Preface & Background

This review will contain spoilers.
Kanon is the first romance visual novel by Key and Jun Maeda’s breakout work as a scenario writer and musician. Originally released for Windows 95/98, it is arguably the first and most influential game to coin the term 泣きゲー (lit. “crying game”), alongside future Key releases such as AIR, CLANNAD, and Rewrite.

Motivations

I read Kanon with the intent of using it as practice reading Japanese. It is the first visual novel (and Japanese written media) I have completed in its native format. It took approximately six months of infrequent reading and many periods of burnout. I meticulously read and attempted to understand every sentence in the game. I completed the game with 612 i+1 sentences recorded, which vastly exceeded my expectations.

Review

Kanon is, for its time, a higher quality visual novel, and is an early and agrestic iteration of Jun Maeda’s 泣きゲー formula (only preceded by ONE ～輝く季節へ～).

The story begins with Aizawa Yuuichi, a second-year high school student, moving in with his aunt and cousin after his parents relocate for work. He often visited his aunt throughout childhood, but for some unbeknownst reason, cannot seem to remember anything about those halcyon days. As the story progresses, Yuuichi attempts to remember the events of the past, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.

In true Key fashion, the heroines of this game are riddled with quirks and distinctive interpersonal dynamics with the protagonist. Nayuki is an airhead who has trouble waking up for school, Makoto is flamboyant and initiates a prank war with Yuuichi, Mai is reticent and spends her time hunting demons, and Shiori is quiet and melancholic. While each heroine leaves her own impression, Ayu stands out the most. From first encounter, her cheerful presence, incessant usage of うぐぅ, and banter with Yuuichi made each time she was on-screen considerably pleasant.

Beneath the eccentric humor and character quirks, however, Kanon gradually reveals a far more melancholic plot. Ayu was my favorite heroine, and her route was easily the emotional high point. The gradual recovery of Yuuichi’s memories through his dreams, alongside the growth of his relationship with Ayu, created some of the visual novel’s most heartfelt moments.

Seven years before the events of the story, Ayu and Yuuichi were best friends until he moved away. During that time, he developed a crush on Ayu that eventually blossomed into love. However, the day before he moved, Ayu fell from a large tree and slipped into a coma. Unable to cope with the guilt and grief surrounding the sudden loss of both his best friend and the girl he loved, Yuuichi developed dissociative amnesia and buried those memories deep within himself.

Despite its age, the presentation of Kanon is wonderful too. The soundtrack shifts through the classic pop reminscient of older visual novels, nostalgic toybox melodies, orchestral symphonies, and endearing piano pieces. Each track complements the tone of each scene without ever feeling out of place. Much of the art radiates a nostalgic, dreamlike feeling, specifically the evening scenes, which works quite well with the themes of nostalgia, the past, and reconciliation. The voice acting is also consistently strong throughout the game. Having a nearly fully voiced progatonist gives Yuuichi much more presence and personality compared to many other visual novel protagonists.

In short, as the emotional climax of Kanon, Ayu’s route remains one of the main reasons for the game’s lasting legacy as a classic 泣きゲー. The game is not without its weaknesses: several routes suffer from uneven pacing and comparatively lackluster dramatic payoffs, but it compensates for these weaknesses through its presentation, the cast’s charming chemistry, and the cathartic resolution of the game’s ‘true route’: Ayu’s story.

Enjoyable.

「うぐぅ～・・・」