Story: A compelling beginning compared to the first season. The beginning of this season focuses on 3-4 side characters of Clannad. Each getting a couple episodes to themselves. The mini arcs were short, longest being 4 episodes and they were pretty well done. I'm glad that they didn't repeat the Fuuko fiasco. I'll break down the arcs like I did last time. I'm not including the Girl from Another World and the Junkion though. That dragged out subplot doesn't conclude until the very end. It's also a spoiler, kinda.
Sunohara - Probably the poorest side character arc in my opinion. They gave Sunohara some screen time focusing on him and Mei, his sister. Unfortunately, I felt like I got stupider watching this part of the series. He was written so poorly. I know he's not the smartest guy in the show but c'mon... I have to summarize to show you how bad it is, trust me it really doesn't deserve to have spoiler tags but I'll do it anyway.
When did spoiler tags no longer work? *Spoiler alert*
[spoiler]In these episodes, Tomoya and Nagisa hook Sunohara up with Sanae to give Mei the impression that he's doing fine for himself because she's worried about him. Showing her that he's dating would show that he's not a complete loser. Then sometime later Mei thinks that her brother has changed over time and became an unkind person when he does nothing while some little kids were getting bullied.
Later, to see his reaction, Tomoya pretends to have ditched Nagisa and says he's going out with Mei. Sunohara instantly believes him. You have got to be kidding me. What's even lamer is when Tomoya asks why Sunohara did nothing when he saw them together and he responded "I thought she'd be okay if it was you." Um... ew. Dude, she's like 12. Instead of going "No problem, good luck to you two." you should go to the cops...[/spoiler]
I have much hate for the above episodes (Not as much as Fuuko I suppose). However, some scenes in those episodes were okay.
Misae - When I saw the episode preview for this I thought "Ew, nobody cares about you. Why do you get episodes?" Then I watched them and was amazed at how great her two episodes were. It was so surprising how they took a character that did almost nothing in the series and wrote a back story for her that turned out to be amazing. The episodes are basically a flashback of her past and it was quite a shock. I really enjoyed what they did with this character and have no complaints. Sorry Yukine... but this was the highlight of the series so far.
Yukine - This was the character of the last season I wanted to see more of. It was definitely an interesting couple of episodes. We see Tomoya fighting gang members which I honestly can't believe they didn't show more of considering his past (Too bad he was fighting someone he couldn't beat though). We go into her involvement with that gang member that came out from under the table in season 1 as well. The ending was somewhat satisfying and sad but predictable.
The rest up to 16 - So... We find out about Yusuke's past in a flashback episode. Tomoya decides to go independent after finishing school and works with Yusuke. A few more important things happen here that are spoilers so I'll leave them out. At this point, I have a feeling that the series should've ended at 13. I didn't go through the visual novel but as far as Anime go 13 would have been a perfect ending. All the characters from Season 1 came back for a small cameo, a life decision has been made, that sounds pretty good to me but apparently there's more. It was mostly Tomoya dealing with work so this part was pretty boring.
17 to 20 - Beautiful. Now this little section here ties up so many loose ends with proper pacing and outstandingly exceeded my expectations of the series. I think if you just started with these episodes to the end, you'd be satisfied. Clearly the best part of the series. Unfortunately, I felt like I should've stopped at 20 had I known how the series would end...
The rest - Well, we get what Kyoto Animation's visual novel Anime usually offers us. Problem is I highly disliked the final episode. The conclusion was predictable. What Girl from the Illusionary World and the robot turned out to be seemed silly and just splashed in. It felt so thrown together at the last minute and most of the scenes just had music playing in the background so they hardly had to write anything. The end part of the final episode really makes me angry for reasons you should ignore the spoiler tag and just read.
*Spoiler alert* (I guess...)
[spoiler]So the last 7 minutes of the episode was just Fuuko walking with her sister while Fuuko babbles and says stupid crap. This was the ending to what episode 17 and on built up? I cannot believe anyone would believe that this was an acceptable end to the series. More reasons for me to dislike Fuuko. Not to mention we don't get to see the minor characters meet with Tomoya again. We just get a montage showing where each of them are. So many unanswered questions. Another bad part is no Tomoya's father. What's he been doing? Certainly he deserves a cameo. Ugh...[/spoiler]
So... seriously disappointing. You'd be better off writing your own ending and constantly convincing to yourself that was what happened. It'd certainly be better than what actually happened.
We also have two followup episodes, one going back to the past and one that seems to be a recap episode. The episode about the past was pretty enjoyable. Not that I care about her character but Kyou got some more screen time which was great because she was one of the neglected characters in the series.
Art: I felt that the animation team has made great improvements from Season 1. Everything looks a lot better. Good job guys!
Sound: A MUCH better opening song. It actually sounds like a song. I only liked the end of the tv size with the piano in the background though. That is some great music. The ending was pretty cheerful, I don't care much for it but it's the somewhat upbeat song I was wanting for the season 1. For many people though, the more emotional end scenes of the episodes were ruined by having this song played after. Bgm was nothing great.
Character: What can I say about the characters?
Sunohara - Idiot.
Mei - She's fine by me. I like how she cares for her brother despite how stupid he is.
Misae - At first, I didn't really care for this character because she was just there. She had no impact on the series at all. Even now, she's not an important character but her episodes are so well-written that you can't help but take her off the ignore list.
Yukine - You're in my top 3 for this series. I can't really say why I like her but she just stands out to me compared to the other characters. I like that the characters can go to her for advice. Her involvement with the gang and caring attitude is nice to see.
Girl from the Illusionary World and robot - Bleh. Nobody cares about you guys. For 50 episodes we've been wondering what the point of you two was. Sadly, it was confusing for some and a letdown as we had to watch you two for so long without a clue as to your involvement in the series. They just gave it a supernatural feel which didn't come into play until the final episode.
Enjoyment - Before they went back to Tomoya and Nagisa, the series was great. I was not bored with it at all. The episodes between Yukine and 16 were a bit dry for me. I did not really hate them but considering the opening still shows all those characters, you'd think they would still be around. Akio and Sanae are still fun to watch as always. Like I said 17 to 20 was pure gold. They renewed my faith in this series and made me eagerly anticipate new episodes. If you're watching this series and get tired of watching junk, head over to 17. Trust me, you'll figure out what has happened and you will not have missed much.
Overall - It's pretty enjoyable. I believe After Story has far surpassed season 1. A good amount of the episodes are worth watching and some are like a manila envelope attached to a beige wall. Art's good. Sound's okay. Some characters really grow on you. I enjoyed it to a great extent. Give it a try. If anything, skip Clannad and start here. Believe me, you won't be missing much...
Thank you for reading my review. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Hope this helped.
