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Volume Six of Kanon brings the story to a satisfying end, revealing every secret.

Kanon, based on a video game and a previous anime, tells the story of Yuichi, a high school kid who moves in with an aunt and cousin he lived with seven years earlier. His memories of that time are spotty, and through the length of the show he has to reclaim his memories and figure out the mystery of what happened before.
In episode 21, “The Ronde Without You”, Ayu, a childhood friend of Yuichi’s, has gone missing in a highly mysterious fashion, and Yuichi tries desperately to find her with the help of his friends. He remembers the two of them burying an angel in the woods, and in all of the muddle of his memories, he goes there attempting to reconnect with Ayu, though it doesn’t work. But at the end of the episode, Aunt Akiko is hit by a car, and Yuichi and his cousin Nayuki are devastated.

“The Symphony of Recollections”, episode 22, shows the lengths of Nauyki’s grief over her mother’s accident. She blames herself, as her Akiko was running an errand for her daughter at the time of the accident. There is an especially poignant moment where, while being taken to the hospital to see Akiko, they pass by the scene of the accident. Yuichi tries to talk to Nayuki, but she pushes him away. He leaves, and ends up remembering what happened seven years ago that was so traumatic that he had blanked it out, and in doing so, solves the mystery of Ayu. He’s devastated, and collapses in the snow.

At the beginning of “The Scarlet-Red Finale”, episode 23, Yuichi wakes up in a strange apartment. He’s been found by another acquaintance from seven years ago, another person he’s forgotten. He goes back to his secret meeting place with Ayu, who is there once more. She asks him to forget about her, but he says he can’t. She makes another wish, one that the audience can’t hear, and then vanishes. Meanwhile, Nayuki has snapped out of her depression, and she goes to see Yuichi to try and help him.

The last episode of the series, “The Kanon at the End of Dreams”, features a string of miracles – the cast of injured or sick people who have come and gone throughout the series are suddenly well again. Yuichi confesses to the now healed Akiko that he remembers the tragic fate of Ayu, and she gives him good news that allows him to reunite with Ayu.

The show is sweet, and beautifully drawn. As the episode titles (and the series title) suggest, music plays a large part here – Pachelbel’s Cannon is frequently used in the show. There are few bonuses on the disc – a collection of previews and opening and closing animation. There is a featurette called “Kanon: A Close Look at an Anime Production House” That’s fairly interesting.

Fan of the game? Fan of the anime? If you’re either of those two, then this disc is a must have, as it wraps up the story. Kanon features cute girls in a good storyline, if a little strange at times. It’s easy to get drawn into the world of Kanon - I actually gasped at one point. It’s a decent show, well worth renting, if not owning.

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