Clannad: Easily a classic among the calmer anime

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on June 25, 2012 at 10:38 AM

~Note, this review is for “Clannad” first season only; no getting confused please.~

“Clannad” can easily count as a classic among the non-violent anime out there. An adaption of a multi-scenario VN (visual novel), it amazes with numerous sub stories well tied into each other and the “greater” plot, each tiny story conveying more emotion and a different take on life. Generally, “Clannad” is a high school slice of life with drama, comedy, and romance, and in all its rollercoaster-like emotionality probably highly relatable especially to any teen girls out there.

The plot in general is well thought-out and smooth despite the many sub stories. Just as a note: No action or violence (ignore the –censored‒ scene of Tomoyo beating up delinquents). The story in general is slow, with decent attention to detail and emotion, and manages to capture the complexity of mundane life well. Several twists and some general complexity included, as Key Animation once again plays on surreal themes throughout (mainly the idea of parallel worlds); like this, it’s not always totally realistic (personally, I’m a bit of a sucker for the surreal, but who knows). The end wraps the anime up decently, although not every question is answered; for that, you’ll have to watch the sequel “Clannad After Story”.

What could still use a bit more work are both the setting and characters. The setting is somewhat generic (a high school with the only boys ever seen moving around being the MC Tomoya and his pal), the characters… I’m torn about them. The cast is reasonably small for an anime of 22 eps, and the characters are likable and easy to empathise with (not least since there’s a lag between each chara’s introduction and back story), and characters’ odd antics and dynamics provide most of the comedy. However, on the other hand, most of the characters are somewhat generic; easy to distinguish among themselves, but… spoiler? Kotomi as the quiet, hyper-intelligent studious orphaned bookworm, Nagisa as the frail yet happy MC who falls ill too much for her own good; Ryou as the shy twin with her clumsy ‘moe’ personality; Fuuko as the highly cute yet way too naïve starfish-obsessed girl whose show-ups were repeated once or twice too often; Tomoya as the semi-orphan and mid-delinquent with a drunk as a father; Sunohara as his loud and crazy sidekick pal… Not wanting to bash the characters or anything, I did like them, but seriously more time could have been spent on them. As they are, they aren’t all that memorable despite their generic image. Even if it were only small oddities such as, let’s say, Ryou being obsessed with hardrock music. (Me and thinking up things out of the blue. *sighs*) Playing on the same note; most girls don’t seem to have much common sense, count out Kyou and Tomoyo. For me, being a feminist, that doesn’t do my memories of this anime much good… together with the overall (though in the end luckily resolved) harem feel, it seemed to set female emancipation back a few years and, admittedly, left me as a feminist a little squirming. No changing it though, I guess... *sweatdrops*

Character development again is an upside of this anime, and interaction, though a little unrealistic here or there, generally fits the characters and makes up a good part of the comedy. The dialogue is overall good, with a slightly philosophic touch to it - count out a few things repeated a bit too often, and the exaggerated-style humour surely isn’t for everyone as it often enough borders on being stupid (Sunohara, anata no ahou! DX). The seiyuu do a very good job overall.

The animation is beautiful, unique in its use of both colour and effects. The soundtrack adds a lot to both plot and atmosphere. Opening and ending songs are well selected as well. Also: No ecchi!~ :D

For entertainment, most of the comedy comes from character interaction see overdramatisation (is that even a word? O.O), and funniness, as long as it doesn’t come to border on silliness, is well interwoven. “Clannad” manages to combine drama, comedy, romance, psychological development, and a school slice of life-feel with somewhat of a bittersweet yet funny and certainly heartwarming tone. Characters are easy to empathise, although they do lack the small unexpected oddities that would make them memorable forever. Raw emotions and bonds depicted, though this season isn’t yet a tearjerker to me. Some moral values are well woven into all of this as well – cherish your life and what you have! :)

I’d recommend this season to those looking for a short, calm and relaxing, comedic yet emotional anime – or those who want to watch Clannad After Story but need the whole experience ;) Though the character cast was a slight letdown to me, this still is entertaining, although no comparison at all to its sequel.

For the confused: the last two eps are OVAs that haven’t been labeled as such. No surprise they don’t connect… ^_^"