April 7th, Friday.
Ryuji Kageyama came straight home after school and turned on the TV. He switched to TBS and sat there waiting. He was a high school student, currently in his first year, and his hobbies were manga, anime, games, and light novels.
High school usually let out around three or four in the afternoon. It was now almost five, just a few minutes to go.
At five o'clock, TBS would be airing an anime called Clannad.
It was a school-set, slice-of-life, bishoujo anime, which should have been right up his alley. And yet he had zero expectations for it.
The reason he was parked in front of the TV ready to watch it the second it aired was simple: you can't trash something properly if you haven't actually seen it.
That's right. He was a hater. Not a professional one, but a hater all the same.
That online review calling *Love Academy* a copy of *First Love Island*? He was the one who wrote it. And while Clannad's marketing had focused heavily on the word "heartwarming," it had also thrown around "bishoujo" more than a few times.
He suspected Clannad was going to be the same old formula as *First Love Island*, but he needed to see it with his own eyes before he could start roasting it.
One more thing worth mentioning: he was also one of the victims of *Heartbeat House*.
*Heartbeat House* had been sold as a six-episode set, and a PV had come out before release.
Ryuji had thought the PV looked decent, so he bought in.
What he never could have predicted was that the PV was the only good part. The actual anime was an absolute dumpster fire, and he spent the next two weeks regretting his purchase.
If Clannad had been a direct-to-disc release, there was no way in hell he would have bought it. But since it was airing on TV, watching it was free. He just needed to sit through a few minutes so he'd know exactly how to tear Starfall apart online.
5:00 PM sharp.
Clannad began its broadcast right on schedule.
The first thing on screen was a muted, grayish image. The sky was gray. The town was gray. The camera drifted slowly downward from the overcast sky to the quiet streets below, and the male lead's inner monologue began.
"I hate this town."
"Because it's full of memories I'd rather forget."
...
The desaturated visuals, paired with the subdued music and the male lead's narration, painted a vivid picture of what was going on inside his head.
"The camerawork, the music, the way they're presenting this... it's actually pretty impressive." Ryuji was a little surprised.
But it had only just started, so he didn't read too much into it and kept watching.
The screen stayed mostly in muted tones. The male lead walked along until he came to a sloping hill, and there on the hill stood a girl in a school uniform, frozen in place, unable to take another step.
The music started to shift. It lost its heaviness and took on something warm and gentle instead.
As the male lead drew closer, the girl finally spoke.
"Anpan."
"Do you like this school?"
"I love it very, very much."
"But nothing can last forever."
Her voice was crystal clear and sweet, but there was a fragility to it that was perfectly measured, the kind that made you instinctively want to protect her.
The male lead didn't know this girl. She wasn't even talking to him. But he couldn't help himself from responding.
"Whether it's happiness or joy, none of it... none of it can last forever. Even knowing that, would you still love this place?"
"Then why not go find more?"
After that simple exchange, the girl turned to look at the male lead, and the moment she did, the anime's color palette bloomed from gray into bright, vivid color.
Cherry blossom petals drifted through the air. The breeze was soft and gentle.
"More happiness. More joy. Why not just go and find more of it?"
"Alright then. Let's get going."
The male lead said that and started walking up the hill.
The girl let out a soft little "oh," held her bag with both hands, and hurried after him with quick, small steps. And just like that, the two of them climbed that long, winding hill together.
Then the opening theme kicked in.
"This is..." Ryuji sat there, stunned.
What an incredible opening.
Especially that moment when the girl turned around to face the male lead and the entire color palette shifted from gray to bright. Combined with the cherry blossoms swirling through the air and that light, uplifting music...
Ryuji was pretty sure he would remember that scene for the rest of his life.
"Amazing. That was seriously amazing."
"This is the same Starfall from before?"
"How did they come up with an opening like that?"
He had planned to watch a few minutes and then start writing his scathing review. He wasn't supposed to take this seriously.
But now, just from this opening alone, he was completely hooked.
Trash it? Who could possibly trash something like this? That would make him inhuman.
He kept watching past the opening theme and had already completely forgotten why he sat down to watch this anime in the first place.
After the OP, the episode's story unfolded. First came a round of character introductions, and then the focus returned to the male and female leads.
The girl wanted to join the drama club, but the club had been suspended due to having no active members. The male lead told her not to give up and said he would help out.
After that came a warm, loving scene inside the girl's home, which formed a stark contrast with the suffocating atmosphere inside the male lead's house. It was so bad that the male lead stormed out in frustration, only to run into the girl outside at night, talking to herself.
"If you don't mind, let me take you there."
"To the place in this town where wishes come true."
The first episode cut off right there, and then the ending theme rolled in.
"What about the rest?"
"That's it?"
"Damn it!"
Ending on a cliffhanger was nothing unusual, but the fact that a Starfall anime could actually pull off a cliffhanger that left him wanting more was something he had not seen coming.
Was this really made by Starfall?
Compared to *Heartbeat House*, this anime was in a completely different league. One was sky-high and the other was six feet under.
And even compared to other anime of the same genre, this show was leagues better.
At least based on the first episode alone.
Yes, it was technically a bishoujo anime, but it was nothing like *Love Academy*. There wasn't a trace of *First Love Island* in it anywhere. It had a style and an identity that was entirely its own.
There had also been concerns before that Clannad's PV was just false advertising, but after watching the actual episode, those worries were completely unfounded.
The finished product looked every bit as good as the PV. The art style was polished, every female character was adorable, and it blew every other bishoujo anime out of the water. On those two points alone, Ryuji wasn't sure any anime he had ever watched could compare.
"Looks like Starfall really has turned over a new leaf."
"If the rest of the episodes can hold up to this level, this show might actually end up being a dark horse."
Ryuji let out a long breath and found himself dying to know what happened next.
Too bad anime only aired one episode a week.
Wouldn't it be great if they could air seven or eight a week?
He sighed quietly, turned off the TV, and went to his room.
There was a computer in his room.
He sat down, booted it up, and went online to see what everyone else was saying about Clannad.
_______________________
Give some power stones and leave a review if you like it!
Support me at patreon.com/CulturedOne and read 50 Advanced Chapters