Best/worst Clannad characters?

[Claudius]

Just interested to hear what Clannad characters you like the most/the least and why you feel that way.

[Tháleia Helikon (VTuber)]

Maybe mine will be a strange answer but...i simply like them all. I started my journey with CLANNAD in a very sad/particular moment of my life so i felt particularly attached to them.
They felt so "real" to me that i see them as my "actual" friends. All of them has some good things and bad things but i think that is how life works.
Looking for a more "personal" way to see things i think i like Nagisa and Ryou because they are similar to me (regarding personality) while i like Kyou for being the opposite of Ryou (i want to be more "confident" like her). Also i simply LOVE Nagisa parents...i wish my family was like that. Overall CLANNAD was a bit more of a "personal" journey for me (It's my favourite anime/novel). Sorry if this was not the kind of answer you wanted.

[El Psy Kongroo]

Best girl for me is Kotomi.

I don't care for the tsundere trope, so Kyou is out. She's cute, but I can't stand that personality type, and every anime girl with it is automatically low-tier waifu IMO.

Ryou is a bit bland, and even though she and Kotomi both share similar mannerisms, the difference is that Kotomi would be a more interesting person to talk to overall. Ryou's awkwardness would become grating after a while.

Nagisa is fine..........just fine. I like her, but I'm not particularly drawn to her either. Plus I'm not the kind of person who could act as the support she needs. I don't see myself as the "protector" type at all, so her neediness would be a hassle.

Tomoyo is great, but she's a little too serious about life. She's driven, and passionate, whereas I'm more of a go-with-the-flow kinda guy. The differences in our life goals would cause strife within the relationship; she has too much potential to squander it on a guy who's happy with being average.

Yukine is underrated as hell, and would actually be my #1, except for the fact that I would have to "share" her with her gang. There would be too little privacy and too much suspicion. She's too sensitive to the needs of others, and I feel like I would end up getting dragged into problems I couldn't care less about. When she's NOT with her gang though, she's basically perfect.

F.uko has many good qualities, but being a girlfriend sadly isn't one of them. There's honestly no way a relationship with her could work. She's too immature.

That leaves Kotomi, although it's about more than just process of elimination. IMO Kotomi combines the best aspects of several of the other girls without many of the associated drawbacks. Kotomi is timid and has poor social skills, but not in the rigid, intransigent way Ryou does. Her personality isn't the result of living in the shadow of an aggressive and extroverted older sister, but rather a lonely isolation that comes with forced independence. Ryou has less room to grow as a person because who she is has been unconsciously shaped by who Kyou is. Kotomi, while certainly having a tragic past and emotional baggage, is not entirely defined by it the way Ryou is. Her route in the visual novel proves this, with her character development being infinitely more layered and complex than Ryou's, and while you could argue that this is simply a case of better writing, I believe it transcends to the character level as well. Kotomi has a childish fascination about the world that isn't impeded by her semi-autistic personality. She actively seeks new knowledge, is capable of holding conversation about topics of interest (in her own unique way), and doesn't get bogged down in the minutia of the social contract. This level of innocence ends up as just the right about to be endearing without being overbearing, as in the case of Fuko or Nagisa. She is also without a doubt the most genuinely intelligent character in the series, often taking the time to consider problems thoroughly instead of acting in emotional outbursts like the rest of the cast. She is clearly a person who, like me, has a myriad of thoughts buzzing around in her head, and who knows exactly what she wants to say, but often has trouble putting her ideas into words. This similarity in thinking patterns is what drew me to her initially and ultimately makes her best girl.

[SubTonic]

For me, Tomoyo is the worst. She starts off very fun and interesting, but her route is the epitome of absolute boredom. It's literally just watching a generic couple interacting, and it goes on for SO LONG that I struggled to get through it. Ryou and Kyou are similarly bland, but at least their routes have more drama and don't go on forever. Tomoyo's just starts with so much potential and then becomes a boring romance plot for the rest of it.

As for the best? I actually have to say Sunohara is my favorite character in the VN. He brings so much to the table, develops a lot in certain routes, has a ton of slapstick humor associated with him (and I love slapstick), and his voice actor is the most passionate out of the whole cast. I love him.

[GlitchyReal]

I mean, F.uko is the best character (despite talking in third-person), but like @El Psy Congroo above me said, not good girlfriend material.

Also agree with @SubTonic that Tomoyo is pretty boring and forced. Wonder why she's popular enough to get her own spin-off? Like, she's great early but not as much later down the road.

I actually was really surprised how much I enjoyed Ryou's route. Like, to the point where I didn't want to finish the intended Kyou route. Having Kyou third-wheeling became just funny and annoying enough to make me actually care for Ryou.

But Nagisa still wins over all. She's so integral to a lot of the storylines, either through collaboration or her noticeable absence. In later routes where, say, Kotomi asks if we're a couple and I say "no" kinda hurts a little. Like I've betrayed Nagisa's trust.

It's less of a "protector" element for me so much as it is, like Nagisa says, working together toward a goal. Frustrating that Tomoya won't joing the drama club even though I want to.

Honorary mention for Misae because she's just a good person and you don't even get to date her. Platonic relationships ftw (even if Tomoya is more lusty about it than I'd prefer).

Worst character though?

Tomoya.
You. Me. The MC. He's always trying to put the breaks on anything fun or interesting and gets more flustered and angry over less nothing than Fujibayashi. Now, I understand it's partly a story of growth and one that also needs a source of antagonism, but that antagonism shouldn't be literally me, the one making choices. A lot of his development comes from "why am I even doing this anyway?" and "she's so hot and/or nice, right?" Y/N

It's okay, Tomoya. Starfish can be cute. Now please shut up.

[Dethlane]

Best - hands down Tomoyo. Determined, strong, passionate, no-nonsense and at the same time beautiful, serene, kind, elegant and pretty fun. She is also sincere, not playing around about serious matters and not afraid to speak her mind. And once you get on her good enough side, you learn that she is pretty fragile deep inside and hella devoted to those she cares about.

Originally posted by El Psy Congroo:

Tomoyo is great, but she's a little too serious about life. She's driven, and passionate, whereas I'm more of a go-with-the-flow kinda guy. The differences in our life goals would cause strife within the relationship; she has too much potential to squander it on a guy who's happy with being average.

Funny how you mention it, since it's pretty much similar to what goes on in the end of her route. For those exact reasons this idiot Tomoya first distances himself from Tomoyo and then breaks up with her, even after Tomoyo said that she loves him and wants be with him no matter what. And a bit later he realizes that he in fact really loved her. Months later Tomoyo, having achieved her goal of protecting sakuras, returns to him and, after a brief exchange, once again explains and proclaims her feelings (which haven't changed one bit, but only grew stronger). Tomoya, with his feelings not decreased as well, answers them and embraces Tomoyo, who bursts in tears, at last receiving what she longed for all this time. Seeing this, Tomoya finally realizes that he must stop being pathetic and sets on to do his best, for Tomoyo.