but it turns out to be just the headlights of a car. From it emerges a girl Yuuichi identifies as Makoto with his blurry vision, and he soon passes out. When Yuuichi wakes up again, he’s lying in bed in an unfamiliar white room with Ayu’s backpack and angel doll sitting nearby. There is a woman warming up milk for him who knows his name, but he doesn’t recognize her when he first sees her. She explains that she brought him to her apartment and seems to know that he’s staying with his cousin. It’s not until she says that they used to be neighbors that Yuuichi remembers that she’s the real Sawatari Makoto. Meanwhile, Kitagawa has invited over Kaori to try to talk to Nayuki. Although Nayuki doesn’t want to see her, Kaori explains through the bedroom door that, because of Shiori, she understands how Nayuki is feeling now. Kaori doesn’t want Nayuki to make the same mistake by closing her heart and causing others pain. In particular, she notes how Yuuichi worried about Shiori and feels that Nayuki shouldn’t worry him. After saying all this, Kaori goes back downstairs and tells Kitagawa that it’ll take time, but she’ll stay here. When Kitagawa wonders if it’s ok for Kaori not to be with Shiori, Kaori reveals that Shiori had been the one who told her to come here. She then answers a telephone call from Yuuichi informing them where he is. Back upstairs, Nayuki remembers how her mother had said that they were a family so they need to support each other.

Since Makoto asks him what’s wrong, Yuuichi finally admits that he hasn’t changed since he was little. He feels that he can’t do anything whenever someone is in pain and that he had forgotten everyone even though they had all been waiting for him. In tears now, Yuuichi expresses the most frustration over how he couldn’t do anything for Ayu and how he forgot their promise. After hearing all this, Makoto tells Yuuichi about the trees in the northern provinces that endure the cold of winter and gain their annual ring. These trees become strong and sturdy, and humans are the same because the worrying and the suffering makes them get stronger and kinder. The final thing she tells him is to keep any promises that he made. When Yuuichi wakes up the next morning, he’s still in Makoto’s apartment, but she’s gone out for the day. After eating the meat buns that Makoto left in the refrigerator, Yuuichi sets out with Ayu’s backpack and angel doll. As he makes his way back to the forest, he remembers all the times he’s had with Ayu. He falls asleep sitting by the tree stump, and when he wakes up again, he’s back at home on a Sunday morning. Ayu is around again, and she’s making cookies with Akiko today. Everything seems back to normal with Akiko and Nayuki, but Yuuichi soon awakens from the dream. This all reminds him of the similar experience he had when he first moved here, except that time had been at that bench.

Remembering how Ayu had told him that she’d love him forever if he loved her, Yuuichi says to himself that he still loves Ayu. To his surprise, he hears Ayu’s voice tell him that she does too, so he questions why they can’t meet again. Ayu explains that she doesn’t have any more time and that she came today to say her farewell. She notices that he found the angel doll, and he hands it back to her along with her backpack. He tells her that she’s late, but she says that she’s allowed to come whenever she wants to their school. After confirming that this really is goodbye, Yuuichi asks her to at least give him her third wish since he had promised to grant it. For her final wish, Ayu asks Yuuichi to forget about her and to think as if she had never been there in the first place. Seeing how Ayu is crying now, Yuuichi questions if this really is ok. Ayu admits that she doesn’t have any more wishes since she had her fill of taiyaki, so she just wants him to forget about her. Unable to stand it anymore, Yuuichi moves forward and holds Ayu in his arms while he strokes her hair. Although she feels that she’s not a child anymore, he insists that she is and says that she’s not alone. Since Yuuichi refuses to forget her, Ayu decides on a different wish and tells Yuuichi what it is at the same moment that a great wind blows. He responds by hugging her tighter, and she wonders if her body is still warm. Soon after he tells her that it is, she disappears.

From Ayu’s viewpoint, she feels that she’s seeing a dream – a repetition of the same every day. She hopes for an endless morning and then comes back to the same dream. After experiencing the red, white, cold, warm, and sad, the day repeats again. She noticed it many years ago. While drifting through the endless dream and waiting for the daybreak that won’t come, she’s been in the same place. There are voiceless crowds with expressionless faces passing her by, not noticing her sitting on the bench alone. She’s waiting for a person who she knows won’t come, someone she knows she won’t see again for many years. She had waited for the daybreak inside her dream that won’t come, but… By now, Yuuichi has made his way back to the bench in the city, and that’s where Nayuki finds him. Seeing her, Yuuichi gets on his knees and apologizes for always relying on her and being spoiled. Nayuki is also sorry for saying some terrible things, so she considers them even. She then vows to become stronger and hugs him in encouragement. She makes him promise also to be strong and says that she won’t forgive him for even a strawberry sundae if he breaks that promise. As Yuuichi and Nayuki both repeat her “fight” line, Ayu says that the day the dream ends is like the snow melting away in the spring sun. It’s like the images concealing the shadow as a person ages and like the memories fading in eternal time. With the long dream now ending, Ayu gets her one wish granted. That wish is…

Preview:

As much as I hadn’t expected to see Makoto at the end of last episode, I was even more surprised that the real Makoto appeared here. As many people have noticed, the older Makoto bears quite a physical resemblance to Mikuru from Suzumiya Haruhi, though of course personality-wise she’s not the same. I liked all the references to the other Makoto such as the kitsune on her stationary, a bell on her key, and two nikuman in the fridge. The connection between the two Makotos makes it feel like saving him was a karma thing for everything Yuuichi did for her.
They played the Acoustic Version of Last regrets during the Ayu flashbacks, and it’s one of my favorite versions, so I was quite happy to hear it. I’ve still got the song on repeat right now as I’m writing this. Still, that scene served as a reminder that, except for the beginning and the end, the rest of this episode focused on Yuuichi and Ayu instead of Nayuki. I wasn’t really disappointed with that per se, but I do feel that Nayuki was a little shortchanged in terms of how much screen time she has been getting overall. I’m not very familiar with the game’s story, so I guess I don’t really know what I’d be missing if they had gone a more Nayuki-oriented path.
Well, next week is the final episode of Kanon. I can hardly believe that we’re already at the end, and I can’t wait to see the conclusion.

71 Comments

  1. aloha to you i’m back just as promised ^^
    well i think this is gettin more intresting than the original and we never saw the “real” makoto in the ori so this makes me quite excited to see ^^
    but now that i’ve seen this i think there won’t be a canvas2 ending (well “incest” ftl xD) but let’s leave that aside i think we’ll get a quite good ending not everythin packed together in the first half of the last episode, remember it ? ^^’
    i also think that we’ll get a recap episode as in Air for those who don’t remember the whole series and i think we’ll get also as in Air somethin like a providence or rather a clue to the future
    after all i can’t wait for the last ep even it’ll take 3 more weeks until it airs

    well that was that now i’m going to rise from my coffin and make the nightlife a bit more funny
    see ya when the sun sets down tomorrow *start trinkin blood*
    until then farewell

    Levantine
  2. Someone said this before, but in fact, I got the same impression: The real Makoto looks like Mikuru from the future XD 😀

    I wonder if there will be some kind of Kasahana for this Kanon… Since next week is the last episode, then we’ll probably have to wait for the DVD’s or an ova 🙁

    Ransom
  3. The last episode is entitled Kanon, just like the name of the series. I can’t believe that the series is drawing to a close. This series was so great.
    @Mighty Mouse- The reason might be because Kanon(2006) is also directed and produced by Kyoto animation. The same company that did The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

    Nebby
  4. Like I said a while ago…. “POOR GUY>.>”
    But this Kanon did make an impression than the old one. *sniffs* I don’t know if I can ever hold back my tears… *sniffs* too sad a plot… *sniffs* It just can’t end here again… *sniffs*
    Where’s that tissue…..

    moondoggiebuiscuit
  5. does it make sense for him to choose nayuki considering that they’ve never developed her character in that context…there is no coherent prelude to this kind of ending…

    shakugan no shana
  6. Never was a “Finale” so mis-named. Rather than wrapping up, everything is wide open again. If I were Yuichi, I’d go for a Makoto ending, which seemed impossible by last week.

    I’m quite confused about how many of the Ayu scenes are totally in Yuichi’s head. Last week’s headband gift? This week’s flashback? The whole thing? But Ayu took away her backpack again, so she must have been at least as real as she was in earlier episodes. When she gets Yuichi to agree that her body is still warm, I suppose that’s intended as a huge hint?

    r3dking
  7. Gah, this makes me upset that I’ll be out of town on Thursday next week. I have to wait until Sunday to see the real finale…that makes me even more sad then the ending itself.

    Likkun
  8. Hmm, at least it has one good point that Kanon ends next week: People will stop spamming forums.. Really, there’s war between Ayu end and Nayuki end >.>
    I myself don’t care about the end, I was sure that it’ll be Ayu even before the series started. Kanon was just a great series and I can’t believe that there have passed already so many weeks and the next, that’s gonna be last.. But memory, forever..^^

  9. I guess this mean that Makoto actually probed his mind to get a blueprint for her human form. Since she chose the real Makoto’s out of all those girls in his memory I wonder if that means anything.

    Hypernova
  10. Uff…in the game
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Sakabato
  11. Actually, all we see is a pan up after Nayuki and Yuuichi start walking towards each other, so we don’t really know if they did or didn’t kiss during that scene. They also didn’t show us an important Nayuki scene that I really hope appears in the finale. So, I wouldn’t so quick to call it just yet…we’ll just have to wait the longest week of our lives to find out how this masterpiece plays out.

    Alpha123
  12. Hmm, on my DVD list are now Suzumiya Haruhi (vol.1 ordered) and Kanon.
    I’m curious when Kanon will be licensed, but I’m sure that it’ll be soon because of the series’s popularity.

    @Likkun
    Yeah, I know what you mean. Then I’ll personaly visit all these forum and tell people to shut up, gosh it’s so annoying, they act like spoiled 6 year old children, rofl -_-

  13. Omni: Ty very much for the tip. Now is there any way to get the album? like from a torrent perhaps cuz i really love that version of “last regrets”. so cool yet so powerful.

    SupBoy
  14. Yeah, I guess the chosen ending’s obvious when you consider the OP and ED sequences. Still, for a second there I had a sudden shock that maybe it was going for a surprise ending with the real Makoto! I can’t believe there’s only one ep left! This show is sooooo incredibly awesome!

    Aya_S
  15. Wow, this whole Ayu vs. Nayuki thing is almost as bad as CE Gundam Fans vs. UC Gundam Fans. The funny thing in all this arguing is that in the show it seems like Ayu and Nayuki actually like each other….^_^ LOL I wonder what those two would think if they knew their fans were like this. Anyways, this series is leaps and bounds better than the first one, and I loved that one to death. I’ll be sad to see it end next week, but I’m glad it turned out awesome, no matter which ending we get.

    CyberSynaptic
  16. Show Spoiler ▼

    Harouki
  17. I agree with you Eld. I wish Ayu would just drop dead. Like, in front of Yuuichi.

    I still don’t get two things.
    >>>Why did the real Makoto appear?
    >>>Why did the kitsune Makoto appear?

    Anyway, don’t spoil it for me if you know. I want a no spoiler discussion, so that I’ll get surprised. I’m always getting spoiled. Don’t even use a spoiler bracket, cause I’ll open it out of curiosity. Curiosity kills.

    Susan
  18. Oh my, Sawatari Mikuru. No wonder “Kyon-ichi” adored her so much when he was young. lol
    A pity this real Makoto didn’t unbutton her shirt and revealed the star-shaped birthmark on her chest. 😀

    Best original move by Kyo-Ani so far.

    Kinny Riddle
  19. You know what? Is it me or does it seem just a little wierd that people want Yuuichi to choose Nayuki since, you know she’s his cousin? I don’t know about you guys, but banging your FIRST cousin is a little wierd… As far as Ayu goes… I have no idea, but if you hear the voice in the ending, that is the sound of Shiori… Please don’t quote me on that, but I’m getting the impression that she gets better and lives on.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Shut up ~Desu.
  20. >Shut up ~Desu (That’s your name right? I don’t mean to ask you to “shut up” in anyway, lol. )

    Everybody knows Yuuichi and Nayuki are cousins. Remember the story is set in Japan, and first cousins having a relationship is no big deal here in the East.

    And not every jurisdiction in the West makes relationship between first cousins illegal either.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest#Sexual_relations_between_cousins_and_other_distant_relatives

    Kinny Riddle
  21. Ah… But when I went back to Korea (I’m Korean American) I didn’t hear anything about that. In fact, some girl said she would never date her cousin because it’s weird to.

    Shut up ~Desu.
  22. So we’re going into morality issues, eh. Heh heh. Let’s not get started into this again, because I’ll simply put it into simple terms that may or may not have something to do with social conditioning (hint of the day) and such. Hmm-hmm.

    As far as I go, I have no problem with Nayuki’s affection for Yuuichi. Nor do I have a problem with the affections of any of the girls. Now we can sit down and have a fine old discussion on such things if that is desired, but it’s almost like rinse and repeat. Sigh…

    Anon
  23. The stationery had a blatant reference and hat tip to the original (2002) anime series. There was an episode entitled “The Fox and the Grapes.” There’s also a track on the TV soundtrack with the same name.

    The Fox and the Grapes is an Aesop’s Fable. According to Wikipedia:

    The Fox and the Grapes is a fable attributed to Aesop. The protagonist, a fox, upon failing to find a way to reach grapes hanging high up on a vine, retreated and said: “The grapes are sour anyway!”. The moral is stated at the end of the fable as:

    It is easy to despise what you cannot get.

    Just a little trivia for y’all. I can’t say much about this episode other than that it was awesome.

    Richard 23
  24. Hey…this contains a bit of a spoiler, though most of you probably know about it already.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Susan
  25. That was Shiori’s voice in the preview for the final episode, wasn’t it? My mind was still befuddled from sleep when I saw Ep 23, so I’m not sure about that; can anyone else confirm this?

    I was actually hoping see Shiori at some point during Ayu’s final voice-over (they did show Mai and Sayuri, after all). Even a shot of her back as she looks out of her window, or her form silhouetted in the evening light – something like that. Of course, if she’d been in the ICU at that time (which was probably the case) I suppose it wouldn’t have worked. Nothing romantic at all about a girl with tubes and sensors covering half of her body.

    Here’s hoping that they’re setting her up for a worthy conclusion in the final ep, and that she won’t get lost in the avalanche of emotions that will accompany what I (and most everyone else, I suppose) expect will be a U1-Uguu ending.

    Diego
  26. Considering Yuuichi forgot almost eveyrthing that had happened to him 7 years ago, is it REALLY that hard to imagine he’d forget something that important? Or maybe he was never told? -This is directed at Susan- The way his mental state was at the time, I wouldn’t be surprised at all, if his recollections of the past are still partially muddled.

  27. No, I still think it would cheapen the whole thing. The scene of Ayu falling off the tree was really beautiful, with Ayu saying she can’t move and Yuuichi calling out her name. But if I hear a “oh I just forgot to go back after that and just started crying” or “I forgot that teeny weeny little memory after that” I will just be disappointed.

    Yeah, maybe Yuuichi should die. He’s so selfish. I just read about him asking money from Nayuki to buy the doll for Ayu, and I knew at that moment that I hated him.

    Main characters, I just don’t like them. They are always so caught up with their love partners…

    Susan
  28. This is a really great serie’s. I never cried like that before and it was so sad watching Yuuichi and Ayu say goodbye. I really wish they could have stayed together. Ayu is one of my favorite characters. I like the way Yuuichi always liked to tease her and she would always say Uguu. It was so cute and fun watching at the same time.

    Pera

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