Clannad (クラナド Kuranado)
Clannad (クラナド Kuranado) is a Japanese visual novel created by the software company Key, who also produced the successful titles Kanon and Air. Key announced in 2001 a release date of 2002 for Clannad and, after several postponements, finally released a limited version for the PC on April 28, 2004, and the regular version less than four months later on August 8, 2004. The visual novel was later ported to the PlayStation 2 on February 23, 2006, and will be ported again to the PlayStation Portable in May 2008, along with the Xbox 360 in spring 2008. The gameplay in Clannad follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters. According to Jun Maeda, the main scenario writer of Clannad, the title means "family" or "clan" in Irish.
Anyway, lets review the story.
Tomoya Okazaki is a third year high school student who dislikes his life. Tomoya's mother (Atsuko) died when Tomoya was young, leaving his father (Naoyuki) to raise him. After the accident, Tomoya's father turned to alcohol and gambling, and held frequent fights with his son. One day, Naoyuki, again arguing with his son, slammed Tomoya against the wall, dislocating Tomoya's shoulder. Ever since then, his father has treated Tomoya nicely, but distantly, as if Tomoya and he were strangers rather than a family. This hurts Tomoya more than his previous relationship with his father, and the awkwardness of returning home leads Tomoya constantly to stay out all night. Additionally, the injury disables Tomoya from participating in his basketball club, and pushes him to distance himself from his school and other activities. Thus his delinquent life begins. Tomoya's good friend Youhei Sunohara, who got thrown out of the soccer club for a dispute, is also a delinquent and often hangs out in his dorm room with Tomoya doing nothing much.
At the beginning of the school year, Tomoya finds that his life is about to change when he chances upon Nagisa Furukawa, a soft-spoken girl one year older than him who is repeating her last year in high school due to being sick much of the previous year. Her goal is to join the drama club which she was unable to do due to her sickness, but they find that the drama club was disbanded after all the members graduated. Since Tomoya has a lot of time to kill, he starts to help Nagisa in reforming the drama club. During this period, Tomoya meets and hangs out with several other girls who he gets to know well and help with their individual problems.
Tomoya's psychology is further developed in his dreams of a bleak world. In the first few dreams of that kind, he sees a world which is devoid of all people except for one girl, whom is never shown in the original game but is spoken of (she is shown in the anime version). Each time he dreams, he finds out more about the world. Later on, Tomoya finds out that the girl has a special ability to fuse junk together to create new things, with which she creates a body for him. Thus he is reborn in this world, and fills time following the girl around. Tomoya conceives that only the two of them are "alive". To pass time, Tomoya and the girl try to build another doll with more junk they find, but as it has no soul, it fails to come to life. Eventually, winter sets in, and the girl becomes cold to the point where she cannot move any more. Remembering a distant world where he came from, Tomoya convinces the girl to build a ship so that the two can escape the winter and continue a happy life. However, their flight is doomed to meet tragedy.
Principal characters
Tomoya Okazaki (岡崎 朋也 Okazaki Tomoya?)
Tomoya is the male protagonist of Clannad. Due to his habit of always arriving late to school, skipping classes during the day, and staying out all night, he has been labeled as a delinquent, or a young person who defies authority. Ever since his mother, Atsuko, died in a car accident when he was young, Tomoya has been living with his father, Naoyuki, with whom he argues constantly. Tomoya's right shoulder was irreparably injured during a fight with his father three years ago. Since this injury permanently cost him his talents and his dreams to compete in inter-high school basketball, and because of the fact that his father now treats him as a stranger, his relationship with his father has
Nagisa Furukawa (古河 渚 Furukawa Nagisa?)
Nagisa is the main heroine of Clannad. Although she is in her third year in high school, as is Tomoya, Nagisa is actually one year older since she had to repeat her third year after an illness that lasted nine months. Tomoya, returning on the first day of school, met her on a long hill path in front of the school. She has a strange habit of muttering the names of food that she plans to eat as a way to motivate herself, such as anpan. She wants to reestablish the once-disbanded drama club. She does not have much self-confidence so she often needs help in order to motivate herself through the day. Voiced by: Mai Nakahara
Kyou Fujibayashi (藤林 杏 Fujibayashi Kyō?)
Kyou is a bad-mouthed and aggressive girl well known as a good cook. She was in Tomoya's class in their second year, and has maintained a steady friendship with Tomoya even though they are put in different classes on their third year. She is currently the class representative of her class. She has a pet baby boar named "Button" (ボタン Botan?). Voiced by: Ryō Hirohashi
Kotomi Ichinose (一ノ瀬 ことみ Ichinose Kotomi?)
Kotomi is another schoolmate of Tomoya's in the same year, but, like Kyou, in a separate class from Tomoya. She is ranked in the top ten throughout the whole country in standardized exam results of every subject — she always goes to library to read extra materials, especially books in foreign languages. Kotomi is a very quiet girl and it is quite difficult to communicate with her. In her spare time, she plays the violin. Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
Tomoyo Sakagami (坂上 智代 Sakagami Tomoyo?)
Tomoyo transferred to Tomoya's school as a second year student during spring. She is rumored to be violent and to have a misconduct record for fighting. These rumors are later confirmed when she beats up several students from her previous school one day at her new school during school hours. Unlike most delinquents, Tomoyo's fighting prowess seems to stem from actual training in martial arts rather than talent and raw brutality; her preference is kicking over punching. Although Tomoya is older than her, Tomoyo does not show him his due respect as a senior student. She has a younger brother named Takafumi (鷹文?). Tomoyo appears in Key's fifth game, Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life, as the main heroine. Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima
Fuko Ibuki (伊吹 風子 Ibuki Fūko?)
Fuko is a first year student at Tomoya's school. She is always alone by herself, making wood carvings of starfish with a small knife to give to others as presents. This hobby drains her concentration and awareness of her surroundings wholly. Voiced by: Ai Nonaka
Dango daikazoku
Ending Song Clannad
dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
yancha na yaki dango yasashii an dango
sukoshi yumemigachi na tsukimi dango
osumashi goma dango yotsu ko kushi dango
minna minna awasete hyakunin kazoku
akachan dango wa itsumo shiawase no naka de
toshiyori dango wa me o hosometeru
nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo
machi o tsukuri dango boshi no ue minna de waraiau yo
usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai otsuki-sama
ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete
nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo
machi o tsukuri dango boshi no ue minna de waraiau yo
usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai otsuki-sama
ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete
dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご 大家族
だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご 大家族
やんちゃな焼きだんご やさしいあんだんご
すこし夢見がちな 月見だんご
おすましごまだんご 四つ子串だんご
みんなみんなあわせて 100人家族
赤ちゃんだんごはいつも幸せの中で
年寄りだんごは目を細めてる
なかよしだんご 手をつなぎ 大きなまるい輪になるよ
町をつくり だんご星の上 みんなで笑いあうよ
うさぎもそらで手をふってみてる でっかいおつきさま
うれしいこと 悲しいことも 全部まるめて
なかよしだんご 手をつなぎ 大きなまるい輪になるよ
町をつくり だんご星の上 みんなで笑いあうよ
うさぎもそらで手をふってみてる でっかいおつきさま
うれしいこと 悲しいことも 全部まるめて
だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご 大家族
だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご 大家族
だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご 大家族
だんご だんご だんご だんご だんご 大家族
Dango, dango, dango, dango, a big dango family
Dango, dango, dango, dango, a big dango family
The naughty fried dango, the kind red bean dango
The Mid-Autumn Festival dango that tends to dream a little
The prim sesame dango, the four dango on a skewer
Everyone, everyone comes together and it's a family of 100s
The baby dango is always within happiness
The aged dango has its eyes narrowed
The chummy dango hold their hands together and make a big, round ring
They build a town on the dango planet and everyone laughs together
The rabbit is trying to wave in the sky; the huge moon
Is rounding up everything, happy things and sad things, too
The chummy dango hold their hands together and make a big, round ring
They build a town on the dango planet and everyone laughs together
The rabbit is trying to wave in the sky; the huge moon
Is rounding up everything, happy things and sad things, too
Dango, dango, dango, dango, a big dango family
Dango, dango, dango, dango, a big dango family
Dango, dango, dango, dango, a big dango family
Dango, dango, dango, dango, a big dango family
Note: I just this anime, and hope to watch the sequel of clannad,
CLANNAD, After Life.
