Overview

Originally released as an adult sequel to Key's their first non-eroge title, Clannad, Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life was eventually given an all ages release as well. Featuring music by the same trio that scored Clannad — Shinji Orito, Jun Maeda and Magome Togoshi — there were certainly high expectations for this album. It doesn't live up to its predecessor in quantity — featuring a modest 21 tracks. Could it live up to it in terms of quality?

Body

Shinji Orito starts off the album, with Lia providing the vocals for "Light Colors." The soothing synth and building nature of the piece sounds quite similar to Orito's opening theme for Air, "Bird's Poem" — hardly an unfortunate comparison. This does serve as a good opening and, once again, reflects Key's magic creating vocal themes.

Orito's work on this album is pretty consistently good. "Rivulet" is quite evocative and calming, fitting excellently within the bishoujo game. There are two variations of the melody heard in "Harmony" and "Harmony with Sorrow," the latter of which adds piano and a beat to help it stand out from its peer. "Young Lust" is a battle-ready piece, so to speak, with its rocking guitar and drums. Placed squarely in the middle of the album, it helps break up the sameness of much of the album, which is either a good or bad thing, depending on the listener. That said, the piece itself isn't terribly spectacular, though it's fortunately better than Orito's last three compositions, which are mainly just beats with forgettable melodies and motifs. They're well put together, but none stand out or are very interesting.

Jun Maeda is the second major contributor to the album, starting with "Hope". This is pleasant piece for piano, layered with synth, along with strings and flute. Aided by the following "Love Song" for two guitars, this track sets a peaceful tone for the release. Maeda's two standout compositions on this album, however, would have to be "Morning Glow" and "Old Summer Days." The piano in the former serves as quite an effective accompaniment to the peppy melody, and the evocative melody itself in the latter is as memorable as anything the composer has ever written. Maeda's closing vocal, featuring Lia as well, "Life is Like a Melody," is decent. It's not his best and somewhat generic in place. Nevertheless, its shorter version effectively closes the album.

Magome Togoshi composed only two pieces, but both are fantastic. The first half of "Favorite Loop" is a simple, exuberant affair that doesn't stand out, but its second half is quite melodically superb. "Worth Living" is a somber piece that also features a very strong melody. These two tracks are easily among the best on this album.

Summary

The trio of composers does not disappoint. While this album may not be quite as much of a knockout as Clannad, it is sure to give fans of that album a nice encore. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre, but for others, there's nothing here to change one's mind.