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ZOMFG IT’S AYU!! (Caution: Major Fanboyism Ahead)

(dammit! this post was originally 38 days left?!, but moving into college took away my internet for a while, sorry for the delay)

Okay, so I just saw the dvd for Kanon Prelude, and it has sparked a fanboy reaction in me not seen since The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and… well, the first Kanon.

This new Kanon Prelude, for those of you ignorant of anime news, is merely a 10 minute or so preview of god-like studio Kyoto Animation’s remake of Kanon. Yes, I kid you not…I am going crazy over a preview. That’s how amazing Kanon was for me, and still is, and is going to be. Not everyone liked Toei’s Kanon too well, and even I have to admit, there were very apparent flaws in the first adaptation of this groundbreaking eroge which was the best selling videogame in Japan of 1999: mouths a bit too close to noses, coloring and animation could’ve been done better, design could’ve improved a bit, and some arcs could’ve been explained a bit better. Despite these flaws, Kanon stuck with me, and its characters remain some of the ones I remember most endearingly. So while I’ve never played the game, I think my level of love for Kanon is near if not at the limit for those who haven’t played the game yet.

And as I found out around March, when I heard Kanon was gonna be remade, of course I was nothing but giddy (especially since this was like…a month after I finished the first Kanon). I knew it was gonna be redone by a well respected studio named Kyoto Animation, but I had no idea what that meant…till I had the honor of watching their latest and greatest creation: Haruhi Suzumiya.

After a brief depression that came with the end of SHnY (o shit! I can’t believe it’s over! NOOOO!), my spirits were lifted again to realize that come October 5th, 2006, the same hard work, detail, and awesomeness that came with Air and Haruhi Suzumiya is going to be endowed in a reborn Kanon…yea, you guys get where these fanboy tendencies are coming from. Now perhaps those who didn’t/wouldn’t like the first adaptation…everyone would definitely love KyoAni’s take: better animation from the KyoAni touch, full season 24 episodes, more appealing designs (who would’ve thought that was possible?! only Kyoto Animation) – what’s there not to love?

So now, as we wait 33 more agonizing days until the first episode, we have only the wonderful but ultimately all-too-short Prelude to satiate our cravings.

Kei’s Kanon Character Column

Yuuichi Aizawa

Turned out to be a real bastard in the first version of Kanon. Has a very good chance of moving WAY up on this column since he’s now being voiced by none other than Tomokazu Sugita a.k.a. Kyon. Not sure of what to make of the Kyon impressions I keep getting everytime I hear Yuuichi’s new voice (and dammit, he even looks a bit like Kyon now!). Hopefully KyoAni has Yuuichi making better “decisions” in the eroge.

Jun Kitagawa

We barely saw this guy in the first series, and I know he got better representation in the original game. Funny guy sometimes, so hopefully we see some more of him.

Akiko Minase

Yes, yes…we all know she’s a MILF. What I find disturbing is how universally received this notion is. Does everyone think she’s a MILF? I mean, there’s something wrong with this world if this is one of the few things everyone can agree on about Kanon.

Makoto Sawatari

eh…I guess I liked Makoto’s arc the least in the first Kanon, not really sure why though, because after analysing the way her story was played out, it shoulda appealed to me. Guess she was a bit annoying. I dunno…

Mai Kawasumi

Definitely looking forward to Mai’s arc. Out of the five main girls, I felt that her story was condensed the most in the first run of Kanon, so much that its delivery was poor, and the whole concept just left me confused at the end. For example, the whole past thing between her and Yuuichi and the bunny ears and them running through the fields (shown in the second screenshot) – that was barely even touched upon by Toei. Most likely to benefit from KyoAni’s 24 episode run as opposed to 13 eps.

Sayuri Kurata

OMFG she said “Nihaha~~”!!! Tomoko Kawakami, the seiyuu for Misuzu from Air, voices Sayuri as well. I love her just for that if for no other reason. ^-^ Of course she’s still very kawaii alone.

Shiori (top) and Kaori (bottom) Misaka

Am I the only one who thinks there might be an error in the cast listing? Supposedly, Ayako Kawasumi voices Kaori and Akemi Satou voices Shiori. ANN says so, as does all the fansubs. So why does Shiori sound so much like Ayako Kawasumi?!

Well, I’ve been wrong my seiyuu impressions before, most recently thinking Siesta from Zero no Tsukaima was Kawasumi, when instead it was Yui Horie. Oh well, so Kawasumi was Henrietta instead…the typecasting threw me off!

Anyway, Shiori looks even more awesome in this Kanon, as expected. Kaori…wow…I’d say she underwent the greatest makeover out of all the characters. Much much better. ^-^

Ayu Tsukimiya

Ayu and Taiyaki! ^-^

Together, these two form a combination of pure win. Who can imagine Kanon without Ayu and Taiyaki? The most easily recognizable out of all three girls, and this one is probably the mascot of the entire series (along with the taiyaki). She deserves it well too, as she is immediately likable the first time she comes on screen smashing into Yuuichi, and although she comes in a VERY close second among my favorite characters, she is easily the most unique of the entire Kanon cast. Look forward to her in every episode, the quality of the story immediately goes up a few notches even further from its skyscraper base everytime she comes on screen. ah… Yui Horie-sama…

Nayuki Minase

キタ━━━━(゜∀゜)━━━━ッ!!
The original girl in snow. Repeat after me my fellow readers: Nayuki is love. Nayuki is teh kawaii. Nayuki is teh awesomeness. Nayuki = happiness.

Good. Understand, all of you, how simply amazing this girl is. Absolutely lovable, singlehandedly makes Kanon an awesome series, and along with Ayu, makes it pantheon level among romance animes.

Rabid fanboyism aside, it’s understandable that some may not like her at all. It seems that Nayuki look-alikes characters are quite abundant in eroge and romance anime in general. Yet…this is NAYUKI! The ORIGINAL! I mean, Kanon is to bishojo games as Final Fantasy VII is to RPGs…it set the standard. So yes, appreciate Nayuki for what she is, rather than killing the Minasegasm from comparing her to other girls.

I have to admit though that a big part of my appeal towards Nayuki is her childish voice…that same voice that some seem to dislike. Absolutely loved the extreme kawaii line from the first Kanon when Nayuki was slightly disappointed by Yuuichi’s refusal to go shopping 7 years ago, “Fine then, all you get for tonight is pickled ginger. Instead of rice, you get a bowl of ginger with ginger on top! And all you get to drink is juice from the ginger!!!” ^-^~~~

I dunno, I guess I like those that stay young at heart as they grow. This applied to me not only in anime, but life in general – call me lolita complex guy if you want, w/e.

And who cares that she’s his cousin? She’s the one who truly loves him – call me an incest complex guy if you want, w/e. HAH! bonus Nayuki screenshots for you!

Lolier Nayuki from 7 years ago. …love

so soft! and I’m not talking about the pillow either.

I just have nothing left to say…

——–
In any case, we must never forget how amazing this short video looked. The following are further screenshots deserving notice, but realize that neither these nor any of the screenshots above do any justice at all to the original video. Seamless animation, polished design, very professional use of photo and video effects, it all comes to together splendidly under Kyoto Animation’s godly hand.

Kanon is the clearly the must-see anime this fall season. Look for more buzz as the series premiere approaches, as well as an abundance of bloggers blogging every episode (hopefully this one as well).

October 5th, 2006…look forward to it!