Clannad: After Story

Clannad; After Story's charm does not exist within the film, it exists within you. An emotional roller coaster has never been this subtle but yet so beautiful.

Clannad; After Story remains a landmark in modern anime series within its particular genre, but will it stand the test of time? Well, I'm sure that 90 per cent of people who have seen this show, say it will. But we will have to wait to know for sure.

What follows is an astounding series that will break even the most cynical persons heart and that is this series absolute driving force. Never before has a series ever made me so emotionally attached to its characters as this.

And when you can't take it anymore, this series plunges straight in to you. Driving our tears to their absolute max in this absolute phenomenon.

I'm an action junkie, I usually watch anime with lots of violence, actions, etc. I have lots of favorite anime like Black Lagoon, Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Soul Eater, etc. I decided to give this anime a watch one day. After the first episode, I got hooked. After I finished watching the entire series, both first and second seasons, I was crying like a baby...no joke. I stayed up till 4 am watching this anime. I have seen lots of great anime before, but Clannad and Clannad After Story is considered my number one favorite anime of all time. It's simply one of the greatest anime EVER! It's funny, it's serious, and especially sad. This show is guaranteed to make anyone cry. If not, that person has a heart cold as stones. It's one of those shows you have to watch before you die. And this anime will stick to you forever. I'm a Clannad Man! Clannad forever!!

This sequel to 'Clannad' starts shortly after the events in that series and covers the events in Tomoya Okazaki's life for the next seven years. We see his relationship with Nagisa develop and lead to marriage and the birth of Ushio, a daughter. There are various events which will have life changing effects on those involved. The story involves various alternate realities where we see the events play out in different ways.

I've tried to keep my precis as vague as possible as there are certain key events which shape later parts of the story which I'd rather not spoil. To use a cliché this series is an 'emotional rollercoaster'; at times it is very funny with both slapstick humour and character driven humour at others it is genuinely tear jerking... I don't mean 'there's something in my eye' tears but proper sobbing! This is because the characters involved are well developed and feel real. The animation is of a high quality throughout. Overall I'd say this is a must see if you enjoyed the first series; I wouldn't advise going straight to this as certain elements might seem more than a little confusing.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

I didn't know what to expect when sitting down for the first time to watch Clannad. I heard quite a few good things about the show since it was released and so I finally decided to watch it.

After the first episode I was hooked. This isn't your traditional anime. It is more like poetry. From the first episode I pretty much knew that I wouldn't regret spending my time with this show. Little did I know, it was much more then that.

As the show progressed I realized that it wasn't simply a teenage drama, it delved into some really emotional themes, especially in the second season (After Story). Clannad pulls at your heart at every chance it gets and when you're down and you think you can't take any more it kicks you again.

The animation style was beautiful as well, it gave a euphoric feel to the entire show. The character design was rather bland but being based off a graphic novel the character design was spot on. The thing that annoyed me most was that there were three characters all with purple hair and it took a while to learn who was who.

Clannad has had a weird emotional impact, one that I can't really explain. All that I can say is that it was beautiful, emotional experience. It was poetry. It wasn't simply another good anime, it was in a league of its own.

I highly recommend that you watch Clannad and Clannd After Story but be prepared to feel emotions you have never felt with any other anime or TV series before.

Wow....What an experience, I have just started watching anime, You know that weird interest that people are into, the one where people would make fun of you and say it's weird or stupid.To those people I can say... Watch this anime and look me in the face after that. Because this is an amazing series and one genre that i am not into being a guy and all. The story is really well told and written, The characters are lovable with interesting amounts of depth and character development Like the main character who goes from hating his father and being a little childish to a full grown up who ends up respecting his father. The relationships with every character feels real and the way they react to one and another makes it even more interesting to watch. The soundtrack is powerful as well and fits every scene rather nicely. The animation is nice looking and the voice acting in the Japanese audio is great to. The comedy and drama is well done and it made me smile, cry, and gave me a whole range of emotions I had never had in any form of entertainment. This is one of the many reasons why I would love to visit japan one day. Because even tho they have made some crappy stuff(like every country) The staff they do put out like this is even more beautiful then American content IMO Because I tend to have tighter connection to the characters.Overall this anime is emotional, funny, powerful, memorable, lovable, and will stay with you to the day you die.