Fans of romance anime will be given a huge answer to their prayers.
Story: 10/10
Ok, this is definitely something that cannot be spoiled. But I will tell you this...Nagisa and Tomoya are the main focus of this chapter, showing what happens after a finally realized love. But don't worry, most of your side characters will make appearances to remind you how much you love them and that they are not forgotten.
If you loved the first chapter of Clannad, you'll definetely love this. But i will not spoil how amazing it is through a review.
Art: 8/10
Cute big eyed characters are the drawings...but Kyoto Animations took those and made them into something beautiful. What really got me was the settings and lighting in the "Other World".
In the main story, the animations are pretty smooth and lighting effects go well with the setting and time of day. Nothing over the top amazing, but the colors definitely went well with the emotions of the scene.
Sound: 9/10
Beautiful.....is one word to describe this soundtrack.
Music is a way of life and it has its powerful effect once its heard. In Clannad ~After Story~, almost all of the music fits beautifully with the scenes and falcon punches you in the face with emotions. Everytime I listen to the soundtrack, i can replay the powerful emotions coming from the scenes.
The only problem i had was the ED....at one moment your sad and depressed, but this upbeat song plays and its all ruined...no offense to key, but a more relaxing or soothing song would have made it better. But everything else truly complimented the series.
Now i watched the English dubbed version of it, so I'm going off the American voice actors. Very, very, very good. I absolutely loved the choice of voice actors for each character. They seemed to have fit perfectly with the character and their personalities. My particularly favorite performance was Akio played by Lucci Christian. His character went through exact opposite emotions....one moment wild and upbeat, to calm and serious. Much applause to him.
Character: 10/10
I don't particularly have a favorite character out of all of them since you cannot help but love them all.
The main focus is the two lovers. You get to watch Nagisa and Tomoya experience so many things in this sudden jolt into the adult world, but all this wouldn't be possible without Senae and Akio. Both are playing a much bigger role in both of their lives this time round, but you will love it all the more, since I've found their "routines" marvelously entertaining. Not only that, but they are a huge support to Tomoya and his problems.
The side Characters you know and love in the prequel Clannad don't have much of importance here but they do show up once in a while to help progress a small part of the story. You can't forget the best friends now can you? Now there is one character I will not mention who is the newest to the series. You will absolutely love this character, for they will play a major roll to come in the series.
Enjoyment/Overall: 10/10
I've watched many different romance animes, each being of different genres.
I can be harsh on judging them: Being to annoying, to lovey-dovey, to sexual/ perverted, to stupid, etc etc. I needed a more realistic story...not some fan based appeal that every anime these days does.
Step in Clannad ~After Story~ and my outlook on anime changed forever.
I HIGHLY recommend you sit down and watch this series. Everyone can take a page from this book and learn to use it for their own lives.
