{"id":3230,"date":"2009-07-02T22:13:30","date_gmt":"2009-07-03T02:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/?p=3230"},"modified":"2010-06-26T20:16:42","modified_gmt":"2010-06-27T00:16:42","slug":"clannad-season-1-anime-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2009\/07\/02\/clannad-season-1-anime-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Clannad Season 1&#8211;Anime Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/image\/stars\/35o5.gif\" alt=\"3.5 Stars\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Clannad<\/em> is the third in a series of shows from Kyoto Animation adapted from <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#visual_novel\">visual novels<\/a> from Key\/Visual Art&#8217;s. (The other two were <a href=\"\/fun\/2008\/02\/18\/air-tv-anime-review\/\"><em>Air<\/em><\/a> and <a href=\"\/fun\/2008\/01\/07\/kanon-2006-anime-review\/\"><em>Kanon (2006)<\/em><\/a>.) <\/p>\n<p><em>Kanon<\/em> is my favorite of the three. It has the most likable hero and the bravest heroine. I admire <em>Air<\/em> but it&#8217;s a bit too grim for my taste.<\/p>\n<p><em>Clannad<\/em> is a bit different. It is split into two seasons, the first of which can stand by itself as a gentle, upbeat and very funny <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#harem_comedy\">harem comedy<\/a>, though with a rather sad backstory. I&#8217;m going to focus on the first season in this review since it can be enjoyed by itself.<\/p>\n<p>UPDATE: my review of the second season is <a href=\"\/fun\/2010\/01\/29\/clannad-after-story-anime-review\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As with most KyoAni shows, the character designs are cute and the animation quality is outstanding.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ItemList\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Title<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\"><em>Clannad<\/em> (Irish for &#8220;family&#8221;.) <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Genres<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Fantasy, Comedy, Romance<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Demographic<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Seinen<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Contents<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">24 Episodes on 4 DVDs (2 mini box sets.)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Languages<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Japanese with subtitles<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Based on<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">A video game by Key\/Visual Art&#8217;s<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Director<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Tatsuya Ishihara<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Series Composition<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Fumihiko Shimo<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Screenplay<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Fumihiko Shimo<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Original Character Design<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Itaru Hinoue (game)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Character Design<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Kazumi Ikeda<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Art Director<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Mutsuo Shinohara<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Chief Animation Director<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Kazumi Ikeda<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Animation Studio<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Kyoto Animation<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Broadcast<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">2007-2008<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Region 1 Publisher<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Sentai Filmworks<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Creating an <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#anime\">anime<\/a> from a <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#visual_novel\">visual novel<\/a> poses special problems. While someone adapting a series of <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#light_novel\">light novels<\/a> or a long-running <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#manga\">manga<\/a> series may have to deal with the problem of not having a real ending, a visual novel gives you multiple complete stories which contradict each other. The first half of the <em>Clannad<\/em> game is a traditional <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#dating_sim\">dating sim<\/a> in which there are multiple girls and a hero who can. at best, only end up with one of them. Each girl represents a possible storyline; the hero would have to overcome a different set of obstacles to win her.<\/p>\n<p>It would probably not be satisfactory to just pick one of the stories. To fully appreciate a visual novel you understand all the possible outcome, like a player who has played the game through to all the possible endings. But a satisfactory television series needs to tell a single linear story. A bunch of contradictory stories would tend to annoy the audience.<\/p>\n<p>From a writer&#8217;s standpoint I think that Kyoto Animation did a good job of converting <em>Kanon<\/em> into a coherent linear story, and an even better job with <em>Air<\/em>. I don&#8217;t think the adaptation of <em>Clannad<\/em> is quite as good. In particular the first season DVDs end with an episode that gives an alternate ending. Some fans actually like this (because they prefer it to the &#8220;true&#8221; ending) but I find it annoying.<\/p>\n<h3>Parental Advisory<\/h3>\n<p>The first season includes comic violence and some very mild sexual humor. While the main story is gentle and upbeat, there are backstory elements that are likely to be very disturbing to young children. Age 10 is probably a good minimum.<\/p>\n<p>The second season is darker and is probably best reserved for teenagers and adults.<\/p>\n<h3>Characters<\/h3>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Tomoya.png\" alt=\"Tomoya\" title=\"Tomoya\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3287\" \/><strong>Tomoya Okazaki<\/strong> is a senior at a private high school with a good academic reputation, but he isn&#8217;t happy there. Lonely, alienated and embittered, he is regarded as a trouble-making delinquent by most of the teachers and students. Deep down however he has a basic decency. Though he doesn&#8217;t seem to know it, he is also handsome in a dark, brooding way that some women find fascinating.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sunohara.png\" alt=\"Sunohara\" title=\"Sunohara\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3278\" \/>His best friend <strong>Youhei Sunohara<\/strong> is fellow delinquent and a loud-mouthed idiot. He&#8217;s short, with dyed-blond hair and a combative disposition. If he isn&#8217;t getting beaten up by a bunch of jocks he is probably being beaten up by some girl that he just insulted. He is a reliable source of bad ideas guaranteed to get both of them into trouble.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Nagisa.png\" alt=\"Nagisa\" title=\"Nagisa\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3270\" \/>On his way to school Tomoya sees <strong>Nagisa Furukawa<\/strong> talking to herself, perhaps rehearsing lines from a play. A shy, timid girl, she wants to join the Drama Club, but finds that it is defunct. On a whim, Tomoya offers to help her re-establish it, which will require recruiting other members.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Nagisa21.png\" alt=\"Nagisa\" title=\"Nagisa\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3288\" \/>Like all the girls in this story, Nagisa is drawn to look very cute, but based on the reactions of the other characters it seems clear that she is not physically outstanding. She&#8217;s a quiet, mousy girl whom people tend to overlook. Even the lecherous Sunohara dismisses her as &#8220;plain and dull.&#8221; Tomoya offers to help her more out of sympathy than physical attraction (and also, we learn much later, because he feels guilty about something.) She may have &#8220;loser&#8221; written all over her, but Tomoya thinks of himself as a loser, so that&#8217;s something they have in common. She actually has an inner strength that he only gradually comes to appreciate.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Ryou.png\" alt=\"Ryou\" title=\"Ryou\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3273\" \/><strong>Ryou Fujibayashi<\/strong>, Tomoya&#8217;s class representative, worries about his poor attendance and hopes to get him to reform. She is a sweet and gentle girl, rather shy and clumsy.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Kyou.png\" alt=\"Kyou\" title=\"Kyou\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3264\" \/>Her twin sister <strong>Kyou Fujibayashi<\/strong> has a very different personality. She is loud, arrogant, impulsive and sometimes violent, a classic <em><a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews\/#tsundere\">tsundere<\/a><\/em>, though very protective of Ryou.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/KyouBotan.png\" alt=\"Kyou and Botan\" title=\"Kyou and Botan\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3265\" \/>Kyou&#8217;s pet pig <strong>Botan<\/strong> often follows her to school.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Kotomi.png\" alt=\"Kotomi\" title=\"Kotomi\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3260\" \/><strong>Kotomi Ichinose<\/strong> is a young genius with autistic tendencies. Since she always aces her exams the teachers allow her to spend the school day studying by herself in the library. When reading she seems totally oblivious to everyone around her, but for some reason she seems to respond to Tomoya.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Fuuko.png\" alt=\"Fuuko\" title=\"Fuuko\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3254\" \/>Tomoya finds <strong>Fuuko Ibuki<\/strong> sitting in an empty classroom carving wooden starfish. She is an odd girl with a childlike manner who never seems to go home. She is totally obsessed with starfish. Initially she is suspicious of Tomoya, but she is nevertheless willing to give him a starfish.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Tomoyo.png\" alt=\"Tomoyo\" title=\"Tomoyo\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3280\" \/>Transfer student <strong>Tomoyo Sakagami<\/strong> is quiet and soft-spoken, but she should not be underestimated. She is smart, competent and exceedingly strong. In fact she is rumored to be in the habit of beating up delinquents. She is no <em>tsundere<\/em>; she only uses violence when she is forced to, but she always wins. Her goal is to become president of the student council so that she can use her influence to preserve a nearby grove of sakura trees.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/YukineTomoyaNagisa.png\" alt=\"Yukine, Tomoya and Nagisa\" title=\"Yukine, Tomoya and Nagisa\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3284\" \/>The old library room is used to store obscure books and forgotten records that are not wanted in the main library. <strong>Yukine Miyazawa<\/strong> has made this her personal domain. She is always ready to offer tea and potentially dangerous advice to any students who drop in.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/OkazakiApartment.png\" alt=\"Okazaki apartment\" title=\"Okazaki apartment\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3272\" \/>Tomoya lives in an unkempt apartment with his father <strong>Naoyuki Okazaki<\/strong>, who is a good-for-nothing drunkard. Tomoya despises him, not without reason.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/SanaeFurukawa.png\" alt=\"Sanae Furukawa\" title=\"Sanae Furukawa\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3275\" \/>Nagisa has an odd but close-knit family. Her parents run a bakery. Her mother <strong>Sanae Furukawa<\/strong> is very pretty and sweet. She often seems silly, but she is actually very smart and insightful, and always seems to know the right thing to do in an emergency. Her main fault is that the bread she bakes tastes terrible, a serious failing in a baker.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/AkioFurukawa.png\" alt=\"Akio Furukawa\" title=\"Akio Furukawa\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3252\" \/>Nagisa&#8217;s father <strong>Akio Furukawa<\/strong> is loud, arrogant, overbearing and impulsive. He is also utterly devoted to Nagisa and Sanae.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Misae.png\" alt=\"Misae\" title=\"Misae\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3268\" \/><strong>Misae Sagara<\/strong> is the resident manager of the dormitory where Sunohara lives. She is an attractive young woman who tolerates no nonsense from the students. When she was in high school she was the first girl to become president of the student council, which makes her a role model for Tomoyo.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/ShimaTomaya.png\" alt=\"Shima and Tomaya\" title=\"Shima and Tomaya\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3276\" \/>Misae&#8217;s cat <strong>Shima<\/strong> hangs around Sunohara&#8217;s room and seems to pay close attention to the conversations.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Yoshino.png\" alt=\"Yoshino\" title=\"Yoshino\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3282\" \/><strong>Yusuke Yoshino<\/strong> is a dour electrical worker who is given to oracular pronouncements.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/KoukoIbuki.png\" alt=\"Kouko Ibuki\" title=\"Kouko Ibuki\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3262\" \/>Fuuko&#8217;s older sister <strong>Kouko Ibuki<\/strong> used to teach at the high school. She is engaged to Yoshino.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/KoumuraAndStudents.png\" alt=\"Koumura and Students\" title=\"Koumura and Students\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3263\" \/><strong>Toshio Koumura<\/strong> is a wise old teacher who is always willing to go out of his way to assist students.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Mei.png\" alt=\"Mei\" title=\"Mei\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3267\" \/>Youhei&#8217;s younger sister <strong>Mei Sunohara<\/strong> comes to visit her brother. She is obviously worried about him.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/GirlInEmptyWorld2.png\" alt=\"Girl in the Empty World\" title=\"Girl in the Empty World\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3256\" \/>Nagisa is haunted by the memory of a story that she thinks she heard when she was little. It tells of a girl who was living alone in an empty world, who constructed a doll out of pieces of junk.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/JunkDoll.png\" alt=\"Junk Doll\" title=\"Junk Doll\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3258\" \/>Miraculously the doll came to life and became her companion.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/GirlAndJunkDoll.png\" alt=\"Girl and the Junk Doll\" title=\"Girl and the Junk Doll\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3255\" \/>The story sounds oddly familiar to Tomoya, but he&#8217;s not sure where he heard it.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<\/div>\n<h3>Other Versions<\/h3>\n<p>Toei Animation released a movie version of the story in 2007. I have not seen the movie and I have no desire to, having seen the awful movie version they made of <a href=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2008\/02\/22\/air-the-movie\/\"><em>Air<\/em><\/a>. (They seem to have based that movie on one of the game&#8217;s bad endings.)<\/p>\n<h3>Links<\/h3>\n<p>ANN Encyclopedia <a href=\"http:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/anime.php?id=7809\">entry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wikipedia <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Clannad_(visual_novel)\">entry<\/a> (spoilers!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clannad is the third in a series of shows from Kyoto Animation adapted from <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#visual_novel\">visual novels<\/a> from Key\/Visual Art&#8217;s. (The other two were Air and Kanon (2006).) Kanon is my&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2009\/07\/02\/clannad-season-1-anime-review\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-3230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anime","tag-clannad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3230"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4943,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3230\/revisions\/4943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}