[Anime] Clannad (Movie and series)

Less than a week before this series starts airing. Needless to say, if this is even half as good as Kanon, then it'll be another hit for KyoAni.

In the meantime enjoy the following:

The OP:

YouTube Video

The ED:

YouTube Video

The ending in particular caught my eye as the information I've read regarding this show makes it very suitable and in line with the themes that Clannad will focus on.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

In the event that people are watching the 4:3 version just to stay current:

Episode 4

Spoiler:

I wish I could stay I stopped caring after that awesome rooftop scene because they could have shot themselves in the foot and I still would have found it to be awesome. Luckily they didn't and the episode continued to be even more awesome. The part in which Tomoya goes Cyrano de Bergerac mode on Sunohara's behalf was just side-splitting. This episode definitely wins for being chock full of good comedy. Even the Sunohara/Tomoyo scenes are different enough each time to remain fresh. The momentum so far has been perfect and I'm looking to see more from it.

I do find it interesting how they're letting the cat out of the bag with regards to the ghost, and the net result is that it feels as though there's a bit of recycling going on from Kanon (2006). Either way they're moving into one of the characters' storyline now which is much faster than what happened with Kanon.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Episode 9: BAWWWWWWWW ;__;

Spoiler:

What can I say? They handled the end to Fuko's arc really damn well. Kyoto Animation has once again tugged at my heartstrings and put forth some really emotional scenes that kept me misty-eyed throughout the entire episode. One can't help but be moved by the fact that Fuko's sentiment spread to the rest of the students as well as Nagisa's parents and the scene that finally nailed it was when Fuko appeared and gave her sister the star. No scene was wasted in the making of this episode and I'm hoping to see more of this high level of quality.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Episode 10:

Spoiler:

Well, this episode manages to reveal quite a bit about Kotomi's idiosyncrasies, but they're pretty endearing all the same. I really enjoyed watching the way she lets Tomoya dictate what her lines should be in dealing with others, which she does to the letter and repeatedly, regardless of whether she's met someone before or not. And then there's her inability to recognize other people's emotions (which means she lacks empathy to some degree) as well as fearing the possibility that other people may be in to bully her. Finally, her violin skills do need to be addressed. Her personality quirks are interesting so allow me a moment to speculate upon them:

We've already got a feeling that she's socially awkward and has trouble determining people's emotions, so I'm going to guess here that Kotomi is a victim of neglect. It makes sense to some degree since her parents are professors, and the stereotype goes where professors, situated in the ivory towers of academia, might not be in touch with what goes on in the real world. Given that people who are neglected exhibits similar symptoms to Kotomi's, it looks like neglect/abandonment might indeed be the correct guess.

A point of note is that I still can't get over how beautifully animated the mechanical doll segments are. It seems like KyoAni is pulling out all the stops to come up with those scenes that I just wonder how many frames of animation are going into it. Of course, there's no revelation as to what purpose those scenes serve, but there's a lot of potential there, and even if it doesn't materialize, we've got a lot of stunning animation to feast our eyes upon.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well, this thread is in need of some serious bumpage. As far as the events in the series have gone...

Spoiler:

Fuko needs to stop popping up. I understand that the producer might want to keep her around like he has with all of the other girls, but her appearances are usually pointless and stopped being funny a looooong time ago. Nowadays, her appearances are met by groans from myself.

Everything else is still pretty super though.

Spoiler:

Kotomi's arc was just really well-executed and even though the ending required a bit of suspension of disbelief, it got the effect out of me that it was looking for. Also, Tomoyo and Kyou's arc managed to end nicely, setting aside the pacing issues as well as the bizarre crying scene at the end of episode 18. That one requires a bit more backstory that the visual novel provides, so unless you've read it, Kyou's bawling will be rather vague as to why she's crying exactly.

All in all, still going on strong!

I was speaking idiomatically.

With episode 22's release, we can say it's ended as in "the first season has ended." Any follow-ups at this point are just that: follow-ups. Regardless as to how you feel about Nagisa, the manner in which they orchestrated the ending was utterly, mindblowingly brilliant. The first half of the episode sets the stage for the second half as all the effort they put in falls down to just a minute of footage, but it's that minute of footage that made the ending so good.

Spoiler:

So basically, Akio Furukawa just seized upon that moment and conveyed his feelings that any caring and loving father would want to convey to their children. The raw emotion that he puts into those words hit all the right marks and shows how genuine he truly feels towards her. That single moment captures the theme of the series so well that it just leaves you in awe. When I think of a single moment, a single experience in anime that is capable of leaving such an impact, Akio's words of encouragement would rank very highly on that list.

What it comes down to is that the sacrifices that each character made, the dreams they had to give up, are the very essence that makes and forges communities, families, and relationships. It's all a part of being human, and I loved how the series reflected that when Tomoya entered the fray with the flashbacks in tow to illustrate the dreams that Tomoya and the others had to forgo to make Nagisa's dream a reality.

Very solid show from beginning to end. It's hard to think up series that have managed to wrap up their endings better than Clannad. No cheesy endings, no feelings that everything was contrived; I loved every minute of the last episode.

Oh, and the preview hints at some man-on-man loving! At least, if you take those quotes out of context.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?