Clannad: Mou Hitotsu no Sekai, Tomoyo-hen

Set in an alternate Clannad universe, Another World presents viewers with a love story between Okazaki Tomoya and Sakagami Tomoyo. Though it suffers from a number of problems, Another World nevertheless still achieves the emotional drama viewers would expect from an extension of the Clannad series. With the run time of an ordinary episode, Another World inevitably suffers from a shortage of story development. The usual buffer time for viewers to get attached to the characters is heavily truncated -- the process of Tomoyo and Tomoya falling in love is not included in the episode, for obvious reasons concerning time. However, the fact that it detractsfrom the potential emotional impact from the climax of the story cannot be ignored. That aside, the story that is present in the OVA is solid. Unlike other Key stories, Another World is low on moe fetishism and comedy, but rather it offers a more feasible romance story without over-the-top characters (though Sunohara's antics are still present, which is a good thing). The challenge faced by the lovers in the story strongly highlights Okazaki's strength of character, making him very admirable in the viewer's eyes. The increased focus on Tomoyo in the OVA also makes her charm all the more pronounced. The dramatic moments also bring out fragments of Tomoyo's personality that were not revealed in the TV series. The story itself is laced with thick but effective melodrama, as expected from Key's works. The ending will not surprise anyone, as it is quite cliche. However, despite the lack of creativity, Another World continues to do what the TV story does best: tug at your heartstrings. Even though the background story is not present, the climax of Another Story should at least give viewers a lump in the throat, while some may get watery-eyed and perhaps even cry. It begs the question of how much more potent the impact might have been if extra episodes were allocated to narrate the entire story -- it's almost a scary thought. The presentation value remains mostly consistent with the TV series -- the colors are vibrant, the character designs are clean, the background art is above average, the animation is good, the voice acting is superb, and the soundtrack continues to add to the mood and drama, etc, etc. However, there are two notable faults in the sound department, the first being an absolutely HORRID segment of engrish. Not only is the accent thick enough to deflect cannonballs, the actual content is so laughably ridiculous that one cannot help be to be distracted by it, which completely derails the mood of the scene. You'd think Kyoto Animation would have the funds to pay a starving exchange student somewhere for a few lines of coherent English script, jeez. The second fault also pertains to the problem of bad English, this time in the song played during the climax of the OVA. While the tune is good and the pronunciation is somewhat passable, the lyrics are only a little better than an attempt at throwing absolutely arbitrary phrases in a blender, which once again results in distracting noise. Therefore, unfortunately for English-speaking viewers, they'll have to make an effort to drown it out. However, don't be discouraged from the criticisms in the sound department, as the overall quality of Another World's presentation is still very commendable. If you're a Clannad fan, then you shouldn't need my persuasion to watch Another World -- it's good, VERY good, especially considering its limited length. It may not have the same amount of emotional buildup as the other stories in the TV series, but the delicious melodrama will still hit you like a brick in the end. If you haven't watched Clannad, know that Another Story is yet one more reason to check out the great series, since it relies on some background information provided in the original.

I was watching the anime and playing the VN simultaneously. When I proceeded into Tomoyo arc in VN, I wanted to smash my computer because of Tomoya's action. But quickly I found consolation in the anime. I was deeply touched by it (probably because of my similar experience) and I rewatched multiple times. Well, the feeling has faded now (unlike the After Story) but I still think it a good story. Tomoyo chapter is the first time when our main character firmly encounter the harshness in reality. The whole story is like a drama, and a well-made one, including its story development, building on conflicts,and the final warming scene. Indeed, that scene is extremely beautiful and heartwarming. Some people complain that one episode is not enough. Well, I want to say that there are other (rather subtle) development of this character in season 1 and 2, although very unnoticeable. Fujibayashi sisters are the same. The music does a good job in setting the atmosphere. The art is also great, at least to me. I really like the last minutes. For conclusion, this OVA is like a standard drama. With the outstanding produce quality, it provides as much as one episode can.

Despite being a just a short, half 25 minute OVA, "Clannad: Another World, Tomoyo Chapter" managed to capture most of the essence of the original series - just like the original series, it's guilty of being over manipulative, of having contrived scenarios that strives to squeeze a tear or two out of the audience by whatever means necessary. In other words, it's guilty of being complete bullsh*t... just like the original series. In this alternative playthrough... er, I mean, alternative universe, Tomoya is dating Grey Haired Girl instead of Brown Haired Girl, and Grey Haired Girl gets elected as the Student Council President. The gist ofthe episode is that her role as President does not mix well with her role as Tomoya's girlfriend, as a) she is has so many duties to perform as President that she can't find enough time to be with Tomoya; b) Tomoya has a bad reputation as a good-for-nothing-deliquent, so people disapprove of the match up, and c) there's also the sense that Tomoya, being a good-for-nothing-non-delinquent, is holding Grey Haired girl back from Greater Things. So far so good - this isn't actually a bad set up at all... except "Clannad", being "Clannad", has to go and over do it by laboriously shoving the point down the viewer's throat. Take for example, one of the mini stories in the episode, where Tomoya is waiting for Grey Haired Girl after school so they can go home together. Grey Haired Girl is busy with student council stuff, so she proceeds to use the PA system to announce to Tomoya - and the rest of the school - that she's too busy to walk home with him that day. My eyes boggled in disbelief as the proceeding blame for this fell almost entirely on Tomoya, who is guilty of... what? Waiting?? Now, I don't know about you, but if the Student Council President uses the school's PA system for her personal matters, it would probably occur to me that she's irresponsible and is prone to abuse her powers; it might occur to me that she's probably unsuited to being president... but "ZOMG IT MUST BE HER BOYFRIEND'S FAULT!!" isn't likely to be the conclusion that jumps out at me. And this pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the show. Doesn't matter what happens, everything always gets blamed on Tomoya, even when it made absolutely no sense to do so. Meanwhile, Grey Haired Girl is treated like some potential future president of the country with everyone droning on about how she's being held back by Tomoya from doing Greater Things, and no one pauses to consider that, even if assuming everything is Tomoya's fault (which it isn't), the very fact that Grey Haired Girl is so easily led astray should speak volumes about her suitability for the Student Council President role. But no, none of these sensibilites appear to cross anyone's mind, and I ended up feeling as though I was watching a comedy show called "Tomoya the Scapegoat". The anime is quite neatly summed up by a song which is played at the emotional apex of the show at the end. It's a really nice sounding song which at first seems to be trying to communicate across some extremely emotional message. It's a song that seemed suitable to be played at the most emotional part of the show... until you read the English lyrics... or to be more accurate the Engrish lyrics. It's clear that the lyricist had very little understanding of the English language, and just threw together a bunch of words that seemed nice. The result is something that so laughably bad that it dispelled most of the atmosphere the anime is trying to create at that point. Here are some of the choicest lines from the song for your enjoyment(and no, there's no translational issues here - these are the actual lyrics of the song, since it's sung in English, or rather some twisted form of the language): "People's hand does not reach, so merely has the worship." "The place is a lofty lord, can't meet nobody put on." "Like the head of the shade, figure will be thrown away." And why do I say this sums up the anime quite neatly? Because just like this song, the anime might give the impression of being an emotional one, only to collapse completely under the lightest scrutiny because it's not backed up by solid substance. Do I have anything good to say about this OVA? Well, I guess it's not filled with sickening amounts of moe like the original series is at least, since Grey Haired Girl is one of the less moe characters in the dating si- err... I mean the anime's cast. Ehhh... that's about it.

I like Tomoyo as a character a lot but not with Tomoya. I feel that his character needs to be the person to support someone which gives him strength and reason to do better. Tomoyo is already a very strong character which in turn would make him feel more vulnerable. The chemistry between them wasn't there as it was with Nagisa. It was just awkward to watch. Eventhough Nagisa can become dependent and annoying at times, her gentle and innocent side compliments Tomoya.

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