We’ve all heard of Key’s big anime titles: AIR, Kanon 2006, and Clannad/After Story, but there is one neglected title that I think deserves some recognition, Kanon (2002).
Unlike its successors, which were animated by Kyoto animation, Kanon was done by Toei Animation and has what could be argued as the largest eyes in anime. Indeed, 10 years ago, anime was pushing the limits of large-eyed kawaii-ness, and Kanon stood at the forefront of the movement. The early 00′s was also the era of harem anime (thanks in part to Love Hina) and the beginning of the rise of ”beautiful” anime (thanks in part to Hoshi no Koe). Kanon fit in with all of the anime trends of the time and was hugely popular, sweeping the fandom by storm. Being an average anime fan back then, I was also caught up with Kanon’s appeal.
Of course, I didn’t just jump onto the bandwagon, I seriously enjoyed the original Kanon so much that it was one of my top 5 anime until 2006 and one of only 2 series that I ever recommended to people (the other being Martian Successor Nadesico). A lot of people praise Clannad for its heart-wrenching and beautiful story, Kanon had the same effect when it aired. The tragedy that each girl faces was too sad to fit into 13 episodes, it was a real tear-jerker. The animation quality was also top-notch at the time. Having the setting in a quiet snowy town made it even more beautiful and romantic.
Nowadays, Kanon is treated like a lesser version of Kanon 2006, but I still think it’s a good anime. If nothing else, it’s what led me to watch AIR, Kanon 2006, and Clannad.
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This is part of Trzr23′s Remembering Love project. See below for posts from other participants.
@fkeroge from Ambivalence or is it Ambiguity
Beldenotaku from NewAnimeThursday
Chikorita157 from Chikorita157′s Anime Blog
Justin from Organization Anti Social Geniuses
Kluxorious from Conspicuous Klux
Uguu…Such wonderful moe drama uguu I have a video uguu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT2GRpwwS8M
Uguu… that’s so cute!
funny that there was a new version just 4 years later, I only watched the newer version and liked it a lot, even though Im not the snow type :D
yup the eyes were super huge *O_O*
Wieselhead recently posted..second anniversary of wieselhead.de
I think people realized that the huge eyes thing had gone too far when they saw Kanon. Their eyes literally take up half of their face.
I always commented that with “they must have a very good nightvision with eyes like that”
Wieselhead recently posted..second anniversary of wieselhead.de
Lol, that could be true. It would explain how Mai fought in the dark.
Kanon 2002 was soo awesome, but why had his chin to be so big O_O
Yuuichi? I think maybe it was so he looked more manly. He had a rather sturdy-looking upper body too, something you don’t normally find in anime characters.
Kanon is just beautiful, both versions! I first watched the old version and then the new one. I really like both of them. It’s defenitely worth watching the old one!
It certainly is worth the watch. Sadly, a lot of people dismiss it now, it’s hard to imagine that its been 10 years already.
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I think I was one of the types who didn’t watch the original Kanon. But it’s a good thing to know that even the old Kanon doesn’t let down.
Kai recently posted..Remembering Love: Gintama and The Art of Retorts
As long as you enjoyed at least one of the Kanons, I think that’s what matters most. Both series are good.
I only watched KyoAni’s Kanon, I have only heard negative things concerning Toei’s Kanon. I’m thinking though this has happened retroactively as more people watched KyoAni’s version first.
Good to hear it is a nice show.
Miette-chan recently posted..PLUM’s Touwa Erio – She is falling out of her clothes!!!
You’re probably right. I don’t recall ever hearing anything bad about the original Kanon until after the remake came out. Once that happened, everyone started bashing the 2002 version despite being one of the most popular anime of its time.
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Hey hey, it’s not my fault that I saw Kanon 2006 first, don’t judge me!!! :D
On another note, you had the luxury of watching 2002 first. I now have to judge it based on its updated version O.o I have no idea if I’ll like it…
Justin recently posted..Go for Broke: Eden of the East
Well, I would say that everyone’s right in that the new Kanon is better than the old. If you watch the new one first, you probably wouldn’t gain much from watching the original since it had to cut out a lot of stuff to fit it in 13 episodes.
Only watched the new version, because well the visual style of the first one was quite questionable. Those eyes…are…BIG! :D
feal87 recently posted..Tasogare Otome X Amnesia – Yuuko? What are you doing?! Stop!
Nowadays it looks very awkward, but when I watched it, I was totally fine with the style.
One of these days, I must watch Kanon and AIR.
hoshiko recently posted..Thoughts on Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva
You should, they’re both very good.
Just rewatched Kanon 2006 a few months ago (I even got the whole DVDs!) – still one of my alltime favorites. I did try the “old” one, but after reading that Kanon 2006 was no sequel but the same story, I skipped it since the remake just looked better^^
I think that’s what most people did. I don’t blame them though, the 2006 remake does have more appealing designs and covers more of the story than the original.
If I would have been into anime with subs back in 2002 I’m pretty sure I’d have watched it… but back then I only watched local anime (I’m from germany)
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