Reviews for Clannad: After Story (8.53) 5k19p

Clannad ~After Story~ is the continuation of the Clannad TV series after Tomoya officially starts going out with Nagisa. This part of the story has more of the sad undertones typically found in other Key works.

Most of the ing characters in the original Clannad return though with more limited appearances. Since there is less of Sunohara and the other comedic characters, there is also a proportional decrease in the amount of humor. The focus turns to Nagisa and Tomoyo, emphasizing the "family" theme of the series.

As with other Key works, be prepared for some pretty depressing stuff. The ending, though, is a nice surprise that I won't spoil.

Fans of Key rejoice, this is a job well done. The story gets a bit slow at times but it's well worth it.

Animation:
The animation of Kyoto Animation is still top notch. Beautiful scenery with dynamic coloring that adapts to the mood of the series. This is also the only series that I've seen a CGI human character actually look well done. This is an outstanding work overall.

Sound:
This series has a new OP/ED combo which matches the tone of the series quite well. The OP is a bit sad and slow and the ED is upbeat, Nagisa's dango theme returns as one of the most memorable BGMs in the series.

The VAs are the same from the original so if you loved them then, you still will now.

Music: 4/5, VA: 5/5.

Story:
The slice of life style of the original series continues but now with Okazaki working after graduating. Many of the ing characters have moved on to other things in life as well (Sunohara with un-dyed hair...).

The focus shifts from school-life drama to real-world and family issues. It seems to emphasize that the real world is less protected than school life, meaning that there will be fewer happy/comedic moments and more hardships to go through.

The overall mood throughout the majority of the series is a combination of hopefulness and sadness (which one dominates depends on the episode). The progression of the plot is more focused than the original Clannad.

Certain magical elements found in other Key works return, making for a "magical" happening that, while making things happy again, leaves a sense of the original story being usurped

Despite the mysterious nature of this twist, it is executed fairly well overall and is complemented by a ing conclusion that indeed actually ends the series in a conclusive fashion (contrary to some of the other current series).

The "other" world with the mysterious girl and robot are fully explained and will relate to the real world, similar to how the voice of the girl in Kanon made sense by the end of that series.

While I didn't like the decrease in humor and magical plot twist, the other elements of the story were good enough to make up for some of this.

Character:
The relationship between Nagisa and Tomoya is furthered along with other characters not to be mentioned for fear of more spoilers. Tomoya becomes a bit more responsible by the end of the series which is a nice touch. He's the main focus of the series while Nagisa returns to getting sick every year.

As stated before, ing characters have a much more limited role in this series but do manage to make a few cameo appearances. Fuko chan does return to give some decent humor to the latter part of this series but for the most part, Akio and Sanae will be all the humor you get.

Value:
The series gives a more conclusive end to the Clannad series and gives the overall storyline more of the Key flavor. If you liked the happy-humor nature of most of the original Clannad, this series is a bit of a different flavor. I personally found it nearly as enjoyable but from more of a plot-based viewpoint. Overall though, the conclusion is worth getting to. After finishing this, a re-watch of the entire Clannad series might shed new light on the other-world robot and girl.