Ayu Tsukimiya

] Ayu is notorious for her catch phrase, ] "Hidamari no Machi" was composed in common time in the E-flat major key, and moves at 126 beats per minute. The theme was composed on a synthesizer which primarily used a piano as a base, along with violin, vibraphone, and percussion accompaniment throughout the piece. Orito commented on the song in the "Kanon Original Soundtrack" booklet where he remarked, "This is probably the song I like most out of all the theme songs...I think the percussion is really good."]

In the anime "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi", episode eight parodies "Kanon" and other adult games. In it, Ayu's Japanese voice actress Yui Horie plays a girl that is modeled after Ayu, and references "taiyaki" and "ugū" near the end. In the anime "Lucky Star", Konata gives a tardy excuse to her teacher Nanako, stating that she was late because there was a girl running away from a "taiyaki" seller; after listening to the excuse, Nanako utters "ugū" out of frustration. Another parody in the same anime is that when Kagami scolds Konata in another episode when she complains about her winter break being occupied by homework, Ayu's backpack appears behind Konata, and she utters "ugū".

In a review by Anime News Network of the first anime DVD volume of Kyoto Animation's "Kanon" anime, Ayu is described as a character that "persists on a degree of earnest cuteness that will endear her to some viewers." In the same review, Ayu's winged backpack is cited as possibly being a "little overkill" in regards to the "moe" attributes of the series. citeweb|last=Martin|first=Theron| url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/kanon/dvd-1|title= "Kanon" DVD 1 Review|publisher=Anime News Network|date=2007-12-22| accessdate=2008-05-19] "Newtype USA" stated in an article on "Kanon" that, "Ayu beams brightly with joy as she munches on her favorite fish-shaped crepe, looking so adorable you almost wanna pinch her." [cite book|title=Newtype USA|publisher=A.D. Vision|volume=6|date=January 2007|pages=62-63]

Merchandise

Four figurines of Ayu were produced by different manufacturers in 2007. The earliest was released on January 29 by Movic which also came with a chibi version of Ayu dressed in a Santa Claus outfit. [citeweb|url= http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=344805|title="Kanon" Ayu Tsukimiya 1/8 PVC Figure (Movic)|publisher=Getchu.com|accessdate= 2008-05-25|language=Japanese] The next was released on July 2 by Russian Blue, [citeweb|url= http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=335605|title="Kanon" Ayu Tsukimiya 1/8 PVC Figure (Russian Blue)|publisher=Getchu.com| accessdate=2008-05-25|language=Japanese] and the third followed a month later on August 6 by Kotobukiya which was in fact a reproduction of a model previously released. [citeweb|url=http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=431385|title="Kanon" Ayu Tsukimiya 1/8 PVC Figure (Kotobukiya) Reproduction|publisher=Getchu.com|accessdate=2008-05-25|language=Japanese] The fourth figurine was released on October 19 by Max Factory, and was the most expensive of the four. [citeweb|url= http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=428225|title="Kanon" Ayu Tsukimiya 1/8 PVC Figure (Max Factory)|publisher=Getchu.com|accessdate =2008-05-25|language=Japanese] An official "ugū" audio CD was coupled with the 127-page "Kanon Visual Memories" art book for Kyoto Animation's "Kanon" anime adaptation released on June 24, 2007 by Ichijinsha. [citeweb|url= http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/kanon/05goods/goods.html|title=Good's section at TBS' website for the second "Kanon" anime|publisher=TBS|accessdate=2008-05-20|language=Japanese] The CD contains eighty-six variations of Ayu's iconic catch phrase featured in the anime, and is voiced by Yui Horie. The CD spans ten minutes, though most of the duration is silent due to each "ugū" lasting less than two seconds on each track, resulting in about one-third of the CD as rendered blank.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://key.visualarts.gr.jp/product/kanon/character/ Official "Kanon" visual novel character profiles] jp icon