Clannad
A boy who stopped caring meets a girl at the bottom of the hill, and both start living again.
Last updated: 10 November 2026
Clannad is a drama anime by Kyoto Animation, adapted from Key's 2004 visual novel. The first series (2007) follows delinquent Tomoya Okazaki as he helps frail classmate Nagisa Furukawa restart the drama club, and Clannad: After Story (2008 to 2009) continues into their adult lives together. Together the two series run to 47 broadcast episodes plus specials, and they are famous as one of the most emotional stories in anime.
About Clannad
Tomoya Okazaki drifts through school late, friendless apart from the hopeless Youhei Sunohara, and estranged from his father since the injury that ended his basketball hopes. On the hill path to school he meets Nagisa Furukawa, a gentle girl repeating her final year after long illness, as she talks herself into climbing the hill. Tomoya helps her rebuild the abandoned drama club, gathering friends like the fierce Kyou, the quiet genius Kotomi and the star-obsessed Fuko along the way, and slowly starts to believe his own life can restart too.
Clannad is a TV anime from 2007, first released in Fall 2007. It belongs to the Drama and Romance and Slice of Life genres and is listed as a completed series. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.
Story & Plot
Tomoya Okazaki hates his town and his life in it. His mother died when he was small, his relationship with his father collapsed after a fight injured Tomoya's shoulder and ended his basketball future, and he now drifts into school late with no plans at all. One spring morning, on the long hill path up to school, he passes a girl standing still and talking to herself, psyching herself up by naming a food she loves. Her name is Nagisa Furukawa, she is repeating her final year after months lost to illness, and everyone she knew has graduated without her.
Nagisa's one wish is to perform on stage with the drama club, which no longer exists. Tomoya, with nothing better to do, starts helping her recruit members and rebuild it, and the work pulls a circle of people around them. There is Kyou Fujibayashi, blunt and protective, and her gentle twin Ryou. There is Tomoyo Sakagami, the transfer student whose kicks are famous across school. There is Kotomi Ichinose, a genius who reads alone in the library, and Fuko Ibuki, who carves wooden starfish and appears and disappears in ways nobody can explain. Each of them carries a small sadness, and helping them gives Tomoya something he has not had in years: a reason to show up.
Clannad: After Story picks up where the school story ends and does something few anime attempt: it follows Tomoya and Nagisa out of school and into adult life. Work, marriage, money worries and family fill the episodes, along with the story of Tomoya's father told from the other side. The middle of After Story contains some of the most praised and most devastating episodes in the medium, dealing with illness, parenthood and grief in a small town that keeps moving around the people in it.
Running underneath everything is a quiet mystery: a girl alone in a world that has ended, and a small robot who cannot understand her. How that other world connects to Tomoya's is the key to the ending, which brings the whole story, its losses and its small miracles, together. Taken as one piece, the two series run about 47 broadcast episodes plus special chapters, and they earn their reputation honestly, one ordinary day at a time.
Story Arcs & Episode Guide
The Clannad anime is split into story sagas. Here is every saga in order, with its episodes and years.
| Arc | Episodes | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuko and the Starfish | Clannad, episodes 1-9 | 2007 | Tomoya meets Nagisa, the drama club revival begins, and the first full arc follows Fuko Ibuki and her carved starfish, ending with 'Until the End of the Dream'. |
| Friends and the Drama Club | Clannad, episodes 10-23 | 2007-2008 | Kotomi's story, the twins, Tomoyo and the school festival carry the season to Nagisa's stage performance. |
| Life After School | After Story, episodes 1-8 | 2008 | Graduation, jobs and Sunohara's own arc begin the shift from school life to adult life. |
| Tomoya and Nagisa | After Story, episodes 9-16 | 2008-2009 | The couple build a life together, and the story reaches its most famous and hardest stretch. |
| Ushio and the Ending | After Story, episodes 17-24 | 2009 | Tomoya's life years later, his family, and the conclusion that ties the other world to everything that came before. The broadcast run also includes an extra episode and a summary episode. |
Why Watch Clannad
- Two series, one complete story: school life in Clannad, real adult life in After Story.
- Kyoto Animation's warm, detailed small-town art, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara.
- The middle episodes of After Story are among the most praised in all of anime.
- Key's music, including 'Dango Daikazoku' and 'Toki o Kizamu Uta', is inseparable from the story's feelings.
- It treats fathers, grief and starting over with unusual honesty for a school anime.
Who Is It For?
Rated TV-PG to TV-14 depending on platform. There is almost no violence beyond slapstick, but the themes are heavy: illness, death in the family, alcohol problems at home and grief are central, especially in After Story. It suits teens and adults; be ready to cry, because most viewers do.
Main Characters
View all characters →Voice Actors
The Japanese voices behind the main characters of Clannad.
- Tomoya OkazakiDelinquent student whose life restarts on the hill pathJapanese voiceYuichi Nakamura
- Nagisa FurukawaFrail girl repeating her final year who loves the drama club and dangoJapanese voiceMai Nakahara
- Kyou FujibayashiBlunt, protective elder Fujibayashi twinJapanese voiceRyo Hirohashi
- Tomoyo SakagamiStrong transfer student fighting to save the school's cherry treesJapanese voiceHouko Kuwashima
- Fuko IbukiFirst-year student who carves wooden starfish for her sister's weddingJapanese voiceAi Nonaka
Staff & Production
- Studio
- Kyoto Animation
- Director
- Tatsuya Ishihara
- Series Composition
- Fumihiko Shimo
- Character Design (anime)
- Kazumi Ikeda, from Itaru Hinoue's original designs
- Music
- Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito and Magome Togoshi
Manga & Source Material
Clannad began as a visual novel by Key, the studio behind Kanon and Air, released for Windows on 28 April 2004. The game splits into a School Life part and an After Story part, which is exactly how Kyoto Animation structured the two TV series.
- The visual novel was written by Jun Maeda, Yuichi Suzumoto, Kai and Toya Okano, with art led by Itaru Hinoue.
- The game's music was composed by Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito and Magome Togoshi, and the anime keeps their score at its heart.
- Key's game is a long, choice-driven story; the anime follows the Nagisa route and folds the other girls' stories into it.
- An official English release of the visual novel came to Steam in November 2015 via Sekai Project.
- Toei Animation also made a Clannad film, released on 15 September 2007, an alternate retelling directed by Osamu Dezaki.
Music
Much of the music comes straight from Key's game. The first ending, 'Dango Daikazoku', became so loved that the dango family became the series' symbol, and After Story's opening is built on the game's own theme.
Opening Themes
- “'Mag Mell' (cuckool mix 2007)”by eufoniusOpening of the first series, a reworked version of the game's title theme.
- “Toki o Kizamu Uta”by LiaAfter Story's opening, built on the game track 'To the Same Heights'.
Ending Themes
- “Dango Daikazoku”by ChataFirst series ending, Nagisa's favourite song about a family of dango dumplings.
- “Torch”by LiaAfter Story's ending theme.
Series Timeline
- 2004
Key releases the Clannad visual novel for Windows in Japan on 28 April.
- 2007
Toei Animation's Clannad film opens on 15 September; Kyoto Animation's TV series begins in October.
- 2008
The TV series ends in March; Clannad: After Story starts in October, with the 'Tomoyo Chapter' special released on home video.
- 2009
After Story ends in March, and the 'Kyou Chapter' special follows on home video.
- 2015
The visual novel gets its official English release on Steam through Sekai Project.
Release Schedule
- Clannad (TV)
- October 2007 to March 2008, 23 broadcast episodes plus the Tomoyo Chapter special on home video
- Clannad: After Story
- 3 October 2008 to 26 March 2009, 24 broadcast episodes plus the Kyou Chapter special
- Film
- Clannad (2007), Toei Animation's alternate retelling
- Status
- Completed; both series together tell the full story
Details as of 10 November 2026.
Quick Answers
Is Clannad finished?
Yes. Clannad has finished airing, so you can watch the complete story from start to end without waiting for new episodes.
What genre is Clannad?
Clannad is a Drama and Romance and Slice of Life anime. You can browse more titles like it on our Drama anime page.
When did Clannad release?
Clannad first released in Fall 2007. It is a TV series.
How many episodes is Clannad in total?
The first series has 23 broadcast episodes, plus a 24th special, 'Another World: Tomoyo Chapter', released on home video. Clannad: After Story has 24 broadcast episodes, including an extra and a summary episode, plus a 'Kyou Chapter' special. Together that is 47 broadcast episodes plus two specials.
Do I need to watch After Story, or is Clannad enough?
Watch both. The first series is only the school half of the story. After Story covers Tomoya and Nagisa's adult lives and contains the parts the series is most famous for. It is the real ending, not an optional sequel.
What order should I watch Clannad in?
Watch Clannad, then the Tomoyo Chapter special, then Clannad: After Story, then the Kyou Chapter special. The 2007 Toei film is a separate, alternate retelling and is best left until last.
Where can I watch Clannad?
In the US, both series stream on HIDIVE, with the Sentai Filmworks English dub included, as of November 2026. The series has left Crunchyroll's US catalogue, so HIDIVE is the main home for it.
Is the Clannad movie the same as the TV series?
No. The 2007 film by Toei Animation, directed by Osamu Dezaki, is an alternate, compressed retelling focused on Nagisa, made by a different studio before the TV series aired. The Kyoto Animation series is the fuller and better known version.
Watch Order
Here is the release order for Clannad and the series connected to it. Start at step 1 and work your way down.
- 1Clannad (TV, 23 episodes)The school story: Tomoya, Nagisa and the drama club. Start here.
- 2Clannad: Another World, Tomoyo Chapter (special)A home video special showing an alternate story where Tomoya dates Tomoyo. Watch after the first series.
- 3Clannad: After Story (TV, 24 episodes)The continuation into adult life, and the true ending of the story. Essential, not optional.
- 4Clannad: After Story, Another World, Kyou Chapter (special)A second alternate-world special centred on Kyou, released with After Story's home video run.
- 5Clannad (film, 2007, Toei Animation)An alternate retelling by a different studio and director. Watch last, as a curiosity, once you know the main story.
Where to Watch
Clannad is officially available to stream on these platforms:
Streaming availability changes often and differs by country. Please check the platform in your region.