Anime Showdown: Clannad vs Your Lie in April (Tear Factor)

So here we are, at the first post of ‘Anime Showdown’ (I know it’s a clichéd name but screw it). I was really excited about my new post thread; let’s see how it turns out to be.

*THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*

Today, we are going to compare ‘Clannad’ with ‘Your lie in April’, and the theme is going to be: Tear Factor.

YOUR LIE IN APRIL:

Genre: Romance, Musical, Slice of life, Tragedy

Ratings: 7 (IMDb)
8.9 (My Anime List)

Pros:

• A well-defined series with minimal use of Fan service or unrequired subplots.
• The animation wasn’t exactly that fancy, but still it managed to bring out the extremely enchanting impressions in the key moments.
• The characters development of the main characters was top notch and not to mention, the character of Kaori was extremely impactful and zealous.
• The story was able to include the tragic part slowly, while building up the tension; which I think is the best thing about this series.

Cons:

• The musical genre of this series was used only as a background setting. At some point, the musical background too, lost its worth and the story was all about the tragic ending.
• The supporting characters failed to impress and at some point, their contribution in the series was hardly noticed; thanks for their negligible character development.

CLANNAD:

Genre: Romance, Slice of life, Tragedy

Ratings: 8.1 (IMDb) 8.2 (My Anime List)                        [CLANNAD S1]
8.7 (IMDb) 9 (My Anime List)                           [CLANNAD: AFTER STORY]

Pros:

• The second season, Clannad: After story, was maybe the only series where I saw the life of a couple after marriage. Most of the time, a story ends ‘Happily’ after marriage, but the struggle of being able to support a family and the problems that are encountered in life (Not to mention, the tragedies waiting in the future) was showed flawlessly in this story.
• Clannad was the most pure romance anime series I have ever watched. It’s funny how they were able to have a child but the whole series didn’t have a single kiss scene.
• The way Tomoya crumbled, later on in the series, was way too painful for the viewers.
• The animation and art style are amazing. The colours were vibrant and the animation was smooth. Not to mention, the BGM was in complete synch with the story.

Cons:

• The first season showed the love between Tomoya and Nagisa, however, it wasn’t explored much deeply as the main focus was always on the subplot of the other supporting characters.
• The second season dealt with a problem much mature and different than that of the first season. Even though it was better, it kinda made all the efforts taken in the first season, just not worth it.

SHOWDOWN FACTS:

• Both of the series showed a tragic romantic story. While they were completely different in terms of the plot, they shared the same root of romance. However, Clannad: After story dealt with a more mature side of love (That includes life after marriage), while Your Lie in April was all about high school love.
• The message in Your Lie in April was a bit optimistic, as Kaori wasnted Arima to chase his dreams in music and look for someone else to continue his life with. But in Clannad S2, the message was a bit pessimistic as it showed Tomoya breaking down slowly as one after another mishap took place in his life.
• In Your Lie in April, Kaori died and never returned; it kinda showed that what’s done is done and cannot be reverted. Contrary to that, in Clannad S2, Nagisa somehow revived and they lived a happy life; not to mention the fact that how all of that happened wasn’t explained that elaborately.
• Your Lie in April left some kinda hope for Arima in romance field with Tsubaki, his childhood friend, however in Clannad, all that was shown was how Tomoya creeped deeper into depression and his lack of interest to start with someone else again, obviously.

MY VOTE:

On the basis of these arguments I think that ‘Your lie in April’ is a tear jerking anime where all the expected sadness is going to hit you in the last episode, at once, while ‘Clannad’ on the other side has lots of tragic moments and the sheer amount of them is likely gonna hit you at some point. So for me, Clannad is the one I vote for in this segment.

What about you guys? Do you agree with my opinion about these two awesome series or do you have anything to say against of it? Make sure to leave your vote in the comments below!