This is the one where the water works are gonna start. Taking place a few months after the first series, Clannad: After Story is about two high school sweethearts, Tomoya and Nagisa. This series goes farther than the other series by setting events as far as 7 years after the first. This allows Tomoya and Nagisa to develop into a wonderfully loving couple, scraping through their lives right after high school. All of the characters have parted ways and Tomoya has gotten himself a little apartment with a meager paying job. In a slice of life anime/drama, this focuses on the lives of those people trying to develop a life for themselves, if they can.
And, boy oh boy, you’re gonna feel your heart out for Tomoya and Nagisa. You’ll root for them and cry far more than you
Ushio, the cutest of babies.
thought you ever could. I don’t want to reveal too much, but this one is better than the first, if you haven’t seen either, it’s time to start now. Clannad is used as a springboard for After Story and creates a sound basis for you to connect with them in later life. For the younger viewers of this anime, it may become hard at this point to relate to characters who are growing up faster than their own legs can carry them in 20+ episodes. Starting a life and making a career is realistically portrayed in this anime more than I’ve seen in most T.V. show dramas here in the states. This is refreshing to see on a lot of levels and makes it all the more real with all you’ll see over time.
The wonderful, loving family.
I would urge those of you who read my blog and who will take my advice and watch this anime to take it slow through the anime. Yeah sure, watch the first one faster than After Story. But realize, when you get into Clannad, you may not want it to end so quickly. And you may need some time to dry your tears. That’s some real truth coming from this guy over here. I would probably give this anime a spot in my top 20 and that’s no joke there.
The wonderful cast, and an X-mas to remember.
There’s a baby, and some wonderful father and daughter love. Tomoya has a wonderful support network and flourishes under the pressures that are placed on him. This show is really about the triumph of the will and the importance of family and love. Because, in this anime, the dividing line between distance and connection is the finest of lines. With a wonderful Japanese voice acting cast and tears hidden around every corner, you won’t know just when to be happy or sad. Oh, and that robot and the girl? That’s all explained in After Story. So grab your tissues for this 8.7 out of 10 anime.
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed an anime, and this is the perfect one to come back to. Clannad is the wonderfully touching story of a group of high schoolers and their lives as they grow with one another. Focusing primarily on the central relationship between Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa, these two lead tragic lives that have become better because they found each other. It all started one day at the bottom of the hill to the high school with “anpan”, and blooms into a wonderfully dynamic and free flowing friend group. The main plot behind this first series is that Nagisa wishes to create a drama club at her school. It is used indirectly to raise her self esteem and confidence.
Where should I start when talking about this anime? This has the elements of a slice of life anime, thrown in with a bit of humor and comedy from Fuko Ibuki, the starfish obsessed wonder. The anime flows over a few arcs focusing on secondary characters that attend the high school, ranging from freshmen to seniors. All of the main characters are mostly seniors, and this transitions into their graduation and life around the town. It is good to see that, although this anime has the beginnings of a harem with only one true central male character, but it is happily thwarted by Youhei Sunohara, the blond haired foil
The starfish and the Dangos!
character to Tomoya’s passive aggressive antics. Their dialogue and chemistry onscreen is infectiously hilarious and comes across as amazingly absurd and out there. It’s perfect to offset the harrowing topics of the anime.
Not to ruin anything about the plot, but the characters focused on are all tragically tainted. Tomoya is an out there delinquent bad boy who was maliciously beaten by his drunken dad in a fight one day. He lost his mother and the two had been drifting apart for years. His dad coped with drinking, and Tomoya did with bad behavior. This doesn’t really seem to ruin his reputation at school, but it ruined his arm and his chances at playing basketball. Damn. For Nagisa, her debilitating health has kept her back a year in school, losing friends, yet allowing her to meet Tomoya. And, for the others, it’s about watching the show to discover what’s so sad with each character. If you don’t cry at least once, where’s your soul?
The dynamic duo, Tomoya and Youhei!
It wasn’t really a decision at the beginning on whether to watch subbed or dubbed. As a rule of thumb, if it’s a show with a lot of crying or sadness, it’s better portrayed in Japanese. Tears=subbed, comedy=dubbed. Remember that. I was surprised to find this show was based on an interactive text video game (one of those simulated dating things, but a manga followed the game soon after, giving a structure and not choices to the anime in the direction the plot would take. The voice acting is really well done and will make you laugh and cry (tears of some sort) and it’s worth watching the first half in order to reach the even better Clannad: After Story. In order to love and care about the characters, you watch Clannad, but once you’re established in that love, then comes the After Story tears. They will flow.
Other than that, I don’t have many complaints with a show that has come out in the last ten years. Animation was crisp and clean, the plot moved along at a reasonable pace, and there’s a character for everyone to connect to. It’s the story of growing up, of high school, of conquering your fears and finding love. It’s a true humanistic story of discovery. I think it’s good for people of all interests and (being the secure man I am) found it rather heartwarming. So leave yourself a few weeks to savor the flavor of the Dangos, and enjoy this 7.7 out of 10 anime.
This is the one where the water works are gonna start. Taking place a few months after the first series, Clannad: After Story is about two high school sweethearts, Tomoya and Nagisa. This series goes farther than the other series by setting events as far as 7 years after the first. This allows Tomoya and Nagisa to develop into a wonderfully loving couple, scraping through their lives right after high school. All of the characters have parted ways and Tomoya has gotten himself a little apartment with a meager paying job. In a slice of life anime/drama, this focuses on the lives of those people trying to develop a life for themselves, if they can.
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