[a.f.k.] Kanon - 01-24 & Prelude

Kanon

2006 Release

This is the visually stunning and emotionally wrenching remake of the 2002 anime of the same name. Expanded to 24 episodes and widescreen, many consider it the superior version.

I originally had this from BakaBT, but this release is now licensed in the US to Funimation, and is no longer hosted there. The original version still is though.

I'm putting this up as another alternative, this is all 24 episodes handcrafted by sustainable ripper, the famous [a.f.k.], in Japanese with artisanally crafted English subtitles. Sorry, I don't have any technical info on bitrate or anything, but this is beautiful, high quality work.

The story itself:
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Synopsis

As a young child, Aizawa Yuuichi had often visited his cousin in the city. However, something drastic happened to keep him away for seven long years. Now, Yuuichi returns, his memories of those days are simply gone.

Settling into the wintry town, Yuuichi comes across several young girls, all of whom are connected to his past. As he befriends them and continues to interact with them, the long forgotten memories from his childhood begin to resurface...
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This does scant justice to the series. This is dark at times, very funny at others, and gasp-aloud startling elsewhere. It could nominally be categorized as a "harem" series, as Yuuichi ends up living in a house full of girls, but it lacks the often-bawdy spirit of many harems, and there is little of the simple romantic tension which usually characterizes the genre.

Perhaps fitting to a story which originated in a game, the series is more focused on the series of discoveries Yuuichi makes along the way, how he makes sense of them, and finally understands just what has happened.

This is a very haunting story which will stay with you for a long time.

Enjoy responsibly.