If you aren't looking for an anime that will painfully tug at your heart, make you cry buckets and buckets of tears, or not wanting to emotionally connect to an anime, then you should probably look at another anime.
But if you do leave, you miss out on a beautiful story, one that will last with you for a very long time. Believe me, I haven't seen this since possibly 2 years ago, but I can still remember the emotions I had with it and the story. And I know this is just an anime and all, but it taught me how precious love and family is. I know that sounds cliche but it's true, so please give this anime a shot.
So enough of me gushing over how emotional this is, let's get to the review.
Story: 9/10
This is the sequel to Clannad, but in case you haven't seen it, it's not necessary, it just goes into the characters a bit more and their high school life. It's like a random anime that's only there for comedy.
But shit get's real in this one. The two contrast so distinctly, but I liked that. The first series got you rooting for the main couple, and so they cleverly played our feelings that we had from the first season (Clannad).
How? Well, this story is about Tomoya and Nagisa and their future. Yep, sounds pretty boring but this story is written so amazing, it'll probably be the best slice of life anime ever (dare I say).
This story WILL make you cry. Period. But the reason I gave it a 9 only is probably because it wasn't the story that made it so memorable. It's because of the characters.
Character: 10/10
Definitely the strongest part out of the whole show. If they didn't have strong characters, I fully believe this anime would not have turned out as well. If you watch this, you'll 100% get attached to the characters. The main character, Tomoya, goes through some serious character development, something we're missing out on alot of animes. But that's not all, everyone is just seriously too adorable. Not exaggerating, you feel like you want to protect them and feel genuine anxiousness like a parent, but of course, as a drama, something bad's bound to happen.
Then you "hate" the show and can't accept this fate. But you got to keep watching, cause the show's already got you deep. And what's worst is that you can NEVER forget the bad/sad/tragic/gut-wrenching moments because the show won't let you. Well-played show, well-played.
Art: 7/10
Art here is fine, not that great, but for 2008-09, it's good. And Key's art is pretty.
Sound:9/10
The soundtrack especially that dango song. WHY? Sigh...
I love catchy, good songs, but songs that relate to the actual storyline and can make you remember a specific scene, just wow. The music alone, was enough to make me cry.
Enjoyment:10/10
I'm positive anyone who really gave this show a shot, came to love it. (After all it's ranked #4) Just make sure you have a couple of tissue boxes before you start.
