A review with perfect scores usually contains the following properties:
-Heavily biased
-Written by fan-boys or fan-girls
-Contains little to no useful information
-Frowned upon in general
I am fully aware of the negative effects if I were to give this review a perfect score. I had initially thought about lowering the ratings of certain categories, but came to the realization that one should not intentionally abstain from giving a series its deserving flawless ratings just so it would go with the norm, and Clannad After Story, in my humble opinion, is one of such show.
Before reading further, please note that this review could contain minor spoilers. While it does not contain actual description of events, the general structure of the story will be touched. If you want a complete fresh experience of the show, I'd recommend you read no further.
Clannad After Story is the continuation of Clannad, focusing on the life of two characters after they started dating at the end of the first season, but side-stories of several sub-characters are told in the first half of the series. These little stories don't actually have much of an impact to the main storyline, and the characters might not even feel all that interesting initially. However, through the enchanting plot crafted by the talented creators, I found myself tearing at the end of each little tale. As a guy, I have to say it is not something I am too proud of =/
Animation 10
KyoAni (the production company) did not disappoint its fans once again. Fluid animations, breath-taking sceneries, accurately depicted character expressions, meticulously detailed backgrounds, nothing but "impressive" describes the animation of Clannad After Story. As an example of the power of the visuals, it has given such a strong flavour to the town and seasons in the show, it is almost at a level where the viewer can feel and long for. An easy 10.
Sound 10
I have always wondered whether this category includes the music. It does not make sense how a review could lack a category for music, as it is possibly the most important factor in bringing out the atmosphere and emotion of a scene, but grouping music as "Sound" is slightly, just slightly, insulting if anything. I suppose I'll just have to make do.
Not a whole lot to comment for the character voices, you get your usual anime-pitched female voices and a myriad of other voices for various stereotypes.
As for the BGM, just like Air and Kanon, Clannad reuses the music from the game. The Key composers - Maeda Jun, Togoshi Magome and Orito Shinji have again done a wonderful job in delivering the perfect atmosphere, some scenes are so touching it leaves the viewer in awe, yearning for more. Even though simple and synthesized, no one can deny the perfect harmony between the music, the characters and the world. I think music has so much of an influence that without these seemingly magical themes, Clannad After Story would not even be half as enjoying.
Story 10
To be honest, the story is fairly simple and straightforward. There are no jaw-dropping twists, nerve-racking suspense, or mind-blowing actions. It's just life story of several characters and that's that. But, the best story is not always the one with the most content or concrete happenings - it is the one that can drive you to love, hate, or simply care about some imaginary characters in some imaginary plot.
There are far too many sub-characters that I first thought are uninteresting and generic. But time and time again I was proven wrong and at the end of each story I'd be loving the characters and thought they have every reason in the world to be in the show. Keep in mind that these stories are told in just 2 to 3 episodes, but it was so well presented/written/expressed, I was just sitting there, stunned, amazed at how the writers could manipulate the emotions of the viewers at will, almost effortlessly. And to think that they are just little side stories.
Suppose the impact of a story is linearly proportional to its length, or in other words, the number of episodes. And suppose this proposition applies to this show. Now you could probably derive how much of a force could the main story be. Yes it's pretty bad.
Character 10
Being a Key story, one should probably not expect much in terms of variety of character traits. As generic or over-used as the personalities may be, they just somehow work with Key's style of story telling. Personally, I am not too big of a fan of weak, sickly, female characters, and the maine heroine just incidentally happen to be one. But that's the beauty of the show, the first impressions on the characters do not really matter, because it will make you like them, without you knowing, subconsciously.
Value 10
I find it hard to quantify how much a series is worth usually. I guess value is heavily tied with the general impression on the show, and for how much I love and praise Clannad After Story, I don't think its value can be anything less than perfect. Even though the romance, the plot, and the characters are probably not too convincing when it comes to real life and that you would probably not gain much in terms of life lessons after watching it, its true value lie at the times when you are alone, reminiscing all about it and feeling how lovely the story, the characters are. And as unrealistic as the story events could be, sometimes, just sometimes, one can not help but silently wonder how sweet it could be if it ever happens to themselves.
Enjoyment 10
Clannad After Story is a anime of contrasts. It is not surprising to find yourself laughing happily at one episode, and depressed at the next. It has its comedy moments, but also its serious drama business. I suppose it's hard to argue it's un-enjoyable when you get the two spectrum of the world.
Overall
Anyone who is reading this review would already know Clannad After Story is a romance show, but it is worthwhile to note that it features a very different sort of romance, or at least a different phase. In brief, there are 3 stages in romance - the first when the characters meet, know and discover each other, and eventually feeling something special - budding of romance; the second stage begins when the characters start dating, where they will learn about the definition of love, to accept the flaws of each other and to realize if he or she is the special one in their life - mutual acceptance; and ultimately the final stage when the characters are ready to commit to each other - marriage and family.
It is undeniable that majority of anime focuses on the first phase, but it makes sense - the audience is generally teenagers and young people, and it is the angst, hot and passionate feeling that excites us; no one would be interested in a dull family story. But this is what makes Clannad After Story special, it is a story about family, about struggle, about happiness, about sacrifice, about what it means to love. And it proves how beautiful a family story can be.
Opinions are subjective, there are good and bad ones, but not right or wrong ones. Opinions are affected by a variety of factors on the individual - personality, emotion, experience, upbringing, etc. It might be a little harsh to say this, but I believe that to truly appreciate Clannad After Story, one might need to be of a certain age to understand romance, and personal experience that relates with it is always a plus. With that said, Clannad After Story should still make a decent watch for everyone, given its solid amount of comedic material.
Another successful element of Clannad After Story is its presentation. A lot of times, there'd be scenes where characters would say some cheesy lines in some cheesy fashion, but the music, the atmosphere, the presentation is done so well, you could feel nothing but touched. Certain formulae are used again and again *coughspiritualbeingcough* but it never gets old. A simple story with simple characters, yet it is powerful enough to drive people into tears. All of this is attributed to its presentation - a perfect concordance of visual, music and atmosphere.
To conclude the review, Clannad After Story is a anime saturated with emotions, it is a story not to be watched, but to be felt.
