[Soelke]

Being new here, I haven't been able to share my opinions on previous episodes, but...Anyway, this is gonna be long. I put spoiler tags around the character section, though, so that should be okay...

I found Clannad while searching for songs sung by Hatsune Miku. There was, of course, a video with her singing Mag Mell. I fell in love with the song immediately, and, wanting to learn more, looked up the only name I could remember from that song (Nagisa's name). As always, I went and spoiled the series for myself, but truthfully, I never actually read the entire thing. Then, I went on to watch the first episode. Thus began the most wonderful anime experiance I've ever had. I've probably cried more during Clannad than any other anime.

There are characters that I particularly noticed throughout the series...

Spoiler for Sunohara:

Sunohara is the first I'd like to mention. Oh, how boring Clannad would be without Sunohara. I was watching Kanon 2006 in cunjunction with Clannad, so of course I saw Kitamura (or whatever his name was) completely failing to get anyone to as much as notice him. He was similar to Sunohara, being the protagonist's friend and usually the butt of all jokes. Sunohara, however, had much more development, and I could actually see possible pairings with him and some of the heroines (as well as Yukine). To top it off, whenever he's on the scene it's bound to be funny (unless it's the climax of his story arc, then it's intense). Great character..

Spoiler for Nagisa:

Nagisa is the second. Again, I haven't seen many other "harems", so I wasn't to familiar with the "ill girl" stereotype. Despite this, I was still pleasantly surprised to see Nagisa so strong in the beginning of the series, taking matters into her own hands once Tomoya showed up and took him with her to into all sorts of situations (I mean, she was looking for Theater Club members and Tomoya remembered Fuuko, so...). Despite being physically weak, she is one of the strongest girls in the series. She is very bold, too. She went on to deliver Ushio, despite the warnings that it would be dangerous for her.

Spoiler for Tomoya:

Then, there is Tomoya. I don't think I've ever seen so much development in one character. At the beginning, he was aloof and didn't really care much for anything. His only friend was Sunohara, possibly. The moment he met Nagisa, he started to get his act together and started to take a better look at life and the values of family, blah blah...As he meets the other heroines, he opens up more, and consequently gets more friends. With the loss of Nagisa in After Story, he takes a nasty fall mentally, but Ushio brings him out of it and he gets his act together. In the end, he is no longer closed off from the world but a man who has opened his eyes to the world around him.

Spoiler for Ushio:

Ushio. I have not seen to many five-year olds, but...Ushio is so real. The little gestures, her voice (kudos to her seiyuu), the way she moves, it's all so appropriate for a girl her age. As a five-year old, she has a somewhat limited understanding of her situation: why her father isn't around to take care of her, the nitty gritty of how her mother died, why she lives with her grandparents, etc...When she meets Tomoya for the first time since her birth, she does not run to him to give him a big bear hug. She's a little shy at first, since she doesn't know him. Eventually, however, she comes to terms with him in possibly one of the most heartwarming scenes in anime.

Spoiler for Fuuko:

Annnd, ah, Fuuko, how we love you. I hadn't formulated a solid opinion on my favorite Clannad character just from seeing the opening sung by Miku, but man did I get an opinion as I watched the series. Fuuko is quite the strange character. It's kind of difficult to put her in a single category, but "cute" definately qualifies (I love cute things). Again, I was watching Kanon 2006, so I was trying to compare Clannad and Kanon heroines. In the end, I put her with Ayu (Ayu ftw!) because their situations are sort of sort of similar, and they're both short. And yet, you can't really compare her to anyone. Her persona is childish, and immature--which has grated people's nerves, I've noticed--but underneath that is pure determination (and win). With the situation she was in in season 1, she probably knew that it was hopeless for her. Even then, she went on handing out starfish (It's thanks to Clannad starfish are one of my favorite animals now). She made a lot of days for me, especially her reappearance in After Story. There are a lot of theories concerning Fuuko and the Illusionary World, and they all seem to make perfect sense. Overall, she is definately my favorite character.

I talked to much about the characters...In any case...The music was just beautiful, but the ending didn't match the episode sometimes in After Story *coughAfterStory16and21cough* Other than that, it was really catchy. I love the first ending. Annnd...The animation. That was the most beautiful animation in an anime I've ever seen. Everything is just so...detailed. The way the hair flows in the wind, the expressions, tears, the light playing on Nagisa's and Tomoya's hair as they sat underneath that tree in the courtyard...Absolutely beautiful. The way they did the Illusionary World, you'd think it was based off a real place, too. It wasn't just an ever-going plain; it expanded into a mountain region, as well. Beautiful.

And then, the ending of the series. Before Tomoya gets his magic reset button and saves his wife and kid, he must first go and collect the last light orbs. I love how Key didn't just hand him his happy ending (however cruel that may sound). He went the whole mile and finally came to terms with Nagisa's death, facing the fact that he has a daughter who, for five years, he has completely neglected, leaving her with her grandparents. Finally, there's the reset button and Tomoya's journey is finally over. He has saved the future (more weird time-loopy stuff) and at the same time learned a valuable lesson about the significance of family. I was very satisfied with the series, and I hope to see more from KyoAni. Yeah...I wish I could've done a better post, but when I finally get to express my opinion I'm speechless. Everyone takes the words right out of my mouth xP