Clannad Anime Review
Clannad originally started as a visual novel produced by Key and Visual Arts in 2004, and later was adapted to an anime by Kyoto Animation in 2007. Clannad is a comedy drama with elements of romance, fantasy, and even harem at several stages. A second season, ~After Story~, was released shortly after. Though the visual novel covers both of these seasons, the anime was divided into two, highlighting the disparity between each half of the story and allowing each to represent different genres entirely. This review will cover the first season of the anime, and a separate review will cover After Story.
Clannad's setting and character types seem very familiar. The story mostly takes place at Hikarizaka High School, and the majority of characters are students from this school. Tomoya Okazaki is the main character, and the story begins with a brief introduction and personal account told by Tomoya of himself and the city he lives in. His best friends are Sunohara Youhei, whose antics are the main source of Clannad's comedy, and Nagisa Furukawa, who he meets early in the story, and ultimately drives the plot of Clannad.
The humor in Clannad is some of the best I've seen among high school drama types. Sunohara is always up to something, Tomoya is downright a troll, and the other characters feed into both of their ploys perfectly to create some of the funniest situations I've seen in anime. It goes without saying that if comedy is among your favorite genres for shows, you will definitely enjoy Clannad.
There is, however, a very serious side to Clannad. This becomes more apparent as the anime progresses. Tomoya becomes a very determined friend to Nagisa, helping her above and beyond the call of duty. This is also how the romantic and harem elements come into play. The girls of Clannad seem to gravitate towards Tomoya, despite his sarcastic nature. In spite of this, Tomoya is very reliable to all of them, and they all serve to gain something by knowing him. This is especially true for Nagisa, who's seemingly helpless nature does much to hide a passionate inner strength, one that Tomoya tries his hardest to develop and maintain.
As stated, there is also a fantasy element to Clannad. Many things in the story are supernatural. The most noticeable is the fantasy world, which contains a young girl, and the things she builds. Other than that, she is entirely alone, but she does not lament about it. Instead, these scenes conveigh dialog to the user that indirectly explains these supernatural elements in Clannad. They also set the scene for After Story. As the first season does not fully explain the purpose of the young girl and her fantasy world, the watcher is meant to feel encouraged to watch After Story, which further go into detail about the fantasy world and more.
What starts out as your typical high school drama anime becomes a story of friendship, love, and personal empowerment. Clannad is a beautiful story that is set by the first season, and climactically finished in the second. The characters and setting combine to reinforce its core values, and to remind or inform you of what the namesake is all about: Clannad, the word itself, is Gaelic and means "family". Lighthearted, sentimental, and jocular, Clannad is a story that'll give you fond memories of places and people you can sympathize with. To be fair, I consider the second season mandatory to get the full effect, but I'm sure after watching both, you would think the same.
As one my personal favorites, I give Clannad a 10/10. I recommend it to anyone and everyone; anime lovers and casual watchers alike. If you haven't seen it yet, well -- what are you waiting for? Go out and watch it RIGHT NOW! xD
10/10
