[eggplant]

Attended the TBS Anime Festa 2008 today (for the third year in a row).
Even with two breaks, sitting on your butt for six hours definitely takes its toll, but watching episode 1 of Clannad After was well worth the wait.
Prior to the interviews with the guest VAs, singer Lia was introduced to the stage.

Spoiler for OP/ED:

The diva of Key related titles, Lia sang the full-length version of both the opening song, "Toki wo Kizamu Uta" and the ending song, "TORCH".
The former was a luscious, middle-tempo song, reminiscent of "Tori no Uta", while the latter was an up-tempo tune. Lia sure can sing, which goes without saying, but she practically mesmerized the audience with her stunning vocals.

Guest VAs were Nakahara Mai (Nagisa), Nakamura Yuuichi (Tomoya), and Inoue Kikuko (Sanae). Asked what part of the previous series made a lasting impression on her, Mai answered "The Tomoyo Extra Episode", to which Yuuichi agreed, saying that unlike the usual episodes in which Tomoya flirts with all the girls but has to keep check of Nagisa, the Tomoyo episode was only about her. Mai voiced her hopes of playing a happy role for "AFTER".

"CLANNAD AFTER" is to premiere on Oct. 3 on TBS from 01:59 AM (or 25:59 on Oct. 2). No announcement regarding episode count was made, although I don't see any factors to refute a 24ep run.

Screening of the full version of episode 1 followed.

Spoiler for Episode 1:

The episode starts off with a graphical image of Tomoya and Ushio outdoors, playing catch at the park. The image fades into baseball practice, where Akio, who is scheduled to hold a match in the near future, solicits Tomoya to join the team. He initially declines, stating his injured right shoulder, but is dragged in. The image fades out and segues into the OP, comprised primarily of landscape shots, followed with a shot of Nagisa, leading into the anime title. Right after the title, Nagisa is featured, leading into the roll call, similar to the previous season, starting off with Nagisa, followed by Kyou, Kotomi, and Tomoyo. Cameo shots of the rest of the cast are shown, however Ushio's face is obstructed.

Right after the OP, the story begins, where the gang are still high-schoolers. The episode title "Natsu no Owari no Sayonara" cuts in. Tomoya and Nagisa are going out with each other, and Tomoyo is the student council president. The second semester is about to end, The whole gang (sans Tomoyo and Fuuko) are gathered at the drama club room, where Tomoya pleads his case to them, asking them to participate in the game. They agree, although everyone there is a baseball novice.

Tomoya encounters Tomoyo in the hallway, where he catches her attention by saying that Sunohara wants to do dirty things to her, resulting in a battering of Sunohara. Tomoya tries to persuade her to join, which she will only if Misae, the dorm manager agrees to do so. Undaunted, Tomoya attempts to lure Misae, but she refuses, only to be convinced by Tomoyo.

On the way back, they spot Yoshino Yuusuke at work. They try to recruit him as well, to no avail. However, Tomoya comes up with a ruse in which Sunohara is a die-hard fan of Yoshino's works, a ploy which pays off.

On the day of the match, Sunohara's sister is on the team as well, coming all the way out just to see Yoshino. Akio addresses his team, the Furukawa Bakeries, telling them that if they lose to the local shopping arcade team, they're going to be forced to eat Sanae's bread. Nagisa and Ryou are spectators, where the game begins. Akio, the starting pitcher, holds the opponent to no points in the top half of the 1st inning. In the bottom half of the frame, the Bakeries, after two outs, have the bases loaded, where it's Tomoyo's turn at bat. Without breaking a sweat, she smashes a grand slam, and the Bakeries are up by 4.

In the top of the 2nd, the opponent batter swings and misses, but inadvertently throws his bat at Akio, hitting him cleanly on the shin. Akio is forced to leave the game, and he designates Nagisa as his replacement. Enter commercial break.

The story resumes with Tomoyo at bat, pondering to herself whether she should act more feminine, where she lays down a half-hearted grounder. During Kotomi's at-bat, she already has analyzed the dynamics of baseball, and proves it with a hit. The opponets rack points off Nagisa, where the Bakeries are trailing 5-4. Yoshino slams a deep hit to the outfield, but gets caught in his Midorikawa Hikaru act, and is promptly tagged out.

It's the bottom half of the final inning, and Nagisa is up. She manages to get a hit. After two outs, Yoshino gets a hit, and Mei runs out an infield hit. The bases are loaded for Tomoya, who has yet to produce. A flashback occurs, where Tomoya gets the game winning hit, and is mobbed by his teammates, where they celebrate at the Furukawa residence, followed by an image of the illusionary world and the garbage doll. The flashback fades out, only to presumably continue in the next episode where it left off.

The ED sequence shows the characters doing a moonwalk a la Michael Jackson, with occassional dango shots.

Today's screening included the preview for Episode 2, titled "Itsuka Kono Ai wo Sagashite", featuring Sunohara's search for love.

All in all, "CLANNAD AFTER" is extremely promising. The artwork is typical Kyoto Animation quality, the script should satisfy even the fastidious Key visual novel fan, and most of all, the humor factor is heightened.

Today's event included the announcement of a new anime ("Tonari no 801-chan") by KyoAni, making the prospective for Haruhi distant than ever. Then again you might want to savor the comedy when you can. In any case, CLANNAD aficionados, hold your breath until October.