Clannad – After Story: the halfway mark review

Since I enjoyed Visual Art’s/Key’s other two series, Air and Kanon, and since I adore KyotoAni’s work, I decided to start watching Clannad when the first season aired last fall. Unlike Air and Kanon, Clannad not only got an additional OVA, but now it’s going through its sequel this fall with Clannad – After Story. And luckily, 12 episodes into Clannad AS, and I’m happy to report that it has all the charm and emotion that made the first season so good…

Although I am not familiar with the Clannad visual novels, I still find the pacing of the anime series well executed and easy to follow. Having the same original visual novel creators, the plot and sequence of events in Clannad are very similar to its predecessors Air and Kanon; one male lead among a handful of female characters, with one of said female characters being more significant to the series and eventually having the strongest relationship with the male lead. Throughout the course of the series, each female character gets her own story arc, where the male lead learns all about her (usually tragic) background history. But in the end, it’s the one main female character who gets the most focus and sparks the most conflict from the male lead.

An interesting characteristic I find with anime like Clannad, Kanon, and Air are their target audiences. Obviously these types of visual novels and anime are not mainstreamed but are specifically targeted at typical Japanese otaku, a.k.a. geeky, anti-social men in their 30s who most likely can’t get real girlfriends and thus indulge in the cuteness and sweetness of the female characters in these series by interacting with them through the visual novels. I’m definitely not saying that all men who watch anime like this are anti-social otaku, but even in the US, these series seem to be a lot more popular with male fans. But then there’s someone like me, a 22-year old American girl, who likes them, and I know of at least a few other female anime fans who enjoy these series as well. It’s a similar situation with anime like Naruto and Dragonball Z, whose target audience is young boys but who have plenty of older female fans too. I guess this shows how complex and “open” anime is; there are so many themes and characteristics even within one particular series that it’s not uncommon for fans beyond the original target audience to spring up (this is something I find much less common in American animation). While the hardcore Japanese male otaku might enjoy Clannad because he can indulge in the moe factor of interacting with the series many cute girls, American female fans like me simply enjoy it because of its gorgeous animation, whimsical, intriguing storyline, and heart-warming drama and sentiment.

Deciding whether you would like Clannad or not is fairly simple. You would probably like it if a) you like Air and/or Kanon, b) you don’t care if the series is slow-paced and lacking in action as long as it’s well constructed, c) you like cute, pretty animation, or d) you enjoy the kind of drama and tragedy that tears at your heartstrings but also gives back a warm, optimistic feeling too. Those are pretty standard attributes of Clannad. Both seasons of Clannad (Air and Kanon too) are basically slice-of-life series with romance, cuteness, and comedy amidst unexpected drama and tragedy that tugs at your emotions. All three series also have a touch of magic and supernatural miracles to enhance the characters and provide more whimsical beauty.

While most of the characters in Clannad appear to simply be moe-ish anime female archetypes, the intricate details and drama of each of their story arcs is what makes them interesting. Anyone who’s seen a Visual Art’s/Key series knows that they provide each character with a good blend of tragedy, warmth, and beautifully timed miracles to evoke sympathy in just about anyone. Sure, the obviously otaku-pandering moe look and feel of the series might be enough to irk some fans, but as I mentioned above, the series has other aspects underneath the exterior of pleasing its target audience…aspects that a variety of anime fans could enjoy. Clannad is one of those series where the story/plot and characters are pretty much one in the same; the characters, their backgrounds, and relationships are the storyline of Clannad. While on the outside, the personalities of most of the characters don’t particularly stand out as unique, the way their story arcs are contrived, and the mix of sentiment, sadness, intimacy, and a sprinkle of magic within each, is where the true appeal of the series is.

Aesthetic-wise, even non-fans will probably agree that Clannad and Clannad AS have gorgeous, high-quality animation, courtesy of KyotoAni. Like the first Clannad series, the music in AS is perfectly sentimental, with a very fitting opening song. The opening to the first Clannad series was pretty, but I think the opening in AS is even better, with a beautiful song by Lia, who performed the songs in Air, and visually stunning animation showing all the characters amidst pretty scenic moments. The ending song is a bit more upbeat, but not quite as fun and memorable as “Dango Daikazoku” from the first season. As I have mentioned, both Clannad series are generally slow-paced and gentle, but when drama comes up, it’s mercilessly emotional. But in spite of this, the series still takes time for moments of sincere warmth and happiness to make up for it. The more hyperbolic humor in Clannad and AS (for example, Sunohara’s antics and his beatings from Tomoyo) don’t always work for me, but the verbal and more subtle humor is usually on the mark.

The first season of Clannad featured the story arcs of the main female characters Nagisa, Kyou, Fuuko, Kotomi, and Tomoyo, while simultaneously building up the relationship between the male lead Tomoya and Nagisa. Clannad AS continues where the first season left off. Tomoya and Nagisa are still progressing in their relationship, but the rest of the main female characters from the last season are sort of pushed into the background. Instead, AS features the story arcs of the more supporting characters, starting with Sunohara and his sister Mei, Sunohara’s dorm mother Misae and her cat, and Nagisa and Tomoya’s schoolmate Yukine. However, starting with the past few episodes, the series took a bit of a break from the continuous story arcs. Now we’re focusing specifically on Tomoya and Nagisa’s relationship, with Tomoya graduating, getting a job, and moving into his own apartment, while Nagisa has to repeat the school year because of her constant absences, but she still spends a lot of time helping Tomoya out at his apartment. The most recent episode, 12, was one of the most eventful; after Yoshino’s short story arc, we get Tomoya’s harsh falling out with his father and his marriage proposal to Nagisa. Since just about all the characters have had their story arcs, it seems like the series will continue to focus on Tomoya and Nagisa. But we still have yet to delve into the exact significance of the “junk” robot and the girl in that empty, seemingly parallel world, that has been eluded to since the beginning of the first season but never really explained. Are they just one big literary symbol for something, or do they have a real connection to Tomoya and the other characters? Well, after the drama of episode 12, I’m looking forward to how the series will tie things up ^_^

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. “Moe” is probably my least favorite word in the English language, and it’s not even an English word. And I barely even understand its meaning. Why isn’t it the norm that people are seen to appreciate these series (Kanon, Clannad, etc.) for having interesting stories and high quality animation, and containing interesting romance arcs while remaining quite clean. The cute girls in these shows.. are good. Cute is good. And also not real. I don’t see any problem in that being part of the appreciation of the show. I don’t get why “American female fans like me simply enjoy it because of its gorgeous animation, whimsical, intriguing storyline, and heart-warming drama and sentiment.” even needs to necessarily be stated (which, after rereading, sounds kind of like what I said); shouldn’t it go without saying, and especially without that gender or nationality qualifier?

    Anyway! That’s quite tangential, and not necessarily a criticism of yourself. I haven’t been watched this show, but have been following along and will get caught up eventually. It’s interesting to see the characters develop and for the plot to continue outside the bounds of school. It makes it more ‘real’, so to speak. As a whole, I guess I appreciate how it’s showing that life is definitely not easy, but that it can be overcome.

  2. dinah says:

    i like it clannad,:)

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