Portal:Anime and Manga/Selected series/8
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Clannad (クラナド Kuranado?) is a Japanese visual novel created by the software company Key, who also produced the successful titles Kanon and Air. Key announced in 2001 a release date of 2002 for Clannad and, after several postponements, finally released a limited version for the PC on April 28, 2004, and the regular version less than four months later on August 8, 2004. The visual novel was later ported to the PlayStation 2 on February 23, 2006, and will be ported again to the Xbox 360 in spring 2008. The gameplay in Clannad follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters. According to Jun Maeda, the main scenario writer of Clannad, the title means "family" or "clan" in Irish.[1]
While both of Key's previous works, Kanon and Air, had been released first as adult games and then censored for the younger market like most bishōjo games, Clannad was released for all-ages; this led to a certain amount of disappointment among fans of Key's adult works. Partly in reaction to the disappointment, an adult sequel-of-sorts, Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life, was released on November 25, 2005.
Clannad has made several transitions to other media: four manga series, the first serialized in the Japanese magazine Comic Rush, the second serialized in Comi Digi +, the third serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine, and the fourth serialized in Dragon Age Pure; an animated movie by the animation studio Toei Animation released on September 15, 2007; an anime series by Kyoto Animation, which also animated the previous Key titles Air and Kanon; and, lastly, two sets of drama CDs, totaling nine in all.
