Clannad ~After Story~ [ep 8]

Clannad needs to be renamed GARnnad or something like that, seriously. Such high doses of manliness in a Key game seems just a little bit suspicious to me…but alas, on with the post. There was at least one moment of EPIC WIN to make it all worthwhile.

I lol’d…harem lead power FTW!

Moe overload~

Awkward moment to walk in on.

Whoa…awesome visual effects in a Fall 2008 show that ISN’T ef!?

*imagines Sunohara fighting four guys at once and actually winning*

Something about the word Aniki doesn’t seem to fit him…

Is this one of those QUALITY shots I’ve been hearing about?

And behold the EPIC WIN. That jam, crossing dimensions to encounter that bread…and then, GATTAI!

And here come the GAR.

I can see it now…Tomoyo Fighter Budokai Tenkaichi 3!

I have to admit, this scene was pretty good.

So, uh…yeah. Jam. And GAR, and a bit more jam. I don’t have too much to say, really, since as I mentioned last time I’m not much of a fan of yakuza – they generally only make anime better when they’re getting killed by a Death Note. On the other hand, though, Clannad certainly has proven that manly fighting can work in a visual novel – just look at Sunohara’s arc – but personally, this was just a bit overdoing it. Or perhaps a tad more than a bit, considering I can’t think of much to talk about other than jam.

Speaking of which, that was an awesome little in-joke they tossed in. I love references, and there’s always something charming about those subtle references used between anime of the same studio/cast/etc. Not that it was really that funny or anything, but it’s been ages since I heard anything about teh jam, and I guess you could say it brought back memories. I remember eating jam and bread for breakfast quite a few times back when I was first watching Kanon.

All in all, Yukine seems like a pretty interesting character, but I think her story kept me from growing too attached. Oh well, at least the quality of the show is still good and nowhere near filler-like, and there were a few moments of drama, although definitely nothing that I would classify as tearjerking. I commend Key for covering off every setting and theme they could think of with this game, but my preference will always be with the good old sad girls in snow.

More importantly than any of that, however, the preview: next week’s episode looks like it’ll be really good as long as it isn’t some sort of recap. Tomoya has always been one of my favourite characters in the series, defying the laws of the harem lead, and I’d love to hear more from and about him. Besides, with a mysterious yet meaningful title like Midway Up the Hill, how can you resist?

~ ETERNAL
つづく