What Are The Best Anime Like Clannad?

Clannad is one of those animes that will tug on your heartstrings no matter how many times you watch it. Trust me, I’ve tried and I still find myself bawling every time. The anime doesn’t just make you shed tears because it’s sad—it’s more than that. Clannad makes you feel all sorts of emotions and is just visually beautiful that you can’t help but feel attached.

If you enjoyed Clannad, here are 10 similar anime that you can enjoy in the comfort of your home—fair warning, some of these might make you cry!

10. Toradora 

Toradora Trailer

Ryuuji Takasu, a high school student who unfortunately has an intimidating face despite being kind, meets Taiga Aisaka, a small cute looking student who is pretty violent and feisty. The two of them form an unlikely alliance to help the other get noticed by their respective crushes. Together they end up in all sorts of funny situations as they try to help each other out.

Both have the humor aspect injected in them as any romantic comedy would have. Because they are both set in high school, you see the writers have used similar events to bring out the comedy aspect of each anime. If you’re looking for something in the side of slice-of-life much like Clannad, give Torodora a shot. Though not as geared to drama like Clannad, the show still has its fair share of tear-jerking moments.

9. Your Lie in April

Your Lie in April Trailer

The story follows Kosei Arima, who was strictly trained by his mother to play the piano. He becomes a known child prodigy by dominating piano competitions. When his mother died—for some reason he lost the ability to “hear'' what he plays midway of a piece. Because of the incident he no longer wants to continue playing piano. Years later he meets Kaori Miyazono, a free-spirited musician who plans to bring music back into Kosei’s life.

While light-hearted on the surface level, both anime are shown to have a tragic love story. Your Lie in April and Clannad both have female leads who have some sort of chronic illness, while the male leads had to deal with some sort of parental abuse at one point of their life. If you’re looking for a good cry, then Your Lie in April might just do the job.

8. Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket Trailer

Due to her guardian’s house being renovated Tohru Honda decides to live in a tent near a forest, unknown to her was Souma family property. After a heavy downpour her tent ended up buried underneath a landslide. Feeling sorry for her situation she is taken in by Yuki and Shigure Souma who invites her to live with them until her grandfather’s house is complete. While living with the Soumas she discovers the family’s curse and is thrown in the middle of their family’s drama.

If you loved Nagisa from Clannad then you will just adore Tohru, the two of them have the same caring personality that just draws you to their character. They both also do their best to show they are useful to their family. While Nagisa and Tohru do show similarities, Tohru is also thrown into a similar situation to Tomoya. Much like Tomoya, Tohru ends up living in another family’s roof and has to get used to all their shenanigans and family drama.

7. Kanon

Kanon Trailer

After 7 long years Yuuichi Aizawa returns to his cousin’s town, the problem is  he recalls little to nothing of the city. He meets several young girls, all who have a past with him. As he spends more time with each girl, more of his memories with them begin to resurface.

Think the art style is similar? That’s because both anime were originally based on a Key Visual Novel so it’s no surprise those doe like eyes would make a reappearance. Visuals are not their only similarity: While Tomoya from Clannad helps several girls with their issues, Yuuichi’s role in Kanon is the same. Yuuichi helps several of his friends who have their own personal issues. Each time he helps them he gets a fragment of his memory back. In Clannad whenever Tomoya is successful in helping his friends out he sees a small light signifying he managed to “save” them for their own issues.

6. Wolf Children

Wolf Children Trailer

In the middle of her college life, Hana falls in love with a mysterious man who she later finds out can turn into a wolf. Despite knowing this she ends up marrying him and later bearing his children: Ame and Yuki who, like their father, can also transform into wolves. While out hunting, the father ends up dying leaving Hana to take care of the children. 

One of the highlights of Clannad is dealing with loss and family.  Tomoya in Clannad After Story ends up losing Nagisa and struggles to become a father to their child Ushio. In Wolf Children we see Hana struggling to raise both Yuki and Ame without a father figure. Despite Wolf Children being an anime movie, the film does not feel rushed. I believe anyone would enjoy watching the mother and her kids grow.

5. March Comes in like a Lion

March Comes in like a Lion Trailer

Rei Kiriyama, a shogi player who lost his parents prior to the series, is taken in by his father’s friend Koda. This arrangement has caused him to become Koda’s apprentice in shogi. He does not form a strong bond with this foster family but gets along with the Kawamoto sisters—Akari, Hinata and Momo, a small family who took care of Rei one evening. Rei then begins to become more open to the people around him thanks to his engagements with this family.

While not exactly taken in by the Kawamoto sisters, he did feel more of a familial attachment towards their family over his foster family. Much like Tomoya who began to look at the world in a different light after being taken in by the Furukawas, the same can be said with Rei. Rei eventually becomes more open and willing to help others after he becomes a regular at the Kawamoto household.

4. Itazura na Kiss

Itazura na Kiss Trailer

Kotoko Aihara confesses to her long-time crush Naoki Irie, however she gets rejected straight off the bat. As fate would have it, an earthquake hits, leaving Kotoko and her father with an unlivable home. While their house is under repair, Kotoko and her father are to stay at the father’s friend’s place—which happens to also be the home Naoki. Feeling optimistic about her situation, she feels she has a chance to make Naoki fall for her.

While most shoujo anime end when the ships are made official or at graduation, Itazura na Kiss and Clannad go beyond that. Both anime begin as a high school romantic comedy, but you see all the characters move on and eventually grow up and get married. As our characters become adults over the series, we see the once romantic comedy switch tones into something more serious.

3. One Week Friends

One Week Friends Trailer

Yuuki Hase finally gathers the courage to talk and befriend his crush Kaori Fujimiya who always seems very distant from the rest of their classmates. Kaori starts to open up to him little by little but as the end of the week closes, she begins to push him away again. It is revealed later that Kaori loses all her memories at the end of the week and doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by forgetting them.

High school romance is the way to go for both Clannad and One Week Friends. Yuuki, similar to Tomoya, goes through lengths in order to befriend Kaori and makes sure she enjoys her time not only with him but all the friends she has made. While Tomoya had no romantic intention at the start of Clannad; he helps Nagisa get along with his friends and helps her get the school’s theater club running.

2. Little Busters!

Little Busters! Trailer

Riki Naoe who is diagnosed with narcolepsy is recruited by Kyousuke Natsume. They form a group called “Little Busters” that is dedicated to fighting evil and preserving justice while doing some operations, pranks and challenges. During their final year in High School, Kyousuke wants to form a baseball team with his current members. With only 5 members he tasked Riki to recruit new ones. One day Rin Natsume (the only female at the start) finds a letter requesting the Little Busters to uncover the “secrets of this world” by completing certain tasks.

Little Busters! is another Key Visual Novel, so they work in a similar way. While Tomoya has to gather spheres of light from people he helps in order to save Nagisa and his daughter Ushio, Riki and the Little Busters have to complete certain tasks in order to learn the secrets of the world. Also, the idea of forming a club is also present in both series. While Riki and Kyousuke try to recruit other members; Tomoya and Nagisa are also trying to get members to join the Theater Guild. Both groups are a bit awkward with recruitment so it’s best to watch to find out! 

1. Hyouka

Hyouka Trailer

Houtaru Oreki, due to his sister’s recommendation, ends up joining the Classics Club. Following his recruitment, he gets dragged into uncovering an old mystery surrounding the clubroom and several other cases along with his clubmates.

Houtaru and Tomoya are a lot alike when it comes to perspectives. In Clannad we got to see Tomoya who was fine with just getting by school and made little to no effort in creating bonds with other students—until he ultimately gets involved with Nagisa. We see the same in Hyouka. Houtaru starts out with a rather dull mindset and can’t be bothered about friendships or school. As the story progresses, he opens up to his clubmates and starts to play a more active role in keeping the club together.

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