Story 8/10
The first part of Clannad AS's story made little sense to me, because it felt like filler. There was no consistent plotline till several episodes in.The first few episodes were bad because they did nothing for the plot. They were literally just pointless short stories that were written with average quality. Don''t get me wrong. After these awful episodes, the story becomes more consistent and everything improves.
Art 8/10
This artstyle is all moe. The characters, the design, the EYES. They are huge, covering at least 50% of their faces. I don't like moe artstyle, especially of this caliber. The backgrounds are amazing, the effects look beautiful, but the EYES. Those things are the only complaint I have with the artstyle.The animation was really smooth too, for an anime that has no scenes that need good animation.
Sound 10/10
This soundtrack is amazing. Not spoiling anything, this soundtrack made me tear up every time I heard it. The music, especially the OP song, is a masterpiece. The sound effects were nailed really well too. Needless to say, I loved it all.
Character 9/10
The characters, oh the characters. The few main characters in this anime are amazing, and depth-filled. I could relate to them, could worry with them, could cry with them. I really loved these characters, and I couldn't say it enough. The supporting cast, however, didn't fare so well. Most of them have unexplained pasts the anime only touched on, the characters themselves are usually uninteresting and dull, and it's a real problem for an anime like this where characters are everything. But the main characters make up for nearly all of it, though Tomoya can be a little cringy at times.
Enjoyment 10/10
Like I said, this is my favorite anime, but not because of the laughs. Not because of the action(like there IS any), and not because of the art or sound. It's because of the feels. To feel for the characters means that the watcher could connect with the characters, which means that the anime is really good. Now, I don't mean that a good anime without feels is bad. That's opposite from the point. I mean that anime like this that are meant to make you feel sad for the character's loss, or something that makes you feel that sort of connection with the characters, and succeeds, are good anime. Not all anime can make you feel for the characters. This is the reason I like this anime so much.
Overall 9/10
This anime is one of the best I've seen so far. This anime deserves it's spot within the top 10 it currently holds in MAL. Now if only Clannad season 1 was this good... Well, it's good to dream. :)
