"It's OK now. You did well. Now it's your turn to cry." -- Akio to Sanae
"It looks like I finished things without even realizing it." -- Tomoya's father
Clannad Afterstory is universally recognized as a show that can and will make many (most) viewers tear up, or even start bawling.
While many people are touched, or even moved, by the tragedy and heartbreak, a fair portion of reviewers see a relatively average romantic-comedy-slice-of-life show being elevated by blatantly drawing on viewers tear ducts, making viewers forget that they watched 40 episodes of , in some people's opinions, mediocrity to get to this point.
I'd like to argue that Clannad Afterstory has an underlying theme which is far more important than wet eyeballs and drama: what it truly means to be a parent, and to forgive a parent.
It's common knowledge that parents are generally absent from anime. Between boarding schools, orphans, and parents with bizarre work schedules, the only time we typically see parents is as a form of comic relief. This could be due to the younger audience, or it could just be because parents are hard characters to get right.
Clannad gets parents right. They are human beings, not disciplinary robots who dispense useless platitudes, and they have numerous, numerous faults. At the same time, they aren't these appalling monsters who revile their children and regret ever having them (another anime trope...). They suffer, they cry, they falter, but despite flaws they care about their children and go to great lengths to support them. This is how most parents exist in the real world. Instead of ignoring the parent-child relationship, Clannad Afterstory explores it in depth and uses family as the strength necessary for the characters to persevere through tragedy.
With the faults and strengths of the parents naturally comes the concept of forgiveness. There are many things in Clannad that are forgiven. In other anime, Tomoya might continue hating his father to the end. Akio and Sanae may never forgive Nagisa for halting their dreams. Akio, Sanae, and Ushio might always view Tomoya as the deadbeat who walked out on his child. And Tomoya might never forgive himself.
Clannad does forgive these characters, and in doing so tries to tell you to do so as well. In the end, their lives are easier and more complete because they are able to forgive.
Clannad Afterstory isn't just about crying at loss. The two scenes that touched me the most aren't the two most tragic, but rather the two I quoted at the start. Those scenes helped remind me the sacrifices my mother made, and to forgive my mother for some of the things she has done.
And if I have to watch 40 episodes of melancholic slice-of-life to remember that, despite her faults, my mother's love is what truly matters, well it's damn well worth it.
