Clannad: After Story

Disclaimer 1: Please excuse some colorful language that may or may not have found its way into this review.

Disclaimer 2: This review is NOT free of spoilers, so read at your own risk.

CLANNAD: Afterstory Review

Pros:

... -The animation is still great. Yeah.

-Extra focus on characterization. For some people. For the rest, it kind of sucks, but for Akio, Sanae, Yoshino, Tomoya and Nagisa it's great.

-More Tomoya! Afterstory builds up on Tomoya's development from the first season and kicks it into overdrive. We see him struggle to grow up, enter society, become a man, care for his family, etc etc. His character progression is solid and moves at a good pace. By the end he looks and acts like an adult(except when he kind of kills his kid, but yeah), albeit a unique one forged by his circumstances. He and his journey are the main reason the story holds up as well it does.

-Nagisa is a person! Not really, but kinda. Over the sacrifices of literally ALL of the supporting cast excluding her parents, Nagisa is given some actual characterization and even, dare I say it, growth. Even her death, perhaps meant to be nothing more than a tearjerker, was an important milestone in Tomoya's development. It's a shame and yet not that she died. On one hand, she was just beginning to feel like a real person. On the other, the show should not have waited until episode 16 of the second season to give their female lead a personality.

-Ignore stuff, it helps. I have found that I cannot remember much before episode 9 or so. That's fine, because what I do remember of them isn't amazing. They weren't bad (except the whole cat/boy thing, WTF) but they didn't really add much as the show was picking up speed.

Similarly, I found that my view of the show rose by several orders of magnitude if I ignored the last couple episodes. I will talk about those in the cons section, but the point is that if the show ended on episode 21-22, it would be fucking amazing.

-Tomoya(again). Continuing from the previous point, I like to think that the show ended on episode 21-22 because it is by that point that Tomoya has gone full circle, he has grown beyond a teenager, beyond a boy struggling to be a man, has grown past most of his grief, and is ready to live his life for his daughter despite his major fuck-up earlier. That right there, was a perfect moment to end it. The show's focus on the importance of family would have been perfectly encapsulated.

But of course, more tearjerkers were needed so Ushio dies in what has to be the most retarded and forced way in history but waaaaait it doesn't matter because magical power of happiness double time travel happens. Yay for finales.

So yeah, ignoring the last episode actually makes me think that the show ended on a great way that surprised me a lot, and managed to pass on a real world message through an entertaining medium and likable characters.

-Akio is awesome. Well, he is.

Cons:

-Disappearance of the supporting cast. I get what Afterstory was going for. The focus on Nagisa and Tomoya's family was actually pretty good, all things considered, but all other characters that were in every episode of CLANNAD literally dissapeared and are seen maybe twice (if at all) throughout all of Afterstory. Sunohara's absence was especially jarring, considering he was (supposed to be) Okazaki's best friend.

-The first 8-9 episodes. As I said earlier, they weren't bad, they felt really separate from the rest of the show, and not in a good way. Oh, that reminds me:

-The cat-boy bestiality case. Seriously. Misae is hot and if I were a cat turned into a boy I'd wanna bang her too but what the actual f-.

Which leads me to:
-The supernatural elements/other world storyline. F- this. F- this sideways with a rusty spoon. Whoever decided it was a good idea to add the supernatural stuff and then give exactly fuckall explanation for them, just so he could undo two seasons' worth of character development should go eat a pile of dog shit and then apologize to every single CLANNAD fan in existence, personally.
The supernatural elements were stupid as f-, the other world storyline was boring and it was time/money that could have been invested better, and the final episode fucking ruins fucking everything by undoing anything of note that ever happened, BUT ONLY THE SAD STUFF, so that the perfect happy ending can be achieved in a show that was poised to show that even though life and reality are both bitches, happiness can be achieved if you try your best for the people closest to you.

All the better, then, that the last episode doesn't exist for me. Boy, I'd be mad as balls if it did.

-The copout regarding Tomoya's dad. Now, I'll admit that I kinda sorta liked the resolution of Tomoya and his dad seeing eye to eye and his dad finally returning home as a bent but not completely broken man, but I didn't like how it came to be.
It was one convenient thing after another, in a series of forced coincidences that only make me roll my eyes.

Moreover, it felt like a total waste of the subtle tension that the first season had created. It felt like the first season wove a silk thread, and then the second season came and beat it to death with a hammer, yelling all the while "IT'S FINE BECAUSE HE DID IT ALL FOR YOU AND YOU'RE THE SAME SO YOU SHOULD GET IT, RIGHT? RIGHT?!? I CAN'T HEAR OVER HOW NOTHING IN THE PAST MATTERS, SPEAK UP."

It's all incredibly convenient and in such a way as to dissolve the rift in the least confrontational way possible. Which can work, I suppose, but it's an incredible waste.

Having said that, I will have to disagree with people on this site (and the show itself) who think that Tomoya and his dad are the same. True, both are understandable in their actions considering the loves of their lives died, and I don't think you people are giving enough credit to the pits of despair such a sudden loss can lead some people to.

Still, Tomoya gave Ushio to Akio and Sanae for five years. While a terrible thing to do as a father, it was actually the better choice. Akio and Sanae are both model, loving parents who did a great job raising Ushio for her first 5 years, much better than a grief stricken Tomoya would have done. Tomoya's father tried to do it, he tried his best to go at it alone, and he failed. Even unconsciously, Tomoya took the best possible decision in those circumstances.

Btw, while I can buy the reconciliation once Tomoya knows what his father went through, I can't quite buy him thinking that Okazaki senior was a great father. We're seeing flashes of him being a great father through Tomoya's memories from when he was little but CLANNAD and Afterstory have no such examples, and in fact it is heavily implied that this has been the case for years.

So no, I'm not quite sold there. It was a very dissapointing copout.

-I think there were more, but I can't remember them right now.

Verdict:

My rating depends on what I choose to do with the final episode.
If I ignore it, it is a successful tale of a boy growing into a man that showcases the importance of family and learning to look at the positives in one's life. Yes it could have been better and it did several things wrong, but in the end Tomoya's journey is too well-crafted to be dragged down, and the supporting cast of Afterstory are all solid. Well worth an 8/10 rating.

If I don't ignore the final episode, it is all of the above, only smashed into pieces and then pissed upon for the sake of a classic happy ending whose avoidance was exactly the reason the show was any good through the use of unexplained, retarded plot devices.
In which case, not even Tomoya's journey could save the rating since it is basically invalidated (IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU LEARN IN LIFE, KIDS. ALL SAD THINGS GO AWAY THROUGH HAPPINESS LIGHT MAGIC TIME TRAVEL). In which case, a 5/10 would be generous.
For the sake of rating, I will just give it a 6.


tl;dr: CLANNAD/CLANNAD Afterstory are well worth a watch, though far, far from perfect.

Clannad After Story is a beautiful story about the continuing and blossoming relationship of two of the main characters from the first season of Clannad, Tomoya and Nagisa.

The plot is a bit more mature and serious, as most of the story does not take place in high school anymore, but instead revolves around first, some of the problems of those still close to Nagisa and Tomoya while still in school, but from there the story shifts into mostly just Nagisa and Tomoya. Yet again, the story takes a more serious turn as it goes on about Tomoya's strained relationship with his father, Nagisa's failing ... health and her need to stay out of school for long periods of time, Tomoya out and working and living on his own and their relationship together, as it moves beyond boyfriend and girlfriend and goes into them creating their own home and family together.

Clannad After Story touches on many serious matters such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, pregnancy, abortion, death, neglect, depression, parenting and much more, so be prepared to fall in love all over again and have your emotions run wild.

So far I love the story, but it is not over, so it might get changed to a 10 once the ending has completed.

there comes a time in every anime fan's life where they say to themselves

"oh shit is that piss? IS THAT PISS?"

No wait wrong situation, oh there comes a time in every anime fan's life where they find that 1 show that they know is better than the rest. They know it's the best they ever seen and that nothing will top it. I'm talking about the day where they find the best show they'v ever seen. To me that moment occurred after i finished watching clannad after story last year,

And you know what I've watched a large amount of shows almost all of them ... great since then, and still none of them have come close to topping this show.

Now first thing you should know is that this show is a sequel to a great not perfect but great show called clannad (duuuuuuurrrr) and the only thing people may be dissapointed about this sequel is that almost all the characters are pretty much absent in after story, they will be there in the start but the story focuses on tomoya and nagisa's lifes after school ends and goes as far in time for more than a decade

The serise(not to sound cliche and full of myself) the show is legitimately inspirational, after watching this show i find it much less than a coincidence that i started to work harder and enjoy life more.

The show really shows the hardships tomoya endures due to him being a flunk at school and you see how that affects him as his life goes on but you also see how he pushes through it thanks to the help of nagisa and how they as a couple push through for better or for worse. It's really handled beautifully, The characters of tomoya and nagisa are some of the best characters out here, not only are they likable and relate-able but you don't have a hard time believing there's people out there like them, they aren't perfect people either, like all humans they have flaws to them.

For a show that really gets drama down perfectly the show can also be very funny and even kinda crazy at times, mainly between the relationship between akio-san and tomoya, when they are both onscreen at once you can expect things to get funny but the bets part is that the relationship is more than comedy. Their relationship really builds and they do seem like father and son as things become much more bleaker as the series goes on(without spoiling it, 3/3 part of the show GET TISSUES)

now i've talked about all the things that make the 2nd and 3rd part of this show so amazing but the 1st part also is handled very nicely, its still in school from the first season and they end up at least giving a episode to each character and you learn that these side charecters really have stories to tell. You see exactly why sunahora and tomoya were friends and stuff like that, none of them have any big twists like the first season did but they are handled very well and these characters which you may have not cared to much for turn out to be extremely likable characters

So if your still reading this show you should be able to tell by now, I LOVE THIS SHOW, everyone needs to see it, You didn't like the 1st season? Watch it, don't like moe? still watch this. This is a show you need to see. Saying i highly recommend this is a understatement. I'm not ordering you, i'm begging you to go watch this cause everyone should feel the same feeling i got while watching this show. I feel bad when i see someone who hasn't given this show a try, regardless of how meh the show seems initially don't pass this up. This show is one of a kind. As i stated before i BEG you to watch it

There are some animes that uplift us, and constantly make us laugh and smile each and every episode. There are animes that sadden us, show us a world where some people tried their best but didn't quite have the ability to make their dreams come true.

Then there is Clannad After Story, which seams together these two extremely emotional qualities flawlessly and presents us with something truly unique and amazing. It is a very real story, beautiful in its simplicity yet powerful with its bold emotions. It will send chills down your spine in the way it is able to show the biggest wonders within the ... smallest events. Clannad After Story is truly a treat, one that you will never forget.

STORY: 10/10

I do not want to spoil a moment of this compelling story for you, but essentially this is the story of the beginnings and life of a family. So simple, yet the slow and emotional way in which it is presented is truly amazing to watch. The characters and music combine with the story and make its presentation even more astounding and emotional.


ART: 10/10

I absolutely love this art style. The animators will take their time to highlight specific things in a scene, perhaps the wind carrying sakura petals or the gaze of a robot lost in a desolate world. I am big on eye styles if you know me well, and Clannad does not fail to deliver. The eyes are unique and refreshing, yet they completely work for the characters.
I will say that the Clannad team does tend to "recycle" their clips a lot, and they re-use many scenes that have already been used. It was never a problem for me however, and I never seemed to notice during each episode. Each clip of animation has a visible amount of dedication put into it, and it pays off.


SOUND: 10/10

I would say this is where Clannad truly shines, but to be honest, it shines everywhere, and the soundtrack is no exception. Honestly, this is one of the most amazing anime soundtracks I have ever heard. Shinji Orito and gang have created a moving soundtrack to match the emotions of the anime perfectly. Without these songs, the anime would only be half as good as I believe it is. I urge you to listen to the songs carefully and let yourself be absorbed into the emotions of the anime, and listening to these songs later will immediately bring to mind these emotions that our characters were feeling at the time. Fabulous, fabulous job to the music team.


CHARACTER: 10/10

Another 10, yes, but I am sure you will agree with me on this one. There is Tomoya, the main character, who changes dramatically over the course of After Story. There is Nagisa, Tomoya's wife, who is kind, gentle, and sometimes a bit incapable of handling things herself. There is Kyou (yay Kyou fanboy here), the aggresive tsundere of the group who is outgoing, kind, and well... intolerable of stupidity. There is Tomoyo, very similar to Kyou but with ambitions and a steady path she sees for herself.
These and many other characters make this story a must-see. There is a character for everyone to love and be attached to; in fact I find myself loving every single character. (Except Fuuko, who I must add, was put in this anime a bit too much.) Overall, amazing cast, and voice acting is also very solid.


ENJOYMENT/OVERALL: 10/10

I always hate to give a review all 10's, because it seriously looks like I'm a fanboy of Clannad. But thinking back on the series, it deserves nothing less. All the elements that make up an anime mesh perfectly for Clannad After Story, and it is truly a treat to watch. I enjoyed every second of this anime, and came close to crying (which I have never done watching an anime).
I knew then that Clannad After Story was something special, something that draws the emotion from everyone's hearts and connects you to the story in one way or another. This is something you cannot miss.

"Sanae told me where it was okay to cry. It was in the bathroom and in daddy's arms."

Both Clannad and Clannad: After Story are amazing animes (and if you haven't watched Clannad and are planning to watch After Story first, make a U turn and rethink that... seriously), however none is flawless. For this review, I'll present, in the first place, the positive aspects of each category and then proceed to present the negative ones.

Story: 9/10
Clannad:After Story proceeds with Clannad's story and does a wonderful job at that. What makes this story so good is that it's a slice of life tale of forgiveness ... and hope which deals with important matters such as the responsibility one gains while growing up, recovering from something and moving on, etc. The story doesn't move forward at a fast pace, dedicating the needed time to each scene and not rushing everything.
Now, for the negatives aspects, the first episodes/arcs presented can be seen as instruments to diminish the anime's consistency and quality, since they're not essential to the outcome. I personally liked them a lot, though, and think that they're good to clear your head before getting to the heavy stuff (but that might be just my love for Sunohara talking). Additionally, the overly dramatized situations and the fantasy part might lead to the loss of the sense of reality that the anime plans to achieve.

Art: 9/10
The art in this anime is amazing. It's easy to understand what each character is feeling based on their expressions and the way the colors and lights are manipulated in the surreal world is very impressive.
The only downside to the art is that the characters don't seem to get older physically.

Sound: 9/10
The voices of the characters match with their personality and are easily distinguished.
However, even though the opening theme is very versatile and helps setting the mood for every episode, the ending theme has the opposite effect.

Character : 8/10
The characters are very human, in other words, their personalities are compatible with the ones that the people we know have and it's easy to create a connection with them and like them.
The "Character" category is the one who has the lowest score because it sins in the development of Nagisa in contradiction to the development of Tomoya, which makes their relationship seem a bit immature. Even more, on the second half of the anime, the only secondary characters which are shown and which take any part in the action are Sanae and Akio, so if one of your favorite characters is from the "school gang", I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you won't be seeing them for a while.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I enjoyed watching this anime because it has a little bit of everything, it makes you think about your own future and makes you see people in a different way, which will make you try to understand their opinions and struggles.

Overall: 9/10
If you love slice of life animes and are ready to have some strong feelings for fictional characters, this is the anime for you!

Before you read this review, there are two things you should know.

1) It is only going to add fuel to the fire for those who don’t like Clannad: After Story and infuriate those who do. Read at your own risk.
2)This review isn’t telling you to not watch Clannad or After Story. On the contrary; if you have ever considered it, go watch it. Form your own opinion. This is mine.

Still here? Great.

Ill start off with what I did like about it, so that I don’t come across as a jerk right off the bat. Oh and dont worry; Im not going to tell you Clannad: ... After Story is only good or bad because it plays with peoples emotions. I think emotions are great and if an anime or any form of art makes you really feel something, thats a triumph in itself. I’m also warning you though, I’m not going to be talking about the art style/music/enjoyment stuff in detail. If you wanna know, all those aspects of the show are good (Ill go minutely in depth on the subject at the end). What I will be discussing are the overall cinematic and story telling aspects that stood out to me, for better or worse.

You'd think most anime producers never made it out of high school by the sheer plethora of Slice of Life's that deal with just plain high school semantics. Don’t get me wrong; I’m aware other SoLs exist and honestly high school is a great setting for characters, relationships, and relatablity to just about all of the anime community (over 13). What makes Clannad: After Story great is how it takes the step further. It goes beyond the confines of the above-ish average (Clannad review pending) high school SoL it starts as to the setting of adulthood, a league of its own, and I'll admit: Clannad: After Story knows what it does, and does it well. This is the main selling point of the series. Clannad: After Story creates a highly relatable tale by going, well, what most of us consider after the story, like that moment you wonder what the characters do once they save the world or share their first kiss, etc. And it does this without fluffing it up or getting too supernatural on us (NO BEACH SCENE included). I.e., it doesn’t forget what it is, and what it is is pretty compelling itself.

The other thing I liked was really a person: Tomoya Okazaki. I'm not trying to say I dig the pseudo bad boy gets good girl gig, but I mean to say I like Tomoya's development as a character. You can truly see, not by shape or body size, but by actions, Tomoya grow and change from a stereotypical ‘delinquent’ kid to a responsible adult. This makes sense. While his character isn’t particularly compelling or amazing, that's what makes him great. He's relatable. He is us, and we can get his problems and triumphs.

Alright, enough praise. Many now may be questioning what my problem with the series could be if I’m praising both the premise and the main character, both the very basics of practically any show. But the greatest aspects of Clannad: After Story are overshadowed by equally glaring flaws surrounding them. Ill be employing a three strikes rule.

Strike 1: Remember how I said Clannad: After Story knows what it is? Problem here is the fact that it takes about the first eight episodes for it to remember that. As in, the first eight episodes are just more Clannad, not really After Story material. As in plot doesnt necessarily progress until episode 10ish. The first eight episodes are just small side stories, the stuff Clannad was good at, and by themselves they are still cute and mildly touching, but in the grand scheme of Clannad: After Story, they didn’t fit. To be specific, there’s the equivalent of a character recap episode and then three two episode long arcs that concern Sunohara, the lady that kept up with the boys dorm, and that girl in the library who served tea separately (if you can’t tell I’m assuming you’ve seen Clannad. You should). I honestly couldn’t remember the other two's names unless I looked them up because they were just static characters before then, and yet now there have been five episodes devoted to them.

Admittedly, these sections aren’t bad, and they at least follow the Clannad code of giving every character a bit of backstory and- Oh wait. What about Kyou? Tomoyo? Ryou? The very girls in the intro? You're going to tell me your static characters get more priority than the actual heroines of your source material? Why? The first eight episodes do nothing to progress the Nagisa and Tomoya relationship the series is based around (except one section that explains some supernatural mumbo jumbo that wont be of importance until much later).

And this wouldn’t be a problem if it was just regular Clannad, but its supposed to be After Story. Then around episode 9 the series suddenly remembers its Clannad: After Story and not Clannad: More Useless Side Story, in which WHOO timeskip half a year or more! Boom- Graduation- all those characters they just spent 30 plus episodes developing GONE. The shift is so jarring youre almost left wondering if you’re watching the same show.

And all you’ve got now is Nagisa, her family, and Tomoya. Clannad: After Story begins.

Now Ill take a pause and say that some, maybe most, would say that this sudden transition from youth to adulthood is very realistic and is one of the greater strengths of After Story. I can’t exactly agree. I mean, there is no build up to the graduation, no foreshadowing the transition. There's just a sudden timeskip. My question is, why didn’t you just start after graduation? Imagine this:

As I’ve said, the first set of episodes feels like Clannad, and as I’m going to say (Clannad review pending), Clannad feels drawn out in the first arc and rushed through at the end. If you want a break down, the Fuka arc of Clannad was 9 episodes long, the Katomi's like 6, and a sort of dual Tomoyo and Nagisa arc carrying out the final 7 canon episodes. I say dual because while Nagisa's drama club attempt is directly related to Tomoyo, the focus is definitely heavily focused towards one or the other. So 9, 6, 3, 4, and then a string of 2s (episodes per arc). doesn’t that seem like they just tried to cram as much as possible in the longer they went on?

Now lets say instead the Fuka arc was made a little shorter, and all those extra episodes at the end were thrown away, and the first eight of After Story were then tacked with Clannad instead (minus the introductory one and the total useless one about the gangs), and you'd have a nice 26 episode series, and then a 13 episode After Story series that had all its shit together (dont be fooled by the length. After Story ends on episode 22 here too.) THAT would be a fabulous transition. Or just SCREW all that static character crap and focus on what the VN was about; the heroines. Its like if the entire first act of Romeo and Juliet was about all extras for the party, and then Romeo and Juliet just ditching the place in the very next scene, never to return. All in all, the execution was poor planning and poor production.

The rest of my problems can be summed up with one word.

Strike Two: Nagisa.

Seriously. Screw her. I laugh at the thought that I was ever supposed to cry over her. Okay, okay, hold on, dont leave. In Clannad terms, she's really not that bad. I mean the first season. As a high school girl, it makes sense for her to be innocent, naive, immature, and generally all things moe. Problems arise when, following graduation, she doesn’t change. She fails to grow out of her moe bullshit. While Tomoya gains some sense of responsibility, Nagisa manages to still sound like a small child that might get lost if you leave her alone too long. She doesn’t grow up. She doesn’t develop. She remains totally unrelatable. So whenever something happens in which I’m obviously supposed to blinded by tears, I’m honestly feeling boredom. While the first few episodes at least managed to make me care just a bit about characters who barely had more than five lines the first time around, the mid arc doesn’t even bring a twinge out of someone I’m supposed to care deeply about by now (I guess...). Instead, I found myself more often than not listlessly waiting for characters to just quit monologuing. Seriously, I can’t stress how useless Nagisa is. Its like her entire character is meant to never grow up, show cased by her repeating school multiple times. Maybe its just her stupid moe voice, but everything she said following getting together with Tomoya sounds equivalent to a grade schooler, not a supposedly grown woman. Case in point: "Tomoya and I have sex and sex makes babies!" And while this sounds cute, remember, this is supposed to be the SoL all about 'adulthood' and 'the real world'. I wouldn’t trust this girl with a potted plant, much less a baby. Her moe quits working its charm when she’s not sheltered in the high school atmosphere anymore. That’s a realistic statement, my friend.

Why couldn’t they have followed some normal girl, like... okay, none of the other characters are really relatable. The girls are either dependent on moe or ultra-violent, and every man besides Tomoya is a ditz. Every single one stays in the cardboard cutout of a personality except maybe Kyou who tones down the crazy near the end, but its not like they take the time to develop her or anything. She’s just in every intro. (no getting over that) They’re all so glued to their stereotypes, And take pride in it! One episode there is a mock graduation ceremony for Nagisa in which everyone returns and looks exactly the same as from the beginning of the Clannad. And then one final get together in which Sunohara has the audacity to say “I’m just so glad to see that nobody has changed.”

To which I proceeded to beat my head against a wall than watch more of this show.

Lets get something straight. People are meant to change, especially when you grow up. If you’re acting the same as a thirty year old as you were a thirteen year old, you’re doing something wrong. And while I’m not expecting a total transformation on Nagisa’s part, I would at least like so see something of the equivalent of Tomoya or at least WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP HUGGING YOUR STUPID DANGO DOLLS. Look, if you like stuffed animals at twenty, great, but symbolically in this show, its just another check on the not growing up side of things. I mean, Tomoya grows up, so why not anybody else?

Whatever.

Strike Three: The Happy Ending.

Look. I have nothing against happy endings (Im thinking Steins; Gate). I simply have a problem with endings/resolutions that dues ex machia their way out of a bad/sad ending(Im thinking the first arc of Sword Art Online. Ya know, the Sword Art Online one?). And I loathe endings that attempt to explain their dues ex machia ending. Shows like Steins; Gate get around this loathing because it was built up from the very beginning and succeeds in explanation. You could argue further that Clannad planned it very the very beginning as well, but there was little success in said explanation. It was kinda like ‘Oh but don’t worry everything works out just because yay!’. Yes, his repairing his relationship with his dad was well played on their part, and had been a theme since the beginning. But was it really necessary to tack the supernatural wish stuff with it? What was that whole business with the other world? Did it really matter? Was the happy ending really necessary? Maybe I’m fighting with the source material here again, but damnit producers, make a choice! Clannad, the show that was 95% realism pulls a supernatural ending out of its hat that just destroys what the show was heading to be about, which was perseverance. Or maybe its saying that if you try hard enough everything will work out, but again, not everything is just going to fix itself.

So the ending single handedly cuts down any sense of reality you got from the show. I would have been content, even happy, with it just ending like episode 19 or 20, and it would have felt resolved. Then Id have to find something else to bitch about, or maybe then I would’ve liked it enough to not fuss this much. But no, they had to push the feels to the farthest level so that Clannad goes down as being the most emotionally damaging show ever and then making a full 180 to singlehandedly win back all those people who would have otherwise cursed the shows very existence, because God forbid anything but a perfectly happy ending. Admittedly some not so happy endings suck (Im thinking of Gurren Lagann), but that’s just because they forget the theme of the show in the last minute, or maybe screw it up just to insure the bittersweet ending because I honestly don’t know. Endings are just straight up hard I guess.

And what was with the last ten minutes of just filler in episode 22? Okay, sorry, I’m done.

Endnotes:
Art: Consistently beautiful and a plethora of well-made characters, I can’t bash on the art. It was easy on the eyes. 9/10

Sound: While not a ton of tracks stood out in particular, there were a couple like what I’d call the ‘Feels Track’ that they play whenever shit gets real that are memorable. The dub, on the other hand, feels really spot on. 5/10

Story: If I were to give a score on a per episode basis of when I cared, it’d be about a 10/25. Sooo… 4/10? Look, After Story part is a 8/10, and if the other stuff was Clannad, itd be a 8/10 too actually, but side by side, it’s a bad juxtaposition.

Characters- 2/10. Tomoya is that two. Well him and Ushio. They carry the day. (But I do have moderate affection for Akio).

Enjoyment- 5/10. I didn’t fall in love with it or anything, and I did put it down for a while. That entire mid arc had be pulling nails out, but the end arc was enjoyable enough to redeem it, and the beginning, good. It’s a good show.

Overall: 4/10
By MAL standards, Id rate this as Bad (or Decent/Poor). Not because its actually bad to the point of unwatchable, and it feels like it should be above average, but honestly the parts as a whole feel like a broken system, like that sad little robot in the world that’s coming to an end. It works and can move on its own and has heart, but I can only think of small sections of which I actually enjoyed watching and understood its relevance.

With that, Id love someone to come and fight me now. Preferably bleached hair. I gotta work on my Tomoya cosplay.

Love, Family and Sorrow.
Clannad [After Story], shows that everything comes to an end; I know that all things will come to an end, normally they would. But Clannad [After Story], shows it upon a persons certain point of view. Or what he thought of these “end” and “endings”.

Clannad [After Story] was the one who changed my whole viewing about Drama and Slice of Life genre anime. Clannad changed me for a while there while I was watching it. I didn′t even held a tear while the most saddest parts were playing right before my very eyes. After Story had a huge changes from the first ... season, but the story is still revolving around Okazaki Tomoya, who always thought that nothing would and could never change, until a certain girl entered through his path - Furukawa Nagisa, whom Tomoya confessed his loved to in the final episode of the first season. It′s not like some other anime, which when the guy confesses and the girl accepted, it′ll just end there -- no. After Story continues from where it left off; continuing the path where Okazaki Tomoya is walking at.

They then had a relationship, where the both of them vowed that they will, no matter what, share every sorrow and happiness each one have. That both of them would help each other. After Story can actually be seated beside a real life; After Story is not some mediocre story, After Story shows us how life can be full of happiness, how having a family feels, how sad and full of grief life can be. After Story can teach you a one or two, life is not that easy, and that doing nothing would do you any good.

People who haven′t watched After Story might think that, this last season would be exactly the same as the first season. No, they aren′t the same. Yes, I agree that the characters are still the same, but as soon as the story of After Story in the beginning part whereas it only centered around Okazaki Tomoya, his friends, who were special to him, also changed and had their own path which they walk through while Tomoya′s path is still growing.

- The plot of After Story, is hugely different from the prequel, whereas the story runs along with Tomoya′s companions and acquaintances. After Story had it′s plot viewing only around Okazaki Tomoya, from him, being just a highschool student at first, and now he is a man who works for his family, who shreds blood and sweat.
Every now and then, After Story′s plot is still one of the best that one can ever line up with. Changing ones point of view in life, how many changes can happen, how many tears might fall down on your cheeks without you, noticing it.

After Story had a huge impact at me, the prequel, who had some comedy and funny scenes, changed to full drama in After Story. Where I wasn′t able to hold back my tears on the sad parts; though After Story had a little bonding moment, to change the atmosphere a bit, but then again, changed to a tear-jerking one.

At first, After Story′s part give′s you a light and normal feeling; how former friends can reunite, have fun, and think of the good old times. Think of it as like a trailer, because when you′ve watched the full storyline, prepare your tissues and try to hold back your tears. After Story emphasizes many standards of life. Also showing us some things that aren′t meant to be.

After Story teaches us a lot of things of what you might stumble upon at when you grow up. It teaches us how having a family can be fun, how having someone to help you, or you can rely on can be like. It′s not all about smiles and happiness. Every now and then, you need to have some waterfall dashing out from your eyes. Grief and sorrow, are the things that Tomoya changed his life, again, after the one dearest to him, was taken. Tomoya didn′t know what to do, or how is life is going to be after all what happened.

People who had lost their dearest to them, must not let sadness take you with them, even if someone was taken from you, stand up and be strong. No matter how hurtful the things were that was given and bestowed upon you, always think of the good things that might come once again. After Story, on the other hand, had an alternate and one you can call, a true ending. (It′ll be much of a spoiler to post it here.) But that might only happen, if the person really can′t take living by himself, or God might even wake you up from your nightmare. Tomoya had a dream, where she first met Nagisa, but, it was an alternate one, daresay. She kept calling out Nagisa′s name. And that′s when she knew, how important she was to him.

Many people has their own point of view in After Story, smile, happiness, sadness, grief, and love. That′s what all the things you′ll be stumbling upon while reminiscing through After Story.

Who knows? It might be just a dream, and you might soon wake up from it.

After Story shows deep emotions and strong points all through out the series. Don′t think that nothing would change, everything and everyone undergoes changes. And experiences something they didn′t imagine to happen to them.

~ Will add more later;

WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS NOT FRIENDLY. IT'S LONG, DETAILED AND NOT FOR AVERAGE VIEWERS OR BEGINNER ENTHUSIASTS.

But don't worry, no bashing and all my critiques are not biased.

Reason why I give Clannad AS a 9.

It deserves it and I'm magnanimous to all the series that impresses me. I may even be horribly biased against shoujo and school animes generally due to their lack of creativity but I must admit that Clannad AS has broken those genre's ingrained weaknesses and made me utter a big “finally!”

The line that summarizes everything: It gets better.

Clannad AS is a major leap not just from its prequel but drastic ... improvement is evident in the story's progression. “Finally,” it has:

1.Achieved a decent amount of realism.
2.Fixed all its weaknesses.
3.Portrayed an unconventional story in optimum aesthetics

Firstly, when I remember the first season of Clannad I am reminded of the repetitive plots and endless cycles of crying and encouragement. It was pretty weak and it significantly lowered my expectation for its sequel. However, watching After Story made me swallow skepticism and squeezed a few drops of tears from me.

The start of the series is pretty much the same as the composition its prequel. Nothing can be said much except that scenes are dealt with more cinematic effects and the history of many characters are finally tackled. There is enough depth overall, but its distributed unevenly among those little arcs. Satisfying, bittersweet at some points, the start can be described as an “improved first season,” no notable changes nor twists or thoughts to be pondered over.

However, halfway the series, it's gets really better. The change of direction in the story is very inviting for fresh possibilities. Besides delivering the potentials the plot shift has given, it actually brought out the potentials that wasn't touched by the first season and the earlier parts. Clannad AS finally stepped out its shell and show that it can impact people despite its simple story: It touched family, narrated life in a very artistic way and impacted viewers with thoughts and concepts our world, or other worlds may have.

In tapping its potential, Clannad AS used improved everything it can work on. First is its art and music. Art has been consistent all throughout the series and the best quality a series of this time can have, I can say that it has the best facial expressions I have seen in anime so far. It's way of showing how eyes water, lips pout or how character say what they feel is detailed, down to earth enough to be appropriate for the overall mood of the series, but powerful and provoking visually.

The same couldn't be said about music, the earlier part is full of the recycled music that is predictable with certain scenes that come, but the later part give better background music that we've never heard before in the series. And did I already mention that the opening song is one of the best I have seen? It's a shame to dismiss such a wonderful song. The ending is good as well, jolly and befitting the immediate mood of the story, though it may be a bit inappropriate for some story parts later on.

Aside from wonderful presentation, the theme of family, barely tackled well initially, is expanded and handled very well by Tomoya's character developent. It's surprising to see the central character learn, mature and change from the way things started. School life is over, the city is changing, everybody's changing and things cannot be always what they are. Life can be both fantastic harsh. Tomoyo's development is remarkable and a bit unconventional considering that a main character with his kind of role has barely or has never been tackled before.

His relationship with Nagisa, in which the series focuses after a long start, turns out to be one of the best handled in anime. No over the top lines, natural conversations and not focused on romantic or sexual themes. It was refreshing to see a form of love that friendly and at the same time appealing to general viewers yet retains a decent amount of depth. Simple gestures, from holding hands to smiles express enough message to be understood and felt. It's unconventional indeed from the usual stories of suffering together, staying together or breaking up, but not far away, understandable and fitting to a tale of life's dramas.

Also, probably one of the best assets of Clannad AS, unseen in the majority of animes where they are badly needed is the absence of unnecessary objectification; In layman's term, fanservice. The total lack of fanservice solidifies its family theme and makes the viewers see love as genuine as ever. It preserves the very captivating and emotionally stirring visuals, also, breaking the perceived image of moe animation as full of loli fanservice.

I think what make Clannad AS powerful is that it has shown the usual themes of life, family and maturity in a very down to earth way yet dealt with some unusual metaphors and concepts. I am given a lighthearted way of viewing the Clannad universe with fantasy and philosophical understones. Beautiful and evoking, simple but with impact. Excellent, excellent work of its genre, probably one of the best animes of its kind.

Reason why it doesn't deserve a perfect score:

Or why it may even receive drastically lower ratings from critics and biased reviewers- Nagisa Furukawa's character, predictability of overreaction and the amount of realism it has. I'll elaborate Clannad AS' weaknesses from the major to the minor.

In fiction jargon Nagisa is a borderline Mary Sue, a little more and she'll fall off the cliff as a flat character. Good thing she didn't for she wasn't dragging everyone down with her like that of the first season and the series was relatively excellent to save her. Her development, necessary for her role, is significantly mediocre compared to Tomoya's. She clearly successful of being adorable, but sick girl archetypes need more backbone; she gets all the good treatment from her family and friends so it's hard to sympathize with her. There isn't much strength in her because all she does is do things in a right way, in a manner that's more favorable to her aesthetics than to the overall drama of the series itself. To shorten the long story; she doesn't receive any improvement at all. Sure, she's as “cute” as ever, but she doesn't get better.

The second reason, probably differs greatly from each's standard, is overreaction. It's pretty plain predictable when the character would break down in tears and cry; that's not really bad and very natural especially if it's in its real tearjerker situations. The problem is when you're irked to its context that every character cries the same way in pretty minor grievances. Clannad is a mild drama*, and the predictable overreaction diminishes the dramatic effect some of its scenes badly need. But again, as the review's tagline says; It gets better, very much.

Lastly, though very very minor, Clannad universe remains unchanged. Clannad universe is a world where the majority of characters act either cute or cool in shoujo standard, very idealized and arguably generic. It doesn't mean that the characters are flat and poor, it's just that it's the Clannad universe- a setting which many loves.


Final Words:

Though it has a share of flaws, Clannad After Story is an anime to be recommended to all viewers, from shounen fans to fellow critics. It deserves acknowledgment and appreciation in a fair perspective. ** I say it is a beautiful story, a good experience and a wonderful piece of work worth watching.

Thoughts to ponder about:
Is Clannad AS remarkable on its own or just because it is a big leap from its prequel?

Notes:

*In the review's personal spectrum, mild drama is anything that involves everyday life while heavy drama involves things like war, politics, murder or saving the world. And also, note being a dramatic series is not the same as being a drama series. Mild drama doesn't mean it's less deep than heavy drama. Dragon Ball and TTGL pretty dramatic, but hell not of drama series. Clannad AS is not dramatic, but instead, melodramatic in mood yet a drama series.

** A true critic should know the eyes of all kinds of viewers, not just that of oneself that prioritized one's own standard by favoring certain elements and dismissing what he/she doesn't like personally. A true critic(for me) knows that there are more good anime than bad ones, but can strongly defend the possibility that excellent ones are rarer than what the normal audience think.

I'll admit that "Clannad"/ "Clannad: After Story" was my first, and probably last venture into the anime "slice of life" genre. I know this genre can be done well, but given the esteem that it appears most viewers hold for Clannad I don't expect to find any better. My problem with this series is that it starts out asking you to suspend your disbelief and ends up asking you to just lower your standards.

What I mean by this is that is starts out with things like : a girl has a pet boar, comatose girl's spirit walks among the living, etc. which to me added ... to the flavor of the story. Then there are the improbable/ mundane scenarios peppered throughout the first series that we all tolerate, because we're invested in the characters; an example from the first series Kotomi being allowed to live on her own. But once all the supporting characters are gone/ all their individual sob stories are addressed or resolved and school is over what are we left with?

Tomoya's puritanical (and hence) underdeveloped relationship with his generic/ underdeveloped girlfriend. I managed, bordering on liked, the first season, because there were plenty of distractions from this, and it was high school so Tomoya and Nagisa's relationship, which wasn't as prevalent, came off as being unlikely instead of just flat out impossible, which is what happened/ ruined the after story.

What I can't understand is who would be offended by a- committed couple kissing, sharing a single bed (I mean this isn't the 1950's.) If you want to pretend that street gangs don't deal in illegal weapons and illicit substances and aren't morally reprehensible, fine. But crying in someone's arms isn't romance. The definition (in case you were wondering): a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love. Where was the mystery, where was the excitement? Love (according to the triangular theory of it) is composed of passion, intimacy, and commitment. There wasn't any passion, there wasn't any physical intimacy. So to recap this is a romance without romance, and a slice of life where young individuals experience no passions (physical or otherwise,) and display little to no desire for independence.

Now I'm not saying in order for the relationship to be believable or enjoyable the writers needed to be explicit, but in there efforts to whitewash a young couples relationship while conveying intimacy they substituted Nagisa's incessant crying for a conventional/ socially acceptable/ standardized forms of affection. This kind of thing layered atop hackneyed and melodramatic plot points like sports duels... it's too much, it's not funny or interesting. In the end nothing about this slice of life story was believable and so it stopped being enjoyable.

Above is my review for Clannad After Story episodes 1-15. By the last episode I was so disappointed/underwhelmed that I quit watching. A number of people on this site said to finish, because the story takes a dramatic turn and the quality picks up etc. so I finished, but because 16 to 22 are so different that the first 15 I felt it was more appropriate to address them separately. I'm not going to address 23-25 because they're extras.

Writing about 16-22 without spoilers is difficult; as I see it this second piece must be broken into three different stories (episode 16, 17-21, 23) trying to critique the writing without addressing the plot twists present in each component presented a unique challenge but I've tried not to give anything vital away.

The first part from a viewers perspective seemed obvious or inevitable. From the main character's perspective getting themselves into that situation so soon after Nagisa's previous ordeal, or falling into as it may have been (the writers didn't see fit to specify, not that I'd expect them to) was not impossibly reckless... just stupid beyond words.

In part 2 there is a time lapse of five years. Now, try as I might and I invite anyone whose seen it to as well imagine a scenario where after five years things would emerge as they did. There was no way, things would have either been infinitely worse, or have gotten better sooner. The reason five was the magic number was they need time for that character (you know the one) to develop, but sacrificing logic towards a paradigm shift within a series is just bad writing.

Finally part three: part three left me feeling off balanced. Compare the weight of the previous piece to the ending and you finish this series as if the ending didn't happen at all.

My final summation of the series: 1- 15, it was terrible. As for 16-22... I have a friend who once said that "anything set to the Benny Hill theme song is funny" (it is). In the same way the two big events that take place in the second half of the series are deeply moving, but they would have had that effect on anyone with any feelings at all regardless of context i.e. if they knew the characters, or the story were any good. Therefore, I say that those who defends this series based on the strength of 16-22 must have confused/ placed a cheap gimmick repeated twice in the span of six episodes (five really) over quality writing.

The continuation of Clannad just gets better. Everyone has now graduated, well all except Nagisa-chan because of her illness. The story now extends up to the next 10 years. And what can I say about this, I’ve never been touched so deeply by an Anime. It’s simply too touching. The whole situation is sad, and yet there’s something good about all of it. After watching it completely, I’d have no doubt saying that Clannad After Story is truly the best romantic anime series I’ve ever seen.

Storyline:
The story continues from where it left off. At the beginning there are a few more individual story arcs, of ... Youhei (The Protagonists Male friend), Misae (The Dorm Keeper) and Yukine (The girl from the reference library). All these arcs just keep up the brilliance that began from the start of the season. After then on, it’s pretty much about Tomoya and Nagisa. Throughout the Anime you’d feel for both of them, and Nagisa’s parents. I personally was touched and saddened by many events that occurred later on, while also being happy seeing them live out their lives. It has been executed very well, you’d feel for them. The whole story is simply heart-warming. I absolutely loved it.

Characterization:
All the list of characters THROUGHOUT the Clannad series are great in their own way. Clannad After Story continue with the story of Nagisa and Tomoyo and have added many elements to their character. It’s not all fairy tales here. It’s real, and it’s perfect. Both of their characters go through a lot in the Anime, and nowhere will you see any nonsensical drama or fakeness. In fact, their characters are what make you cry. A special mention also to Nagisa-chan’s parents, their roles play an important part in this series. Overall, great characterization, even though characters appear nothing different from ordinary.

Animation:
Animation is fairly well. The production house is the same as the ones who had made Canon and Air, and they have improved a lot. Air didn’t appear that good (as I mentioned in my review of it), but Clannad After Story was a good improvement. Characters appear nice, some are cute. Overall, it’s quite good. ^_^ Couldn’t find anything that I particularly disliked.

Music:
The opening of Clannad was great, and the opening of After Story is simply amazing. ^__^ I really loved it. Throughout the Anime, the background score has been pretty good to hear. Comparing it to the previous season, I found it better. :)

Concluding,
Anything above an 8.5 for me is great. Anything above 9 means epic. Just goes to show how good I feel the Anime to be. It’s definitely not worth missing out on. Yes it is kinda emotional, but its nothing like immature love crap you see in many Animes. Its way more serious, and it’s definitely better. Clannad After Story rocks \m/

What is this? Is this anything?

Clannad: After Story is the anime equivalent to watching a YouTube video titled something like “Sad animal videos to make you cry - Part 6”. Is what I’m watching “sad”? In the most basic sense, yes. Does it in any way rely upon a particular connection to the characters/animals involved? No. It relies upon a sense of sympathy/empathy that most people just instinctually have. Clannad: After Story is, to borrow a phrase, all fart and no shit.

To accuse a piece of fiction of being “emotionally manipulative” feels strange; most, if not all, art falls under this umbrella. Of course any ... given movie/show/book/song/whatever is attempting to instill within you a certain emotion. Whether or not it succeeds in that, however, has to do with subtlety, pacing, tactfulness, and a ton of other factors that a writer (and their team) should carefully consider and balance. At no point in my viewing experience did the writing in Clannad (either season) feel carefully considered or balanced in the slightest.

I found Clannad (S1) to be thoroughly uninteresting. It was essentially impossible for me to care about its boring world, one-dimensional characters, and contrived drama. Adding to that, the humor was about as funny as being told that I have terminal cancer and the supernatural elements were so awkwardly implemented that it led to more confusion about the rules of the world than suspended whimsy. Still, I persisted because the light at the end of the tunnel (After Story) was promised by hordes of anime fans to be complete and ethereal salvation. And I swear to God if I keep falling for this shit...

Clannad: After Story is better than Clannad (S1) in the sense that being kicked in the balls is less painful than having all your teeth pulled; both are still thoroughly unpleasant experiences, but at least one doesn’t leave you permanently disfigured. The worst fucking metaphor I’ve ever come up with aside, I will give After Story (AS from here on out) some credit for at least trying to be ABOUT something.

Sure, S1 was about Tomoya and Nagisa starting up the drama club and their relationship, but most of what actually transpired was just a bunch of dumbass kids awkwardly bumbling around. S1 was, essentially, a harem that was too scared to call itself such. AS tries to strengthen its focus and be more mature. Does it succeed? Relative to S1, yes it does. AS is more “mature” than its predecessor. It focuses on more serious subjects and has slightly more of an edge. In the wider world of fiction, however, it’s more like the difference in maturity between a 10 year-old and a 15 year-old. Nobody in their right mind would describe it as “mature” except for in relation to S1.

To illustrate my point, newlyweds Tomoya and Nagisa are shown to be borderline nervous to hold each other’s hands. In their own apartment. In front of nobody. The subject of them having sex is broached more as though they just figured out how to roll a condom onto a banana than that they’re both high school graduates living together alone.

When AS cuts that nonsense out and focuses unabashedly on Tomoya’s struggles with acclimating to his job and adult life in general, it really shines (at least in comparison to what S1 and the first half of AS were doing). As compelling as THAT is though, I’d still never really think to call Tomoya (or any of the other characters) anything close to compelling, interesting, or likable on their own. Or even together, actually.

Tomoya in S1 was almost unbearable for me. His only real character flaw was that he was a “delinquent”. As much as he slacked off academically, though, he still found the time to help a gaggle of girls out with all of their personal issues, offer his services and time selflessly to an insane degree, and act heroically in the face of any and all threats. Outside of Optimus Prime, Captain America, and maybe Goku, the whole “my only flaw is my devotion to others and unfettered heroism” is a super boring and often times annoying archetype to me. Being “too good” is not compelling or relatable 9/10 times. Fortunately, AS does go out of its way to shit all over Tomoya and knock him down a few pegs and, as a result, the situations he finds himself in become more interesting.

The same can not be said for the rest of the characters, who remain thoroughly whelming in every facet. Am I honestly supposed to care about Nagisa? Why? Her personality is just so aggressively nothing. She’s earnest, shy, naïve, and just so moe, but whatever. Outside of S1 stuff related to the drama club, she doesn’t want anything or have any ambition. That’s actually one of my biggest issues with AS as a whole; nobody wants anything aside from stuff they’re given or already have.

What does Tomoya want? To be with Nagisa, of course. Okay, well he already has her, so what else is there? He wants to keep her, obviously. But Nagisa seems almost incapable of independent thought, so I don’t think her leaving him of her own accord is a situation to be fearful of. What does he want outside of the relationship? To just work wherever and be wherever? How interesting. Certainly I wouldn’t fault anybody in real life for being this way, but characters in fiction kind of have an obligation to be interesting to watch. The ones featured in Clannad seldom are. They neither come from the dirt and aspire to normalcy or start at normalcy and aspire to greatness. They start at normalcy and just kind of stay there.

This all comes to a head when a certain *thing* happens. I won’t spoil it, but if you even halfway pay attention to the OP it should be obvious (genuinely, even as someone who went spoiler-free the whole way through, I called it immediately). This *thing* changes the trajectory of Tomoya’s life until it doesn’t but I’ll get to that. Point is, this *thing* could have been easily avoided if these empty-headed idiots heeded even the most basic of warnings they had been given. That’s the impression I got, anyway.

I understand the themes of “the importance of family” and “the value of overcoming adversity and finding something to live for” as trite as they are, but would they not be more impactful if the characters actually, y’know, fought for something? They mostly just roll with the punches in a terribly blasé way. It’s just a series of things happening to them and them reacting in either a supremely uninteresting or insanely saccharine manner.

The *thing* I mentioned eventually gets reversed and, with it, the themes collapse in on themselves spectacularly. It would be one thing if it felt like something we’d been working towards for the duration of the show, and ostensibly there are, like, barely hints that *something* will happen, but it’s not really enough. The *thing* doesn’t get reversed because the characters work towards it, though, it just... happens. It might as well have been a dream. Sure, it dictates how Tomoya approaches life, but it’s not all that different from how he would’ve without the *thing* happening in the first place. There’s no sacrifice and there’s not even any real compromise – things just suck to make you cry and then they don’t because the showrunners wanted to hit a certain tone.

This next metaphor probably only serves to showcase how terminally online I am, but here goes... Y’all know the “Chad” meme? Of course you do, but do you also know the one where it’s the male and female “Chads” and it’s really pushing “traditional living” and stereotypical gender roles? The dude says something like “My only purpose is to provide for my wife and child” and the wife says “And my only purpose is to take care of the house and children while you’re out providing” or whatever? That’s all Tomoya and Nagisa feel like at the end of the day. That’s all it feels like Clannad has to say and it does it with a hilarious amount of earnestness and an equally hilarious lack of self-awareness.

I don’t know, I just cannot fathom how this is the 16th highest rated anime on this site. That’s higher than anything Ghibli, Your Name., Cowboy Bebop, anything Evangelion, Wolf Children, anything Satoshi Kon ever made, etc. It’s astounding.

But it looks nice I guess, and the music’s nice. Whatever. Nagisa and most of the female characters look more like what I’d find under a rock in my yard than any human being, but whatever. Most anime characters look like cats, so why not have them look like praying mantises?

Certainly not the worst show I’ve ever seen, but it’s just utterly unsurprising and unchallenging. Not that something being “challenging” is synonymous with quality, but when the characters are this flat, the drama is this poorly plotted, the story is this obvious (aside from the ridonkulous ending), and the emotions I’m intended to feel are this plain and unsubstantiated... Eh? I’m not a particularly unemotional guy (I’ve cried like a bitch at stuff like Anohana and Wolf Children) so when you’re showing me an “emotional” moment and I’m either laughing my ass off or my face resembles Squidward’s house, you’ve done fucked up.

Scores:
Art (7/10)
Music (6/10)
Characters (3/10)
Story (2/10)
Objective (4/10)
Subjective (4/10)

If nothing else, Clannad is proof that you can accomplish your wildest dreams. If somebody’s still paying Jun Maeda to write garbage, then by golly, the sky’s the limit for us.

Get the Kleenex ready! You're gonna need it.

After Story is by no means like the first season. It becomes a story of tragedy, regret, ill-fated love; something that will turn the casual, "feel-good," anime watcher completely off to After Story. I consider myself one of those people. I like the Itazura na Kiss type of ending and progression; I like a story that rarely has any heart-wrenching moments. Sure, there can be troubles along the way, but I don't want it to detract from the overall, feel-good feeling that comes from watching those types of animes.
But then, you get After Story. I had ... a hard time clicking play on a few episodes in the later portions of the anime. This anime was hard to watch. You're going to want to stop, you're going to question yourself as to why you continue to click play even though your mind and emotions are screaming: "No more!"
You click because you want a resolution. You want a solution to this world, this town, that's seemingly unsolvable. You want Tomoya and Nagisa to be happy, healthy, and thriving. And there are times when it is impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel, if not for the tiniest pinprick, dimly shining thousands of feet away. You want to challenge the show: "Bring on the destruction of lives, the torment, and the death; I can take it." You won't be able to.
You won't be able to for one simple fact: you love these characters. Allowed into their lives and have been transported to their world. You're there for every tear, memory, and moment. If, by this point, you aren't attached to the characters, herein lies the justification for numbness and naivety you might procure towards characters' instances down the road. But, I beg of you: please understand them. If you do, this show will be among the deepest you will ever watch.

This is almost perfect. However, I cannot overlook the fact that show changed identities too drastically. The sorrowful moments are brought upon you so quickly and so painfully, it's heart-wrenching to witness. I, myself, at some points didn't find this to be entertainment, but excruciating.

This show has earned the right to stand alone in the upper-echelon of romance animes. Still, though, it comes down to personal preference - "beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder" one very wise person once said, and to me, After Story was extremely beautiful in every provided category. But, everyone who watches this anime will come together to watch something each with different perspectives of the world. Some might come having lost a family member, others may come to it after marriage. Some may come to it from a world of "crying displays weakness" and they choose not to cry because it's who they are. Some might come to this and have been told it's okay, it's right to weep whenever you feel like weeping, and so they weep.

This show was the first piece of entertainment that has ever made me cry. I did not expect that the first thing would be anime. I don't feel like I'm a lesser person because of it, oh no. I feel that I chose to cry because I thought it was something that had a profound effect on my mind and heart. If you choose to laugh, sob, or remain devoid of emotion, After Story will get at you somehow, whether you like it or not.
9/10.

Clannad ~After Story~ is the fourth anime produced by the Key/KyoAni tag team that by now everyone is very familiar with. It is also the first direct sequel of a Key/KyoAni anime, continuing the story after the events of Clannad.

Story: The story of Clannad ~After Story~ is really one of the strong points of the show. Most high school romance animes always end in the main couple getting together and then its happily ever after. However After Story break out of this spiral and shows that life is not all smiles and happy times after high school. One of the charms of the story on ... this season is how real it feels, Tomoya and Nagisa's lives as they enter the working society and struggles of everyday life is shown perfectly here, and it also shows you the unity and importance of family. Its a really refreshing feel that sets After Story on a different field from A LOT of other shows of the same genre.

Art: Althought the first couple of episodes had a small animation decline for KyoAni standards, once again I am left extremely satisfied with the look of the show. The colors, animation, backgrounds, they are all done perfectly well and makes Clannad ~After Story~ a very graphically beautiful show. There is really nothing much to say here.

Sound: This is one of the show's best aspects, using the original soundtracks from the visual novel it was based on, and combined with the various touching moments that you encounter on After Story. You really get to appreciate the wonderful musical pieces that the Key Sound Label has composed. This is an example of good music used at the right times to create a beautiful sounding show. Also hat goes off to Nakamura Yuichi for his role as Tomoya.

Characters: Clannad has been praised by their wonderful characters, and After Story continues to further develop those characters. However past the high school timeline, some people might be a little let down as all the other Clannad heroines are reduced to little side character with limited screen time with the exception of Nagisa of course. On the positive side we are treated to how Nagisa and specially Tomoya are forced to change and mature in order to deal with the world of adult society, and also on the responsibilities of parenthood. After Story manages to do what not every anime can do and that is give you very "real" characters.

Enjoyment: I liked After Story, even though it lacked on the comedy department which made the first season of Clannad so enjoyable. This season brought its own charms. It did kinda feel slow paces sometimes but the last couple of episodes makes it worth it.

Overall: It is sad to see the entire Clannad series end...however, Clannad ~After Story~ is an excellent sequel and conclusion to a great series. Needless to say fans of the first season will absolutely love this and I really recommend everyone to watch this show, it really makes you realize the true value of family and friends and it is also one of the better animes that you can watch.

After Story has ended. (Yes I know there is a special episode remaining but I think its safe to say that the story arc has "officially" ended.) And as promised, I'm updating my review on arguably one of the most excellent (and tearjearking ) anime I've seen thus far.

Story (Based on School Arc) :
Continues after the ending of Clannad when Nagisa and Tomoya are dating. This is all done in the space of 9 episodes. While the story is really good and fun, I just can't help it but feel that the producers rushed through the arc when Nagisa is sick. I mean, isn't there ... anything interesting that happens when Nagisa is on her sickbed? Not that it matters, but they have the potential to show us more about Tomoya's school life with Nagisa out of the picture. Not a huge gripe, but a gripe nonetheless.

(Based on After Story Arc):
This arc tells the story of Tomoya's relationship with Nagisa as the two lovebirds starts living with each other and (inevitably) get engaged, then married. This arc is by far more serious than anything Clannad has shown us. And when I mean more serious, I mean crying your eyes out serious. After Story is NOT a tale of butterflies, sunshine and unicorns (well...there is a slight amount of them), its about the trials Tomoya has to go through when tragedy strikes him and how he fares with it. KyoAni has adapted the visual novel almost perfectly in the sense that they are able to capture the emotional state of the moment when Tomoya faces his great loss, and his eventual acceptance of being a responsible father towards his child that he has neglected for 5 years. The slight gripe about After Story is the same as the gripe I had with the School Arc. They did some time lapsing in and between episodes so one moment Nagisa has just discovered that she got pregnant, the next moment, she's in labour. Regardless of the time lapse, the story still flows smoothly enough that anyone can easily ignore it.

Art (Both School and After Story Arcs):
Still as beautiful as the original series and sometimes even more so. Nuff Said.


Sound (School Arc):
Personally, I prefer the OP and ED music on this more than the original. But feel free to say otherwise as I know that music preferences varies between one another. Oh..the OP tune got stuck in my head for about 3 months now.

(After Story Arc):
I gotta say, that I'm impressed with the some of the scores in the series. KyoAni really knows how to set the mood with the scores in Clannad. The music melds with the scene on the screen in such a way that it actually amplifies the character's sorrow/happiness. Examples of such scenes can be found in Episodes 16 and 18. There are more examples but I'll just leave them out for you to find out. On a side note, the ED music also infamously ruined the mood set by the ending of an episode so its a real shame that KyoAni didn't decide to switch the ED music for just one episode.

Character (School Arc):
Most of the characters are still here (Fuko is not seen....yet) doing what they do best. Other characters also get their background fleshed out which is cool as many shows I have watched just ignore the supporting casts. However, the characters that make me watch Clannad in the first place are getting less screentime as the School Arc ends (Nagisa and Tomoya are NOT my favorite characters btw) so its a shame.

(After Story Arc):
Even though Nagisa and Tomoya are not my favorite characters, they have been greatly developed throughout the episodes. You may even begin to empathize with Tomoya when he marches on with life even though his life has just went through hell. As for other characters...well...you'll see a lot of Akio, Sanae and Yoshino while the girls from school make more of a cameo appearence than a supporting role. Matter of fact, Tomoyo is completely absent from the arc. Fuko returns near the end of the series and that is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your feelings for her.

Enjoyment (School Arc):
This anime has much LOL moments in the first 9 episodes. Episode 10 has LOL moments as well, but then it lacks that certain charm that makes the first 9 episodes so endearing to watch. Perhaps its just me, but I prefer an extended School Arc before moving on to After Story (again, the School Arc seemed rushed)

(After Story Arc):
This is the part where Clannad gets serious. There is a sharp decline in LOL moments, replaced instead by sad/touching moments. These moments would trigger anyone who has a heart to cry, be it sobbing or all out wailing. I never actually cried when a major plot was portrayed, but even I had trouble holding in the tears when one scene portrayed a hugely touching moment that I couldn't help but cry. Also, I'd like to point out that said scene is THE MOST TOUCHING SCENE I HAVE EVER WITNESS THUS FAR! I enjoyed it immenely, however the same cannot be said to those who think that this anime is far too emotional.

Overall:
This is one of the best anime I have ever watched. Its one of the most emotional one I have ever watched. KyoAni deserves a standing ovation for being able to recreate the visual novel without losing the emotional parts that is crucial to this anime's success. Case in point, if you like the original Clannad, you must watch this (though I'd suggest you bring along a couple of tissues). If you like emotional animes, then watch this. (Though I suggest you watch its prequel followed by this sequel instead of jumping right into After Story, since you might not be able to connect with the characters then.)

"The heartbreak and triumph of the masterful conclusion to one of the most beloved anime series ever."

Clannad ~After Story~ is a charming roller-coaster of emotions ...and you certainly have heard that before.
Using figures of speech isn't the best way to describe something in detail. However, for this franchise the rule does not apply, because the focus of Clannad's story is on people, their relationships and their feelings. The story itself acts like a living being, suffering changes and progressing step by step alongside characters, creating something curious, because this symbiosis develops so well and so smoothy that saying it is charming, beautiful, endearing, heartbreaking and ... all these adjectives become the most accurate way to describe it.
It's a story that is easy to get attached to, something that's hard to find in some generic romance/drama anime where, most of the time, characters seem patterned or act in unnatural ways. Clannad brings such realistic situations that most of the people who watch can really put themselves in the characters' shoes. Maybe because they've been through situations like that in their lives before or just because the story becomes endearing to a point anyone could feel sympathetic with it.

The following is mostly focused on story and characters. If you want a quick resume, jump to the Final Considerations;

"Clannad" is an old Irish word for "family" and, of course, it's no coincidence. This series' theme and focus, besides all those mentioned above, is indeed the importance of family. But not only the orthodox definition of family, composed of parents and a child, what is beautiful in Clannad is that it expands this idea to all the circles of people's lives and all kinds of "families". The circle of friends you're in, your work, college and even the community you're inserted in, just like a whole city is a large family of people who interact with each other.
Doesn't it remind you of the Dango Daikazoku? While paying attention to the lyrics, one can get an accurate view of the story.

Just like that, the After Story manages to go beyond the first season, where it appeared that the moral of the story was limited to expressing the importance of friends and relationships in general.
Considering that you, reader, have already watched the first season, you might have heard that it was based on a Visual Novel and that both seasons were originally part of the same game. However, in Nagisa's route, the story became too deep and emotionally charged, so the production staff decided to divide it. When the animation came out, the same happened, leaving for the first series a more easygoing mood in a school slice-of-life scenario, but giving the After Story a chance to sacrifice a bit of this atmosphere and the comedy side of the show in order to effectively build up its emotional appeal, reinforcing the series' central theme and spicing it with a bittersweet drama/romance.
Because, in the end, After Story's focus is, in fact, telling the bittersweetness of Tomoya's life.
It resumes old plot questions that were left open when the 1st season ended and shows Tomoya and Nagisa's relationship progressing, while their friends move on with their lives. It goes all the way from finishing high-school to entering the “adult world” and facing new adversities and challenges, finally giving a solid conclusion, different from the “They lived happy after ever” we're used to.
That's also why most of the “plot holes” and flaws stayed behind in the first season, leaving few and small issues for this one in a way that isn't even worth mentioning.
But, saying that a 24 episode series tells the story of a person's life isn't too much?
That's why I mean it in the symbolic way, the philosophical meaning of the beginning of a world, of a life, not in the biological sense. After all, doesn't a life start when it is given a meaning, an objective?
Especially that first encounter between Tomoya and Nagisa. It holds a meaning beyond the “boy meets girl” setup, but is only revealed in After Story.

The division of episodes into "arcs" is the same, even though, since the focus in now on the couple, we barely see Yohei, Kyou or Kotomi, for example, in the later episodes.
Still on the matter of characters, Fuko fans will rejoice to know she has some appearances this season -although more as a tension reliever than anything- which becomes pretty obvious when you notice her arc in the story ended long ago and that her scenes are now just a manner producers found to break the melodramatic mood. The downside of this is that a character who used to have depth becomes flat and somewhat of an outcast in the middle of all the serious events. Those who didn't notice this probably stayed confused and annoyed by her suddenly and completely random appearances.
The same thing happens with some episodes between arcs. Have you ever heard of breather episodes? That's what people like to call the episodes placed between or after heavy emotional sections of the story, letting the viewer relax a bit. However, with Clannad, it was a bit different. The responsibility for those moments was placed on Fuko's character, and the breather episode took a completely different setting. This quote from TvTropes explains it:
"It's odd to consider the first episode of a season as a breather episode, but episode 1 of ~After Story~ certainly qualifies. After the power of the end of the first season, and before all of the nuclear powered emotional scenes later in ~After Story~, it starts with the cast... playing baseball."

That's why Clannad doesn't work for everybody.
-It's worth leaving a warning here rather than regret not doing it later.-
Fans of action packed thrillers or strong dramas where everybody dies and there's a bunch of gore or bloodshed won't be entertained by Clannad, and probably will drop it right away. Clannad is a psychological drama, that requires some interpretation and a lot of attention, but at the same time it is CUTE, filled with CUTE characters in a charming and calm environment. There are no bad words, no FANSERVICE, no fights, no bankruptcy, no thieves, it's indeed an utopia, a "Lovely Drama" after all ...if that is even possible.
Can't the skeptics appreciate the beauty of it?
It's kind of useless saying it in the 2nd season review, but considering that some people might read this before watching the first season, keep in mind that this is a romance, that develops into a very emotional packed drama, and it has a lot of references to Japanese culture, habits, and especially relationships in the sense of "interaction". And this is something that always appears in discussion forums, the physical interaction between characters, most notorious between Nagisa and Tomoya, questions such as "why can't they kiss?" or "wth? not even a hug?" are common complaints.
Actually, it's supposed to be like that. This is one of the series' objectives, showing that people can express their love with passion in different and meaningful ways that aren't restricted to hugs, kisses and some other R+ rated things...
This is one of the main reasons it's also easily recommended as “family entertainment”, meaning, it's a series you won't feel awkward if someone steps in while you're watching. Kids could watch it, and even though they wouldn't get the undertones, would still be able to appreciate it.
Yes! As you probably noticed so far, it's filled with subtext and symbolism.
It's a Key/Visual Arts anime after all, what were you expecting?

I said it is charming in many ways, didn't I?
First of all, the artwork is astonishingly beautiful and character design doesn't stray behind. KyoAni makes sure to -again- prove why they are one of the companies with the best illustration artist of the industry.
Clannad has been considered before to be one of the best "bishoujo animes" ever released, meaning, you won't find a female character that looks "ugly" (even beauty being a relative thread). Actually, not even a single cat could be considered ugly in this series.
Some scenery look like they were removed from a painting and even some dishes look delicious to eat when zoomed in. Particle effects animation for things such as rain and cherry blossom-gales was carefully conduced creating really astonishing scenes and effects. One will surely recall the first scene of the anime on the school hill when talking about visual effects. The amount of color, brightness, highlights and undertones in some scenes really helped to bring feelings up and set the environment.

As for the soundtrack, the OST is majestic just like the one for the first season was. With calm and gentle pieces for the sadder moments but also funky and happy synthetic compositions for the easygoing moments.
The seiyuus chosen for the main characters were also perfect choices. Nagisa's seiyuu, Mai Nakahara, with her calm and gentle voice, really helped creating comforting and relaxing dialogues together with Yuuichi Nakamura's strong and more serious voice of Tomoya. It was a perfect match.
Nice to mention, the English version licensed by Sentai which contains the dubbed ver. is also great. The voice actors chosen have similar vocal characteristics from the originals, the only thing that (for me) is a downside of dubbed versions is the loss of the honorifics after the names (e.g: Tomoya-kun).

Regarding sound and artwork, it's impossible to forget the opening sequence. Not just for the music, but also for the way the scenes were organized and which ones were selected. That OP by itself is a masterpiece.
An interesting thing about it is that it spoils the entire series. However, it does it in a way you will only notice after you finish watching. Then, if you aren't surprised enough, watch again the first opening for the first season and behold more hidden heavy plot spoilers!
Still, in an imperfect world not everything is perfect, and the Ending theme was sure a miscast. Its lively and happy nature fit the first episodes pretty well, but from the middle of the series onwards it was a horrible mood killer. Unlike Dango Daikazoku that was a "neutral" ending theme, this one couldn't possibly look good after a strong dramatic scene. It almost seems like somebody is making fun of you for getting emotional with the episode.
It completely demolishes all the melodramatic atmosphere the last scenes created to a way that after a while, it becomes healthier to stop the playback before it starts if you don't want to get mad with it. Any other song with a slower pace, or even a calm and gentle vocal piece, would be a better ED for the series than this one.
That said, this completely removes one point from the "Sound" rating of the series.

Final considerations;

If you're planning on skipping the first season and only watching this one, don't do it. You'll lose so many things that nothing of the After Story will make sense. After all, it's the AFTER story, you need the STORY in order to properly interpret things. Duh.

What is great about Clannad is that it doesn't force emotions on you.
Unlike other series where every single little thing is an excuse to bring up sad violin pieces and show characters crying all over the place, Clannad kind of "warns" you when a sad moment is coming. You can feel it approaching but end up playing along without even noticing because even though you know it's heartbreaking you also know it will get a conclusion and that this is part of the path, not just a random tear-jerking scene.

This anime isn't like a summer story. We've accompanied these characters through a whole part of their lives and it's sad to say goodbye. It's sad to let go. This is the kind of series that someone will always cherish, with characters that make you want to look after them, wish them a happy life. If the first season made you tear up, then After Story will too. With such a beautiful ending, even the most cynical would shed a tear.
It is a masterpiece not only on the numeric score, on the drama topic or the romance side, but as a complex symphony of story, sound, voice acting, subtext, art, design, with all instruments together, resonating in a pattern of vibration even Kotomi's parents couldn't predict in their theory.
Story: 10 | Artwork: 10 | Sound: 8 | Characters: 9 | Enjoyment: 10 | Overall: 10.

In the end, few shows rise to the levels this one does.

*Disclaimer: I will mostly describe my own experience watching the anime. If you are not interested in my own little story, you can pass on reading this.*

I have never written a review on any movie or anime I have watched. Not because I don't find any of them good. I've seen a lot of good movies and animes obviously, but none seems to reach the level that motivates me enough to click on the "Write a review" button. This is the first, and maybe even the last, because clearly Clannad ~After Story~ is going to be the best anime I've ever watched for my whole ... life.


The first half is impressive, of course, but not enough to be highly praised by the rank #4 on MAL. If you have any intention of dropping the anime after the first 12 episides, DON'T DO IT, for god's sake, and your own.

Before I start on the latter half, I want you to know that I've never cried watching any movie or anime and I didn't believe that anything can change that.

Crying is for pussies, or so I've thought up until that point.

But the latter half.

It changed me.

I was the kind who just don't care about other people, to think that I can do whatever I like. At that time, I was studying abroad so it cost my family a whole lot to finance my study. But given my personality, I didn't focus on my study and that let my parents down greatly. Hell, I'll just have fun with my friends anyway.

After finishing Clannad ~After Story~, I've realized how childish, foolish I was. I realized there are still other people living in this world, that I must care about. There are still my mother, my father, who have sacrificed so much for me (like in the anime). It was then I realized that how much love I've received from them, and I immediately burst into tears at the end. Afterward, I just sit on my chair, rethinking how wrong I was living my own life.

It was awakening.

I apprehended the meaning of responsibility. Not only for myself, but for the ones I hold dear as well. It was the responsibility that I decided to embrace, not run away from, that changed me. And it was Clannad ~After Story~ that implicitly transferred it to me.

I started to get better at school, by putting in more effort in it. Eventually I was admitted into a university, so it did work out well.

You saved a soul, Key. And Kyoto Animation. If any of you ever come across this, I thank you for ever creating such a masterpiece. I'm positive I'm not the only soul you've saved.

Final words: If I've never watched Clannad and Clannad ~After Story~, I probably won't be the me now. And probably some random loser, or in Tarot card you'd call me The Fool. If you're hesitating on watching this anime, don't be. I assure you it'll be a eye-opener for most, if not all. Even for those who aren't even interested in anime, like who I was before watching this.


For any who still don't know, Clannad is a Gaelic word for Family. Yes, this anime will make you rethink what family is to you.

I'll be crucified for saying this, but I'll say it anyway.

There's no need to watch the first season to comprehend or like the second season. If you're not up to excessive moeness and a dull story, the prequel might end up making you don't watch the sequel, which would definitely be a waste.

You can get a pretty good idea of what the first season was by watching the first 8 episodes of Clannad ~after story~. All the mistakes from the previous series are there. Lame humor, dull drama, unlikely reactions to over-dramatized conflicts and a weak soundtrack.

I was very close to dropping this ... anime thanks to KyoAni stupidity in copying every single aspect from the prequel. There were some improvements, it's true. After episode 8, the soundtrack was much better and even the art seemed more beautiful. Also, I have to admit that, thanks to being 4 episodes long (contrasted to 7, 8 episodes long arcs in Clannad), it wasn't that hard to watch Sunohara's and Misae's arcs.

Thankfully, some light shone upon Kyoto Animation and they realized that a more tangible plot without relying in nonsense supernatural references or in bad jokes every two minutes would work way better to actually create a dramatic environment.

From episodes 9 to episode 21 we are delivered a beautiful and extremely saddening story of the hardships of becoming an adult, having dreams, seeing they fall apart and getting over dark times.

Hardly did an anime approach these topics in such an effective way without losing focus that they are dealing with human beings and not perfect beings who are flawless or solve everything with some tears and "I'm sorry" all the time (which basically summarizes the first installment).

Tomoya's adult life's story unfolds in a carefully detailed account of how life can be a bitch. It's really easy to connect with him, suffer with him and cry with him many times, too. It was a wonderful development to his personality making him an extremely likable character, probably one of my favorite male characters ever.

Nagisa had some development, too. But overall, I still felt a bit annoyed by her quite often childish personality. Even when she acted a bit more independent and adult-like it was hard to not think of her as a child.

Ushio goes without saying. Probably the main reason many tears were shed in this series. Her voice actress did a wonderful job in giving life to such a special child.

But in the end KyoAni couldn't resist revisiting old mistakes. In the very ending it was decided, in a way that seemed completely out of the blue, that after causing so many tears, telling such a beautiful, tangible and human-like story they would laugh hard at your face and say "Just kidding, it was all a lie".

It was completely uncalled for. It fell like a rock, crushing everything that had been done up to that point. I understand the need of a happy ending. But one thing is ending happily, another thing is destroying 13 episodes of development just for the sake of an unreal conclusion.

I was more disappointed from this outrageous flaw than I was from watching the first series. The feeling I got was "Oh, we didn't have the guts to make the story follow the pace it was following so far, so we decided to change everything in the last episode just not to make you sad anymore. Here, have some candies"

Once again, a poor ending causes tremendous damage in a very promising show. It always angers me the desperate need of a complete surreal "happy" ending that so many movies, animes, series, etc have rather than showing a more soothing and human-like ending.

Still, it's a highly enjoyable show. Just don't expect much of the conclusion.

There comes a time, when, something hits you in a way that makes you feel, lost. You're overcome with what you had just saw and you can't help but feel, lost. This review is about Clannad: Afterstory, an anime that is very dear to my heart, and one, that I feel is Kyoto Animation's best works.

Story (10/10): The story of Clannad: Afterstory is very different from its prequel, Clannad. While Clannad revolves around the life of Tomoya in his 3rd year in high school, helping out various girls with various sorts of problems, this anime focuses solely on the relationship ... between Tomoya and Nagisa with their life transitioning from teenage life into adulthood. The reason why this anime could be praised highly on its story is due to its far reaching, beyond the anime realm of high school where it originates from. It focuses on the main character Tomoya in a way that creates incredible development in his character, while keeping its mystical supernatural theme in play. Note, you cannot under any circumstances understand what is happening in this anime without watching the original Clannad.

Characters (10/10): The characters of afterstory has dwindled greatly from Clannad itself, throwing out almost all of the other characters that were there previously. Tomoya, as the main protagonist, is his usual cynical, but funny self with his attitude towards life. As the story progresses, Tomoya becomes more self-aware of his actions and takes responsibility for them. Any more explanation is considered as a spoiler. Next is Nagisa. As the main female protagonist, Nagisa returns as her usual cheerful self in trying to make the people around her happy, especially her boyfriend, Tomoya. As the series goes on, Nagisa thinks more about her future with Tomoya, ultimately influencing Tomoya as well, changing him even further. Next are Nagisa's parents Akio and Sanae. As a comical duo, the general gags that run with them return as well. These 2 have incredible importance due to their parental guidance to Tomoya, influencing him as well. Apart from them, there is one little character that deserves mentioning, but revealing it would be a very big spoiler.

Art and Sound (9/10): With the art, the art stays with its original Clannad look with highly moe-infected characters with eyes that to me resemble galaxies, and well done scenery and shades. For the sound, a new set of music that sounds great for Clannad's storyline and is something to behold. With its OP sounding at a high level rivaling its prequel's OP, it definitely is something to praise upon.

Personal Enjoyment (10/10): When I look at Clannad, I see my own personal morals. The importance of family, the trials and tribulations of various life situations, and the hilarious moments that life can provide. When I watched this, I just felt at home watching because of how close it touched me, especially in the second half. (For some reason, I'm shedding tears just writing this.) Just watching the characters interact and watching Tomoya especially, it just made me feel like I was part of that world. Kyoto ani are dicks for making this one of the biggest tearjerkers I have ever watched. (Seriously, I brought a tissue box with me, it was empty after the marathoning.) Because this anime touched my heart in a way that no other anime was able to, this is by far one of my top 3. Unless you have a heart of pure stone or don't give a damn about your family, you will cry when watching this. It made me appreciate my family more then I have ever done before. I highly recommend this to anyone. Even if you're a fan of random action and high intensity thrillers where everyone dies, I HIGHLY recommend this. It's that good. And one more thing, Dango. :)

I'll be honest, I didn't like Clannad at all, and I had very low expectations for AS. Despite that, After Story STILL managed to disappoint me.

Story - 4/10

After Story picks up where Clannad S1 left off, that is to say, it continues helpless-girl-of-the-week for the entire first half, before moving on to the real meat of the season where Tomoya and his friends graduate and enter the real world. This kind of plot development isn't typical of moe shows, so AS gets a point for that. Most slice-of-life/high school-based shows end when the characters leave high school, as though life ends when high school does. ... However, the ending of AS absolutely destroys any credibility that it created with the depiction of Tomoya's struggles by hastily throwing together an ending that clearly pandered to its audience. I won't say what it is to avoid spoilers, but rest assured, it is an ending that A) Was an obvious ass-pull, and B) Was never explained properly. On top of that, the last two episodes aren't even the real ending because they consisted of a recap episode and an AU (alternative universe) episode that didn't fit at all with the tone of the second half nor AS's overall plot. It's completely bewildering to me as to why the writers chose to end AS this way.

Art - 6/10

I didn't particularly like Clannad's art style, but once I got used to it, I stopped minding it. Clean lines, bright colours...that's the extent of what I can say about the art.

Sound - 6/10

Nothing in the soundtrack was very memorable, except the opening and the variations of it in the BGM. Overall, nothing to write home about.

Character - 6/10

The harem aspect from S1 was not present in AS, which personally made AS's characters more palatable for me. Tomoya himself got a decent amount of character development that was arguably 'written over' with the asspulled ending. The female lead herself was as sweet as ever, which I found myself disliking less simply because I'd gotten used to it. Still, this doesn't excuse the fact that Clannad+AS has some of the blandest characters I've ever seen.

Enjoyment - 4/10

I enjoyed AS for a few episodes, for example, Yukine's arc and a certain episode set in a field of sunflowers. Apart from that, I spent most of AS being bored. Though AS had a few sad moments, I found most of its 'sad' moments incredibly melodramatic and therefore ineffective as a result.

Overall - 5/10

I heard over and over that After Story was better than S1, that everything builds up in a huge emotional payoff. Well, I feel like I spent the entirety of AS waiting for an emotional payoff that never arrived. Part of it was the characters, part of it was the ham-handed writing. Like a clumsy puppeteer jerking on strings, AS constantly tried to smack me over the face with how TRAGIC everything was. But without subtlety and realism, the drama felt like sappy melodrama, reducing what could've been an interesting exploration of adulthood into...well, sappy melodrama. Still, I'll concede that AS was better than S1. But given how much I disliked S1, AS being better is not a hard feat to accomplish.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone except fans of Key.

Honestly, I don't know where to start. At the part where I refused to watch this because "Who wants to watch something like that?" or the part where I found myself watching 20 episodes in one sitting with a runny nose and slightly red eyes?

For a while, I threw both Clannad seasons off because I didn't think it could interest me (and the first season almost confirmed that) but I stayed along because the amount of recommendations I received and I was not disappointed.

Personally, I believe that the stand out points for this anime are the sounds and characters. My God, the OST's! Just listening ... to them after watching the series will have you mentally reliving the scenes and all the emotions along with it, they're so damn perfect! And characters, I constantly found small connections with the MC here and there, and that added so much more to my viewing experience.

The story has moderate progression all the way up until the last 8 episodes or so, but it has some strange attraction that makes you want more and more. Following Okazaki through his life - from being a high school delinquent to finding his own feet as a man and a father, you really grow attached to it.

Then comes the parts which Clannad is known for - the sorrow. This is what everyone points out when they recommend After Story, and rightly so. You are in for a ride on the feel train with this series, whether you cry, shed a slight tear, or keep a poker face.

I gave this series a 9/10 rating because it was new to me, made me feel things I didn't expect, and was overall great. The reason for not gaining the extra marks to reach 10/10 was I feel they slightly overdid certain parts and paced some scenes poorly. It was like they milked certain situations too much, and that kind of ruined some moments for me.

But if you enjoy slice of life, romance, tear jerkers, and/or just an overall wonderful anime, I'd recommend this series 100% of the time.

P.S- This is my first time writing a review and I am not too confident in it. Most of it is based off my own experience and views, so it may not be the most helpful one, but I hope I helped in any sort of way. Thank you!