CLANNAD TV

[GLACIER]

What do you think about the series so far (even if you didn't play the game)?

Borderline mediocre. I don't know if it's just Fuuko's arc, but the drama is awfully forced. Also, humor is a weak point, with too many recycled gags and a bunch of jokes that don't work in the context of TV/film/anime. For instance, RPG references might be funny in a game, but it's just random and distracting here.

[Samu-kun]

It think it's great. ^_^

[PyTom]

I'm a fan, in a way I wasn't of Kanon or Air. I mean, I watched both shows, and liked them... but neither as much as Clannad.

Air was, IMO, a little too ambitious storytelling wise, and often came across as confusing.

Kanon, apart from being a series that I saw in 2002, tended to end arcs on down notes.

Clannad, OTOH, doesn't seem to be afraid to let its characters be happy. When I'm looking for escapist fiction, that's something I want. The characters themselves also seem to be more active types, trying to make their fates better, even in a fairly mundane way.

[Samu-kun]

Have you seen Kanon 06? :3 I think it's much better than the original anime series they made in 02, mostly because they had more time to flesh out all the characters instead of meshing all their stories together. :3

[PyTom]

Yes, I did. With the exception of Mai's arc, I actually enjoyed 02 more. I think a lot of that was that I knew the basic outline of the series in 06, while in 02 I was experiencing it for the first time.

Personally, I thought that the ending of 06 fell apart. I like Kyoani, but generally they are at their best when they're sticking to a source work, rather than adapting it heavily. The ending of 06 was the latter.

[DrakeNavarone]

I'm loving Clannad right now, much more than Air, but not quite as much as I did Kanon '06, though. Maybe it's because I knew the Kanon characters some going in, through semi-extensive research and the '02 version, so I was already attached and interested in them, but the Clannad characters don't seem to have as much of a hook to them as the Kanon characters did. Nagisa, while a great heroine so far, is rather plain (which works great with Clannad, but admittedly isn't much of an attention-grabber). Fuuko had her moments, but she gets really repetitive after a while. Kotomi was almost invisible until her arc started. Tomoyo kicking Sunohara gets old fast, no matter how many innovations you put on it, and so far there hasn't been much much else involving her. And Kyou is only interesting now that we've been given a decent dose of her dere side... it's been long overdue...

It might also be because, unlike PyTom, I actually liked the way Kyoani ended Kanon's arcs (though I admit the last episode wasn't so hot...). It sometimes left me with this slightly awkward feeling, but I liked that about it. And I also appreciated it's "don't quite give you what you want"/"don't quite give you what you expect from this genre" approach, which, looking back on it now, reminds me somewhat of Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second, which I enjoyed immensely... I'd love to try and write a project like that with a somewhat of a downer ending, since currently I'm kinda stuck on a "have a happy/optimistic ending" mentality...

Still, in spite of everything I've said against it, I really am loving Clannad. It's definitely one of my favorites this season (in fact, it was the favorite... until I found Ghost Hound...)

[Samu-kun]

Lawlz. I loved the lastest episode, by the way. ^_^ It was sooo funny.

Especially the Ryou henshin and Akiko's death at the violin recital. ^_^

I'm still smiling from it. ^_^

[yummy]

Just finished watching episode 16. I think I had the best laugh since months there. Poor Sunohara

[Samu-kun]

Yup, after just finishing Kotomi's arc, I nearly forgot how funny Clannad could be! ^_^

[Taleweaver]

I'm following Clannad too, and so far, I love it. In comparison to Kanon, it is much more coherent (and it has the neat running gag about Fuuko too), and in comparison to Air, the side characters are actually relevant to the overall plot, so I strongly consider this series a winner. Plus, the "family" theme that transcends each arc makes some more interpretation very worthwhile.