Right: Kanon anime Region 1 box set containing all twenty-four episodes released by Funimation Entertainment.
The Kanon anime, which encompasses two television series produced by different studios and an original video animation (OVA), is based on the visual novel Kanon by the Japanese visual novel brand Key. The story follows the main character Yuichi Aizawa, who has returned to the town where seven years ago he would spend his school vacations. As he used to do back then, he is living with his aunt Akiko Minase and his cousin Nayuki, but has forgotten many of the details regarding his previous visits. Over the course of the series Yuichi slowly regains these memories as he meets new friends and is reacquainted with others from his past.
Thirteen episodes were produced for the first Kanon anime series by Toei Animation and directed by Takamichi Itō. The episodes were broadcast between January and March 2002, and were later released to Region 2 DVD between April and October 2002 by Frontier Works. Spanning seven volumes, each volume contained two episodes except the first which had one. The series was re-released as a seven-disc DVD box set in December 2004 by Frontier Works in limited and regular editions in Japan. In March 2003, an OVA episode, Kanon Kazahana, was released on DVD. It was also produced by Toei Animation and directed by Takamichi Itō.
Twenty-four episodes were produced for the second Kanon anime series by Kyoto Animation and directed by Tatsuya Ishihara. The episodes were broadcast between October 2006 and March 2007, and were later released to Region 2 DVD between January and August 2007 by Pony Canyon in limited and regular editions containing three episodes per volume.[1] While the plot does not differ from the first anime, the greater number of episodes allows the inclusion of more detail from the visual novel on which the series is based. The second anime series was licensed for North American distribution by Funimation Entertainment. The episodes were released on Region 1 DVDs in six volumes between January and October 2008, and a box set containing the entire series was released in April 2009.