Not the bad kind.

I’m going to look at this show in comparison to AIR now. AIR blew Toei’s Kanon out of the water with its ridiculously awesome animation and powerful emotions, something that to me, Kanon only did so-so at conveying. If someone were to ask me which I preferred, AIR or Kanon, prior to my knowledge of there being this Kyoto Animation Kanon, I wouldn’t have hesitated to say AIR. Kanon is one of the better shows I’ve seen, but last I checked it doesn’t even break the top 15.

Will this new show change that?

Well, knowing what I know of the two games, the power that the respective animes have basically boils down to the execution. KyoAni surpassed Toei by leaps and bounds; the question is if it can surpass itself 1.75 years later. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu is no good guide as to KyoAni’s improvement in that department, it itself not being such a “serious” title. If one were to take it on the same level as AIR, it would fall flat on its face. It’s not designed to carry across emotions.

Being this early into Kanon 2006, and not having anything to go by aside from the first episode and the couple promo clips that floated around for the last month, there’s not much that can be said yet. As mentioned in my last post, the first episode was completely devoid of sad girls in snow (the loli-Ayu crying in the flashback was standing on cleared sidewalk, thanks). So far we just have some premise set-ups and a bit of slice-of-life. I should mention that the interactions between Kitagawa and Kaori were really well-done. The fluidity of their motions and the vocal exchange were both superb. Props, KyoAni and seiyuu-tachi!

So, as I was saying, all we have to judge so far is what we have with the first episode. That means the OP, the animation, the art, the voice acting, the setting, (whatever happens in the first episode), and the ED. Previews don’t count.

OP

I gotta say, I’m really not digging the sound. It’s been so long since I saw Kanon that I’m not even sure if it’s the same song or not; neither Kanon’s OP nor ED were at all memorable to me. The animation is very beautiful, and jpmeyer’s description of it as “90 seconds of stuff-blowing-in-the-wind porn” doesn’t miss the mark. All in all, the OP lacks the energy that Tori no Uta had, and while seeing the animation for the first time was a huge thrill, I doubt I’ll be much enthused by it throughout the show’s 20-odd episode run.

Verdict: Tori no Uta… I mean, AIR.

Animation

You can say whatever you wish about GONZO or Production I.G, but in the end, the clarity of the frames and attention to detail seen in Kyoto Animation’s work far surpasses that of any other studio’s television anime to this date. Last Exile was, indeed, more visually stunning than, say, AIR, and there have been a fair number of shows not done by Kyoto Animation that made me think “uho! ii animeshon!”, but even Last Exile had continuity errors in its execution, and no other studio has paralleled the ENOZ concert of Suzumiya Haruhi episode 12.

Please keep in mind that I am limiting what I say to TV. Giniro no Kami no Agito and Ghost in the Shell: Innocence are definitely more beautiful than anything Kyoto Animation’s ever done, and of course those two are accompanied by several other theatrical and DVD-only anime that surpass your standard TV fare. But, keeping it all in context, no one has beaten Kyoto Animation so far.

So saying, Haruhi was an improvement upon AIR in Summer, which was an improvement upon The Second Raid, which was subsequently an improvement upon AIR. Given this trend (and the milestones achieved by Haruhi) we could infer, before Kanon 2006 even released any of its promo clips, that it would be stunning. And it is. It so is. At this point, the question is whether or not Kyoto Animation will be able to pace itself for 24 episodes. My prediction is yes. They’ve never failed to keep up their results over the course of a show before, why would they now just with a few more episodes tacked on?

Anyway, thumbs up to the animation. It tops AIR, but, as AIR was so much better than most else, it doesn’t shame its predecessor.

Verdict: Kanon

Art style

Some like it, most hate it. I just pay attention to how it’s executed. It’s the same style as was seen in KyoAni’s AIR, so… nothing on it. The general stuff like backgrounds and scenery seem better done for this show, though. I love big budgets and I cannot lie.

Verdict: Kanon

Voice Acting

As I complained in my last post, Yuuichi is too Kyon. I’ve said my bit about that, now I’ll just consider him as Kyon and appreciate another 24 episodes of sarcastic wit and dry humor. The girls are, in typical anime style, overly cutesy and high-pitched and fake, and it pisses me off as most girls in anime do, but what are you going to do? I listened to Misuzu say “gao~” 11 times, I can listen to Ayu say “uguu~” a couple hundred times. Akiko’s voice is scarily much like those of the generation below her. Shit, she’s a grown woman. She shouldn’t sound like that. But hell, it’s anime. It’s nothing on this particular show. Ama-san in Shuffle! sounded like a little girl. This is nothing unexpected.

I don’t need to ask whether or not I’ve before mentioned that I hate anime. It’s a fact; I do. Most of you know it. This is one of the reasons why- the female voice acting. Call me a hater; I’m just disappointed with the state of mankind.

Verdict: In the end, it’s a bit of a win for Kanon because yes, Sugita Tomokazu is that sexy.

The Setting

I’m a HUGE fan of AIR’s setting. It plays a huge part in my ideals and fantasies, and it’s affected two summers of my life now. Its soundtrack is atmospheric and gets across the feelings of the small port town in which the action takes place, and it’s generally an admirable set-up.

I’m NOT a huge fan of overuse of orgels in the soundtrack. It makes me feel uneasy because I think on Kano’s arc in AIR (by far the worst). I’m also NOT a huge fan of blindingly white snowscapes.

Verdict: Kanon loses here, sorry.

(Whatever happens in the first episode)

Er… slice-of-life? No funny? A touch of cute? Yukito’s presence and Yuuichi’s presence have just about the same anti-boring effects. I’d say a tie, because absolutely nothing of interest happens in either first episodes. Lack of Poteto makes me sad; inclusion of a fox makes me happy. Naiyuki’s “come here~!” moment was beautiful. As mentioned before, the interactions between Naiyuki’s classmates were great. But then again, so was how Misuzu treated Yukito in episode 1 of AIR.

Verdict: nothing particularly interesting, everything done well, tie.

ED

It’s got more drive and less high-pitched noise and false sweetness than Farewell Song. The animation is slightly more interesting, but it’s pretty much the same deal. An un-moving scape that turns from blueish to yellowish. Replace the ocean with some snow and trees, throw in a running Ayu that reminds me of Dash! Danna-sama, and you’ve got the ending animation of Kanon 2006.

Verdict: Kanon. Song more interesting, Ayu cute ++

Final Verdict

Kanon seems to have won out overall. But keep in mind that most of these evaluations have nothing to do with actual quality. What made AIR good wasn’t Tori no Uta. We’ll have to get a few episodes in and see if good comedy/unbearable moe/powerful emotion get the best of this show and raise it above AIR. For now, let’s just say that it’s promising.

Finally, I should say that none of Kanon 2006′s victories above remedy any of Toei’s Kanon’s faults.