Kanon - DVD

Yuichi Aizawa is a high school student returning to the snowy northern city where his aunt and cousin Nayuki live, having spent the last seven years away. He has no memory of his previous visits — a gap that feels strange and slightly wrong. The city is full of snow and full of girls who seem to know him: Ayu, a cheerful girl in a winged backpack who appears in the shopping district eating taiyaki; Makoto, a fox-eared girl with a strange grudge against him; Mai, a silent upperclassman who fights demons alone at night; Shiori, a delicate girl who waits outside in the cold despite being ill; and Nayuki herself, his cousin who loves strawberry jam and oversleeping. Each girl carries a story that connects to Yuichi's lost memories, and as winter deepens, those stories resolve one by one — each with its own kind of devastation and grace.

Kanon is a 24-episode visual novel adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation — the studio behind The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Clannad, and Nichijou — directed by Tatsuya Ishihara, written by Fumihiko Shimo (Clannad, Full Metal Panic!), and based on Key's 2000 visual novel — the same developer behind Air, Clannad, Little Busters!, and Angel Beats!. It aired on BS-i from October 5, 2006 to March 15, 2007. The 2006 KyoAni version is the second anime adaptation of Kanon — the first was produced by Toei Animation in 2002. The score features music from the original Key visual novel composed by Jun Maeda and Shinji Orito. ADV Films announced the license at Anime Weekend Atlanta in September 2007 and released the series on 6 individual DVD volumes from January to October 2008 — with Volume 2 available in a special Collector's Edition that included a large box sized to hold all six volumes, making it a complete collector's set. Mid-production, the license transferred to FUNimation, who completed Volume 6 and later released a Complete Series 4-disc set on April 28, 2009.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Tatsuya Ishihara (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Clannad, Nichijou)
Series Composition: Fumihiko Shimo (Clannad, Full Metal Panic!, Azumanga Daioh)
Original Visual Novel: Key / Visual Art's (Kanon, 2000; English license: Sekai Project)
Character Design: Kazumi Ikeda
Studio: Kyoto Animation (Haruhi Suzumiya, Clannad, A Silent Voice, Violet Evergarden, Nichijou)
Music: Jun Maeda & Shinji Orito (Key composers — Kanon VN, Air, Clannad, Angel Beats!)
Opening Theme: "Last Regrets" by Ayana
Ending Theme: "Flower" by Ayana

Japanese Cast:
• Tomokazu Sugita as Yuichi Aizawa (Ghost Talker's Daydream, Freedom, Wagnaria!! — Jin Satou, Little Busters! additional cast)
• Yui Horie as Nayuki Minase (Kurogane Communication, Love Hina, Fruits Basket, Familiar of Zero — Henrietta, Freezing Vibration, Star Ocean EX additional cast)
• Horie Yui as Ayu Tsukimiya
• Mai Kadowaki as Ayu Tsukimiya
• Akemi Kanda as Makoto Sawatari
• Natsuki Aikawa as Mai Kawasumi
• Yukari Tamura as Shiori Misaka (A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Vandread, Gate Keepers, Labyrinth of Flames, Akame ga Kill!, Ben-To — Faris, Queen's Blade Rebellion — Vante)

English Dub Cast (ADV Films — Houston, completed by FUNimation):
• Vic Mignogna as Yuichi Aizawa (FMA 2003 — Edward Elric, Princess Nine, Spriggan, Angelic Layer, Dragon Ball Super — Broly)
• Luci Christian as Nayuki Minase (Black Bullet — Enju, Chivalry of a Failed Knight — Stella, One Piece — Nami)
• Brittney Karbowski as Ayu Tsukimiya (Akame ga Kill!, Phantom: Requiem, Black Bullet, Chaika — Red Chaika, OniAi)
• Tiffany Grant as additional cast (Evangelion, Nadesico, Sorcerer Hunters, Burn Up Excess, Noir, City Hunter)
• Monica Rial as additional cast (Princess Nine, Steel Angel Kurumi, Noir, Dragon Ball Super, Azumanga Daioh — Chiyo)

DVD Volume Breakdown (ADV Films / FUNimation, 6 Volumes)

• Vol. 1 — Episodes 1–4 (ADV Films, January 8, 2008)
• Vol. 2 — Episodes 5–8 (ADV Films): available in Standard Edition and Collector's Edition with big collector's box (holds all 6 volumes)
• Vol. 3 — Episodes 9–12 (ADV Films)
• Vol. 4 — Episodes 13–16 (ADV Films)
• Vol. 5 — Episodes 17–20 (ADV Films)
• Vol. 6 — Episodes 21–24 (FUNimation, October 14, 2008 — license transferred mid-production)
• Note: FUNimation Complete Series 4-disc set also available (April 28, 2009, $69.98)

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: Kanon (カノン)
Runtime: ~576 Minutes (Complete Series, 24 Episodes, 6 Volumes)
Director: Tatsuya Ishihara
DVD Release Year: 2008 (U.S. ADV Films / FUNimation 6-Volume Release, January – October 14, 2008); Collector's Edition big box with Vol. 2; FUNimation Complete Series 4-disc set April 28, 2009
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): October 5, 2006 – March 15, 2007 (BS-i)
Publisher: ADV Films (Vols. 1–5) / FUNimation Entertainment (Vol. 6 + Complete Series re-release)
Rating: 13+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Note: Collector's Edition big box included with Vol. 2 — sized to hold all 6 individual volumes. License transferred from ADV Films to FUNimation between Vols. 5 and 6. KyoAni's second Key adaptation after Air. 2002 Toei Animation version is a separate adaptation.
Genre: Drama, Romance, Supernatural
Themes: Amnesia, Winter Setting, Key Visual Novel Routes, Multiple Girl Stories, Kyoto Animation Production

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.