Clannad

Clannad and the second season of the series Clannad After Story are two remarkably well put together Slice of Life story arcs. While the story gets just a little confusing as to how everything ties in at the very end, this is one of the best series I've watched this summer by far.

The story's first season follows its main character Tomoya Okazaki through his senior year at high school, while After Story picks up right where the first left off and continues the story over the next ten years. I'm not going to touch on After Story's arc at all because it is so closely related to everything in the first season and any insight into that would taint the experience. That being said, I also feel as if After Story deserved its own post, but decided against it when I realized I wasn't going to be able to write too much without giving anything away.


The first season is the more spontaneous and playful of the two seasons. It follows Okazaki as he meets several new friends partly due to his time skipping classes with his fellow delinquent Sunahara. The pacing is fine in my opinion and weaves a great base for characters to push their own story along as well as keeping the stage clear of unnecessary tangents. Okazaki meets Nagisa Furukara who is shy and soft spoken, but is on a quest to recreate the theater club at their highschool. With nothing better to do Okazaki begins to help her on her goal. Their romance throughout the series is extremely well done as both develop the relationship constantly, but slowly. It never feels awkward for their characters, nor does it feel like it is rushed, or held back. It just is. Because of how well the first season nails this key aspect, the second season is all the more deep and.... gives a feeling of true connectivity to things between viewer and character as the real drama starts to take place.

By the end of the series nearly every character has been examined and flushed out, yet all in a way that never distracts from either the main characters or the main arc. The comedy throughout is nearly flawless. It was very refreshing and very..real feeling that you could count on either the main character or someone else to say/do something you'd expect in the situation. For this to happen correctly though, the characters must all form a strong cohesion within the story as well as exhibit a side of realism and consistency.



The second season is what made this series for me.After Story becomes a discussion of simply everyday work life and learning how to deal with the problems at hand. The comedy is still present, but without being in a school atmosphere, it appears a little less. This is so well done that in the last five episodes it is nearly impossible to not cry at some point. The ending, however is beautifully done and all I will say is that it ties up everything.
The art is dazzling throughout every episode with high frame rates, and brilliant animation. Sound direction both in voice acting and in foley effects are wonderful. The Japanese dub is still superior, but the English sub isn't that bad actually.Particularly, there is a scene in After Story in my mind where laying side by side, it shows what must be six seconds of hands finding each other in the dark and eventually meshing together. All the colors are so rich, and again, more prominent in the After Story as everything swells.

The use of the song Dango Daikazoku as well as either opening song is absolutely perfect for the feel of the story. Both have been slowly been stuck in my head the entire time I have been watching this series. I really feel like I should be able to say more on this note, but at the moment I am unable to think exactly what other angle I want to praise this series.

Clannad is a beautiful story that is delivered exceptionally well. Due to the nature of the work, it is told by the characters that act and feel like real people. If any one of them felt too much like a cut out, this series would ultimately fail. Endearing, emotional, and for myself, good for remembering, this is a great piece which certainly adheres to what this blog is trying to deliver.

Oh, as an after though: The second season has only one problem and that's the ending song they have chosen. It ends up ruining a lot of the mood created over the twenty minutes of the episode. On youtube there are a few who have just dubbed over the first season ending in its place. I highly recommend watching those.