The word "cute" gets thrown around a goodly bit, but that's exactly what Kanon is: It's cute.  I stuck the dvd into the player, not expecting much--the blue-haired girl with the enormous eyes eating ice cream screen printed on the disc itself made me nervous--and found myself smiling and giggling through the whole thing.  This twenty-four episode version of Kanon (2006) is a remake of a thirteen episode version of the same name from 2002.  I haven't seen the original, so this series is new to me, and I can't make any comparisons, but perhaps that's for the best.  Fresh eyes, and all that.

After an absence of seven years, high school junior Yuuichi Aizawa moves in with his aunt, Akiko, and her daughter, Nayuki Manase.  Seven years is a long time, and Yuuichi doesn't remember much about his aunt and cousin.  In fact, he can barely recall the town he visited regularly ten years before, and landmarks he should remember aren't even recognizable.  Somewhat unnerved by this lack of recollection, Yuuichi does his best to settle in with the help of his aunt and Nayuki, with whom he shares homeroom at school. 

Soon, he runs into (at times literally) girls that he's met before, but doesn't remember.  These meetings begin to jog his memory, a little at a time.  Yuuichi isn't the only one suffering from memory loss.  Makoto Sawatari knows she holds a grudge against Yuuichi, but can't remember why, and doesn't recall anything else about herself, except her rather violently expressed anger.  Another girl, Ayu Tsukimiya, has lost something, but doesn't remember what it is or where she had it last.  All she knows is that she'll recognize it when she sees it.  All these lost memories and mysterious girls are a little odd, and the kind of thing one just has to accept and wait for answers.  Since answers don't seem to be immediately forthcoming, it's plenty entertaining to focus on the interaction between the characters, and enjoy the sight gags and little jokes that come from being the new kid at school.   

These first four episodes were delightful to watch.  The series so far reminds me very much of Fruits Basket.  There is a similar sense of innocuous fun and gentle humor.  So far, the story is very much a slice of life.  No great adventures, no swashbuckling, just regular folks going about their business.  Like Fruits Basket, there is also the hint of the fantastic.  Now, Fruits Basket hits the viewer with the supernatural bits right from the start, while Kanon is a bit more subtle.  These first four episodes hint that there's something bigger going on, but nothing particularly extraordinary is revealed in this volume, except perhaps the mystery that lies behind the ingredients in Aunt Akiko's jam.

As mentioned before, the large-eyed girl on the dvd made me nervous.  The drawings of the female characters in particular, with their enormous, innocent eyes had me thinking of those velvet paintings depicting sad-eyed kittens and puppies.  The potential for disgusting cuteness had me worried, and was a bit distracting at first.  Once I got used to it, and realized the visuals weren't going to give me cavities, I was satisfied and moved on.

Kanon is worth renting, especially if you enjoy a gentle story that focuses on the everyday drama life presents us, rather than a great deal of angst and action.  Angst and action have their places, but sometimes it's nice to take a break and enjoy the simple things.  So far, at least, Kanon is about the simple things, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes...especially after the cliffhanger in the last episode.  Who brings a sword to school, anyway?  Hn.  Maybe the story isn't quite so simple and sweet, after all.

Details: Runtime 1:40, contains episodes 1-4.  Extras include clean opening and closing, a behind-the-scenes look at the character design, previews, and dvd credits.