The (not BL but) Anime Thread

[Kreekakon]

I plan to watch Angel Beats next for sure! However I want to play a bit more with Clannad before moving on. I am currently playing the visual novel which is a much more fleshed out, and well paced experience than the anime. I've currently finished Kyou's, and Misae's routes.

Also, regarding the first season of Clannad, the flaws are getting more, and more apparent the more I think about them. This video has summed up most of my thoughts on what went wrong in season 1:





Part 1 of the video also talks about some things, but I haven't posted it since it does not talk about flaws which I felt hurt the anime in my opinion. In simple terms, I disagreed mostly with part 1. The above part 2 though makes some great points.

The only thing I would disagree with is the notion of Nagisa being "stupid". I think it wasn't a bad thing. Needing to have Tomoya guide her to become someone who can in turn return guidance to him in the future is a rather good character trait to me. However this WILL need After Story to fully realize, so I'd understand if one was not willing to cut it slack when on the topic of just judging the one season.

Despite the flaws, the first season of Clannad was still fun as hell though, and extremely sweet.

EDIT: Also here is my reply to the above video:

Hello again! I posted a long comment on your first video part a small while ago, and I just finished watching this part, and I'd like to give my thoughts:

I'd have to say that this video in contrast to the last one has basically summed up almost ALL of the negtatives that I didn't like about Clannad to begin with. I enjoyed the show immensely, but most of this video showcases the parts that I didn't like about the whole first season of Clannad

Inherently I feel that almost all of the mentioned problems in this video (Arc disconnection, flat personalities) were results of a studio trying to adapt a massive branching visual novel into a linear single running anime show. And they didn't handle it very well.

I played a bit of the visual novel, and almost all of the character's personalities are massively improved upon from simply being side characters because they all had their own stories. Taking that away from them in the anime, and just putting them in results in them becoming flat side characters because they are unable to have their own arc time to shine these traits through.

Fuko, and Kotomi were partially able to remedy this their arcs reworked into a format able to be presented in the anime, but I felt it was done poorly because it disconnected way too much from the main story, and felt jarring in regards of overall pacing. I believe there may have been a better way to strike a balance.

In the end I felt that the main biggest issue that held this anime back was this: They tried to adapt a branching visual novel into a linear anime, and tried to cram everything they had in there....resulting in several mediocrities due to underdevlopment, or messiness.

Some aspects of Clannad just may have not been able to be fully appreciated when turned into an anime.

It is deiniftely not an excuse for the anime turning out sub-par is some areas though...it was mostly just a damn shame when some things which are good in one medium don't end up working as well in another.

On a side note though, continuing from my opinion on the first video, I still think Nagisa being stupid was not a bad thing. Needing to have Tomoya guide her to become someone who can in turn return guidence to him in the future is a rather good character trait to me. However this WILL need After Story to fully realize, so I'd understand if you're not willing to cut it slack when on the topic of just judging the one season.