Are You Ready To Cry Again?
When nailing down a good deal of anime that will leave your heart aching, Clannad is one of the finest shows to do so. While it offers a good mix of comedy, romance, and lighthearted content, this series contains deep and emotional segments that will have you clearing your rooms in search of a tissue box.
Clannad narrates the mundane life of a boy named Tomoya Okazaki. His life takes a dramatic turn when he encounters a girl named Nagisa Furukawa and learns about her dream to revitalize the school’s drama club. Tomoya is hesitant to help Nagisa but eventually concedes. As the series continues, he’ll find himself enjoying life more than before.
If you’re having trouble finding anime similar to Clannad, fear not! We’ve discovered 10 alternate shows that’ll give you a similar experience as Clannad.
Additionally, for each anime we’ve reviewed, we’ve included a link that allows you to view our full thoughts about the series to see if it’s worth your time.
So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet your appetite when you’ve finished streaming Clannad!
Ef: A Tale of Memories
Similarities – Drama & Romance
If you found Clannad’s characters and their situations relatable, you’ll find yourself at home with Ef: A Tale of Memories. This show features a slew of tear-jerking moments that will have you begging for it to conclude. At the same time, Ef doesn’t feature any humor regarding jokes, slapstick, and facial gags.
This series retains a serious and dramatic tone throughout its entire run-time. Furthermore, the characters give off this serious and romantic energy at the start, unlike Clannad. Nonetheless, you’ll find Ef to contain similar themes and witness its characters undergo stressful and emotional discourse that will tear at your heartstrings.
Ef: A Tale of Memories tells two stories involving several youths’ relationships that occur on Christmas Eve. The first tale follows a boy named Hiro and a girl named Miyako. Miyako asks to borrow Hiro’s bike to chase a purse thief. Some time passes, and Hiro finds Miyako unconscious and his bike destroyed. The two decide to spend the holidays together as their relationship starts blossoming.
Elsewhere, we follow Renji, a boy who desires to become a woman’s hero. He encounters a shy girl named Chihiro Shindou, who spends her time reading books at an abandoned train station. The two become friends and start writing a novel together. Things take a turn for the worse when Renji discovers Chihiro’s secret regarding her short-lived memory disability that will test Renji’s ideals.
As the series continues, you’ll see how these stories intertwine to create a heart-wrenching narrative full of love, rejection, acceptance, and memories.
Angel Beats
Similarities – Themes & Setting
Angel Beats is another emotional roller coaster full of heartbreak and romance. With its slightly realistic characters, depressing themes, and school-like setting, Angel Beats delivers a great narrative that will leave a lasting impression. Unlike Clannad, Angel Beats tends to lean into its comedy more.
You can expect your typical slapstick humor and jokes from Angel Beats. Comedy aside, Angel Beats isn’t afraid to touch upon realistic issues. You’ll see its characters undergo traumatic stress, regret, and heartbreak while residing in this afterlife-like environment.
The situations this show brings up will speak to you on an emotional level. You will see characters breakdown for not completing simple tasks while they were alive and some encountering dilemmas that were outside their control. While Angel Beats may offer more humor than Clannad, that’s only one piece of its overarching temperamental puzzle.
Kanon
Similarities – Story Structure & Characters
Kanon and Clannad are different parts of the same coin. Both series were animated by Kyoto Animation and contain a similar storyline. These shows follow a male protagonist’s daily life and interactions with multiple girls. These girls will turn these gentlemen’s life around, giving them a different perspective on life.
The events the characters endure in Kanon are reminiscent of the circumstances Tomoya and his friends encounter in Clannad. The situations aren’t one-to-one, but these obstacles follow a similar theme and concept. Expect to dive into different and unique arcs tailored toward specific characters.
Every arc in Kanon is integral to building upon the characters’ companionship in the series. These arcs will gradually reveal new details about our cast to keep viewers engaged and invested. On that note, Kanon isn’t afraid to penetrate your hearts with tear-jerking and heartbreaking scenery.
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Similarities – Friendship & Drama
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (Anohana) is like Clannad in many ways. It utilizes its cutesy art style to fool fans into thinking it’s a happy-go-lucky endeavor. However, what hides under its adorable exterior is a series that will challenge your heart, morals, and soul.
Anohana is a magnificent gem and offers relatable characters who cope with realistic issues in authentic ways. Its male protagonist Jinta struggles to move on after the passing of his beloved friend. The series does an excellent job of building up his courage and strength to move on from this ordeal.
Jinta’s friend’s death also leaves a haunting mark on his former companions, who are all suffering from different forms of stress and hardship. Like Clannad, this series is an enriching and beautiful tale about friendship and surpassing one’s hardships to achieve something greater.
A Silent Voice
Similarities – Realistic Issues & Emotional Conflict
A Silent Voice is an anime film tackling all sorts of mental health and behavioral issues. From bullying to depression, this series is jam-packed with many emotional events that will make you tear-up multiple times. With an emphasis on friendship and redemption, this movie is a must-watch.
Our tale is set at an elementary school and revolves around a bully named Shouya. Lacking discipline and respect, Shouya picks on his classmate Shouko for being deaf. His horrid actions cause Shouko to transfer schools, leading Shouya to get ridiculed and shunned for his antics in his junior year of high school.
As a teenager, Shouya holds himself accountable for his actions and is haunted by those memories. Although everyone from his mother to his classmates despises him, Shouya receives a life-changing opportunity when he spots Shouko wandering a nearby area. To make things right, Shouya plans to apologize to Shouko, hoping that this will wipe his horrid elementary school memories from his head.
This is an excellent anime to watch for its hard-hitting life messages surrounding bullying and psychological trauma. Like Clannad, A Silent Voice’s voice actors and actresses pull off a phenomenal and believable performance to make its characters appear authentic, motivational, and astonishing.
Your Name
Similarities – Supernatural, Drama, Romance
Loneliness is a terrifying spot to be in for many people. Your Name features the incredible bond between two individuals from different walks of life. While they’ll tackle new situations and face new obstacles that come with their different territories, fans will enjoy following them on this supernatural and romantic ride.
Your Name revolves around two characters who end up in each other’s bodies. They must complete each other’s tasks and responsibilities while trying to find a solution to their body-switch problem. While that’s going on, new developments start brewing in our female protagonist’s village that causes these two to pick up the pace.
Like Clannad, this movie spends a great amount of time fleshing out the relationship between its body-swapping protagonists Taki and Mitsuha. Despite airing from different areas, Taki and Mitsuha’s interaction with each other’s family members and loved ones is an intriguing sight to see. Furthermore, this anime contains some curve balls that fans won’t anticipate.
Little Busters!
Similarities – Romance, Drama, Themes
Little Busters is an overlooked anime. Like Clannad, this anime stems from a visual novel created by the company Key. This anime follows Riki, who joins a heroic group called the Little Busters led by Kyousuke. In their high school years, Kyousuke aims to create a baseball team but needs more recruits.
Kyousuke tasks Riki with recruiting more people as it will be Kyousuke’s last school year before he graduates. Then, someone from their group finds a letter directed to the Little Busters. The writer wants the Little Busters to uncover the mysteries of their world by completing multiple missions.
Not wanting to fail his peers, it’s up to Riki to recruit new members while helping his comrades complete these strange tasks. Little Busters will leave fans teary-eyed with its emphasis on romance, family, and friendship. Fans who enjoyed the chemistry between Tomoya, Nagisa, and the other Clannad characters will love seeing how Riki plays off the other members of the Little Busters.
Your Lie In April
Similarities – Emotional & Tear-Jerking Anime
For many people, coping with loss or heartbreak can be a difficult task. At the same time, there are people who enter our lives that aim to offer us a helping hand during those tragic times. Your Lie In April is one of those shows that tackles this concept with full integrity.
This anime is about a proficient pianist named Kousei, who drops all motivation to continue playing piano after one of his family members passes away. Suddenly, Kousei will meet an extremely talented violinist named Kaori, who plans to reignite his passion for the craft he abandoned.
This anime is an emotional and tear-jerking ride that delves into depressing real-world issues. Like Clannad, this show doesn’t hold back on its heartbreaking elements as its goal is to internally drain you of your happiness and comfort. While some scenes in this show will bring a smile to your face, Your Lie In April is a show many fans should consider watching with a box of tissues at their side.
Fruits Basket
Similarities – Characters, Romance, Drama
Retro anime like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Mobile Suit Gundam introduced many people young and old to the world of anime and manga. Fruits Basket is one of those series that doesn’t get discussed enough for its offering to the romance genre.
This is a classic anime that received the remake treatment like Sailor Moon and helped get an entire generation of people on board with romance and drama-themed anime series. Our tale follows Tooru, who becomes a guest of the Souma residence because she doesn’t want to live with her grandparents. In time, Tooru will uncover dark secrets about the Souma family that’ll put her kindness to the test.
Like Clannad, Fruits Basket’s cast will be presented with numerous tasks that will challenge them internally and externally. This anime features some magical elements regarding the Souma family’s dark secret. At the same time, Clannad fans will adore Fruits Basket’s art style and animation.
Kokoro Connect
Similarities – Themes, Comedy, Drama
Imagine Your Name as a full-length series and you’ll end up with something like Kokoro Connect. This anime features a supernatural-themed plot full of likable characters who thrive in a colorful world. This tale revolves around five students who create a culture club and partake in various club-like activities.
These students come from different walks of life and have distinct personalities. One day, two club members end up waking up in each other’s bodies. Eventually, this curse spreads to their three remaining members. Therefore, the anime follows their quest to solve their body-switching problems. As they continue switching bodies, they’ll uncover hidden scars and tragedies that will test their loyalty to each other.
Kokoro Connect excellently portrays the friendship cycle most people endure with their friends, relatives, and significant others. Like Clannad, these dark remnants of their past lives will challenge our characters internally and make them question if their friendship is worth safeguarding. It’s these moments that make Kokoro Connect a special and entertaining show to watch.
So there we have it, our 10 anime/TV show alternatives to watch when you’ve caught up with Clannad!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!