#(THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILER)

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#Anime is one of the most expressive art forms in entertainment media
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One genre of anime that I really enjoy watching is “slice of life.” What captivates me most with slice of life, It's ability to capture real life emotions, and portray them in animation. Clannad was like an urban legend to me. Most anime rating systems have Clannad: After Story somewhere near the top.

I’m going to tell you how watching Clannad made me feel. In my opinion, it is emotion that makes Clannad a masterpiece.

I actually enjoy the first season of Clannad, I just thought it was pretty “regular.” It didn’t have that “stick factor.” Meeting Tomoya and Nagisa felt very run of the mill. “Let’s open the club, make friends, and fall in love. Oh and by the way, there’s also this strange parallel side story about a girl and robot.”

#It wasn’t until episode nine of "After Story" that everything started coming together for me.

Clannad told a “regular” slice of life story in the beginning. We meet the characters. We become invested in them. We learn of all their quirks and personality traits. We see their problems, and we see the main characters solve these problems. It followed the formula to a tee.

It’s the tragedy and sorrow of Clannad that makes it something special. As the main story is told from the perspective of Tomoya, we experience everything as he does.

Spoiler, click to view

The death of Nagisa is tragic because it’s something that can happen in real life.

More so over, Nagisa is a character who we’ve already come to know and love, making this event even harder to fathom. We are accustomed to seeing the story play out in favor of the main character, but Clannad is a story that does quite the opposite.

In fact, Clannad is a story filled with harsh truths about life. It forces the viewer to think about their personal “what if’s?” For Tomoya, he grapples with the pain of “What if I never met Nagisa?”, or in other words “What if I never chose this path of pain?” He basically spends the next five years beating himself up over this very question.

Spoiler, click to view

Just when Tomoya starts picking up the pieces, he is once again pushed into the dirt; and now it’s his daughter Ushio that dies.

With all that being said, Clannad has changed the way I look at anime as a whole. I don’t know when I’ll find another show that “sticks” as much as this one does. It truly is one of the greatest anime of all time. It is not perfect by any means, but at the very least, it is real. It’s filled with raw emotions, and that is why Clannad lives up to the hype. Watch it if you haven’t. Watch it again if you have. This is one that will live forever.

#Clannad is the greatest slice of life anime because of its portrayal of human nature. It tells three intertwined stories that form one plot. It has flaws, but it lives up to the hype on emotions alone. This is a show that feels real. Clannad is a true classic.