The story of Clannad: After Story is probably what makes it so well rated. It is a well written plot with the perfect amount of comedy and sadness to leave you amazed. Many people were upset by much of the "needless" arcs (in CLANNAD and in the first 8 episodes of After Story); however, it's these arcs that allow us to get to know the characters better and become more attached, which ultimately makes the sad parts even sadder. Rather than just being overwhelmed with sadness we get to see the bright side of things as well as the dark side of things. It's like how Bob Ross said, "Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come." (After Story works inverse to this idea). Overall an amazing story with much time spent getting to really know and like the characters with many enjoyable adventures.
=== Art: 9 ===
I'll admit the huge moe aspect of After Story was a bit overbearing at first. I even had trouble watching the into to Clannad; however, after a while you get quite used to it. Besides the character designs (which are up to much interpretation), the scenery of After Story is phenomenal. Without a doubt the scenes drawn in After Story look so great that they even look better than the real life places they were modeled after. The overall composition of scenes, lighting, and camera angles were on point throughout the show. Overall, the character designs may be up for interpretation, but the art was still phenomenal.
=== Sound: 10 ===
Let me just say this now: damn Jun Maeda can compose some amazing music. Anyone looking for an example of this would just need to listen to "Nagisa: Farewell at the foot of a hill (Warm Piano Arrangement)" and they would understand. The music in After Story was part of the reason it was so enjoyable. The music in the happy parts was upbeat and welcoming it almost evoked a warm happy feeling on its own and served to amplify the scene which was going on. As for the sad music, it made the sad scenes even sadder (which I didn't think was possible). The music throughout After Story was on point with the animations even lining up with the music for even more dramatic effect (See: Scene at the bottom of the hill, Episode: 22).
=== Character: 9 ===
The characters of Clannad: After Story are what give the story its life and are the sheer source of all happiness and sadness throughout the show. The characters never cease to amaze me. The only complaint I would have about the characters would be how some of them were introduced and how we didn't really get to see some of them develop in full detail.
=== Enjoyment: 10 ===
Compared to Clannad, After Story will hit you like a train. While Clannad evoked tears of joy, After Story uses this happiness and connection built with the characters to really pull your heartstrings. About half way through the show, After Story shifts from the arc type storytelling done in previous episodes and in Clannad and shifts to a full on focus with the two main characters lives which ends up leading to the climax of the show. Overall, I'd say that there wasn't a moment of After Story that I didn't enjoy and I would recommend this show to anyone.
