“Clannad” and “Clannad After Story”: The Tears Broke my Keyboard
After much debate and heartbreak I decided to review an anime classic. I had to replace my keyboard because the tears I shed while watching this anime actually seeped into the keys and broke them. You know those headaches you get after you’ve cried so much? Or have you ever experienced what it’s like to cry so hard you can’t seem to stop? Have you ever watched an anime and find yourself falling in love with the characters? If not then it’s about time you’ve gotten all those life experiences over and done with by watching the amazing anime of “Clannad” and then it’s second season “Clannad After Story”.
“Clannad” is a popular visual novel that was later turned into an anime which aired in 2007. The anime follows the love life of Tomoya Okazaki and his journey to find who he is as well as what he holds close. It starts with Tomoya who is a third year, meeting a girl Nagisa Furukawa who ends up changing his life forever. Tomoyo’s mother died when he was young and left his father to raise him. Tomoyo despises his father because after his mother died his father became an alcoholic. After getting in a fight with his father, Tomoyo injures his arm and can no longer play basketball. Thus starts Tomoyo and his delinquent phase. Delinquent meaning being late to class and being a smartass. Nagisa on the other hand is a shy, soft-spoken girl with very low self-confidence because she has to depend on everyone for everything. Nagisa is a year older than Tomoyo and is repeating her last year in high school because she fell very ill and was unable to come to school. She loves dangos, which are cute circular characters and she loves singing the main song to the dangos to keep herself calm. She cares for Tomoya very much.
Yes, this anime is a harem-ish anime but that is because it is based of a visual novel. I say harem-ish because unlike a harem, Tomoya chooses who he wants to spend the rest of his life with pretty fast, which I enjoyed because I do not like animes in which the female characters throw themselves all over the main character. Since the matchmaking ended fairly quickly, I was able to get past it. I say that the anime itself was absolutely fantastic. The closeness of Nagisa’s family is touching because in many anime’s the family is either in one episode and then disappears, in another part of Japan, or dead. In this case, Nagisa’s family is very much present and there to support Nagisa in anyway that they can. Nagisa makes many friends with Tomoya’s help, which creates a bond between them. I personally connected to Nagisa because I felt like she tried her best to make everyone happy. This anime is sad in every way possible, so if you don’t like tragedies or realism then I wouldn’t suggest watching it.
“Clannad After Story” follows life after high school and where Tomoya and Nagisa are in their romance and life. This season is where the waterworks come in. Heart breaking plot twists and character development with affect you in every episode. There wasn’t an episode during that season that did not make me cry like a baby. You see how every choice the characters make have a consequence, which makes sense because it follows the visual novel. Unlike the visual novel however, you miss out on the other character’s development.
There is cursing and a small bit of cartoon violence in this anime but other than that there really is not much to be warned about. I have watched this anime 5 times completely through and it never gets old. Every time I watch it I notice something different and it continues to impress me. The soundtrack to this anime is absolutely amazing and adds life and character to the anime itself. The word clannad means “family” which explains a lot about the anime. A touching little anime with an amazing story! I hope you take a chance and watch the anime, just make sure you bring a box of tissues with you while you do it! I do not suggest watching the dub, I personally do not care for the voice acting. That’s all for now!
Happy watching mina!
~Lilatheen~