CLANNAD

CLANNAD is pure moe, whether that is a good quality or not is really depends on ones view of the moe craze that has more or less dominated anime for the last four to five years or so. The proceedings are quite straightforward, and occur in a way that makes the series visual novel origins painstakingly obvious at points; set a high school (where else?) a self professed "delinquent" spends his free time helping moe archetype girls with their wide array of emotional, social or psychological problems. Emotion and melodrama, built around many a tear jerking moment is the name of the game here, and to it's credit, the staff/studio behind CLANNAD(who also helmed the moe cornerstones Air and Cannon) have gotten this down to a kind of science. CLANNAD takes a while to get into, the slow pacing(agonizing at points) and some gag inducing over-the-top cute shtick doesn't help matters either, but it can also be quite absorbing and at times, rather funny. The characters, especially the main and his tag along rambunctious friend, have enough personality, quirks and air of natural likability that one invests in their various dilemmas and exploits. The animation is crisp and fluid and the writing, especially in several story arches is solid. Moe enthusiasts will eat it up, haters will wretch and newbies will likely be dumbstruck, in short ClANNAD isn't for everyone, but patient viewers who don't mind the genre will find it a worthwhile view.

Grade: B-/B

Reviewed: episodes 1-23 (complete) Format: English Sub, DVD.