“You shouldn’t hold back your tears.You should let it all out while you still can.. because when you get bigger sometimes you can’t cry even if you have something to cry about.” - Tomoya Okazaki

For Kyoto Animation Studios (In tribute to the KyoAni arson attack),

Thank you, thank you...for everything. Your work helped inspire me to give this world a chance and see the beauty in fighting for it. I can’t describe how deeply its touched me, it’s indescribable the emotions that I feel. THIS is the reason why I watch anime, so that I can see a powerful story, and hear a powerful message. So that I can hurt, so that I can heal. All this and more I am thankful for, just please continue to touch our hearts, that’s all I ask. I give you all my love and support in the coming years, and I hope you all can heal as much as you have healed us. Thank you, for everything. -Kai

If I could describe the pure talent and emotion that Afterstory brought to many of us, in a single review...I would be doing the impossible. As a direct sequel to Clannad, it somehow manages to raise the bar and surpass itself in delivering raw emotion through its use of the characters. While some may say that this anime may be “overrated” or even “overhyped”, I believe that is an UNDERSTATEMENT. As a critical reviewer with unbiased intentions, I can say with confidence that Afterstory is the best of the best when it comes to the slice of life genre. Very few anime have come close to replicating the character development and connection that you feel while watching Afterstory. It gets to the point where I’ve started tearing up and almost break down every time I hear the Dango song. The way Afterstory makes you connect with the entire storyline just feels so natural, these are REAL events that could or have happened to us. Almost everything about this anime is deserving of a perfect score, if not for the slight nuances that no anime could really escape. That’s what struck me though about this anime, I had to FIND the mistakes it made, and they were very trivial when I did find them. Rest assured, I’m not writing this review as a fan of Clannad. Rather, I’ll be giving an unbiased review that holds nothing back, good or bad. Let’s get started!

Art and Animation: 9.7/10

• I can easily see why the art style may be an instant turn off for some. And if I’m being honest, I was one of those people as well when I first started Clannad. The character designs are VERY unique, so it may take some getting used to if you’re not really into the “big-eyed” art style. Soon though, I found it being complemented by the beautiful environment of the school and world around the characters. When it came to art, the beautiful color palette made for breath taking scenes that added to the emotion, both in color and lighting. Many powerful moments were given that extra “kick” because of the masterful art and animation. No one character felt like they had a generic design, and each episode had flawless animation.

Storyline and Character Progression: 9.9/10

• This is what Afterstory is known for, the ability to make us CARE about what’s happening and connect with it. It not only does that though, it makes us connect EMOTIONALLY. Sure, both Clannad and Afterstory may have a slower start than most anime, but it’s certainly better than having a rushed plot that has parts cut out from it. When it came to the storyline, everything blended into each other seamlessly. It’s as if their lives were just as normal as any of us, and the events that they found themselves in were very relatable. Once Afterstory got the gears going, I had no time to emotionally brace myself for the next episode. I have never fully just broken down and cried my heart out in a while, but Afterstory managed to do that over AND OVER. I think those watching this anime NEED to be emotionally open and vulnerable, otherwise this anime can seem to be very cheesy and cliched. From my observations, many who gave this anime a poor review were more into action and shounen. This is probably because they’re not used to the fact of being open and letting yourself be vulnerable while watching anime, please keep this in mind if you decide to watch Afterstory! Anyways, as far as character progression goes, it’s alomst scary how perfect it is. Save for a couple characters that didn’t receive much meaningful development, Afterstory had succeeded in giving people a reason to care about the characters. Both Tomoya and Nagisas interactions became much deeper, and they soon held a lot more emotion and weight to them. There was rarely a moment when I felt like I was getting a useless filler that didn’t matter, because every episode seemed to either progress the relationships between everyone, or progress the storyline. Nothing ever felt rushed or unnecessary, it’s as if I was watching a story of someone else’s lives unfold right before me.

Soundtrack and Audio: 9.8/10

• Afterstory’s use of musicality is some of the best I’ve come to witness. Having an amazing OP or soundtrack is one thing, but being able to connect emotion to a song is something entirely different. And yet, this is what Afterstory manages to do throughout the anime. Just HEARING some songs made me break down because of the events surrounding that particular song. Being able to connect a song with an event gave the soundtrack deeper meaning. It helped to carry the emotion and build off of it in order to make an even more powerful moment when the time came. When it came down to voice actors, I have no complaints. The voice acting was amazing, and every emotion felt natural when expressed. Nothing ever felt forced or painfully rehearsed, but was given the highest attention to quality. The sound effects themselves were also very well thought out. There was rarely ever any unnecessary and annoying background noise, and no generic sound effects ever caught my ears. If you couldn’t agree that the storyline or art style was to your liking, you have to admit that everything about the soundtrack and audio was very high quality.

And there you have it, after reflecting on such an emotional anime as Afterstory, I’m glad I was able to visit it once again. I got very emotional writing this review when thinking about everything that occurred during Afterstory, I had to take a couple breaks just to recollect my thoughts. Nevertheless, here you have it! An all-time classic that all interested in the romance/slice of life genres should give a try, because it is undeniable that this anime deserves the title of Masterpiece. It excelled in its purpose as a slice of life, and delivered the raw emotion that we came for. I will always hold this anime in high esteem, no matter how overhyped it may seem, because in my eyes this anime deserve all the praise it gets. I know many more will come to enjoy this masterpiece in the years to come as an anime that has touched us beyond words, and I will always be able to recommend it will full confidence. It is with this that I am proud to give Clannad Afterstory my highest rating so far in the anime I’ve watched, with a well earned score of 9.8/10. Thank you all so much for reading this far, your support doesn’t go unnoticed and I appreciate it with everything I have. Until next time, see you in the next one!