Plot Synopsis: “Tortured by his past and pained by an uncertain future, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming anger and emptiness. But when he meets the mysterious, beautiful, and shy Nagisa, his world seems to change. Drawn in by her gentle but lonely spirit, he begins to experience the joy life can bring. But as he discovers the reason for his newfound friend’s loneliness, Tomoya also finds that life can be frighteningly fragile.”

While I do have the Clannad Complete Collection DVD set, I wanted to get the Blu-ray to see the series in all of its HD glory.

Clannad BD Complete Collection is available from RightStuf

The DVD set is also available

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Chi’s Sweet Home GN 7

Plot Synopsis “Chi finds herself in her biggest predicament yet! While exploring her new neighborhood with a new young feline peer, she becomes lost as a downpour has masked the scents she was so heavily relying upon for direction. Confused and hungry, the two decide to hunt around the community for scraps as sustanance. After searching for leftovers and meals left for other unaware pets turns fruitless, Chi and her new friend Cocchi resort to more extreme measures to keep their energy flowing.”

I had pre-ordered this during the last Vertical sale at RightStuf but it came out on Tuesday and even though I am a dog lover I enjoy Chi’s Sweet Home.

Chi’s Sweet Home is available from RightStuf

Sentai also mentioned they plan to continue releasing the Golgo 13 series, and are merely waiting for materials at this point. They also announced they would be releasing the first season of Clannad on Blu-Ray in November.

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Plot:

We all know about the Clannad visual novel, TV series, and the sequel After Story, but did you know that a movie came out a few months before the TV debuted.  Turns out it is not so bad of a film overall.  The biggest difference between the TV series and the movie is how the cast of characters interact with each other.  The story shifts the focus from Tomoya, Nagisa, and the other girls to mainly Tomoya and Nagisa.   Fans of those side female characters will be disappointed to find out that most of the other females present in the visual novel and TV series are removed from the movie version.  The few girls who do remain are changed from the visual novel and even changed from the KyoAni version of Clannad.

Of course, not all changes are bad.  One of the better things the movie does it explains some of the backstory as to what happen with Tomoya, and what happened with Youhei and the soccer team.  Because of the removal of some of the girls and the smaller focus the story becomes streamlined a lot more and removes some of the aspects from the TV series that bog the story down or the supernatural first arc that occurs in the TV series.

Art and Animation:

The weakest part of Clannad the Motion Picture is the art and animation.  While KyoAnmi did the TV series and the sequel, Toei Animation did the animation for the movie.  The biggest thing that those who have either watched the TV series or seen screen shots from it will notice that the character designs are a different from the TV series.  The females of the cast still have the moe factor to them, but not to the extent that the KyoAni version does.  That is not to say that the character designs are ugly they are not, but those expecting the full moe experience at not going to find it here.

It would seem that Toei took some shortcuts with the animation.  Certain scenes repeat multiple times in certain cases image enhancements are added to some of the scenes which does not help make the scenes look better, but instead gives the shots a almost amateurism feel to them.

Music and Audio:

The music for the movie is all over the place.  At times, the music feels generic and forgettable, and other times the music feel touching and fitting of the overall tone of the series.  While it does miss some times especially with a track, which sounds straight out of an 80’s anime show.  The OP is the same one as used during the TV series so I will not go into a lot of detail but it does fit the shows like a glove.  There are technically two ED’s.  The first one is a somber piano and string piece that brings the sadness of the second half to life.  The second one is another fast sung version of the Dango Family song.

Most of the Seiyū from the TV series give their voices to their roles in the movie.  With the sole change being the voice of Tomoya, the Japanese dub is a great listen.  Mai Nakahara gives Nagisa her voice for the movie and does a great job with her role.  Other roles filled with such seiyū as Houko Kuwashima and Ryō Hirohashi also give great performances with their roles given.  Those who want to fully embraced the moe feeling that the show has to offer will want to watch the Japanese audio track

The English dub contains the same English VA’s as the TV series.  I am not going to into any detail here if you have heard the English dub for Clannad TV series you know what to expect.  For those who have not heard the TV series English dub, which was produced by Sentai Filmworks, contains a cast of veteran English VA that turn out a quality dub that should be expected by today’s standards.  David Matranga gives Tomoya his English voice, fits the role given, and is on par with his Japanese counterpart.  Other veteran English VA’s such as Luci Christian, Shelley Calene-Black, and Greg Ayres are present and all give performances that are on par with their Japanese counterpart.  Of course, with the English dub you do not get the full moe factor as you would with the Japanese so it will be viewer’s choice as to which audio track to listen to while watching.

Final Thoughts:

Those are new to the KEY shows and are interested in watching the Clannad series would do themselves a favor and watch this movie to determine if they should invest more time and money into the series.  Those who have seen the TV series and the sequel might want to watch this movie as well  Those who are fans though of the other girls who were removed might want to skip the film altogether.

Score: 3/5

Pros: Explains some of the backstory better than TV series, still emotionally gripping, good for fans curious about the series.

Cons: Animation is not the same quality as the TV series; fans of the side characters will be disappointed.

Clannad The Motion Picture is available from Right Stuf

The first person I ever heard say it out loud was Travis Touchdown in No More Heroes.

“Moe,” he gushed, slowly enunciating both syllables while he pawed a poster featuring three prepubescent anime girls.

I was familiar with the word and concept from reading Genshiken manga (though I admit I thought it was pronounced “mo” at the time), but I’d thought it stood for a general affinity for a character or object. Lately though, the more I’ve heard about moe, the more it seems to apply to a singular character type. Modern moe, in fact, appears to apply to just a select few anime titles.

As a female anime fan, I have a lot of male friends who are into these so-called moe shows, but I wasn’t sure if they’d apply to me: When the series’s audience is male otaku, what is the appeal for women? However, I enjoy shounen type anime as much as I do shoujo, so what’s the harm in trying?

In order to begin my first foray into moe, I crowd-sourced Twitter for some essential moe shows. I chose four: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-ON!, Toradora!, and Clannad. Based on watching one or two episodes of each, here’s what I think moe means:

Prepubescent features. Despite Travis’s prize poster, I was expecting moe to refer to women with hyper-sexualized features- big breasts and tiny waists. However, moe characters tend to be exceptionally young looking and acting. While they’re usually high school aged, their big eyes, thin frames, and – oddly enough – super deformed tiny hands and feet, they could pass for much younger. When older women, like mothers or teachers, are portrayed, they could easily pass for their students and daughters.

A sensitive male protagonist. Moe anime directors seem to go out of their way to make the male protagonist sympathetic. He is usually a quiet, reserved guy who has lost a parent. Because he’s usually a jaded delinquent who doesn’t fit in, he’s not sparklingly sweet like a shoujo anime male lead, but he knows what to do to attract that special lady. The obvious exception to the rule is K-ON!, which so far has no male characters at all, but I suspect a yuri protagonist eventually takes this position.

Quirky personalities. Every moe character falls into a type. There’s the class representative one, the energetic one, the quiet one, the spacey daydreamer, and most moe of all, the shy, embarrassed one. This last one seems to be the most desirable of all moe characters, and the general “fan favorite” moe character of each anime – let’s say Mio (K-ON!), Taiga (Toradora!), Mikuru (Haruhi), and Nagisa (Clannad) – possesses this personality type.

No overt sexuality. This is key. If this was standard anime, moe series with their multitude of female characters for every male character, would fall into the harem genre. But moe doesn’t ever address sexuality head on. The focus is less on sex appeal than on cavity-inducing cuteness. Even with characters like Mikuru from Haruhi who could fall into standard anime sex appeal standards, we’re treated to close up shots of her big, sparkling eyes, not her breasts.

From these four observations, I’ve deduced one very important thing: Moe is a genre, not a character design. It’s not just about appearance, or even just about character personality. Moe is an overarching theme that seeps into whatever else the show is about. Can moe be for women? It depends whether you’d find it distracting or not. While a moe anime may purport to be about a music club, the supernatural, or plain high school drama, the main focus is still on showcasing the cute, quirky, female characters. But with that in mind, don’t knock it ’til you try it.

Scott and I discuss Zero no Tsukaima, Sora no Woto, Final Fantasy XIII, the Clannad dub, and upcoming anime conventions. Not much in terms of news this week, but we still had plenty to talk about. Check back next week where I’ll give my thoughts of I-Con 29 and Scott and I will talk more about the upcoming Anime Boston!

Otaku in Review – Episode 7 – Zero no Something Sensai | Subscribe in iTunes

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The time has finally come! Sentai Filmworks has announced that they will be dubbing some of the titles in their catalog that were previously undubbed. And those titles are…

• Clannad
• Blue Drop
• Ghost Hound
• Legends of the Dark King ~ A Fist of the North Star Story
• Tears to Tiara

This is great news! This is, of course, thanks to all the supporters who have been buying their sub-only releases throughout these tough times. You guys helped make this happen.

Sentai also announced they are developing an “upgrade program” for those who purchased the sub-only versions of the aforementioned shows. I plan to make use of this offer, and will fully support these new dubbed versions.

If you wish to learn more about some of these shows, check out my reviews of Tears to Tiara, Blue Drop, and my reflection post on Clannad.

In this blog post, I’m going to go into more detail with the shows I spoke about on the ANNCast and why I think many anime fans, and even non-anime fans, may enjoy them. I’ll also talk about some other “moe shows” that might be worth checking out as a sort of segue into appreciating moe.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Haruhi is pretty much the prime example of a show with moe elements that most anime fans can enjoy. It’s a show that spans many genres and thus, it pretty much has something for everyone. Fans of comedy, drama, mystery, sci-fi, slice-of-life, and even action can find something interesting about this show, and that’s what makes it great. The “moe-ness” of this show is found mostly in its main female characters: specifically the totally adorable and innocent Mikuru and the silent genius Yuki, both of which can certainly be viewed as cute in their own way. Even Haruhi herself may be considered moe by some, with her tsundere-like attitude. If you watch the show and find that you like these characters, then you just might be starting to like this moe thing.

Hayate the Combat Butler

I mentioned this show on the ANNCast episode because I think it’s a great example of an off-the-wall comedy presented by a largely “cute girl” cast, thus being where the moe comes in. Hayate is pure comedy, and it’s comedy that most people can enjoy. It’s true that many of the jokes are geared towards otaku, with its many parodies, but there is plenty of original, non-otaku humor found in the show as well. If you like a good comedy, Hayate is worth checking out, and even more so if you’re familiar with anime titles like Saint Seiya, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Neon Genesis Evangelion, as those shows (and many others) are parodied many times throughout the series. If you watch Hayate and find that you like the female characters and don’t find them all annoying, then there’s your moe appeal.

Clannad / Toradora!

If you’ve enjoyed teenage high-school romantic comedies such as 10 Things I Hate About You or She’s All That, then you might appreciate shows like Clannad and Toradora! While I can already see some people aiming their shotguns at me for making that comparison, hear me out. These are all romantic comedies, or “dramedies” that involve romance, but present it with plenty of laughs on the side. They all have their funny moments, but they also tone down on the comedy when things get serious.

Even those who aren’t into anime might find a certain appeal to these shows, and it’s not because of the moe. It’s because both Clannad and Toradora! both manage to present a very serious, emotionally vesting, and tear-jerking story that drama fans will just eat up. Obviously, if you’re not into drama, or you never felt emotions for fictional characters before, then these shows probably aren’t your thing. But if you are into that stuff, and you haven’t quite been “sucked in” to the moe-loving crowd just yet, these shows might do the trick.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

This one might be a bit of a stretch because of the fanservice factor, but there are some elements to the Nanoha series that might appeal to more than just the stereotypical “male otaku.” To make another bold comparison: I’ve heard the series described as “Dragonball Z with girls” before, and I kind of agree with that. Both Nanoha and DBZ have plenty of crazy fight scenes (although Nanoha focuses on magic battles and DBZ focuses on martial arts, it’s still fighting) along with a pretty decent story to boot. So, Nanoha may have some appeal to non-moe fans, and even non-anime fans who are into magic/fantasy stories. It also holds appeal to fans of other “magical girl” titles like Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. The main issue with Nanoha is the fanservice, which may turn off many people. But, if you’re someone who can get around that, it might be worth your time to check it out.

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.

I’m a person who enjoys good dubs, and I actually prefer to watch anime in English as long as the dub is good. So naturally, seeing a blog post like this one got me very worked up. The author’s harsh choice of words in the last paragraph agitated me quite a bit:

[Dub fans] believe every anime should be dubbed in English. Oh please. These people need a reality check. Badly. Dub fans still have Funimation, Viz and Media Blasters to rely on for dubs, but how long can they really take on the financial losses? Get a dose of reality English dub fans, because at this point, you should be looking for a new hobby or adapt to the changing market. You don’t get what you want anymore. Got that? Good.

I feel this paragraph would have been better supported by factual statements about the industry, rather than by outright attacking dub fans. Anyone who feels the same way as the original poster of this article needs to understand how we, as dub fans, feel.

Us dub fans are the ones who have been supporting the anime industry for years.  We buy the DVDs, many times just for the dub. We’re not the people who simply download a fansub, watch it, and then say goodbye to a series. We buy the DVDs because we want what the fansubs can’t offer, and that’s an English dub.

Now, I understand that we are in tough times. I also do realize that at this point, this is the only option for some companies. But you have to understand that the Anime companies’ decisions to offer DVDs in a sub-only format frustrates us a bit.

Now, I do not expect every anime to get a dub. In fact there are many shows that don’t deserve a dub. But there are also many shows that do, and those are the ones I’m upset about. It’s insulting to me as a fan, and is an insult to the shows themselves to not dub them. I’m talking, of course, about Hayate the Combat Butler, Kannagi, and Clannad. These shows were immensely popular in Japan and among English-speaking fans as well, so naturally I expected that they would be getting a dub. When I first heard that Hayate was licensed, I was ecstatic because I always wanted an English dub of that show, plus I know that Bandai tends to do very good dubs. So of course, when I heard the news that Hayate was going to be sub-only, I couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

I have religiously supported Bandai throughout the past few years. I’ve bought every single Limited Edition volume of Haruhi, Lucky Star, and Gurren Lagann and spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars in doing so. Hearing the news about Hayate and Kannagi was like a dagger to the throat. I felt “Gee, this is the thanks I get? F— you, Bandai.” Of course, I’ve calmed down since then, as that was only my initial response. Still, the damage was done, and my loyalty to Bandai has been shattered.

So when you see these angry posters on the ANN forums raging about how they can’t stand all these sub-only releases, this is why. It’s not that us dub fans don’t understand why the companies are doing this. It is simply the fact that it frustrates us that so many great series’ are being “wasted” through a sub-only release.

The solution? Well, there is none. It sucks, and we just have to deal with it. But please at least understand how we feel. I just hope that once the anime companies get back on their feet, we’ll see the revival of dubs. Ideally, I really want these companies to go back and do dubs for the aforementioned shows, because they really deserve it.