Review: Clannad: After Story

Review: Clannad: After Story
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Years aired: 2008-09

FULL SPOILERS AHEAD. Go watch Clannad if you haven’t already. The grading section though will be spoiler-free.

AniB’s take: It’s been a long time coming to finally work my way through one of Kyoto Animation’s finest works. An adaptation of a VN, this review focuses specifically on the second season of Clannad. Originally conceived and adapted as a high school romance with comedic elements, After Story continues the focus on the relationship between Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa from the first season. The first 9 episodes flesh out a few more of the supporting cast with their own focus arcs, familiar to the format as well established in Clannad before hitting the “meat” of the story between Nagisa and Tomoya.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this relationship as depicted on screen is a real contender for the best romance in any and all anime. Challengers can apply, but like Akio’s pitches, good luck getting a home run over this couple. After Story intensifies and deepens the reality of the romance beyond the scope of the high school days and the show actually morphs into a drama about life- not that it ever wasn’t, but rather befitting the club that Nagisa worked hard to establish in her high school days. And that journey is full of both triumph and sorrow: from confronting the past to Tomoya’s constant struggle against adversity.

Speaking of him, Tomoya is an outstanding protagonist. Deeply flawed but also deeply capable of love, he’s an everyman who beneath his often skeptical, gruff exterior lies a gentle heart and one that bleeds for the people he loves the most- in this case Nagisa, and later Ushio. His past, present and future always seem to have him find adversity in the midst of happiness, but it is love that pulls him through the worst moments of his life. Now, did he get a mulligan of all mulligans in the final episode with the wish granting thing? Sure, but let’s talk about that next.

The other world was a strange constant through the series. The floating lights said to be the desires and wishes of the people in this world…the surreal landscape with the nameless robot and the girl. It was a slow burn and these sequences worked for the longest payout imaginable, with scenes back even in Clannad that made it seem like a strangely incidental but improbable story. As it turns out, the foreshadowing is there in bits and pieces: Ryou’s fortune telling, Kotomi’s explanation and research about parallel worlds, and even Tomoya’s seemingly inexplicable play idea that he gave to Nagisa in the first season. The final revelation that the girl was in fact Ushio with the robot being Tomoya is quite the twist nonetheless, even for a seasoned anime viewer like myself. I don’t think this ending is a cop-out by the way: if anyone had learned, grown and truly deserved it by the end of the series it was Tomoya. Nothing was more heartwarming than seeing the family united just as they had always dreamed…their own big dango family.

There is probably a whole other long-form essay one could write about the brilliant little details of this show: Nagisa’s graduation speech, the transition panel in episode 18(?) where it’s fully revealed the skipping girl in the ED isn’t Nagisa but Ushio; the long-burning resolution about Tomoya’s father and the closure everyone so desperately needed there, the unexpected return of the real Fuko Ibuki from a coma to play a role towards the end, or even something like Yoshino’s backstory that he told Tomoya. There’s a laundry list that I will spare in a review format, but the show’s attention to detail and the development of its cast in not only a thorough but realistic manner is downright impressive.

There are few criticisms to levy at what is a gem of a show, although the most minor of these would be that outside of Kyou, we don’t see much from Tomoya’s old friends in the Ushio arc of the show, although they do get their ultimate fates revealed in a musical “where are they now?” sort of presentation in the last episode. There’s also the reality that episodes 10-23 alone would have been a 10/10 season without the preceding arcs, but even those had some substance to them worth watching. Quite a bit of these criticisms could be explained by the nature of a show adaptation from a VN taking a specific route, but they are ultimately small nitpicks against something that is fairly special in all manner of being.

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END SPOILERS.

Animation: Kyoto Ani’s always had excellent work and this is no different from its era, although this show definitely feels a bit older style wise than some of their other works from a similar era (like K-On! a year later). That said, there’s still some incredible attention to detail conveyed in the animation: One thing I enjoyed was how the seasons were well utilized in the art to represent both the mental state of Tomoya and the reality of his situation at any given time…and for those of you who love the cherry blossom symbolism, this show loves it too. 4/5 points.

Characters:

At the center of this show is the romantic relationship between Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa which was first established in the first season of Clannad.

I went into some of the specifics already in my thoughts section on these two, but the very short version is that they are an incredibly complimentary duo. Nagisa has a positive, never-say-never attitude even in the face of her frail constitution and is willing to try things even when they seem scary. She is the embodiment of the great love her parents put into raising her and her warmth has both a familiar and cute feel to it. These aspects play off Tomoya’s often jaded and cynical outlook on things in life, which in turn was colored by his experiences with his dad, who had become a severe alcoholic. Tomoya though still is a kind individual at heart and would do anything for the people he really cares about- and that is coupled with a stubborn, prideful streak that really comes out when he’s determined to make a point or truly motivated to chase something in his mind and heart.

Outside of the main duo, the famous OP of this show also introduces a number of other female characters who would be main heroine options in the VN: Tomoyo Sakagami, Kotomi Ichinose, and Kyou Fujibyashi. This is a continuation from the style of Clannad’s first season OP, which also included Fuko Ibuki. The original season also featured more of these girls as it completely focused on the high school portions of the cast’s lives; but when the main arc of After Story begins they fade to supporting characters at best.

In addition to the girls, Akio and Sanae Furukawa (Nagisa’s parents) have a major supporting role, continuing from the first season. Kohei Sunohara, Tomoya’s closest friend in high school, continues as comic relief for the first part of the season as well and even receives his own small arc.

In general: incredible main characters, the supporting cast in each arc and for the show overall tends to be robust and fleshed out (not to mention often capable of both great humor and very emotional moments themselves) and the character development is wonderfully organic and beautifully paced. This section deserves all the plaudits it gets. 5/5 points.

Story: 5/5 points.  I could write yet another essay on how amazing After Story’s narrative is, but let’s spare the obvious monologue incoming and cut to the chase. The shortest version of saying this is possible: It’s a hell of a story. Wonderfully paced, poignant and with characters whose lives you can invest in with said tale, the viewer is able to connect on both a personal level to individual lives as well as the overarching narrative flawlessly.  A lot of mini stories over time continuously overall in Clannad and After Story but they make one big story…which is true to life in a nutshell. All of our lives are individual tales but they weave a robust tapestry together when collected. So too it can be said for our wishes and desires, a major thematic thought in this show. And speaking of which…

Themes: An incredibly rich show thematically that deals with issues you rarely see tackled so poignantly or at all in the first place. High school romance turned to marriage, an alcoholic father whose backstory was even more bittersweet than realized, death of a mother in childbirth, the importance of hope in life (and a very Christian value at that!), the love of family that is even reflected in the show’s title (thanks for that tidbit, reader) and even something as simple as “things change and we continue to grow up. Accepting change happens is inevitable; it’s what we do with it that matters.” 5/5 points.

Intangibles: It’s always the little things. The show uses recognizable motifs that it sets up in key moments, patiently brings key details along with moments at times that don’t seem to make sense until they do, but the show also isn’t some puzzle box of vapid stupidity. It’s coherent with more than enough turns to keep the viewer highly engaged. Add in an incredible memorable OP and ED as the cherry on top. 5/5 points

Total: 24/25 (96%): Clannad: After Story still lives up to a lofty reputation years after its release. A great show truly shows its stuff with the test of time and like the vow Tomoya and Nagisa made to each other, it was meant to endure. Still a standout among standouts in Kyoto Animation’s library, this series is a hearty recommendation, although one definitely should still watch Clannad season 1 for the fullest context here.

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Like what you see? Big fan of Clannad or Kyoto Animation’s works? Leave a comment!