A more pessimistic view of Clannad's ending (copypasta from another forum I frequent 
):
[INDENT]Truth be told, this episode was less than extraordinary, nowhere near the awesomeness of episodes 18 and 19.
Now don't go flaming me before I make my point.
First, it's confusing.
It may not seem that way, but just think about the sheer amount of information that you get from this episode: the lights, the other world, the girl, etc.
As a result, it feels rushed.
Yet at the same time, it's too slow.
The drama is just not there, and trying to prolong the episode without much actual interesting plot. The final dramatic climax passed by in episode 21, and this is just falling action and conclusion, really.
The tears the viewers shed are just a result of relief: either relief that Tomoya finally gets to live a happy life or relief that Nagisa and Ushio survive. It's nothing like the painful sorrow that something like episode 16 invoked.
To apply the same drawn-out model used in episode 16 to make Nagisa's death more dramatic in the concluding episode just doesn't cut it. It doesn't work as well as it did with Nagisa's death simply because it's different.
Finally, the Fuuko bit at the end.
It's great for Fuukoists and all, but that's all there is to it.
The episode should have ended right after this [incredibly well placed] scene:
![[Image: snapshot20090313031335.jpg]](http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/Iexy/snapshot20090313031335.jpg)
But seeing as it's impossible to draw out the conclusion any further, there's another Fuuko scene added in. I thank the Fuuko scene for that much, but not much else. It diluted a 100% boring and total turn-off episode down to just an average one.
The Fuuko scenes were funny (the "I" part was ingenious)... until they got repetitive. The "ask me" part became annoying.
Also, the transition between the scene above (the picture) and the Fuuko part... well, there wasn't one. It just jumped straight from OMGSADDdd to OMGFUUKO!!1
Yet I have to praise the ending.
The last line/scene is a true masterpiece:
![[Image: ending-2.jpg]](http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/Iexy/ending-2.jpg)
P.S.: Don't get me wrong, though. This was a good ending to After Story. I'm just saying that it wasn't brilliant. The art and scenes were amazing (in my opinion, Clannad has had countless artistic triumphs in individual scenes and uses of camera angle), and the short clips of Kyou, Ryou, Sunohara, Kotomi (wow, she's gangster), etc. were especially well placed and great to see.[/INDENT]
):[INDENT]Truth be told, this episode was less than extraordinary, nowhere near the awesomeness of episodes 18 and 19.
Now don't go flaming me before I make my point.
First, it's confusing.
It may not seem that way, but just think about the sheer amount of information that you get from this episode: the lights, the other world, the girl, etc.
As a result, it feels rushed.
Yet at the same time, it's too slow.
The drama is just not there, and trying to prolong the episode without much actual interesting plot. The final dramatic climax passed by in episode 21, and this is just falling action and conclusion, really.
The tears the viewers shed are just a result of relief: either relief that Tomoya finally gets to live a happy life or relief that Nagisa and Ushio survive. It's nothing like the painful sorrow that something like episode 16 invoked.
To apply the same drawn-out model used in episode 16 to make Nagisa's death more dramatic in the concluding episode just doesn't cut it. It doesn't work as well as it did with Nagisa's death simply because it's different.
Finally, the Fuuko bit at the end.
It's great for Fuukoists and all, but that's all there is to it.
The episode should have ended right after this [incredibly well placed] scene:
But seeing as it's impossible to draw out the conclusion any further, there's another Fuuko scene added in. I thank the Fuuko scene for that much, but not much else. It diluted a 100% boring and total turn-off episode down to just an average one.
The Fuuko scenes were funny (the "I" part was ingenious)... until they got repetitive. The "ask me" part became annoying.
Also, the transition between the scene above (the picture) and the Fuuko part... well, there wasn't one. It just jumped straight from OMGSADDdd to OMGFUUKO!!1
Yet I have to praise the ending.
The last line/scene is a true masterpiece:
P.S.: Don't get me wrong, though. This was a good ending to After Story. I'm just saying that it wasn't brilliant. The art and scenes were amazing (in my opinion, Clannad has had countless artistic triumphs in individual scenes and uses of camera angle), and the short clips of Kyou, Ryou, Sunohara, Kotomi (wow, she's gangster), etc. were especially well placed and great to see.[/INDENT]