Story- 9/10
Clannad: After Story has one of the most thought out stories in an anime that I have ever seen. Clannad is mainly known for being a feels trip, and it is. If you didn't cry while watching Clannad (for some reason) than there's no way you'll survive After Story. The ending is foreshadowed throughout the entire anime, even back in the first season. The ending may seem confusing at first, but when looking back on the story, you can really see how each of the pieces fit together to actually make it make sense. The reason I give it a nine, instead of a ten is because, yes, it is confusing. I didn't really get it at first, and I had to do a little research and ask other people to completely understand it. But that's also what make Clannad so good. Because the ending isn't fully explained, it leaves it open to interpretation, so there really is no right answer.
Art- 9/10
Clannad's art style looks very well done. The only complaint that I've seen about the art would be about the characters eyes. Personally, they didn't bother me that much, but I can see why it bothered others so I give it a nine. After watching the show though, I wouldn't really change the eyes though, because they sort of feel like a signature to Clannad, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.
Sound- 10/10
I'm not usually impressed by anime's soundtracks, but Clannad has to have one of the best soundtracks. First off, the soundtrack is HUGE. There's so many songs to go along with every situation, that give it a lot of emotion during certain scenes. I most likely would not have cried during some scenes if it wasn't for the music. A few of my favorites from the soundtrack would be the opening, Fuko's theme, Shining in the Sky, The Place Where Wishes Come True, (this song will always make me cry) and of course the dango song.
Character- 10/10
I had to give Clannad a 10/10 for character, just because of how much character development there is. Almost each character got a backstory in Clannad which allowed you to understand, and actually feel sympathy for the characters, which is a pretty important thing in Clannad. I can't help but cry along with these characters when they're crying too.
Enjoyment- 10/10
This was a no-brainer for me. Clannad was one of the first few animes that I ever saw, and it's really what got me obsessed with anime. So because of that, I may be a little bit biased towards this anime, but I tried to fairly rate the other categories. This anime IS my all-time favorite, so a 10/10 is kind of a given.
Overall- 10/10
Clannad is such a beautiful anime. The story it tells is pretty sad, no, VERY sad, but it shows how harsh life can be sometimes. Clannad: After Story already had one thing going for it from the start- it's different. Clannad was a harem anime, and we all know how those usually end. But in Clannad, the mc ACTUALLY CHOOSES A GIRL. Clannad: After Story takes this a step further and actually shows what happens after the two characters get together & what their lives become afterwards hence after story. If you are looking into watching After Story, I recommend you look at Clannad first. I wouldn't really consider it necessary, and if you really wanted to skip it, you'd probably enjoy it just fine, but Clannad gives a lot of character development, which is important if you want to enjoy this show to it's full potential.
So that's my full review on Clannad! It was my first review, and I know it was a lot, but I tend to write a lot on most writing pieces I do anyway.. If you were unsure on whether to watch this or not... I hope this review helped. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good romance/ slice of life anime (although there is some supernatural parts to it)
-lzzy
