Clannad Review
I have not longed as much as I have to be in a fictional world as much as I have after watching ‘Clannad’. With a story that will make you laugh one second and be on the floor crying in the next ‘Clannad’ is a beautifully written master piece and one of my favorite anime’s I have ever watched. Beware of minor spoilers for ‘Clannad’ ahead and also, please note, this will just be a review for the first series of ‘Clannad’ and not ‘Clannad: After Story’. If you want to see me review the next series then make sure you let me know down below. I also have only watched the dubbed version so this review will be taken only with the English voice actors in mind.
‘Clannad’ is based off a visual novel with the same name and characters. The story follows a troubled young boy named Tomoya, a student who manages to gain the attention of multiple girls and solve problems to further a relationship with them, not unlike most visual novels. The anime, however, took a much different approach, instead opting to make only one relation the main focus. The others are explored in varying degrees of detail but on the whole, it is the relationship between Nagisa and Tomoya that got the most screen time. I personally would have preferred them getting to the point a lot sooner as it is only towards the end of the anime that these two end up together.
Our main character Tomoya was displayed really well, in particular, through his relationship with his father. This is something that isn’t explored until the very end of the anime; however, we do get hints about it throughout the show. This is great because most other shows would just give the audience a bunch of pointless exposition at the start of the story to explain their relationship, but ‘Clannad’ really captured the reality of their family life and how Tomoya would find it difficult to open up to others straight away.
I would say the story has three major arcs. The first arc focuses on a girl called Fuko, a young girl who is obsessed with starfish. This is probably the most spoiler heavy arc but it was also the most emotional one. Basically, Fuko wants more than anything in the world for the students to attend her sister's wedding. Fuko is not who she appears, however, and what seemed like a reality show starts to delve into the fantasy as we learn about the fragility of life which is symbolized so well through Fuko’s starfish story. Fuko was my favorite character and one that simultaneously brought the lightest heartedness and the most sorrow for the show. My only criticism would be that the show kept bringing her back randomly towards the end, even after her arc had finished.
The second major arc focuses on Kotomi, a highly intelligent student with a tortured past. One of the major themes of the show is dreams and we see each character has there owned individual goal. For Fuko this is people going to her sister's wedding. For Kotomi, the show explores how dreams change. When she is young all she wants is a teddy bear, never having grown up with toys, as she grows, however, her wishes change as we once again learn how fragile life can be. This was probably my least favorite of the three major arcs, however, was still interesting to watch. It just wasn’t as emotional as the other two due to the socially awkward nature of Kotomi’s character.
Our third major arc explores the theme of dreams to a whole new level. It follows Nagisa and her goal of restarting the school's drama club and performing. As the story progresses, however, she realizes that her dream may come at the cost of other people’s as well. The show does a great job during the first three arcs of making us emotionally attached to Nagisa and she is the obvious choice for Tomoya by the end. Once again the theme of life is explored through Nagisa who has a history of illness which has caused her to have to re-take the school year.
As well as these arcs we are also given a few other minor story lines which each tie into the themes of life, death, and dreams. We are given Tomoyo’s story line which revolves around her trying to save the cherry trees outside of the school because of an emotional attachment to them. The worst characters, in my opinion, were probably Kyou and Ryou, the sisters. They aren’t given much of a storyline beyond wanting to become Tomoya’s boyfriend. We are also given Youhei, who essentially acts as the comic relief throughout the whole story.
Both the art style and the music added to ‘Clannad’s’ greatness, although not being particularly exceptional in any way. ‘Clannad’ is truly an anime I will remember for a long time in the future with its compelling characters and emotional ending. It’s not that the ending of ‘Clannad’ was sad but I was upset to see it end as I had become so attached to the characters. That’s pretty much ‘Clannad’ in a nut shell. I hope I’ve maybe encouraged you to watch the show and if I have then been sure to share this post and let me know down in the comments below. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions on anime’s I should watch and review next. Thanks.
‘Clannad’ is based off a visual novel with the same name and characters. The story follows a troubled young boy named Tomoya, a student who manages to gain the attention of multiple girls and solve problems to further a relationship with them, not unlike most visual novels. The anime, however, took a much different approach, instead opting to make only one relation the main focus. The others are explored in varying degrees of detail but on the whole, it is the relationship between Nagisa and Tomoya that got the most screen time. I personally would have preferred them getting to the point a lot sooner as it is only towards the end of the anime that these two end up together.
Our main character Tomoya was displayed really well, in particular, through his relationship with his father. This is something that isn’t explored until the very end of the anime; however, we do get hints about it throughout the show. This is great because most other shows would just give the audience a bunch of pointless exposition at the start of the story to explain their relationship, but ‘Clannad’ really captured the reality of their family life and how Tomoya would find it difficult to open up to others straight away.
I would say the story has three major arcs. The first arc focuses on a girl called Fuko, a young girl who is obsessed with starfish. This is probably the most spoiler heavy arc but it was also the most emotional one. Basically, Fuko wants more than anything in the world for the students to attend her sister's wedding. Fuko is not who she appears, however, and what seemed like a reality show starts to delve into the fantasy as we learn about the fragility of life which is symbolized so well through Fuko’s starfish story. Fuko was my favorite character and one that simultaneously brought the lightest heartedness and the most sorrow for the show. My only criticism would be that the show kept bringing her back randomly towards the end, even after her arc had finished.
The second major arc focuses on Kotomi, a highly intelligent student with a tortured past. One of the major themes of the show is dreams and we see each character has there owned individual goal. For Fuko this is people going to her sister's wedding. For Kotomi, the show explores how dreams change. When she is young all she wants is a teddy bear, never having grown up with toys, as she grows, however, her wishes change as we once again learn how fragile life can be. This was probably my least favorite of the three major arcs, however, was still interesting to watch. It just wasn’t as emotional as the other two due to the socially awkward nature of Kotomi’s character.
Our third major arc explores the theme of dreams to a whole new level. It follows Nagisa and her goal of restarting the school's drama club and performing. As the story progresses, however, she realizes that her dream may come at the cost of other people’s as well. The show does a great job during the first three arcs of making us emotionally attached to Nagisa and she is the obvious choice for Tomoya by the end. Once again the theme of life is explored through Nagisa who has a history of illness which has caused her to have to re-take the school year.
As well as these arcs we are also given a few other minor story lines which each tie into the themes of life, death, and dreams. We are given Tomoyo’s story line which revolves around her trying to save the cherry trees outside of the school because of an emotional attachment to them. The worst characters, in my opinion, were probably Kyou and Ryou, the sisters. They aren’t given much of a storyline beyond wanting to become Tomoya’s boyfriend. We are also given Youhei, who essentially acts as the comic relief throughout the whole story.
Both the art style and the music added to ‘Clannad’s’ greatness, although not being particularly exceptional in any way. ‘Clannad’ is truly an anime I will remember for a long time in the future with its compelling characters and emotional ending. It’s not that the ending of ‘Clannad’ was sad but I was upset to see it end as I had become so attached to the characters. That’s pretty much ‘Clannad’ in a nut shell. I hope I’ve maybe encouraged you to watch the show and if I have then been sure to share this post and let me know down in the comments below. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions on anime’s I should watch and review next. Thanks.
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