bhaag - 2013-07-24 06:14:47

This one is certainly an emotional roller coaster and boy was it a ride.

I have to admit that watching the first season of Clannad didn't entice much feeling from me. A bit too "slice of life-y" for me to really get invested (which don't get me wrong is sometimes a good thing). I came into watching the second season a bit apathetically and was certainly not strapped in correctly for the plunge that took place.

I became so invested in the main characters' happiness that it literally affected me outside of my little anime world. I absolutely love character development and relationships so for me, this "After Story" was a savory dream. Especially with Romance stories set for teenagers, its mostly a given that it will end with just a simple kiss or maybe even just dating, but for Romance fans like me so much more is craved. I want development, marriages, children and, sadly, mostly my cries go unanswered. Then this shiny beacon arrives! Clannad After Story takes you to such a heartwarming place that Nagisa and Tomoya move to after their high school years. and I couldn't have been happier.

Then, halfway through, the real emotion kicks in. Not my place to give anything away, but there were multiple points where I cried stupidly in front of my computers, Clannad After Story was that successful at connecting me to these characters. And I even got the ending that I had been hideously sobbing for throughout the last few episodes. The only drawback I could find was I wish that the minor characters, who had such big introductions in the first season, had more of a role to play in this story. Overall a beautiful story, with amazing and real characters, tissues will be necessary so grab your Kleenex and start watching!

tparisian - 2013-07-20 17:45:47

Everyone knows it. Clannad is a piece of art. It makes you cry, smile, or even angry. Very sweet. This anime is a must watch.

eprohaska - 2013-07-09 16:53:06

Clannad & Clannad: After Story takes common genres like slice of life, comedy, and drama. But then, its story flips it upside down many times in a way that speaks deep into your heart and soul like any other anime you have seen before. About how beautiful is life and how it can turn into sadness and despair, and after watching it you will become a different person. Its characters are the same but they have developed and changed from the first season. The sound fits perfectly to the environment of the story in the comedy and of course on the drama. Its story is beyond perfection, about an Illusionary World where if done the right thing can open the arms to the hope of a miracle that will change you forever and so it did to Tomoya. The enjoyment this anime gave me is like any other, moments to laugh and moments to cry, and you have to take a minute or two to reflex on yourself and when you finish watching it I hope that you will feel the same as I did. Because the series is a one of its kind only and there will never be something similar like this, an anime that will be spoken for years until the end of life itself.

(SPOILER ALERT)

Could you imagine yourself been in a world that has ended? Where you would be alone only with a garbage doll that can move and you don’t even know that doll itself is your father!

So watch it, please watch it, you won’t regret it.

Ever.

-By giving happiness to people you could make what your soul heart desires and what is important in life is never give up and keep fighting.

toney.nicolas - 2013-06-30 06:13:14

Clannad, a story like no other; an after story that has never been told before.Comedy, Tragedy, Love, Sorrow, this anime had it all. At times one would laugh from tears of joy, but there were times one would weep for the sake of the characters. In the end, this anime fulfilled its goals. It has made an impact towards the heart of the viewer. For better or for worse, anybody who watches this will learn that there is always a After Story in life.

stracke.loma - 2013-06-28 18:27:02

This, guys, is the real Clannad. The first season may have been good and all, but this is the real masterpiece.

STORY: 10/10

This horrible moment in which I have to explain without spoiling anything... well, let's say that while the first season had a great balance between drama and comedy, After Story does what it can to bring as much drama as possible, without sacrificing the comedy too much. And the worst thing is, the drama is extremely well done, and will leave a mark on your poor human heart. This season has some of the saddest and heart-warming moments in all the anime that I've watched, and all events cause a domino effect of more heart-warming or sad events, in an endless roller-coaster of emotions. The story this time concentrates on Tomoya and Nagisa, so side-stories are kept to a minimum, and only happen at the beginning of the season. I can't go in any more details without spoiling, but if i could, this paragraph would be a lot longer. I must say, though that the ending fells slightly out of place at first, but isn't bad by any means.

ANIMATION: 9/10

Same as Clannad's first season. Gorgeous as ever, the extremely cute design will make you feel even more emotional when THINGS happen... If you don't hate "cute", you won't find any problem here. The environments also are very well made.

SOUND: 8/10

Still the same as the first season. Very good in context but not so much outside of it for the most of the soundtrack, but with very good opening and ending.

CHARACTER: 10/10

Character development in this season is just done beautifully right. The characters feel so human it hurts. When something bad happens, you're sad. When something good happens, you feel happy. When the characters feel depressed, you understand them. I don't think I have ever seen character development done this well in other anime except in some moments, but Clannad After Story manages to keep this for the whole season.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10

I can't explain it. I can't write down all the smiles and tears this show brought me, can I? Those damn ninja cutting onions under my desk...

THE ETERNAL VERDICT OF INFINITE DESTRUCTION: 10/10

This is as good as the slice of life got. Maybe it isn't perfect, but I would never give it less then 9.7. This is a must watch for anyone who doesn't completely hate "cute" design, doesn't want drama in their anime or literally doesn't have a heart

gutmann.gail - 2013-06-28 04:12:43

Clannad: After Story...where to start...Well, If you’re reading this review then it means that you've probably watched the first season and you want to know if you should watch the second season. My answer? Yes, watch the second season. If you've already sat through the first season then you should make it worth your time and watch the second one...cus the second season is when the payoff comes:-)(Sorry about the poor grammar/spelling)STORY (7)YES, I gave the story a 7. If you've read my Death Note review then I'm sure a lot of you are saying, "Why does this girl keep giving big animes such low ratings!?!?!"...yea...well, whatever...So, overall I actually liked the story. I thought that the last half of After Story was infinitely better than the first season and the first half of After Story combined. The story starts out cute and heartwarming...then it proceeds to grab your heart and smash it into tiny pieces. After getting off the emotional roller coaster that was After Story, I found that (for me) Clannad just seemed a little empty. Sure it's a very good anime that pulls at your heartstrings, but doesn't the plot seem a bit manipulative? It makes us love a character then proceeds to put them through a world of s**t. It's like a lot of the characters are just there in order to add to the angst and tragedy. I also have a bone to pick with the first half of After Story. It was cute and all that stuff, but a lot of it just felt like a waste of time. I mean, a bunch of the characters in the first half of the season barely even show themselves in the last half. Cute is good, but I like to have a reason for the cuteness.ART (7)I don't really have a complaint with the animation. The HUGE eyes and the fact that they look like kids even though they're adults did bother me in the beginning, but I got used to it. The animation in the other world scenes were beautiful:-).SOUND (8)The music in After Story is very good, especially when it has to be cute or sad. I didn't really like or hate the ending and opening. They just weren't very memorable for me. I thought that the music had very good timing. When a sad scene arrives, the music is right there helping to make the moment even more heart-wrenching. The one song that is forever branded into my mind is the Dango Daikazoku song...don't know if that's a good or bad thing...but that song is certainly memorable.CHARACTER (7)The characters in After Story were okay. I didn't give them a higher rating cus they weren't very original. There was the kind girl, the smart girl, the kick-ass girl, the weird girl, and the athletic girl. They all filled their roles well, but it wasn't anything special. I did enjoy the growth of the main guy character. Sure, he's as standard as the rest of the cast, but he grows on you. The only thing I didn't really like about him was the fact that he cries WAY too often...I mean, it's cool and all that a guy is crying, but when he cries for every frickin semi-sad moment...well...it tends to lose its emotional impact.ENJOYMENT (8)Even though I've been complaining a lot in this review, I still got a lot of enjoyment from After Story. The comedy made me laugh, and the sad moments made me cry(dammit I fell for it).OVERALL (8)My advice to you would be that if you've already seen Clannad then defiantly watch Clannad: After Story...just don't think too hard bout how they're manipulating you're emotions, or the standard characters. The strength of After Story is its ability to get you to love their standard characters, and then use them to get maximum sadness.

joshuah94 - 2013-06-08 02:14:12

Clannad After-Story is, with lack of better term, the best anime I ever saw to this day. I never thought an anime could have so many different emotions in it until I watched this. A friend of mine recommended this anime to me, in last december. When I finnished the first season, I jumped right into the second: Clannad After-Story. So, let´s get into it.Story (10) - As it is a second season, Clannad AS picks up where Clannad left off, in the last semester of Tomoya´s and Nagisa´s highschool. The story is very similar to the first season, until episode 11, when Tomoya graduates. From there on, we will see the challenges he has to face in order to live by himself and raising a family from scratch. The story has many twists, and you won´t regret giving this a chance. It´s here that Clanand AS surpasses its first season.Art (9) - For some reason, I just love the art for this anime. It just feels right for this kind of anime. Although I think it could have been better, it was extremely fitting and I never got tired of it during the anime. If you have seen Kannon, it´s the same kind of art.Sound (10) - Possibly the best soundtracks being found in a single anime, I loved how the music fitted to well in each scenario, it just seemed natural. Nagisa´s Theme was my favourite one, and the one you will probably remember the most when you think of this anime. I think that good sound and art quality makes the anime that much better, so it´s a big plus for Clannad. It also uses some soundtracks from the first season, giving a feeling of nostalgia, while using some new soundtracks.Character (10) - In my opinion the reason why Clannad AS is the best anime I ever saw to this day. Each character is different and has a good reason for doing what they do. We see the development of the main character, Tomoya, while he attempts to grow up and raise his family, and faces many challenges that he has to overcome. Nagisa, the female main character, also has her own challenges to overcome, and she´s not annoying like 95% of the female characters of other anime. She plays a very important role on the anime later on. As for the other characters, each one has very good points, like Nagisa´s parents, that help Tomoya and Nagisa in their daily life as much as they can, and their former schoolmates, that visit them often.Enjoyment (10) - The only anime with 20+ episodes that I watched in one sitting. That says pretty much everything. I just couldn´t pause it, because there was so much going on, not even one episode was boring, and that imrpessed me very much. I wasn´t expecting such a good story when I watched the first epsiode, but it became my top 1 anime in a short time.Overall (10) - It´s the best anime ever created, an anime that everyone should try out, even if they are not fond of this genre. It´s just a must-watch, and it´s so different from the other typical drama slice-of-life anime. Give this anime a chance if you still haven´t. You will see that your time wasn´t wasted, and you gained something precious from watching it.

nrussel - 2013-05-18 10:39:35

The original series, the highly rated "Clannad", was one painful viewing experience for me - not because it's full of tragic tales, but because of how dire it is. Female characters sugary enough to induce diabetes in a lump of rock, combined with atrociously forced "drama" fast tracked it to a lofty position on my "Overrated Shite" list. And yet its ratings pales in comparison to that of its sequel, "Clannad: After Story".Given my experiences with the first series, I hadn't originally intended to watch "Clannad: After Story", but people kept telling me how much better it was and how different it was compared to the first season. Intrigued, I decided to give it shot......and boy was I disappointed."Clannad: After Story" was supposedly a different kettle of fish from "Clannad", but it's obvious to me I that it's the same kettle, with mostly the same fish inside - it's still very moe; the melodrama is still clumsily manipulative; it's still unmistakably "Clannad".Unlike "Clannad" though, "Clannad: After Story" is somewhat inconsistent. But I mean that as a back hand compliment, in that "Clannad: After Story" had the some good moments amongst the crap, while "Clannad" was just consistently crap.The first part of "Clannad: After Story" is almost indistinguishable from "Clannad". It continues from where the original series left off, taking on a similar format comprising mini-arcs of various happenings around the school. Since Tomoya and Brown Haired Girl are already an item at the start of this series, there is no longer a harem aspect. You would think this would improve things, but in the case of this anime, all it meant was that it concentrated on mass producing contrived melodrama instead.The first arc, starring Sunohara, was one of the worst offenders. It started off as a comedy, and although some parts were a bit tasteless, it was at least tolerable. Half way through though, it tried to turn into a serious drama, and it was all downhill from there on. The problem is that, as with most stories involving Sunohara, the comedy is quite ridiculous, involving an absurd set up that you simply can't take seriously, but the drama directly extends from that set up, and the anime seems to think it's fine to try and deliver emotional punches off this same platform that was used to deliver goofy punchlines shortly before. There are also glaring problems in the plot and inconsistencies in the portrayal of Sunohara's character, but the real crux is this: these problems are not oversights - these are the consequences of the show's willingness to sacrifice everything in order to crank up drama to 11. Not surprising then, that I found it so unconvincing.And so "Clannad: After Story" continues in typical "Clannad" fashion, spinning implausible, almost surreal sob stories about its bizarrely troubled characters ... until around episode 10. This is the point where Tomoya and his ex-harem members graduate and make their way into the big wide world. It marks the beginning of what made many consider "Clannad: After Story" to be one of the greatest anime ever made. So I approached the show renewed hope......only to be disappointed once more.However much "Clannad: After Story" changes its settings, it still approaches drama with the subtle touch of a rapist. While I admit that the show does mature somewhat, its maturity is much like the way Brown Haired Girl matures during the show - she became more like a 15 year-old than a 10 year-old. An improvement it may be, but it's debatable whether this 50% increase in maturity is worthy of lavish praise when 1) the initial bar was set so stupidly low, and 2) she's supposed to be in her twenties by the end of the show.But allow me to pause in the middle of my acid spewing in order to acknowledge that there are definitely merits found in this part of the story, and that's enough to make it by far the best part of the whole franchise.As is always the case, these best parts centred around Tomoya himself and not some dipshit moe girl or some other retarded side character. One of the stories dealt with Tomoya trying to settle into a job and striving to overcome, amongst other difficulties, his physical handicap. This I liked, because above all, it was unembellished, believable drama - he actually had plausible real world problems to deal with, which isn't something to take for granted in the world of "Clannad", despite it often being labelled as a real life drama.It's fair to say that the franchise would be a lot worse without Tomoya; he was almost carrying the show single handedly. But there was one other, newly introduced in "Clannad: After Story", who shared his burden of being a rare good character stuck in the cesspit of shit ones. It's not too surprising then, that the stretch of episodes focusing almost solely on the two of them are the best ones that "Clannad: After Story" has to offer. Its emotional apex, a gorgeous scene set in a field of golden flowers tinted red in the setting sun, is hands down the most touching moment in the combined two seasons of the show. Emotional but not forcefully so, it captured the central theme of family with a poignancy and sincerity that's most unusual for the show.But that, I'm afraid, is the last remaining good thing I have to say about "Clannad: After Story".In between the aforementioned high points, and even entwined with them, crappy arcs and sub-plots are found in abundance. Amongst them, there's the incident of an all important decision reached via baseball, and another one that dealt with matters between Tomoya and his dad. The former looks to be an instance of "Clannad: After Story" trying to be subtle by approaching the matter at hand in a round-a-bout manner, in the same way that an elephant might try to do ballet; the latter is another classic case of the show sacrificing its characters to the drama. Time and time again over the course of the two seasons I witnessed Human Plot Device, aka Tomoya's dad, demonstrate his immense capability by taking on whatever personality the plot required, and this unsurprisingly resulted in his character feeling like an unfathonable, contradicting mess.To say the remaining episodes were unsatisfactory would be an understatement. To begin with there was the re-appearance of one of the most fucking annoying characters I've ever had misfortune of encountering, which invoked more sadness within me than all the sad stories in the whole series put together. And then there's the ending. I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll just say that not only was it confusing, but I would have felt cheated if I didn't have so little emotional investment in the show to be cheated out of.That aside, there's also some weird business going on with the ending to the main story not being the last episode of the series. There are two more episodes after the main ending: the first one is an alternative reality side story; the other one, the final episode, is just a recap. It's as if the show was going for the most anti-climatic end to a series ever. The purpose of throwing in that side story eludes me, but the re-cap's summarising did help to make the ending clearer. It doesn't clear up everything though, and there are major plot elements that remain baffling to the end. I did come across an informative time line that made references to the visual novel, and in all honesty, I was quite impressed with the grand scheme of what I saw. Unfortunately, various aspects of the plot failed to translate during the adaptation. Most notably, the visual novel mechanics they tried to port across caused plenty of confusion. The irony is that by trying to be more faithful to the source material, the anime actually ended up being worse off.That said, the ending is just a single nail in a rather large coffin; the show's problems run far deeper, right down to the conceptual level. Other than being filled with moe blobs that barely qualifies as characters, I get the impression that the franchise has been developed from a completely wrong approach. Instead of starting with some good ideas and letting them grow into good stories organically, it feels like the writers started with the intention of making the biggest fucking weepfest ever, then threw in whatever ludicrous ideas that came into their heads in order to achieve their goal. As a result, values like story and character integrity were continuously being compromised to make the show more tragic superficially. This might have been forgivable if it only happened on occasion, but when it's the bread and butter aspects of the story, the end product simply isn't a good drama.It's just emotion pr0n.

therese.mclaughlin - 2013-05-16 22:31:31

Well, where to begin... There are so many things I'd like to start off with, most of them being spoilers, but this review shall be spoiler free. I'm going to assume you've already seen Clannad, if not watch it first or this anime will make no sense and you'll kill the enjoyment because you won't be "close" to the characters. Clannad was a comedic, sad, romantic, show, with comedy being the predominant characteristic. It was not very tear jerking, and the romance was a bit broken up. Clannad: After story retains some comedy, but will have you crying to the point of needing a storm drain. The plot has twists and turns you'll never see coming. They are extremely depressing, the show pokes at some of the fundamental, primal, connections we all have. Such as motherly instinct, love for a child, father and son/daughter relationship, long lost whatevers, and a hell of alot more. You WILL cry, I guarantee it. You'll have alot of fun crying your eyes out, even though the strangely fitting happy feelings you'll get will feel out of place but oh-so-right will only amplify the experience. Another thing, if you reading this and thinking you won't cry, you are dead wrong. Because it takes ALOT to make me even feel sympathy, this anime made me realize I actually have a soul.Overall: Incredible story, depressingly sad, I can't find much wrong with this show, the animations are great, any flaws are unsee able because of your blinded by tears. 10/10 true masterpiece

aron48 - 2013-03-19 00:40:34

Recommendation: Clannad After Story is a continuation from the original Clannad anime. It would be unwise-stupid- to not watch Clannad first. After Story builds upon everything Clannad achieved to make it an even better and angelic experience. The plot is magnificent with the right amounts of drama, comedy and tragedy, the visual quality is wonderful and the voice acting and songs are mesmerising. If you didn’t enjoy Clannad, you may actually enjoy After Story since it is in almost every way superior. If you did enjoy Clannad, then by no means watch this and feel more feels. After Story will most likely break your heart into pieces before mending it and breaking it again, it is the very definition of a rollercoaster of emotions. It is nothing short of an amazing experience that transcends almost all media. There will be minimal spoilers in the following review. No big and major events will be described to avoid people getting spoiled, or people reliving such experiences. Clannad After Story is a direct sequel to the adored Clannad series (or season, which ever you call it) setting straight after the warm ending in Clannad. After Story continues to follow the story of Tomoya, as he matures personally and with his relationship with Nagisa. The series is roughly cut in half, the earlier half finishing off their time in school and the latter, delving into their adult life. At high school, it is their final semester as they continue to help out their friends in their struggles. But when the transition occurs, from the sheltered life in school to the big open world, a tragedy occurs. Nagisa falls ill again, long enough to keep her from graduating with Tomoya. As Nagisa retakes her third year at school again, Tomoya finds a stable job and is able to find a small house for the two. As time moves on, and Nagisa finally graduates (after falling ill again), the true family matters of the Clannad series begins to occur. Tomoya marries Nagisa and is intent to start a family. But the truth is, is this very man who cursed and hated this town ready to start a family in it?Avoiding major spoilers aside, Clannad After Story is a continuation of Clannad. All the characters are there, those characters that didn’t have their own personal arc in Clannad have theirs in AS (I’ll refer to this series as that from now on in the review). As we reach the end of high school for Tomoya, we evidently see his growth from an ignorant child who plays tricks and sarcastic remarks, to a more mature person who sympathises and cares. The entire Clannad experience continues to shine in AS with more hard hitting arcs and further developed relationships. As we see Tomoya grow up and mature alongside Nagisa, we can’t help to feel their genuine emotions as time moves on. It’s that very foundation of how we can relate to these characters, to be able to feel their expressions and actions, that the messages and motifs that AS delivers are hard hitting and in some cases, life changing. We get to see Tomoya interact more with adults, begin to work to provide food and shelter for his family to ensure their safety and happiness. One thing that AS does better than Clannad, is that the pacing of the story is much better and seamless. The arcs do not outpace each other and feel short as a result, but feel complete. That is pretty much the sense you get from AS, that the entire story is complete. AS completely builds upon the first series, enhancing the experience to a further degree by placing emphasis on the relationships you built with the characters. The general plot still places emphasis on Tomoya, with the first half still engaging with him helping out his friends and the second half, fully experiencing the notion of family. And this is where the entire experience boils down to, the emphasis on family. It may be strange how the main focus is only fully feature in the latter half of AS, but the latter half is arguably better than the first series. There are a few new characters that join the Clannad cast, one of which will be one of the biggest in the latter half. As Clannad magnificently blended comedy and tragedy together so does AS, and much better too. AS features a more mature theme and plot than Clannad and may feel very heavy and serious at times. That is how many comedic events do occur every now and again, and these moments are sheer flashes of brilliance. The comedic moments never feel tacked on; they are well executed and will get a laugh out of many. AS is also much more dramatic than the first, with the emphasis on a more mature story there are bound to be dramatic moments that may plague an adult’s life. In these dramatic instances, there is no over the top melodramatic crap that seems stupid or unbelievable. The same can be for the tragic moments that are a real tear jerker. These tragic moments (not to spoil about, or make people remember) are much more powerful in AS than Clannad, since we have travelled and related with the characters over the course of over 20 episodes. It is pretty much a stab in the heart when something tragic occurs to one of your favourite characters. It is because you build a real strong relationship with the characters and when something ever happens to them, you feel for them. That’s pretty much the gist of the anime’s strength, on how real these characters and events are. They can occur in real life. Throughout the entire Clannad experience, you get to see the characters grow and develop and feel attached to them. While Clannad focused lightly on family and more on development and characters, the latter half of AS features the theme of family dominantly. We get to see Tomoya forgive his father after years and years of pain and suffering, we see Tomoya marry Nagisa to start a family and have a little girl of their own, and we get to see how important family is to a person. To Tomoya, Nagisa was the only thing he ever cared for in the town, he hated it immensely. Of course things change over time and we see him develop further into a family man and a fatherly figure. One of the biggest moments for him is to realise his father’s mistakes and hardships, and to forgive him for it. Tomoya is mature enough to see the past he couldn’t before, and for that he has become a better man. While he does find great happiness with the birth of his daughter, it does come with a great price. And when too the child faces the same price, we go back to the first words spoken in the entire series- how things change over time. As Nagisa once said: “Things always have to change. Fun things…Happy things…But eventually they will change. Even so, can you continue loving this place?” Things do indeed change and for Tomoya, it is the biggest quote of his life. But as things do turn into a ditch, and how tragic and miserable events occur to Tomoya; “Surely you’ll find new fun and happy things”. From the parental care of Ushio Okazaki, the forgiving of his father, or his thought of turning away at the bottom of the hill, Tomoya still manages to find something new and happy. If anything, it is the moral of the story and the meaning you take out of it, the love of family and the cherishing of the people around you. It’s that heartwarming moral that completes the story and makes you feel all fuzzy inside. The illusionary world is finally revealed in AS, but not in the way you would like it to. The cold empty world with the last lonely human and a robot is finally revealed. It is nothing more than what Key does; add a magical element to the story. At the climax of the story, that world finally has a purpose, but is not explained rather well. If there is any fault with the entirety of Clannad and AS, is the execution of the illusionary world. Its purpose as well may not be clear, and the purpose itself may leave a sour taste in a few people’s mouth. I too wouldn’t care if the illusionary world did not exist in the story, reverting the ending to a more tragic and miserable ending. But that doesn’t fit with the themes or meaning of Clannad. If the original ending were true, it would tell the tale of a boy who tries to change himself for the better, but each time he does he fails. The true meaning of Clannad is family, relationships and mature character development, and if a magical element is needed to fully express and tie up the series- then by all means let it happen. Also, in turn the sad ending would not have given any closure at all for everyone watching, so the existence of the illusionary world may still be debatable but its purpose in the plot can be justified.Clannad never suffered from any visual flaws and neither does AS. As the plot is built upon Clannad, so are the visuals. Some of the backgrounds are amazing to look at. The night time city backdrop or the exposing stars in the sky all add to the surrealism of the anime. Another thing done extremely well is the animations. At one point in the series, there is a fight between Tomoya and another person. That fight is done magnificently. Not that the fight was epic or with big flashing attacks, but the movement and the actions of the two are fluid and realistic. The characters in the fight move fluidly and throw punches like they would in real life. If anything, that fight alone can be in anyone’s top fighting scenes, not purely for its action and epicness, but for its fluidity and realism. The rest of the anime also evokes real and fluid animation. Colours are once again a big usage in AS, inducing a more highlighted experience. From the funny sunflower field to the pink blossoming sakura trees, the colours used in AS are nothing short of a strong story telling device.The audio is once again another major positive point in the series. Still using the same tracks straight from the visual novel, the soundtracks used adds more than just background noise. The very tracks are used so well in time with the scenes that the song can identify key moments in the anime. From the simple piano tune of Nagisa’s theme playing in some of the most important moments throughout the series, to the light hearted tune of Two Idiots, the soundtrack is nothing short of a masterpiece. Even through the indication of the song, you can identify which moments may be leading up. Or through listening to the songs, those moments that the songs fit in perfectly with start to fly into your head. In conjunction with the great visual and plot aspects of the anime, the soundtrack adds a whole other level that surpasses anything your emotions can handle. It is truly the composition of Jun Maeda- the composer of the visual novel’s soundtrack- that we can experience a masterpiece of an experience. The voice acting itself is once again done magnificent.In Clannad, for me, the opening is nothing special while the ending was, it is the opposite for me in AS. The opening title is Toki wo Kizamu Uta and is composed by non-other than Jun Madea. Sung by Lia, the song itself is nothing short of touching and amazing. The lyrics themselves completely fit in with the anime and express the anime fully well. Not only are the lyrics touching and heartwarming, the music composition reinforces its idea. And Lia herself is such a great singer, and her with Jun Madea music is such an amazing combo. The visuals that accompany the song is also well done. The entire notion of the opening is expressed so well through the combination of both. This opening is one of my all time favourites. The ending for AS can’t be said the same, it doesn’t represent the anime at all. The ending is all happy and carefree and especially with the more mature themes present in AS, it doesn’t bode well. In Clannad the ending music may leave a distaste after a sad event, but the ending here just completely ruins the mood and mindset of viewers. The ending for AS is bad, it just doesn’t fit in with anything. It is a shame since the opening is done masterfully. To sum up my review, Clannad After Story is one masterpiece. It completely builds upon Clannad and does everything better. While the illusionary world isn’t unfolded in the best way, the entirety of the plot is based upon the theme of family. The characters and relationships once again are strong and real. Throughout AS, there will be many feels and tear jerking moments, as well as comedic moments that don’t feel bad or tacked on. The music is once again some of the best works in anime, working well with the anime’s theme and reasoning. The visual quality is never faltered, and the pacing of the story is done much better. The opening is magnificent and the ending is bad. The entire anime is done perfectly. VerdictClannad After Story is beyond amazing. It is one of the finest works in all media that is able to mix and blend both a coherent and amazing story with great visuals and a masterful soundtrack. The story is told marvelously and focuses on mature themes. We get to see characters develop into mature people, form relationships that last a lifetime and form a family that is the most important. The theme of family is completely relatable to everyone, and with it being the most focused idea, it is touching to say the least. After Story is a rollercoaster of emotions with a masterpiece soundtrack that heightens the experience altogether, it goes beyond being just an anime and becomes a divine experience. It creates such an emotive story at such a high caliber that is rarely seen in, well possibly all media. This may be a super tall claim, but this anime does indeed create such a strong and emotive connection between you and the characters, definitely creating a rollercoaster of emotions in this slice of life. There are happy and joyous moments, moments of great hilarity, moments that pull heartstrings of raw affectionate emotions, and moments of crushing tragedy. If you wish to live, breathe and feel in a world filled with everything your heart could implode from, this anime is recommended for you. Tissue boxes are a necessity.After Story is as perfect of an anime it can get, the entire experience is heartwarming and touching. It is by little means the best, but one of.10/10