Kanon (2006) - 07: Runaway and Kitty's Fuga

Makoto again attempts to pull a prank on Yuuichi in the middle of the night, but again is thwarted by Yuuichi. The following morning, to celebrate Makoto getting a job, Akiko-san provides her special (and nasty-tasting) jam for Makoto's toast. Yuuichi and Nayuki head to school where Nayuki spots a small, friendly, stray cat. Despite her allergies, Nayuki goes to pet the cat and pays the price.

At school, Kaori is concerned about Nayuki's allergies and Kitagawa-kun does as well. However, he is more interested in being with Kaori. Meanwhile Yuuichi once again meets Shiori in the school courtyard, then has lunch again with Mai and Sayuri. After school, Yuuichi is crashed into again by Ayu for a brief encounter before she takes off, leaving Yuuichi to meet Makoto.

Makoto and Yuuichi discuss her new job briefly, followed by Makoto attempting to break away from going home with Yuuichi, only to follow him at a distance. After Yuuichi confronts Makoto about this, the stray cat from earlier shows up and takes a liking to Makoto. She is unwilling to touch or hold the cat until Yuuichi bribes her with a pork bun. Later on the way home, Makoto reflects on how animals get abandoned after being domesticated and drops the cat off of a bridge, where it somehow survives landing on a passing truck. This leads to Yuuichi getting angry with Makoto, who being upset runs away.

Makoto doesn't return home that evening, so Yuuichi decides to go looking for her. He can't find her and decides to ask Mai if she's seen Makoto. Mai suggests checking Monomi Hill, where indeed Makoto is with the cat. Makoto passes out and Yuuichi carries her home, followed by the cat. On the way home, they run across a fox but otherwise make it back with no problems. When Makoto wakes up a bit later, she's stunned to find herself back in this house, but seems to find herself appreciating this new family she has.

AstroNerdBoy (20 Nov 2006)

Last episode, I was troubled by the recovering of ground as far as story goes combined with a real lack of progress in any of the girl's stories. For episode 7, I didn't feel that we were going over the same ground again and I finally think I understand why the writers keep having us touch all the girls. They appear to be establishing continuity and reminding the audience that certain things will be going on even if we don't see them for a bit. I can live with that providing we get story or character growth.

That leads me to this episode. We had the visits with all the girls, but Makoto was the focus as her story looks to be heading into high gear. Makoto had been getting on my nerves a bit which I hated because I loved her so much in K2. But the writers finally began having her open up beyond the annoying, spoiled, "must pull a prank on Yuuichi" mode. Yuuichi again makes his clue-dropping remarks about Makoto and she ends up reflecting on how people treat animals, specifically those who are abandoned. Why Mai would know where Makoto was hiding is a mystery to me, but seeing all that happened made it worthwhile to me. And I liked how Amano-san finally made a decent cameo appearance.

Yuuichi's annoying "mean oniichan" routine was mellowed in the end, to my relief. I'm hopeful that the writers will use the events in Makoto's story to cause Yuuichi to grow more, thus giving more impact to the remaining girl's stories. As DD rightly noted, Yuuichi, while mildly interested in these girls for their oddness, is mostly detatched from them at this point. It is weird for a girl to be constantly looking for something that she can't remember. It is weird that she doesn't know modern technology like cell phones. It is weird for a sick girl to always appear in the school at noon, yet not appear sick. It is weird for a girl with no memories to remember that she has a grudge against him. It is weird for a girl to stand watch in a school with a katana fighting something only she can apparently see. So he raises no questions because ultimately its of no concern of his. But as I said, I'm REALLY hoping that will change at the end of Makoto's story.

Next week appears to be all Makoto. I hope they make the best of it.

AstroNerdBoy adds: Now that I've thought about it, it is possible that Yuuichi just hasn't seen Mai's opponents yet. His eyes may not be opened yet, but his dealing with Makoto may indeed open them. And I think that Amano is needed because of her relationship to Makoto. But that's just my opinion and we'll see where it goes.