So, I've been playing the original game version of Clannad. There are some obvious similarities, (CUTE GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRLS! AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Say it in Chris Patton's voice for added effect.) but there's some big differences, too.
You play as Tomoya, and you can influence his actions like how you would in a choose-your-own-adventure book. Strangely enough, you never actually see Tomoya, and when he speaks, you don't hear his voice either, even though you can hear everyone else's voice. (Same voice cast as the anime. Excellent. I can't enough of Kikuko Inoue's voice.) Unlike the anime, Tomoya narrates much more frequently in the anime. This actually is a good thing, I think. He explains his thoughts and actions much more concisely. He explicitly states how he roams the town at night to avoid his dad, while in the anime, it's just implied. I think I might know why KyoAni did this.
(Starts impersonating The Distressed Watcher) Oh, is this another high school boy who's a lot smarter and a lot more mature than he lets on? And acts like a prick to everyone, even though he cares deeply for some of them? And has a biting sarcastic wit that goes over everyone's head, except for the audience's? And is handsome in a way that doesn't make him look like a girl unlike most bishounens of the past? Well, can't be as bad as another fucking Naruto Uzumaki ripoff.
(back to normal voice) But seriously, the game does a much better job of exposition. You see everytime Tomoya cuts classes to meet Kotomi, or Tomoyo, or just fuck around with Youhei. Most of the time in the anime, it's not mentioned if he's skipping class or if he's on lunchbreak. Why didn't they tell us these things!?
Explain, anime! Explain!
And oh my gawd, the things they cut out! Downloading the VN was worth it, because even if you've seen the anime, you have no fucking clue how much content they cut out. The jokes in the VN . . . they're like the jokes from a LucasArts adventure game. I am not making this up. Certain choices make Tomoya do stuff for the lolz. One example is Youhei asks Tomoya how Ryou does her fortune-telling. You can say she uses tarot cards, or you can lie and say she determines your fortune by (holds back laughter) how you feel her breasts. Oh man, seeing Ryou's embarrassed face and Kyou's Red Eyes of Doom was worth it. It was soooo worth it! Although, now that I think about it, maybe the reason some dialog and scenes got cut was so they could fit content into a 49-episode anime. If the show was longer, they probably could have, but then the pacing would've been glacial, and if you've seen my review on MAL, I warned that Clannad was even slower than Kanon. Yeah.
But there's one thing that surprised me; the music. It's the same exact music from the anime! But the VN predates the anime! You hear that!? The soundtrack was so good, they just used the same recordings for the anime! And there's even some music that wasn't in the anime! The title screen plays an instrumental version of a song from the late portion of the anime; the song is very beautiful. I wouldn't expect anything less.
But now, some criticism. This is a VN. There is no actual animation. There's just text, still images, and audible voices. As well as music. Some scenes do not look as good as the anime version. The Illusionary World is very, very dull-looking compared to the anime. In Tomoyo's introduction, her fight is off-screen, while in the anime, you actually see the fight. And the character designs are not as nice as their anime counterparts. Well okay, Nagisa is still alright; her hair has more red than brown, but she's still an adorable auburn-haired girl. Tomoyo is still the most striking of the teenage girls. And Sanae looks even prettier I think; her eyes and hair are a darker hue of brown, and I can't resist the urge to snuggle with her, especially with that voice! But they are the only exceptions. Kyou and Ryou are much more plain-looking. Kotomi-chan, while still being love, is not as beautiful. (As if I didn't have enough to be sad for her! *sniffle* At least she too still has a wonderful voice.) Fuko looks even more like a dork than in the anime, but I can let that one slide, for she isn't supposed to be attractive, I think. While the VN doesn't have the occasional off-model moment the anime did, I don't feel the moeness overcoming me as frequently. Either that, or I've built up a stronger tolerance for moe.
But seriously? If you liked the anime, PLAY. THIS. GAME! Man, why can't their be an official English translation! This is a truly wonderful product!
Du-ri-bul du-ri-bul shoo-tah . . . YAAAAAY!
