Wait, there is a Clannad Movie? I decided to watch it this Sunday afternoon and after watching 30 minutes of it, it’s nothing that special, but still continue to watch it anyway. Unlike the Clannad TV series which I could say Kyoto Animation did a great job of being faithful to the original source for both seasons, I can’t say for the movie. The Clannad Movie which was made by Toei Animation, who worked on the Air Movie and the first season of Kanon (before it was remade in 2006) released a month before Kyoto Animation’s version was aired on television.
My impression it… Not great, as expected since I have already completed Kyoto Animation’s version and now the movie feels inferior to the television series… Most Key/Clannad fans would feel this way because Toei Animation in the past aren’t that faithful to the original source, meaning the visual novel.
Content
There is nothing much I can say since the movie concentrates on Tomoya and Nagisa with the reviving of the Drama Club, Nagisa’s performance and also the surface of After Story (aka Tomoya marries Nagisa and her passing away after giving birth to Ushio of that sort) , nobody else… Some may be disappointed since Nagisa’s arc in this movie is abridged to beyond belief (and no Kyou acting like a Tsundere or Tomoyo kicking Sunohara.).Also, Tomoya telling about the past of him and Sunohara is alot more violent (with blood… Ehhh?) than the TV show… but not very violent since the movie is PG-13.
Ehehe… However, the movie still contains some comedy , like with Sunohara like in the TV series. Also, There are differences with the content with the play however, due to the fact that the the difference between the imaginary world.
I haven’t watch Toei’s Air Movie, so I don’t really have a full impression if they botch this one up, but it’s somewhat faithful, but at the same time, there are too many changes to the story.
Toawrds the end of the story, however gets more confusing than before… After the part Nagisa graduates, Tomoya gets into a long depression ever since Nagisa died (a bit anti-climatic) and the backstory is told about Nagisa after graduating up to the birth of Ushio. The way Toei Animation handled Nagisa’s death was not grea t and left viewers disappointed than crying like crazy compared to the TV/Visual Novel which had a bigger impact and making everyone cry a bucket of tears.
However, the adaption wasn’t as bad like Toei’s Kanon, but it’s still a disappointment.
Animation
Animation if you compare it to the Air Movie is downgraded back to the Kanon style animation, but upgraded a bit. You may be wondering why the characters have those big chins, right? The Animation wasn’t as bad compared to Lucky Star, Kanon (2002) and Churuya-san… but it’s average.
What I forgot to mention, the movie seems to like the lens flare effect alot, making everything so bright… a lot brighter than in the ending scenes of Kano’s and Managi’s arcs in Air TV.
The animation overall looks 90ish.
Characters
Unlike the TV Series, the important characters focused in this story is Tomoya, Nagisa, Sunohara, Nagisa’s parents (Sanae and Akio), Kouko Ibuki and Yusuke Yoshino. Kyou and Tomoyo are minor characters and Kotomi is a cameo/background character. Fuuko, Ryou and others is not even mentioned at all in this movie.
The problem with these characters is that… they really don’t match the Visual Novel/Anime and their personalities are completely different. Tomoya acts like a cold person, but he supposed to be a delinquent, while being kind. Sunohara doesn’t act like a loser, Nagisa is just… Nagisa, but quiet, Sanae and Akio acting more of a smiling family instead of a normal, loving parents in the anime/game, Tomoyo acting tougher and stricter than she is supposed to, Kyou acting like a angry girl instead of a Tsundere (Her dere side missing or something and where the throwing of the books at Sunohara/Tomoya?)…
The Imaginary World, however, in contrast to the TV series and Visual Novel, the person in the imaginary world takes from of a puppet instead of a robot made by the girl of the imaginary world. The scenes are good enough, but not in depth due to time constraints. Maybe you might get nightmares after watching a freaky clown with a self-riding bicycle.
The ending was okay, but… never mind.
If you watched the Clannad TV series before watching this movie, you may notice that Tomoya’s voice is different compared to the TV series.
Music
The music in the movie is nothing special, but sounds good enough… so no complaints there, but the music in the TV series is alot better since it uses a lot of the visual novel music plus some openings by eufonius (also riya), Chata (remember the Dango Song) and Lia.
Final Thoughts
Clannad movie was average as best compared to the TV series. This is because of the time constraints , which is why they have to abridge most of the content. Despite that, Toei did a OK job, but it’s not something to hit home about, since it’s a feat to adapt such a long and epic visual novel like Clannad. The animation is mediocre and there is too many changes in the story in general, which made it felt like it’s not Clannad we know and love. However, it still worth a watch after you have completed both Clannad and Clannad ~After Story~, but don’t watch the movie before watching the series or you will spoil After Story. If you completed the game, however,you can forget about watching the movie since it’s going to be a total disappointment.
Ushio is still cute though, but the movie is disappointing and mediocre… Maybe it would be better if Toei didn’t played around with the character’s personality and made the story better, but still…
Movie itself is average, but not completely unwatchable, so it’s still possible to enjoy the Clannad movie although compared to the TV series and the Visual Novel, it’s lacking a bit.
I still wonder how Toei did on the Air Movie after they disappointed me with this movie? That would be for another review.
Overall Rating
6.8/10, D+, Average
