Clannad: Collection 1

Based on a popular visual novel game (somewhat similar to Choose Your Own Adventure), Clannad eventually reveals itself as a harem anime, although it doesn't feel like one for the first nine of these 12 episodes (with nary a panty shot in sight), since the romantic wrangling doesn't begin until the final installments. What unfurls instead is a slower-paced examination of the lives of Tomoya Okazaki, a listless and bored high school senior, and Nagisa Furukawa, a frail but kind girl repeating her third year of high school. Nagisa dreams of being in the school drama club and Tomoya (with nothing better to do) dedicates himself to helping her revitalize the club, although the pair are soon sidetracked into helping Fuko Ibuki, a young student who appears to live at the school and is determined to invite as many people as possible to her sister's wedding. Tomoya and Nagisa strive to help Fuko while at the same time learning her strange story (with its hints of the supernatural). By the time viewers reach the end of this two-disc set, Tomoya is surrounded by a small cadre of girls clearly fated to be in some form of romantic contention, the outcome of which is chronicled in Clannad: Collection 2. Rated TV-PG and presented in Japanese only (with English subtitles), Clannad—sporting solid animation and a good sense of humor—will reward patient viewers. Recommended. [Note: Clannad: Collection 2 is also newly available.] Aud: P. (L. Martincik)