12.30.2008 - Kannagi - Episode 13 [END]

Posted in Anime, Kannagi by Epi at 4:37 am

What do you mean the show’s over?!!

And so after 13 episodes Kannagi ends. Although I was a bit late in watching this as I somehow missed it in all those ‘next season preview’ posts, I was happy that I ended up following this show this season thanks to prompting on Karmaburn. It was without a doubt one of the best shows of the year. A perfectly created comedy, with enough of a story to tie it all together, and great characters to boot. From the running Daitetsu-Jin relationship gag, to Tsugumi being one of the best childhood friends ever, to Nagi’s over the top wackyness, and to Jin actually being a likeable lead male character this show had it all.

Usually comedy in anime wears out quite fast, and while Yakitate!! Japan managed to be quite funny until about episode 11 or so even that died off. While only 13 episodes, Kannagi is one of those very, very rare anime comedies where I constantly laughed at all the jokes, because it was just so well done, down to the very last scene. One of the best things about Kannagi’s comedy was that it was never too over the top, and it never relied on the same joke over and over, but instead kept quite fresh as it progressed.

As I said, one of the strongest aspects of the show were the characters themselves. While superfically a ‘harem’ comedy, it was very belivable. Jin is actually quite a likable character, and while Nagi never explicitly ‘loves’ Jin, there is the very real affection that one would get from their situation. Meanwhile the fact that Tsugumi was cute, but not altogether that desirable by anyone else in the show adds a bit to realism in that Jin wasn’t exactly stealing all the hotties. Finally Zange’s love of him seemed more like a ploy to get at Nagi than anything else. As for the rest of the characters, they all had their quirks and were exceptionally well written.

As for the story, while it was quite simple, I believe that was for the best. At it’s heart Kannagi is a light-hearted comedy, and the fact that such a good backstory was written in (as opposed to say Minami-ke) is a testament to the excellent writing of the entire series.

Finally, the production quality was also quite good, with very fluid animation throughout, great character designs, a wonderful BGM and my second favorite ED of the year (behind Diamond Crevasse of course!).

Overall I’m sad that Kannagi is over, but considering the manga is still going strong (or so I think), we can only expect more to come considering how popular this show has seemed to be so far judging from Kannagi’s excellent DVD sales. There are still many angles to explore in this show, and many more mysteries yet to be revealed, so I really hope that there will be a second season sometime in the near future. For now, I bid farewell to one of the best shows of 2008.

Final Rating

Plot: 9.5/10
The plot was nothing too intricate, but was sufficiently deep so that you really did care for the characters and their situation. Of course the comedy was pure gold, so that raises up the ratiing a notch.

Characters: 10/10
This show was all about the characters. Without well written characters, it would have been impossible to create some of the best and funniest moments in the show. Characters are everything in a well written comedy, if you don’t believe me, just watch Seinfeld.

Animation: 8.5/10
While not high on special effects, the animation was extremely fluid and the character designs were really well done.

Sound: 7/10
Nothing special.

Music: 9.5/10
I really enjoyed both the OP and the ED, with the ED being my 2nd favorite of the year. The BGM was well done as well.

Overall: 9/10
One of the best shows of the year, but then again not something I ever thought about much outside of watching the show, so I wouldn’t give it more than a 9.