Clannad
Synopsis: On the way to school, Okazaki Tomoya, passes a girl who without a warning exclaims "Anpan!" and catches his attention. This girl claims that they are now friends but Tomoya ignores the encounter. He, however, starts noticing her presence more and more and decides to befriend her.
The girl, Furukawa Nagisa, was held back a year due to a serious illness and has now returned to school and her one goal is to revive the drama club. Needless to say Tomoya decides to help her out along with four other girls. During this project Tomoya learns more about these girls and their problems and realizes that life isn't as dull as he once thought.
Characters:
Tomoya Okazaki: Is the main male character of this story. He has been labeled as a delinquent for skipping classes and always arriving late. He has succumbed to this label and excepts nothing more from life. One day on the way to school he meets Nagisa and his ever so boring life changes.
He lives with his drunk father and constantly argues with him. One of these arguments became physical and Tomoya was injured. Due to the injury, the one thing Tomoya loved and excelled in, became an impossible dream that thus lead him to a life of a delinquent.
The anime follows Tomoya's journey of learning the importance of family and of the people around him, especially Nagisa. As the anime progress, Tomoya comes to realize his love for Nagisa and what the future has in store for them.
Nagisa Furukawa: She is a third-year in high school but is actually a year older than Tomoya. She had to repeat her third year because she an illness that took her out of school for nine months. She is known to be a cry baby and has a habit of muttering food names as a way of motivation.
She meets Tomoya on the first day of school and after becoming friends with him she reveals her dream of joining the drama club. As it turns out the club has been dismantled and they decided to reopen it. After some hardships concerning their adviser and club members they succeeded in re-establishing the club.
In the midst of their friendship, Tomoya comes to live with Nagisa and her family. While there, he happens to uncover some of the truth behind Nagisa's illness and they way it affected her family. To Tomoya's and her parent's demise, Nagisa also learns the truth and feels guilty for stripping her parents of their dreams. From that moment on, Nagisa was faced with her own hardships and was able to overcome them with the help of her friends and family, including Tomoya.
Kyou Fujibayashi: Is the older twin of the Fujibayashi sisters and is a bad-mouthed and aggressive girl. She befriended Tomoya in their second year and maintained that friendship even though they were in separate classes in their third year.
Her story is a complicated one. She tries to get Tomoya and her sister to become intimately close, despite her own feeling. Youhei, Tomoya's friend, finds out that Kyou also has feelings for Tomoya and advises Tomoya to settle things between the three of them before any misunderstandings occur.
Kotomi Ichinose: She is another one of Tomoya's schoolmates but in a different class. She is ranked top ten for every subject throughout the country and is always in the library reading extra materials and that is where they met. Unfortunately, Tomoya does not recall that they used to play together as kids but he slowly befriends her again and convinces her to join the Drama Club.
Just when Kotomi begins to open up and accept her new relationships with the Drama Club a tragic bus accident brings back memories of her past and of those she has lost. At that time Kotomi decides that instead of losing another important person she would rather be alone. Tomoya manages to get Kotomi to see the people that love her are waiting for her to come back. She is brought to light through her parents last gift and returns with Tomoya and the drama club to the school life she had come to enjoy.
Tomoyo Sakagami: Is rumored to be violent and to have a record for fighting. Tomoya learns of her dream of being Student Council president and her reason for it. She wants to save a row of cherry trees from being cut down because of development. She wishes to save these trees because of their meaning to her and her family.
Fuko Ibuki: Is a childish and naive first year student who is always alone and making wood carvings of "starfish" to give to others as presents. Tomoya first meets her in an empty classroom carving and he comes to learn her reason for making the wooden starfish. Her goal is to make 700 starfish as invitations for the students to attend to her sister's wedding.
As time progresses, Tomoya learns of Fuko's accident and of her unkown presence in the school as a ghost. Nagisa and Tomoya both decide to help Fuko and her sister Kouko. After some hardships and struggles Kouko is finally able to marry thanks to the "starfish" made by Fuko. Because her mission was completed she had to say goodbye to both her sister and Tomoya.
Sequel:
Clannad: After Story: The story continues with Tomoya's final semester of high school. After declaring his love for Nagisa they begin to have a very close relationship; however, their life together will be faced with unexpected challenges.
This anime aims at showing the importance of family and friends and how without them you cannot change for the better. Overall, I believe it is a well adapted anime with a cute story.
Unlike the game, where there are 6 separate story lines, the anime follows the story of Nagisa and Tomoya. You do however see some crosses between the six story lines. The main focus of course is Tomoya's growth as a man which continues in the After Story arc.
The After Story arc, however takes you through many hardships after their high school life. It will send you on a roller-coaster of emotions. It shows you two different possibilities for their future and it is all up to Tomoya as to which one prevails.
Enjoy!
