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…I just don’t get it.
The uncharacteristically short girls with gigantic chins, the mouths way too close to their noses, and that freak tendency to stand in random locations such to allow as much wind to blow through their intricately animated hair as possible. Oh, and the proverbial “call of moe” that never fails to dupe unsuspecting audiences. Uguuuuu~
Yea, you know what I’m talking about – that one show that everybody’s been talking about, the one getting subbed by 50 groups and blogged by another 200. Its predecessor was the originator of “uguu”, later evolving into some cult-status t-shirt reading “gao gao stegosaur”, which somehow was enough of a hit to prompt the production of a full-blown 24 episode remake of the original.
WHY?
As I’ve been trying to explore in the FreezeFrame column, some shows are just fantastically memorable, having that inherent quality of being “timeless”. Add recent successes Ouran and Suzumiya Haruhi to that list – both of those shows did so much and did them to perfection, striking a perfect balance between humor, drama, and character development, along with great character design, animation, and voice acting.
Apparently Kanon was memorable enough to warrant a remake from juggernaut studio Kyoto Animation.
I watched about half of the original Kanon before I got tired of the taste of puke in my mouth. I lasted through the entirety of AIR, my fingernails completely worn down after continuously clawing away at my desk in torturous pain.
I tried to understand it, I really did. Kanon and AIR were good at setting a mood and sticking to it, but they completely failed at drawing me in. I got tired of watching these toddlers whining, crying, bumping into unsuspecting single guys with amnesia for no particular reason. Every episode. And how the hell does the wind blow through their hair when they gigantihumongormous chins are redirecting all air flow? Wait…who the hell cares?
I realize that it’s supposedly an otakian wetdream to be thrown into a small town with pixilated prepubescent honeys throwing themselves at your feet, but there are other shows that do this much better. SHUFFLE, Suzuka, Da Capo (pure trash but at least their chins were proportional) – even that animation travesty ICHIGO 100% was more enjoyable.
Is Kanon 2006 different? The seiyuu work is excellent, the animation strong, the chins have been downsized – but the formula is still essentially the same. A rehash of the original, twice the fun with 24 episodes. That’s not to say remakes don’t work – on the contrary, the beginning of Futakoi Alternative and the new Negima series pull it off quite well, but these shows brought something new to the table. While I doubt the prospects of Kanon Seed Destiny, it would be nice to see the story retold from a different perspective or placed in a different setting.
Maybe I’ll finally understand it the second time around. In the meantime, can somebody please explain the appeal of this show?
-Jaalin
Omni’s Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of Jaalin and do not necessarily reflect my own opinions.
30 minutes remeaning to Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori
So… after all the waiting… this show really disappoint
you that much?
>>(pure trash but at least their chins were proportional)
Were they really?
It’s “just another art style”… anime is full of different styles and that’s one of the things about it that makes it as interesting as it is. Of course not every artist uses the same style. And there’s no one style that’s “the best” in technical terms. Anime is not proportional. Chins, necks, noses, eyes- what have you, it’s never going to add up right. The chins in Da Capo weren’t “proportional”. Eyes in anime, while rarely as large as those in the two Key animes Kyoto Animation has done, are almost always ridiculously large and disproportionate. No matter where you go, there will be problems. Inconsistencies with real life. Because anime is not realistic.
>>it would be nice to see the story retold from a different perspective or placed in a different setting.
Isn’t that what just about every show in genre has been since 2002?
I see what you mean and I agree with you !!!
>> Isn’t that what just about every show in genre has been since 2002?
lol! good stuff lolikit.
in regards to the chins, what you say is indeed true, but i believe that anime has since established its own standards and norms as to proportions – why is there a general consensus that tenshi na konamaiki character designs suck? as a closer comparison, haruhi char designs also featured in some places a facial design similar to kanon’s – but why do we hear no talk of big chins in that show, but rather how great the char designs were? it’s cuz it wasnt THAT obvious and it fit well with the rest of the art of the show.
regardless, in the scope of anime, it just doesn’t look “normal”, and i personally don’t think it’s all that cute. for shows like kanon, i believe the cuteness/moe factor is a major aspect in drawing fans – and while their personalities and voices may be as cute as can get, the character designs don’t hold up their end. so whats left to appeal to audiences? the impeccable hair animations?
lol, strongly opinionated eh?
LOL yeah, yeah,yeah there is always something that gets to people, and i guess uncharacteristically short girls with gigantic chins, who’s mouths are way too close to their noses, and the freaky tendency to stand in random locations to get wind to blow through their intricately animated hair is the thing that gets you lol!!!
Everyone has his/her favourite show. That’s how it is Jaalin. It’s not a shame, if you don’t like, or get the point of a popular show.
For me i.e. it was Fate/ stay night which was quite ‘OK’, but not more and nothing against Mai Otome.
For myself, Air or Kanon are special, because the stories told there remember me somehow of my dreams and feelings. And to be honest, I was also bored in the first anime of Kanon although I like the game. The one and only reason I’m watching this remake, is because it’s by Kyo Ani, so the same company which did Air, which I really love.
The one say it’s cute, the others it’s nice and heart warming.
You are attracted to an anime because of your own feelings, dreams and opinions.
That’s how it is. So, do you really like it after all or is it just the pressure of the majority?
WHO cares to other opinions if they don´t affect YOUR opinion!!!
If your an OTAKU lord like I am I´d say:
” yes he has got a point ”
but hey I am an OTAKU lord…I am tensai…and that´s what matters so…:
” Hey I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ANIME THAT COMES OUT “That´s why I am like a lord I DO need to be benevolent to my sheeps around the otaku world 😆 -> 😀 So my answer to that article to every anime( harem and similars) is :
” MOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! MORE MOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ” 😉
Kanon Seed Destiny LOL
This just became my favorite Anime Blog. The best coverage AND a tasteful opinion. Da Capo was the only one barely memorable out of the bunch. FanGrrls like Kanon because it is the only show they can copy the crappy drawing style from. The rest actually require some talent.
Ouran is a perfect example of shitty shoujo trash.
Quote 922: [02:54] tonagura is crap [02:54] thats what makes it good! [02:54] now we know why JaaLin watches all the series he does ;o
Personally, u got a point somehow but I dont like it.
btw Omni, isn’t is about time you put a link to the Fall 2006 Schedule on the main page somewhere?
It still shows the Summer 2006 Schedule link on the navigation column on the right. =P
Not until I decide on exactly which shows I’m following. Probably sometime in the next week.
You are not going to understand any better the second time if you didn’t the first time. 500% better animation quality won’t change that.
I myself tried to watch Ergo Proxy to the end because I didn’t want to waste that awesome animation quality. I really did. But in the end, none of the episode made me stay awake for more than 10 minutes. It was the same with Ghost in the Shell series. To me, they are all “Once upon a time in a dark and screwed up world” kind of series, which I happen to hate.
Maybe you don’t like thinking about meanings of life and death while watching an anime where the characters keep on talking about their past and throw around rhetorical questions. Chi already said it. There’s no need to try and understand what the fuss is about. If you don’t find it as interesting as others do, it just means you have a different taste.
And no, otaku’s don’t necessarily watch animes like AIR and Kanon because of moe…Like somebody implied.
In the meantime, can somebody please explain the appeal of this show?
I’d love to know the answer to that question too. The old show had zero appeal whatsoever, and I fail to see how better animation and drawing are going to make the same boring story interesting. Beats me.
The original Kannon(2002) is way overrated. I watched it about two years ago and it was decent but nothing special. I never understood why people talked about it so much. It had many plot holes and the ending was iffy. The Ayu revelation scene that everyone seemed to love I thought was done very badly. I see no point in a remake.
Yeah, gotta agree they try too hard to make the girls “cute” and its rather disturbing.
However, where kanon win isnt there (duh), its in the drama, the really sad little stories, thats where it really wins, and compared to pure shit shows like suzukua, da capo and shuffle, the drama isnt, like, RETARDED AS HELL DRAMA ABOUT DUMB MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND IDIOCITY that have been repeated in every single godamn show, so its actually interesting.
As far as i know, kanon was the only show that won at drama for me, air was good too but nowhere close to kanon, where the real stuff starts after half the episodes that you skipped ;p
wildarmshero I am with you brother. I am a HUGE HUGE fan of shoujo and avoid shounen like the plague but even I thought Strawberry Panic and Ouran which both aired last season to be some of the worst anime in a long time. There was some great shoujo shows last season though like Bokura ga Ita which is amazing. It has pushed me down a hole and asked me to put lotion on my skin. Yes, that good.
>>And no, otaku’s don’t necessarily watch animes like AIR and Kanon because of moe…Like somebody implied.
Agree’t. I happen to think that AIR is a top-class show, and I don’t really consider Poteto or Yukito’s doll to be moe.
But I wouldn’t even go so far as to say that everyone is entitled to their own opinions! Different angles and perspectives only mean so much. I mean, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu is the supreme anime, right? Whether I dislike it or not doesn’t mean anything, becasuse it’s fact that it’s supreme, right? … wrong, but I digress. The point is, I don’t like this “make me understand” spiel. It’s so fake. It’s the kind of thing I present to people when trying to convince them that their favorite show sucks. When someone once argued with me that Fate/Stay-night was good, I asked them to show me how it was good. I had no intention of having my opinion changed.
Point is, whether you’re inciting an overly-opinionated person or actually seeking an answer, it’s important to have your own thoughts. If you dislike something, that’s that. Letting people change your opinion, or feeling as though you need to let them (or at least give them a chance) is really just… eh, lame? I’m all for disrespecting people’s opinions. I take my own and run 😀
Jaalin if you don’t like that much this show, just don’t watch it. Anime is just anime… they’re creating new styles here and there, if ppl don’t like they’ll eventually change the style and try another one.
Anyway, i respect your opinion, but don’t be that mad about something you can’t even control. Just let it be. Personally, i like this drawing, it’s very cute and childish. Well, girls are a little bit short but who cares.
yea danny, i absolutely love bokura ga ita, but its hard to talk about in the article since it wasn’t blogged here :\
as for those other shows i mentioned like suzuka, shuffle, da capo… i never took those shows seriously because they just didn’t give me the impression that they were trying to be serious. they’re meant to be fun, simple entertainment, not some life-altering epic series. mtv vs vh1, perhaps. kanon, on the other hand, has the serious machine running on all cylinders. and, well… i’m not impressed…yet.
Personally, I found that upping the animation level and using Kyon’s seiyuu for Yuuichi did increase my interest in it. I don’t know why but it seemed to work as pretty much every second of the original bored me to death. This time around it seems that the moe factor has been increased by at least 10x.
Everyone has their own personally likes and dislikes so you disliking something doesn’t mean that a show doesn’t have something which gives it appeal to other viewers. Air was one of the first anime I watched when I started downloading fansubs and I found the story as a whole rather compelling. It’s still a personal favorite now.
Dammit jaalin, your writing is awesome. I’ll be waiting for your next post.
About Kanon.. never watched the first one, and I’ll probably never watch it. My friends were telling me it’s horrible, so..
But the new one should be good, with KyoAni’s magic touch, so I won’t take that out of the list so fast 😛
Haha! And I thought I was the only one who didn’t get it, though I did manage to watch through the whole of Air because of the nice, summer feeling, even if the “plot” itself was weird and incomprehensible in a bad way. Not sure if I want to try same with Kanon. Great rant. ^_^
Round 1 FIGHT!!!!
O O
–|- -|–
/– –\
OUGI!!!!HISAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaTSU!!!!!!!MOE MOE MOEKAN MOERO MOERU MOEYO KENNNNNNNNNNNNN!!
Do you know why the anime producers don´t care about the otaku taste????Because of:
M – My
O – Opinion
E – excluded
That´s right MOE!!!! 😀 😀 😀
Let me tell you why…
Maybe we agree with Honey & Clover last time, but now I have to disagree with you. Shows like Kanon & Air were successful in their own way because always, always in some far away place of you, one or two single guys would like the story, the characters or simple, there are going to fell in love with some of the plot.
In my personal experience, I love Kanon because they show us some truths about life (with a little of fantasy and supernatural stuff of course). Tell me, if you see the person you love the most, fighting between life and death, how would you react? For Yuuichi the only way to escape the painful truth was to seal that memories, those painful and yet joyful memories with Ayu when they were little. For Shiori and Kaori, the fear of lost her only sister; Kaori was reluctant to accept the fact and denial her relation shit with Shiori. Then for Mai and Sayuri, the loneliness and wish of find happiness push them until the edge… specially Mai, who fought with herself until almost her last breath.
The only fact you can object about it was that Yuuichi was related with each and every one of them, is the only thing you can complain.
I want to see how Kyoto Animation are going to handle Kanon, mostly because if you see episode one, they already show you a hint about Ayu and Yuuichi (the red stained snow and their “school” tree).
AIR was special too in its own way, but that is another tale to be told someday. For now just try and give it a chance to Kanon please.
>> denial her relation shit with Shiori
It was relationship, my mistake…
I totally agree with you jaalin, these kinds of anime make me sick. I totally respect that there are people out there who like these kinds of anime, but personally I cannot stand to watch them.
Just to tell you, the character design’s the same design as Air
The drawings are a big turn off for me.
Well, mayby the first Kanon anime was really boring (didn’t see it), and we don’t know how this remake will be, but for me the whole plot from the game (currently playing) is brilliant, and as far as I know there is no way that the anime will have 100% same ‘feeling’ as a Kanon visual novel. Some anime based on visual novels (even those really good) can became really weird >.>
As a friend of my told me other time:
” think as if the japanese women are like this caracters, because they try to copy them all the time even on the cliche part…..TEHEeee!!!!(tongue out of the mouth)” 😀
He also told me that after his trip to japan he wanted to beat up his girlfriend because she tried to copy this ” caracters ” all the time(even on dialogs)!!!!My answer:
“NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ” 😀 😀 😀
Shinjitsu wa totemo tsurai koto!!!!!!!! 😆
So, despite the fact you oh so suffered at watching the Original Kanon and Air, you are somehow compelled to watch the new Kanon? Otaku these days, back in my day otaku actually used their heads and make their own decision whether or not to watch a show and not have to rely on the bandwagon, unfortunately this does not seem to be the case anymore….how unfortunate
I like the character design and the animation form the first series didn’t bother me at all. However i am with Jaalin, i don’t get it. It took almost 2 years to finish the original kanon and I havn’t finish Air yet and probably never well. Somone had mention about the drama of the show but i just see a show trying to be dramatic and failing miserably. I really really don’t get these type of shows.
hmm i like kanon the story are good the remake in the art is nicer then the old version the setting of the lines being said changed. thats good since i dont think anyone would wanna see the same thing over again. And..i really dont think the art would have anything to do with the story. i dont mind the art being badly done or anything but atleast its nice enough to watch.
one other thing i dont like the character design as much as you do since those character personalities are mostly like other characters from those 1 guy with bounch of girls around type of anime, which i have gotten pretty sick of watching the same old thing. I had look forward to watching Kanon then any other anime with the same type of situation. I dont know why but it catches my attetion
-_- Kanon and Air is a romance anime what you expect?
‘Puke’ and ‘torturous pain’ sounds a little too drastic, even if you have a point for your own opinion.I do suggest going to watch something hardcore bloody if you don’t like ‘whining or crying’, and I don’t know if you’ve watched Kanon before or not, so please reserve your comments till it continues for a few more episodes.
Eld, i like romance and harem animes. I enojy Marmalade Boy and Kimagure Orange Road and love KGNE to bits. however i find both air and kanon boring.
Well said Mikemil828, well said.
People like what they like. They watch what they want to watch. If you try a series and don’t like it, stop watching it. You don’t need to complain about a series some people like because you don’t. Thats just childish. If it bothers you that much, just stop watching. Find something you find interesting.
In whatever medium, if its music, movies, television, or anime. Some people are going to like it, some arn’t. You have to acccept it.
I agreed with *Chi*. Everyone has his/her favourite show. That’s how it is. That’s why there’s more than one anime shows to watch. The people in Japan must have really liked Kanon to become an anime(twice) and games. And it’s only the first episode of the new Kanon…we’ll see how it does through out the rest of future episodes.
Mikemil828, spare me the “new fans are….” speech. Just because you have been in the fandom longer doesn’t make you any better than others. You’re saying that Jaalin should not complain when he doesn’t like something. And yet, when you don’t like his opinion, you bitch about it. Hypocrit much?
I completely agree. I think i shall skip this. Even if it’s made by uber kyoto animation.
I understand the appeal for these types of shows, but they personally don’t appeal to me. Maybe because i’m a girl, and i’m not their targen audience. I tried watching Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, and I instantly go tired of it in 5 minutes. I dislike the ways girls are portrayed. Sure, the “dark past”, “emotions” stuff is great, but i dislike how there’s always some airheaded innocent defenceless girl who needs to be saved by the hero. Although we get this sometimes in shoujo and other genres, it’s more annoying here. I mean, i kinda want more independant and strong, without being tsundere, unique women characters. But that’s because i’m a girl.
The character designs pander to guys too, so they don’t appeal to me. I mean, big eyes are okay to some extent, but the character designs of Air and Kanon turn me off.
I heard someone call Ouran, “shitty shoujou trash”, i’ve read some very bad shoujo, but ouran doesn’t seem to have the quality of bad shoujo, since it’s much different in term of main character’s personality.
Actually what i meant above, is that ouran isn’t “typical” shoujo, so if you like other shoujo, it might be hard to like ouran as well.
Anime is all about personal tastes after all. Many people liked Honey and Clover, but I didn’t like it one bit. I’ve had many people trying to tell me how “good” the anime was, but no matter how many times I tried to watch it, I just couldn’t like it. That show just wasn’t for me. When the 2nd season came out, many of my friends watched it, but not me. It just wasn’t my kind of show.
I enjoyed AIR a lot. Reason? The show just appeals to me – I like that show. Its not the character designs, plots, animation or anything else, I’m not going to justify AIR by saying what’s so “good” about it. It was just… well, my kind of show. I fell in love with the show the first time I watched it. Does that mean its good? No. I hated Honey and Clover. Does that make it bad? NO. Well then, what does?
If you ask me, there is no “absolutely good” or “absolutely bad” anime. Sure, most of us hated Soul Link, but I’m sure there’s at least somebody out there who liked it. Likewise, there are tons of Haruhiist, but I’m also sure there are dozens who hated that anime. In the end, its all about personal tastes. If you like an anime, be proud and say you liked it. If you don’t like it, then be just as proud and say so. Don’t try to like an anime just because everyone does. Everyone should be true to their own opinions.
I noticed some people are putting shows like AIR and Kanon in the same category as Suzuka, Da Capo, etc….Out of boredom I’d like to clarify:
What harem shows have (Suzuka, Da Capo, Shuffle!, etc.)
– Illustration of everyday life
– Sweet-sweet shoujo-ish romance
– 100 lbs. of jealousy
– Moe elements
– Guaranteed happy endings
What harem shows don’t have that shows like AIR and Kanon do
– Reflective drama on past, present, and future
– Bitter, often bitter-sweet endings
– Controversies not due to “why the hell did he choose her” but more due to “what did that mean”
– Non-typical harem show main character
Romance honestly has little to do with shows like AIR and Kanon (although Kanon is leaned towards more romance than AIR is). They are not the kind of shows that have every single conflicts resolved by the end of show. Not every characters will end up with smiles (some even die). Personally, that’s what made AIR stand out more than the other shows for me. To be honest, I didn’t appreciate the character development Misuzu got throughout the show (if you can call it development) until the end. It made me watch through the series again, just to see why she was acting the certain way. I never get that from a harem anime, where you can just get it right on the spot. I realize some people don’t enjoy that. But I did.
Almost two years ago, I heard AIR was an amzing anime. I watched it. It was okay. Looked fantastic and the story was interesting, but the art sucked, and the characters and dialogue (the vessels with which the story are conveyed) sucked. When I civilly expressed my opinions on a wellknown anime forum, I got attacked and told I “just didn’t get it” or “to go back to watching Fullmetal Panic.” Thence, my disappointment and mild dislike of AIR has turned into a fiery hatred.
Kanon is the same way. Criticism, deserved or otherwise, are immediately twisted into “You’re out of your mind. You wouldn’t know good anime if it hit you with a mallet. It’s your fault; this Anime IS BRILLIANT!!!” My Anime is Better Than Your Anime battles never get anywhere. It’s just too subjective. There are people who don’t give a crap about anything but a lot of cute girls and panty shots, or kissing boys, or big explosions. Kanon and AIR are not universally appealing anime, or even widely appealing. They’re high quality for their genre, and that’s about it.
So I might watch Kanon. I watched the first version and I liked slightly more than AIR, and 26 episodes might lend itself to a more fluid plot.
For the record, I’ve seen some of FMP, but I didn’t find it that funny and Kaname was a bitch. Haven’t seen Fumoffu.
Overly-cliche plot, sluggish pace, crappy character designs…I don’t get it either.
Kanon, and moe in general is way overrated.
Haha, a kindred spirit! I avoid anything with cutesy elements and I don’t get the popularity of Kanon either. Oh well, to each their own….
Wow, alota hate here. I didn’t like old Kanon, Air was ok, but for some reason, this new Kanon appeals to me. Maybe it’s because the old one was so disappointing, this new one is like a breath of fresh air. I don’t see anything wrong with the character designs. They’re very attractive imo. Suzuka, da capo, shuffle had very mediocre art, nothing stands out about it. My guess is those who don’t like it are used to shoujo style designs? Everyone has different tastes.
Atm, I think Kanon is very overrated, mainly due to KyoAni’s outstanding track record. It’s no surprise alot of people will tune in and not understand. Hey, it’s only 1 ep so far, who knows what’ll happen ^_^
In the meantime, can somebody please explain the appeal of this show?
I for one think it would be pretty useless to explain anything to someone who already has preconceived notions about what and what is not “acceptable”. Hence, it would be just like pissing against the wind… For example, I never liked Ouran, I think it was stale and redundant, but that’s my opinion. I liked Da Capo a lot, and I consider it too underestimated by most people, either because of the “trashy” art or the subject matter. Having watched the original Kanon to its completion, I know for a fact that the remake would be better because of the bigger canvas to flesh out the characters.
The art style of Kanon (and Air) are trademarks that make it faithful to the game. It might not be appreciated the same like the anorexic artwork of Ouran, Tsubasa Chronicle, or other similar anime, but it’s a style that’s a pleasure to watch.
Don’t get me wrong, I respect your opinion, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it or like it 🙂
Peace!
– T
At last, somebody who actually shares my view on these shows. I’ve never seen a single shred of appeal in the entire “sad girls in snow” subgenre whatsoever. I mean, ok, I can’t really stand the wider “harem” genre of which it is a part, but at least a couple of the better shows in that actually manage to be funny in places (while most of the rest try and fail). Shows like Air and Kanon don’t even try.
So they’re not funny. Are they romantic? Hardly. It’s hard to have a believable romance show when the female characters are all just doormats at heart, with even the token energetic one just needing the right sob story to turn her into a quivvering, subservient wreck. Meanwhile, the only way the writers can stretch out the whole “guy surrounded by adoring girls who manages to never actually sleep with any of them” concept for an entire series is to make the male lead into a repellant idiot with a room temperature IQ. These shows seem to be aimed at people who crave adulation without (physical or mental) intimacy. Kinda creepy really.
So what else do these shows have to offer? Excitement? Frankly, I’ve seen higher degrees of dramatic tension in Sesame Street. Can anybody fill me in on what I’m missing here?
@Rogueywon
People have answered your question countless times in this thread before you posted. There isn’t anything to get and you aren’t missing anything if this show just doesn’t appeal to you. It’s as simple as that.
like i said before: down’s syndrome
The appeal:
SLOW-MOTION TAIYAKI ENJOYMENT.
Best waste of technology, EVAR.
this seems like a spot for Kanon-haters to rant…
Well, my “problem” with Kanon is maybe not completely related, but anyway:Generally, I like it, with its Character driven story (as opposed to Utawareru Mono, Zegapain, Zero no Tsukaima and so on, which do have a “real story”… not sure if thats the best way to put it) being not a to big minus – I prefer when both are combined, but even without a good story going on in the background, I can enjoy an anime. I also like the characters – Mai/Makoto the most, but also Nayuki, Shiori, Kaori&her friend, and so on. And the music/animation/seiyuu work are pretty much above everything anyway 😉
However, I don’t get what is supposed to be special about Ayu and that whole “uguu” business. Uguu – Only causes eyerolling. Her backstory – well, its nice, but it doesn’t compare to Makoto or Mai, for me. Her Looks – nothing really – if its supposed to trigger “protection reflex” or whatever (thats what I read on some site – at least I believe thats what they were trying to say 😆 ), at least it doesn’t for me. And the wings are just as eyerolling inducing as the uguu…
Am I missing anything? Or is it just abovementioned “protection reflex” not working? Any ideas? 😉
… The logic is simple. People like stupid things.
Not all TV is intelligent at first glance – look at any form of Comedy (or even those “reality shows”) in North America… The Simpsons, Family Guy, even Survivor. (Whatever intelligence is there is probably in the fact that these shows somehow captured audiences of millions or billions of people when they ran. Or you can psychoanalyze it… but that’s for English/Media class.)
Think about why the North Americans mangled with Card Captor Sakura so much that it became “Cardcaptors”. So much mangling that they couldn’t even finish the damn story! Why? Because people, at least the Americans; they like stupid things. (Gotta Catch ‘Em All! XD) At the time, finding a person who actually wanted plot and quality in North America is like finding needles in a dozen swimming pools full of hay. I don’t see why the Japanese Masses would be any different.
As a side note, AFAIK, Kanon and AIR were both originally based on games that were H-games in their first incarnations. Maybe that explains it?
Whatever the case, I’m going to keep watching Kanon. You can choose to do it, or not. There’s always a safety net for the drop-outs in the mass-market shows like this one. Although… wouldn’t it be Kanon Destiny? Since GS Destiny was for Gundam Seed… 😛
nose very close to mouth drawn-style really disgust me. it will look like chucky.. yucks. it’s it another AIR ?
cbhl, just a point about them being based on H-games:Fate/Stay Night, Tsukihime, Demonbane and Utawareru Mono were also based on H-games, yet this critique does not apply to them (I guess – can’t read minds, after all ;-)), so I don’t think “was a h-game” is a suitable explanation. 🙂
Wait a minute…
If you paid attention a little bit you will see that Kyoto Animation indeed has its style for the character design, although of that, they respect the art of the original source; those damn h-games like some of you said. These characters designs could be the same for Air, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid and a little of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but that’s why every studio try to improve and don’t only be a copycat. And more importantly, the animation for Kanon has improved a lot thanks to KyoAni, I don’t know how some of you could said that the animation sucks… if you think that, maybe you love shows like CRAYON and COLORFUL; that is the real crap here.
The animation has its stages, ten years ago the style was different, five years ago the style was different; one year ago style was different. So, don’t come with that crap about the character design for Kanon, Air and some others alike. If you paid attention to the sorts of animation today, you would careful more your words.
Alot of people are complaining about the design of the characters. Live with it people, Complaining about the design is too much, You already expected it. Air and Kanon are both from key. Changing the design would be like “Its Kanon, but its not.” Face the fact that the design was already decided even wayyy before kanon 2006. If you hated the design why did you watch it? You already knew the characerts design was based from the game, why did you even bother watching?
Well said EndZ
Since we know this is a remake of a series, we should be ready for the “old stuff” and the “new stuff”. If you can’t accept again the old stuff and appreciate the new stuff, tell me people, what the heck are you doing watching Kanon without that in mind? I’m here now because I love Kanon, I love Kyoto Animation and I love anime. I respect everyone’s opinion, but please, don’t come with little stuff like “I don’t like the character design”.
As an aside note, KyoAni knows its bussiness, do you think they really pick Kanon without thinking very carefully every step to take. I don’t think so… is their job after all, and more importantly, they enjoy it doing it!
stfu, endz. i didn’t bother watching, because of the design. dumbass, i saw the screenshots and decided “fuck that shit”.
>> adfgdafg
Ok, is not your style, we got that… but for those how complain just because saw a few things… I don’t know if take that as a good opinion or not… judge something just for its cover feels sad…
Oh well… every series at hate was because I see it all or at least a few episodes and discovered their weak or dislike points. Learn to see more than the eye could see. And that apply for everything in this life, not only anime…
Haha, whoever said that this particular blog entry was a place for Kanon/Air haters to rant was so correct – and that includes the one who posted this entry at RC 🙂 And I am frankly a little surprised that Omni allows troll bait to be posted on his blog…
Let’s face it, those who asked “can you tell me what I’m missing here?” actually mean to ask “why does the rest of you have no taste in good anime except me?” They don’t really want you to convince them or explain something to them, they just want to tell you that in their opinion, what you like sucks, hahaha!
Seriously, I’ve seen so many people here complain about the art style and other superficial reasons for not watching it that I can’t stop being amused by it all. I am just glad they will stop watching the series – hearing more of their whining through the course of the show would just be too annoying 🙂
– T
Now, now, people – let’s not forget the point of this column. It is a column, after all – an editorial meant to bring a biased opinion to the table, to allow those who have their own opinions to agree to, to tear apart, or otherwise propose their own.
And in that respect, was this post not a resounding success?
As my sentiments have hopefully conveyed in my self-introduction post, I’m trying to bring a new element to Random Curiosity – beyond the plethora of screenshots and detailed-as-hell summaries, I believe this blog has the readership to truly establish a strong line of discussion for these key moments in anime. The contributions of readers like yourselves provide varying angles and alternate perspectives for audiences to watch the show – resulting in a more complete understanding, a better resolve, and ultimately, a memorable moment.
Whether you agree with me or not isn’t important – what I’m after are YOUR thoughts, feelings, and impressions – my job as the original poster, if you will, is to provide a foundation for you to structure your own opinions around.
That said, I really appreciate the comments everybody has given – you’ve all done a fantastic job keeping this thread going. Better load up your ammo for the next round of freezeframe, ‘cuz I’m coming back for more soon!
Well, trolling and flaming doesn’t get you anywhere in topics such as this. It’s a matter of personal opinion anyways…
Some people hate it because certain aspects just rub them in the wrong way, others hate it simply to join the bandwagon. Regardless, not everyone will see eye-to-eye on one thing. If we did, we’d have world peace. >_>;;
Now for my opinion:
I personally don’t mind KyoAni’s animation style and their production values are typically over-the-top anyhow. To judge an anime simply by character designs could be compared to judging a book by its cover: you’ll know what it looks like, but you’ll never understand the intricate story hidden within it. Both Air and Kanon were masterpieces at storytelling in their Visual Novel forms, and the anime-adaptations surely aren’t much different.
Some people will probably get turned off by the fact that its based off an Hgame, but you have to realize that Hgame-to-Anime adaptations can come in several forms. Some series based off Hgames end up being pantsu-fests with fanservice around every corner, others end up having much more depth.
Nevertheless, those of you who hate it can continue hating it, but I’ll be adding this to my to-watch list for Fall.
I’ve pretty much given up on the so called by many people “harem” shows, usually coming from their infinitely better renai/bishoujo game counterparts (or eroge or whatever you want to call them, terminology ain’t what we’re discussing here anyway). They fail to deliver a better plot and character development and the “girl of the week” format, needed to appeal to different groups of fans, is in my opinion nothing short of terrible. Usually there’s not much more to them than “group of girls fawning over random idiot”, and I guess that either I’m jaded, or I’ve realized that they’ll never make justice to the corresponding, much deeper games. These shows usually fail to portray the characters accurrately and give them an adequate amount of screentime, or when they do, they make the events hard to believe and lots of OoC moments happen.
However, things like Kanon, Fate/Stay Night, Air, etc. don’t really fall under this category, because there’s a lot more to them than just moé elements – so I’d give this type of show a chance any day of the week. If you know enough, you can tell them apart easily.
To Syaoran Li: about judging a book by its cover, it is sad, but unfortunatly most people do this unconciously or willing. If someone doesn’t have any information and only a cover that doesn’t appeal to them, why should they waste their time watching it when they can watch something they know they will enjoy? Sure, they will be wasting opportunities, but some people rather not waste time taking the chance(or wasting money as well). Covers are a way people can slightly judge whether or not they will like it, that is why some people make a big deal on how a book cover will appeal commercially.
Although it is sad, these things happen more often than not.
i agree
maybe you are forgotten that anime is targeted to Japanese audiences, in Kanon’s case, Japanese otaku. There are obvious reasons why the show was remade and why the audience is there to support it, it wasn’t targeted to you, so if you don’t understand the reasons, well that is not Kanon’s fault now is it?
Kanon/Air are great visual novels/animes in their own right… They broke a certain barrier within their own genre… That’s why they are so appealing to some people (I was one of them), not all. Key was the Hans Christian Anderson and KyoAni is the publisher of the book… Not many might like Anderson’s story or the publisher’s works… Some people might don’t like the sad girl in snowlittle match girl (coz its too poignant? I don’t know). What I mean is in this world there is bound to be something which you like and dislike. You just can’t like everything in this world, right? So if this show doesn’t appeal you, don’t watch it be quiet about it. Isn’t that easy? This show was requested by fans for the fans. By the way, I don’t plan to watch Death Note, even though everybody was saying how great the manga was, so I don’t.
Um, Tolitz, I actually meant what I wrote – what IS it that attracts you (and countless others) to Ayu? Is it the “protection reflex”? Something I did not mention?
Yeah well, I don’t get the fuss over Zero no Tsukaima or Utawarerumono or Shakugan or Shuffle or KGNE either. I thought they were all boring and cliched, but ah well. If you ain’t a fanboy you’re not gonna like them fanboy anime. Much like if you ain’t a fangirl you’ll never get the BL craze. I’m a fangirl and even so I thought Sukisyo and Gakuen Heaven were goddamn stupid and yet they have a huge following. I can never understand why. -_- As they say, don’t trust hype, trust your own taste. One’s taste can’t be clearly defined. See I thought Hachikuro was goddamn awesome, Nana was amazing and Kare Kano plain brilliant, but I can’t stand Paradise Kiss, Full Moon or Enma. I love GitS and Gankutsuou and Monster and Juuni Kokki but I don’t get why the huge praise for Utena and Gungrave. I dislike Noir but enjoyed Madlax. -_- Seriously, I think we should stop asking whys since we’re humans and being humans means we shall always have something to disagree on. 😀
de gustibus est non disputandum… I just fell in love with Ayu… uguu…
I don’t understand why people have to openly declare that they don’t understand why a series is popular for its genre.
ROFL.
Look, the more defensive you get on your own opinions, the more flak you’re gonna receive from people who aren’t likeminded. So just live your life and let it be. If a particular bunch of anime fans flame you for not liking a certain popular anime, you’re only making yourself look worse by ranting about why you don’t understand this or that, it’s not as if you’re looking for sympathy. Obviously.
I will honestly admit that I did not like Kanon the first time I saw it. But upon hearing about the KyoAni remake plus better VAs, I thought I might as well give it a shot. It could’ve been the influence from watching Air, but more or less it was the less-than-decent animation that put me off the 1st series. With such low expectations, I find it hard to hate any anime wholeheartedly… except Honey and Clover.
If you didn’t realise, I was just kidding about Honey and Clover, rofl.
Like bun said, trust your own taste. But at least rely on good sites like Random Curiosity to know at least what anime is coming out for each season. One of the reasons for my(and i assume many who come here) frequent visits to this site is because of the effort put in by Omni(haven’t seen the rest of the crew) to review new episodes without being too biased. And that has helped me a lot to identify what anime i like or not.
So can we now go and trash the other new animes? Lol.
I dont get it… what is it with loli girls. I swear they all look like there not a year over 4 years old. Its not very cute and makes the main character responsible with falling in love with them look like a pedophile. This is like a Not-4channers dream anime I guess.
It all seems to come down to KyoAni using all the money they raked in from SHnY. Probably not but it can be explained with around three words.
Uguu, Moe, and Loli. I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.
I couldn’t even finish watching it. I don’t have a tolerance for cutesy shoujou series like this. Perhaps way back when I was still into Cardcaptor Sakura, I would have probably liked it but now, I found it hard not to reach for a pen to stab my eye when I watch this.
some shows are just impossiable to watch and other shows you wonder aftwards wtf possessed you to watch it in the first place(ei.most hentais ever created,mai otome,azumanga daiho(curse that damn op), and a shitload more) god help us when they remake kanon some 10 years later as a special OAV featuring 5mins new material and a lot of fap…
I honestly didn’t like Kanon and hated every other corny shojo series like To Heart, Air, and Shuffle.
But Eternal Fighter Zero was a pretty cool game 😀
well i thought that Kanon was alright, it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either
i didn’t really mind the drawing, or the whining, i just didn’t get the plot…. at all; the love story to me seemed really stretched as if it was an afterthought
i also didn’t get the hype of AIR; i liked it better than kanon, and i thought it was very pretty (didn’t really care for the ending that much tho) but that was it; To Heart again wasn’t terrible but i didn’t like it as much as AIR and probably less so than Kanon and i’ll admit i found it a bit boring at times… maybe i just need to stay away from this genre??
my main gripe is that there (IMO) seems to be SO many better series out there to enjoy
but if you like Kanon then go enjoy the suped up Kyoto version of Kanon 2006…
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anamesis at 10:51 am on October 10th, 2006
some shows are just impossiable to watch and other shows you wonder aftwards wtf possessed you to watch it in the first place(ei.most hentais ever created,mai otome,azumanga daiho(curse that damn op), and a shitload more) god help us when they remake kanon some 10 years later as a special OAV featuring 5mins new material and a lot of fap…
——
Have you watched Kanon? That’s just trolling, if you seriously want to comment on the series on “how bad it is” get a serious argument and stick to it. And don’t complain about the Character Design, just watch it if you want, and don’t if you don’t like it. It’s quite simple. But the girls being drawn really cute does not justify what makes this show “SOOO BAD”. Because, if you’re going that way, all of the shows that KyoAni produced would be pure crap, since all of them featured really “cute” girls design. And I’m sure plenty of you people who answered here just love to drool over Suzumiya Haruhi or whatever.
Hmm.. so I’m not alone. I remember hearing about this the first time but even all the fanfare didn’t motivate me to watch it. With all the hype for this remake, I kept wondering what I was missing. The fact that I’m a huge Sugita Tomokazu fan sealed the deal in making me give episode one a try. I have NEVER been so thoroughly irritated after watching just one episode of anime, and I’m normally very forgiving in allowing a show to “get into its rhythm”. Oh my god. It’s not the pacing. I can deal with that. It’s the girls, and especially Ayu. Where other people saw “cuteness”, I only saw someone who acted like a retard. Definitely not attractive, appealing or cute.
GO JAALIN! Kanon fucking sucks. 😀
Hmmm, I don’t really get why you bothered to write this. Oh, wait! Flamebait!
Congratulations. You sucked me in. Anyone who thinks Kanon “fucking sucks” shouldn’t watch it. You’re not the intended audience. There’s always Naruto.
But if it makes you feel superior then go ahead. Flame away. Zzzzz.
I actually find this show enjoyable… but I don’t really know why.
Fall 2005 was the first time I saw Kanon. One year later Fall 2006 I’m currently watching this new Kanon series. I liked the first series the first time I saw it and I like this new series that I am currently watching now.
I just came across this article through another blog, and just wanted to say, I *heart* you for writing this 🙂
I was thrilled to find someone in this world other than me that didn’t like Kanon. To be honest, I didn’t even give this show a try. I suppose being ignorant about the subject of matter here wouldn’t really help with the merit of my argument, but I don’t get what the hype was about before the show even aired. I can understand if there is a group that has seen the original one and are extremely excited for a remake, but considering the art style (which is exactly the same as the remake, other than the fact that the 2006 seems to be shinier) is exactly the same, and for me there is nothing attractive about it.
Maybe I wasn’t part of their targeted audiences to begin with, since at least 50% of my opinion of a shoujo + romance + slice of life series is formed based on the character design. I mean, it’s one thing to see a cute girl with to whine once in a while, but it’s a completely different story to see a bunch of awkward looking underage girls whining for a whole season. Oh and I did come across a video of the old Kanon. I managed to watch 20seconds of it, but that was about as much whining as I could take from an extremely whiny girl.
The above is soly my , no offense to anyone is intended, only praises for Jaalin