First I am just a medical student, though I have taken film and media study classes I want people to know that I don't feel that I am in a position to make any grand claims and such. All the following of my review is just my opinion.It would be impossible even given a book sized amount of text to describe the artistic and storytelling merit of this work. While I could praise this work for hours I will try to give people who are interested a quick overview. Truth be told, I am not an anime fan, in fact you can say I greatly dislike anime. I am also not a fan of love stories, romance, tragic stories, school life stories, or of Japanese works in which I had to read the English subtitles, but Clannad was all of this and it blew my mind. I have been searching my whole life for a work I could call a masterpiece and this was it. I was forced to watch this by a younger sibling and though I struggled within the first episode this work won me over. I have never seen a work so well crafted together in a combination of good storytelling; strong character development, artistic value, impressive visuals, and soul haunting music all weave together for form this beautiful masterpiece. It was because of Clannad that I was interested in what define "masterpiece", before Clannad I have seen the pinnacles of each medium (Citizen Kane, Watchmen, Ulysses, Hamlet, etc.) and I must say that Clannad part of that list.
Clannad was based off a Japanese visual novel (a medium we do not have here in America) and since it's visual novel release have been ranked as one of the greatest visual novels of all time, influencing many others, and has been called the Citizen Kane and Watchmen of visual novels for how it changed that medium from dating sims to psychological, mind bending, emotional stories. In the visual novel medium, there is an advantage to storytelling that other mediums don't have, the main one would be the amount of time and text length needed to tell the story. This allows the reader to interact and growth with the characters all them to become more emotionally attached when something happens to one of these characters. In fact the word count for the Clannad visual novel surpasses War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, and Les Miserables combined. This translate well into an animated series (Clannad and Clannad: After Story) that in its own right may be the Citizen Kane of the whole animation medium. Thing done in the anime has exceeded what was expected of this medium, and for me personally this was the first time I ever saw what I could consider "true" emotions seen on film. When ever I watch a live action movie, no matter how much I feel for the characters in the end I still seem like actors acting. I never thought I would see animated characters portray emotions better than live actors until I show EP18 of Clannad: After Story, the combination of visuals and music as well as dialogue created such a heart moving scene; this surpassed anything I have ever seen in any story in any medium, even the original visual novel.
And while that this point you may think I am crazy or a die hard fan, I still don't like anime and don't consider myself a fan of Clannad, but regardless this does not mean I can't express my opinion on the artistic merit Clannad achieves. And I have not even gotten the music, all the music from the original soundtrack of the visual novel, was composed by the writer of the story and is one of the most beautiful soundtracks ever composed that touches hearts and emotions at the right moment. Every song is cued at the right time and recurring songs (like the Dango song that is Nagisa's theme song) create a feeling of happiness and nostalgia in the viewer. (Once tried to write a paper on the music of Clannad for a media class describing the beauty of the music and how it signals certain emotions at certain scenes. I got to 50 pages before I gave up knowing it would be impossible.)
While I do like Clannad it is far from perfect. There are many side stories and little things that may throw off viewers, but this still does not take away from this masterpiece. If the Mona Lisa had one tree in the background that was off it still does not change its artistic value. Same as Clannad. My only worries are that most people will be turned off by Clannad since it is an anime and such. But trust me and take the same challenge I give to my friends, if you watch from Clannad (Season 1) to Clannad: After Story (Season 2) Episode 18 and you can admit that you don't feel a thing, then that's fine, but most who do this admitted they cried and these are my military school friends in the Army and Marines who never admit they cried. This is a beautiful work and while I have seen shows and film that were tearjerkers for me these films always seemed to force the viewer in to a position where they had to cry, for Clannad this is real and you really feel it, emotions are not forced.
While in most tragic/tearjerker stories they bring you emotionally to a point so low that at most you will get a bittersweet ending with a hole in your heart. Clannad broke this trend and is the only fictional work I know that can take you to the lowest points of your soul to a happy ending. What amazes me the most for this "love story" is during the whole two seasons the main lovers do not even kiss once (not much less a sex scene which most love stories now a day think is needed). But even without a single kiss the hug they give each other at the very end was so touching and powerful it takes you from the depressing scene prior that made you cry your heart out and makes you want to stand and cheer for the beauty of this story and the happy ending they rightfully deserve. That one hug makes Casablanca, Gone With the Wind, and Titanic look like nothing.
This is truly an unrecognized masterpiece and I think as important to the storytelling media as much as Ulysses, Citizen Kane, and Watchmen were. This is highly recommended. And please don't go into watching this with high expectations just because of what I said, watch it normally and see for yourself. I understand that this may not be for some people and some will not like it though from talking to others it appeared that those who did not like Clannad never went through a tragic experience. It was only good for me because one of my close family members passed away a few years before I saw Clannad and I may have had a different impression if I did not go through that event. Though I think everyone could find something in this story for them to relate to. This is not just a romance, psychological, or tearjerking story, it also has comedy, and probably the only work I seen that have combine and done things that would otherwise never work into a masterpiece that does.
One blogger once posted a quick review of Clannad saying that "Clannad is the greatest story ever across all genres and media" and I have to agree.
Having said that, the box sucks. This is the first anime DVD I've bought, so I don't know if this is common place, but the set comes with four discs that are just stacked on top of each other like I bought a hundred blank dvds. Usually when I get a DVD box set, the individual disks are in a sort of book where you can flip through and pick out an individual disk. I guess doing this saves space, but that's something else about the box that doesn't make sense. The disks take up a little more than half of the total interior of the box and the rest is filled with a white foam sheet. I want to take it out because it looks incredibly ghetto, but I'm afraid that if I do, the disks will fall out and get scratched in the box.
The actual disks are nice. This version includes the Japanese and English dubs as well as English subtitles. And the best part is, the signs are actually subtitled! I watched the original Clannad on Netflix, and I loved the show, but none of the Japanese text was translated. Usually it wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on, but occasionally an episode would end with a shot of a bulletin or some words on a chalkboard and anyone who doesn't speak Japanese is completely lost(and a few who might speak Japanese as well. I've taken Japanese for two years, and I was still struggling to read all of the signs).
Buy Clannad: After Story Complete Collection (2006) Now
Clannad and Clannad: After Story are two of my favorite anime's. Clannad: After Story picks up where Clannad left off, with Tomoya and Nagisa in a relationship. The story follows the ups and downs of their relationship, from bouts of Nagisa's sickness to Tomoya's struggles with his father and not wanting to be like him and wanting to take care of Nagisa. The pacing of the show is excellent and it never gets boring, it can go from hilarious hijinks (Nagisa's parents) to really tragic moments that make you feel for the characters and what they are going through. I cant remember a recent anime that actually made me care for the characters, it can be a real tear-jerker sometimes. Moving on from the story this anime also has some of the best animation you will find, its very crisp and clean. As for the audio department, the English dubs aren't bad but you lose some of the innuendo's and subtlety's of the Japanese audio track, as with most dubs in my opinion. I recommend using the Japanese audio with English subs. All in all if you like funny anime with a dose of drama and romance do yourself a favor and pick this up, you wont be disapointed!Read Best Reviews of Clannad: After Story Complete Collection (2006) Here
Clannad: After Story follows Clannad and is as good as its predecessor.It is the continuation of one of the best romance anime series out there and explores relationships more deeply than the first series. It can certainly be a tear jerker so keep some tissues handy but it is a wonderful story with many uplifting and entertaining moments as well. It was moving and powerful. It is not as fast-paced as Clannad but instead focuses more on the relationships between the central characters and their lives together after the first series. It is different than Clannad but it is just as good and if you liked Clannad you will enjoy this series as well.
For me personally listening with Japanese audio and English subtitles feels "right" (versus English dubbed) but to each his/her own. Once again I applaud the team who created this series. An excellent piece of work.
Want Clannad: After Story Complete Collection (2006) Discount?
Clannad After Story starts off where Sentai Filmworks Clannad ends. Clannad is Sentai Filmworks best ever anime in my opinion, Made by Kyoto Animation just like Kanon and Air TV. I love most animes made by Kyoto Animation, if you like drama animes you would to.25 episodes on four disks, Widescreen 16:9, Rated 13+ so just about anyone can enjoy this anime.
Special Features: Clean Opening Animation, Clean Closing Animation, Commentary with David Matranga (Tomoya) and Luci Christian (Nagisa).
Spoken Languages: English, Japanese, English subtitles.
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