Moé Moé Rabu

• Yuuichi wakes up to the alarm clock and proceeds to wake Nayuki up. It is now February and Akiko, who has recovered from her injuries, has a new jam waiting for Nayuki. After breakfast, the two are running to school and make it in time. Talking about Akiko’s jam, Kaori and Kitagawa join the conversation. Kaori knows about the jam, but she has something important to tell Yuuichi.
• Yuuichi heads outside to the courtyard and Shiori is standing behind him. Yuuichi tells her it would’ve been better if she kept skipping school since she has to repeat the first year. Shiori says she doesn’t like people who say that, but Yuuichi says that he is happy that she is attending school and suggests another party. Hearing this, Shiori asks if it’s ok for her to cry in times like this. In tears, Shiori rushes into Yuuichi’s arms saying that she didn’t want to die, didn’t want to say goodbye, or didn’t want to be alone. Knowing the pain that she has been through, Yuuichi tells her that she can cry whenever she wants.

• Yuuichi has lunch with Sayuri and Mai at the usual spot. Both were released from hospital before graduation and the doctor said it was a miracle they healed so fast, but they didn’t make it in time for the college examinations. Yuuichi is surprised that Mai is aiming for college, so she puts on some glasses and holding a children’s book. She explains that she is going to the same college as Sayuri and wants to study to become a doctor that takes care of animals. Although Yuuichi comments on how her grades aren’t that great and this results in him being hit on the head with her book. Sayuri changes the subject and asks if Yuuichi found his friend, Tsukimiya Ayu. Yuuichi says that they won’t be able to see each other and thinks that she moved away.
• Walking down the street, he hears someone call out his name. Turning around he thought it was Ayu, but it turns out to be Akiko. Sitting in a cafe together, Yuuichi is glad that the accident didn’t leave any permanent damage on Akiko, though Akiko says the doctor were surprised at how fast she healed, just like a miracle. Akiko changes the subject to Ayu’s whereabouts as she and Nayuki are worried. Yuuichi then reveals that he remembered what happened seven years ago. He remembers how his friend fell off the tree and was taken to hospital. He was dazed in front of the station when Nayuki came, even though she didn’t know what happened, he had taken his anger out on her before boarding the train with his parents. He knows Akiko didn’t tell him about the accident when they met again out of consideration, but she also her asking about the tree being cut down was to confirm whether he remembered or not. The tree was cut down to prevent another accident from happening again, and the girl who fell from that tree was Tsukimiya Ayu. Yuuichi feels that Ayu isn’t alive anymore, but Akiko says that he is wrong. She explains that the girl didn’t die, but had been kept in hospital. Hearing this, Yuuichi rushes there and finds a sleeping Ayu in one of the rooms.
• It is now graduation time and Yuuichi brings Sayuri and Mai flowers, but he doesn’t join them for the party afterwards as he is going to see Ayu. At the hospital, Yuuichi is talking to Ayu about what happened today. Ayu thinks she is seeing a dream of the person she loves next to her. He tells her various stories of the things he experienced since coming back to this city. She’s dreaming of being next to the person she loves of days passing by, Fragments of this dream come and fill her heart, just like how the snow fall from the sky covering the town.
• One day, Shiori asks Yuuichi if he’s ever thought about being in someone’s dream right now. The person that is seeing the dream can grant only one wish, and when this person started living in the dream world, all she could do is cry. She kept waiting inside and the dream, until there was a small chance. The wish was like a present for the person who waited for so long. Any wish could be granted from like saving a girl from sickness, someone who was in an accident, or healing a friend’s injuries. Shiori doesn’t know what that person wished for, but she speculates that this person may have wanted her beloved to always be smiling. For that to happen, then everyone around this person would have to be happy as well. Shiori isn’t too sure why she is thinking this, but she’s had that feeling since she was cured. Yuuichi is sitting in a church wondering about this but eventually returns to Ayu’s room, with Nayuki combing Ayu’s hair, and comments on where her red hair band is. As she leaves, Nayuki tells Yuuichi that she believes that miracles exist and saying her “fighto dayo” line.
• It is now winter and Yuuichi is telling Ayu how everyone is doing. As he approaches Ayu and starts to cry, he wonders if Ayu can hear his voice. Mai comes by to visit and tells Yuuichi that Ayu is still waiting for him and that he should go find her, just like he did for her. Only he can do it as the only person who can fulfil a promise is the one who made the promise. Wondering where Ayu is waiting, he heads out. As this is happening, Ayu starts commenting that she loves the changing scenery. In winter, a town of dancing snow, she loves running through the shopping district leaving footprints behind. In spring, a town of melting snow, she loves to pick up snow from the small piles next to the trees. In summer, a town that’s forgotten the chill of snow, she loves to gaze at the hazy town from under her umbrella. In autumn, a town heralding the arrival of snow, she loved to catch the tiny snow flakes falling from the sky.
• Returning to winter, where the town is covered in white and that she loved the changing scenery. But like water frozen in the snow, her time has stopped. Inside this square room, in a time without seasons, she was always alone. Again and again she would see the same scenery in her dreams, however, little by little; her never-ending night is starting to turn white. Yuuichi eventually finds his way to the tree stump. He spots a patch of grass with something there. He goes over to discover that it was the red hair band that he was going to give to Ayu. Yuuichi realises he never gave the present to Ayu. He chose an illusion over reality, where he shoved the sad reality deep in his heart and chose a comforting illusion so he wouldn’t crush his fragile heart. We see a young Yuuichi walking up to a waiting Ayu and apologises for being really late. He gives Ayu the hair band and the two walk off together.
• It is now spring and Yuuichi is late in meeting Ayu. When he arrives, he teases her for being a suspicious person and asks about the hat she is wearing. She makes him promise not to laugh, but when she reveals that she got her haircut too short, Yuuichi bursted out in laughter as he comments that she looks like a boy now. He helps her into her wheelchair so they can go see Akiko, who is making taiyaki, with Shiori, Mai, Kaori, and Sayuri visiting as well. As he wheels her off, Ayu thinks that her stopped memories are slowly flowing again while holding onto a fragment of a miracle. Ayu asks Yuuichi if she’ll be able to run again, he tells her that she will be able to on the dirt, the grass, and on the snow. Ayu doesn’t know how long it’ll take, but she knows she has all the time in the world.

Impressions

So now with the concluding episode of Kanon 2006, I do have various mix feelings on how this ended. Firstly was the pacing of fitting an entire year into a 24 minute episode, which I find it rather unnecessary. Seeing all the characters moving on with their lives was indeed great, but to take this long for Yuuichi to come around and find a way to wake Ayu up was rather annoying. However I can see this in another light where Ayu has been waiting seven years for Yuuichi, this time around it’s Yuuichi who is waiting for Ayu, but he knows that he couldn’t do anything at first, which still in essence is making Ayu wait.

Yuuichi’s discovery of Ayu in the hospital was revealed to him by Akiko, where in the Toei version, it was Nayuki who found out and told him before he left the city. Personally I found the Toei version to be a bit more dramatic and more fitting, but when Nayuki kissed Yuuichi, it states that she has given up on Yuuichi as a lover. Although Akiko’s scene was still a nice touch.

Shiori’s hypothesis on Yuuichi being in someone’s dream appears to be a little out of place. Not exactly far fetched, but with all the girls being healed by this one single wish cheapens the effort and perseverance that Yuuichi had placed with the girls. Though with the basis of Kanon focused on miracles, this does explain Ayu’s existence and that miracle was caused by her one wish.

The scene of Yuuichi’s reunion with Ayu was really touching. Finding the hair band and admitting to oneself about the denial of the truth is truly emotional and was a highlight of the finale. With him reverting back to 10 years old was a great touch as it shows that Ayu’s time will continue on from where it stopped, and that Yuuichi wants to make up for all that lost time. In retrospect, you could also consider that time is also a part of Kanon’s theme but only in relation to Ayu’s arc.

In comparison to the Toei version, I can’t really say which one I prefer. Toei’s version was good and that we didn’t see an Ayu in a wheelchair, but KyoAni’s version gives a more satisfying and a slightly better explanation of the miracles that occurred. That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the final episode, but I felt that it was lacking in parts, although the two endings are superior to the actual game ending. But like all good things, they must come to an end. KyoAni’s presentation of Kanon was marvelous in the fact they took an existing story and OST but improved greatly upon that. It was a joy to go through all the cute moments, the depressing moments, and the funny moments. The use of cinemaphotography and animation was another great factor, adding tot he emotional effects that the story has and I feel that Ishihara Tatsuya has improved greatly since he did Air. Now with the upcoming Clannad series, I’ll surely be anticipating it greatly as I’m sure it’ll be just as awesome.

This week there isn’t any merchandise. The last bits where just some doujinshi but I decided not to show them since some are NSFW. Instead I’ll show you a small 4koma that was on the Haeleth forums a long time ago and it relates to both Kanon and Clannad.