Review: Clannad

 Clannad

Story: 6.5
When I heard there was going to be another anime by the same makers a Kanon2006, I knew I wanted to watch this. And even though I think the story from Kanon was better, I wasn’t disappointed by this series, far from. Like Kanon, this series is build up in different arcs that focus on one character. Tomoya is the male lead and there are several female students in his surroundings who he somehow manages to become friends with. As he gets involved in their lives, he comes across as really helpful to aid these girls whenever he can. Each of these girls has their problems or insecurities to face and Tomoya lends a helping hand. The main story line which ties all the characters together is about Nagisa whose dream is to re-start the drama club at their school. There isn’t really going on much plot wise in this series since it is mostly the character development that makes this series interesting. It is a pity though that some characters didn’t get as much screen time as others and it left me wondering what could have been their motives.

Animation: 8
I am personally a huge fan of the animation style used in this series. I really like the big eyed girls and their hairdos. Because of the detailed backgrounds and the vivid colors this anime was a joy for the eye. I feel there isn’t much more to say about this point since I can’t really find anything bad about it.

Audio: 8
From all the songs of this series I like the one that closes up Fuuko’s arc the best, but the opening theme is also very beautiful. The rest of the soundtrack delivers a good quality of songs which I actually enjoy listen to on its own. The Dango theme sounds like a lullaby which is interwoven with the whole series. The voice actors also do excellent jobs on personalizing the characters and like the animation I really have nothing to complain about here.

Characters: 8
As stated before this series involves around Tomoya who does anything for others as long as he doesn’t have to go home. I really like his sarcastic character and I think it is one of the best male leads I have seen in a series. As with all Key adaptations, Clannad has a huge side cast. There are several girls that get in touch with Tomoya somehow. I do feel that there are a bit too many characters in Clannad because as mentioned before some characters didn’t get the screen time they deserved. However the characters that did are likable characters with interesting tales to follow.

I find Nagisa and Fuuko the most adorable characters of the bunch. Fuuko is just so damn cute and Nagisa’s shyness and awareness make her a very lovable heroine. Nagisa’s parents also deserve to be mentioned here. They are real nutters but such friendly people that you would almost wish it would be your parents, almost ;)

Sunohara delivers the comical relief in this series and the fights between him and Tomoyo are brilliant. Another thing I found very comical was the way Tomoya teased Fuuko.

The character development is really good; especially the relationship between Tomoya and Nagisa is brilliantly dome. But also the bond between the characters as a group of friends is really nice to witness. All in all Clannad has a cast of memorable characters even though the number of characters was too much to give them all the attention they deserved.

Overall: 8
I would defiantly recommend it to anyone who liked the other Key adaptations. This one is more realistic then Kanon and Air however it still has the same quality and charm. I found it a good watch even though some things remain unexplained in the end.

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April 25, 2008 :: Comedy, Drama, Reviews, Romance, Slice of life ::