The Clannad movie, Key’s forgotten child
Now I’ve finished Clannad ~After Story~, with the exception of Kyou’s episode which is currently in my ‘to do’ folder, I felt I could finally watch the feature film adaptation. This turned out to be a good idea spoilers-wise since the movie covers events from both seasons of the TV show but in retrospect I think it’s a better introduction to the franchise than KyoAni’s effort. I’m not implying it’s the better of the two full stop, but it would probably be more rewarding to sit through the more heavily edited hour and a half version before the longer one; although I daresay the subset of ‘people who have not seen any Clannad before but plan to in the future’ is very small at this point in time.
The feature-length film covers the same ground as its younger counterpart but inevitably leaves out the side-stories and, interestingly, wraps it up with an alternative ending. Most noticably the art style and direction are different thanks to a Toei production crew, although the only change in terms of casting is that of Tomoya’s VA (i.e. Kenji Nojima as opposed to Yuuichi Nakamura). The result is different for sure, but I’d hate to think a KyoAni bias would stop you giving it a fair chance.
I can’t say where it diverges from the VN but assuming the TV episodes are more faithful to the original material the film does tweak a few things: there’s no Ryou (odd, considering Kyou does appear), no Fuuko, no Butan, Kotomi’s part is practically a walk-on one and the screen time of the supporting cast who do remain is more downplayed. It maintains that Tomoya/Nagisa focus of the After Story only this time right from the beginning, which I actually thought was a wise move: most shortened versions of stories choose to omit important things and include trivial ones but in this case the screenplay opts to focus on the main relationship and the all-encompassing Family theme.
In addition to stripping out the ‘optional extras’ in the form of each of the arcs belonging to supporting cast members, the feature-length Clannad story takes a considerably more serious tone than the TV series. Again, I think this works in its favour because the high school slapstick moments often felt like filler to me but it does lose some of that carefree feelgood factor that sweetened the bitter pill of tragedy and loss. Youhei is still on hand to offer some outrageous antics but even this is tempered by a more responsible side to him – he gets a job at one point – and the more uneasy dynamic between him and Tomoya.
Not only is Tomoya more distant from the guy who ought to be his best pal, his tsun-tsun side comes more to the fore at the expense of his dry and sarcastic sense of humour (which I’ll admit I really enjoyed in the TV version). His father too is shown in a slightly more favourable light but Akio and Sanae are just as heartwarming and hilarious in both their screen incarnations. The dream sequence is different too, although it makes sense in terms of Tomoya’s situation and fits the altered narrative well. The imagery is still a bit odd, but that’s dreams for you.
What certainly worked much better for me however was the portrayal of Nagisa’s character. I’ve always seen her as being insipid and a pushover; here her fragility is effectively conveyed but her personality is a bit stronger and she seems to have more to say. Rather than being akin to a sakura petal that falls into Tomoya’s hand she actively seeks out his attention and doggedly persists in engaging with him in conversation; I don’t like romantic setups in which one party does all the chasing anyway, but it feels more like a genuine romance here. There’s a stronger sense that it was Nagisa, above all others, who brought Tomoya out of his shell and set him on the road to redemption and adulthood – he’s still the hero of the story but she earns the heroine status she deserves.
The movie genuinely feels like Tomoya’s and Nagisa’s story, which it is of course, but doesn’t wander off at tangents like the series did. I suppose KyoAni had more running time at their disposal in which to explore them, but also I suspect had a more pressing need to recreate the VN experience for the fans. I won’t go on a KyoAni hate campaign here (my stance on them is pretty neutral, believe it or not) but I do think they are pretty fan-aware. Not that this is a bad thing; it just means that Osamu Dezaki is bound to take a slightly different tack.
He is after all an industry veteran so is in a better position than most to take risks and stamp his own mark on the piece than a director tied to viewer expectations. Because it’s a one-off feature perhaps there’s less pressure riding on it too? Anyhow, it certainly bears the hallmarks of a Dezaki movie: like the cinematic outings for Black Jack (which wasn’t bad) and Golgo 13 (which was), Clannad features those ‘postcard memoy’ static watercolour shots at the ends of pivotal scenes.
I’ve noticed these in every Dezaki piece I’ve seen so far and the technique has influenced the likes of Junji Nishimura in his work on true tears. Even so it’s hardly a subtle device and has to some degree been a victim of its own success: basically these shots come across as clichéd and glaringly obvious, which is I’m sure not what was intended at all. The character designs appealed much more to me though: they have an older and less KyoAni-fied look to them that you do actually get used to after a while. It’s hard to believe it pre-dates the made-for-TV incarnation by only a few months because in terms of aesthetics it’s a markedly less polished and ‘cute’.
This is a Clannad that I can appreciate, but at the same time one that I don’t think will be looked fondly upon by fans of the series. The visuals lack that popular KyoAni sheen, even though the characterisation is handled with confidence and the imagery is sometimes quite powerful. The plot omits the side-stories and devotes less time to the supporting characters, but this is a good thing in that the things that really matter are given the attention they deserve. It’s still the Clannad we know and love, just a slightly more serious one but is no less meaningful in how the issues of togetherness, responsibility and love (both of the romantic and family variety) are conveyed. I still shed a Manly Tear™ at Tomoya’s and Ushio’s joyful reunion, after all.
I liked the KyoAni version better than the movie in the end, but there are a couple of things that I thought the movie did quite well. Definitely agree with your point about Nagisa’s character, she’s a much greater on-screen presence in the movie, and has more personality, because they toned down her more docile, vulnerable side quite a bit. It’s almost sacrilege to suggest that there’s anything the movie did better than the KyoAni series, let alone something major like one of the lead characters, but I really preferred Nagisa’s movie persona. Didn’t like Tomoya though… he was much more angsty, and resembled a much blander lead character than the one we got in the KyoAni series.
I liked Nagisa’s portrayal but there was something missing about Tomoya here – perhaps it was that absence of that wonderfully dry sense of humour of his. Maybe they should’ve found time to include Fuuko; if nothing else it would’ve offered an opportunity to do the ‘juice up the nose’ thing and lighten the mood.
I watched the movie as a primer for the TV series, but it turned to be more like a washing-my-eyes-with-the-TV-series-to-forget-about-the-movie sort of thing. I really hated the segue in the middle, and couldn’t accept how Tomoya could’ve fallen so low after that. Air movie made me cry girly tears, but the Clannad movie drove a stake through my heart.
Movie Nagisa might have more of a backbone than TV Nagisa, but I did get to like how TV Nagisa turned out. Maybe it’s just me, but Mai Nakahara’s acting felt better in the latter.
The only consolation for me was that Sunohara was markedly manlier in the movie than in the TV series, but the latter makes it up for more Sunohara scenes (which TBH was my favorite part of the show anyway).
I wonder if Mai Nakahara benefited from the experience the movie offered when recording the TV show…there was something about the flirtatious giggles she did for the movie that I missed in the TV show. I did think that overall it made effective use of the short running time – keeping Ushio’s appearance for the final scene was brilliant.
Sunohara was indeed manlier here, but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to show his personality more fully.