Clannad

Synopsis:

After losing his mother in a car accident, Tomoya Okazaki only lived with his father who had become a drunkard. Having his dreams of becoming a basketball player crushed after his father permanently injured Tomoya's shoulder during an alcohol induced fight he has never forgiven him and barely acknowledges his father's existence. Since that time Tomoya has become a school delinquent and going day by day in a rutt until he happens across a girl talking to herself while he is walking to school. He interrupts her and says that they better get going or they will be late, later in the day he meets her again and introduces himself and she says her name is Nagisa Furukawa and he listens about how she wants to join the theater club but doesn't have the nerve. With a few words of wisdom Tomoya convinces Nagisa to give it a try but unfortunately they come to learn that the club disbanded, since he doesn't want to go home and with nothing better to do he says he'll help Nagisa reform the club if she'll put some effort into it. Little did Tomoya Okazaki realize that with only a few words of encouragement he was about to have his life changed forever.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 24


Review:

Upon first glace Clannad might come across as just another high school romance type of anime but what you actually get is probably one of the most compelling romantic comedies that you'll ever watch that mixes in just the right amount of drama. This series knows when to hit you with it and when to pull back and let your emotions calm down before coming at you again. Don't worry as the main focus isn't all drama but more of an an intelligent comedy which really caught my attention right in the beginning.

You follow Tomoya as he begins helping those around him with their personal problems while he has no concern for himself and he does it in a somewhat rude and straight-forward manner which I found to be hilarious since he doesn't bullshit around. When asked why he's helping someone not even Tomoya knows only stating that he's got nothing better to do, with this you get some very extreme character depth that goes beyond the 6 foot deep mark that shows each of the girls' past or they'll explain it to Okazaki but in essence it's really being reflected to the viewer. Even though the main plot is Okazaki helping Nagisa live her dream and become an actress and watching their relationship grow, you also get numerous side-stories from other from everyone else in the anime that are opened up and given closure throughout the show giving you one magnificent series. Everyone of them involving Tomoya but yet never losing the main focus on him and Nagisa in the overall scope.

Top notch animation put with intelligently romantic comedic plot, Clannad gets one of my highest recommendations. Watch it, watch it NOW!

Clannad (opening)

Clannad (opening remix)

Recommendation: |Very High|


*Note - I was very impressed with ADV/Sentai Filmworks DVD adaption. Not only do you get superior video quality but also 12 episodes per volume at a budget price and my favorite part... no English dub soundtrack, subtitles only. The subtitles were easy to read and timed right with no spelling errors and practically all signs and writings translated. To hell with a rental, just buy the damn thing... 2 volumes, 24 episodes... it's worth it.