|
I was going to start writing this review going through a nice and tidy deconstruction of the series different merits and downfalls. Separate them through a clearly structured review passing through the different technical aspects of the series, and at the end giving an overall, ponderated review of the series.
And then I realized that if I did that, it would be the same as I normally do with series that fail to impress me beyond the level of a B series.
And that's because if I start to intellectually analyze a series, that's because the series failed to impact me in an emotional level. I don't see see, read, or hear any form of art in order to calmly evaluate the different aspects of a creation. If I wanted to do that I'd enter some paper database and search for some article that would help me write my dissertation, that would be a much more productive use of my time.
It's the same with anime. When I watch anime I don't want to think 'oh! Did you saw the inflection that that VA used during that scene? That just showed how experienced she is at portraying those kind of characters' or 'Wow, what masterful use of the color palette by the animation studio during that segment' or anything of the like. I want to cry, I want to laugh, I want to rage, ANYTHING, but overall, I WANT TO BE MOVED. Make me tear, make me lol, but for god sake, if something makes me go analyzing point per point the different, merits of a series, it won't go beyond a 9 level series for me. Ever.
tl, dr: I want to have an emotional attachment to the characters, plot, or general message of the series. I want to cry when the characters feel sad, to laugh with them, to feel for them. If I have the time to stop and think about the BGM or the color palette it's because the series isn't just being good enough.
As such, screw technical reviews. CLANNAD is a series that made me feel for almost all of its characters. It made me cry as few other series had made me cry. Yes, it made me laugh. As such, it receives a 10/10 for me, and screw everything else. It is up there with the only other 3 series that had made me feel this strongly: Haibane Renmei, ARIA and Figure 17. Other series might be up to and beyond CLANNAD in the technical aspect, but if I'm not feeling the same as what the characters are feeling minute per minute, then sorry, but you won't get any honors degree with me.
|