#Clannad game review series

The resolution of these loose ends is bundled into three separate character arcs. But before that can happen the show cleans up a few loose ends and questions left by the first season regarding its side characters. Tomoya and the others are nearing graduation and the beginning of their adult lives.

#Clannad game review series

I’ve compared Clannad to Kanon multiple times throughout this review and although I love Kanon dearly, this has something that makes the series as a whole truly worthwhile.Ĭlannad’s sequal, fittingly titled After Story, begins almost immediately where the first season left off. It’s not overwhelming, mind you, and as is Kyoto Ani’s tradition the cute, big-eyed art style makes the inevitable tragedy that much more hard to watch. In Clannad, the moe elements tend to drown out any real personality from time to time (case in point the beginning of Kotomi’s arc). In Clannad’s case, the development Tomoya receives is from Nagisa herself while the others admittedly feel like they’re there just because of its visual novel formula.Īt the risk of comparing the two too much, Kanon executed the moe archetype better as well, albeit not perfectly. Kyoto Ani’s own Kanon (2006) pulled off the formula a lot better as each character played a relevant role in the development of the main lead. This isn’t to say the dedication to separate character arcs cannot be done. In addition, many of these stories aren’t all that interesting and when they have little to no relevance to the main plot it hurts the show’s replayability considerably. The two leads are given very little personal development together because the focus is always on someone else. Clannad uses a generous mixture of the two, and as a result, the narrative simply isn’t focused enough to make the conclusion as satisfying as it should be. The male lead can only end up with one girl in the end so what do you do with the others? You can either incorporate the characters into the main story and lightly touch on their own backstories in a way that forwards the plot or you can divert from the main plot completely and dedicate a number of episodes to each character arc. While it works in VN format it doesn’t translate too well in anime. In Clannad’s case, this involves a number of possible romantic storylines for each of the female protagonists.

For those who may be unfamiliar a visual novel is a multiple choice game that allows you to choose from various options in order to reach whatever end the player desires. The above synopsis may be the main plot but for the majority of the runtime, it’s kept at arm’s length in favour of the individual storylines of each of the female protagonists. With nothing better to do Tomoya, along with his friend Sunohara and the help of four other girls they meet along the way, revive the Theatre Club.Ĭlannad has been called the weaker of the two for a good reason and this is largely due to its visual novel roots. Tomoya soon finds out her name is Nagisa Furukawa and that she has a dream to bring back the Theatre Club. On the way to school, he comes across a young girl nervously mumbling to herself as she too is about to enter school. Tomoya Okazaki is a delinquent (at least that’s what he calls himself) who hates the city he’s been raised in and the school he has to attend. The first season is often named the weaker of the two series. The most beloved of the three is the pairing known as Clannad and Clannad: After Story. Do these deserve the abundant praise they’ve received? Let’s dive into the tank and find out. Kyoto Animation is one of the most popular and beloved animation studios to come out of Japan, most known for their works K-On, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and most recently 2016’s gorgeous film adaption of A Silent Voice. But whenever Kyoto Ani’s name is brought up the discussion inevitably turns to a string of shows known among fans as “The Holy Trinity.” This trinity consists of the three Key visual novels Kyoto adapted into anime: Air, Kanon (2006), and what we’re looking at today Clannad. These shows are known, both famously and infamously, for their unique moe art style and their tragic plot developments.