The highly anticipated Clannad is out, and it seems decent enough already. As is expected from KyoAni, the visuals are very crisp. We are introduced to the protagonist, Tomoya Okazaki, a third year delinquent student that seemingly doesn’t care about very much. This first episode briefly introduces most of the main characters in the story. I don’t have much to say about them except for Nagisa Furukawa, who like the Key lead females before her is a bit weird.

We are shown little snippets of Okazaki’s everyday school life. He is frequently late to school and has no aspirations or plans for after graduation, and rumors about his delinquency have already been rooted into the minds of everyone else. On a whim he has lunch with Nagisa who is eating her meal by herself outside. After school she invites him to come by her family’s bakery.

Okazaki sits idly on a bench, watching the sunset well into the night. With nothing better to do he drops by Nagisa’s place and is offered a free bread sample from an untouched tray. Nagisa’s mother tells him that it’s a new bread called “Harmony”, but to his dismay the bread’s filling consists of rice crackers. Okazaki bluntly says that this bread is a failure and she runs out of the store crying. Nagisa’s father bursts out of the back with a baseball bat in hand to scold Okazaki for being so callous. Mr. Furukawa soon comes to the realization that Okazaki is from Nagisa’s school and invites him to have dinner with his family.

Mr. and Mrs. Furukawa have a lively conversation with Okazaki while Nagisa prepares dinner in the kitchen. Okazaki observes the harmony and unity of this strange family and seems to be envious. We soon find out when he gets home is that his mother died long ago, and his father became a drunkard that does nothing but gamble.

Overall impression: As the name implies, the story seems to heavily imply the importance of the family bond by showing the stark contrast between Okazaki and Nagisa. The first episode left a bit to be desired, but it looks like it will become very interesting down the road.

Edit: The way the episode is cropped to a 4:3 setting really sucks. By the way the show is choreographed, you can tell it was meant to be viewed in widescreen. Also, it’s time for the Yamcha Picture Hour!