News

Clannad Kickstarter Adds Side Stories, Manga Stretch Goals

North American visual novel distributor Sekai Project announced its stretch goals on Sunday for the Clannad crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.

The first new stretch goal at US$200,000 will be for HD assets. VisualArt's/Key currently has assets as 1280x960, and now Sekai Project is asking them to process it at 1280x720 for widescreen support. The campaign had reached this first stretch goal before the company had announced it.

The next stretch goal, at US$320,000, will be for the Clannad side stories. The side stories started out as a series of drama CDs that were eventually included in the PlayStation Portable edition of the game in 2008 and added as DLC to the PlayStation 3 edition in 2011. Those interested in pledging for the side stories ahead of time can add US$25 to their pledge for the digital version and US$30 for the physical version.

The third stretch goal, at US$380,000, will be for an all-new Clannad anthology manga that Sekai Project will release in the WEST. before it is released in Japan. Those interested in pledging for the manga ahead of time can add US$12 to their pledge for a digital version and US$15 for a physical version.

The campaign reached its US$140,000 goal after less than 24 hours, earning a digital and physical edition of the game. As of press time, the campaign has earned US$247,651, and has 45 days left to go.

Sekai Project stated that its English release will be "almost the same as the original 2004 release of CLANNAD first edition." The company plans to release a full-voiced edition with Mai Nakahara, Ai Nonaka, Mamiko Noto, Kikuko Inoue and others, but will not record an English dub.

The game inspired an anime movie and two television anime series. The series follows delinquent high school student Tomoya Okazaki, who one day meets a strange girl named Nagisa Furukawa who is a year older, but is repeating her last year of high school due to illness. Tomoya becomes involved with Nagisa and her hopes of restarting the school drama club.

The original game is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is receiving a PlayStation Vita port in Japan. The visual novel has already been ported to PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, and phones.

Key has produced such visual novel franchises as Little Busters!, Kanon, and Air — all of which inspired anime and manga adaptations.

Thanks to Cereesth for the news tip.