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// On :Sunday, June 19, 2016
Hey guys, kanna here.
Clannad and Clannad: After Story. Where do I begin with two of THE MOST EMOTIONAL ANIME to hit the planet? Well, let's start with a poster
Clannad started out as a visual novel by Key, a developer who started out making adult visual novels such as Kanon and Air that were later censored, before moving on to a marketing demographic for all ages. It was released in Japan in 2004, and got a worldwide release for computers with a software called Steam in 2015.
The anime follows the plot of the game. Our story follows Tomoya Okazaki, a high school delinquent who is bored with his life. His mother died when he was young, and his father turned to drinking and gambling, which left Tomoya to fend for himself. The two had frequent fights, one of which involved Tomoya's father dislocating Tomoya's shoulder. The injury healed, but Tomoya couldn't lift his arm up high enough to play basketball. Since then, the two didn't fight anymore, but they treat each other as distant strangers.
The story really opens up at the beginning of the school year, when Tomoya meets Nagisa Furukawa, a quiet girl that loves dangos (is the spelling right? Is it dangoes? Anyway, they're Japanese dumplings that later became a collection of plushies known as the Great Dango Family). She is a year older than Tomoya, but is repeating a grade because she got really sick during the previous year. Nagisa wanted to join the drama club, but couldn't, because of her sickness. The club disbanded because all the other members graduated. So, she enlists the reluctant help of Tomoya, as well as his friend, Youhei Sunohara, with bringing the drama club back to the school.
Along the way, Tomoya meets twins Ryou and Kyou Fujibayashi, student body president Tomoyo Sakagami, top student Kotomi Ichinose, cook Yukine Miyazawa, and first year student Fuko Ibuki. He also starts to develop romantic feelings for Nagisa, which she later returns.
I could go into After Story, but I really don't want to spoil the anime for you. I know that doing this makes for a short review, but I'll make up for it next week with a longer one. Promise.
Anyway, rating...10 out of 10
Why: The characters are developed wonderfully, and the development is done in such a way that you feel a connection with the characters. You understand and empathize with what's going on in their lives, and you can relate to them. Sure, it seems like a typical anime where a guy hangs out with a ton of girls and eventually develops feelings for one of them, but it's so much more than that. You can feel bad for the characters when they encounter a problem, and happy for them when things start going right for them.
The animation is stellar. The character designs are great, and you can easily tell the characters apart from each other (even the twins). I spent a good part of the anime wishing I could style my hair like half of the female characters, but my hair was (and still is) too short.
The music is pretty good, too. While the openings for both Clannad and Clannad: After Story aren't exactly my favorites, the endings of Clannad and Clannad: After Story are incredible. Clannad's ending is "Great Dango Family" by Chata. After Story had two endings. The first one, "Two Shadows," wasn't a particular favorite of mine, but the second one, "Small Palms," is probably my favorite song...after "Great Dango Family." And as we all know, I'm a sucker for a good soundtrack. This anime did not disappoint.
While I won't give anymore or anything away, I will say this much: have a tissue box ready when you watch this anime. You'll need it. Trust me.
Well, that's it for #19! Stay tuned for Anime Monday #20 where I review...I'M NOT TELLING! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can be evil sometimes, can't I?
*silence*
OK, whatever. But I'm really not telling. ~k
