I kept thinking about the route searching for some deeply hidden symbolism, and this is what I came up with:
Shiori’s sketchbooks represent Shiori’s life, or rather, how Shiori and Yuuichi think of her life. At first, it’s a full sketchbook, with drawings in all pages, symbolizing how Shiori has already filled all her lifetime with different experiences. Then, the drawings themselves are those experiences. They don’t look as if they had been very well painted, so maybe this is a sign that Shiori didn’t live to her fullest, or that she didn’t end up doing what she really wanted in life (actually, I just wrote something about this in the Favorite Quotes Topic).
However, later on Yuuichi gives her a brand new sketchbook, with the first page occupied by a portrait of Shiori’s face. This sketchbook means that Shiori now has a whole new life. She can now paint with memories all those blank pages so that the next time she looks back at them she can be proud of them.
This metaphor might say that her life was never something she liked too. It was when she met Yuuichi (the one who gave her the new sketchbook) that she realized that she had to life to her fullest, which is what she did during those 2-3 weeks she was with Yuuichi.
Then again, if we accept this whole theory, this might give a meaning to Shiori’s suicide attempt. She never liked her past life and had no pages left in her sketchbook (life) to fill in, so there was no purpose in life for her anymore ( Mai ending spoilers surprise surprise, this is similar to Mai! ).
Ok, now going back to some more down to earth stuff:
Yeeeees!, this is it. Finally someone that doesn’t just not fill up a character spot in a previously written story. She can be a character even without her backstory!
Seriously though, I can’t say it better. It is this kind of things that make her a more complete character than others in Kanon (in my opinion, of course).
Yet another thing I like about the route. While it isn’t bad to have routes focused on Yuuichi’s memories, it was getting a bit repetitive (and I’m afraid Ayu is going to be like that).
Just to clear things up, I guess you are referring to the things-you-want-to-achieve dreams.
Yeah, a theme I’ve seen in pretty much every KEY’s work so far is the ability to find happiness in every little thing in life. This is represented with character who aim for very basic dreams, dreams that you might think that aren’t even true goal in life.
It is interesting though, how these dreams normally end up in both a sweet and sour way. @EisenKoubu has already pointed out these endings in this particular route (if we leave KEY magic aside). And I was wondering. If Shiori had definitely died, what would her death mean to the reader? How would this impact the whole route after all? I’d say that not much would change. Then I say, why do KEY keep using these magic endings?
I’m not actually criticizing the fact that they do use them often, but I just can’t find a meaning for them in most of their works…
