~~Some people may say it is not necessary.. but i believe watching After Story is pointless without the first. Starting with Clannad before After Story takes you on a journey through the characters lives and the character development is so critical in understanding the overall moral of the story.
VISUALS
The first component I look at before starting an anime series is the art. I prefer the least-animated-looking characters and graphics. I think that the characters all had believable features, and all had their own defying physical traits (as well as personality traits) so that it was easier to tell them all apart.
ENJOYMENT
Usually, I do not like love stories. So it is strange how I love Clannad as much as I do. I found myself very emotionally involved in this series.
The interesting thing about Clannad vs. After Story is that in Clannad it is more of a feel good type of show. In Clannad, the characters are all working together to achieve certain goals.
Whereas, in After Story.. it drops alot of characters and focuses more on the two main characters alone, and they definitely have struggles that darken the tone. When i say this I am not exaggerating.. I literally cried for six episodes straight. Which is very unlike me.. but I couldn't help it! And besides, the tears all ended up worth it.
CHARACTERS
I think that this show had amazing character development.. and it did a really good job at not leaving loose ends that definitely needed tied! You will fall in love with the characters, especially because you can see that they all have a love for each other. The prefix Clan- means family.. so it's a very relevant series title. A lot of the characters have an innocence about them, yet are going through extreme trials of life. They mostly keep positive through all of it because they have eachother, which is very refreshing.
OVERALL
Overall, I think this show was amazing. It actually has taught me things that I will be able to take with me for the rest of my life. I don't want to say what I thought the moral was, because with all of the themes, it definitely can be personal to you.
If you want to be taken on a journey 100 steps forward, then 1000 steps back, then 100 steps forward, then 1000 steps back, then 1000000 steps forward again.. this is the show for you !!;)
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT DO NOT KEEP READING ITS MY ONLY COMPLAINT:
I was very disappointing how Okazaki and Nagisa never kissed!!! At the end of Clannad when the Okazaki and Tomoya possibility was shown, they kissed. I just feel like it was necessary.. especially when the were in the rain and Okazaki asked Nagisa to marry him. I guess the good thing about it is it really showed the innocence in Nagisa that Okazaki really cherished.
