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Summary:
Yuuichi wakes up one morning to the sound of alarm clocks and goes next door to wake up Nayuki too. It is February now, and Akiko has already recovered from her injuries. She has a new jam ready for breakfast, and after eating, Nayuki runs with Yuuichi to school. They manage to arrive in time for class, but Yuuichi tells Nayuki to control herself a bit more when they’re running late because she can eat her mother’s jam whenever she wants now. As he then jokingly suggests Akiko’s special jam, Kaori and Kitagawa join the conversation. Kaori also knows about the jam, but she has something more important to tell Yuuichi. Because of what she says, Yuuichi heads outside and Shiori appears behind him. When he says that it would have been better for her to stay home since she’s a first-year all over again, Shiori uses her trademark phrase that she hates people who say things like that. Yuuichi expresses his happiness that she came to school and suggests another party for her, but Shiori just wonders if it’s okay for her to cry in times like this. In tears, Shiori then rushes into Yuuichi’s arms and says that she really didn’t want to die, to say goodbye, or to be alone. Knowing that she’s been enduring it for a long time, Yuuichi tells Shiori that it’s okay to cry when she wants to cry.
At lunchtime, Yuuichi dines in his normal spot with Mai and Sayuri. Both of them were released from the hospital before graduation, and the doctor even said that it was a miracle they healed so fast. However, they didn’t get out in time for college entrance examinations, so they’re ronin for now. Yuuichi is a little surprised that Mai is planning on college too, and she answer him by putting on some glasses and holding up a children’s book. She explains that she’s going to the same school as Sayuri so that she can study to be a doctor who looks after animals. Yuuichi knows that she’s not very good at studying and questions if she’ll be okay, but this comment causes Mai to hit him on the head with her book. Sayuri then changes the subject to if Yuuichi has found the friend he was searching for, Tsukimiya Ayu. Yuuichi reveals that Ayu said they won’t be able to see each other again, and he feels that she probably moved away somewhere. Ayu remains on his mind after school as he’s walking through town, and when someone calls out to him, he at first thinks it’s her.
The person turns out to be Akiko, and she joins Yuuichi for a drink at a cafe. When he expresses how glad he is that she doesn’t have any after-effects from the accident, Akiko reveals that the doctors were surprised a how fast she recovered – like a miracle. She then mentions how she and Nayuki are worried about Ayu, and Yuuichi reveals that he remembers seven years ago. He recounts how his friend had fallen off a tree and got taken to the hospital. At the time, Yuuichi had been dazed in front of the station when Nayuki came, and although she didn’t know about the accident, he had taken his anger out on her before boarding the train with his parents. He knows now that Akiko hadn’t told him about the accident when they met again out of consideration for him. Her asking him about the tree getting cut down was to confirm whether he remembered or not. The tree had been cut down to prevent the same accident from happening again, and the girl who had fallen from that tree was Tsukimiya Ayu. Yuuichi doesn’t think that Ayu is in this world anymore, but to his surprise, Akiko disputes that. She explains that the girl hadn’t die, but had rather been kept in the hospital. Hearing this, Yuuichi rushes there and finds a sleeping, long-haired Ayu in one of the rooms.
A little while later, spring is in full swing and it’s graduation time. Yuuichi brings both Sayuri and Mai flowers, but he doesn’t join them for the party afterwards because he’s going to see Ayu. Watching Yuuichi walk off, Sayuri comments on how Ayu’s been sleeping for seven years and how they should visit her. At the hospital, as Yuuichi talks to the sleeping Ayu about what happened today, Ayu thinks that she seeing a dream of the person she loves being next to her. He tells her various stories including how he met his cousin after seven years, how a young kitsune became a human, how a strange girl comes to the school courtyard every day, how a girl fights apparitions, and how he was reunited with his childhood friend in the evening town. She’s seeing a dream of being close to the person she loves and repeating every day. Fragments of this dream come and fill her heart, just like how the fragments of snow fall from the sky and dye the town white.
On one particular occasion, Shiori asks Yuuichi if he’s ever thought about being in someone’s dream right now. She thinks that the person seeing the dream can grant only one wish, and when this person first started living the dream world, this person could only cry. This person kept waiting and waiting inside the dream, and then there was a small chance. The wish was given like a present for continuing to wait a long time. Any wish was able to be granted, from curing a sick girl to saving a person who got in an accident to healing injured friends. Shiori doesn’t know what this person wished for and suggests that this person may have wanted her beloved to always be smiling. For something like that, everyone around this person would have to be happy too. When Yuuichi asks, Shiori explains that she doesn’t know why she’s thinking about it, just that she’s had that feeling since she got better. Yuuichi then wanders around a church thinking about this and returns back to Ayu’s hospital room sometime later with Nayuki. After combing Ayu’s long hair, Nayuki comments on the lack of the red hair band. As she leaves, Nayuki tells Yuuichi that she believes that there are miracles.
As winter comes around again, Yuuichi tells Ayu that Nayuki got a recommendation for a college with a strong track team. He thinks that Kaori will get into her school of choice and Mai is reaching that exam passing point too. Shiori has also received a prize for her art. As he approaches her bedside and starts to cry, Yuuichi wonders if Ayu can actually hear his voice. Mai then comes by for a visit and tells Yuuichi that Ayu is still waiting for him even now. She thinks that he should go find Ayu just like he did for her. Only he can do it because only the person who can keep the promise is the person who made the promise. After he wonders where Ayu is waiting for him, Yuuichi sets out in the cold weather. During this, Ayu explains that she likes the scenery that flows by. In the winter and the town of fluttering snow, she likes running through the shopping district and leaving behind new footprints in the snow. In the spring and the town of melting snow, she likes scooping up the snow by the tree trunks with her bare hands. In the summer and the town where the coldness of snow is forgotten, she likes looking at the misty town through the cracks of her umbrella. In the autumn and the town where the coming of snow has been signaled, she likes catching the small snowflakes with her hands.
And then the season returns to winter where the town is covered in white. Ayu likes the scenery that flows by, however, like the frozen puddle, her time has stopped. Inside this square room, inside this time without seasons, she was always alone – over and over again, while seeing the same scene in her dream. However, her endless night is slowly becoming white. By now, Yuuichi has returned to the spot with the tree stump and finds a dirty blue bag hidden in some tall grass. It is the present he was going to give Ayu: the hair band. Even though he remembers all the times Ayu had said she got the hair band as a present, Yuuichi knows that he never gave it to her. He had chosen an illusion over reality and had shut that sad reality deep in his heart. He had accepted the illusion that made him feel at ease so that his weak heart wouldn’t get crushed and so that he didn’t hurt his memories. As he cries, Yuuichi envisions a young form of himself walking towards Ayu and apologizing for being really late. He gives Ayu the hair band and then the two walk off together.
In the springtime sometime later when the sakura trees are in full bloom, Yuuichi is late for a meeting with Ayu. When he arrives, he teases her for being a suspicious character and then asks her about the hat she’s wearing. She makes him promise not to laugh, but when she reveals that she got her hair cut really short, Yuuichi can’t help but laugh at her because she looks like a boy now. He then helps her into her wheelchair so that they can go to a gathering where Akiko is making taiyaki and Shiori, Mai, Kaori, and Sayuri are coming. As he wheels her off, Ayu thinks to herself that the stopped memories have slowly begun to flow while she tightly holds onto one fragment of a miracle. When she then asks Yuuichi if she’ll be able to run again, he tells her that she will be able to on the dirt, on the grass, and on the snow. Ayu doesn’t know how long it will take, but she does know that there’s plenty of time. As Yuuichi wheels Ayu off, in the forest a small plant has sprouted from the tree stump, and in the background walks a young kitsune.
.
.
.
I came into this final episode hoping and expecting it to cause plenty of tears, so I was a little surprised with how relatively happy it was. Mai, Sayuri, and Nayuki are going off to college while Shiori is winning prizes for her artwork. Ayu and Yuuichi end up together and even Makoto appears to be shown at the very end in the forest. In a way, I’m a bit disappointed that the ending wasn’t a tearjerker, but it was still an enjoyable finale. After all that pain, angst, and uncertainty, maybe some happiness isn’t such a bad thing. I thought Ayu’s monologues did a good job of tying the show together, and I’m willing to accept a certain degree of miracles happening to explain what happened, especially given that they’ve been talking about wishes and miracles all series. The inclusion of Canon in D one more time during the cafe scene was also a nice touch.
Final Thoughts: If it weren’t for CODE GEASS, Kanon would be by far my favorite show this past season. And even with GEASS, Kanon still placed such a close second that I often found myself questioning which show was better. I find it rare for a series to live up to all the hype, but I thought that Kanon did exactly that. I’m really glad that I hadn’t seen the previous Kanon show or been familiar with the game beforehand because I think it made everything all that more enjoyable. Heck, I really can’t remember the last time a series has consistently tugged at so many emotional strings. For me, that’s a testament to how engaging the story was and how well it was produced by Kyoto Animation. Plus, with Kanon, Sugita Tomokazu further solidified his standing as one of my favorite (if not favorite) voice actors for male leads.
Overall, I’d say that Kanon is a must-see show even if you don’t like these types of games->anime shows. Kyoto Animation just did that good a job with it.
Of course, while it’s sad to see Kanon end, it was also exciting to see the announcement that Kyoto Animation is going to be producing the anime version of CLANNAD!
finally the end…
Holy crap, more Key goodies by Kyo-Ani!???!?
>_
LOL ! the movie of clannad is going to be made by Toei tough .
Clannad FTW! It’s second ranked in my Key book. ^^
i’m back for the last time now *risin out the coffin*
well it looks in some parts quite similiar to the original version but in other parts completly different but anyway i really look forward to the subs cauz i wanna see a last time the sarcastic yuuichi ^^
to sumup the whole series i liked it much more than the original cauz it wasn’t that short so it had some funny “filling” eps which was really great
well after kanon i’ll rest for 3 weeks until StrikerS starts and then i’m back once more (muhahaha) if it’s get posted on rc look foreward to more of my comments XD
until then i’ll go emo cauz there’s nothin good to watch ^^”’
anyway see ya very soon again
What?What!?
Just wow, I’m sad that such a good series is ending, but from the screenshots it looks like this episode made the whole series altogether worth it.
woah can’t wait to watch the finale… Ayu-chan is so kawaii
ah forgot to ask one thing: why’s mai wearing glasses ? must every series get this touch of some kind of glass-fetishes or somethin like that ? well anyway it looks very good and resembles in some kind nagato ^^
now i’m off again to the dephts of my coffin
adieu meine freunde ^^
Wait i though Ayu was dead!
What now?Is this really the end of series? Will there be some OVA(s)or something? This was quite like Toei`s of 2002,though Ayu`s condition at the end is slightly more realistic this time.Anyway,Kanon Kazahana OVA suits here very well.What does GStrike mean by “can`t wait the finale”?
@Levatine: Its not that they would have glass fetish or something like that. Maybe Mai always had glasses and never wore them because her eyesight wasn’t as bad? There are people who wear reading glasses to read books, but are perfectly fine for other things. This relates to Yuki Nagato, who wore glasses but never really wore them as a seeing aid.
Meh… Ayu back from the dead to steal the limelight again?
…Why is Shiori up and running again? >_>
Oh, and notice the fox skulking around in the last shot. 🙂
https://randomc.net/image/Kanon/Kanon%20-%2024%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
Its Yuki!!! Except with darker and longer hair…
I don’t know, but when I saw the little twig sprout, I wanted to cry and felt goosebumps all over my body and face.
Starting was slap on the face, but understandable why they started it like this.
Excellent, very beatiful end. I was same time satisfied and sad. Good looking ep although that’s nothing new :). Lots of small details , but especially this was exceptional.
http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=accidentplacechanged00ll6.jpg
Town did something to that accident scene. 🙂
Oh and the this is what happens to the second man. 🙁
http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ohman00bh0.jpg
Heh heh
Is that Makoto on the last picture?-)
The Deed is done.
Next: CLANNAD, and still-rumors about the next traps of 2007….
Now I can start downing fan subs…
You “Ayu from the dead” people were sooooo not paying attention…. penalty: go play the game.
春がまた来た。
良かったな、あゆあゆ～
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! ClANNAD
i’ve been waiting and hoping for this to be done by KyoAni
BANZAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cool. Ayu got well, Shiro got well. Happy ending. How about Nayuki and Yuiichi???
What about Nayuki and Yuuichi? They’re not a couple. If that’s what you’re thinking. 🙂
I suppose you could argue that Yuuichi has a heart big enough for all of them 🙂
(scuze me while I go drink myself stupid after that one…)
I have not enjoyed the last episode of an anime in quite a while (Probably Canvas2 would have been it) like I enjoyed the end of Kanon. It really ended on the right note. In fact it even brought a tear to my stone-hearted eye out of happiness. And now to have the announcement of Clannad, I could not be much happier. I just hope that the spring season brings some anime that is even close to being as good as what Kanon was.
*jumps for joy* whoo hoo clannad……………………………………………………………………………………………….uhhhhh wats clannad
…the END…cometh…
…the verdict…eh…
Dont worry i think kanon 2006 is not yet finish how about the kanon OVA
“Kanon Kazahana” am sure it will remake it i hope. oh yah people dont know “kazahana” its the OVA of kanon ^_^
Even though they did show a fox in the last shot, I’m unhappy that Makoto wasn’t anywhere in the episode. I mean, Yuuichi got to meet all of the Kanon girls again, why can’t he see Makoto on the hill or something?
I feel like crying. Gosh, and I still hate Ayu.
well then play the game @_@ well its nearing summer break for me hoping for no cram schools @_@
I’ve head of the game, but is it a computer game?
Where I live, there is a serious lack of games. But ah…what a game it would be…Nayuki and Makoto endings…
I hate Ayu. I hate her so much.
I’m still not crying. So the only animes to have made me cry so far in the end is Ayashi no Ceres and Honey and Clover. Maybe it’s because it’s a happy ending, even though Makoto wasn’t there.
I totally agree with Omni’s final thoughts. What a great ending to a great show.
You totally missed one of the most laugh-out-loud pptential screencaps for this episode… Yuiichi standing there in Ayu’s room with “LOST” written on his t-shirt. What a clueless protagonist, eh? XD
Oh whoops, forgot to write what I actually meant to write lol. I think I expected a tear-jerker as well, especially after AIR. The ending buildup of AIR (no spoilers) was really well done, and in here (spoilers but they’re in the summary anyway) they kinda packaged the whole “not dead”-> “coma”-> “waiting in her dream”-> “gets better”.
It just seemed to move really fast. It was a well scripted ending IMO, but not paced out enough to have that impact. Like I really enjoyed the beginning of the episode, with the reuniting of Yuuichi+the other girls, and then it went from scene to scene really fast. At the end it took some time to figure out when the end of the episode actually took place, with all the seasonal change imagery and all. Mai and Sayuri graduated…and then he’s off talking about how Nayuki’s been accepted into a college as well? So that means a whole year transpired in between? Or am I missing something haha.
All in all though I have nothing bad to say about the series. Whatever ending they chose is how they wrote it, and it completes an excellent show, so I can’t complain haha.
Whoops triple post, but couldn’t help but comment on how this looks right out of the AIR setting haha.
https://randomc.net/image/Kanon/Kanon%20-%2024%20-%20Large%2028.jpg
I like Geass as much as everyone else, but Kanon got that little bit deeper from me. I really loved this show – maybe because I thought it was going to be slow and rather dull at first. I know now never to doubt KyoAni! I agree that the last ep was a lot happier than expected, but I still welled up when Ayu’s monologue came on and the slow, instrumental bars of Kaze no Tadori Tsuku Basho came on.
Done!
Another masterpiece from Kyoto Animation, and Tomokazu Sugita, you’re the man…
I need to sheed some tears for them instead.
Now I can’t wait for CLANNAD…. another super series on the way?
Who knows…. only God and KyoAni Knows…
Two Thumps Up!!
Mai FTW.
Great end, not without a few hitches, but great anyway. Thanks for the fabulous ride KyoAni.
I think part of the reason why this episode feels a bit rushed is that the last episode had been so slow. If they had pushed over some of the material in this one, perhaps the foreshadowing of the miracle explanation or something, to the previous episode, it would have been better.
Well, not like the series isn’t great anyway!
Ama-san!?
Nice to see lots of Mai appearances in the last episode.
I like the ending
An that my friends, is what we call a nice ending…
Damn it! As Onmi said, Sugita is reaching my favorite male seryuu, his patner in this same series, Tomokasu Seki. Well, it seams like Sugita will not be in the cast of Clannad, but you know that he will be in Nanoha StrikerS as Chrono ^^
So… Kanon FTW!!
Was very happy with the series, and the ending. It happened about how I thought it would. Very well done KyoAni!!!
I never doubted them for a moment. When so many others in Animesuki were. Tsk tsk.
Awesome series. The pain of Kanon deprevation killed me every week. Off to write a review.
I will allways love kanon! T_T
why the wheelchair
WHY
Wait, so Ayu woke up out of her coma at the end. Or, is it all a dream or “illusion”. Arg! *goes and watches the episode again*
Thanks KyoAni, really
So the Ayu we saw throughout the series was the illusion? Is this some Fight Club thing, except with Akiko and Nayuki humoring Yuuichi when Ayu was ostensibly present?
Ohh yeah! Mai was the best… and Onmi’s pull only supports that… in the end was thanks to her that Yuuichi grasp the small fragment of a miracle to save Ayu. Well, they help each other in some way, so you can call even.
damn it! Lucky Star is KyoAni’s next project… and then… CLANNAD…
I guess, KyoAni does the best series, and then TOEI has the power to do the movies LOL
MaullarMaullar: So the Ayu we saw throughout the series was the illusion? Is this some Fight Club thing, except with Akiko and Nayuki humoring Yuuichi when Ayu was ostensibly present?
I’m soooo confused about that part as well. Was it Ayu’s ghost/soul/whatever moving about their house? But if Akiko and Nayuki were humoring Yuuichi then how was it possible for Nayuki to just say “I wonder where Ayu’s red hairband went”?
Well, at least I was more confused watching AIR. ^^”
Makoto was my fave girl..Nayuki was a disappointment because so much could have been done with her character and yet so little came on. Her sleepiness could have had a magical side, but it didn’t. Then, there could have been so much romantic tension between her and Yuuichi, but there wasn’t. Too little Nayuki.
And I still can’t forgive KyoAni for not showing Makoto in the last episode. What makes it all the more painful is that Makoto came to meet Yuuichi, had her little Auu but Yuuichi never saw her.
It’s so unsatisfying. Kanon was really great, but it could have been better. IMO that is.
so it’s…
The Summer of Air
The Winter of Kanon
The Spring of Clannad
where’s fall? lol
Fall is ONE, the earliest work out of the four seasons, created by the same group of ppl who found KEY while they were working in TACTIC b4 then.
Fall of…. “Welcome to Pia Carrot” maybe?
XD
I enjoyed this as much or more than the originial version-with more episodes they had more room to develop the characters and tell the story.
hey omni? which girl is your fave?
I would like to see KyoAni animate Little Busters and Planetarian also
They actually gave Makoto and Mishio some screen time, especially the latter, who was really only important until way back in episode 10 and we haven’t seen since. I think it only fair given that this is the final episode. With that, except for the antagonistic Kuze, and, strangely, the real Makoto Sawatari, all the characters of the series appear in this final episode.
Well I must agree this was one great anime and has touched me so as I have found myself adding it to a trilogy I’m writing called The Greatest Adventure which I am adding chapters to online on DeviantArt as I finish writing them so don’t think to much of this as the end for I am working on a way to continue this on. Also Code Geass is very awesome and I can’t really argue there. If any of you would like to check my book out please feel free to, my DeviantArt account username is SamieltheMDS. Hope to hear from you all if possible and remember not to forget these beloved characters from Kanon as well as other anime as well as other things. ^^
great series, definitely worth watcbing
Does anyone know where i can view these last few episodes in english audio?
does anyone know where i can view the last couple of eps? in english audio?
I remember this.. Still my favorite and always over Clannad
After watching the anime I decided to read the visual novel and now I understand a lot more things. Don’t read below maybe be spoilers maybe not.
Show Spoiler ▼
He created the false story of him happily giving Ayu the hairband when he was little to keep his memories happy and block out what really happened to her, falling out of the tree and the belief she had died.
That’s why the hairband was in Yuichi’s room because he never really give it to her. He either really did pack it up and take it with him or somehow the hairband ended up by the tree with the knocked out Ayu to the Minase’s household, which he then finds again when he arrives 7 years later.
All of the times in the story that require Ayu to be doing something with Yuichi or other people I can explain those as well.
In the visual novel Ayu is suppose to help Yuichi unpack, He’s to carry all the boxes up stairs while she unpacks the boxes but the boxes are the same like she hasn’t even started when he goes upstairs with the last one. She claims she will start helping for real now but in reality that was just Yuichi’s mind creating a story to the situation.
Any help he believed Ayu did has either made up in his head or actually done by Nayuki. His running into Ayu everytime in the Shopping district no matter how large is because he believes she is there.
Anytime Yuichi is talking to Ayu he is talking to himself. That’s way t
After watching the anime I decided to read the visual novel and now I understand a lot more things. Don’t read below maybe be spoilers maybe not.
Show Spoiler ▼
He created the false story of him happily giving Ayu the hairband when he was little to keep his memories happy and block out what really happened to her, falling out of the tree and the belief she had died.
That’s why the hairband was in Yuichi’s room because he never really give it to her. He either really did pack it up and take it with him or somehow the hairband ended up by the tree with the knocked out Ayu to the Minase’s household, which he then finds again when he arrives 7 years later.
All of the times in the story that require Ayu to be doing something with Yuichi or other people I can explain those as well.
In the visual novel Ayu is suppose to help Yuichi unpack, He’s to carry all the boxes up stairs while she unpacks the boxes but the boxes are the same like she hasn’t even started when he goes upstairs with the last one. She claims she will start helping for real now but in reality that was just Yuichi’s mind creating a story to the situation.
Any help he believed Ayu did has either made up in his head or actually done by Nayuki. His running into Ayu everytime in the Shopping district no matter how large is because he believes she is there.
Anytime Yuichi is talking to Ayu he is talking to himself. That’s why they get lost and run into Shiori. She sits there on the ground speechless and watches Yuichi talking to himself.
Yuichi’s only real memory of Ayu’s cooking is her black cookies. So anytime she cooks no matter what, no matter how it turns out to be black inedible.
The soup that was watered down a little and perfect for sick people was actually made by Akiko, not Ayu.
You see where this is going right, this requires Nuyuki and Akiko to play along with what Yuichi believes.
If you watch the anime or read in the visual novel for a long time only Akiko is introduced to Ayu. Akiko most likely tells Nayuki everything and tells her to play along should Yuichi ever start talking to Ayu in front of her.
Which she does when Ayu is invited to sleep over the house. During several times Yuichi comments how light she is and even that she’s as light as air during the sex scene in the VN. That’s because she’s not really there.
Her whole story from the time Yuichi arrives back in town to when she wakes up from the hospital is all Yuichi’s delusion and mixed up memories from 7 years ago, his family plays along so as not to hurt him and that its best for him to remember on his own.
Akiko knows who Ayu is the instant Yuichi introduced her when they were out buying rice but in reality Ayu isn’t there it’s just Akiko playing along with her deluded nephew.
That means hes never actually kissed her or anything because Ayu’s been alseep the entire time. It just his mind making things up to cover the truth and keep the sadness away.
When his delusion finally was broken he went back to believing Ayu had died and his made up image of her disappeared.
Well, I can’t say much. This is one of my favorite serie’s with Naruto. I didn’t get so disappointed that it ended this way. I was really hoping for a good ending. Rather the ending that was i School Days for those of you who have watched it. It was really heart warming watching Yuuichi come almost every day wisiting Ayu in the hospital, I was really happy finding out that Ayu really wasn’t dead. The arcs I liked the most was Makoto’s arc and Ayu’s, it was those arcs that was most touching and really sad to watch. But it was a little disappointing seeing Makoto again. It felt like it wasn’t her but a whole different person. So I liked the fox Makoto better.