Dango Daikazoku

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Even our advertisements are adorned with dangos.

The word Clannad means "family" or "clan" in Irish. (Well, actually it's the name of a band. It turns out "clan" is the word for "clan".) In this town, strong bonds are made everyday slowly connecting us all as family. Tomoya Okazaki, a delinquent, is a member of this town, hates this place, and wants nothing more than to just get away. During his senior year, the boy has a chance met with the rather shy and confidence-lacking Nagisa Furukawa. He agrees to help her restart the schools Drama Club since she seems rather desperate and he has time to kill but slowly starts to form bonds with different people.

But the story of Okazaki and Furukawa are not the only story in this town. Every person in this town has strong bonds connecting them together. Every person, every family has a story to tell, filled with love, care, and sometimes even drama. These stories all have something in common though; they make us ask an important question. Is family really something we're born into, or is it those we treasure around us?

Dango Daikazoku is a forum roleplay based upon the anime and visual novel series Clannad. The roleplay is set within the first anime, starting at the very beginning of the series and seeing what happens with new interpretations of the characters as well as the introduction of original characters into the mix (canon characters retain their canon personalities and histories). Think of it as like being one giant Fanfic, with multiple authors and all that entails. The site has been going on for about two years time, although it is really only recently it has hit its stride.

Link to the forum can be found here.

Tropes used in Dango Daikazoku include:
  • All There in the Manual: The site can be played without knowing anything about Clannad, but you do miss out on some things without having some familiarity.
  • Alternate History: The site starts at the beginning of the series and goes on from there, with new events being influenced by differences in canon characters and original characters.
  • Bishoujo Series
  • Brother Chuck: Kappei is still not to be found, and any canons not currently played can be counted one as well.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: What happens to dropped original characters.
  • But Not Too Foreign: For some reason a lot of the original characters are foreign born or have parents who aren't Japanese. This has recently been restricted.
  • Generic Cuteness: Retains the same issue the Clannad series had with canons; can be seen to be worse with the introduction of face claims from OTHER series as well.
  • It Is Always Spring: Site has been going for two years; we are still in spring, and has only recently actually begun moving time forward.
  • The Other Darrin: Can occur when someone drops a canon character and then someone else picks them up. For example, we have had at least 3 Tomoyas, 2 Kotomis, and 2 Sunoharas. Dropped original characters fall under Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
  • Ship Sinking: Obviously, with roleplay, this is going to happen with different views of canon characters and introduction of new original characters. Add in that the preferences of the players will obviously influence their choices in romance, and many ships are sunk before they even get the chance to head to sea but...
  • Ship Teasing: Doesn't stop us from teasing them though.

Threads of this roleplay provide examples of:

  • Badass Adorable: Kyou, Tomoyo, and any original characters that follow in their footsteps apply.
  • Boobs of Steel: Again, Kyou, Tomoyo, original characters could easily be this as well...
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: Has already occurred in some of the threads to a degree, but more applicable to spontaneous "IC" conversations on the Cbox.
  • Butt Monkey: Sunohara retains this role, but some original characters (such as Kichiro Haru) also have taken it.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Most of the canon cast still retains this, and of course some of the original characters can be like this as well.
  • Combos: Tomoyo of course provides these, and with original characters providing new sources and/or victims of them.
  • Delinquents: Tomoya and Sunohara retain the role, as well as Tomoyo's past status as one, but original characters such as Koji introduce some new flavor to them.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: Several original characters can be seen as these in regards to their respective love interests.
  • First-Name Basis: Kyou Fujibayashi still does this, but many original characters can slip into this due to unfamiliarity with the concept by their players.
  • The Gadfly: Tomoya of course.
  • Genius Loci
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: Many chat box icons tend to use this for the fun of it.
  • Hot Springs Episode: One of the special event episodes was set in a hot springs; turned out to actually be plot relevant.
  • Imagine Spot: Tomoya's imagination is intact; Fuko's is now being seen whenever she gets lost in her fantasies.
  • Ill Girl: Nagisa's canon background, has been present in some original character backgrounds.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Even if romances haven't really sprouted yet, many characters can be seen as possibly going this route in possible future plots.
  • Large Ham: Many of the players act this way; characters are a little leaner though.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Some of the threads like to poke fun at the fact we are a roleplay site and the nature of roleplaying
  • Lemony Narrator: Sunohara's narration is an example of this.
  • Love Dodecahedron: Just about every character is part of or or loosely connected to at least one due to the small size of the cast and character interactions.
  • Magic Realism: It is Clannad after all.
  • Matchmaker Crush:
  • Meaningful Name: When in doubt an original character name, do this.
  • Parental Abandonment: Seems to be a common original character background.
  • Poor Communication Kills
  • Save Our Club: Nagisa is still attempting to restart the Drama Club; seems to be succeeding without much help from Tomoya.
  • Self-Deprecation: A common style of humor in many posts, especially if the player is poking fun at their own characters inside of a post. Players are also willing to do so out of character as well. One particular Running Gag is making fun of the site name[spoiler:Better than the original name of Clannad: The Roleplay though]]
  • Serial Escalation: Can Fuko get any stranger? Can we beat up on Sunohara any more? And of course...can we make Clannad even MORE DRAMATIC?! we'll try our best
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: Kyou and Ryou
  • Sibling Triangle: Kyou and Ryou at first, but original characters are possibly breaking it up.
  • Spam Attack: Tomoyo's still kicking