I'm just going to come out and say that Kanon was one of the most emotionally endearing animes I've ever watched. When I went into Kanon, I wasn't expecting much. I saw Clannad + After Story just before watching this and I thought if this was even remotely in the same ballpark as Clannad, I would've been happy. However, this series went above and beyond my expectations. While I wouldn't put this series quite in the came category as Clannad: After Story in regards to how emotionally traumatizing it can be, where it exceeds a series like Clannad: AS is how emotionally touching it can be throughout the entire series. It had me filled with so many different emotions as the series progressed that by the time it was all said and done, I wasn't sure how to feel. The way it executed the emotional moments was downright fantastic. I cannot praise Kanon enough with just how well executed it was in regards to setting a mood, or atmosphere.
I found one of Kanon's biggest strengths was that mood or atmosphere and how it coincided with the story and characters. The way the animation, the music, the artistic design, the voice acting. Everything was flowing in perfect motion. Whenever you can sync all of these things up to create an authentic atmosphere in an anime, it makes it magical to watch. While I planned to watch this series over a long stretch of time, I ended up finishing it in less than two days because each episode's mood wanted me to watch the next episode immediately following. Perhaps even engrossing is an understatement to just how addictive this series was.
The story was actually one of the strongest I've seen in a Kyoto Animation anime. The story revolves around Yuuichi Aizawa, a high school boy who moves in with his aunt and cousin. He is returning to this town after visiting there seven years prior, but he suffers from a form of amnesia or mental block and has forgotten many of the memories from that time seven years ago. He spends much of his time meeting new friends, even some of which he had met seven years prior but fails to remember. Through these friendships, these bonds, he begins to recollecting the events from seven years ago and ultimately discovers his reason for forgetting. While the story sounds rather stereotypical, it had quite a unique vibe with it's storytelling. The way it executed each arc was remarkable. What made it all the more interesting, was how this series applied supernatural elements while still keeping a realistic feel. That's how much the atmosphere played a role in this series.
The characters were also quite strong in their own right. Yuuichi was a nice lead character to watch throughout the series because of how much he matured and adapted to the story. I loved all the bonds he formed throughout the series, especially with Ayu. Unfortunately, I hated Ayu...but only because now I catch myself saying "Uguu" every now and again. Honestly though, I loved her character and all of the characters for that matter. Nayuki, Akiko, Sayuri, Mai, Shiori, Kaori, even Jun had his hilarious and uplifting moments. The only character I'll personally say I didn't particularly care for was Makoto and that was only because I found her arc and her character to be slightly confusing and somewhat forced. It felt like it dragged on for a little too long as well. Although, I'll also admit that I am somewhat biased considering Makoto's personality was a bit of a turn-off for me, but I'm sure some fans would enjoy her mischievous personality. Overall, I found the characters and how their stories tied into each other worked incredibly well.
I mentioned atmosphere and mood before and I cannot help but applaud Kyoto Ani for how much effort they put into this series. Tatsuya Ishihara's direction was yet again top notch and I'd even argue that perhaps his work in this series was what propelled him to become such a renowned director. Considering the follow-ups he'd have with series like Clannad, Nichijou, and Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai, it's a fair argument to make even though I did love his work in FMP: Fumoffu before this. I could probably go on for pages about the wonderful musical work Jun Maeda and Shinji Orito did for this. They are both masters in the craft of making slow, heartfelt songs that can set the mood for almost anything, especially drama and tragedy. They are a match in music making heaven. The series OP is remarkably strong with it's music and it's animation. Last Regrets by Ayana was such a beautifully depressing, yet uplifting song that set the mood for the series perfectly.
In regards to weaknesses, this series had very few to speak of. I did find a few here and there that had me wondering a little, but they were very few, very far between, and didn't have an overly major impact on the story. However, I felt one of the bigger weaknesses was the family back story to the Minases and Aikawas. The series doesn't make it very clear as to why Yuuichi went back to this town to attend high school and it didn't do a very good job of explaining why Akiko is a single mother and what sort of occupation she has. I mentioned this earlier, but some of the sub-plots between Yuuichi and some of the side characters are slightly confusing. They weren't all bad, but I found the Makoto arc to be rather daunting at times. I did also feel the story seemed to drag slightly a bit toward the last four or five episodes, but I did find that the last episode and a half made for a rather nice recovery in regards to the pace.
Overall, I would probably call this the best "supernatural" anime I have ever watched. While yes, I know you could probably call something like Clannad supernatural as well, I found that anime's supernatural elements to be extremely light in comparison to this. Kanon does a remarkable job of implementing supernatural elements into a relatively normal story, or how those supernatural elements had an important tie to a somewhat normal reality. If you enjoy a supernatural anime with a realistic feel, like Ano Hana or Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, I think this is the perfect anime for you to watch. Even if you're a Clannad fan and haven't seen this, I would highly recommend it. It's not quite as grounded to reality as something like Clannad, but it's still a remarkable watch. I can certainly give this my highest recommendation, especially for those who love a good romance series.
