badger11’s take on anime

She’s also hurting.

I suppose this wasn’t really the right episode to introduce Kanon to someone who isn’t familiar with it. The outcome was that I’m mean and heartless. Oh well :). More on that later. There’s nothing really new in terms of the story since we’re in Shiori’s arc, but its still a great show. However, I’ve come to like her more than I did in her earlier appearances. That’s not really surprising since we didn’t see much of Shiori.

For me the tragedy in Shiori’s story isn’t her illness, but the effects of her illness. Shiori’s story of going to the park with her family and her desire to be a normal girl, walking to school with her sister, getting in trouble with her parents for staying out too late. Then there’s Kaori and her attempts to distance herself from her sister in order to not feel the pain of Shiori’s passing is really heartbreaking to watch. When Kaori tells Yuuichi that Shiori likes spending time with him, you/I/we realize that Shiori would really rather spend time with her big sister. Its easy to consider Kaori as a cold-hearted person, ignoring her sick sister. That’s easy to do, but watching Kaori’s breakdown in last week’s episode and when she was alone in this week’s episode just lets the viewer know that she’s hurting to, that she’s protecting herself.

I suppose this is hype, but for me, every episode is pure gold. In terms of the visuals, the music, and each girl’s story is well done. Each episode is just as good as any other so far. I really can’t say more than that. Now onto the why I’m a mean and heartless.

Kanon Newbie: Hey, Can we watch that cartoon about cannons?

Me: Huh? What?

KN: The one with the girls and cannons.

Me: Come again?

KN: The one where you growl at me if I try to talk to you.

Me: Oh, Kanon. Its called “Kanon” and its not about cannons.

KN: Um….okay. Let’s just watch it.

KN: Who’s that girl?

Me: That’s Ayu. She’s victim #1. We haven’t gotten to her story yet.
KN: Who’s the guy?

Me: That’s Yuuichi, the lead character.

KN: What’s he do?

Me: He’s a collector.

KN: Who’s Makoto?

Me: Victim #2.

KN: Was she the one you where crying about.

Me (holding back tears): I wasn’t crying, my contacts kept bothering me.

KN: Yeah, right. What happened to her?

Me: She’s a fox.

KN: Yeah, I remember that she was cute, but what happened to her?

Me: She became a fox. Let’s stop the show, I need a break.

KN: Um…okay. You’re going to cry again, aren’t you?

KN: Who is this girl?

Me: Shiori.

KN: Victim #3?

Me: More like #5. She was sick before meeting Yuuichi. But he’s up to something.

KN: What happened to #3 and #4?

Me1:; They’ve been dealt with. Fortunately, they’re both still alive.

KN: Is that his sister?

Me: His cousin, Nayuki. Potential victim #8

KN: He’s weird.

Me: That’s Jun. Potential victim #9.

KN: That’s the sister, right? Poor thing.

Me: That’s Kaori. Victim #7

KN: Why? What’d he do to her.

Me: He’s playing with her. He’s focusing on Shiori first.

KN: She’s so cute.

Me: Eh, I guess so. She’s going to kickoff soon anyway. Then we can get back to the interesting stories.

KN: You’re mean.

KN: She’d make a good wife.

Me: How come when I say that, I get in trouble?

KN: Shhh.

KN: So this is the show you love to watch. And its about a guy who does things to girls. I can’t believe you made me watch it. I can’t believe that you like this stuff. And you’re just waiting for that cute sick girl to die. You’re mean. You have no heart.

Me: You realize this is just an anime, right?

KN: Jackass

Me: *sigh*