Minase Nayuki

This was the first route I read and the weakest route in my opinion, although I really love her character. While not bad, the route was somewhat plain and also questionable. The romance didn't feel necessary and made a somewhat interesting plot more uncomfortable for me. The plot point with Akiko at the end felt poorly set up, poorly executed and Yuichi making it about his love for Nayuki and her love for him really didn't sit right with me. The ending was super sweet and a lot of the CGs looked great. Overall, I can't help but feel mixed on this route, which is such a shame because I love Nayuki.

Misaka Shiori

I had the lowest expectations for this route as I wasn't interested in Shiori, and I was pretty much spoiled on everything... BUT I am happy to say I was incredibly surprised at how good it was. Shiori was such a sweet character, and her desire to be normal was touching until the end. Her illness never being shown to affect her did take me out of it a bit, so I wished they'd done more with that. I also really liked Kaori and her selfish yet realistic struggle, it felt human, which is a big compliment. The ending (although cliché), was really sweet and made me tear up a bit. A much bigger improvement over Nayuki's route.

Sawatari Makoto

I took notes after every route, and for this route, my notes only said "0 complaints" and "oh my fucking god". Safe to say, this was phenomenal. I really hated how Makoto was written out of every route before and after her own, so I'm happy I could read her story in full. I REALLY love Makoto's slow progression (or regression) throughout the route, and it had me crying for the last 45 minutes of the story. Amano was such a good character that I was so happy to see warm up by the end and learn to smile again. The final scenes of the route, where Makoto couldn't speak but was still there, absolutely broke me. I have never yearned for a character to have a happy ending as much as I did for Makoto. I'm glad she got her wish in the end.

Kawasumi Mai

I was looking forward to this route the most, and it did not disappoint whatsoever. Mai was super interesting and cool from the start, and Sayuri being her polar opposite (yet just as broken) was a really good choice. While repetitive, I loved every night-time scene because I loved Mai's interactions with Yuichi. The scene where they find Sayuri in the school with the birthday present made my heart drop so hard, I probably medically died for a second. The entire ending sequence was incredibly intense and well written. Seeing Mai's backstory after she stabbed herself was genuinely hard to get through (in a good way) because I was so worried for her. I'm so glad she survived and graduated. I hope she got to go to the zoo. Sayuri's mini route was really bittersweet and made me love her even more (which was thought to be previously impossible).

Tsukimiya Ayu

I knew what would happen, I knew how it would go down, I knew it would be sad... And it still stung. While it was a predicable story that didn't reinvent the wheel, it was still masterfully written, and even caught me by surprise a few times. Seeing her say goodbye in every other route just made playing her route that much better. It felt like finally closing the book on her life and being able to make her happy. I must admit that her falling off a tree was anti-climactic, but I think I had my expectations too high. I'm glad they didn't cut the story off after Akiko tells Yuichi that Ayu woke up, it was a good choice to have a happy ending after all the pain.

Overall, I think the latter three routes are near flawless masterpieces, with Shiori's not being far behind and Nayuki's being the only let-down. The game is beautifully illustrated, scored and written, and I'm glad to have played it. I really cannot wait to see the additional material Kanon has to offer, because I love these characters and this world.