Clannad ~After Story~ [ep 1]

by eternal on October 6, 2008

It’s here. Half a year since the conclusion of Nagisa’s route and consequently the main story, it’s finally here. With as much moe, as much comedy, and hopefully as much drama as ever before, the KyoAni/Key combination is back. They’re in our anime, and they’ll be jerking our tears.

Since this is my first complete season of aniblogging, I’ll be toying with my episodic posting style for a bit; don’t be surprised if things change somewhere along the way. For now, I’ll try to cut back on the screencaps and spend more time elaborating on my thoughts…not that there’s much to elaborate on in an episode about baseball.

Anyhow, the first thing I noticed about the show was (obviously) the OP. Not only is the song brilliant, however, but the video is just unbelievable. I normally wouldn’t bother talking about an opening video of an anime (considering the show itself is probably much more interesting), but really, it’s been ages since I’ve seen a video this good. The surreal backgrounds and setting is almost on par with the Makoto Shinkai films.


I saw a similar picture every day for two months from the 2008 calendar, but I still love it.


Did I mention that I love dramatic backgrounds and oversaturated sunlight?


Sad Nagisa in snow.

So, uh…enough about the OP. There weren’t too many pictures to take of the actual episode, minus the fact that it was nice to see the entire cast again. Moe heaven? Definitely.


He isn’t joking.


Nagisa as pitcher? I’d like to see how that works out…


I get the feeling Kotomi wants to be Nagato Yuki’s rival.


GAR Yusuke is GAR.


Shame she doesn’t have a route.

As you’ve probably already seen, this episode was pretty much entirely about one thing: baseball. Well, I’m not really complaining – Clannad has always done a surprisingly good job with the slice-of-life/comedy aspects – but at the same time, there isn’t really much of an opinion to formulate. At the moment, we can see that Tomoya is having fun in his new life; not surprisingly, seeing as the only truly tragic moment in the first season was Fuko’s “death”. As of now, the cast seems to be enjoying their lives without any of that Key-style melodrama to bog them down, and like always, Tomoya remains as an awesome harem lead in not actually acting like a harem lead. However, a premier without any deep meaning, significance, or development begs the question: where will things head in the future?

I watched the entire first season, of course, as well as the movie, but I haven’t played any of the game – leaked patches aren’t my thing – so I honestly don’t know where we’re going to end up. Aside from the rather heartbreaking movie ending, the entirety of After Story is a mystery to me; and it’s a mystery I’m definitely going to enjoy watching unfold.

~ ETERNAL
つづく

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Arachnicus October 6, 2008 at 8:35 pm

Yes, the whole After Story is still a mystery… Anyways, I’ll be looking out for this series.. ^^

Arachnicuss last blog post..Fall is arising

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M12 October 7, 2008 at 5:11 am

I thought only Nagisa had an “After Story”. However, judging from the opening, it looks like the other characters will have their conclusions as well. That’s exciting. I can’t wait.

It’s cool to see those “famous” Nagisa pictures (e.g. the umbrella one) being animated.

Yeah Yuusuke is GAR XD.

Kotomi’s voice seems a bit different than in season one. Maybe Mamiko is still too used to voicing Haruka ^__^;?

M12s last blog post..Mission Impossibly Retarded

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Rin October 8, 2008 at 2:41 am

I saw the episode…
Continue with the Nagisa storyline but wheres the Tomoyo one!!!!!!
I love the Tomoyo one since I played Tomoyo After…(Sequel to Clannad Tomoyo storyline…)

Rins last blog post..Mid Terms… + Fall Seaon…

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ETERNAL October 8, 2008 at 4:46 pm

@ Arachnicus: This is one series that’s definitely worth looking out for.

@ M12: lol, that might explain it. I’ll have to keep my eye – er, ears – out for it next episode.

@ Rin: Oh, you can read Japanese? Or was it translated into Chinese…dunno, but either way, it must be nice to play more Key games than just Planetarian and ONE. Someday soon I’ll try to learn more than just kana and a few basic kanji :P

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zenical October 8, 2008 at 8:41 pm

I WANT FUUKO!?!?!? I ONLY SEE HER BACK IN THE OP T_T

zenicals last blog post..Anime Festival Asia – Catch May’n Live in Singapore!

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