Otakuism

The Shiori arc is over now, or at least I think it is. The ending of episode 18 was kind of vague, with Shiori just leaving Yuuichi. The preview seems to hint that Shiori does indeed die, but in the toei anime, and the game I presume, she lives on, cured through her new emotional attachment with Kaori. Shiori’s story is the shortest of all the Kanon girls, and probably the least exciting, at least from looking at just the plot. Aside from dealing with Shiori’s illness, there’s only the dilemma of how to get her and Kaori back together. It lacks the climatic punch of Makoto’s deterioration or Mai’s final battle. However, it is still emotionally powerful. Kyoani used slower, quieter scenes to express the sense of hopelessness around Shiori and the despair between her and Kaori. This story is all about death and how people deal with it. It lacks the supernatural of Makoto’s, Mai’s, and Ayu’s stories.

I have to admit Shiori won me over with her incredibly cute actions. I blame Kyoani for making her so adorable, because I didn’t find her appealing at all in the toei version. Shiori’s relationship with Kaori is very interesting, as they both avoid each other so as not to hurt themselves, but end up doing just that. Kaori’s actions are very understandable and human. Rationalizing that she would only get hurt if she stayed close to Shiori, she naturally distances herself. Shiori, not wanting to bother her older sister, does the same, though clearly she doesn’t like it. I’ve always like Kaori. Her cool girl attitude is just, well, cool. Still, her stubborness towards Shiori is pretty annoying and would have continued if Yuuichi hadn’t come around. I’m glad she realized her mistake at the end, and I hope Kyoani didn’t kill Shiori off just after her and Kaori are together again.

To me, the climax of the story came not with Kaori’s acceptance of Shiori in front of everyone, but Shiori’s confession that she tried to kill herself. Seeing Shiori both laugh and breakdown into tears is exactly the kind of emotional punch Kanon excels at. That’s the first time I truly realized how much Shiori suffered and how much of her personality was an act to cover up her fear. It’s a kind of cathartic moment for Shiori, where she both comes to terms with her imminent death and her relationship with Yuuichi, as shown by the kiss she gave him. Having wrapped up both the plot and Shiori’s emotional development, Kyoani has her disappear into the night, never to be seen again. Actually, I didn’t like that. It’s a nice cliff-hanger moment, but also reaks of, ” Ok, this girl is done. Moving on. ” And it looks like Kyoani will be heading straight into the Ayu/Nayuki arc next episode, leaving little time for a proper Shiori denouement. I hope she doesn’t just die with a ” Oh yeah, Shiori’s dead lol. Have some jamuu. ” That’s just cruel.

Also, Kitagawa is fuckwin awesome. Best useless male sidekick evar.