BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Tweekums Tomoya Okazaki is a typical, if somewhat lazy high school student; then one day he meets Nagisa, a quiet girl who, due to an illness, is repeating her final year. She wants to restart the school's drama club and he agrees to help her. For much of the time this plot takes a back seat as the pair, along with other friends get involved in other plot arcs. The most notable being the first where they help Fuko, a first year girl, who wants to invite everybody to her sister's wedding. This may sound fairly routine but there is something odd about Fuko, first she is carving wooden starfish to give everybody and secondly not everybody seems to notice her… for reasons I won't spoil.In some ways this is a typical high school anime with its mix of varied characters and a blend of drama and comedy; there are however things that make it stand out. Protagonist Tomoya may have several female friends but it never becomes a harem series and the stories have a good emotional pull… especially when we learn certain things about Fuko. Amidst the drama there are some very funny moments; mostly involving Tomoya's friend Youhei. There are a good range of interesting characters; their designs are fairly standard but they are distinctive enough that one shouldn't confuse who is who. The story is well told although it must be noted that the twenty third episode is the real final episode; episode twenty four takes place in an alternate timeline where Tomoya is involved with the studious school council president… something others disapprove of. I can't say how it compares to 'After Story' but having read other reviews I think that is something I need to watch. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre.

smx2000 *This is a review for Clannad and Clannad Afterstory*First of all, if your going to delve into this series make sure you watch both Clannad and Clannad Afterstory since they are really, the same series. Why wouldn't you?Story - Clannad is set in small town in japan, with the main character Tomoyo Okazaki who is considered a "delinquent" student. Frequently skipping class, getting into fights, etc. However, his adventure starts when he starts making new friends (aww :3). Clannad is a slow moving series, focused around Okazaki and his experiences helping friends. Often times goofy, sad, happy, etc. It's reminiscent of series like Love Hina, or even a dating simulator. Clannad is the developmental stage of this series and it will be hard to hold some peoples attention, unless you enjoy seeing friendships develop in a very shy Japanese anime style with cutesy characters.Clannad Afterstory however... things start to get real, and real fast. Frankly, this is the part of the series were everything happens and comes together. I'll tell you now, it's sad, depressing, and will take you on an emotional rollercoster, BUT, I've rarely cried over an anime (both sad and happy tears.. and that's impressive). It's especially impactive after watching Clannad because I'd become attached to some of these characters.(which is why it's good to watch Clannad before Afterstory)The music is haunting at times, and really sets the mood for a lot of the situations; even though they seem to have a limited track list, it never got annoying and was often welcomed.The girl and the robot, although shrouded in mystery at some points, comes together nicely in Clannad Afterstory, but honestly doesn't give enough closure in my opinion.I recommend this series defiantly! However, selectively. I say this because some people won't have the patience first of all, secondly, it's got TONS of cutesy, shy, Japanese themes going on, which annoys a good deal of people (remember this IS an anime after all). However, if that doesn't bother you, your a romantic, and you want a story with some real love, friendship, hardships, and are ready to embark on a emotional journey then this is the anime for you!Giving this an 8.5/10 on my scale, defiantly worth my time.I hope I've helped you with my review and make sure you've got some tissues ready!

kylelee1388 clannad is a very great anime. I recommend it to anyone. It has comedy and romance and just about everything. The first season isn't as romantic as the second season afterstory. But its very very good. I was amused during every episode. I do have to warn you. It is a sad anime. I would be lying if I told you I didn't almost cry multiple times. But don't let this keep you from watching the anime. It is definitely worth watching. I give clannad 5 out of 5 starts and two thumbs up. Also it is a relatively clean anime. So if you are looking for some time to get drawn into a great TV show. Then clannad is definitely your type of anime. Enjoy

variable2102 This is a review of both 'Clannad' and 'Clannad Afterstory', if your wondering.Story: Based on the visual novel of the same name, 'Clannad' tells the story of Tomoya Okazaki, a former basketball player who had been forced to quit his school team and all of basketball, and who's now going through life aimlessly. With him on this downward spiral is his 'friend' Sunohara, a former soccer player who had also been forced from his team, after he had attacked his coach; it's hard to tell what their relationship actually amounts to, though that'll be mentioned in a minute. Okazaki has to go up this hill to get to school; one day he meets this girl, who's standing along the path, who asks him if he'd go up it with her. This incident sparks a kind of chain-reaction. Okazaki develops a relationship with this mysteriously gentle Nagisa Furukawa, her family, others from his school and all of these girls who all, in normal harem fashion, fall in love with him. Simple enough. Of course, the visual novel this is based after was developed by 'Key', and in true 'Key' fashion, the story doesn't end too happily, or begin happily, as a matter of fact. After a while, what little which has been established is fully revealed to us, like why Okazaki isn't playing basketball anymore or why Nagisa talks with him. It's not depressing. Sad maybe? It's ending isn't depressing either; it may even make you smile, while your crying manly tears (or maybe that's just me). That's not to say the story isn't fun either, in fact there's more of an emphasis on comedy than on romance, and for a harem, the humor's pretty smart. There are laugh-out-loud worthy scenes to be had, if your interested, and when I say Tomoya's living life aimlessly, I'm not saying he's moping. He's sad and depressed of course, but he manifests it by playing pranks on others; he mentally tortures Sunohara, in particular, and all with this sarcastic smile. Getting past that and going back to the romance and this whole emphasis on 'family', the whole production has this warm, genuine heart to it. Unlike with most other harem shows, this develops it's heroines (if only just enough) to all be likable instead of just setting up some caricatures to drool over. Okazaki himself defies how a male lead in a harem should be by not being a completely unlikable failure, and then comes when you try to decide the story's genre; there's romance and comedy, but then there's fantasy and tragedy thrown in, and then there's the drama-club plot that's been developing this whole time. It accumulates back to this being a very comfortable/nice show (in tone and story and it's production-style) to watch, which ought to get you emotionally involved, if only a little.Production: The music score sounds like something from a visual novel (no shock there). The opening looks like something from one as well (maybe it's the same opening as the game's; I don't know). This was produced by Kyoto animation in between making 'Lucky Star' and 'K-ON!', and it shows; it tries looking like the visual novel and that works, and the actual animation is very fluent, like everything after Lucky Star, though not so much as K-ON!'s. Conclusion: A sometimes visually breath-taking show with simple but engaging intertwining stories and characters, who could've been forgettable but who are handled by obviously talented writers (I mean, it was written by Key, the people who did 'Air', would did you expect?).