Story:4
I don't even think they were trying. They probably assumed it was enough to simply, yet forcefully, create another "sexy" anime, walk away, and never speak of it again.
A storyline is pretty much the most important thing in an anime, or any other form of entertainment media with special exceptions given to music and videogames. Most of this piece of crap just shows Chizuru's unwanted sexual advances toward Kouta.
The beginning is especially horrible. Kouta's walking on some bridge and glances toward Chizuru. Then the theme song plays. After you watch that, Chizuru is hopelessly in love with Kouta. No explanation at all. The entire first episode is a pretty awkward introduction besides.
Later, you're introduced to something similar to an antagonist. They exist for what, two episodes? After they get in and cause some mischief, they mysteriously leave right after Kouta rips off Rosario and Vampire.
And Nozomu's very existence is pointless. She's supposed to be a rival to Chizuru, but she... well, she doesn't do much. Her affection towards Kouta doesn't really affect the plot. They could pretty much have made this entire anime without her aside from the moments introducing her and one episode later in the series having to do with a love potion.
The ending isn't especially horrible, but it isn't great either.
In the end, the story is just about Chiziru and some trivial problems she has in winning Kouta's love. That's about it.
Art: 8
Animation doesn't really matter to me. If it moves, I can accept it. That said, Kanokon's animation is pretty impressive, with lots of movement and few, if any, screw ups. Art's nice, too. All I could say about that.
Sound: 6
Nothing good, nothing bad, and I sort of slightly like the theme song. I've entirely forgotten the ending theme. Gets a six.
Character: 6
For me, this is a pretty controversial element. While some characters are terrible, others are enigmatic and interesting. The best character by far is Tayura, who I found so enjoyable that I actually added him to my "Favorite Characters" list. Tayura has a slightly stronger role in the story than other support characters, which is fortunate. The other support characters are also pretty nice, even if they're only archtypes. As I said before, Nozomu, a rip-off of Nagato and Rei, has no real reason to be in this series. And if you watched Evangelion and hated Shinji (I believe Shinji is actually fantastic) you will hate Kouta, who whines ten times as much. Or maybe it just seems that way because his voice is so high. He isn't a character in truth, but a plot device. He has no redeeming qualities, which will either make you think "Ha! if this guy can have a personal harem, then I can at least get laid!" or "God, even that guy can get a girlfriend and I can't? Why am I so hopeless?" In other words, it will either give you confidence or depress you terribly. I am a part of the latter group who wants Kouta to get eaten by a bear. He's the worst character I have ever seen. Chizuru is okay, too, but she's also just an archtype.
Enjoyment: 7
How could such a terrible anime have an enjoyment level of seven? Because it is, in fact, pretty fun to watch. Only a few of the jokes are particularly funny and I'm going to skip over the excessive fanservice entirely. However, the ways the characters react to situation after situation is undeniably enjoyable. Although the characters aren't good in the truest sense (except for Tayura, who always manages to be awesome in some way or other) each of them is used effectively and the entire series does have a distinctive charm. I think I would actually recommend Kanokon to somebody if I was a lesser man. The writers, admittedly, have created a pretty entertaining, if not truly funny, script.
Overall: 5
This isn't an anime you should scour the internet for. In fact, it'd probably be better for you short term, and the anime industry long term, if you just walked away. I'd compare this anime to drugs, I suppose, and that's neither a compliment nor insult, but a fact. If you watch it, you might like it, even though I'm warning you that it really is pretty bad. If this is your thing, though, go ahead.
Rezindez,
The Immortal Crow
