Story - 8: Story based on sacrifices due to pressures of society. Well executed which made for an intriguing story.
Art - 8: Pretty good animations for its time. It was somewhat fluid and pleasing to look at. I expected less, but it was surprisingly well done.
Sound - 10: This may be biased. But I have always enjoyed Clannad's OSTs. Always placed well and sounds amazing. Also memorable for the subsequent times.
Character - 8: Solid characters, there wasn't the greatest amount of development which would make sense for a special of this length.
Enjoyment - 8: Very good watch.
Overall - 8.4 (8)
Full Review (Spoilers):
I have watched this a while ago, but since I have rewatched this earlier, I felt I should do a review on this.
People sacrifice things. Sometimes on a personal scale, sometimes household scale, such as parents telling you to study which therefore makes for less free time of your own to do whatever the hell you enjoy doing. But there is also society's pressures that can influence an individual on what to sacrifice. This is the case with Tomoya and his story around what choices he makes during his relationship with Tomoyo.
Story - 8:
Tomoya Okazaki, who is known to be a delinquent around his school, is dating the exceptional student Tomoyo Sakagami, who is predicted to aim for high places for the future. This match up causes discord between students and teachers alike. Despite this Tomoyo, disregards those opinions and continues to spend time with Tomoya. However, this happy relationship leads to a depressing end, as Tomoya calls for a breakup, in concerns for Tomoyo's future. The story shows that in society standards overlap with absolutely everything in everyone's lives, whether it be simple interests or presidential power. Society will dictate everything, as it calls for the best of us to stand at the top, and the lower downs to stand at the everyday spaces, the unfortunate truth happened to not favour Tomoya since he was the anomaly of society. Tomoya's sacrifice shows that you don't always get what you want, no matter what age or place you are in, especially if you aren't working well enough for others to recognise your efforts, sometimes the methods around, are the most unsightly of ways.
Art - 8:
I expected average animation, but there was a surprisingly good animation. Quite pleasing to look at, there was a nice flow to it and it felt somewhat fluid to look at. You could tell that the animators put effort worthy of praise.
Sound - 10:
Clannad's audio has always been amazing for me. The OSTs used in this special felt as if a story was being told via music, also, the ending song "Ana" by Lia had amazing vocals and use of string instruments. Audio never fails to satisfy me.
Characters - 8:
The characters are pretty well made. Tomoya has uncertainty in his life, he doesn't know where he is heading, but with Tomoyo, it feels as if this uncertainty disappears. The same can be said the other way around, Tomoyo's love for Tomoya keeps her at where she currently stands in her life. The chemistry between the two shows interdependence for one another in a way that doesn't seem as if it was forced for convenience. Another good character that needs to be mentioned is Yuji Suehara, he is the face of logic and truth. He is the driving force of getting Tomoya to realise the truth of where he stands, although it may seem like he is just a random plot deceive for the sake of convenience. He is a reminder that there will always be someone to say the words you don't want to hear. I'm pretty sure he just randomly appears half the time just to tell Tomoya that he must cut relations with Tomoyo. He is the embodiment of truth and the fact that you cannot hide from the truth.
Enjoyment - 8:
A very good watch, I enjoyed most of my time spent watching this.
Overall - 8.4 (8)
Would recommend for when you have finished watching Clannad or the After Story, it doesn't particularly matter since this is one of the another world's story which has no relation to the focused world of Clannad. Nevertheless, would watch this if you have the time to do so, it's pretty well made for a story of its length.
