PROS
Clannad: After Story has every theme that you need to make the perfect anime. Love, loss, family, friendship, life, death, and other important parts of life. No other anime has come close to the perfection of these elements needed to give an emotional response to the viewer. Perhaps that is why I, and others, have such compassion and love for this anime. It relates to the most important part of a human - the heart. The themes in After Story are things that anyone can relate to. A lot of shows have themes similar to these, but none are as apparent or shown in greater context than in here.
Visually, this movie is a masterpiece. I could be wrong, but it seems as if the visuals have gotten much better from the first season of Clannad. All of the minor problems had I with the previous season seem to be completely gone. Perhaps the most dazzling aspect of the series is when a certain subplot pops up every now and then. The visuals for this subplot come out in words that are indescribable. I cannot say what this subplot is, since it would be spoiling a part of the series, but anyone who has see or will see After Story knows exactly what I am talking about.
Character-wise, After Story gets everything right. I have never felt characters as real as the ones that appear in this anime. By never, I mean in anything. No movie, TV show, or anime has made me feel for characters as well as After Story. It truly is a unique experience to have such feelings for a anime character. This anime will not just make you tear up a little bit. It will strange you to the point of falling and crying in buckets of tears. Please keep in mind that you will probably get these same feelings ONLY if you have seen the first season. I have a suspicion that many people might skip the first season because loads of people who have seen it have given it mediocre reviews. I promise you, if you haven't seen the first season of Clannad, you will never get the same emotional response that others who love After Story have been given.
The soundtrack for After Story is pretty much the same as the first season of Clannad, which is not a bad thing at all. I loved the soundtrack to Clannad, so it being used again is a treat for me and one that I appreciated very much. The only minor difference I can think of is the opening credit sequence. It differs from the first season and has a different soundtrack as well, but I actually prefer the intro to After Story over Clannad (first season). It really brings the mood of the series to you, and rightfully so.
The story of After Story is not unique, in terms of the general outline, but it is done in such a way that is very different from most places that anime has gone in the past. It follows the first season by bringing the characters into adulthood and shows how they live their life as such. I don't want to say any further, due to the fact that I would be spoiling a lot if I did. Rest assure, this series is jam-packed with everything you've been dying for in an anime.
CONS
The only thing that really gives a negative vibe to me is the ending credits. I'm not sure what in the world everyone at Kyoto Animation were thinking when they put the ending credits in After Story. Imagine this - You just finished an extremely sad episode of After Story. Your eyes are red from crying and you feel completely ruined (in a good way) from whatever just happened in that episode. Well, right when the episode ends, this weird happy music comes on and acts as if nothing bad happened in that episode. Yeah.... it's not a very good feeling. It isn't that distracting, especially if you have the DVD/Blu-Ray of Clannad and choose to skip the chapter right after it ends. It is a bit of an issue though.
OVERALL
Clannad: After Story is a masterpiece. Plain and Simple. Kyoto Animation, as much as I love them, will never make an anime as good as After Story. It's just impossible. The work that went into making this anime as good as it is must have been absolutely, relentlessly hard. I salute Kyoto Animation for taking time to make such a grand piece of art. Clannad: After Story is for anyone and everyone. Again, even if you hate anime with all your guts, I would hope that you would at least try it out. To die not ever watching After Story is not only wrong, but evil as well. I can't think of a world without such an anime. Perhaps the greatest thing of all is knowing that if you enjoy After Story as much as myself and others have, you can one day pass this anime to your kids and see how they react to such. A family tradition of After Story would be an amazing thing to cherish and behold upon the world.
