AIR - Kano Kirishima Route & Character Discussion

[Takafumi]

Despite not really liking the route, I do like Kano. She’s a good character, just not my favorite.
I find that the route has the most promise, and the most content to really talk about, but it falls short. It’s like the writers forgot what they were writing.

Also +1 to that h-scene feeling grossly out of character. Like woooow, it seriously came out of nowhere for me.

That thing was hell to work with. They had a bit of character development sandwiched in-between, but since it was a H-scene, none of the lines were voiced! The actual scene was out of the left field. Kano obviously likes Yukito, but she’s kinda bashful about it. That’s thrown out of the window in the H-scene. Yukito’s character was broken too. Maybe if he’d spent more time there it’d have fit him, but he’s the type of guy that really thinks about everything that’s going on before even humoring a person.

Compared to the Minagi one, it’s really bad. It’s worse than the Misuzu one in some aspects.

Well the PSP version is all ages

Sounds like they had the same problem.

• Yukito is awoken by the sisters in the middle of the night. Nyaa~

For starters, I notice one thing about Kano’s way of speaking in Japanese which doesn’t seem to be expressed in the translation: she always tends to add a “ne?” in between phrases or at the end of sentences. I guess, in English, it’s the equivalent of adding a “Right?” at the end of phrases.

I think this is similar to what you brought up about Misuzu’s way of speaking. It might not be translated as such, but the effect comes over in the voice acting. “Ne?” is probably the first thing to come to mind when I think of Kano.
Kano feels very curious, and some would call it needy. I think it makes her feel young too (just not as young as Misuzu.)

[Pepe]

I’m definitely more fond of the idea that she is just a lost spirit who happened to get stuck possessing Kano.

I kind of find that hard to swallow because, well, I don’t believe in spirits or souls. I honestly viewed it more as the culmination of the desires of Shiraho and the feather imparting themselves into Kano. The feather was referred to as a “vessel” after all.

But that’s just my opinion

As for @Takafumi I do like your theory. Yeah, they are working but their only reason for working is co-existence. Hijri seems to have given up finding the meat of the Kano’s problem and also seems reluctant to bring her to a specialized psychiatrist. All for the sake of sweeping the problem under the rug. The same thing she did with the bandana; she tries to let Kano forget about her problems instead of fixing them. Gee all this introspection is making me like Hijiri less and less x.x

But there is one part I want to clarify:

Despite losing a lot, they manage to keep on top of everything… But they are lost to the past. They might be living, but they are haunted by the past.

This is because of Kano, yes? Because she is guilty about the death of her mother?

That thing was hell to work with. They had a bit of character development sandwiched in-between

I noticed. Actually, I honestly wonder what the vanilla memorial edition is like. Some of the lines were actually voiced! Did you base your editing on what was in the memorial edition script, or did you edit it yourself based on what was important in the story?

I think this is similar to what you brought up about Misuzu’s way of speaking. It might not be translated as such, but the effect comes over in the voice acting. “Ne?” is probably the first thing to come to mind when I think of Kano.

I would imagine that the voice actors speak what is written in the dialogue word-for-word. So when the non-voiced dialogue has Kano saying “ne”, they also have the VAs saying that.

[Aspirety]

I’ve realised that whenever Kano is posssed, she’s reciting words she spoke in her lifetime. Either the song about her child (is that a real song btw?) or things like “This child is my life. She’s my only treasure.”, “I’ll do it with my own hands” etc. It’s less like a consciousness inhabiting Kano, and more like an echo.

The problem is that I don’t see why they did this form a literary standpoint. Why go through the effort of creating this character, and causing her grief to give Kano so much trouble? Not only does Shiraho’s story have NOTHING to do with Kano, but sadly, Shiraho’s story never reached any kind of resolution. Not in her past, not in the present.

Except… Maybe, just maybe, the connection is how Kano’s mother died. Much like Shiraho, Kano’s mother could be thought of as ‘sacrificing herself to save her daughter’. They didn’t show us what happened to Yakumo after her mother died. Realistically, it’s likely that she was sacrificed, but by the way this story is presented, I think they want us to believe that her Shiraho’s sacrifice lead to Yakumo surviving into the future. Perhaps, even if they aren’t the same person, hearing Kano thank her mother for giving birth to her would have been some kind of salvation for Shiraho’s spirit, as if she’s hearing the wishes of her own daughter through Kano.

Either that or… I dunno, you could flip it around with the interpretation that there is no soul of Shiraho inside Kano. Instead, it’s like Kano’s taking on Shiraho’s memories due to her regret of causing her mother suffering. And by being able to thank her mother, she can let go of those regrets and stop being possessed by those memories that aren’t hers.

It’s still a very botchy route, but I’m trying to make as much sense of it as I can

Also, I have a question for the history nerds here. Can anybody pinpoint what war might have been taking place during Shiraho’s story?

[Bowiie]

[quote=“Pepe, post:40, topic:332”]
I kind of find that hard to swallow because, well, I don’t believe in spirits or souls. I honestly viewed it more as the culmination of the desires of Shiraho and the feather imparting themselves into Kano. The feather was referred to as a “vessel” after all.
[/quote]If we borrow a little information from Minagi’s route this is still plausible without requiring her soul to be stored in the feather. Remember Michiru tells us the feather that she is using is full of sad memories for the girl in the sky and she is filling it with good memories to give her a small amount of happiness. If you carry that over and view this feather as a memory holder it’s possible that the feather is imprinted with the memories of Shiraho which are what possess Kano, which would explain her actions being the same as those in the past as well as her lines being carried over for example “This child is my life.” Hard to believe she is talking about Kano there considering she has tried to cut Kano’s wrist before.

[quote=“Takafumi, post:39, topic:332”]
Despite not really liking the route, I do like Kano. She’s a good character, just not my favorite.
[/quote]I have quite the similar view of Kano. I really liked her based on the impression from common, it felt like we had three states of energy with the three heroines Minagi was the laid back sorta take everything in stride character, Misuzu was the in between and Kano was the higher register always ready to go go go. After the route I still like her charcter and guess I just feel a need to defend it because it feels like a lot of people are coming out of the route with the impression of she has nothing to her character other than shes a spoiled brat who ties Yukito down.

[Pepe]

Instead, it’s like Kano’s taking on Shiraho’s memories due to her regret of causing her mother suffering. And by being able to thank her mother, she can let go of those regrets and stop being possessed by those memories that aren’t hers.

That’s kind of what I was thinking, and it agrees with what @Bowiie was mentioning.

Also, I have a question for the history nerds here. Can anybody pinpoint what war might have been taking place during Shiraho’s story?

The only thing I can think of that involved guns were the people who were involved during the Bakumatsu period, around the mid 19th century. That was one of the few times that Japan had a war with a foreign army. Wait, it was a foreign army, right?

Buuut at the end of the day:

It’s still a very botchy route, but I’m trying to make as much sense of it as I can

That’s what they get when they make a former sumo wrestler write a VN route :v

[Takafumi]

This is because of Kano, yes? Because she is guilty about the death of her mother?

Yes. Kano is the one obsessing over the past, but Hijiri is both the one who started it, and the one who appears most affected by it. Kano seeks, while Hijiri denies.

I noticed. Actually, I honestly wonder what the vanilla memorial edition is like. Some of the lines were actually voiced! Did you base your editing on what was in the memorial edition script, or did you edit it yourself based on what was important in the story?

I didn’t have ME when I made the patch, so I’m not sure how they did it. I guess it was similar to what I did though.
Most of it was replacing HCGs with sprites, and then a fade to black. The only problem scene was the ribbon part, which showed up after the fade. It seemed important, so I kept it in, but IIRC it wasn’t voiced. I could probably add voices to the unvoiced parts, but I’d have to check the rest of the script quickly.
Did any of the old VAs return for ME? I might check if it has any extra voiced lines someday.

I think Kano’s route was the only problem route. The others were all just a matter of ending the scene before the HCGs showed up.

I would imagine that the voice actors speak what is written in the dialogue word-for-word. So when the non-voiced dialogue has Kano saying “ne”, they also have the VAs saying that.

Pretty much.

I’ve realised that whenever Kano is posssed, she’s reciting words she spoke in her lifetime. Either the song about her child (is that a real song btw?) or things like “This child is my life. She’s my only treasure.”, “I’ll do it with my own hands” etc. It’s less like a consciousness inhabiting Kano, and more like an echo.

Pinpon! I think you’re onto something here.
Oh, and the song is Shiraho no Komoriuta. It’s a play on the beautiful Edo no Komoriuta. You might recognize the melody from the Higurashi anime~

Instead, it’s like Kano’s taking on Shiraho’s memories due to her regret of causing her mother suffering. And by being able to thank her mother, she can let go of those regrets and stop being possessed by those memories that aren’t hers.

Feathers store memories. I think that Kano’s weird state is the memories from the feather surfacing. It isn’t a being possessing her, it’s her reliving memories that don’t belong to her - only faintly aware of what is actually happening around her in reality.

Also, I have a question for the history nerds here. Can anybody pinpoint what war might have been taking place during Shiraho’s story?

It has been a really long time since I read the route (still need to get onto rereading it) so I’m not sure of the details, but I still searched for a while. Would it be the Genpei War? It wasthe start of the Feudal Era, which Shiraho’s story was from.

If you carry that over and view this feather as a memory holder it’s possible that the feather is imprinted with the memories of Shiraho which are what possess Kano, which would explain her actions being the same as those in the past as well as her lines being carried over for example “This child is my life.” Hard to believe she is talking about Kano there considering she has tried to cut Kano’s wrist before.

Stealing my post before I can post it! How rude!

The only thing I can think of that involved guns were the people who were involved during the Bakumatsu period, around the mid 19th century.

Oh damn, they had guns? Well, all my searching was for naught. I agree then. It could have been one of the many revolts during the latter stages of the Edo Period. Those guys loved revolts and rebellions.

[Bowiie]

Stealing my post before I can post it! How rude!

Stealing my post after I post it! How rude!

[NotKyon]

Well, I’m on the 31st now. Pretty much everything I wanted to say (and more) has already been said here so far.

The part with Potato getting lost (and subsequently found again) was just… too obvious. It was entertaining though.

Right now Kano is somewhat enjoyable… @Kanon said this regarding Minase Nayuki (Kanon) “her and her route are just kind of there.” I feel the same way about Kano and her route. Overall it basically has nothing to do with the girl in the sky, other than the feather. (I’ll elaborate more after finishing this route to make sure I’m not forgetting anything.)

Key point: When did Kano start to fall for Yukito? It seems to me that, at first, she was basically just being friendly. As time went on he was more of a guy who she could play with, but didn’t really have any romantic feelings for. I’d like to hear more about this in the podcast. Looks like I was too late!

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Some screen captures I took at various points I wanted to comment on…

Nothing profound here, but that part brought a smile to my face too.

This reminded me of @Takafumi’s state of work theory (which was continued above)

I seem to have neglected saving the screenshot of when Kano comes back with only one ice cream treat (after she said she’d get one for you too), or when she spills the bucket after Yukito just finished (or was mostly done with) mopping the floor. “I’m an adult, so I have to stay calm.” That frustration… you could just feel it.

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I’m playing the All Ages version on my PSP and that edited scene was still awkward as hell and felt completely out of place

That makes me wish I would’ve held onto my PSP… I wasn’t aware there was even a version of AIR for PSP. Definitely something I’ll be looking into soon.

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Right now, I play AIR on auto-mode during lunch, and occasionally at night. I try to progress through two to four days for each real day I play it. Almost there…

[Aspirety]

Sorry to burst your bubble @NotKyon, but we finished recording the podcast yesterday. I’m hoping to have it published tonight. You’ll need to get in quicker next time! (before the second friday)

[NotKyon]

Well darn. Still looking forward to the podcast though.

[Aspirety]

http://kazamatsuri.org/kazamatsuri-org-air-bookclub-podcast-part-3-kano-route/ And here’s the podcast! I actually beat the deadline by an hour this time!

This concludes the Kano route segment of the AIR Bookclub podcast. I look forward to seeing you all in the Misuzu Discussion topic!

[Aspirety]

Kano was a considerably fun, cute and enjoyable character in the common route, so I had positive expectations going into her route. But hoooly crap this was a bad route. It has some moments (like Shiraho’s) that were interesting, and the moral isn’t terrible, but it’s pretty badly written. There’s virtually no conflict; Kano is inflicted with a supernatural condition because of her guilt for causing her mother’s death, and when Yukito tells her she should just stop feeling guilty and say thank you, that’s it. That kind of development happened way too easily, and kinda killed any feeling of tension for the route. The resolution was way too easy.

That said, the message of the ending is kinda nice. Just finding a simple happiness among family in that town is something Yukito was striving for, and to see him achieve it is nice. His journey may be over, but at least his wings could carry his own happiness.

[RickyNg1994]

So, Yukito doesn’t leave town at the end of Kano’s Route (True Ending, which is the only Ending to her route) because he has an established job working for Hijiri and in a romantic relationship (love life) with Kano? I mean, he’s now living life without worrying about his quest anymore, as his mother stated that he can do. He’s living life in happiness now at the end of Kano’s Route with Kano herself by his side as a romantic partner and someone he has come to care about. Isn’t that right?

Do you think that Yukito is giving up on his quest to find the Girl in the Sky, as seen here so that he can live out his own happiness for himself and Kano? Of course, this is canon to Kano’s route only. I wonder, what is the stuff that he has seen to choose to stay in town with Kano. It’s romantic and sincere of him to choose to stay with Kano and live a happy life with her and her sister.
Just need some clarification here.

[Rin]

Probably all of the weird mystical spiritual stuff with the feather and the ribbon and all that stuff.

[Pepe]

Yes, everything that you have stated in your post is what is what is implied by the story. I’m sure if you go back and read all the posts in this topic, you’d come up with the same conclusion

[RickyNg1994]

Hello, Aspirety. What did you mean when you say that Yukito’s journey may be over, but at least his wings could carry his own happiness? Is his journey suppose to find the Girl in the Sky, and he gives up on that journey to stay with Kano and Hijiri in that town? I admit, it’s nice to see Yukito finding and gaining a simple happiness with Kano and Hijiri, with the former (Kano) his lover and staying in the town for her at the end of her route. Is that why his journey is over, because he gives up on it on his own will due to finding happiness with Kano?

Also, Yukito’s wings, what are they? Are they referring to something?

Now that I think about it, what the heck happened to Minagi and Misuzu. It’s like they’re blatantly forgotten here. What about their problems?

[RickyNg1994]

Okay, thanks, Pepe. It’s just that I wanted to find out the reasons why Yukito is staying in the town. I know it’s for Kano and her elder sister, along with the happiness to have a life with those two, especially Kano who loves him, despite it coming out of left field. Anyway, is Kano’s route that bad or is it just plain and average?

[Pepe]

Anyway, is Kano’s route that bad or is it just plain and average?

Well… no offense to Kano and her route but, just looking at the first post and the score it got kind of speaks to how bad it is… I don’t think any other route got an average score of less than 3 from our member voters.

A running gag we have is that her route was written by a sumo wrestler because, seriously, the only info we can find about the published author of the route (Takashi Ishikawa) is exactly that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Ishikawa

DOSUKOI!!!

[RickyNg1994]

Wow, so Kano’s route is that bad? Can you tell me what flaws made it bad? I mean, it’s not the worst route, but it’s still pretty bad, is what you mean, right? Sure, it touches on some good things, like Yukito’s faith in the girl in the sky being tested, with him deciding to forget at the end of Kano’s Route about his quest to search for her and live with Kano and her older sister. Interesting to see Yukito giving up on his quest to search for the girl in the sky so that he can live with Kano as lovers, due to her being so drawn to him and him finding a little happiness with her and her older sister.

Also, I saw on the AIR Route’s Discussion Page that you made daily points of the AIR route’s timeline. Can you give me the FULL daily points for that route, since it’s the final route? Also, the link you gave for the rest of the daily points for the AIR route no longer works.

There’s a running gag for Kano’s route!? Oh my god, it’s hilarious. A sumo wrestler wrote her route, and it was bad!