I had just finished Clannad. It's definitely not my favorite. I've seen better animes and yet I've seen worse. First off, let me tell you where I heard about this series. A friend of a friend recommended the anime as it had him exploding into the waterworks. I looked it up, read the description, then clicked away.
A girl meets a bad boy who really doesn't care about his life, then they somehow hit it off and revive some drama club. This sounded so boring to me, it never caught my interest. Finally, second chance came around and I actually found my way around the flaws. The way I'd describe it, is half of it I enjoyed, and half of it, I just had to force myself through and pretend it never happened after it was done.
Story: It definitely fits its slice of life genre perfectly. It was interesting to see the backstories of some of the characters but then there were characters I wish had more backstory rather than focusing like 6-10 episodes on one useless character. That or they should've added more episodes.
It was centered around the relationships of the characters, lacking a complex main plot line, and focusing on daily struggles. Typical slice of life, and I enjoy simple genres like that from time to time. Its relaxing to me. The story isn't really much of a problem. For the story rating, I'd give, 7/10.
Art: Very good high quality but moe characters are definitely not my thing. I had to get used to it and it still bothers me that the eyes have to take up more than half their face. I guess its just personal preference. For the art rating, I'd give 6/10.
Sound: Sound effects are fine, its the voice acting. Most of the main characters sound like they were in elementary school. True story: I literally started to trip out around the 6th episode and questioned if they were in junior high, but then I found out they were in high school, juniors and seniors...not a good experience for me. 4/10 for creating that embarrassing confusion.
Character: Oh, this is where I cringe. This is the heart, the central soul essence of everything that is wrong with this anime. There were parts that contributed to me thinking these girls were in junior high because of the way they acted. They had the vocabulary of an eight year old, even the intelligent one. Their brain must of been the size of a peanut. There were moments where they acted like five year old children playing with toys, and saying stupid stuff. It was almost creepy. Its like I was watching a Japanese version of the Rugrats without the imaginary adventures. These were the moments I had to force myself through. Teen girls do not act like this.
The relationships between the characters, there was barely anything, mostly because no one ever felt any kind of variety of emotions. It was either happy, or sadness filled with a bunch of sob stories. Jealousy, anger, conflicts, barely present. It was mostly focused on taking care of each girl's backstory. There was no development in the relationships between one another. They never evolved as a character, they never learned any important lessons, or went through any hard times that really separated each other for a while (besides sob stories that happened in the past). The only character that showed a little bit of evolution, was Nagisa but even then, it just wasn't enough.
Their childish personalities and lack of connection, made unrealistic characters.
The main lead is so dull as dirt. He doesn't even seem like he'd be a person who would be hanging out with these supposedly insecure and innocent girls. 2/10 Absolutely terrible!
Enjoyment: Near the end, thing's got a little better but Nagisa wasn't exactly the character I enjoyed. She acted like she'd be harem girl number four. Kyou seemed like she'd be a better main female protagonist if she had a bigger part.
Things were out of place, but overall, I don't think I'd recommend this to anyone unless they're really bored, seen all the good animes already, and is desperate for something to do. And I would warn them that this show does have its bad ridiculousness. This is mainly due to the unrealistic characters that are portrayed. I'd give a final 5/10.
