Alright, I'll admit, this episode made me accept the ending a bit more. I still have very strong issues with it but at least, knowing Tomoya remembers everything makes it not as frustrating as it would've been otherwise.
Plus, this episode and the previous one reminded me that I actually really like Nagisa, the problem is that I felt like she lacked a personality in AS compared to the first season (mostly due to her having been reduced to simply being Tomoya's wife), but thanks to these episodes reminding me how she really is, I felt happier to know that she is alive in this world.
That still doesn't excuse anything though, but I'm willing to make an effort and half-forgive it. I'm not gonna lie, it's very touching. Though my favorite ending would have been for Nagisa to really die and for Ushio to really become ill, but for her to survive her strong fever episode and to live on, still fragile but protected by her family, with her father telling her stories just like he did in this episode. Now that would've been a great ending.
Okay now my full opinion on AfterStory... It's a bit hard to summarize it because I felt very different about each arc. Well, I guess I have no choice but to give my opinion about each arc then.
So, the Sunohara/Mei arc : I can't say I liked it. The premise was stupid, it was very mean-spirited, and the characters behaved a way you wouldn't except them too (especially Sunohara who has never been portrayed as being such a jerk, and actually just went back to our lovable delinquent after the end of his arc). I still liked the last episode because Tomoya's and Sunohara's friendship has always been one of my favorite things to come out of Clannad, but that's about it.
After this arc, there's Misae's. I have conflicted feelings about this one. I found it to be very touching and I got very attached to Shima, but it really felt weird to get a Misae arc (I didn't even remember her existence before this arc), and the story actually didn't make much sense, if it made any sense at all.
Then, the Yukina arc. I never cared about Yukine (though I understand more why she would get an arc compared to Misae), but this arc managed to make me care more, even if once it was done I went back to forgetting her anytime she wasn't on screen (which was 95% of the time). I liked the story and its conclusion.
Now, the arc with Nagisa getting sick and being unable to pass her exam as a result. It was the starting point of the real After Story, and I really liked it, Tomoya's character was very well developed and Nagisa proved to be stronger than she seems. The problem is that I never really felt Tomoya's and Nagisa's romance so i wasn't super invested, but still, it was good. The conclusion with everyone gathering for Nagisa at the school was very touching even if I found Nagid's speech to be a bit cheesy.
Then the arc with Tomoya and Nagisa living together which resulted in Ushio's birth. I liked it a lot, it was nice to see their relationship build up, and as always Tomoya's development was great (plus even if I complained about Nagisa's portrayal in AS this arc still truly highlighted her inner strength). The problem was the very fast pacing but aside from that, I really enjoyed it. And Ushio's birth was a particularly well written and emotional episode, I didn't cry both due to having been spoiled (spoilers are everywhere) and due to not caring enough about Nagisa but I almost did because of the great directing and above all because of Tomoya's reaction.
And now there's the Ushio arc. I LOVED it. It was so well written, so touching, so human, so... I can't even describe how I felt watching it. It was near-perfect.
That is until the last episode, I already complained much enough about it so I won't add more but I still want to say that it ruined a bit of my view of this arc and that's an absolute shame, it was doing so good. (The fact that I was craving for more episodes like these ones probably played a role in this disappointment.)
Now that everything is out, I can give my score, and that's gonna be an 8. That was the score I expected to give it for the longest time until I got to the Ushio arc where I started considering giving it a 9 instead (and that's not a score I give easily), but unfortunately episode 22 made it lose a point. It still was a great experience for sure.
Now I just have the Kyou OVA left and I'll be done with Clannad ! It feels a bit weird to think about it, I got very attached to these characters. |