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Clannad - does it get better?


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bexiboobah



Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 5:17 pm Reply with quote
I'm not a huge fan of your standard slice-of-life anime but I've heard a lot of good things about Clannad, and especially after-story, so I decided to give the original series a go. ATM I'm 6 episodes in and I'm finding it soooooooo dull. I just thought I'd ask whether it significantly improves after the first few episodes and thus whether I should stick with it or are the first 6 episodes a good indication of the rest of the series???
Thank you xoxo
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GDFan



Joined: 31 Jul 2010
Posts: 254
Location: North of Boston
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 5:35 pm Reply with quote
I actually thought the first story arc was the best one in the first season. So if you're bored already then maybe Clannad isn't for you.

I hope you decide to stick with it though. After Story is one of the most emotional series that I've seen. But I don't think it would have such an impact without viewing the first season.
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ManOfRust



Joined: 08 Jan 2006
Posts: 1935
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:34 pm Reply with quote
GDFan wrote:
I actually thought the first story arc was the best one in the first season. So if you're bored already then maybe Clannad isn't for you.

I'd agree with this. I thought Clannad in general got weaker as it went along so if you are already not liking it, it's not a good sign.

Quote:
After Story is one of the most emotional series that I've seen.

I'm no doubt in the minority here, but I didn't particularly like After Story. I though the first season was much better. IMHO, the emotional content is so contrived that it loses most of its impact. My reaction to much of After Story was much more this ==> Rolling Eyes than this ==> Anime cry .

But, to each his or her own, and I have no doubt there is no shortage of folks who loved the heck out of this franchise. I'm just here to point out that it's definitely not for everyone, so it's possible that it's just not a good match for your taste in anime.
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WhiteHairGirls



Joined: 27 Apr 2011
Posts: 4713
Location: New York City
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:35 pm Reply with quote
Wait is the first arc the Fuko arc? if so then yeah I got tired of that arc. I felt like it improved a lot after that arc. Fuko just did not do it for me and I am a real lenient person when it comes to anime, as I rarely bash them.
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the Rancorous



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 2248
Location: Hunting the Dragon in Gransys
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:42 pm Reply with quote
ManOfRust wrote:
I'm no doubt in the minority here, but I didn't particularly like After Story.

Hey, I'm with you there, I place it as the single most over-rated anime in existence. The first half of it is just head-in-hands from such bad, contrived writing. It had one small stretch of good episodes, but then those were negated with that ending.

bexiboobah, I'm going to go a head and agree with ManOfRust that this series just isn't for you. Personally, I only still like the first half of the first season, everything else is just meh.
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Getsuga311



Joined: 06 Nov 2010
Posts: 86
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:44 pm Reply with quote
if you where bored after just 6 episodes then you should chose between sticking with it for After Story or just cutting your loses and dropping it

Clannad isn't really anything special tbh, not much different from most school slice-of-life series but perhaps a bit more mature than most

However, After Story is what more slice-of-life romance stories should do by going past the repetitive school romance story that everyone knows with the guy picking a girl at the end of the series and showing what life is like after that and i for one have to say it was definitely worth dragging myself through Clannad for After Story, by far one of the best series i've watched and very unique in it's story, being about life after where most slice-of-life series would end

So basically, if you like slice-of-life stick with it for the After Story payoff but if your not the biggest fan of slice-of-life fan then you should probably just give it a miss, you'll probably find it underwhelming like some people do and watching 50+ episodes only to feel disappointed is a real waste of 17+ hours of your life
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:59 pm Reply with quote
I actually really, really liked Clannad, strangely enough. I mean, it ain't the sort of show I usually get into.

Clannad: After Story started out in the same vein but had some truly awful writing mixed in and an ending that was a huge cop-out. I still ended up giving it a pretty good grade, but I thought it to be hell of a lot weaker than the first season. It certainly doesn't belong in the top hundred Anime ever made let alone being the best, which is what it is currently ranked as.

As someone who liked Fuko's arc, I would say that if the following arc still doesn't catch your interest then just drop the franchise.
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 7:18 pm Reply with quote
Story is good.

Artwork sucks. I mean, look at the picture from the encyclopedia:



The girls all look like stringy colored mops flung on top of a wrinkled pile of laundry. And their eyeballs are where their cheekbones ought to be. This is one of those productions that would actually be improved a bit by some judicious fan service, but they didn't do that.

That said the best thing about the story is the personal growth that Tomoya goes through, aided mostly by Nagisa's parents who are the real stars of the show to me. The bad thing about it is spoiler[after he goes through all that they reset everything so it didn't happen -- just kidding! Most people who post about it hate that and I do too.]
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doctordoom85



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 2091
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:31 pm Reply with quote
Fuuko's arc is the best arc of the original, so if you're not liking it so far, you can drop it. The next arc, Kotomi's, is pretty good, but the final one, Nagisa's, is just awful. It doesn't help that it focuses on the one girl I don't like in the Key trilogy, but the logic used by the characters to create the conflict of the arc is questionable at best (spoiler[note to all kids: when your parents leave you home alone when you're a small child and have to suffer consequences as a result, that's THEIR fault, not yours. Sure, you can feel a little sorry for them if they're good parents now, but do not angst about it]).

It's why I still haven't started After Story, since spoiler[I don't like Nagisa (or find much chemistry between her and Tomoya compared to some of the other girls)], I'm not sure AS will really do anything for me.
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UnrestrictedMethod



Joined: 26 Apr 2011
Posts: 80
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 10:00 pm Reply with quote
Does Clannad get better?

YES

I'm not a big fan of Fuko's or Kotomi's story arcs (they're good enough) but things get much better when the show focuses again on the drama club and Negisa. Trying to establish the drama club was always the best part of the show and when they return to that plot in episode 15 is when the show really shines. You could probably just skip to that point and watch on to episode 24 (I'm including the epilogue episode and the Another World OVA because they're both excellent). For all the sidetracks they take to explore different characters (with marginal success) the main plot does actually work up to a satisfying conclusion.
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PetrifiedJello



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 3782
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 10:22 pm Reply with quote
ManOfRust wrote:
My reaction to much of After Story was much more this ==> Rolling Eyes than this ==> Anime cry .

I saw this ==> Anime cry thought this ==> Rolling Eyes and still did this ==> Anime cry until I was this ==> Very Happy

One thing about this series I loved: the application of the sledge hammer. No matter what anyone says about the deliberate scene-stealing, make-you-try-to-cry arcs, it's damn worth it to many.

As for the OP: I'm with the agreement that 6 episodes should be more than sufficient to determine if you'll enjoy it. Yes, a few things do get a bit "heavy" in terms of story (my favorite being the memories of Kotomi being restored), but the series is a bit slow after this and it never really gains momentum.

After all, it's slice-of-life, not action-adventure. Wink

This reminds me, time for a re-watch. Temperature is cool enough to snuggle with a warm blanket and watch the show in comfort.
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ShinobiX



Joined: 03 Jun 2005
Posts: 889
Location: NY
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 12:47 am Reply with quote
I don't like that shit, but people say its good and um well it's good. Similar to Rumbling Hearts/ Kanon if you know those animes. If you liked the animes I've mentioned, watch it. Personally, not my cup of tea though.

If you don't like the 6 episodes, dump it. After three episodes, you usually can tell if it's for you or not. The plot doesn't change much. It just builds on top of it. Of course you have the climax to look forward to and the conclusion, but it will still feel dull. Especially if you don't like the intro.

In some cases, because this is a 24 episode anime- 9/10 the intro will suck and you just have to ride it. Clannad is like that. It doesn't get good until after the anime has established all the plot lines. Think that happens between ep11-14. Then supposedly it gets good.
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Nosferatu21



Joined: 19 Jul 2010
Posts: 520
Location: Ohio
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 1:42 am Reply with quote
I would say go ahead and drop it. I, personally, enjoyed both Clannad and After Story a lot. But I like Slice-of-Life shows. Since you're not a fan of the genre, Clannad's just not for you. There's nothing wrong with not liking it. Everyone has their own personal tastes in anime and themes/genres that they like. If Slice-of-Life isn't for you then you very likely won't enjoy the rest of Clannad and After Story since they're as slice-o-lifey as it gets.

I don't think your feelings for the show will change if you continue to watch. As you can see from the previous posts, some think Fuko's arc is great and others think you'll enjoy it more later on. You may enjoy the comedy in some of the later arcs more, and you may feel more attached to the characters later in the show; however, Clannad is definitely not going to get rid of slice o'life feel that it has through the first 6 episodes.

Though you will miss out on the pleasure that is Akio Furukawa. He's on my Mt. Rushmore of anime parents along with Touwa Meme.
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naninanino



Joined: 18 May 2008
Posts: 680
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 5:51 am Reply with quote
I wonder where these people who need others to convince them come from.

As for the raw question: yes, it does indeed get better, but you wouldn't care.
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ManOfRust



Joined: 08 Jan 2006
Posts: 1935
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:23 am Reply with quote
Nosferatu21 wrote:
Though you will miss out on the pleasure that is Akio Furukawa.

This is so true! Despite not loving the series overall, Akio is one of my favorite anime characters ever. For me, just his scenes made the whole show worth watching.
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