Taking another page from my notes here:
[quote]Yuuichi’s attitude towards Mishio is actually pretty normal compared to everyone else he meets; he doesn’t call her by weird nicknames, doesn’t care about formalities with her, approaches sensitive topics carefully around her…he treats her like a normal person, which says something about what he considers ‘normal’. Does a person with few distinguishing characteristics look normal to Yuuichi, or is there something I’m not seeing here?
What strikes me as even more interesting is the fact that Amano is comfortable without friends. This, of course, stems from the fact that she’s adamant about staying away from relationships that hurt her emotionally. She knew immediately that Makoto was a fox for whatever reason, and the fact that Yuuichi knew her made her even the slightest bit curious about him.
Her reluctance to help him came from her past experience, something she found reasonably hard to just shrug off. It serves to guess that what she went through is only a preview of what’s to come, and indeed it happens. She seems to know more than she lets on, but Yuuichi’s intervention prevents us from immediately knowing the truth.
In the same vein as (Nayuki spoilers) the repressed memory of Nayuki’s confession of love seven years prior, Yuuichi holds a repressed memory of Makoto that somehow Mishio shares. By this point, Yuuichi has begun to treasure his relationship with Makoto, like how a parent grows attached to his child. Inevitably, though, the past catches up to him quickly.[/quote]
[quote]Amano calls sometime later to check up on Makoto’s condition, despite stating earlier that she desires no part in the matter. Why she decides to help Yuuichi now is uncertain, but her information helps Yuuichi prepare for Makoto’s next fever, the end of her life.
Amano’s description of the legend of the fox-spirits is very reminiscent of, but not necessarily similar to, the legends told in AIR, and perhaps the idea may have originated here. In fact, many objects and situations (as mentioned in my Makoto post) sound like they were reused in Maeda’s later stories.
It’s my view that Amano did this because she found an obligation to help Yuuichi bear through the pain of losing Makoto. The common connection between them is that the ‘bad luck’ they receive is not traditional punishment, but torture through having a loved one taken away. This ‘tragic love’ is not an uncommon theme in Japanese romance, even to this day. In fact, it’s part of what makes Key novels great.
Yuuichi decides to bond with Amano despite her aversion to such a bond. In this, not only does Yuuichi feel better about Makoto fading away, but it also gives time for Amano to grow beyond her behavioral shielding. Inverse to expectations, their friendship grows because of Makoto, and by the end of the route their mutual assistance helps them overcome their previous issues. I would actually love to see an Amano route if Kanon ever gets remade.[/quote]
