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When I finished watching Hotarubi no Mori e, I was in a certain state of mind. I wasn't quite in a down pour of rain and dark clouds, but I wasn't engulfed in sunshine happiness either. I'm not sure where I was, but there's one thing I'm 100% sure of, and that is the fact that I absolutely LOVED this anime!

Story: 10! (^ o ^)/ Ten! 10! Diez! Sampu! テン!
The plot of Hotarubi no Mori e is very unique. I have yet to watch an anime like this one (it ... may also be due to the fact that I've only finished 49 animes...). I can see why many people found this anime to be too short, but I thought it was just the right size! I think if it was any longer, the story might have been dragged out too much. The pacing was perfect and the plot kept you engrossed to the story!

Art: Yet again, a 10! ~(^o^~) Ten! 10! Diez! Sampu! テン!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful is pretty much all I have to say. The backgrounds are just enchanting and the characters are nicely drawn as well.

Sound: 8 (^.^)
I had no issues with the sound, but it didn't astound me or anything. It was still very good though.

Characters: DOUBLE THUMBS UP! d(^ o ^)b Ten! 10! Diez! Sampu! テン!
Even though the movie is only 45 minutes long, it somehow used that time efficiently enough to make me REALLY attached to the characters. Gin is a character in a very unique situation (he can't touch humans, or else he'll disappear) and the way the two protagonists interact and find ways to still be around each other even with his situation is very endearing. I loved seeing the time they spend together and growing to like the characters even more.

Enjoyment: SOLID 10! (^ o ^)/ Ten! 10! Diez! Sampu! テン!
The movie was very enjoyable for me, so hopefully it will be for you too! I felt an alluring happiness throughout the entire movie, but also felt a ping of sadness somewhere in there. But it all came together leaving me with a bittersweet ending... that I still loved greatly.

Overall: 10 :)
It was a pleasant, yet simple story that I would recommend to anyone.

Slice of Life and Drama animes are ones I don't generally like. I'm more of the action, comedy with a hint of romance anime lover, but Clannad: After Story changed that for me! (I recommend watching Clannad before watching this anime...) Clannad: After Story will definitely become one of your favorite animes because it certainly became one of mine. For starters, I'd just like to say that I usually NEVER cry while watching a movie, anime, book or show of any sort. Clannad: After Story was different though, it did in fact make me tear up, especially towards episode 18 and up. So here's ... how I scored each element of the anime:

Story: 10
Art: 9
Sound: 9
Character: 10
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 10

Now I shall go ahead and give you the reasons as to why these areas were scored the way they were! :) I tried not to put any spoilers in this review, but I still would read with caution because hints of the upcoming event are given...

Story: 10
This is definitely the most important part of an anime for me. If the story isn't good, the whole thing kinda fails, same goes with the characters. The story does run a bit slow at times, but to be fair, it is a 'slice of life' type anime and life doesn't always go all over the place in full speed. The story picks right up from Clannad, which makes me very happy because we get to see the main characters gradually grow more mature and eventually get married and so on... The story also has many situations and areas where everyone can relate to, giving it a strong connection with the viewers. The father-son (Tomoya and his father) and father-daughter (Tomoya and his daughter) relationship was a big point in the story. The way they showed another side of Tomoya's father through flashbacks and such, showed a new side to the man that many might have thought mean, cold and selfish during Clannad. This made me really happy and made the anime more realistic, showing that a person's heart isn't fully rock solid. WARNING: Clannad: After Story plays with your emotions, causing you to feel very sad and sympathetic or empathetic!

Art: 9
I'm not too prickly about my art preference, but I ended up scoring Clannad: After Story an 9 because I generally like more realistic looking characters... I guess? Maybe characters without such big eyes...but, the backgrounds were beautiful, I especially loved the parts where it goes to a different world where the girl lives all alone with the light orbs. :)

Sound: 9
Dango, dango, dango, dango.... that song makes me smile every time I here it now!Oh, Nagisa! I really liked how a more mellow song was chosen for the opening to kind of set the mood, but then the closing song is more upbeat, which uplifts my spirited after a heavily heart tearing episode. The sound tracks were great!

Character: 10
Like I said in my little Story scoring blurb, the characters are important! Clannad: After Story did not fail me on that! The characters were all pretty much developed because of Clannad, but they managed to develop them EVEN MORE! Again, like I had said on my Story scoring paragraph, Tomoyo's father was more explored and the reasons for the way he was acting are revealed, causing you to feel different emotions toward him than of those you felt during Clannad. Nagisa is still her stubborn, lovable self. Her mom is still the supportive woman she is, and Nagisa's father, likewise, is still as comedic and awesome as usual...Tomoya on the other hand...reacts the way many human beings might after facing a huge set back in his life, causing him to feel very depressed and...lonely...Anywho! You'll love the characters!The anime gets you to become attached to these characters, making it EVEN MORE sad and hurtful to the heart when something goes wrong for them...and on the other hand, when something amazingly happy happens to them, you'll feel that warmth in your heart as well!

Enjoyment: 10
I loved, loved, loved every second of this anime! I cried, I smiled, I laughed, I was given many different facial expressions throughout this anime! I enjoyed it very much! Episodes 18 and up were the ones I liked the most!

Overall: 10
It's just an all around great anime! I really recommend people to watch Clannad: After Story!