Clannad ep 15 - 23 (Complete)
Yesterday was Honey and Clover day, so today was Clannad day, since I only had 9 episodes to go to wrap it up. Tomoyo's story was not as dramatic as Fuuko's or Kotomi's, but there hadn't been enough of her lately so I was glad that she got to take a more central role for a while. Fuuko popped up a lot more, which made me chuckle and shake my head every time. Her attempts at being a magical heroine were very cute and funny.
I like how the series ended, with Nagisa taking center stage (quite literally too). It became obvious in the last few episodes that she and Tomoya would end up together, but it was handled well (meaning it was believable and not just thrown together). The extra episode provided a funny and pleasant code to the series. I was also pleased that the dream sequences of the lonely girl and the scrap robot were integrated into the final few episodes, since their significance has been puzzling me from the beginning.
Clannad: Another World, Tomoyo Chapter
This helps make up for the lack of Tomoyo in the main series. This was very interesting to watch, it makes me wish there was more than one episode. I'd like to see what else was different about this alternate version where Tomoya and Tomoyo are together. No mention is made of Nagisa, Kotomi, Kyou, or Ryou (but then there isn't that much time for the whole cast in the first place). I was laughing when Tomoyo used the school PA to send a personal message to Tomoya, and unhappy with everyone that was trying to keep them apart, and I'm glad it ended happily. And I never thought that Sunohara was blond because he dyed his hair. Once you've watched a lot of anime, you tend to stop thinking that the varied hair colors are weird.
Honey and Clover Specials
A fun pair of episodes that mine the comedy aspect of the show. The second one was my favorite, about Lohmeyer-senpai, a guy so manly that even the men were falling for him.
Aria the Animation ep 3 - 6
Some new characters get introduced. There's Woody the sylph, sort of a mail carrier on a flying motorbike, who also has a somewhat annoying habit of ending all his sentences with "yo". There's also Alice, a young undine working for the Orange Planet gondola company who becomes friends with Akari and Aika, and her senior Athena. Athena's a bit of a contradiction since she is a master gondolier, but she also has a clumsy side and an angelic singing voice.
Like I said before, I enjoy the sedate pace of this show, and it was about the only thing I felt like watching after my previous marathons of Honey & Clover and Clannad.
K-ON! ep 6
The band finally performs for the first time. I was very apprehensive until they started. I was hoping it wouldn't be a disaster, and thankfully it wasn't (although Yui's croaky back-up singing made me both chuckle and cringe). And it looked Mio had overcome her shyness... until she tripped over her bass cord and flashed her panties to the entire audience. Poor girl...
07-Ghost ep 5
I was pretty suspicious of Mikage just showing up at the church. I thought maybe he was an impostor, but he seems like the genuine article. Ayanami would never let him go just like that though, so something else has to be going on. Maybe they put a tracker on him or something to lead them to Teito. Guess we'll find out eventually. And I'll say it again: how many more episode is Teito going to have to run around in those bloody shackles!? They're getting on my nerves...
Clannad (Movie)
As a movie adaptation of the core story from the series, I'd say this was very successful. It was interesting to catalog the differences between the movie and series:
- Kotomi was choir director (and didn't have a speaking role).
- Tomoyo and Kyou were friends and Kyou was supporting Tomoyo's run for student council president.
- There was no Ryou or Fuuko.
- Ibuki-sensei was still teaching at the school and became adviser to the theater club.
- Both Nagisa's parents had been actors, but had quit to raise her, and she knew this and wanted to act to continue their dreams, which basically removed her conflict from the final episode.
- The dream world was different, and Tomoya and Nagisa both had the same dream of an empty world, which was what brought them together in this film.
I really liked the animation and character designs for the film, it especially helped with the female characters. I think their eyes were just a bit too big in the series, and here it was toned down and allowed their faces to be a little more expressive. What I didn't expect was for the last half hour to slip into After Story, which I haven't watched yet, so I guess it gave me a little taste of what was to come. I liked the ending and it's hopeful tone, that Tomoya can move on from Nagisa's death and be there for Ushio.
In some ways, I enjoyed this more than the series, but in the end I'd have to put them at the same level. Each one tells the story in it's own unique way.
