How much of a downer Tomoya is in the beginning is also reflected by the fact that he doesn’t care for having friends and things like that despite being such a social and nice guy. (Which you can see by him being nice to almost everyone he actually ends up talking to)
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So true
It’s been 4.5 years since I last watched/read CLANNAD, and now, as I play it again, I’m realizing just how much I’ve missed it. These characters are all so amazing, and it feels like I’m back hanging out with old friends.
Since then, I’ve learned a lot about anime, so the common route is much funnier than the first time I played it. The best part is probably realizing that Sunohara’s voice actor is Shinpachi from Gintama! He’s so perfect for the part!
I just take this as further evidence of the quality of staff that they have at Kyoto Animation. The fact that they managed to clearly improve on the original though their adaption is super impressive. Man, I love that studio.
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I’m sure this has been found before, but I just realized that in the abandoned drama club room, the cartoon on the blue paper bag has Nayuki from Kanon’s stuffed-frog on it. I added the red square around it, in case that looks like part of the graphic :masgrin:
Nice find TRBO, I’ve never noticed that before but I’m sure it’s exactly how you’re saying. I always just thought that scene where she chews over his name was a hint at her being autistic.
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I think she says it more explicitly too when in her route, but I can’t quite remember.
The interesting thing with her being obsessed with her feminity is definitely not showing in the way she talks. She totally talks like a guy. This is one of those things which is lost in the translation 
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I definitely hope that through this Bookclub, people can stop thinking of CLANNAD through the lens of the anime, and start seeing it from the perspective of a visual novel reader. It’s a bit of a different experience.
ALSO: If you have something you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, don’t forget to include it in your post as a bolded Key Point!
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I experience Tomoyo as being more like a knight than a ‘dude’. It’s kind of like how she keeps being described as gallant and noble?
Using Pepe’s magical guide, I finished common while jotting down some thoughts as I played.
Prologue
The credits being on screen at the begining is AMAZING.
INSTANT characterization for Tomoya, stuff like being a grumpy drump and saying it’d be better to cut all the nature down to save him a 20 minute walk everyday, since clannad is secretly a story about fixing Tomoya, it’s really fantastic to have it come instantly and so strongly.
The meeting with Nagisa is wonderful, but I’ll get into more details on Nagisa/Tomoya hill scenes later.
April 14th
More Tomoya exposition, it’s interesting that it is all immediately laid bare, perhaps so common can then be hijacked by everybody else, I don’t think it’s bad at all.
Here we see that Tomoya is kind of a piece of shit, and later on we see that Sunohara is too, this is neat, it helps support that ‘outcast delinquents’ think they have going, which, until now, I never really saw, but reading this. Dammed if it ain’t funny stuff though.
April 15th
OUI OUI BAUGETTE.
Pepe’s walkthough made me bully Ryou, NICE.
I have a whole lot to say about Kotomi, but character analysis are for routes! I will complain that this meeting with her just kind of happens and that’s pretty bad, of the other girls I know, Nagisa is the big prologue event, Tomoyo puts on a huge show, Tomoya runs into Kotomi because he went to the library on a whim, I don’t think that’s a really acceptable way to introcude a girl, at least give him reason.
T O M O Y O I S T R A S H, the entire basis of her character is trash and has no place in a setting like Clannad, I will tear you apart later, Tomoyo.
The Illusionary World I
Only thing I can say here is I feel this was better animated, the limited movement and lighting really well portrayed the world that is alive but dead, since everything is static in the VN anyway, I felt it didn’t have as much oomph. Plus, not giving the player a visual on the doll or the girl sucks, if just to give them an idea what they look like.
April 16th
NAGISA IS REALLY GOOD, it’s around now that I realize that her immense awkwardness and self esteem of a brick is extremely apparent in all her scenes and STRONGLY characterizes her very quickly, just like Tomoya, having the two leads get so firmly established so quickly is absolutely wonderful and I’m really enjoying their interacti- wait, the walkthough is telling me to not help her anymore? SCREW YOU PEEEEEEEEPS!
Hey wanna see the oppisite of all that? Because here comes Tomoyo trash, starting today and carrying on to the day after we have the fights between Sunohara and Tomoyo. I have no problem with these fights, I like the various plans Sunohara comes up with, the hit counter, it even has a purpose for developing Tomoyo’s character, it’s overall, a solid idea. What I don’t like how half of it is all together right as it starts without much in the way of intermissions between each fight, that’s some Charlotte ass pacing and forced writing, and it should have been spread out more evenly.
April 17th
It is jarring as all hell when you’re weeb enough to know what they’re saying but it’s been localized to something completely different to make the puns or joke work.
FUK-OH NO!
Issusionary World II and April 18th were nothing new. If I did have anything to say about them, it was lost in a blue screen of death due to not saving whatever I wrote on them as I played.
April 19th
Tomoya meets way to many girls by just going to random places on a whim
NO RUGBY PLAYERS WOULD ACT LIKE THIS, RUGBY PLAYERS ARE REFINED GENTLEMEN.
Illusionary World III
I just noticed the cursor is black and white in hte Illusionary World, that’s really frigging awesome, a tiny detail but so cool.
April 20th
HIKARU
April 21st
MIDORIKAWA
April 22nd
I don’t even think Kappei looks that much like a girl
April 23rd
Fuko seems so different to the one I saw in the anime, but it’s relieving to know that I still think she’s an annoying little shit even with this change.
April 24th-April 25th
Laser Tag happened, the Anime is trash.
April 26th
BASEBAAAAAAAALL
Way too much actual baseball happened for me to follow this really, what’s a bunt, didn’t you just get four people out, how did she catch that, WHY IS HE OUT, I DO NOT KNOW THIS SPORT.
This whole scene is a bit weak since it was a bunch of mostly strangers when I’m used to my baseball teams being the Little Busters, but it was a nice enough ending.
Overall
Wow that’s kind of short, especially the second week, which was pretty much entirely just a few quips at Sunohara until based Akio came in. It was however, pretty damn funny, Tomoya’s wit is fantastic, Sunohara is a fine tool to showcase that, but not matter how many giggles I got from them, the best part was the Tomoya/Nagisa stuff, of which I must patiently wait for more of.
I give the Common route a Sunohara/10, and prepare for the meat of Clannad to begin to give me something to sink my teeth into.
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Just finished the route with baseball, baseball and more baseball! Say what you will about the baseball route, but I thought that was pretty damn exciting. All throughout the game I was on the edge of my seat, cheering for the victory of the Furukawa Bakers! Well, I guess the biggest problem is that you really do have to know all about how baseball works and the terms and the formations in order to understand a thing about it.
But yeah, each of their personalities show off in the way they play baseball, and I think that’s an added bonus. Sunohara being an asshole trying to get all the glory, Tomoyo trying to pull off a girly swing, and Yoshino being the drama queen he is perfect at being.
One thing I did quite like is how Tomoya gets motivation at the end. In the anime, a lot of his motivation at the end was for Nagisa, but here in the VN, what Akio finally says that gets to him is to bring victory to this town… This town. This town that Tomoya said right in the beginning that he hates. Sure, baseball isn’t a character route at all, but if anything, Tomoya grew from this experience and even learned the values of guts, courage and friendship. .
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Sorry, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I went into this only really knowing the anime, one adaptation a little more than I’d like. I wish it was different,but that’s how it is. I’m starting to see the VN more as its own thing and not comparing it as much to the anime, even if I already know what’s going to happen.
Does that mean I have to go back and edit a few of my previous posts to add “Key Point”?
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I just finished baseball and it was just as good as I remember! Misae’s age part was best.
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Thank god.
There are a lot of people who read CLANNAD without voices. Poor people… Sunohara’s screaming is the best.
See, going from VN to anime, I actually disliked the addition. I mean, it’s an anime, so of course they’re gonna have to show characters that never had sprites… But that world was a lot more mysterious when you couldn’t clearly see what was happening. It’s like remembering a dream - You know the events, but you can’t picture it very well if at all.
Every rugby player in my school was also a prefect. Nice guys.
His hair, his clothing, and his body language, are all very feminine. Well, his hairstyle might not be feminine anymore, but it was then.
Isn’t a bunt where you just tap the ball with the bat without swinging? I think it was in Litbus… Or some other anime. It’s used to either mindgame people or make up for a bad swing.
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You can’t perceive anything fairly and accurately when you’re constantly weighing it up against something else.
The intro scene with Nagisa on the hill probably seems insignificant if you’ve seen the anime, because they did this whole colour thing. In all honesty I think they way overdid some of the symbolism in the anime, there’s just no subtlety at all. The whole world is grey, and then Nagisa looks at Tomoya and everything bursts into colour. “WATCH OUT VIEWERS, THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING. THEY’RE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER.” Does Tomoya’s world really burst into colour in that moment? Did Nagisa’s? I don’t think so. I think that was a meeting that was the beginning of two outcasts trying to understand each other, which leads into a growing, powerful love. And watching that happen before me in the vn over multiple in-game days was very powerful for me.
I just think you have to trust it, the anime and the vn have the same plot points but they are very different narratives. The VN is naturally slower, and can afford to take it’s time with character development.
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Phew, time to quickly catch up. Meanwhile, have a Key Point.
The very first thing we see in CLANNAD is a scene in the Illusionary World; an empty, sorrowful world covered in snow. What purpose does this kind of beginning serve? What’s its atmospheric value? Would the beginning feel vastly different if this scene hadn’t been there, or is it more on the out of place and worthless side?
Reading CLANNAD again is a really great feeling though. It’s like “ah yes, it’s every bit as great as I remember.” Such great humor and character writing all over the place.
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I think that scene is a great way to let the player know right off the bat that this whole story is wrapped in a mystical outline. It creates a feeling of suspense as you read through the vn that there is something alien and mysterious going on underneath. I really like the way Clannad drip-feeds these “supernatural elements” to you.
I’d say the actual events of the scene are pretty unimportant to a first-time reader since it’s so vague and you aren’t told exactly what’s happening, but it’s a great way to intrigue the player and obviously link the beginning of the game with the end.
(I’m assuming that bolded key points are free for discussion in the thread as well as in the podcast, but let me know if that’s wrong :ryoublush: )
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I like the Illusion world but on the other hand, it’s so vague that it’s hard to know why it’s there. You get that feeling like “I know this is important in some way as it’s in the VN but I can’t figure out why”.
I can agree with it being more understandable when you play it for the second time as you can guess what they’re hinting at later in the story.
The sadness in the Illusionary world is really well reflected even though there’s nothing depicted except the background. I guess you could say it shows just how lonely the world is.
It’s quite interesting when the girl enters the story and you suddenly change from feeling like the world is the worst and no one want’s to be born there to suddenly become the place “which I sought”
Another thing you can use the Illusionary World scenes for is to know when you’re leaving Nagisa’s route as the Illusionary World is associated with her 
The wonder of the bunt is more than just mindgaming! If used well, it’s a good strategy that allows you to push a player from one bas to another while sacrificing yourself! Tomoya a bro o7
Doesn’t it kind of feel like Kappei is obsessed about his masculinity in the same way Tomoyo is obsessed about her femininity?
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Finished Baseball route. I guess it’s a pretty solid way to start the novel, introducing us to all, or at least most of the heroines, and giving them some moments in the spotlight while also just being overall humorous and fun. And also since it showcases how much of a spider web CLANNAD’s structure can be. Didn’t help out Yoshino Yusuke a week before? Well too bad now Mei has no reason to join your team. Freaking butterfly effects. I couldn’t imagine going through trial and error to get the entire team set up (especially since the anime replaced Fuko as a team member with Kotomi).
Gotta say though I’d have loved to know what Tomoya went on to do after that match. We only get a few lines describing his later interactions with the other team members. “No one After” would’ve made for an interesting plotline. Actually let’s make that a Key Point. How do you think did this event and achievement affect Tomoya’s future? With him being the laid back, bored fellow he is, having the experience of having many people that barely know each other joining together to achieve a miracle victory (not to mention Akio’s encouragement and him pulling off the final decisive scoring point) could have been a turning point in his life. Do you believe it actually had a tangible effect, or would he go on to just file it away as another bit of time wasting?
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