To the point where Nagisa is being included within the other arcs, similar to how the Kanon Manga included Nayuki into the other girls’ arcs.

This has the effect (to me at least) of making it much more captivating to watch and more importantly, make it possible for the audience to root for the main couple and not scream incoherently on the absurdity of the rapid (and vapid) romance.

CLANNAD thus far, holds distinction as being one of the rare few animes in which I am really rooting for the “main couple” and not accepting it as a case of “C’est la vie”. It has been very endearing to witness the progression of romance between the two of them. It is what makes CLANNAD special for me, and if it continues well, it stands a decent chance of cracking my Top10 list (which does not include Kanon(2006) or Air(TV) by the way).

Moe, fanservice, yuri, etc… is not what makes an anime “worthy” in my opinion. Oh for sure these elements have their place, and I am not so elitist so as to prevent myself from indulging in such elements from time to time (I do watch stuff like Green Green(TV) and such); but an anime cannot rely solely on these elements to… well, command respect really. Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann has tonnes of fanservice, but it was not the fanservice that made it such an epic winner with viewers; it was the joy of watching Simon grow up, watching the years go by as he matures into a self-confident man who gained as much as he lost.

You can stuff as much breasts, boob-groping, pseudo-yuri, pantsu, etc… as you like into my face, but it is not going to be a reason for me to recommend any particular anime.

If I have to recommend CLANNAD, it is going to be because I want to share with you that there is something special going on between Nagisa and Tomoya. This being a Key-based anime, I hope it is a “death-free” ending (I am a newbie to CLANNAD, so I don’t know what happens in the end), because I simply adore the steady baby steps of their progressive romance, and it would simply stab me in the heart if it is anything like “Caw, caw” or “Goal”.

What I am seeing in CLANNAD is the culmination of experience that KyoAni has had in animating Key-games, in that they are now that much better at implementing the main Heroine into the other arcs without being intrusive or sacrificing the side characters. Air(TV) was just brutal in handling the two “sub-heroines” and while Kanon(2006) was much, much kinder to the sub-heroines, Ayu’s progression was rather haphazard (I still consider Ep19 to be one of the most WTF moments in anime, and not in a good way). CLANNAD has been very balanced thus far.

Cheers.