The animation overall is very good. There may be minor consistency issues, and obvious shortcuts used (such as character models with minor tweaks for major characters), but is a nice piece of work overall. The OST, besides the OP, ED, and 1-2 tracks, isn't anything special. Voice was good.
Characters, again, based off the visual novel, are generally clichés, but come with a sprinkle here and there of their own personality. I felt rather attached to some, and not so much to others. Development was good, but a few seemingly major characters were significantly over-shadowed.
The setting is the general high school setting, but the locale is expanded upon with the introduction of various "home" areas, making it somewhat fleshed out.
Episodic Value was pretty good overall. Most to all of the individual episodes were enjoyable, though it felt as though there was a little padding in the beginning; this may simply be due to the slow pace of the show and the way it handled introductions.
The overall storyline was somewhat clear, but could jump around in parts (again, due to being based off a visual novel). Characters were focused on and then quickly taken out of the picture for no reason, only to show up again as a regular a few episodes later. Furthermore, in regards to the standard "love" triangle, besides 1-2 minutes of downtime for "rejection," those "rejected" characters bounced back with seemingly no problems the next episode, and in fact, for the rest of the show. However, the ending was very fulfilling -- even if it took a LONG time to get there, and then felt a little rushed at the end.
"Clannad" is a piece of work that will tug at your heartstrings, but is cliché due to its roots. You may feel attached a little more to some aspects of the show than others, but at the end of the day, there's sprinkles of originality and really just a show that lets you travel back and experience something that you probably already have experienced, but in a different way.
