I’ve been known to say, “I don’t care much for Mai’s story.” Repeatedly. The fact that Mai is so popular among Kanon fans has always baffled me, to be honest.
Until now, that is.
After watching the conclusion of Mai’s arc in the most recent episode of Kanon, it suddenly dawned on me: I do like Mai’s story. I think it’s incredibly moving. I love the way it’s structured. I won’t say the journey isn’t frustrating at times, what with her story not coming into focus until the very final moment, but… well, it’s a nifty trick. When the entire weight of Mai’s story comes crashing down on you in a matter of minutes, you can’t help but be moved.
So, what gives? It’s not like Kyoto Animation made changes to Mai’s story. They followed the game fairly closely. And even though the Toei version of Kanon kicked a lot of the details of Mai’s story to the curb, all of the core elements survived intact. Is Ishihara Tatsuya just that good of a director? I suppose he is, and it clearly shows in the conclusion of Mai’s arc, but that’s really not it. Once again, what gives?
I don’t like Mai, that’s what.
Mai’s a tough nut to crack, that’s for sure. How can a parade of moe stereotypes like Kanon have an ice queen character like Mai? Yes, I know “ice queen” no doubt pegs someone’s moe meter somewhere (what doesn’t?), but if you lined all of the Kanon heroines up and played a game of, “one of these kids is not like the other ones,” the game wouldn’t be much of a challenge. Ain’t nothing moe about Mai.
Or is there?
Well, before someone shouts, “Are you some kind of fucking idiot? Of course Mai is moe!”, let me say this: yes, she is. It’s just that I didn’t quite realize it until now. Was Mai moe in the game? Sure. But to what extent? It was there, of course, but Mai’s moeness is so subtle that it doesn’t come across particularly well - especially when every other girl in Kanon is “moe-ing” with the brightness of a thousand suns. And the first anime series? As I said before, a lot of the details of Mai’s story were lost in the first anime series, and amongst those details was her personality. Or, to be more specific, the moe aspects of her personality.
Thankfully, Kyoto Animation brought the moe back… and proceeded to jam it down our throats. To be honest, I was a bit weirded out at first. “Is this really Mai? What’s going on?” But, as time went on, I grew to like the “new” Mai. And even though Mai’s arc was the one I was least looking forward to this time around, I’m now sad to see it come to end.
Once again… bravo, KyoAni?
i dont like mai either
i dont like her voice, i dont like her personality, and i dont think shes cute either
but I LOVE loli Mai. She’s the best out of all the loli versions of the cast so far
I like Mai, and I like Yukari Tamura, but oddly enough I don’t really like Yukari Tamura as Mai.
In any case, I was probably among the tiny minority when I became a diehard Mai fan after watching her story in the Toei version. (I haven’t played the game yet.) The KyoAni version, well, that’s just icing.
No accounting for my tastes, I suppose.
To DKellis,
Mai has always been popular, even in Toei’s version of Kanon. o_O
~~~~ ~~~~
To Jeff Lawson,
I just wrote a 2000+ entry responding to questions made by some confused folks over some aspects of Mai’s arc, so my brain is pretty much fried and on the verge of imploding at the moment.
I’m not really comprehending what you are trying to say here( my fault, not your’s. I’m tired). Are you trying to say that you still don’t like Mai, or that you like Mai now?
Either way, I have no objection if you still don’t find Mai moe.
For me however, Mai’s arc has always been my favourite, from the game, the 02 version, and the current one. It just kills me though, that Mai’s arc is still not being animated in full in the 06 version, believe it or not.
They added links between her and Makoto, and then burned the bridges between her and Ayu… I guess there is no hope for the complete Mai story unless one plays the game itself, or make an anime version of Kanon that is not focused on Ayu.
Cheers.
Did the original series delve in to Mai’s arc nearly as much as this one? I like seeing back story and all, but not in terms of Naruto and it’s filler heaven, but at least they are ending. Like I said in a comment on Random Curiosity, I only made it to episode 5 of Kanon (2002) and the end was a scene in the school. Is there more backstory in this version or is there some fluff?
Also, any possible way I could find the game anywhere? I like the series so far, but I wanna see the game it’s based off of. Thanks
To Skane, Can you elaborate on the bridges between Ayu and Mai? All I recognize are the hints in the episode Mai meets Ayu, about not being able to wait, which is pretty well explained in this episode, but is there much more to it? Haven’t played the game but have read some spoilers from the Toei version.
Always liked the stoic girls, but I warmed even more to her with Sayuri’s influence, complement each other so well.
Toei’s version was even more drastic. They didn’t just burn the bridges, they razed the lands of Mai as well and pissed all over it while the other countries got along just fine. :P Okay, I exaggerate a bit, but it is an understatement to say that Mai’s arc got horribly mistreated in the Toei’s version, to the point where it gave non-gamers misconceptions about Mai’s arc, when they started watching Kanon(2006).
To put it one way, I am having a painful time trying to explain carefully why Mai’s arc is the way it is in Kanon(2006) because they keep cross-referencing to Kanon(2002) which naturally leads to dead-ends.
Anyway, I can’t really answer your question without spoiling Ayu’s arc. If I recall correctly, Jeff Lawson doesn’t want spoilers in his Kanon entries.
Cheers.
Well, I’m definatly a Mai fan. I was more of a Sayuki fan, but I defected after episode 12. And I second the question. Is it possible to get this game in the U.S.? I have a second system I can localize to Japanese settings if necessary.
Mai was my 2nd favourite character from the game (first being Nayuki). I personally prefer the more subtle moe-ness of Mai than the “bright” ones like you said eg Ayu. I think it’s in the revelantion of the moe-ness, the “hey I don’t know she can be moe too?!” kind of thing, which is exactly what you are going through, that makes these kinds of archtype attractive to a certain population.
Ubu Roi… Kanon was released in a number of different versions on a number of different platforms over the years (I think a PSP version is being released in a couple of weeks, actually). The most viable option, really, is to import it from Japan. I also notice a few copies floating around on eBay… don’t know if they’re legit or not, however.
Oh, and Skane… yeah, I like Mai. She probably remains my least favorite of the Kanon heroines, but I still like her.
Yeah, I found a Wiki that explained the various versions. Upshot is: no legitimate English-language PC version exists at this tiem. No way in hell I’m going for a bootleg off Ebay. Been there, done that.
KyoAni brought the moe back, eh? Is that anything like bringing sexy back? ;-)
Okay, seriously now. I know I’ve read the definition for ‘moe’ somewhere or another, probably more than once, and I still don’t “get it.” Perhaps I’m hardwired not to care. Either way, I liked Mai, probably due to a built-in weakness for swordslinging babes with long dark hair. (I watched all of Yami to Boushi. ‘Nuff said.)
The ending of her arc, though, was a bit… weird. It feels somewhat ‘deus ex machina’ to me, or at least as though a LOT of details were excised due to a lack of time. Maybe it’s something that’ll make more sense toward series’ end?
I don’t care about being moe, or loli, or whatnot. While Mai’s been my favorite in the cast for a while, her arc simply cements this. The previous arc simply pales in comparison to this, and I don’t think the following arcs will be able to surpass it. It also seems about given that last arc is Ayu’s, and over the course of this anime I’ve oh so grown to loathe her. (I haven’t seen Toei’s version nor do I know Elevenspeak to play the game.)
Feh, submitted too fast, I was going to say more…
Greyduck: I thought the ending fit perfectly. I did read someone saying somewhere the demons turning out to be her own creations wasn’t a good idea, but I disagree. To me, they seemed to be manifestations of her fear of rejection, and possible fear of hurting people close to her with her powers (which would be why one singled out Sayuri at the ball). Don’t know how to put it to words, but I feel it makes sense in a closed circle way that Mai is the source of the powers, and also the source of all the strange phenomena that surrounds her, and it all stays with her (for the most part :P) in her world - remember Kyuichi’s comment about damage to the school. Likewise, what saves her is most likely the manifestation of her other feelings, mainly hope as it names itself. So it all begins with her, comes back to her, and ends with her. And I just realized I may be unconsciously drawing parallels to Haruhi, of Melancholy.
i think the question is, who does like mai?
A lot of people, including me. :P
Do not underestimate the allure of silent-moe.
As much of a Sayuri and Makoto fanboy I am, I like Mai a lot too. I can’t resist the silent, sword -wielding moe types.
MAI!!! Yup she is my favorite :)
Love those sword swingin’ silent types :P
ITs all so good! I want to see the Shiori arc now!!!! Thats the one I was looking forward too. And I don’t know whats coming!
After this last episode, I don’t think we can call Mai the silent type any more. She spoke more in her two minutes in the hospital than she has the whole series. Which fits, but still, it felt like she was being shuffled aside so we could get on with the Shiori arc.
late to the party
but somehow when mai talks, i get pu-chan vibes :(
mmm…
thought Mai was the only decent character in this story - she isn’t shy, isn’t obsessed with one food product, isn’t sentimental, isn’t cheap, doesn’t sleep a lot, doesn’t abuse cats, and has loads of skill in swordsmanship - what other Kanon girl can match up to her? Well… there’s Sayuri’s intelligence… but that’s not the point… she’s the only girl who talked back to Yuuichi (really needs to learn how to mind his own business) with dignity.
Go Mai!