Clannad Watch Order: After Story, the OVAs and the 2007 Film
Watch Clannad, then After Story. Where the two Another World episodes, the extra and recap episodes, and the separate 2007 Toei film fit.
Watch Clannad, then Clannad After Story. Kyoto Animation's two series tell one continuous story, and the numbered episodes are already in the right order. The questions people actually have are about the edges: the two "Another World" episodes that never aired on television, the extra and recap episodes at the end of each run, and a 2007 film from a different studio that tells the story its own way.
The order in one place
| Step | What to watch | First released |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clannad, episodes 1 to 23 | TV, October 2007 to March 2008 |
| 2 | Another World: Tomoyo Chapter (optional) | DVD, July 16, 2008 |
| 3 | Clannad After Story, episodes 1 to 24 | TV, October 2008 to March 2009 |
| 4 | Another World: Kyou Chapter (optional) | DVD, July 1, 2009 |
| 5 | Clannad: The Motion Picture (optional, separate) | Theaters, September 15, 2007 |
Anime News Network's encyclopedia counts 24 episodes for the first series and 25 for After Story, because each count includes the Another World episode released on home video after the broadcast.
Clannad: what episode 23 is
Episodes 1 to 22 are the first series' main run, ending with "Two Shadows." Episode 23, "The Events of Summer Holidays," aired the following week as the last broadcast episode, and the official TBS site labeled it an extra episode rather than a numbered chapter. Its synopsis there puts it after the school festival: Tomoya is facing his last summer of high school, third-years still have supplementary classes, he cannot skip them with Nagisa watching, and Sunohara's younger sister Mei comes to visit again. Keep it where it is, after episode 22.
The two Another World episodes
Each series has one episode that was made for the eighth DVD volume rather than for television, and each tells an alternate story outside the main continuity, built around a heroine other than Nagisa.
Another World: Tomoyo Chapter came out on the eighth Japanese DVD on July 16, 2008, after a preview screening for 400 fans. Anime News Network's report describes it as set in "another world" separate from the 23-episode series. Watch it after episode 23 if you are curious about Tomoyo, or save it for the end. Skipping it changes nothing in After Story.
Another World: Kyou Chapter is After Story's equivalent. The official TBS site announced it as an adaptation of Kyou's route in the original game and an entirely separate story from the main series, for the eighth DVD volume on July 1, 2009. TBS's Blu-ray box listing places it last, after the finale, the extra episode and the recap, and labels it a TV-unaired episode. Watch it last of all.
After Story's final three entries
The TBS listing of the After Story Blu-ray box makes the structure clear. Episode 22, "Small Palms," is marked as the final episode. Two more follow it:
- Episode 23, "The Event from One Year Before", is an extra episode set, as the title says, a year earlier. TBS's synopsis has Nagisa starting her third year in a class where she knows no one, trying to make friends with encouragement from Akio, while Kyou, a second-year class representative, is stuck looking after two delinquent boys in her class. It is a prequel side story, and it reads best after the finale, where the broadcast put it.
- Episode 24, "Under the Green Tree", is a recap. TBS's synopsis frames it as Tomoya recounting the day he met Nagisa and the days they have spent since. It is the one entry most viewers can skip, and it should never be watched early, because it recaps After Story's events.
The 2007 film is a different adaptation
Clannad: The Motion Picture is not part of the Kyoto Animation sequence. It was made by Toei Animation, directed by Osamu Dezaki, runs 90 minutes, and opened in Japan on September 15, 2007, a few weeks before the TV series began. Mai Nakahara voices Nagisa in both versions; Tomoya is voiced by Kenji Nojima in the film and by Yūichi Nakamura in the TV series.
Theron Martin's Anime News Network review describes it as telling "essentially the same story as the TV series version of Clannad and the first three-fourths of Clannad After Story," but "much more narrowly-focused on the Tomoya/Nagisa relationship." He notes that it "portrays events from the latter third of After Story dramatically differently" and calls it "entirely a self-contained story," so it needs no homework. It also covers ground the TV version saves for After Story, which is why this guide puts it after both series: watched first, it gives away where the story is going. Watched last, it is a ninety-minute second opinion on the same material.
What you can skip
The core is 22 episodes of Clannad, the summer extra, and 22 episodes of After Story. Everything else is optional: the recap least of all worth your time, the Another World episodes worth it if you liked those characters, and the film worth it as a comparison. ANN also lists Kaginado as a spinoff of the TV series; it is a separate show, not part of this order.
Our Clannad quote collection and best Clannad quotes follow the TV series, including Tomoya and Nagisa. The After Story ending explainer covers the finale in full, with spoilers.
Episode lists, release dates and the TBS listings were checked October 7, 2026.