Customer Reviews

Clannad: After Story - Collection 1

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have watched this anime along with Key's other visual-novel-turned-anime's such as AIR and Kanon. Contrary to a lot of people, I found AIR a lot more gut wrenching and tear jerking than Kanon could ever come across. However Kanon had a lot more character development and more interesting interactions between characters so it is good in its own right. I thought nothing could top AIR's tragic but hearth-warming ending in terms of drama but I would have to go with the majority opinion. Clannad After Story not only improves on the dramatic qualities of AIR, but it also takes all the positive aspects from Kanon to make something that will touch the deepest depths of your heart and soul.

Now if you look on Anime News Network or other anime sites, you will notice that Clannad After Story ranks consistently very high on the charts. There is a good reason for this. I'm an adult male and I have to tell you that this anime had my tears drop off my face without me noticing many times, especially towards the latter half of this anime (which would be Clannad After Story collection 2 that comes out later this year). Then there are a couple of scenes which would make me cry uncontrollably - the background music used at these scenes alone are enough to make you feel like crying because the scenes come back in your mind. It is not that I'm particularly weak-minded, but this is not your average Japanese anime that only cares about dating and love between a couple. I'm sure a lot of people have seen such typical "romantic" anime and have gotten over that kind already. The thing that sets anime apart from them is that it touches upon the importance of having family and friends like no other anime or any other entertainment show, if I'm allowed to say so boldly.

As the reviewer before me said, watching Clannad before Clannad After Story is critical to understanding the characters and their intertwined story properly. I admit I was bored watching first half of Clannad but it was well worth in my opinion as an introduction to After Story. Clannad After Story is an extension of Nagisa's arc and so it revolves around her and Tomoya mostly but all characters from Clannad make appearance in supporting role.

In these days the concept of family and value is lost to many individuals, as "too old fashioned". I think this anime will help restore some of that in many people.

Audio - All around very good cast and BGM is excellent. Sometimes same score is recycled but in a different manner with different instrument and that changes a light-hearted happy song into one of the saddest songs in the anime.

Visual - Quality on par or better than Air / Kanon and that should be enough to give you an idea of how good it is.

This show is simply a masterpiece, in my opinion. Note that to get its full impact, watching the first season is a must. And it is unfortunate there is no English audio track. But besides that, I give this a whole-hearted recommendation. This first part of After Story reintroduces us to the characters, takes us through a few short mini-arcs, and then proceeds into the main portion of this season, which will continue on the next DVD release.

Clannad is perhaps the best show I've seen. It provides humor with engaging drama and romance, with content that is truly suitable for almost anyone. After Story elevates the series from 'just' a very good high-school anime to something superlative. You certainly may cry, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

the layout of the story is really good i really like the show and give it a full blown 5 starts. it is a really nice story. and i love the graphics as well. as soon as i saw the first episode i new i had to get the entire show even though it wasmn;t completely finished so if you want to see the last episodes you have to order it from japan and resd the subs. but other than that it is a superb show.

Clannad After Story is the second and final season of the anime Clannad, itself based on the visual novel so popular in Japan. The first season of Clannad focused on the main characters in high school. The first few episodes of After Story are set in the final days of school, but the rest of the show focuses primarily on Tomoya and Nagisa after high school, although the other characters do have a part, just not as much as in the first season.

This DVD set comes with the first half of After Story; the rest of the show you will have to get seperately as Collection 2. Or you could just by the whole season in one, although when I purchased this the whole After Story collection was not out.

You will love this show no matter what kind of shows you usually watch. If you loved Kanon or Air (both done by the same studio that created Clannad) you will especially like it. Be prepared to cry, even more than the first season of Clannad made you.

This anime is absolutely one of my all time favorites, i loved every second of it when i watched the fan subs years ago. Unfortunately the company that released the DVDs in the US seems to have given it as a whole no thought whatsoever.

First of all there is NO option for English, only Japanese, and 2.0 at that. Don't get me wrong, i almost always prefer Japanese with subtitles. There have been 2 maybe 3 anime ever that i preferred the English language version, Clannad could go either way, the VAs for both languages knocked it out of the park for the first season. What upsets me about this, is the fact that the subtitles are just absolutely TERRIBLE. This day and age subtitles shouldnt take up 1/3 of the screen, in a bright yellow font, with thick black borders, and be so low resolution as to look like they were done on an NES.

Then there is the fact that there are no REAL special features on either disc, just clean opening/closings. No artwork, interviews, heck not even any previews. The whole package seems kinda shoddily thrown together, which is absolutely disgraceful for such a masterpiece of story telling and animation.

If you see this for 20 bucks at Best Buy or something, go for it, it's worth that much, but the 30 dollar price tag is absolutely ridiculous for this half-assed release. I'd recommend supporting the fan-subbers on this one. The love and care i saw put into the fan sub release when i first saw it was what prompted me to support these DVDs. Had i known the actual quality of the product before i spent money on it i never would have. I genuinely feel ripped off.

I love this series. The story pulled me in, and I feel attached to all of the characters. The audio and video are superb. Great voice acting, and I love the music. The opening theme for the After Story is incredible. Very catchy and pretty but also very complex at the same time.

A few complaints about After Story Collection 1:
1. No Fuko Ibuki. :(
2. Typos and wrong words in the subtitles.

The subtitle issue is far less prevalent in this collection than it was in the first season, but it remains an issue.