Kanon: Episode 19
Rating: 9.9/10
Impressions:
Highlight of this show: is it the Ayu x Yuuichi kissing scene, or the awesome Nayuki race event? It entirely depends on which girl you like more really, and the thing is, I momentarily liked Nayuki more than Ayu in the first half of the episode, but the latter half made me swing back to Ayu’s side. I’m sad to hear that Nayuki has practically given up on Yuuichi, though there is still a chance she will get somewhat closer to him than as cousins/friends. Nayuki basically confesses to Yuuichi this episode as well, and for those of you who somehow failed to pick it up, it’s when she is telling Yuuichi about her childhood crush, and how she was rejected…awww!
Speaking of that scene, it’s quite incredible that Yuuichi is too thickheaded to even consider the possibility that Nayuki is talking about him. He might be a pimp, but he’s pretty crap when it comes down to one on one. Sure, Yuuichi ‘might’ be thinking that Nayuki is talking about him, though usually if he is, he would make some sort of facial expression, as it is important to emphasize such things in media. I really like the idea of a Nayuki x Yuuichi pairing, and at these times it brings out the best in her. This is why Nayuki’s race is so awesome. However, scenes like when Nayuki has the face of an animated sloth in the mornings just destroy her cuteness.
The kiss scene at the end is rather surprisingly; I had never considered that they’re relationship had subconsciously advanced so quickly. Sure, perhaps they had just used the kiss to comfort themselves after remembering about all their hurtful memories, but you need to have some sort of basis to even consider kissing the other to do so. It’s kind of weird too, as neither Ayu nor Yuuichi show any form of romantic attraction to the other beforehand (referring to all previous 18 episodes). This makes it a bit too sudden for my liking, but good in a surprising way nonetheless. I doubt the kiss is the decider for who Yuuichi ends up with, even though an Ayu ending is almost assured.
The cinematography of the scene is superb though, with the long shot, high angle shot of the two leaning together, followed by the common shot of both parties’ lips, and finishing off with something very uniquely Kanon: an extreme close up of Ayu’s tear, before zooming out for about a 120 degree shot of the couple locking lips. Awww how touching! KyoAni utilises their animation skills to the fullest in Kanon, where camera work and lighting/colour-scheming is just as important as the story. It needs to set the mood perfectly, and they have never failed to my notice once! I simply adore Kanon for the quality!
If I remember correctly, Yuuichi once has a flashback of when he was underneath his favourite tree, with a crying Ayu looming over him. This is definitely the same tree as the one in this episode’s flashback, and you can already guess what’s going to happen (Yuuichi climbs and falls, am I right?) However, how does that relate to everything that’s happening now? My deducing abilities are close to zero, so I’m not even going to try and visualise the events in a complex web of facts and try to discern how everything is connected. As I always say, just stop thinking and let the anime surprise you! Next episode, it’s Ayu all the way! I think…
Plot Outline:
- Yuuichi has a flashback of a time when he takes Ayu to his favourite location: a large tree in a clearing
- Nayuki completes a relay race and wins. Afterwards, she tells Yuuichi about her childhood crush
- She explains how she was rejected (by Yuuichi), and that boy is still in love with the girl he was in love with seven years ago (Ayu)
- In the afternoon, a teary Ayu asks Yuuichi whether he has ever lost someone in front of his eyes
- Yuuichi breaks down from this, and the two kiss each other (yeah, probably to comfort each other)
Preview:
Next episode – #20
Moe Ayu all the way!
Popularity: 17% [?]
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Episode 18 pics. Episode 19 writeup. Does. Not. Compute.
Oh, and
“If I remember correctly, Yuuichi once has a flashback of when he was underneath his favourite tree, with a crying Ayu looming over him. This is definitely the same tree as the one in this episode’s flashback, and you can already guess what’s going to happen (Yuuichi climbs and falls, am I right?)”
You have no idea how close you are, I shall say no more.
I am becoming convinced the tree in the opening, Ayu climbing the tree, and her state in the present are somehow connected… On another note 10/10 for animation for KyoAni for this ep., the kiss was on a par with greatest scenes of animated history, for example god-slaying shot in Princess Mononoke… Also did I see that obnoxious playboy Yuichi actually blushing? Lets give him justice, he was giving his best for every girl he met, and suffered emotionally too. Seems Shiori will survive, and Kaori is by her side. Good for both of them. And teary-eyed Ayu was so helpless, couldn’t help but sympathize with her.
shirukii: uh oh, thats what happens when u use the previous episode’s post format for the next post…thanks, fixed lol
ewok: yeah, blushing yuuichi is a real surprise, and blushing ayu in the next eps preview is too moe for me to handle!
Uguu~ Kyoani strikes again, I agree on the kiss being sudden and Blushing Yuuichi doesn’t seem to go with his pimp like character XD oh well this kiss was awesomely done so that’s good. Go Ayu~!
I would not strike out Nayuki yet …
The animation of the kissing scene gave me shivers. It was just too well done!
@Drakron
Want to take any large bets on that? Nayuki was finished right from the beginning, when KyoAni decided on the harem format for the Kanon anime. Her story is simply not compatible with the structure the anime has taken; it relies on Yuuichi’s isolation in the city of snow leading him to rely on Nayuki, and once he has established friends and other love interests that is no longer really a plausible outcome. A Shiori conclusion would, at this point, be a lot more likely than a Nayuki finish. But seriously, it’s going with Ayu.
Tim:
Red marble.
That is why I am not taking her out of the race, I know what it means and one key event of her path have not taken place yet, if Ayu “wins” (it could) then it would make more sense to do Nayuki path before going to Ayu.
Danny:
One remark.
You wrote that Ayu was the girl that Yuuichi liked 7 years ago but you forget that “Makoto”/fox assumed the form of Sawatari Makoto that was the girl he liked back then.
I know, it was back in episode 8 and Ayu *might* come after the real Makoto but somehow I do think Nayuki was taking about Makoto and not Ayu.
I think the whole kiss scene is making us go into the old rule of “kiss=win” but it does not have to be that way.
@ Drakron
Ayu’s story contains a necessary break between its climax and conclusion; it’s logical that some Nayuki events would be inserted in between. Nayuki isn’t capable of bringing closure to the KyoAni Kanon, or of providing a satisfactorily dramatic and emotional ending. Her story is very sweet, very romantic, but compared to Shiori, Makoto, Mai and Ayu, it’s also very mundane. It’s a straightforward romance, unadorned with magic, mystery, or tragedy, where the other leads fade to nothing and leave Yuuichi and Nayuki to occupy centre stage alone. It’d make a great series on its own, but coming at the end of a series like Kanon, it’d make for a terrible conclusion.
I’m not working off the ‘old rule of kiss=win’ – I’m saying the same things I’ve been saying since episode 1. The nature of the Kanon plot always meant that in an ensemble piece that was semi-faithful to Ket’s original work, Ayu would always come out on top. Her story cannot be divided from its romantic elements, and it also cannot end conclusively unless it ends ‘happily’ (or unhappily, if you are a diehard Nayuki/ Shiori/ Makoto/ Mai x Yuuichi fan), because that’s how Key made it. The moment KyoAni chose this format for their work, Ayu won. The only way a Kanon anime could ever end with Nayuki together with Yuuichi would be if it excluded the other girls’ stories and from the beginning made them supporting characters in Nayuki’s story.
As for your theory regarding the girl that Yuuichi liked seven years ago, it suffers from one crucial flaw: ‘And his feelings haven’t changed.’ It seems rather a stretch to claim that Nayuki was talking about the older Sawatari Makoto, when Yuuichi hasn’t even encountered her since seven years ago, and had trouble remembering who she was. His feelings for her evidently _have_ changed, which would indicate that she is not the girl Nayuki was talking about (and if you mean to contend that he feels for the new Sawatari Makoto what he felt for the old, irrespective of their shared name they are not the same girl). Ayu is really the only girl who logically fits the bill.
it seems Nayuki was “dumped” 7 years ago for Ayu – note the flashbacks of shopping trip and Yuichi getting involved with Ayu
wow this anime dropped way down for me.
where did this “romance” with ayu come from? WHERE? this came from nowhere, literally.
this is a girl who LOOKS like she’s 12, TALKS like she’s 12, and ACTS like she’s 12. this guy can have his pick of any girl in the show and he goes for the “middle-schooler”
absolutely stupid .