Bruh.. Bro.. This season of Clannad honestly just.. Kindasooooweird. It really is just kind of this silly high school slice-of-life that starts with this Tomoya Okazaki being a horriblestupid idiotfor hating life, not wanting to be bothered with anything, and hating school, and then walking down the street and then he just walks by this Nagisa or whatever girl who‘s just talking to herself and then I‘m like “what the hell did I pick up for?” but then this bitch is Cute likeReally-nice-and-awesome-and-bad and then it becomes about helping her revive the school drama club and everyone is stupid... So stupid I actually have to laugh my ass off at least once, that Dang family would wake up the dead.

However, the premise is the thing, and here‘s the straight dope on it- season one is not simply jokes and internet culture bits. I mean, sure, we have the episodes that are mostly there because they exist, with Kotomi in her strange- genius aura and Fuko floating all over the damn place, writing stars on things (what was that arc, anyway?), and then, every so often, a small emotional moment lands and it takes a moment to realize that it‘s doing that because you don‘t care. It‘s very much a slow- burn. You know, you have a few episodes you just have no idea what‘s going on, and suddenly you‘re developing a connection to the utter morons.

Kyoto animation animation? Man, so clean for ‘07. Like, okay, character designs are typical anime garbage with weird hairspikes and massive eyes and cute quirks all over them, but they are executed with so much competence! Clannad is not to be watched for groundbreaking originality but for how its animation supports the emotional progression while contrasting its light, comedic scenes with what-the-hell heartbreak five minutes later.

So what about the tone? First few eps I was actually chuckling, later ones it was ‘huh... Okaaaay... that hit a lil harder than expected’. It is the setup to the rest of the show - not a ‘goddamn masterpiece’ - bundle of world building, introducing the cast, and a good handful of hints at the plots that would develop. I have actually had someone say After Story is ‘the actual thing’.

But please take this: it is genuinely funny. Like it laughs-ify you in an actual way. Tomoya being a loser, Sunohara is an utter moron who has the best lines, pointless subplots that mean nothing when you see them it’s all a confusing jumbledmessbut I can’t help but laugh. Then there are these excruciating moments of sincerity that completely come out of no where and you feel like, “yo fuck this is actually about something.” Actual emotional depth in these comedic episodes.

Are you going to cry like a little bitch when you watch Season 1? Psshhhh, not really. Season 1 is kinda nice though, there are parts where you feel this cozy-tragedy, as if it’s just reaching over to pull at your heartstrings, not rip them apart. Cozy-crying before the real business starts in S2, is what I like to think of it as. I do anticipate real crying when After Story begins, though.

All in all? I’d probably give the first season a 7/10 as well. It‘s really good, but not breathtakingly brilliant. Not a classic just yet. A really fun slow burn, hilarious and surprisingly intelligent considering what at first seems to be a nonsensical school anime. Can‘t wait to see what becomes of this in the After Story!!