Kanon
カノン (Kanon)
Demographic	Seinen
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Harem, Romance
Game
Developer	Key
Publisher	Visual Art's (PC) NEC Interchannel (DC/PS2) Prototype (PSP)
Genre	Eroge, Visual novel
Rating	EOCS: 18+ (Original PC), 12+ (PSP)
Platform	PC, Dreamcast, PS2, PSP
Released	June 4 1999 (Original PC) January 7 2000 (PC All Ages) September 14 2000 (Dreamcast) February 28 2002 (Original PS2) November 26 2004 (PC Standard Edition) December 22 2004 (PS2 re-release) January 28 2005 (PC Standard Edition All Ages) February 15 2007 (PSP)
Light novel
Author	Mariko Shimizu
Artist	Itaru Hinoue
Publisher	Paradigm
Published	December 1999 – August 2000
Volumes	5
Manga
Author	Key (story), Petit Morishima (art)
Publisher	MediaWorks
Serialized in	Dengeki Daioh
Original run	December 2000 – July 2002
Volumes	2
TV anime
Director	Takamichi Ito
Studio	Toei Animation
Network	Fuji TV, Kansai TV
Original run	January 30 2002 – March 27 2002
Episodes	13
OVA: 'Kanon Kazahana'
Director	Takamichi Ito
Studio	Toei Animation
Episodes	1
Released	May 3 2003
Runtime	20 minutes
Manga
Author	Key (story) Kinuhaze Shimotsuki (art)
Publisher	Fujimi Shobo
Serialized in	Dragon Age Pure
Original run	June 30 2006 –
Volumes	1
TV anime
Director	Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio	Kyoto Animation ADV Films
Network	BS-i
Original run	October 5 2006 – March 15 2007
Episodes	24

Kanon (カノン, Kanon^?) is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and released on June 4 1999. The original version, made for the PC, was rated 18 or older by Japan's Ethics Organization of Computer Software, but an all ages version was released on in January 2000. Subsequent general-audience versions were produced for the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable. Later, the Kanon Standard Edition was released for the PC, playable as a DVD-ROM in adult and all-ages versions. The Kanon Standard Edition incorporates the few extra graphics added to the all-ages version of the game. Both Standard Editions add support for Windows 2000/XP and other technical changes such as more save slots. Otherwise, the all-ages Kanon Standard Edition is the same as the original all-ages version released for the game.

The gameplay in Kanon follows a linear plot line where the player interacts at predetermined times to choose several options that appear on the screen. The game was developed so that the focus for the player would be an intricate plot and the appeal of the five female main characters. The title is generally believed to be derived from the musical term canon; the second TV adaptation plays on this association by using of Pachelbel's Kanon D-dur, or Canon in D major, as a background piece at certain instances throughout the series.

Kanon has made several transitions to other media. There are two anime adaptations, the first being a thirteen episode TV series that first aired on January 30 2002; this version includes a one episode OVA, Kazahana, released on May 3 2003. Both the original anime adaptation and the OVA were produced by the animation studio Toei Animation. The second anime adaptation, created by Kyoto Animation, aired in Japan between October 5 2006 and March 15 2007, containing twenty-four episodes; this series was licensed by ADV Films to be released in English.^[1] The story was also adapted into novels, drama CDs, and two manga series.

Kanon's popularity outside of Japan can be signified by the fans' efforts, such as those of fans in South Korea and China, to release unofficial translated versions to the public.^[2]

Visual novel

Development

After leaving Tactics under Nexton, most of the team that had been involved with One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e formed the company Key sometime in 1998. Key's first project once under the publishing company Visual Art's was Kanon. The planning for the visual novel was headed by Jun Maeda, and Naoki Hisaya who were also the two writers for the scenario used in the game.^[3] Art direction was headed by Key's well-known artist Itaru Hinoue who worked on the character design and computer graphics.^[3] Further computer graphics were split between three people — Din, Miracle ☆ Mikipon, Shinory — and background art was provided by Torino.^[4] The music in the game was composed primarily by OdiakeS and Shinji Orito. After the completion of Kanon, two of the main staff — Naoki Hisaya, and OdiakeS — left Key to pursue a similar line of work in other visual novel studios.^[5]

Example of what average conversation looks like in Kanon. Here, Yuichi is talking with Ayu.

Gameplay

The gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that will appear on the screen; this text represents dialogue between the various characters. In the original release, there was no voice acting for the characters, but in the later versions produced for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, full-voice acting was included in order to heighten the experience. The only exception was Yuichi Aizawa, who was not voiced in either version. However, the PlayStation Portable release features voice acting for Yuichi, provided by Tomokazu Sugita.^[6] Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to four at a time. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes. There are five main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. In order to view the five plot lines to their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot in an alternate direction.

The original game and the Kanon Standard Edition include one explicit sex scene in each of the five main story routes, 50-75% of the way through, excluding one fantasy scene. Outside of these, there are two scenes with nudity which use the same CGs.

Kanon original video game cover.

Release history

Kanon was first introduced to the public in Japan on June 4 1999, playable only for the PC as a CD-ROM. It retailed for 8,800 yen (approx. US$74.18) prior to tax.^[7] The next year was followed by two separate releases: an all-ages version released on January 7 2000 and the first consumer console port of the game for the Sega Dreamcast on September 14 2000. The second consumer port for the PlayStation 2 was released on February 28 2002, retailing for 7,140 yen (approx. US$60.22), and featured different cover art for the disk case. After the PS2 game sold enough units, two years later, on December 22 2004, a cheaper version for the PS2 also known as the "Best Version" went on sale for 3,129 yen (approx. US$26.39).

The Kanon Standard Edition was released on November 26 2004 with added support for Windows 2000/XP as a DVD-ROM. Only this version and the original release contained pornographic scenes. Three months later, on January 28 2005, the same game was released with the hentai content removed. The Standard Edition retailed for 2,800 yen (approx. US$23.61) before tax.^[8] Lastly, a PSP version of the game went on sale in Japan on February 15 2007 retailing at 4,800 yen (approx. US$40.21) before tax. The first release of the PSP version came with a special DVD featuring a message from five of the voice actors and a recompiled opening video from the video game version.^[9] The five voice actors on the DVD included: Mariko Kōda as Nayuki Minase, Akemi Satō as Shiori Misaka, Mayumi Iizuka as Makoto Sawatari, Yūko Minaguchi as Akiko Minase, and Tomokazu Sugita as Yuichi Aizawa. Yui Horie as Ayu Tsukimiya voiced the short introduction of the DVD, but was not featured in the contents of the DVD itself.

Plot

The city of Kanon.

Setting and themes

There are several important locations featured in the Kanon story that are based on those of the city Moriguchi, located in Japan.^[10] Key have consistently used real world locations as inspiration for their game settings; their later game Air also takes place in a city inspired by a real world location. The location names are seldom mentioned explicitly in their works.

The time of year the story occurred in was during winter, and since it often snowed periodically over the course of the entire story, the city was always presented covered in a layer of snow. The covering snow helps to develop the mysterious mood that the story flows through.

There are recurring themes that appear throughout the story. A music theme is present, as the name of the series is generally believed to be based on a classical composition named Canon in D. The episode titles from the 2006-2007 anime have parts in their titles related to music, such as overture and introit. Another theme is the presence of snow around the entire city which helps to develop a mysterious mood coupled with a supernatural theme which the story revolves around. Furthermore, miracles play a large part in the story; Kanon's plot line and characters are influenced by various instances where miracles occur.^[11] The act of promising and keeping promises is found throughout the story.^[12] Yuichi eventually makes important promises to the five main girls while at the same time fulfilling past promises he had made with them when he used to visit the city as a kid.

One of the sub-themes in the story is amnesia, or the loss of memory; three of the main characters — Yuichi, Ayu and Makoto — suffer from amnesia in varying degrees; this is used as a plot device to advance the story. Another sub-theme deals with the favorite foods of the five main heroines. Newtype USA stated in an article on Kanon that, "it's when the characters are eating something really tasty that they seem most beautiful and alive," despite the somber setting and overall tone of the series.^[13] These five foods of choice are: taiyaki (Ayu), strawberries (Nayuki), nikuman (Makoto), ice cream (Shiori), and gyudon (Mai).

Characters

Main article: List of Kanon characters

Main characters

The girls of Kanon: Mai (top-left), Nayuki (top-center), Shiori (top-right), Makoto (bottom-left), and Ayu (bottom-right).

Yuichi Aizawa (相沢 祐一, Aizawa Yūichi^?)

Yuichi is a seventeen year-old high school student and the male protagonist of the series. In the game, Yuichi is the role that the player assumes. Voiced by: Atsushi Kisaichi (2002 anime), Tomokazu Sugita (2006 anime/PSP game), Miwa Yasuda (Young Yuichi)

Ayu Tsukimiya (月宮 あゆ, Tsukimiya Ayu^?)

Ayu is a short, strange, and mysterious girl who literally bumps into Yuichi early in the story. She is immediately recognizable by her winged backpack, red hair band, and tendency to refer to herself with the masculine first-person pronoun boku (僕, boku^?). She has a fondness for eating taiyaki and is left-handed. Ayu is notorious for her catch phrase, "Ugū!" (うぐぅ, "Ugū!"^?), which she mutters as an expression of various negative emotions such as frustration, anger, and fear. Voiced by: Yui Horie

Nayuki Minase (水瀬 名雪, Minase Nayuki^?)

Nayuki is a girl of Yuichi's age, and she is his first cousin; he moves into her house at the beginning of the story. She has always been in love with him and must learn how to deal with her feelings, especially with the threat that he may fall for one of the other girls. Nayuki talks noticeably slower than those around her and has constant trouble waking up in the mornings except on a few occasions when she is up before Yuichi, much to his surprise.Voiced by: Mariko Kōda

Makoto Sawatari (沢渡 真琴, Sawatari Makoto^?)

Makoto is a young girl who attacks Yuichi out-of-the-blue in the middle of town early on in the story. She has lost her memories but despite this she is sure that she holds a grudge against Yuichi from when he last visited the city. Makoto has a mischievous side and constantly plays pranks on Yuichi. She has an affinity towards the spring and once wished that it would stay spring forever.^[14] Voiced by: Mayumi Iizuka

Shiori Misaka (美坂 栞, Misaka Shiori^?)

Shiori is a first-year student who has suffered from an illness since birth. Her affliction has caused her to become very physically weak, and she is almost always absent from school because of it. Shiori stands outside, on the school grounds, nearly every day because she wants to meet someone dear to her. Voiced by: Hiroko Konishi (Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 games), Akemi Satō (anime/PSP game)

Mai Kawasumi (川澄 舞, Kawasumi Mai^?)

Mai is a third-year student of the same high school that Yuichi attends. She takes it upon herself to fight and defeat demons at night while the school is deserted.^[15] Due to this, she is constantly blamed for accidents because she never denies them, being too sincere to say anything and knowing that no one will believe that there are demons in the school. Despite her cold attitude toward others, she is actually a very kind and caring person; she punishes someone who makes a playful joke about her by giving them a light karate chop in the head. Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

Secondary characters

Akiko Minase (水瀬 秋子, Minase Akiko^?)

Akiko is the easy-going mother of Nayuki and thus is Yuichi's aunt. She works at an unspecified job and takes care of the house, cooking various types of food, most of which is delicious except for her infamous "special" homemade jam, which she alone enjoys the taste of. Voiced by: Yūko Minaguchi

Sayuri Kurata (倉田 佐祐理, Kurata Sayuri^?)

Sayuri is Mai's only friend before she meets Yuichi, and thus her biggest part is during Mai's story. She is the daughter of a wealthy family, and always tries to smile and help others. She uses more formal Japanese honorifics for Yuichi when she addresses him, even when they become close friends. Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami

Kaori Misaka (美坂 香里, Misaka Kaori^?)

Kaori is mainly featured in Shiori's story, but is regularly seen due to her being Nayuki's best friend and Yuichi's and Nayuki's classmate; she is their class representative. She is smart and is knowledgeable about the schoolmates and townspeople, but is not aware of any of the supernatural things that occur. Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi

Mishio Amano (天野 美汐, Amano Mishio^?)

Mishio is a quiet girl, not unlike Mai, who is a key character towards the end of Makoto's story. She mysteriously warns Yuichi to stay away from Makoto when Makoto's health begins to fail. Mishio knows the mysterious and magical workings of the town, and she has experienced the loss that comes from asking for a miracle first hand. Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto

Jun Kitagawa (北川 潤, Kitagawa Jun^?)

Jun is a friend of Yuichi's who sits behind him during school. Jun has a crush on Kaori and will often follow her around despite Kaori's dismissal of his romantic affections. His role is mainly for character development, as well as being one of the male characters who is explicitly referred to by name. Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki

Kuze (久瀬, Kuze^?)

Kuze is the student council president at Yuichi's school. He has a large ego and enjoys talking down to people, such as Mai, due to his standing in the school. He has a rather small role in the story, appearing during Mai's story in order to warn her not to do anything to wreck the dance party that she attended with Yuichi and Sayuri. Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya

Piro (ピロ, Piro^?)

Piro is a stray cat that Nayuki finds first and, despite her allergies, adores. Makoto loses the cat on purpose and then promptly searches until she finds it, having felt sorry for throwing it away. Makoto takes the cat home to the Minase house where it is loved by everyone.

Story

Kanon's story, set in the middle of winter, regards a group of five girls who are connected back to the same boy. Yuichi Aizawa, the main protagonist, had visited the city where the story takes place seven years prior to the story's beginning.

In the beginning Yuichi is very detached from the city and its inhabitants. Prior to his return, it is decided that he is to stay with his cousin, Nayuki Minase, and her mother, Akiko. After his long absence, Yuichi has forgotten almost everything except minor details of what happened seven years before and is in need of being reminded of what he left behind.

On the day after Yuichi's return, he is out with Nayuki who is showing him around town. Nayuki remembers that she has to buy things for dinner and Yuichi is reluctant to go with her, arguing that he might get lost. Moments after Nayuki left him waiting on the sidewalk, a strange girl named Ayu Tsukimiya barges into him with little warning. Upon recovering, she drags him away to a nearby café and confesses to inadvertently stealing a bag filled with taiyaki after being accidentally scared away by the salesman before she had a chance to pay. Yuichi then drags Ayu back to the salesman, they both apologize for the trouble, and Ayu is forgiven. They decide to meet up again another day and Ayu scampers off.

Yuichi is not aware at first, but three other girls which he had forgotten are familiar with him. Throughout the story, as he learns about the supernatural undertones of the town, Yuichi is reminded of each girl and the events of seven years ago in the city covered in snow.

Adaptations

Makoto's novel, the fourth in the series.

Light novels

There have been five light novels written by Mariko Shimizu and published by Paradigm which were released in Japan between December 1999 and August 2000. The cover art and internal illustrations were drawn by Itaru Hinoue, the artist who drew the artwork in the visual novel. The basis for each novel was one of each of the five heroines and had titles that were taken from the musical themes pertaining to each character in the original game. The first released was Girl in the Snow (雪の少女, Yuki no Shōjo^?, Nayuki), in December 1999. Later that same month Beyond the Smile (笑顔の向こう側に, Egao no Mukougawa ni^?, Shiori) was released becoming the second in the series. The third was Girl's Prison (少女の檻, Shōjo no Ori^?, Mai) released in April 2000 and the fourth novel was entitled the fox and the grapes (Makoto), released two months later. The final novel entitled A Sunny City (日溜りの街, Hidamari no Machi^?, Ayu) was released in August 2000.^[16]

Drama CDs

There are three complete sets of drama CDs based on Kanon, containing five CDs each, for a total of fifteen CDs; these drama CDs were released over the course of three years, between September 29 2000 and April 26 2003.^[17] The first two sets focused on each heroine separately per CD; the cover of the album would depict which of the girls was to be presented. The third set did not follow this format and Akiko Minase was depicted on the cover of the albums in this set.

Manga

First Kanon manga volume 1.

The first Kanon manga was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh in December 2000, running until July 2002.^[18] The individual chapters were later collected into two separate volumes published by MediaWorks under their Dengeki Comics label.^[19] The story was adapted from the visual novel version that preceded it, and was illustrated by Petit Morishima. There were six chapters in total, three in each volume. Aside from the prologue in volume one and the epilogue in volume two, the other four chapters concern four of the main heroines. From chapters one through four, the main heroines presented are: Shiori Misaka, Makoto Sawatari, Mai Kawasumi and Ayu Tsukimiya. To make up for Nayuki not getting a chapter of her own, the story is altered in that Nayuki is in most of the scenes Yuichi is in.^[20][21]

The first manga is different than the visual novel in that Shiori's, Makoto's, and Mai's stories are not told in their entirety. Near the end of each of these girls' stories were originally intended to give the viewer the remaining answers, but the manga version ends these girls' stories prematurely.^[20][21] This was due to the manga putting more focus on Ayu's story.

The second Kanon manga started serialization on June 30 2006 in the Japanese manga magazine Dragon Age Pure published by Fujimi Shobo.^[22] The story was adapted from the visual novel version that preceded it, and was illustrated by Kinuhaze Shimotsuki. The first bound volume was released in Japan on April 1 2007 with the subtitle The Real Feelings of the Other Side of the Smiling Face (ホントの想いは笑顔の向こう側に, Honto no Omoi wa Egao no Mukōgawa ni^?).

Anime

See also: List of Kanon episodes

Kanon was first adapted into an anime in 2002, followed by a single Original Video Animation in 2003, and finally a separate adaptation created in 2006. With the conclusion of the second anime adaptation, there are thirty-eight episodes related to the Kanon anime.

First TV anime

The first Kanon anime was made by the Japanese animation studio Toei Animation and aired in Japan on January 30 2002, spanning a total of 13 episodes. Later, a single OVA entitled Kanon Kazahana was released on May 3 2003. The original anime used the songs "florescence" and "flower" for the opening and ending themes respectively. While it did not appear as the ending theme in the first twelve episodes or in the OVA, the game's ending theme "Kaze no Tadoritsuku Basho" was used as the ending theme for the series in episode thirteen.^[23] Additionally, the game's opening theme "Last regrets" is played near the end of episode thirteen during the flashback scene.^[23]

Second TV anime

Starting in 2006, Kyoto Animation, the animators of another Key game-turned-anime, Air, decided to animate a new adaptation of Kanon. This 2006-2007 version aired between October 5 2006 and March 15 2007 on the Japanese television broadcasting station BS-i.

In a magazine published interview, studio producers stated that the primary reason for considering animating another Kanon anime was largely in part due to Kyoto's Air anime being well-received by viewers. In the second episode of Air, in fact, the studio procured the rights and the original voice actors to give Ayu, Nayuki and Makoto a cameo as Kano Kirishima's school friends. Consequently, Kyoto Animation received numerous phone calls from viewers expressing their desire for the studio to animate Kanon.

The second TV Kanon animation features the same voice acting cast as the original version released in 2002, with the exception of Yuichi and Kuze. This version is longer: twenty-four episodes instead of the previous thirteen. Unlike the first anime, the actual theme songs from the Kanon game are used for the second anime's opening theme, ending theme and soundtrack. There is one song featured as an insert song in episode sixteen that did not come from the visual novel. It was entitled "Last regrets -X'mas floor style-" from I've Sound's first album Regret. Other songs are used from the arrange albums released over the years, such as Anemoscope, Recollections and Re-feel.

ADV Films announced on September 21 2007 at the Anime Weekend Atlanta anime convention that they have officially licensed the second Kanon anime series.^[1] ADV had previously posted a trailer for the series in August 2007, but was soon taken offline once the news had been spread on the Internet.^[24]

Music

Main article: List of Kanon soundtracks

Nine official albums and a single related to the Kanon series were released. Of the nine albums, six were for the video game version, two were for the original anime adaptation and the last was for the second anime adaptation. The first album, entitled Anemoscope, came with the limited edition box of the first Kanon release. Of the twelve songs on that CD, ten were arranged versions of songs from the game and the last two were the full-length opening and ending theme songs. In all, twenty-four different songs were presented in original or arranged format on these albums.

Reception and sales

"Kanon was considered by many as the best PC bishōjo game of 1999."^[25] The first PS2 release in 2002 was reviewed by the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu, a magazine known for its tough criticism. The game received an overall score of 29/40 (out of the four individual review scores of 7, 8, 7, and 7).^[26] The Kanon Standard Edition was positively reviewed at visual-novels.net, commenting: "From the amazingly beautiful opening of the game, through the long storyline for each character, to the wonderfully upbeat ending, this game is a marvel."^[27] In the October 2007 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, poll results for the fifty best bishōjo games were released. Out of 249 titles, Kanon ranked fifth with seventy-one votes.^[28]

According to a national ranking of how well bishōjo games sold nationally in Japan, the original Kanon release for the PC premiered at number two in the ranking.^[29] Three years later in June 2002, the original release ranked in again at forty-five, and then again at forty-six the following two weeks.^[29] The original release also made the ranking after that at number forty-one in early July 2002.^[30] The Kanon Standard Edition premiered at number sixteen in the rankings.^[31] The Kanon Standard Edition remained on the top fifty list for the next two months, achieving the rankings of forty-seven and thirty-five.^[32] The all-ages version of the Kanon Standard Edition premiered at number forty-two on the national ranking, went up to thirty-five the next month, and did not appear on the rankings after that.^[33] The Dreamcast port sold 42,379 units in the first week and was the fourth top selling console game in Japan for that week.^[34] The Dreamcast version sold 49,047 units in total and is ranked the fifty-seventh highest selling Japanese Dreamcast game.^[35] Since its initial release, Kanon has sold over 300,000 units, not counting the PSP release.^[6]

Characters from Kanon have appeared in several other dōjin games not directly based on the Kanon series such as the Eternal Fighter Zero game by Twilight Frontier where most of the playable characters either came from Kanon or from an earlier Key game entitled One.^[36] The dōjin game Glove on Fight featured at least two Kanon characters: Ayu Tsukimiya and Akiko Minase in a fighting style game along with various other characters taken from other media.^[37] The character Ayu Tsukimiya in particular is known to be extremely popular. In fact, Ayu "has had more appearances outside of the original Kanon than any other anime or H-game character ever," states the Kanon information page on the website hentai.co.uk.^[2]

Five days before the first PS2 release for Kanon, a PlayStation 2 printer called Tapis MPR-505 went on sale which enabled the user to print out game screens. Kanon was one of the three games supported at launch, the other two being America Ōden Ultra Quiz from DigiCube and Marle de Jigsaw from Nippon Ichi Software.^[38]

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Kanon

• Key's official Kanon website (Japanese)
• First Kanon Anime, Toei Page (Japanese)
• Second Kanon Anime, BS-i Page (Japanese)
• Kanon (2002) (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

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