Series Review: Clannad After Story
Continuing immediately after the end of Clannad, Nagisa and Tomoya have started dating, and their second semester has started.
Tomoya continues to live at Nagisa, and the two are horribly awkward (but adorable) as they begin their relationship. Nagisa ends up falling ill again in the winter, making her fall short of the school’s attendance requirements, so she is forced to repeat her senior year a third time. Tomoya graduates and, after briefly working for Furukawa Bread, gets a job as an electrician (working with Yoshino Yusuke) and moves out on his own. After a lot of hard work, he is offered a promotion managing a site with a separate company, but his father gets arrested and spoils that plan. Tomoya proposes to Nagisa and she accepts.
Nagisa eventually graduates and the two get married, and Nagisa moves into Tomoya’s apartment. Not long after, Nagisa finds she is pregnant. Unfortunately, her weak body can’t take it, and she dies giving birth to their baby, Ushio.
All I can really say is: holy balls. This is one of the most moving and beautiful animes I have ever seen, which is saying a lot considering I knew exactly what was coming. They executed all of the key (read: sad) moments perfectly. I spent more time crying during this then I have in, uh, forever. The parallels with the Imaginary World were excellent. All the episodes leading up to Nagisa’s death built up this wonderful relationship between the two, only for them to punch you in the face and say, “what were you expecting? this is a Key anime!”
Of course after the episodes with Tomoya’s father, I had to feel bad for the poor old bastard. I always end up hating his father up until they go into his past, and then I bawl and hate Tomoya instead. Ushio was the cutest thing in the world. Every little girl should be just like her. Honestly, there isn’t much I can say that hasn’t already been said/that I didn’t mention in my review for the first season.
The OP was amazing, but the ED kind of blew and was ridiculously inappropriate for the latter half of the season. I would of preferred it if they had kept Dango Daikazoku, but meh. All the background music was stellar, though it was all the same as Clannad’s.
All in all, absolutely amazing, in nearly every aspect. I love you, Key. Never leave me.
Chibi’s Review:
Thus far this year this has got to be the most emotional anime I’ve ever watched. While it ends on a high note, the emotional roller coaster they take you through from episode 14 through episode 22 has got to be the most heavy thing I’ve ever watched.
Having lost both his wife, and then later his daughter, you just couldn’t help but feel hurt and in despair for Tomoya, it seemed like nothing was going to work out for him.
This had me broken down in tears, it was so emotional. It felt so real, like something that would occur in real life, but it was so well displayed and played out on the anime that it simply moved me beyond anything ever felt before.
The story of Nagisa and Tomoya is by far the best story I’ve watched in any anime to date.
The opening of Clannad ~After Story~ was amazing, I really liked the song and the animation for this opening. I actually think I liked it better than the first season’s The ending was average, I still liked the ending in the first season best. Dango Dango Daikazoku~
I would have to rate this anime as the top on my list of recently watched anime as it has fully moved me emotionally and I’ve come to appreciate it the most. I’d give it a 10 out of 10.
I’m agree with you, watching several last episodes are simply hard and sad. But episode 22 are amazing, they answered all the illusionary world story has been and all, that there’s a mystery about the timelapse and the world