Ranked #39

Clannad

No man is an island, and Okazaki Tomoya learns that after a one seemingly insignificant utterance of 'anpan' by a girl who is the catalyst of his life changing irrevocably for the better.

Tomoya is a delinquent. Or so is his label. He hates his home life, he doesn't get the mundane pointlessness of his town, but he endures the routine of going to school, attending classes (if he feels like it), goofing around with his friend Sunohara, and going back to a silent house. The monotony of his life is broken when he encounters Furukawa Nagisa, a girl who he hears mumbling the word 'anpan' to herself on a hill that leads to their school. From that one moment, the events of Tomoya's life are altered as he begins an unusual friendship with this girl. Clannad's story may not come across as highly original to many. It doesn't seem that way from the skeleton of the story. It is a high school drama/comedy/romance. But then, what makes it special? The delivery of the plot. Clannad is so unusual because it does not follow the formulaic history that other anime in its genre(s) do.

The entire storyline hinges around the founding of a Drama Club. It sounds boring, but the details surrounding every event in this anime are absorbing. Very soon, we get swept up into Tomoya's story, and the stories of several girls he later meets. There is a fair amount of the supernatural in Clannad. There is also a sort of side story within the anime. It follows a girl and a doll made from scrap metal and garbage who live in a world where only they exist. There may or may not be some parallel to the both worlds presented in Clannad, but I suspect it is strictly up for interpretation at this point in the franchise's history.

Art for this anime is pretty good. It is very colourful, with a lot of softer tones. The character design may seem a little dated, but the animation and the colour palettes used are beautiful to look at. The backgrounds are very detailed and pretty.

The score for Clannad is absolutely amazing. It is one of the few anime with background music that I can hum along to because I remember it. A great soundtrack with a lot of originality; the pieces composed definitely contribute immensely to the mood and atmosphere presented. Sometimes it goes lighter, sweeter, gentler to suit the sad scenes, sometimes it is sweeping and magical to complement the grander scenes. The ED theme song as well is probably the cutest and saddest song I've heard in a while. It is a silly song, in premise, a song about the dango family that Nagisa loves, but on a larger scale, it is about that family that Nagisa loves. All those people who care about her and who she cares about. I've rarely seen a theme song contribute to the emotional content of an anime. Most are usually just catchy with nonsensical lyrics, but Clannad's theme has a purpose and meaning. Not to mention that it's also very catchy.

Clannad has a large cast. There is Tomoya, the protagonist. There is something quite different about him from other protagonists in these types of anime: he has a personality. Tomoya, while he comes across as a delinquent, isn't a bad guy. He's more of the delinquent in that he gets into scuffles, maybe dodges a few classes, but he isn't a trouble-maker or a bully or involved in anything illegal or immoral. The most important thing about him in the beginning is that he is bored. They say idle hands are the devil's tools, but this is a rare instance in which we see idle hands doing something magical and wonderful for people. Tomoya changes throughout the course of the series. His interaction with people causes him to grow, to start caring, to start feeling accepted and loved, and to fall in love himself.

Nagisa is a sweet girl. She is older than the other young characters in the anime; her illness kept her back a year in high school. Despite her weakness, both physical an in terms of her confidence, she is an emotionally strong girl who also changes throughout the course of the series. With Tomoya's help, she learns that other people can't live her life for her--she has to step up and do it for herself. Isn't it beautiful to see characters develop through interacting with one another?

The supporting cast is great. There is Sunohara, the absolutely hilarious sidekick of Tomoya's. And there are several girls who are classmates that are also presented. Each is unique and has their own quirks. Some even have an arc devoted to them throughout the series. Two characters I think are absolutely great as well are Nagisa's parents. They are two very grounded, supportive, cheerful people who are the most important adults in the anime. And most scenes involving the both of them are a laugh riot, as well.

I was initially rather hesitant to get into Clannad. It seemed like just another one of those type of anime; predictable, gooey, melodramatic. I was rather pleased to find myself proven wrong by the end of the first episode. I couldn't wait to get to the next episode when I started. It is rather pleasing as well to see development done so subtly in an anime. Some might claim that there is no real basis for the romance that eventually flourishes in the end, but if you pay close attention, you can see it. Love doesn't always have to be fireworks and stormy cliff sides and tears and screaming. It can be simply be randomly striking up a conversation with someone, rehearsing together for a play, or unconsciously smacking someone else's hand away from that person.

What seems like a typical harem set-up quickly proves the audience wrong. This might have the bones of a two-bit harem series (one guy, a ton of girls who are attracted to him in some way), but the heart and soul of Clannad are filled with beautiful character relationships, great characters, and a melancholy storyline.

And like the title means, 'family', Clannad shows us that a family can come from anywhere and with anyone, whether it's people who care that you have a warm bed and roof over your head, classmates whose lives you impact in some way or the other, a best friend who sticks with you through everything, or that strange girl who likes to mumble to herself. read more

In our world, human relationships are the keys to happiness , but there are times when not everyone can open their door. We often fall into despair and isolate ourselves from the reality of thel world when our key is nowhere to be found. It is at these times when we need the support of others to guide us through our hardships and reassure us of our place within society. In society, our families are integral in providing us with the proper support that we need when our lives take a turn for the worst. Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with the miraculous support of their families. Individuals living in a dysfunctional family often fall into a state of frustration and anger; unable to maintain proper stability in their lives. While family members are irreplaceable, their roles are not. Sometimes we need our friends to fill the roles of a family in order to provide us with the necessary support.

By now you’re probably wondering where I’m going with all of this. Before I begin my review I thought it was best to explain the role of a family in society and why they are so central to our everyday lives; whether we realize it or not. Clannad is the most recent installment of Kyoto Animation’s adaptation of Key’s visual novels. The central theme this time around is families and how they are needed in an individual’s everyday life. As an interesting bit of info, Clannad is the Irish word for "family" or "clan" which fits the theme of the show quite nicely.

Okay that’s a long enough introduction; I better start this review before the word count gets to be over… two thousand (no I wasn’t going to say what you were probably thinking about).

Story – 8/10
Similar to Key’s other works, Air and Kanon, Clannad attempts to throw the Republican punch; it plays with your emotions without giving a reason for doing so. Thankfully Clannad does a much better job than the pathetic campaign that the Republicans are currently running (and no, I’m not going to begin comparing Tomoyo to Sarah Palin if anyone was wondering).

Clannad’s story is about Tomoya Okazaki, a young delinquient in his last year of high school. When Tomoya was young his mother died in an accident. This event led Tomoya and his father into a downward spiral where they both became distant from one another. One night, Tomoya and his father got into an argument which eventually turned into a fight between father and son. As a result Tomoya seriously injured his shoulder and was unable to continue playing on the high-school basketball team. It was at this point where Tomoya began avoiding his father and roaming around the streets at night. He then began coming to school late and skipping classes together with his best friend Youhei Sunohara. Due to his actions, people began labeling Tomoya as a delinquient. Now in his last year of high school, Tomoya continues to half-ass his way through his life. Tomoya no longer cares about his future or others… until one day when he meets Nagisa Furukawa, a typically shy and gentle girl. It turns out that Nagisa was actually held back a year due to the fact that she was sick in the previous year and missed most of her classes. Since most of her friends graduated and left town, Nagisa is left with no friends. Tomoya, who feels that Nagisa is in a similar situation to his, approaches her. It is then that Nagisa tells Tomoya of her dream to join the drama club; because she always wanted to act in a play. Together, the two of them muster enough effort to go to the drama room after school only to find that the club shut down. Disappointed with the outcome, Nagisa leaves. After some thinking Tomoya, who feels that he has nothing better to do with his life, attempts to help Nagisa reorganize the drama club. Along the way, Tomoya meets many other (beautiful) girls, who all happen to have their fair share of problems. With nothing else to do, Tomoya eventually helps to solve each of their problems while at the same time coming to the realization that he himself has one.

Clannad’s story is told in a number of arcs. Each arc focuses on a specific character and their family central problems. Within each arc, Tomoya and Nagisa help that character identify the problem and find ways to solve it. In doing so, Tomoya learns more about the importance of having a family while Nagisa develops some personal courage. For this genre of anime, Clannad does a good job in steering clear from the pit of flaws and clichés that many other animes constantly fall into. In general, the story arcs in Clannad are well executed and told very nicely with some light supernatural elements thrown in. The backgrounds of each arc character are fleshed out and presented to the viewers in a way in which we can easily make connections and relate to each character. While the stories of each character are neither deep nor profound they are often sad; usually involving a tragic death or a tale of misfortune. Unfortunately, the episode length of the story arcs is quite unbalanced. Two of the main character’s arcs are cut extremely short due to some arcs being far too long and to a point, overly fleshed out.

Often times, Kyoto Animation (now KyoAni for simplicity) seems to be the Hollywood of anime; spawning shallow pop culture shows with over the top production values. Some of the animes produced by KyoAni such as The Melancholy of Suzimiya Haruhi and Lucky Star rely heavily on otaku-central humor. The humor sported by the above series often gets repetitive and dull since it is only targeted at one specific group. Thankfully, the overall experience of Clannad is not bogged down by unnecessary otaku humor. Oddly enough, the humor is actually used in parts of Clannad’s story to provide comic relief (usually involving the misfortune of Youhei Sunohara) to prevent the show from feeling too depressing. Additionally, the comedic scenes in Clannad are not just otaku-specific and are more quirky, witty and slapstick oriented. Unlike Zero no Tsukaima, which doesn’t t know when to draw the fine line between cruel and funny, Clannad seems to understand its reputation and swiftly draws that line. Overall, I enjoyed the humor in Clannad and felt that it added to the show rather than detracting from viewing experience. It’s nice to see that KyoAni has finally learned that there are anime fans out there that do not enjoy excessive amounts of otaku humor; Clannad being a key example of their progress.

Surprisingly there is very little romantic development in Clannad (which the opening would hint otherwise since it quite clearly showcases the five main girls in typical harem format). The main focus of Clannad is families and not so much romance, although all families eventually begin with some romance. There is some romantic tension between Tomoya and the other girls (mainly Nagisa) but it never gets to the point where a harem is formed. More than anything the romance of the show just fleshes out the main characters and makes them memorable in the end.

Animation – 9/10
KyoAni is known far and wide for having extremely high production values. Some fans even consider the studio to be the gods of anime and for good reasons too. The animation in Clannad does not disappoint, all characters are fluidly animated. There is not a single dull facial expression or a stiff body figure on screen at any time (although at one point Tomoya does get rather stiff, but this is not due to a drop in animation). The lighting effects in Clannad are also superb, as they are usually used in conjunction with character’s feelings to convey the mood. Overall I have very few complaints (if not any) about the animation in Clannad except that I know KyoAni’s has even greater potential in terms of animation as seen in their previous masterpiece Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid.

Sound – 8/10
Another strong point of this anime is its sound and voice acting. The opening song "Megumeru ~cuckool mix 2007” by eufonius is a direct remix of the Clannad game opening. It fits the tone of the show nicely and is enjoyable to listen too along with the opening animation. The ending them “Dango Daikazoku” (The Big Dango Family) by Chata is a metaphorical song of the show’s main theme and the animation that goes along with it is quite cute and charming. Most of the BGM in Clannad was either reused or remixed directly from the Clannad visual novel. People who have played the game before will recognize many similar tracks, which may lead to mixed feelings. It would have been nice if KyoAni had taken the time to create new tracks, although in doing so they may have destroyed the overall feel and mood of Clannad. The voice acting is handled quite well by the voice actors. Most of them were able to breathe life into each of their respective characters and with great passion too. Overall, sound is pretty solid in Clannad earning a respective value of 8.

Characters – 8/10
Most of the characters in Clannad are taken from a bottomless pool of anime archetypes including the quiet bookworm, the gentle girl and your typical tsundere. Thankfully, some of the characters in Clannad end up being more than dry bologna. I’m glad that I finally get to have a few slices of black forest salami.

My goodness, if the delinquents at my school offered to solve my personal problems and spoke without swearing every other sentence, I would declare world peace everywhere. It’s strange that Tomoya seems to be the nicest and most decent delinquient that I have ever seen. In some respects his character almost seems unnatural, although I guess Tomoya only developed in this fashion due to living with a dysfunctional father. Complaints aside, Tomoya is a painfully honest young man who is frantically dealing with his own personal problems. Tomoya is a truly admirable character as he draws upon the failures in his life to make sure those around him do not end up that way. Through helping others, Tomoya eventually comes to the realization of his own problems and changes with the help of others.

At first glance, Nagisa doesn’t really seem to fit the role of a heroine as her character is a combination of the shy, gentle girl archetype. Nagisa is initially afraid of speaking in front of others but nevertheless wants to join the drama club. Most of Clannad’s story revolves around Nagisa and her fight to overcome her shyness. With Tomoya’s help, she eventually matures into a strong-willed person with a mind of her own. In turn, Nagisa is the one who helps Tomoya get over his distrust of everyone and his negative view on life. Oddly enough, Nagisa seems to be one of the few characters in Clannad who doesn’t have an immediate family issue. Nagisa’s family happens to be very close with each other, a rarity in modernized societies today. Watching Nagisa’s family members interact with one another gave me a heartwarming feeling and made me realize how similar my family is to hers. Even Tomoya is welcomed into the family at one point, showing just how generous they are. I understand that not everyone is blessed with a warm, loving family, but I hope that this example illustrates that almost anyone can find a family in this world, even if they are not related by blood.

The four other main girls in Clannad aren’t quite as developed as Nagisa (in terms of character, not figure) but they still have more than ample screen time. First of all there’s Kyou Fujibayashi (your typical tsundere), Kotomi Ichinose (the shy, intelligent bookworm), Tomoyo Sakagami (the combo master) and Fuko Ibuki (the starfish obsessed bozo). All of the main girls have their own respective arcs in which their personal stories are told. Each girl is equally likeable due to their individual personalities and complex personal lives, although some such as Kotomi and Kyou seriously run the risk of falling within the bottomless pool of anime archetypes. One last notable mention is Youhei Sunohara, who is the main source of comic relief in Clannad. Sunohara is probably the most humorous character due to his wacky antics and idiotic behavior which often results in him being bullet-kicked by Tomoyo. While every character in Clannad belongs to an anime archetype, KyoAni does an excellent job in differentiating most of them from other common fodder. These characters are part of what makes Clannad such an enjoyable and at times humorous show to watch.

Enjoyment – 9/10
While it’s not a groundbreaking story, Clannad doesn’t try to play up to anything more than it is. Clannad is simply a heartwarming story about the importance of a family. While some character’s arcs did not receive as much screen time as others, the main story is not greatly affected. Clannad’s story isn’t without flaws, but it still stands strong and will be remembered if not for its heartwarming story, then for its wacky, original sense of humor. People who enjoy a blend of drama, humor and slice of life will more than enjoy Clannad. Those who prefer a more serious tone to their animes (such as myself) will still find reasons to enjoy Clannad as its story is not purely positive.

Phew, this was another review that ended up being well over two-thousand words. I probably mispelled Tomoya as Tomoyo somewhere. Again, if you found a way to get through this lengthy review, I congratulate you and hope you learned something from reading it.

Anime: Clannad
Overall: 8/10
Reviewed On: 11/02/08
Reviewed By: Don_Don_Kun
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