And, to be honest, my initial reaction was to drop it after only one episode, before picking it up again some weeks later. After Story begins with much of the same thing, resolving the arcs that were left untouched by season 1; those of the Sunohara siblings, Misae and Yukine. While this is my personal opinion, the first 2 arcs in particular didn't even possess much impact. I didn't cry at all. The third arc is when Clannad After Story begins to show its true colours, and while it is undeniably more of the same thing, the maturity of After Story begins to show at last, and I finally found myself crying after an underwhelming beginning. After that, it ditches the arc structure in favour of (finally) developing the primary characters of Tomoya and Nagisa, thus reaching its thematic crux.
You see, the latter half of After Story is when Clannad finally reveals the true reason for its existence. It discusses some mature themes: gang violence, drug abuse, depression and, at its core, family. In some ways, the characters of Tomoya and Nagisa mature with the series. Far from simply being moving, After Story becomes powerful. It has meaning. We finally begin to witness ideas that are relevant in some way, perhaps, to our own lives. The melodrama remains, but only serves to accentuate the ideas rather than failing to serve any purpose at all. And there are elements of the series that will leave you genuinely shaken, in particular two incredibly heart-wrenching scenes that reduced me to a flood of uncontrollable tears. Me, who is so cold that if you licked me your tongue would get stuck to my skin. God, that metaphor sounded so much better in my head.
That all aside, the ending is bloody awful. After one of those aforementioned heartbreakers, the final episode does some pretty strange stuff. And I personally choose to believe it never happened. I elect to believe that Clannad After Story's most heartbreaking scene is also its ending. But I can't escape that fact that that episode exists, and ruined an otherwise perfect second half.
Also, and I hate to say it, but I now despise Fuko. She annoys me too much for me to return to my previous adoration for her in season 1.
Guh, I hate using such emotive terminology when reviewing a series, but it's so difficult not to with Clannad. From a more objective standpoint, After Story's execution also improves drastically in the second half. The art remains about the same, with the only changes being representative of the physical growth of the characters. And the opening sequence is absolutely stunning!
So yeah, After Story is deceptively samey at first, but absolutely beautiful if you're willing to endure the initial arcs. A vast improvement on an average series, and arguably Key's greatest achievement. Even if you didn't particularly like season 1, watch season 2. You won't be disappointed!
