CLANNAD ~After Story~

[David75]

What a shitty final episode.

And i dont even see, where they took "the dream route". It was just a mess. It wasnt clear if its a dream, or what else. Just confusion.

Seriously, i really liked this show, but thats as shitty as an ending can be.

btw. Nagis is drawn so much hotter since she´s a "mum". lol

Well, Tomoya wakes up at the time of Ushio's birth. He thinks Nagisa might be dead.
But she soon wakes up too.

You can always take elements from the lights, the second chance or whatever, but truth is, it really ressembles the "everything was just a bad dream" trick.
Just rechecked ep 16 and at 17'09", Tomoya seems to wake up and feels like groggy, like his mind slowly restarting. I might be wrong though. However, in today's ep, he really wakes up from a nap. So I guess it works?

[MFauli]

As i said, it doesnt really matter if it was a dream or not. it was bad final episode, fullstop.
Also, it´s especially bad to spend several episodes on what is only a dream in the end.

[animus]

I still thought it was a rather beautiful episode, especially with the insert song.

[Buffalobiian]

Edit: Stuff it, can't read.

[Marik]

[SS-Eclipse] Clannad After Story - 22 (h264) [537CAA82].mkv
[SS-Eclipse] Clannad After Story - 22 (XviD) [56AAC280].avi

[Nadouku]

I loved how they completely changed the scenario and did a very happy ending. At least we know Tomoya never regretted meeting Nagisa towards the end and that those two shall live a happy, happy life.

So, that's what the lights are for...

[Buffalobiian]

Well, Tomoya wakes up at the time of Ushio's birth. He thinks Nagisa might be dead.
But she soon wakes up too.

Just rechecked ep 16 and at 17'09", Tomoya seems to wake up and feels like groggy, like his mind slowly restarting. I might be wrong though. However, in today's ep, he really wakes up from a nap. So I guess it works?

I think that was it. He mentioned he feels like he'll pass out too, then falls into despair. From what I gather, the lights weren't really about "giving people second chances", but that it represents happiness, "making people's wishes come true".

Tomoya just imagined a hypothetical scenario/dreamed about what would have happened if Nagisa died (and Ushio too, I guess). It also explains why he can keep flashing back to whether he should have met Nagisa or not. That said though, being a dream and all, I believe the conclusion he's come to within himself is that he doesn't regret meeting Nagisa after all.

The first part of this episode was great. There wasn't any witty plot twist, and to be honest it invoked almost zero emotion. One thing it did do, and did very well IMO, is provide closure. Wrapping everything up, you find out exactly what happened, where everybody's at (1), and a sequence showing the happy family trio we've all been hoping for. The sense of "completeness" is there, despite the slight feeling of being cheated.

(1)Except Tomoyo - she's at the beach? Still looking hot as always though, so I'm hoping for a Ep24 Tomoyo After special again

Tomoya x Ushio = Robot x girl made sense enough. I still don't get why he's in both worlds, or why Ushio has to remain "there", but those scenes always seemed so mysterious (and not having much to do with the story anyway) and it really doesn't matter.

The Fuuko bit however......wasn't so good. It wasn't all that funny, and I really don't give too much about her. She made her comeback a week or two ago, and that's enough. In that regard, it was half an episode wasted.

While I'm not wowwed by this episode or anything, I certainly feel satisfied with it as the official ending ep since it did just that.

[TheBladeChild]

Tomoya x Ushio = Robot x girl made sense enough. I still don't get why he's in both worlds, or why Ushio has to remain "there", but those scenes always seemed so mysterious (and not having much to do with the story anyway) and it really doesn't matter.

I think is was because Ushio wasnt born yet.

[David75]

I think that was it. He mentioned he feels like he'll pass out too, then falls into despair. From what I gather, the lights weren't really about "giving people second chances", but that it represents happiness, "making people's wishes come true".

Tomoya just imagined a hypothetical scenario/dreamed about what would have happened if Nagisa died (and Ushio too, I guess). It also explains why he can keep flashing back to whether he should have met Nagisa or not. That said though, being a dream and all, I believe the conclusion he's come to within himself is that he doesn't regret meeting Nagisa after all.

The first part of this episode was great. There wasn't any witty plot twist, and to be honest it invoked almost zero emotion. One thing it did do, and did very well IMO, is provide closure. Wrapping everything up, you find out exactly what happened, where everybody's at (1), and a sequence showing the happy family trio we've all been hoping for. The sense of "completeness" is there, despite the slight feeling of being cheated.

(1)Except Tomoyo - she's at the beach? Still looking hot as always though, so I'm hoping for a Ep24 Tomoyo After special again

Tomoya x Ushio = Robot x girl made sense enough. I still don't get why he's in both worlds, or why Ushio has to remain "there", but those scenes always seemed so mysterious (and not having much to do with the story anyway) and it really doesn't matter.

The Fuuko bit however......wasn't so good. It wasn't all that funny, and I really don't give too much about her. She made her comeback a week or two ago, and that's enough. In that regard, it was half an episode wasted.

While I'm not wowwed by this episode or anything, I certainly feel satisfied with it as the official ending ep since it did just that.

When Tomoyo dreams, he's able to enter that world. He has some kind of medium powers, because he was able to dream the cat's story last season, able to dream parts of Fuuko's too (If I'm correct).

Regarding the lights, they are good intentions and feelings from everyone you're related to, and everyone in town who can be considered a familly at large. You somehow have to open your mind to be able to see them and let their good doing affect your life. I guess.

[Kraco]

It certainly was a happy ending, but I don't feel particularly satisfied with it. Considering how cruelly realistic this second season has been at large, this was a pretty sudden "a good save point can save your whole life" solution offered. As if you could just rewind your life with a save and reload and get a second chance. There was so damn much emotion wasted now in those parts where Tomoya regained his self-esteem by starting to take care of Ushio. Nothing in this episode at all got anywhere close to those scenes. With an ending like this, those scenes were rendered totally void.

Instead we got inane, zero fun Fuuko scenes that had got nothing to do with anything... It's almost funny how I was totally sure this series would have a really powerful and wonderful ending. But I guess even Key can screw up occasionally. Or perhaps it would have been too much against the norm to have another kind of ending.

[Buffalobiian]

From memory, the first run of Clannad ended much the same way. It was fairly flat compared to the body of the show, and the "You're our dream now!" from Akio making everything turn out right also felt rather weak.

The only reason I liked the first half of this episode was that it was more conclusive than the last. As with most Deus ex machina endings though, you more or less feel cheated.

Overall, After Story had a more linear storyline, focusing on Nagisa and Tomoya for the most part compared to Clannad. I enjoyed the first series more mainly due to the comedy, but I suppose comparing the two based on that alone doesn't do After Story justice.

[Ryllharu]

While the It was All a Dream ending is a bit of a cop-out, I really enjoyed the little things about this episode.

- Tomoya hugging Nagisa so hard she fell out of her shoe (caused a moe overload in me)
- How much more attractive Nagisa looks with her hair tied back and wearing the white dress.
- Adult Mei...no more need be said.
- How the Japanese can seemingly only portray America as either New York, San Fransisco, or the Arizona desert.
- The hopeful promise of some Tomoyo centered material, given how her epilogue was very depressingly lonely.


I actually really like the Fuuko epilogue. It had exactly what I expected out of it. Fuuko fervently insisting to someone that she's an adult, and immediately proving the opposite. Her lines where she attempted to not use the third person and freaks out about how perverted it sounds were very amusing.

[Buffalobiian]

Her lines where she attempted to not use the third person and freaks out about how perverted it sounds were very amusing.

I admit, I enjoyed those parts too, but not so much the "I can smell someone" etc parts....those sort of came out of nowhere. (expect nothing less from Fuuko here)

- How the Japanese can seemingly only portray America as either New York, San Fransisco, or the Arizona desert.

Haha, it's like how we're living in either the Outback or the Outback with kangaroos.

[David75]

I admit, I enjoyed those parts too, but not so much the "I can smell someone" etc parts....those sort of came out of nowhere. (expect nothing less from Fuuko here)


Haha, it's like how we're living in either the Outback or the Outback with kangaroos.

Wait, you do not live with Kangaroos

Regarding how everyone from highschool evolved, I admitt I had a hard time remembering who some of them were. When memory is bad...

Regarding the "everything was a dream", it's not that it's a bad option in itself, it's just that it makes everything so rushed and so obvious... and it has been done so many times.

As Kraco said, it's also a let down for the reason that they developped things so well -as depressing as they were- to wipe it all in the blink of an eye like that.

To me, going back to their first encounter and having Nagisa telling him everything will be alright and he doesn't have to fear living such hardships would have been sufficient, just like if Tomoyo just had had his future in a vision and she eases him. It would have only be just slightly different, yet maybe a little more original (well maybe not so... I wonder)
It would also have been consistent with the fact that Tomoyo has those kind of visions, anytime, anywhere, even while conscious (If I remember correctly).
But it's only a minor problem.
I do hope that the 2 eps left will make for a longer conclusion, although I doubt they do this in those OAVs were there's never major plot elements. And from the preview, the first one may be just some slice of life inside the clannad universe, some side story, rather than something important to the whole show.
Really, I like it when there's a continuity in the after highschool in such stories, and here we had good scenarist and a good universe for that.

[Yukimura]

Maybe I'm not as jaded as you all (yet), but I liked it the ending, even the beginning of the Fuuko parts to some extent. Despite the notion that the events following Nagisa 'death' didn't really happen I still held onto the feeling that Tomoya experienced everything that we saw him experience so it's emotional impact wasn't negated. Instead, the clip show of seeing him smiling and happy with his family seemed more touching to me knowing that he 'experienced' not having them and managed to survive it and ultimately not regret starting down the path even after losing everything. I think of the rewind as something like a 'reward' for him toughing it out in that doomsday fantasy and I like seeing people rewarded for courage under duress so I was still moved by the ending.

The Fuuko bit at the end did a pretty good job of siphoning away the emotions from the "OMG he got a second chance" realization and letting things end on a lighter note. I'm not sure how I ultimately feel about them diffusing the emotion bomb they created but it worked on me. I can't believe how patient Fuuko's sister was with her though, lol.

All in all I think Clannad After will get both red and bold text on my anime spreadsheet indicating I think it was a good series to watch and I personally am happier than average that I had the experience of watching it.

[Kraco]

All in all I think Clannad After will get both red and bold text on my anime spreadsheet indicating I think it was a good series to watch and I personally am happier than average that I had the experience of watching it.

I won't be denying it caused more powerful emotions than any average series. That's always a good thing, at least as long those emotions aren't only negative.

[Ryllharu]

Ultimately, I still think I prefer Kanon as my favorite KEY series, it's a little lighter on the melodrama, or at least it was better blended, the comedy relief constrasts very sharply in Clannad. I think got more attached to the characters in Kanon than I ever could for Clannad. I could never fully sympathize with Nagisa's character archetype, and I've yet to come across one I can yet.

I will say that Clannad beats it hands down in story flow, even if the Fuuko arc dragged on a little too long in the first season.

(Though this all could be because I've seen Kanon done twice, and the later version was worlds better.)

[Konohamaru!]

This is one of the most powerful series I've seen, and is definately on my Highly recommended list, even if it's made me tear up like 6 times... I like a few others wish we could have seen more of the happy healthy family to finish things off though since After Story revolved around them. I'm still left with the feeling of wanting more.

Hopefully these last two episodes will have some lighter happier stuff in them and complete the season on a touching/happy note.

[David75]

CLANNAD​_~AFTER STORY~​_23​_PAS​_[AQS][Sprocket][TWH][B02A3C4D]​.avi 171.65MiB @ scarywater

[animus]

Was a great episode, with high school life all over again.