Forum - View topicShelf Life - Clanning Up
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Panda Man
 Posts: 257 Location: North Carolina |
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I love shows like that too mainly because depressing things are enjoyable to me. But, I don't have the cash right now to order Clannad, which I am really excited about. I did get Ouran Pt. 2 last weekend though and loved it. |
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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To watch with other family members emotionally evocative shows is something far braver than anything I tend to do. As much as I appreciate their works, to feature emotional elements especially effective upon parents is not something I'd expect from a KyoAni show.
One of the greatest strengths of Kanon is the fact that as well as showing stength and a sense of care for those around him, the male lead is also emotionally susceptible, in a way that felt quite natural. spoiler[I specifically remember him breaking down in tears during the final arc as he remembers Ayu's past- probably the strongest emotional display of the entire show.] Though I'll be the first to admit this sort of thing is somewhat removed from reality, commendable human touches are given to lead characters when necessary.
Though I don't want to lower the tone, I find notable differences between this case and fictionalised ones. That's just my opinion though. |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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I have to say that, although I did cry, occasionally, while watching Kanon, the overall feeling of the anime was (to me, at least) upbeat and cheerful. Sure, it had its sad moments, but it also had spoiler[the best damn kiss I've ever seen in an anime, and one of the best in all the films I have seen].
Similarly, Clannad, for all it's downer moments, is a generally positive and character-building story. Just as with spoiler[the kiss] in Kanon, there is a moment of amazing clarity and beauty in Clannad. Since it occurs at the very beginning of the anime, I'm not going to spoiler-mark it. In the very first moments of Clannad, Tomoya is walking to school, thinking morose thoughts of how blah his life is. Everything is rendered in nearly colourless faded tones. The world we see reflects his mood. Then he encounters Nagisa, and she turns towards him. As she meets his eyes (our eyes, for we are watching from his POV), the world explodes with colour! Now, I don't think I have ever seen a better portrayal of spoiler[love at first sight -- and I don't understand how anyone could doubt that the rivalry over Tomoya could have any other outcome than it did. Multiple game outcomes or not, KyoAni made the anime version's outcome clear from the start. ] It reminded me a bit of the classic scene in The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy first steps into Oz, and the screen goes from B/W to Technicolor. - abunai Last edited by abunai on Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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; ) I didn't realize there was anything to dumb down. Clannad isn't exactly the most cerebral of shows.
Did you read the review? It seems to me I gave some reasons why I liked the show, such as the characters, the character relationships, the artwork, the atmosphere, the incredible feeling of moe(!) I get from watching the show...
Clannad doesn't have a dub because it's market is extremely limited. Since you're a fan of the series, you may not realize it, but this type of show doesn't appeal to nearly as many people as, say, DBZ or even Ouran.
Ah, see, I liked Air better than Clannad (I gave Air a shelf worthy rating, I believe). Air was much sadder, and I liked that. I found the occasionally super chipper moments of Clannad to be a bit jarring.
I'm not saying that I don't still watch those terrible American films as guilty pleasures.  I'm just saying that they're horrible and shallow and patronizing and they're destroying the country. Plus, to be fair, these Key shows are watched by a very, very niche demographic in America. More people will watch All About Steve, opening weekend, in any given state in the US than will watch Clannad in the entire country over the span of a year. So those American films will destroy more of America than Clannad ever will. 
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pparker
 Posts: 1185 Location: Florida |
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Ouran sounds good. I did watch a few episodes back when because my son recommended it. I always intended to finish it for that reason, though I wasn't sure it would hold up. Now I'll get the box sets. The satirical humor attracted me, but not in LOL fashion, just smiles. I might not appreciate it as much since I rarely watch bishounen shows. Actually, if it ain't Fruits Basket, I haven't seen it.
Like others, I liked Haruhi for her uniqueness and going against moe type.
Never finished Air after renting Vol. 1, though I loved the artwork as well as the intriguing beginning of the story. Kanon, never seen an episode. Picked up Clannad when it was airing. It was okay, though I'm not a big fan of high school melodrama, and hints are that the second season gets "worse". Again, nice art and some admirable qualities. Now, for those Shuffle haters out there... I definitely enjoyed Shuffle and ordered the fancy box and all, not believing it could ever be licensed here. I suspect it is the lead not being a bumbling blushing milquetoast, and not too much a-hole (he has his moments), and the wild swings in story mood--just say Kaede. I don't know how it gets more authentic and engaging than her entire arc. The fantasy (gods/demons) aspect added to the appeal, taking it beyond a RL melodrama. I will buy Clannad since I watched it, and watch it again when I marathon After Story, but it has less rewatch value for me than Shuffle. Have to agree on Rosen Maiden Traumend, though I still like the series overall. But my viewpoint of the ending was that it wasn't one and wasn't intended to be. I fully expected another season to pick up from that point, and possibly it was rushed/hacked a bit to pull a season ending (said with no knowledge of sources). Too bad it just ended where it did, as I thought it had potential. I liked the creepy feeling when they go into the backstory. Somehow I didn't expect that. Just... living dolls. You know, Loli Chucky. 
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poisondusk
 Posts: 63 Location: Brighton, UK |
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I can't watch any of the Key shows - regardless of the quality of drama and characters, there's something about the art style that I just find really creepy, and it's too off-putting. I think it's the eyes. Most moe designs I either find boring and generic or really cute, but the Key ones are just unsettling.
That's a very nice set of shelves this week. I'm jealous of the Sugiura Shiho merchandise. I have almost as much of her manga as the shelf owner, but none of the merchandise. My local anime club showed Ouran last year, and I think everybody loved it, regardless of gender. Some people were reluctant at first, but it quickly won everybody over. It's definitely a show with wide appeal, once you can get people past the outer appearance of pink and roses. |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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About Ouran: I rented the first half, and had the delicious pleasure of watching the first episode with a friend of mine who is not familiar with anime, because she was genuinely suprised that Haruhi was a girl! Now how oftwen does THAT happen?!
(She did figure out that her VA was female b4 the gender reveal, though).
I've already read the manga beyond the anime's end point, so I'm not in a rush to see the 2nd half. I love how the VA's are having so much fun with the series, the commentaries and dub outtakes were hysterical! And I was a doubter but...Vic pulled off Tamaki! Not all the episodes were amazing (compared to the manga) but the "Alice in Wonderland" ep basically brought me to tears. So I guess I'm a sucker for melodrama, which brings me to: Key shows! I've never tried one, because "Love Hina" left such a bad taste for 'harem', but all this discussion leads me to believe that Key shows are a different breed altogether, full of touching character arcs that I might actually enjoy. My curiousity is piqued. Which one is a good one to try first, and what should I expect? |
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vtnwesley
Posts: 171 Location: Natrona Heights, PA |
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Is Ouran that popular in America? I actually would have thought a lot of the humor and subject matter would have made it more of a niche title akin to some of the other shows getting sub-only releases. I'm not saying I don't like it or anything, but it is one odd show. In fact, I realize in anime they don't like giving numbers, but a "did it do well" article every week would be a nice "trends and what to expect" kind of deal. I'd totally read that. That said, if anyone is so curious, Funimation posted the first 13 episodes on their video portal, http://www.funimation.com/video/ and they recently added even more. Dubbed and subbed. Can't ask for more. |
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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Ouran has more appeal since they attend a western-style academy and a lot of the humor is more universal. |
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Ceral
Posts: 28 |
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I love seeing how messed up these girls' lives are, and I kind of enjoy the banal conversations that make up 99% of these shows. The characters rarely have significant conversations, outside of the mini-finales for each girl's arc. I'm pretty sure they could even make an entire show based solely on girls making sound effects while getting their heads pat. Because in the end, these girls are barely more than pets, except they also happen to be physically not-there, or dying, or have some kind of crippling social handicap. And yet I can't stop watching. It's a sick addiction, I tell you. Why am I so inexorably drawn to such frivolous shows? I've been asking myself that for years, but I think that I, like many other fans, just like seeing these incredibly broken girls. Maybe that anxious feeling I get when I press the “Next chapter” button on my DVD player is actually moe. Except in my case, there's also a part of my brain that thinks, “Boy, these creators are really messed up. Seriously, stop it with the dying girls!” (I just read a spoiler alert on Wiki about the game, and boy, does this story get depressing!) I used the wrong word in dumbing down, but the entire summary is definitely in a facetious tone and in my eyes you are putting down the series just about every other sentence by trivializing the storyline and the characters. I think I could quote practically the entire article to show you what I mean... The whole time you seem to be trying to defend why you like this show. As a KyoAni fan, it's a bit annoying to read, it's a bit unfair imo. If you like a character like Nagisa who may be a bit stereotypical in that she is shy and good-hearted but you feel that you have to defend why you like her and similar characters for half an article, I want to know, why? Girl or guy, you have a bunch of these shy timid characters in anime. As far as stereotypes go, I don't see you defending why you would like Mori or the twins from Ouran. The twins and how ga... "close" they act, those scenes exists solely for a girl's pleasure, well maybe some guys too... I don't see anything about you defending why you like that show .
If you were trying to say anything good about Clannad in your article, besides the comment about the atmosphere, the rest gets lost in your facetious tone, IMO. If I hadn't seen anything from KyoAni and were reading this article, it would seem like the series was definitely not worth watching, but from what I've seen on other forums and looking at ratings on anime sites, I would say that it is almost a must to at least try watching, judging on what some would say about it. E.G. The last episode of AfterStory, how many good things have I read about that. Things like most emotionally moving piece in an anime(Having seen it myself, I would have to agree.) just about every other post in another forum. 90% votes for 10 with 300 votes, etc. It's a better show than you're letting on, I think you know this, you seem to be reluctant to say so though... [/quote] Clannad doesn't have a dub because it's market is extremely limited. Since you're a fan of the series, you may not realize it, but this type of show doesn't appeal to nearly as many people as, say, DBZ or even Ouran....[/quote] Well it's limited right now. As a DBZ fan growing up and in general a sort of a masochist, in that I should only like things with a ton of action and guys hurling sharp objects at eachother, I never would have given something like Clannad which looks like a girls show (or something for perverted guys) with all the female characters a second thought. But after seeing these shows, I find I prefer the latter a hundred fold over the former. I think more people just need to see the show, there are so many people that can't get past the superficial part of these shows I think, but if they did they would enjoy it a lot. I mean how many times have I heard KyoAni seems too moe to me to watch, or something along those lines... I don't think 90% of these people know what moe means, I mean I've been watching a ton of anime for a couple years now, and I'm not really quite sure I could give you a description other than "A strong feeling of caring for the characters" that someone else wouldn't disagree about. Which is kind of weird... you prefer to watch something where you don't give a %$#^ about your characters? What's the fun in that... Anyway, it's crazy, I'm not saying everybody would like the show, I just think a lot of people would like the show, at least among nerdy types who have no problem with a show being extra cute, having a couple storylines featuring supernatural plot elements or just being a little eccentric. Last edited by Ceral on Mon Feb 23, 2009 4:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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My point was that for as niche of a show that Ouran is, it has more market appeal than Clannad. |
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xia83
 Posts: 137 |
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I really disliked Clannad. Yeah sure, it had it's entertaining moments; but I dont get all the love it receives. IMHO
But Ouran is friging hilarious. I watched it as soon as my hot little hands could get it, and people kept coming into my room to see why I was laughing so hysterically. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Even as a KyoAni fan, I can fully agree that Clannad does not deserve to be the #50 ranked anime or whatever it is on this site.
However, I fully support with the current rating of Clannad After Story (which I believe is #3), provided that KyoAni doesn't screw up the ending too much. I think most of the "love" you hear is for After Story. At least, the current love anyway. |
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tasogarenootome
 Posts: 593 |
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LOL Ouran was one of the few female-aimed fan pandering series I loved. Bamboo's right, it does exactly what it set out to do. And Haruhi's probably a nice change of pace from the Hollywood ditzy, quirky Hollywood leads.
Of the KEY series, Clannad was the one I actually liked best and After Story elevated it into favorite territory for me. Air had an interesting plot, but the characters were way too underdeveloped for me - perhaps a 26-episode format would have developed Misuzu past a childish and troubled moe-phrase sputtering female lead and given me reason to care for her plight. I did like the concept of the story though and Kanon was a little better. For me, the difference in Clannad was that it seemed like these girls had more to their lives than vying for the male lead's attention and again, the development in AS helps. If you liked Kanon or Air, you'll probably like Clannad. If not, try and hang in until later on, but if not, this series may be too light weight and cutesy for you. Too bad there's no dub for Clannad though. I would have loved to see who they'd have dubbed Sunohara, since his and Tomoya's antics kept me laughing a lot in the first season and kept it interesting, even if it was unbelievable some of the ridiculous stuff these girls fell for. |
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