Clannad follows the story of Tomoya Okazaki life at school, in which he meets and gets to know Furukawa Nagisa. He eventually meets many other girls similar to Nagisa, in which he finds out their backstorys and their dreams for the future, as well as trying to confront the girls problems, and his own.
For the story, Clannad contains 5 arcs portraying the lives of each of the characters. It can be said the plot is character driven, as most of the story is told by the actions of the characters. The atmosphere is at many times lighthearted, with many jokes and puns prevalent in most episodes. 1 fact that needs to be addressed is that this is a serious harem anime, filled with romance and kawaii (cute) moments, which are filled within each arc. Although the atmosphere can be lighthearted, some of the themes can be quiet dark, some themes include guilt, depression and death. However, it's main positive is taking those themes and making it into a more slice of life. The anime does well in demonstrating how the characters cope with their problems in their designated arcs, and even though their past can be very hurting, they still get on with their lives when it comes to school. The ending was a typical harem ending, which was coped with well.
However, although the premise of the show is positive, it does have many flaws which ruin the series. Some of the more emotional moments can be over sensationalized, which leads to characters almost forcing tear jerking moments. Furthermore, the arcs themselves, although at some parts detailed very well, some lack any real substance and can be see as filler episodes. Lastly, although the comedy comes at the right times and are enjoyable, sometimes it can be too overused, and leads it to be boring. Unfortunately, these flaws are too consistent to not notice.
As for the animation, it truly is breathtaking. Some of the scenery is so well done I feel like it fits well into the idea of scenery porn. The brilliant contrast of sunsets are stunning, with fluid like movements and fine detail. However, the nail in the coffin comes from the character models itself. Their eyes scare me. Unfortunately, the models look really cheap and lack any really importance. The use of moe designs in the anime are not a favorite of mine, however, they do make some moments cute and nice.
As for the characters, it can really be a hit and miss. Main character Okazaki is a nice blend between not having an easy going life and still being kind and considerate. The problem is that, other characters have problems which can become annoying, for example, Furukawa has a extreme guilt complex, understandable at times yet forced too. But Sunohara acts as one of the best comedy relief characters that has a back bone, which is truly refreshing. Furthermore, the cute interactions slow the pace of the plot down too much. Nevertheless, the story revolves around character development. The past is narrated by the characters themselves, with the emotions dealing their problems very much real.
As for the music, both the opening and ending cater to kawaii end of the music scale, both I thought were decent but not fully to my tastes. However, the original soundtrack was incredibly moving, I really enjoyed the moving music, and it made the experience watching it slightly more appealing.
To conclude, Clannad is famous moe/harem anime at its best. But I found some parts stale with side order of boring. However, I do recommend Clannad to those new to drama anime's, as it is a good starting point and a good reference as to expect.
