AnimeSuki Forums

**Klashikari** · 2008-03-28, 08:15

This thread is to be used for discussing the entire 22/23 episodes of CLANNAD TV (first season)... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, speculation on the possible DVD only bonus episodes, etc., etc…

A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:

General impression of the series.
Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices.
Thoughts about the animation quality.
Will there be additional DVD only episodes and what will they contain.
How did the anime compare with the game?
Characters/Character Design
What the show meant to you.
What could the creators/animators/writers could have done better.

And so on.

The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:

Animation Quality: 1-10
Voice Actors: 1-10
Script: 1-10
Adaptation from Game: 1-10
Editing: 1-10

Average = Total Series Rating

Or a combination of the two. Or your general gut feeling.

Please note that CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~ (second season) has been officially announced. Therefore, please keep in mind that you are only rating the first season of the whole story of CLANNAD, hence there are obviously many things which are not resolved by the end of the first season.

Rembr · 2008-03-28, 08:37

I did have a moderate amount of anticipation when this started. The initial trailers presented this series as a bit more in-your-face sort of a school story, mostly from Tomoyo's cut of kicking ass.

It turned out to be just a regular story, though. Which isn't bad. The whole "dating (or not, whatever you guys like calling this) sim" genre generally isn't for me, so this is not an insult when I say I was just barely keeping up with the series because of all the pretty and fresh artistic direction Kyoani always delivers. They did everything fine, and I have no qualms on the final product. And it did have a span of several episodes that I was actually looking forward to each week, that in itself is a feat in this genre.

Now I'm hoping the AS teaser is not misleading me into thinking something else. Hopefully there's something more dynamic.

Takuto19 · 2008-03-28, 08:48

Was a fantastic series that is recommended to pretty much everyone, with it mainly being a comedy and drama/romance anime i thought it was really great how they did everything especially adapting from the game which was very hard to do considering all the content thats in the game. Shame they couldn't do the other storys though such as Misae, Yukine, Kyou or the rest of Tomoyos.

There was a few things i thought could of made it better, sometimes the whole Fukko appearences ruined the mood, but there was some that worked very well such as the crane game part, but didn't work very well with scene with Tomoyo confronting the people from the other school.

Character wise all characters are very much lovable, from Sunohara Mei to Kotomi each one has there own traits that make them unique to the other characters.

Animation Quality: 10 - As always with Kyo-Ani you can expect high quality animation from then, i think there was one episode which looked abit different but it wasn't enough to not give it a 10.

The Illusionary World was really well done animation wise, granted there wasn't alot of things happening in it it was done very well, also the end of episode 22 looked fantastic as well.

Voice Actors: 10 - Fantastic voice acting, not really much to say about it but i really liked the voices that wen't with each character, especially Sunohara

Script: 8 - Wasn't as sad/dark as i thought it was going to be, the IW scenes are very nice and gave a mystery feeling to the series.

Adaption from Game: 8 - I've played the game and as for 22 episodes it felt alot of it was cramed in and there was so much left out in terms of the school life arc, and of course they didn't do Kyou or the rest of Tomoyos route.

I don't blame them though as it's very hard to do a 24 episode Anime with all the content from the game and make a story that flows nicely. If they did plan to do the other arcs they would need another season after the ~After Story~

There was one good thing i really like and that was the Drama club adaption and how they had Kyou, Ryou, Kotomi and Tomoyo added into it, made it alot more lively than the game, which was just Nagisa, Sunohara and Tomoya.

Editing: 9 - The whole show was edited together very well considering how the game plays out, and taking all that and combining into one story was very well done.

Total Series Rating: 9

ReizoSan · 2008-03-28, 09:02

I was anticipating this as well, as its the new "Key" title, The characters were great all of them i enjoyed watching from how cruel Kyou was and to how innocent Fuko was. The development of some characters were good like Fuko,Nagisa,Kotomi apart from that we did not get much to see there pasts which is a little let down in my mind. The funny moments made this an outstanding anime with the great scenes of Fuko getting confused about Tomoya becoming a girl

and when Fuko leveled up and stuff like that.
Althought the hole series was amazing but the story was ok. The voice acting was great, including the great crazy voice of Sunohara and to Fuko and all the characters really

.
As this was done by "Kyoto" the animation style of the characters were inproved and also the backgrounds and stuff like that was jaw-dropping

.
Every episode was fun and exiting to watch i would say its not as good as Kanon 06 in story wise but everything else is great i would say its a "must watch" animes.

Animation Quality: 10 (Kyoto is just simply the BEST)

Voice Actors: 10 (Fukos voice was just simply amazing suited the character perfectly, also all other characters voice were great too.

Script: 9 (Great moments in this anime and most of them coming from Fuko, Sunohara and Tomoyo)

Adaptation from Game: 9 (I would say the way Kyoto changed the character styles was great the original style was quite poor, eyes way too big.)

Editing: 9 (Nothing wrong with the editing that i can think of)

Overall: 9/10

Spoiler for reason for 9/10:

Kristen · 2008-03-28, 09:33

Clannad. The first ever season that I've followed from the announcement until the end, and I'm glad I did.

Clannad evoked different emotions from me at different points. Like at the start of the Fuuko route, it was a very "Isn't this Ayu all over again?" feeling. By the end of the Fuuko route, it became a baw moment, where I just wanted to cry.
The Kotomi route was definately the peak of the storyline. Every week was just amazing, and the route was something unlike anything I've seen before. She was the perfect character, with the perfect voice, playing the perfect scenario. I think I broke down more than once in that route. And the amazing this way, the game actual had even more baw in it than the anime.
At the end of the Kotomi route, Clannad was well on its way to passing Kanon for the top spot in my list. It had amazing routes set at an amazing time, with an apparently amazing finish to it. I was excited without a doubt for episode 15, 16, and 17, hoping for more great storylines.
That was when I felt like it stagnated a bit. KyoAni did an EXCELLENT job in mixing together all of the stories, but I just think that those stories really should not have been mixed at all. Then again, I felt like the Tomoyo and Kyou routes really had minimal plot, so it probably was alright. The basketball game and Mei's appearence didn't really have too much of an effect on me, though.
Nagisa's arc picked up the pace, and ended out on a very nice note. If that was the end of the story, it would have been a trainwreck of an ending. But, they announced a season two, so it's just a very nice place to end it.

Basically, as of now, Clannad really is just a typical visual novel. Five girls, with the male lead picking one of them. Nothing too different from Kanon. But, it becomes something more, and that was what made Clannad special. So, no more about this until the season two review.

But I guess the thing about Clannad is that it holds a special place in my heart. I'm very much like Nagisa. I am shy, stubborn, and have difficulty taking the first step. Since all of my friends went to different schools, I found myself completely alone here, too shy to take a step to make new friends. So, I basically connected with her instantly. In fact, I've actually started saying food names before tests and classes I dislike to encourage me to get through them.
But, it meant something more than just a connection. Every week, it gave me something to look forward to. Something to push through the week for, something new and different. It helped me gather the courage to attend my anime club for the first time and make friends there. It made me realize that my family situation is a complete mess, and we never do anything together anymore, which in turn allowed me to start trying to fix it. It made me realize that I need to indulge in my hobbies and not spend so much time working. And it gave me a pseudo-community here to love and laugh with as it was airing.

I'm going to miss Clannad. It may have not had the best storyline I've ever seen, but it was just something special and beautiful.

Anyways, ratings...
Animation Quality: 10. Honestly, it's Kyoani. Would you expect anything else?
Voice Actors: 10. All characters fit their roles nicely. Tomoya's voice and Kotomi's voice, however, were just something special, giving it a boost to a 10.
Script: 8. The lull in the middle lost this are some points. But, there was nothing really awkward in it, like excissive dramatic moments where a character then says another's name in that exasperated shock.
Adaptation from the game: 9. Honestly, it's word for word the game, except they made the Drama Club a little larger. And honestly, I liked that change. The 9 is for the cuts of some of the minor routes I wanted to see, and still may see.
Editing: 10. Goes in line with that last rating.

Overall, this series gets a 9.7, a little higher than EF's 9.6, and lower than Kanon's 9.9. It was just beautiful, and will probably be a fond memory for years to come.

MeoTwister5 · 2008-03-28, 10:11

People asked me why I liked Clannad, beyond the human drama and the themes. It's because I find myself terrifyingly similar to Tomoya. It's almost like looking in the mirror, and seeing yourself as a blue-haired high school student.

A wayward, listless soul that is just floating from moment to moment, never connecting with people and always so distant. He is like a ghost, a passive observer to the things around him, misunderstood due to the crosses he carries in his heart. He has his scars and it prevents him from ever making that human connection.

He has self-esteem issues despite what others say, and thus he decides to float along with the tides wherever it may take him.

Until he meets a girl below that hill, saying "Anpan" to herself. This girl would change his life forever.

And maybe more than seeing myself in Tomoya, it's that Tomoya through the course of the story slowly evolves into the type of person who has overcome his own demons and finally found someone who would carry his cross with him willingly. He may be damaged goods, but Nagisa was more than willing to become damaged with him. Screw the labels of a delinquent and an idiot. If the world scorned him, then she would gladly be scorned alongside him.

That's where our similarities end I'm afraid. Tomoya is walking up that hill with Nagisa and I'm still waiting at the bottom, waiting for my own "Anpan" girl.

Bah! Enough with my personal life!

Animation - 10
Need I say more? KyoAni breathed life into characters who were already so vibrant and alive in the game, and made them move like real people.

Voice Acting - 10
Excellent voice acting, but the one's behind Fuuko, Nagisa, Youhei and Tomoya were absolutely brilliant. Did I mention I have similar speech mannerisms with Tomoya?

Script - 9
At times brilliantly funny, at times brilliantly sad, and at times strangely profound. Save for some rather cheesy lines, you could have sworn you knew people like this in high school.

Adaptation - 8
Personally I wanted more on the Sunoharas and on Yukine, since I found them to have critical themes concerning the story, but the way they handled Kotomi and Fuuko's arcs was excellent.

Editing - 9
The fact that they were able to turn the leads into a solid group of friends and give them ample time to develop and interact was wonderful. I still think they could have have handled the Kyou/Ryou/Tomoyo love issues a bit better, but that's a minor issue.

**Klashikari** · 2008-03-28, 10:25

[Danger! Incoming BIG wall of text]

CLANNAD was most likely one of the few series I enjoyed to the fullest: expectations from Kanon or whatnot, the touch and atmosphere shown in the trailers were quite nice appetizers, but they certainly didn't make false advertizing of what the story would be.

Enjoyement speaking, CLANNAD is difficult to put in a specific category as the story and characters are versatile and quite colorful to the point of being fit in many situations without much troubles.

Is the quality only centred on the characters? well, I don't think so:

1) Image Quality:

1.1 Sakuga
The art is once again done by Ikeda Kazumi: large eyes and a gloss effects here and there. Personally, I was never troubled by Hotaru Inoue design, and it is quite refreshing to see Ikeda with the same one, with even further details and such.
Colors, smooth outlines, etc: CLANNAD has a very eyecandy side, especially the eyes: sometimes overkill, these are so detailed that expressions of the characters are natural and so forth (which is not only restricted to girls, but to the guys as well, be it Tomoya, Youhei or Akio).
Even if some episodes were inconsistent here and there (most notably, episode 19), the efforts and details are really impressive.

In comparison with Kanon, I believe CLANNAD is much more attractive, in an artistic sense, for the amount of backgrounds, colors and such.

1.2 Animation
The animation is... sometimes overboard.
The nice strength in CLANNAD is the various details which give more life to the characters: some hand gestures (non verbal communication) during a character speech (see Akio's scene in 22), some movements done so casually (see how Kotomi switches her sitting pose in episode 4), etc.
It is very smooth and energetic without rare Frame skip.

On the contrary, the Illusionary World sequences are completly overkill (around 24 UNIQUE frames per second) which don't even drop the quality of the said episodes.

In short
The visual quality of CLANNAD is nothing to complain about. Of course, the design itself might repel people who can't stand "moe", but I think it is pretty much superficial to judge and put such prejudice just because the cover of the book is too eye candy or not of one's taste.
The score is almost at the maximum, however, it would really need a constant quality from start to finish to deserve the 10. But that said, CLANNAD is pretty much close to that, for its own genre and material.
9/10

2) Sound Quality:

2.1 Voice Actors
It is simply a prestigeous cast we got here.
Even if this one was already hired by Key for the voiced PS2 version of the Game, it is quite commendable for the studio for being able to get all of them (even the minor/unnamed characters!) to retale the family tale.
Lot of bigshots are presents: Nakahara Mai, Noto Mamiko, Tamura Yukari, Yukino Satsuki, Inoue Kikuko.
Of course, many others great Seiyuu are in the pack, such like Sakaguchi Daisuke, Hirohashi Ryou etc.

Nakamura Yuuichi is quite the only "newbie" among the cast. However, he is hardly behind everyone, giving many tones to Tomoya: fun, sarcasm, lazyness, but also care and strength.

Nakahara Mai, famous for her cute roles such like Ryuuguu Rena (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni), Yuzuha (Utawarerumono), Kasugano Midor (Midor no hibi), gave a pure but also strong drama club leader.
What is actually commendable is how she could change her act for the anime versions, as many changes were done (Nagisa is far less "slow" in the anime and so forth).

The list would be quite too long, but each character is pretty much faithful to its material and personality. And if we consider the script, there is nothing to nitpick about.

2.2 Opening / Ending
Mag Mell (or Megumeru - メグメル) is very nice, giving many enchanting and dreamy tones.
In comparison with the original version, I largely prefer the anime versions, for its use of intruments and such.

As for Dango Daikazoku, it is quite simple at the first glance, but it stick very well with the sequence but also with the general theme of the series.

2.3 Inserted Songs
There weren't many inserted song, but their timing and so concluded quite well the most powerful scenes of the series (Ana for Fuuko, etc.)

2.4 BGM
Pretty much faithful to their reputation, KyoAni sticked with the source material, to the point of being hardcore, along with some remix.
The timing of most if not all is quite nice, and there is little to no momentum break, such like awkward or undesired silence at a wrong moment or so.

Keeping the original soundtrack was the best move here, as each character respective BGM just represents so well their personality and much more.

In short
Faithfulness to a scary degree, CLANNAD might suffer of some "unpolished/non modern" feel in some BGM. Aside of it, the sound environment is vibrant, giving a consequent immersion along with the visual qualities.
10/10

3) Script:

3.1 Characters:
The strongest point of CLANNAD: a huge, but coherent cast. Colorful and full of chemistry, the characters of CLANNAD just apose a sympathic and empathic universe.

The 5 main girls were pretty much representing the usual "archtypes" though they quickly standed on their own merits.
But much like I said before, the chemistry itself is working so well that it is giving a proper and coherent string of interactions to the point that Tomoya is hardly the center (which gives even more reason not to call Clannad as a "harem").

Quirks, fun and various other things shroud the characters in their daily life.

Tomoya was truely a male lead that most person can accept, considering its backstory, but also stance and actions: he is not a super hero, nor a jerk. He is simply a character who was torn by his past and predicament, but who can't leave things bad when it is arround him.
Altruism? Well, he is far more social and helpful than he might think.

Nagisa is the "too cute to be true" at first, but she is not acting "for the hell of it" and has a specific environment for this. Nagisa is pure, kind and so, but she is not perfect and is aware of that. Too self unconfident? Probably, but that is hardly something at fault.
That said, despite her terrible shyness, Nagisa is able to overcome it and grows steadly and nicely along with Tomoya, turning the situation into a plain natural harmony (none of the other relationship in the series is as natural as theirs).

Much like Nagisa, Kyou suffered a superficial image of an archtype character, tsundere in her case. However it was quickly wiped for more substancial point, such like an incredible selfness and devotion for the persons close to her: Ryou, Kotomi, but also Nagisa when her romance with Tomoya was set in stone. Complexity of such character is not her only asset, as she also provide many good laughs in combination with Tomoya against Youhei.

Kotomi has a special aura around herself, giving a soothing mood, much like Nagisa but in a very stark different way. Kotomi has a very discrete, yet active presence among the group

Tomoyo was considered by many as "ice queen", but she quickly showed her own warm side (well she always had it before in my eyes

). Straight and hardly as restricted by her own emotions as Nagisa or Kyou, Tomoyo is quite the outstanding girl among the cast.

Fuuko would be the "little animal/hostile little sister" a la aruuruu from utawarerumono, but she demonstrated a very deep and caring side in her trial. Cute and definitely odd, Fuuko brought her own colors.

The main cast itself is quite complete already, but they are accompagnied with many, yet as colorful characters.
Youhei being an interesting comic relief, yet an undeniable essential support for Tomoya in many situations. Ryou is deeply linked to Kyou, but also offer her own contributions with the drama club, etc.

With a cast of 24 characters (yes, Twenty four), CLANNAD gave a plethora of personalities and likable protagonists.

3.2 Story progression
The main "dish" along with the characters, most likely. The definite change here is commendable different storytelling in comparison with Kanon: the scripters decided to keep the characters together, even if they are "done" with their route.
Be it Kotomi or Fuuko, both are still on the boat which is respecting the themes of the series. And keeping this approach, using Nagisa's route as the main vector with everyone involved with her is one of the main praise I would give to the scripters of KyoAni, as this was most likely the weak poin of Nagisa's route in the game: even trying to get all girls, they don't have much interactions with either Tomoya or Nagisa (Kotomi is completely absent for instance).
Fuuko was the pillar of "drama" for CLANNAD. What is actually peculiar and brilliant with her route is: she is not a mere copy of another character from Kanon. Her route is actually not something I would call "tragic", as her fate was already sealed. The true strength of her route, for me, was the resolve and the Iron will Fuuko carried, so she could congratulate Kouko for her weddings.
The blessing itself seems to be simple, but the efforts and meaningness behind it are grand. That's actually the reason I didn't feel exactly sad for Fuuko, but rather overly glad that things could get there despite the alarming "bad end" approaching.

Kotomi's route was on the same category: the drama was kinda affecting the character alone, but the resolution itself is definitely not the drama people would expect. Kotomi's route was more towards how people were trying to "move on". And so, the unity of the group is quite demonstrated here, with the whole group, not Tomoya alone, trying to cheer her up.

Kyou and Tomoyo routes were probably called as the "weakest" routes or so. Considering how they are heavely based on romance, such things wouldn't be alright with Nagisa's route. That said, I certainly disagree with the consensus that they were "shafted" in the process: their routes are of course very rooted with the romance, but it isn't only the sole reason for these to exist. In such, Kyou's route already started around episode 10, while Tomoyo couldn't be present because of her objectives.
Hence it is rather a problem of coherence the scripters preferred to stick on, but also a superficial judgment on "apparant route". Much like Nagisa's, Kyou's and Tomoyo's were already entwined, but of course, much less apparent than the "winner".

Nagisa's route ends the little journey of the School Life arcs, which ends on the most logical conclusion of clannad: the confession and so forth.
This route basically started from episode 1 and unfolded how BOTH Nagisa and Tomoya grew, ALONG with the other characters: In this route, the most important point wasn't really the resolution between Nagisa and her past with her parents, but her own life with everyone in the drama club.

This is why this route is the backbone of CLANNAD, as it is the main vector of the message: family and friendship.

The progression and many choices, well for me, were correct and pertinent. Despite they gambled a lot on possible issues with "lack of events", the scripters sticked with the characters, who are the real point of CLANNAD story.

In short
This series is hardly "dramatic" as people might expect from the same Company which did Air and Kanon. However, if it is so, it is "working as intended". CLANNAD was not meant as a Nakuge, but a story unfolding many characters in their life, with a heartwarming touch. This definitely worked for me, and much like I said on the Character poll, Most if not all characters in CLANNAD are likable.
9.5/10

4) Adaptation from the game
I actually played the game during the 3 weeks break of Christmas. With such, I had a tasted of the series without and with the game knowledge.

To be frank, there isn't much thing to complain about this adaptation:
The scripters had, much like I said before, the great idea to really "combine" the characters between them, being together as any usual group of friends.

The other praise I would mention is probably how they tried to involve everyone (such like Yukine, Mei, etc) in the story, without giving "unecessary cameo" or cluttered moments. That is giving even more cohension and strong bound between the characters, not only the main cast which is really a fresh change, where "secondary characters" in huge cast animes series are usually disappearing midway or so.

Of course, there is some dead end, such like the impossibility to convey fully Tomoyo's, Kyou's but also Mei's, Yukine's, Misae's and many other characters arcs. But they did quite an impressive job, far more challenging than Kanon.

In short
Knowing KyoAni for their past productions, I wasn't exactly worried about the adaptation itself. However, the scripters proved they had many cards under their sleeves to keep their vision of the story extremely close to the original material.
9/10

Conclusion
The anime series would probably suffer a lot of its own fame and hype. However, CLANNAD was really an enjoyable ride: showing an outstanding synergy between the characters, the story was a nice blend of many genre and themes, giving memorables comedy moments and such.

CLANNAD is probably one of my most favourites story/VN, and this adaptation is working wonder. The best among the 3 key games adaptions done by KyoAni for me.

9/10 - Excellent

This "essay" is of course my only opinion, and i don't pretend to get an appreciation more worthy than anyone else's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReizoSan

Spoiler for reason for 9/10:

I feel it is kinda a pity that you are giving such prejudice for a mere "feeling". Are you spoiled?
I believe that if you play the game, you would realize that After Story is keeping the winning formula, and adds more on it. Basically, School Life arcs are just a mere appetizer and the true Strength of CLANNAD is shown in AS. I think many people who played the game agree that AS is definitely superior to the school life portion.
Now, it will depends how KyoAni will animate it, but considering what they did for the SL period, I'm really confident in that.

Khaos · 2008-03-28, 10:38

It started great, got weaker, tried to get up, failed and fell down at the end...
Animation quality, Voice Acting, etc were ok, they don't influence my rating in either way. It's all about the story.

Fuko Arc: 10/10
+ Ep 9 was the saddest and most beautiful of all episodes
+ Tomoya playing jokes with Fuko and Sunohara was genious
+ Fuko herself was lovable, a totally clueless harmless cute adorable ghost girl
+ Also nice beginning with Tomoya and Nagisa, Nagisa was cute in her own way

Kotomi Arc: 8/10
+ Kotomi is very cute too
+ Kotomi's violin attacks were funny, kept up the humor from the Fuko arc
- The violin recital was totally overdone and stupid...
- Kotomi locking herself in the house and the others spend two episodes making the garden...
- So Kotomi thought, she burned her parents work for all those years? Forced drama, not half es moving as the end of Fuko's arc

"Threesome" Arc 7/10
+ technically very good inermixing of three arcs
+ some very nice fanservice scenes
- Tomoyo opens up her heart to Tomoya and then fin, that's it??
- sudden change of pace because of the intermixing of those three arcs
- Nagisa gets ill and Tomoya doesn't even visit her once...yeah right.
- They didn't even care to show Kotomi get her violin back and showing her play really beautiful again like when she was a child.

Nagisa Arc 5/10
+ At last the way is free for those two
- Forced Drama!!! When they initially said, that she probably did something bad, the first thought that came to me was "she probably went ill and nearly died", come on, don't be THAT predictable!!!
- Akio and Sanae never tell her the truth, even when she find's out the most and is totally depressed they don't tell her until she stands there crying on the stage before the whole school audience, loving parents, wtf????
- Not even ONE Kiss...Nagisa asks Tomoya to move in with them, as if this would be totally normal, but they even need one extra episode just to get from "how about we be lovers from now on" to holding hands???

Really, they ruined so much just by making it so difficult for them to get closer!!
So overall rating is 7.96 = 8, because Fuko arc was the longest.

Skyfall · 2008-03-28, 10:38

Clannad is an interesting piece of work. What sets it apart from most visual novel adoptions is the way character "routes" are integrated. Instead of having clear-cut character arcs (minus Fuko and Kotomi to a degree) the events are thrown together and intervened, which makes for a more casual feel to the story, instead of making it seem like the male lead keeps switching from one girl to another. And no, the routes didn't suffer any because of it. Contrary to what some people might think (and i can assure you they have not played the game), neither Tomoyo nor Kyou got shafted - when you take out the notably huge romance part of their stories (more so for Kyou than for Tomoyo) there is not much more to tell than what we got to see.

What i especially liked is the relationship between Nagisa and Tomoya. It develops slowly and gently, but at a steady pace as both of the two fill a role in the other's life that was missing thus far - a crutch of confidence and support for Nagisa and the warmth of family and love for Tomoya. They simply feel natural together, and not because of some childhood promise but because they slowly but surely grew closer through everyday hardships by supporting one another. The transition from friends to something more is very natural and one has to wonder just whet was the line crossed. Clannad deserves good amounts of praise for the compelling relationship between the two leads.

That said, there is one thing Clannad completely failed to inspire in me - attachment for any of the characters. I am not exactly sure why, but i found myself unable to care all that much for anyone of the cast. As such Clannad made for an interesting, but emotionally uninvolved story for me. At times i found the character reactions to be a bit forced as well.

I found Clannad to be at it's best when it tried to be funny, but at it's worst when it came to drama. The comedy is simply gut-busting and jokes are genuinely funny. The amount of times when Sunohara (whom i consider to be the best character Clannad has to offer) made me laugh with his obliviousness and Tomoya made me smirk with his ability to spout nonsense with straight face is impressive. The comedy was simply funny, period.

However the drama failed to gripe me. And this has nothing to do with the overstated claim that Clannad is not supposed to be as dramatic as Kanon or Air; it isn't and thats not what i am saying. It has to do with my inability to feel for the characters on any noteworthy level. And i am left wondering why ... because on their own i find plenty of the characters likable. It can't be that Fuko and her arc, which i found to be the epitome of dullness, had completely corroded my willingness to accept drama from Clannad, right ...? Well, for whatever reasons that is the result - it is not that the drama was "bad", i simply couldn't bring myself to care about the characters involved. I was staring at the screen laughing when comedy kicked in, but the story failed to hold my full attention once the more serious events started taking place. My feeling that the characters are behaving in a slightly forced manner in some dramatic scenes did nothing to improve my opinion on this aspect of the story.

The animation is generally pretty as one would expect of KyoAni. The eye details are overkill, and the illusion world scenes are simply droolworthy (among few others like Kotomi's window scene), but it doesn't really have that refined feel i had in Air or even Kanon. At times the sakuga quality seemed a bit questionable during far camera pans, though this might well be because i can be quite picky about this.

In the end that is what Clannad is to me - a generally well written show with praiseworthy relationship development between the two leads and solid production values, and an interesting theme. But thats about it - it didn't do anything special for me, nor is it about to leave a memorable imprint in my mind. A solid and likable, yet emotionally uninvolved entry on my anime list.

7.5/10

Looking towards to the upcoming After Story with rather high expectations.

pac2is · 2008-03-28, 11:21

Animation Quality: 10
Voice Actors: 10
Script: 10
Adaptation from Game: 10
Editing: 10

Got 2 words for it: PERFECT ANIME!

In my opinion this anime gets a 10. Its soo good, i love the story, the style...EVERYTHING

SO looking forward to the After Story (2nd season

)
P.S: Any1 knows how many eps the 2nd season will have?

Ascaloth · 2008-03-28, 11:59

Well, I'm stuck.

I've been meaning to do the Triple Critique for CLANNAD only at the end of After Story. Right now though, I'm starting to waver. And considering True Tears is ending soon as well, it's going to eat a lot of my time if I try to do Triple Critiques for both.

Guys, what do you think I should do? Do it anyway and do another one at the end of After Story, or just wait til After Story?

Deathscyther · 2008-03-28, 12:03

Clannad was one of the most enjoyable animes I've ever watched.

Animation Quality:
Great animation. I love the way the characters look and the backgrounds were perfect. There were a few moments where the level of the animation dropped though. It didn't bother me that much, but I thought I'd mention it.

And the illusionary world scenes were just too perfect. I loved how beautiful those scenes were.

9/10

Voice Actors:
Perfect. Every character had a great voice and it fitted the character. I especially liked Nagisa's, Tomoya's, Fuko's, Akio's and Sunohara's voices.

The OP and ED were great, and I loved the insert songs in episode 9 and 22. The music during the episodes was really good as well and it always fitted the scene.

10/10

Script:
Great story. They handled the story arcs really good in my opinion. Fuko and Nagisa's arcs were the best. They couldn't throw in Kyou and Tomoyo's arcs because they relied on romance too heavily, but I'm okay with that. It's a shame that they couldn't tell some other stories, like Yukine and Mei. The other world scenes were timed very well as well.

After story is better than the school life part in my opinion, so I'm not giving out a 10 yet. That one is for season 2 if handled well enough.

9/10

Adaptation from Game:
I've played the game when I had seen episode 1-15 and I have to say that they did a great job. Most lines were straight from the game and they made some of the scenes even better. It was impossible to do everything what was in the game, but that's because there are so many routes in the game. It's impossible to do them all in 24 episodes. With the time they had...they did an awesome job.

9/10

Editing:
The game was great, but the anime improved some of the scenes. I especially loved how everyone played a big role in the threater club. It made the family theme even more obvious that way. The kyou/tomoyo/nagisa route combination was a bit rushed imo, but still well done. Again, it was too bad that we couldn't see more routes.

9/10

Overal

9.2/10 Very, very good =)

I think that After story will be even better, so I wonder what I'll rate that

Maxtro · 2008-03-28, 15:44

I gave the series an 8. It started out strong but I just didn't like the Nagisa arc. Too much drama and emotional stuff. I liked most of the characters and I loved the humor. Tomoya's practical jokes were the best. His "fantasy's" at the extra episode were great.

One thing I can't stand about shows like these is how predictable the ending is. From the very beginning it's completely obvious that Nagisa and Tomoya will end up together. Boring. How come none of the shows like this do a little twist give as an un-obvious parring?

Also I don't like how wussy Tomoya became once he and Nagisa started going out. Two weeks and they haven't even held hands yet?! I thought he would be a little more sure of himself.

It was still a great show and I enjoyed most of it.

Proto · 2008-03-28, 15:52

Quote:

One thing I can't stand about shows like these is how predictable the ending is. From the very beginning it's completely obvious that Nagisa and Tomoya will end up together. Boring. How come none of the shows like this do a little twist give as an un-obvious parring?

A show must be logical within the reality frame it constructs for itself, shows that fail to do that are often called to cheat on its viewers. In other words, even unpredictability must be logical within the universe rules a show it is based on. A show can only ask so much suspension of disbelief from its viewers; if a show gives clear signs of an event eventually taking place and it gives no sub context of a probability of anything else happening itself, then that first even MUST take place. Not doing so leads to cop-outs, deus ex machina, rabbits out of the hat and similar delicatessen.

**Klashikari** · 2008-03-28, 16:19

The other point is the fact that it isn't meant to be like Shuffle or so: the main goal of the story is certainly not harem or so. Hence, it has nothing to do with "who will be the winner" but how the story will unfold for the couple and the other characters.

If you are expecting a competition, you are missing the point, it isn't like the true harem genre, such like Da Capo, Shuffle, etc. Heck, it isn't either a triangle like Canvas 2, H2O, etc.
The result is because of both the genre of the series, and the events themselves just like what proto just posted.
It is "working as intended".

Kaioshin Sama · 2008-03-28, 16:35

I had a good reasonable length post typed up for all of this but then my darn mother came in and wanted the computer and closed the window afterwards. Thanks a bunch ma.....

Anyway, the score was:

Animation: 9
Characters: 8
Music: 6
Plotting 7
Overall: 7.5 rounded down (I used a coin toss to decide as always) to a 7 so it can fit in the system. The score still is 7.5 or 75% of perfect or whatever people want to call it. I kind of wish I still had my reasons to explain, but I don't feel much like typing it all up again. Sorry....

Maxtro · 2008-03-28, 16:46

A show would cheat on it's viewers if it wasn't predictable? I don't agree with you there. Would it have been that bad if Tomoya ended up with Kyou? It would have been unpredictable and it still could have worked out.

Unless I misunderstood there were several parts where the girls were wondering "who will be the winner." I find it annoying that the audience is teased with the possibilities of different pairings but it's always the obvious one.

Call me crazy but I would have liked something wacky to happen. Like when Tomoya was confessing to Nagisa, she rejects him and tell him that she likes Sunohara. There could be a funny "Shock" scene and it would lighten the mood of the episode.

Thats the kind of unpredictability I would have liked to seen and with the shows humor it could pull it off.

Proto · 2008-03-28, 16:54

If the show had given signs of pertaining to the twisted comedy, sarcasm or wacky development genre, then I would agree with you 100%. However suddendly changing your genre or the direction halfway through the show or at the ending is not considered a good writting practice.

I am not saying that a show should be predictable. I am saying that a show should normally be coherent and logical in retrospective. It should match with the theme, the direction, the character interaction that it presented at the start and that developed through the series. Rabbits out of the hat are generally not funny unless it pertains to such a genre, like Hayate no Gotoku or Excel Saga.

Rembr · 2008-03-28, 17:29

I agree. It was predictable. That may have been a factor to why the whole thing was plain and why I could never get into this genre.

However, since it looks like they planned AS from the get-go, the whole coupling thing was pretty much set in stone. From what I understand Nagisa is integral to the AS story.

Or for that matter, they were working with a predetermined script to begin with, so there's not much they could've done with predictability on the large scale.

That said, I would definitely love to see Kyoani work on an original story sometime down the road. Maybe they can crank out something unique. Maybe not. Who knows.

tripperazn · 2008-03-28, 18:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxtro

A show would cheat on it's viewers if it wasn't predictable? I don't agree with you there. Would it have been that bad if Tomoya ended up with Kyou? It would have been unpredictable and it still could have worked out.

Unless I misunderstood there were several parts where the girls were wondering "who will be the winner." I find it annoying that the audience is teased with the possibilities of different pairings but it's always the obvious one.

Call me crazy but I would have liked something wacky to happen. Like when Tomoya was confessing to Nagisa, she rejects him and tell him that she likes Sunohara. There could be a funny "Shock" scene and it would lighten the mood of the episode.

Thats the kind of unpredictability I would have liked to seen and with the shows humor it could pull it off.

Read Klashikari's post, this is not the point of CLANNAD, at all. If that stuff did happen, CLANNAD would no longer be CLANNAD, but one of the hundreds of other wishy-washy harems.

It's about Tomoya and Nagisa, you know it, KyoAni knows it, Key knows it. There is no competition, and there was never any intended competition either.

This is the problem with not including the AS, people seriously misunderstand what this show is about and I don't blame them.

View Poll Results: CLANNAD TV (first season) Total Series Rating
Perfect 10	110	35.26%
9 out of 10 : Excellent	125	40.06%
8 out of 10 : Very Good	44	14.10%
7 out of 10 : Good	21	6.73%
6 out of 10 : Average	6	1.92%
5 out of 10 : Below Average	1	0.32%
4 out of 10 : Poor	1	0.32%
3 out of 10 : Bad	0	0%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad	0	0%
1 out of 10 : Painful	4	1.28%
Voters: 312. You may not vote on this poll

2008-03-28, 08:15	Link #1
Klashikari 阿賀野型3番艦、矢矧 Lv180 Graphic Designer Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Belgium, Brussels Age: 37	Clannad TV (first season) - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating This thread is to be used for discussing the entire 22/23 episodes of CLANNAD TV (first season)... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, speculation on the possible DVD only bonus episodes, etc., etc… A few subjects you might want to ramble on about: General impression of the series. Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices. Thoughts about the animation quality. Will there be additional DVD only episodes and what will they contain. How did the anime compare with the game? Characters/Character Design What the show meant to you. What could the creators/animators/writers could have done better. And so on. The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example: Animation Quality: 1-10 Voice Actors: 1-10 Script: 1-10 Adaptation from Game: 1-10 Editing: 1-10 Average = Total Series Rating Or a combination of the two. Or your general gut feeling. Please note that CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~ (second season) has been officially announced. Therefore, please keep in mind that you are only rating the first season of the whole story of CLANNAD, hence there are obviously many things which are not resolved by the end of the first season.

2008-03-28, 08:48	Link #3
Takuto19 Yarrrr Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bonnie Scotland Age: 37	Was a fantastic series that is recommended to pretty much everyone, with it mainly being a comedy and drama/romance anime i thought it was really great how they did everything especially adapting from the game which was very hard to do considering all the content thats in the game. Shame they couldn't do the other storys though such as Misae, Yukine, Kyou or the rest of Tomoyos. There was a few things i thought could of made it better, sometimes the whole Fukko appearences ruined the mood, but there was some that worked very well such as the crane game part, but didn't work very well with scene with Tomoyo confronting the people from the other school. Character wise all characters are very much lovable, from Sunohara Mei to Kotomi each one has there own traits that make them unique to the other characters. Animation Quality: 10 - As always with Kyo-Ani you can expect high quality animation from then, i think there was one episode which looked abit different but it wasn't enough to not give it a 10. The Illusionary World was really well done animation wise, granted there wasn't alot of things happening in it it was done very well, also the end of episode 22 looked fantastic as well. Voice Actors: 10 - Fantastic voice acting, not really much to say about it but i really liked the voices that wen't with each character, especially Sunohara Script: 8 - Wasn't as sad/dark as i thought it was going to be, the IW scenes are very nice and gave a mystery feeling to the series. Adaption from Game: 8 - I've played the game and as for 22 episodes it felt alot of it was cramed in and there was so much left out in terms of the school life arc, and of course they didn't do Kyou or the rest of Tomoyos route. I don't blame them though as it's very hard to do a 24 episode Anime with all the content from the game and make a story that flows nicely. If they did plan to do the other arcs they would need another season after the ~After Story~ There was one good thing i really like and that was the Drama club adaption and how they had Kyou, Ryou, Kotomi and Tomoyo added into it, made it alot more lively than the game, which was just Nagisa, Sunohara and Tomoya. Editing: 9 - The whole show was edited together very well considering how the game plays out, and taking all that and combining into one story was very well done. Total Series Rating: 9 __________________

2008-03-28, 09:02	Link #4
ReizoSan Make Your Move Join Date: Dec 2007 Age: 34	I was anticipating this as well, as its the new "Key" title, The characters were great all of them i enjoyed watching from how cruel Kyou was and to how innocent Fuko was. The development of some characters were good like Fuko,Nagisa,Kotomi apart from that we did not get much to see there pasts which is a little let down in my mind. The funny moments made this an outstanding anime with the great scenes of Fuko getting confused about Tomoya becoming a girl and when Fuko leveled up and stuff like that. Althought the hole series was amazing but the story was ok. The voice acting was great, including the great crazy voice of Sunohara and to Fuko and all the characters really . As this was done by "Kyoto" the animation style of the characters were inproved and also the backgrounds and stuff like that was jaw-dropping . Every episode was fun and exiting to watch i would say its not as good as Kanon 06 in story wise but everything else is great i would say its a "must watch" animes. Animation Quality: 10 (Kyoto is just simply the BEST) Voice Actors: 10 (Fukos voice was just simply amazing suited the character perfectly, also all other characters voice were great too. Script: 9 (Great moments in this anime and most of them coming from Fuko, Sunohara and Tomoyo) Adaptation from Game: 9 (I would say the way Kyoto changed the character styles was great the original style was quite poor, eyes way too big.) Editing: 9 (Nothing wrong with the editing that i can think of) Overall: 9/10 Spoiler for reason for 9/10: Although they have announced a new season i am NOT looking foward to it, although the artwork will be great and it will have the funny parts again i feel the story for the next season is poor and sad. and i know its ment to be marked on this season and thats what i have done but it would of gone to maybe 10 if the next season keeps up this standard which i think it won't

2008-03-28, 09:33	Link #5
Kristen Senior Member Author Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Tech	Clannad. The first ever season that I've followed from the announcement until the end, and I'm glad I did. Clannad evoked different emotions from me at different points. Like at the start of the Fuuko route, it was a very "Isn't this Ayu all over again?" feeling. By the end of the Fuuko route, it became a baw moment, where I just wanted to cry. The Kotomi route was definately the peak of the storyline. Every week was just amazing, and the route was something unlike anything I've seen before. She was the perfect character, with the perfect voice, playing the perfect scenario. I think I broke down more than once in that route. And the amazing this way, the game actual had even more baw in it than the anime. At the end of the Kotomi route, Clannad was well on its way to passing Kanon for the top spot in my list. It had amazing routes set at an amazing time, with an apparently amazing finish to it. I was excited without a doubt for episode 15, 16, and 17, hoping for more great storylines. That was when I felt like it stagnated a bit. KyoAni did an EXCELLENT job in mixing together all of the stories, but I just think that those stories really should not have been mixed at all. Then again, I felt like the Tomoyo and Kyou routes really had minimal plot, so it probably was alright. The basketball game and Mei's appearence didn't really have too much of an effect on me, though. Nagisa's arc picked up the pace, and ended out on a very nice note. If that was the end of the story, it would have been a trainwreck of an ending. But, they announced a season two, so it's just a very nice place to end it. Basically, as of now, Clannad really is just a typical visual novel. Five girls, with the male lead picking one of them. Nothing too different from Kanon. But, it becomes something more, and that was what made Clannad special. So, no more about this until the season two review. But I guess the thing about Clannad is that it holds a special place in my heart. I'm very much like Nagisa. I am shy, stubborn, and have difficulty taking the first step. Since all of my friends went to different schools, I found myself completely alone here, too shy to take a step to make new friends. So, I basically connected with her instantly. In fact, I've actually started saying food names before tests and classes I dislike to encourage me to get through them. But, it meant something more than just a connection. Every week, it gave me something to look forward to. Something to push through the week for, something new and different. It helped me gather the courage to attend my anime club for the first time and make friends there. It made me realize that my family situation is a complete mess, and we never do anything together anymore, which in turn allowed me to start trying to fix it. It made me realize that I need to indulge in my hobbies and not spend so much time working. And it gave me a pseudo-community here to love and laugh with as it was airing. I'm going to miss Clannad. It may have not had the best storyline I've ever seen, but it was just something special and beautiful. Anyways, ratings... Animation Quality: 10. Honestly, it's Kyoani. Would you expect anything else? Voice Actors: 10. All characters fit their roles nicely. Tomoya's voice and Kotomi's voice, however, were just something special, giving it a boost to a 10. Script: 8. The lull in the middle lost this are some points. But, there was nothing really awkward in it, like excissive dramatic moments where a character then says another's name in that exasperated shock. Adaptation from the game: 9. Honestly, it's word for word the game, except they made the Drama Club a little larger. And honestly, I liked that change. The 9 is for the cuts of some of the minor routes I wanted to see, and still may see. Editing: 10. Goes in line with that last rating. Overall, this series gets a 9.7, a little higher than EF's 9.6, and lower than Kanon's 9.9. It was just beautiful, and will probably be a fond memory for years to come. __________________

2008-03-28, 08:37	Link #2
Rembr Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007	I did have a moderate amount of anticipation when this started. The initial trailers presented this series as a bit more in-your-face sort of a school story, mostly from Tomoyo's cut of kicking ass. It turned out to be just a regular story, though. Which isn't bad. The whole "dating (or not, whatever you guys like calling this) sim" genre generally isn't for me, so this is not an insult when I say I was just barely keeping up with the series because of all the pretty and fresh artistic direction Kyoani always delivers. They did everything fine, and I have no qualms on the final product. And it did have a span of several episodes that I was actually looking forward to each week, that in itself is a feat in this genre. Now I'm hoping the AS teaser is not misleading me into thinking something else. Hopefully there's something more dynamic.

2008-03-28, 10:11	Link #6
MeoTwister5 Komrades of Kitamura Kou Join Date: Jul 2004 Age: 39	People asked me why I liked Clannad, beyond the human drama and the themes. It's because I find myself terrifyingly similar to Tomoya. It's almost like looking in the mirror, and seeing yourself as a blue-haired high school student. A wayward, listless soul that is just floating from moment to moment, never connecting with people and always so distant. He is like a ghost, a passive observer to the things around him, misunderstood due to the crosses he carries in his heart. He has his scars and it prevents him from ever making that human connection. He has self-esteem issues despite what others say, and thus he decides to float along with the tides wherever it may take him. Until he meets a girl below that hill, saying "Anpan" to herself. This girl would change his life forever. And maybe more than seeing myself in Tomoya, it's that Tomoya through the course of the story slowly evolves into the type of person who has overcome his own demons and finally found someone who would carry his cross with him willingly. He may be damaged goods, but Nagisa was more than willing to become damaged with him. Screw the labels of a delinquent and an idiot. If the world scorned him, then she would gladly be scorned alongside him. That's where our similarities end I'm afraid. Tomoya is walking up that hill with Nagisa and I'm still waiting at the bottom, waiting for my own "Anpan" girl. Bah! Enough with my personal life! Animation - 10 Need I say more? KyoAni breathed life into characters who were already so vibrant and alive in the game, and made them move like real people. Voice Acting - 10 Excellent voice acting, but the one's behind Fuuko, Nagisa, Youhei and Tomoya were absolutely brilliant. Did I mention I have similar speech mannerisms with Tomoya? Script - 9 At times brilliantly funny, at times brilliantly sad, and at times strangely profound. Save for some rather cheesy lines, you could have sworn you knew people like this in high school. Adaptation - 8 Personally I wanted more on the Sunoharas and on Yukine, since I found them to have critical themes concerning the story, but the way they handled Kotomi and Fuuko's arcs was excellent. Editing - 9 The fact that they were able to turn the leads into a solid group of friends and give them ample time to develop and interact was wonderful. I still think they could have have handled the Kyou/Ryou/Tomoyo love issues a bit better, but that's a minor issue.

2008-03-28, 10:38	Link #8
Khaos Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: München	It started great, got weaker, tried to get up, failed and fell down at the end... Animation quality, Voice Acting, etc were ok, they don't influence my rating in either way. It's all about the story. Fuko Arc: 10/10 + Ep 9 was the saddest and most beautiful of all episodes + Tomoya playing jokes with Fuko and Sunohara was genious + Fuko herself was lovable, a totally clueless harmless cute adorable ghost girl + Also nice beginning with Tomoya and Nagisa, Nagisa was cute in her own way Kotomi Arc: 8/10 + Kotomi is very cute too + Kotomi's violin attacks were funny, kept up the humor from the Fuko arc - The violin recital was totally overdone and stupid... - Kotomi locking herself in the house and the others spend two episodes making the garden... - So Kotomi thought, she burned her parents work for all those years? Forced drama, not half es moving as the end of Fuko's arc "Threesome" Arc 7/10 + technically very good inermixing of three arcs + some very nice fanservice scenes - Tomoyo opens up her heart to Tomoya and then fin, that's it?? - sudden change of pace because of the intermixing of those three arcs - Nagisa gets ill and Tomoya doesn't even visit her once...yeah right. - They didn't even care to show Kotomi get her violin back and showing her play really beautiful again like when she was a child. Nagisa Arc 5/10 + At last the way is free for those two - Forced Drama!!! When they initially said, that she probably did something bad, the first thought that came to me was "she probably went ill and nearly died", come on, don't be THAT predictable!!! - Akio and Sanae never tell her the truth, even when she find's out the most and is totally depressed they don't tell her until she stands there crying on the stage before the whole school audience, loving parents, wtf???? - Not even ONE Kiss...Nagisa asks Tomoya to move in with them, as if this would be totally normal, but they even need one extra episode just to get from "how about we be lovers from now on" to holding hands??? Really, they ruined so much just by making it so difficult for them to get closer!! So overall rating is 7.96 = 8, because Fuko arc was the longest.

2008-03-28, 10:38	Link #9
Skyfall Lost in my dreams... Join Date: Jun 2006 Age: 37	Clannad is an interesting piece of work. What sets it apart from most visual novel adoptions is the way character "routes" are integrated. Instead of having clear-cut character arcs (minus Fuko and Kotomi to a degree) the events are thrown together and intervened, which makes for a more casual feel to the story, instead of making it seem like the male lead keeps switching from one girl to another. And no, the routes didn't suffer any because of it. Contrary to what some people might think (and i can assure you they have not played the game), neither Tomoyo nor Kyou got shafted - when you take out the notably huge romance part of their stories (more so for Kyou than for Tomoyo) there is not much more to tell than what we got to see. What i especially liked is the relationship between Nagisa and Tomoya. It develops slowly and gently, but at a steady pace as both of the two fill a role in the other's life that was missing thus far - a crutch of confidence and support for Nagisa and the warmth of family and love for Tomoya. They simply feel natural together, and not because of some childhood promise but because they slowly but surely grew closer through everyday hardships by supporting one another. The transition from friends to something more is very natural and one has to wonder just whet was the line crossed. Clannad deserves good amounts of praise for the compelling relationship between the two leads. That said, there is one thing Clannad completely failed to inspire in me - attachment for any of the characters. I am not exactly sure why, but i found myself unable to care all that much for anyone of the cast. As such Clannad made for an interesting, but emotionally uninvolved story for me. At times i found the character reactions to be a bit forced as well. I found Clannad to be at it's best when it tried to be funny, but at it's worst when it came to drama. The comedy is simply gut-busting and jokes are genuinely funny. The amount of times when Sunohara (whom i consider to be the best character Clannad has to offer) made me laugh with his obliviousness and Tomoya made me smirk with his ability to spout nonsense with straight face is impressive. The comedy was simply funny, period. However the drama failed to gripe me. And this has nothing to do with the overstated claim that Clannad is not supposed to be as dramatic as Kanon or Air; it isn't and thats not what i am saying. It has to do with my inability to feel for the characters on any noteworthy level. And i am left wondering why ... because on their own i find plenty of the characters likable. It can't be that Fuko and her arc, which i found to be the epitome of dullness, had completely corroded my willingness to accept drama from Clannad, right ...? Well, for whatever reasons that is the result - it is not that the drama was "bad", i simply couldn't bring myself to care about the characters involved. I was staring at the screen laughing when comedy kicked in, but the story failed to hold my full attention once the more serious events started taking place. My feeling that the characters are behaving in a slightly forced manner in some dramatic scenes did nothing to improve my opinion on this aspect of the story. The animation is generally pretty as one would expect of KyoAni. The eye details are overkill, and the illusion world scenes are simply droolworthy (among few others like Kotomi's window scene), but it doesn't really have that refined feel i had in Air or even Kanon. At times the sakuga quality seemed a bit questionable during far camera pans, though this might well be because i can be quite picky about this. In the end that is what Clannad is to me - a generally well written show with praiseworthy relationship development between the two leads and solid production values, and an interesting theme. But thats about it - it didn't do anything special for me, nor is it about to leave a memorable imprint in my mind. A solid and likable, yet emotionally uninvolved entry on my anime list. 7.5/10 Looking towards to the upcoming After Story with rather high expectations. __________________

2008-03-28, 11:21	Link #10
pac2is Shinsengumi captain Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: In the world of DeathGods Age: 32	Animation Quality: 10 Voice Actors: 10 Script: 10 Adaptation from Game: 10 Editing: 10 Got 2 words for it: PERFECT ANIME! In my opinion this anime gets a 10. Its soo good, i love the story, the style...EVERYTHING SO looking forward to the After Story (2nd season ) P.S: Any1 knows how many eps the 2nd season will have?

2008-03-28, 11:59	Link #11
Ascaloth I don't give a damn, dude Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In Despair Age: 37	Well, I'm stuck. I've been meaning to do the Triple Critique for CLANNAD only at the end of After Story. Right now though, I'm starting to waver. And considering True Tears is ending soon as well, it's going to eat a lot of my time if I try to do Triple Critiques for both. Guys, what do you think I should do? Do it anyway and do another one at the end of After Story, or just wait til After Story?

2008-03-28, 12:03	Link #12
Deathscyther Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: The Netherlands Age: 35	Clannad was one of the most enjoyable animes I've ever watched. Animation Quality: Great animation. I love the way the characters look and the backgrounds were perfect. There were a few moments where the level of the animation dropped though. It didn't bother me that much, but I thought I'd mention it. And the illusionary world scenes were just too perfect. I loved how beautiful those scenes were. 9/10 Voice Actors: Perfect. Every character had a great voice and it fitted the character. I especially liked Nagisa's, Tomoya's, Fuko's, Akio's and Sunohara's voices. The OP and ED were great, and I loved the insert songs in episode 9 and 22. The music during the episodes was really good as well and it always fitted the scene. 10/10 Script: Great story. They handled the story arcs really good in my opinion. Fuko and Nagisa's arcs were the best. They couldn't throw in Kyou and Tomoyo's arcs because they relied on romance too heavily, but I'm okay with that. It's a shame that they couldn't tell some other stories, like Yukine and Mei. The other world scenes were timed very well as well. After story is better than the school life part in my opinion, so I'm not giving out a 10 yet. That one is for season 2 if handled well enough. 9/10 Adaptation from Game: I've played the game when I had seen episode 1-15 and I have to say that they did a great job. Most lines were straight from the game and they made some of the scenes even better. It was impossible to do everything what was in the game, but that's because there are so many routes in the game. It's impossible to do them all in 24 episodes. With the time they had...they did an awesome job. 9/10 Editing: The game was great, but the anime improved some of the scenes. I especially loved how everyone played a big role in the threater club. It made the family theme even more obvious that way. The kyou/tomoyo/nagisa route combination was a bit rushed imo, but still well done. Again, it was too bad that we couldn't see more routes. 9/10 Overal 9.2/10 Very, very good =) I think that After story will be even better, so I wonder what I'll rate that __________________

2008-03-28, 15:44	Link #13
Maxtro Super Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: California	I gave the series an 8. It started out strong but I just didn't like the Nagisa arc. Too much drama and emotional stuff. I liked most of the characters and I loved the humor. Tomoya's practical jokes were the best. His "fantasy's" at the extra episode were great. One thing I can't stand about shows like these is how predictable the ending is. From the very beginning it's completely obvious that Nagisa and Tomoya will end up together. Boring. How come none of the shows like this do a little twist give as an un-obvious parring? Also I don't like how wussy Tomoya became once he and Nagisa started going out. Two weeks and they haven't even held hands yet?! I thought he would be a little more sure of himself. It was still a great show and I enjoyed most of it. Last edited by Maxtro; 2008-03-28 at 16:06.

2008-03-28, 16:19	Link #15
Klashikari 阿賀野型3番艦、矢矧 Lv180 Graphic Designer Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Belgium, Brussels Age: 37	The other point is the fact that it isn't meant to be like Shuffle or so: the main goal of the story is certainly not harem or so. Hence, it has nothing to do with "who will be the winner" but how the story will unfold for the couple and the other characters. If you are expecting a competition, you are missing the point, it isn't like the true harem genre, such like Da Capo, Shuffle, etc. Heck, it isn't either a triangle like Canvas 2, H2O, etc. The result is because of both the genre of the series, and the events themselves just like what proto just posted. It is "working as intended". __________________ [Sig art: Kagura Yuu, Nunukko, Maku Rako & Mishima Kurone] / [Twitter]

2008-03-28, 16:35	Link #16
Kaioshin Sama Banned Join Date: May 2004 Location: Neither Here nor There Age: 39	I had a good reasonable length post typed up for all of this but then my darn mother came in and wanted the computer and closed the window afterwards. Thanks a bunch ma..... Anyway, the score was: Animation: 9 Characters: 8 Music: 6 Plotting 7 Overall: 7.5 rounded down (I used a coin toss to decide as always) to a 7 so it can fit in the system. The score still is 7.5 or 75% of perfect or whatever people want to call it. I kind of wish I still had my reasons to explain, but I don't feel much like typing it all up again. Sorry....

2008-03-28, 16:46	Link #17
Maxtro Super Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: California	A show would cheat on it's viewers if it wasn't predictable? I don't agree with you there. Would it have been that bad if Tomoya ended up with Kyou? It would have been unpredictable and it still could have worked out. Unless I misunderstood there were several parts where the girls were wondering "who will be the winner." I find it annoying that the audience is teased with the possibilities of different pairings but it's always the obvious one. Call me crazy but I would have liked something wacky to happen. Like when Tomoya was confessing to Nagisa, she rejects him and tell him that she likes Sunohara. There could be a funny "Shock" scene and it would lighten the mood of the episode. Thats the kind of unpredictability I would have liked to seen and with the shows humor it could pull it off.

2008-03-28, 16:54	Link #18
Proto Knowledge is the solution Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: St. Louis, MO Age: 39	If the show had given signs of pertaining to the twisted comedy, sarcasm or wacky development genre, then I would agree with you 100%. However suddendly changing your genre or the direction halfway through the show or at the ending is not considered a good writting practice. I am not saying that a show should be predictable. I am saying that a show should normally be coherent and logical in retrospective. It should match with the theme, the direction, the character interaction that it presented at the start and that developed through the series. Rabbits out of the hat are generally not funny unless it pertains to such a genre, like Hayate no Gotoku or Excel Saga. __________________ How to play Japanese games in Linux Last edited by Proto; 2008-03-28 at 18:37.

2008-03-28, 17:29	Link #19
Rembr Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007	I agree. It was predictable. That may have been a factor to why the whole thing was plain and why I could never get into this genre. However, since it looks like they planned AS from the get-go, the whole coupling thing was pretty much set in stone. From what I understand Nagisa is integral to the AS story. Or for that matter, they were working with a predetermined script to begin with, so there's not much they could've done with predictability on the large scale. That said, I would definitely love to see Kyoani work on an original story sometime down the road. Maybe they can crank out something unique. Maybe not. Who knows.