One challenge faced by many directors and producers today is the need to immerse viewers in their creations. By “taking the viewer away” to a world where they can almost feel what the characters are feeling, they can create a deep emotional response from viewers which in turn makes for some outstanding entertainment. Recently I decided to watch Clannad and Clannad After Story (hereby referred to simply as “Clannad“). Never before has a story moved me in such a way that this series did.

Clannad, based on a visual novel developed by KEY (Air, Kanon, Little Busters), initially looks like a typical high school harem. Any images or synopses you may see of the series will easily give one that impression. However, there’s so much more to the series that one will not realize without actually watching it. Clannad is about love. It’s about life. And it’s about sadness.

Tomoya Okazaki, the protagonist of the story, is a high school student with the reputation of a delinquent. Him and his troublemaker friend Youhei Sunohara constantly pull pranks on their classmates and skip classes. Despite this, Tomoya is a kind person with a big heart, and enjoys helping others. He becomes friends with some of his classmates and helps them with their troubles, whether it be to create a club, win a student council election, or deal with family problems. Clannad is a story about how Tomoya and his friends all struggle to become better people, and deal with life’s many tragic hardships in the process.

There is hardly a moment in the Clannad series where it becomes uninteresting. The animation is outstanding, the music is beautiful, and the characters are lovable. There’s plenty of comedy to go around as well, and some of the jokes are outright hysterical. However, Clannad is more a drama than anything else. There are many emotional moments that could bring one beyond tears. Some scenes will just rip your heart out and throw it in a blender. This is not just because of the story, but also because of the presentation. Tatsuya Ishihara, the director of both series, really knows how to present an emotional scene in the best way possible, and does so spectacularly.

What sets Clannad apart from other anime dramas like Toradora! and True Tears is the fact that the characters deal with a lot more than just romance. In Clannad, many other real-life situations are presented – including estranged family members, financial issues, health problems, and even the death of loved ones. Even though there are supernatural elements to the story, the events that occur are still something that viewers can very much relate to. The reason the series is so acclaimed by its fans is not only because of this, but also because the story is presented in such a way that deeply immerses viewers. It is absolutely and truly a masterpiece.

As a whole, the Clannad series, including both seasons and both OVAs, is 49 episodes long and is completely worth the time and money one would invest in it. Even the weaker parts of the series still manage to hold great entertainment value. For anyone who’s ever dealt with life’s difficulties, as emotionally wracking as they may have been, this series is a very strong recommendation.

Clannad and Clannad After Story are both on sale and distributed by Sentai Filmworks.

One challenge faced by many directors and producers today is the need to immerse viewers in their creations. By “taking the viewer away” to a world where they can almost feel what the characters are feeling, they can create a deep emotional response from viewers which in turn makes for some outstanding entertainment. Recently I decided to watch Clannad and Clannad After Story (hereby referred to simply as “Clannad“). Never before has a story moved me in such a way that this series did.

Clannad, based on a visual novel developed by KEY (Air, Kanon, Little Busters), initially looks like a typical high school harem. Any images or synopses you may see of the series will easily give one that impression. However, there’s so much more to the series that one will not realize without actually watching it. Clannad is about love. It’s about life. And it’s about sadness.

Tomoya Okazaki, the protagonist of the story, is a high school student with the reputation of a delinquent. Him and his troublemaker friend Youhei Sunohara constantly pull pranks on their classmates and skip classes. Despite this, Tomoya is a kind person with a big heart, and enjoys helping others. He becomes friends with some of his classmates and helps them with their troubles, whether it be to create a club, win a student council election, or deal with family problems. Clannad is a story about how Tomoya and his friends all struggle to become better people, and deal with life’s many tragic hardships in the process.

There is hardly a moment in the Clannad series where it becomes uninteresting. The animation is outstanding, the music is beautiful, and the characters are lovable. There’s plenty of comedy to go around as well, and some of the jokes are outright hysterical. However, Clannad is more a drama than anything else. There are many emotional moments that could bring one beyond tears. Some scenes will just rip your heart out and throw it in a blender. This is not just because of the story, but also because of the presentation. Tatsuya Ishihara, the director of both series, really knows how to present an emotional scene in the best way possible, and does so spectacularly.

What sets Clannad apart from other anime dramas like Toradora! and True Tears is the fact that the characters deal with a lot more than just romance. In Clannad, many other real-life situations are presented – including estranged family members, financial issues, health problems, and even the death of loved ones. Even though there are supernatural elements to the story, the events that occur are still something that viewers can very much relate to. The reason the series is so acclaimed by its fans is not only because of this, but also because the story is presented in such a way that deeply immerses viewers. It is absolutely and truly a masterpiece.

As a whole, the Clannad series, including both seasons and both OVAs, is 49 episodes long and is completely worth the time and money one would invest in it. Even the weaker parts of the series still manage to hold great entertainment value. For anyone who’s ever dealt with life’s difficulties, as emotionally wracking as they may have been, this series is a very strong recommendation.

Clannad and Clannad After Story are both on sale and distributed by Sentai Filmworks.