This is probably going to be shorter than most of my reviews since most of the premise of Clannad has been covered in the last one plus I do have video essays on my YouTube that do cover everything to do with Clannad as a whole, so I essentially don't want to waste any time here.
To sum up feelings though, I will say that After Story is probably one of the most meaningful pieces of media to me and has gotten me to where I am today. And while it may not the most perfect anime in the world considering the flaws that were blatant within Sunohara's own arc, it's perfect to me because there is something to be understood about what makes a personal masterpiece to someone, and I will now add a slightly paraphrased excerpt from my video essay which discusses this now...
"So the thing you have to understand about personal masterpieces is that there are multiple factors contributing to how a piece of media can have your heart. Since everyone is different, this differs from person to person but generally, it focuses on how we perceive the story, the characters, the theme and every other contributing factor that goes into a piece of media.
_Say for example, Toradora.
Most can consider this series a masterpiece because of its characterisation and its core theme of understanding and acceptance. Each character here has a journey in which they seek to be understood by the people around them and to understand themselves._
Taiga with her feelings and her family, Ryuji with his appearance and future prospects, Kitamura with where he stands as an individual, Minori in finding something to believe in and Ami wanting to be understood on an honest mature level.
The importance of this theme running throughout Toradora is something that solidifies a character's growth and some will say that Toradora is a masterpiece for this reason alone. You want to see these people thrive and when you grow to love a character, you want to wish the best for them.
In Clannad, similar things can be said about the characters, but I feel like the main theme revolves around the story in and of itself. Clannad's core message, the one which you get hinted at and shown a lot majorly in After Story is the happiness gained from that of family and that you can find family in friends and others you look up to, anyone can be your family if you so choose them to be.
That latter one is expressed by Tomoyo in Season 1 and further shown and expanded upon in Yukine's arc from After Story, with the gang members all being a part of the same family, themselves, they themselves built a family from being together with Kazuto, Yukine and each other. And notice how each arc in Clannad revolves around a family in some aspect.
And finally...
Each arc has family embedded in it in some shape and form and I feel as though this connection is important because it is trying to get you to realise how strong family truly is to some people. There is misfortune but in the end, they realise they don't have to suffer with the love they are given by who there is as a family… and that leads to happiness… and it takes the form of a light orb.
The light orbs, when enough have been collected, can grant a wish… and when all is in vain for Tomoya, his wish to see Nagisa again gets granted for him and everything is all OK. He has been granted his redemption and his happiness. And once he is happy, the town's happiness culminates in its thousands. They are all part of a giant Dango Daikazoku. This is the message of Clannad. This, right here, is what it's all about. Theming. That is the primary factor of this work which I personally feel gives it its masterpiece status.
But to add on to this, there are secondary factors that also boost the effectiveness, which are in this case, catharsis and resonance.
When you feel something for a character, be it… with Kotomi's arc from Season 1, you feel cathartic for Kotomi in the end. Catharsis is the feeling of relief, you have been relieved of something. And it's to do with the endings of each arc, because at the end of each arc, you have been built up to something huge, the climax has already occurred and once the situation has been resolved… you are supposed to expect its conclusion.
And the way Clannad does it is something that gives the necessary closure needed for that arc. For example, Kotomi's ending was where she received the teddy bear and the message from her late parents, it's empathic and it's cathartic. It puts a full stop to the sentence with a lot of impact and emotion, making you come out of that story with a good feeling throughout the misfortune. And of course, After Story uses this in every arc. Sunohara's arc included I suppose but better examples are found in Misae's, Yukine's, and of course, the After Story portion. This, right here, describes what I think Key's writing should be at all times. Cathartic.
And finally, resonance. I always say that I need to resonate with the characters in order to consider anything worthy of anything above a rating of 8 in my book. And that remains true even now. In After Story, Tomoya's character stuck with me all the way and has improved a thousandfold from what I had actually witnessed beforehand in Season 1. The entire part of the After Story portion was witnessing Tomoya overcoming hurdles with adult life, which in and of itself… think about it. Rarely any story tackles a romance blossoming from high school into adult life which is what makes it one of a kind in the anime sphere.
But we also get to see the struggles that come with it. Daunting tasks, exhaustion, tight schedules, it all lies on Tomoya's shoulders and will soon be on yours if you're not at that age. Seeing as I'm 20 now, this is a shocking reality. But it's our reality we have to come to terms with. And even with this knowledge, Tomoya presses on through like the responsible person in society he's supposed to be. Clannad is also the most real depiction I've seen so far of how life is and for Tomoya and others… it is what it is and that literally is just what life is.
My resonance with Tomoya comes from his demeanour here in After Story, and the long journey he has been on to get to where he is now with his very own Dango Daikazoku. Admirable.
Theming. Catharsis. Resonance. This is Clannad: After Story to me, and to call this life-altering would be an understatement. Although being a cliché saying at this point, it doesn't make it untrue… does it? Exactly. You can't say it isn't. It's affected thousands, literal thousands. And they would say the same thing I will say now… Clannad: After Story is a masterpiece. This deserves a 10 for how beautifully conveyed this is. And nothing less."
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