Clannad 02 – Noto fandom and retard moe
October 12th, 2007 by Shirukii
Kyou approves!
If life were anything like anime and blood loss through the nose accompanied all things overly cute I would have needed a constant transfusion pumping in new blood to have survived this episode. While I’m a little annoyed that KyoAni is giving up precious time that could have been used to develop story/character in lieu of moe overdose, they do have 24 episodes to play around with, so I guess it won’t hurt in the long run.
Episode Rating: 8.5/10
Picking up from last episode, Tomoya finds Nagisa in the park across her street and is greeted by an invitation to go to a place where wishes come true. Thankfully, Nagisa hasn’t gone insane, but is actually reciting lines from a play she wants to put on when she reforms the drama club. Tomoya is impressed that she’s really going to go through with bringing the club back together, Nagisa doesn’t know whether she’ll succeed or not, but wants to try her best anyways.
Next morning, as Tomoya walks to school thinking about the drama club, he hears Kyou’s voice behind him, yelling for him to get out of the way. She ends up crashing her scooter mere inches away from him, leaving them both sprawled out on the road. They have a back and forth about who was in whose way, Kyou admitting that she just started driving last week and isn’t used to it yet, she checks her scooter for dents and when she finds none, says she’ll let Tomoya off the hook for now and rides away laughing.
Just then, Sunohara walks up besides him and comments on how many rough girls there are in the school these days. Tomoya is surprised to see him going to school so early, apparently Sunohara hasn’t learned his lesson yet and stupidly challenges Tomoyo to another fight. After establishing the ground rules that it’s for self defense, Tomoyo goes ahead and gives Sunohara another beating, this time with a 15 second 528 hit aerial combo that lands Sunohara stuck at the top dust chute…and eventually at the bottom when Tomoyo takes the cruelty a bit further and nudges him down.
Being a little early for class, Tomoya goes off to find a place to nap, on the way to the library he runs into a couple of classmates who warn him a ghost girl is walking the halls. He makes it to the library and just when he thinks it’s the perfect empty spot to take a nap, he sees a girl sprawled out on the floor, surrounded by a bunch of difficult looking books and a bento. When he tells her she should hurry to class, she offers him some food and then sends him on his way, leaving Tomoya confused and thinking that she might be the rumored ghost girl.
But Ryou clears up the confusion and reveals her identity, Ichinose Kotomi, a genius who scores in the top ten of every subject -NATIONALLY-, she doesn’t go to class, preferring to study by herself, and since her grades are clearly sufficient, the teachers tend to leave her alone. Speaking of wierdos, Tomoya quickly switches the subject to Kyou and how insane she is, coming to school on her bi-…and just then Kyou makes her usual flashy book throwing entrance, dragging Tomoya out and asking what he thinks he’s doing saying that she comes to school by bike out loud when he knows it’s against school rules.
When Kyou releases Tomoya, he returns to his seat only to have Ryou ask him what he was talking about. Having started saying “bike” Tomoya runs with it and announces to the class that Fujibayashi Kyou is bi. This obviously doesn’t go well with Kyou, who all but strangles him while Ryou huddles up in tears asking her onee-chan if it’s true.
Later that day, Tomoya and Nagisa meet in the drama club’s old room to see what they can do about reviving it. Nagisa starts by making a rather bland poster, Tomoya suggests adding that the cutest president on campus will be waiting, it takes Nagisa a couple of seconds to process that he’s talking about her. She counters by saying that Tomoya would make a more suitable president, but he tells her that it’s her club and she should take responsibility for it, not that he plans on joining when the club starts up again anyways. Nagisa takes his advice and starts to do things the way she wants, first of all making the poster as she sees fit, ending up covering the whole thing with dango -_-”
As Tomoya goes around putting up the posters and wondering what he’s gotten himself into, he hears a cry from a nearby classroom. He finds a cute girl, Ibuki Fuko, whittling a star with a dull knife. When she finally notices Tomoya watching her, she scurries away and cowers in a corner. When asked what she’s working on, Fuko suddenly goes into a state of unaware bliss, Tomoya notices that her hand is bandaged and wonders if she’s hurting herself using such an old and dull knife, he takes advantage of her zoning out and grabs the knife. When Fuko snaps back to reality and demands her knife back, Tomoya tells her to get a sharper knife and asks if her hand doesn’t hurt. Fuko says no, but Tomoya tricks her into shaking his hand and she winces in pain. When she still refuses to admit it, he tells her to give him a high five like teammates in a basketball game, after going through the whole show and dance of scoring, Fuko gives him a high five and cries in pain. Having proven his point, Tomoya says he’ll hang on to the knife for now, and walks off.
Seeing him putting up the posters for the drama club, Sunohara wonders why Tomoya is so interested in clubs now, having hated them so much in the past. Nagisa overhears this conversation and asks him if it’s true, he tells her it’s just meaningless banter from the past and goes home. With nothing else to do, Tomoya buys a bunch of dango and starts painting faces on them like the Dango Daikazoku that used to be popular, when his dad comes in and offers some help, Tomoya gets mad at him and runs off. He meets up with Nagisa, who is grateful for the dango, even if they are hand made. Tomoya goes on to tell her a bit of his past, how he and Sunohara initially came to school for sports, and how he ended up quitting the basketball team just a couple months after school started. Nagisa is indebted to Tomoya for how nice he’s been to her this past little while, so in return she offers to play some basketball with him, inviting him to the court after school the next day.
But the next day is Saturday, a half day, and raining, so he decides to skip school with Sunohara as usual. But as the day passes, he begins to worry that Nagisa may be waiting for him, even in the pouring rain. He gets to school to find out he was right, and yells at Nagisa for being so stupid and waiting in the rain when there was no proof that he was coming. But Tomoya did come, and even though they can’t play, Nagisa asks him to take a shot, as she’s never seen a basketball shot up close. However, when Tomoya raises the ball to shoot, he drops the ball and falls to the floor, explaining to Nagisa that the reason that he quit basketball was because he got in a fight with his dad and ended up hurting his shoulder, he can’t raise his right arm past shoulder height. When Nagisa hears this she starts apologizing for always causing him so much trouble and ends up fainting in the middle of the court.
Thoughts
I knew I heard something during one of my lectures today, it must have been the collective cry of “MOEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” from all the Noto fans in North America.
KyoAni sure is going all out with ramping up the moe in Clannad. Kotomi seems like she has Asperger Syndrome or something, but that being said, I love her character. As an aspiring engineer, any girl that reads books on astrophysics and wave functions (particle physics > wave physics!) transcends the realm of hotness in my eyes. And of course, she’s a Noto character, which thanks to Soda, means an instant boost in my rankings.
Aaaand of course there’s the newly introduced Fuko, who is more like a puppy than a human being. If you ever struggled to find the personification of ‘retard moe’ look no further, Fuko’s the living definition of the term. Unlike Kotomi, she doesn’t seem to have unnatural smarts to back up her airheaded nature and inability to engage in normal social interaction. I don’t see myself liking her much, but I’ll admit that she is cute in her own awkward way, and she’s voiced by Ai Nonaka (Konoka from Negima).
In before, someone makes a comment about Kotomi and Fuko brandishing sharp objects and the possibility of a NICE SCOOTER ending, or something along those lines.
Other than that, character wise, Kyou continues to dominate my list. Her tomboyish and brute force ways of doing things make me laugh, and her laugh makes me melt. She’s more of a side character at this point, but often side characters are multiple times more win than main ones anyway.
Story wise, not much happened in this episode. Tomoya is getting on better terms with all the girls and is generally starting to act less and less like the supposed delinquent he is, but other than that, there’s still no indication as to the overall direction that Clannad’s plot will be taking. And I have no idea what role all the girls play in the story, nor their respective backgrounds, especially Kotomi and Fuko, who were just quickly introduced and then put on the back burner.
And then there’s the whole alternate world theme that they are subtly building up. The beginning of the episode showed another cut away to the girl who lives alone in the world of junk as she pieces together some garbage to make a weird little robot. But so far this has no meaningfulness at all. From the looks of it, the girl could be mistaken for a Nagisa with longer hair and minus the double ahoge, but that may just be KyoAni’s character template being too standardized.
But in any case, if nothing else, Clannad is continuing to entertain me with moe girls in the spring and the distant promise of a slowly building plot. In terms of character stereotyping, Clannad is pushing the limits far past they did with Kanon, but oddly enough, I don’t find it a bad thing, especially since I have no past experience with Clannad’s story, so everything is new to me.
On a closing note, I actually listened to the whole ED song, and again another 15 or so times. It’s one of those songs that my ears are telling me sucks, but my brain has latched on to and finds ridiculously addictive. Dango dango dango dango, dango daikazoku~
…AHHHH, get it out of my head X_X!
Where does one draw the line between moe and retardation anyway?
~ Shirukii ~
24 Responses to “Clannad 02 – Noto fandom and retard moe”
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Ai Nonoka > Mamiko Noto
…….
What’s with that look?
….
You’re not planning on stabbing me with that box cutter are you?
“While I’m a little annoyed that KyoAni is giving up precious time that could have been used to develop story/character in lieu of moe overdose”
You’re joking right? The first episode was so fast-paced for the storytelling. This one was just a little bit slower than the first.
0528 hit combo, extra digit in the front…. hmm, i wonder what would that mean.
@ Totali: o_o would you care to discuss the matter on my nice boat?
@ Heko: What gave you that impression? Unless there was some foreshadowing I missed, I didn’t see anything meaningful in terms of story development. Sure we were introduced to a lot of characters, we got to see Nagisa’s family as well as Tomoya’s, and it was hinted that there’s something not normal about Nagisa, but nothing links up. If throwing random plot elements out to the viewers is story development, then sure, I agree, but without anything to unify them under a central story line, there’s no progress.
@ Nightingale: That it’ll be over 9000 by the end of the series? =D
Shirukii–sometimes it’s hard to say what hints that seem insignificant at the time are really foreshadowings of future plot points. At least if the writers are skilled, they will be relatively subtle. (Especially at this early stage, it’s really hard to tell, though I think we’re being thrown some big hints; there’s no way that the opening scene is just her rehearsing for a play.)
I too hope that the other girls’ storylines will be secondary, because I’m a fan of coherent plot development myself. The “helping random moe girls” stuff does get a bit repetitive after a while.
By the looks, I didn’t Kotomi in the beginning, but I change my mind after I watched this episode. I even like her more after you mention that she read astrophysics and wave functions books because I am an engineer too (but Kyou and Tomoyo are still my favorite).
Good choice of blogging animes for this season (except Da capo II in my opinion).
“…a 15 second 528 hit aerial combo…”
You know, I did the math, and that averages out to about 35 hits per second. Now that is completely unfeasible, unless Tomoyo is so awesome that she can stop time.
Heh, if Kotomi is anything like the (few) girls that study physics, then I thank god I majored in biology XD
Anyways, Shirukii have you stopped rating episodes, because I don’t think the last two were total fails.
@kenshin514: i guess u underestimate of Da capo II. If u don’t believe me, u can check it back when Da capo II hits its fifth episode or something like that. All i can say is the first few episode of Da capo II wont be anything important that much.
@Heko: both episode r just about the introduction of all characters and there is nothing much in the ep1 and 2 about the storyline. As Mike said we’re being thrown some big hints and there is something i notice from both episode:
1/ At the beginning of episodes 1 and 2, Nagisa always say something weird and make Tomoya surprise for both time. I think there is a meaning to the word “Sweet bean bread!” just like “Pork cutlet!” which she say to cheer herself on. (did i just figure out something?)
2/ And the line “Do you like this school? I really, really love it. But nothing can stay unchanged. ……” wasn’t direct at someone as we and Tomoya misunderstand it but it just her rehearsing for a play.
3/ Who is the boy/storyteller and the girl in the flashback?
Do you want to get your answer from that flashback? i guess i just figure out.
I can’t believe I laughed insanely hard when I read your ‘NICE SCOOTER” comment xD
In any case, I really like the background we’re getting on Tomoya. I really want to learn more about him. And I’m glad that he’s spending more time with Nagisa, because it seem she’s helping him change a little. Unless he got mad at Sunohara about the club thing for another reason.
And the dango ED song is rabu! RABU! LOVE IT!
@ Mike: True enough. I agree with the helping random moe girls thing too, so far Clannad is doing a decent job at avoiding what I disliked most about Kanon, the episodic feel of the girls’ arcs.
@ kenshin514: Haha, ERTW! Also, Kyou ftw.
My plan for my blogging schedule was to balance the coverage between popular anime (Shana, Clannad) and perhaps the lesser covered ones (Myself; Yourself, DCII). What’s wrong with DCII anyway?
@ Zeroblade: Uh…lol anime physics? She doesn’t seem to stop time, but if you watch the Tomoyo view of her attacks, time does slow down a bit, meaning that her speed approaches the speed of light, which causes time to move relatively slower.
@ ItAintEazy: Oh wow you’re right, I knew I was forgetting something! Haha XD Ratings added, thanks for the heads up.
@ Siva: I agree with your stance on DCII, but I’m beginning to fear that they’re going to run out of time if they don’t get to the good stuff soon. They only have 13 eps!
@ Hopey: Let’s just hope it stays as a joke XD
Tomoya is a really interesting character, so much more so than Yuuichi or Yukito from Key’s other works. I’m anxious to find out what’s up with him and his dad.
Dango Dango Dango Dango…ahhh, you got it stuck in my head again ;_; lol
Shirukii: Well, I watched only first two episodes and it didn’t give me the exciting’s vibe for me to watch this series. Then again, it’s only two episodes. I’ll pick it up when I have time because engineer’s class take away a lot of my anime’s time.
@Shirukii: Yes they only have 13eps, so I only hope they dont screw up.
Do you know what the girl in the flashback say to the boy? Do you want to know it? I may can use my theory to prove it and let u see a bit of the future of Cannad.
Well that clinches it…..this is the third series I’ve become a sucker for the purple haired girls lol :)…..
There must be an unwritten rule in anime that says girls with purple hair should consist of ultimate moe!
Clannad is shaping up nicely…….and–although there are some definite similarities to other Key games– seems to be jumping right into the story
ie. the cryptic play lines being recited, constant flashbacks to the girl in the empty room…..the tension between Toyama and his dad…..its placing the viewer right in the centre of the action without revealing everything at once….
@ Shirukii:
You think this episode made your nose bleed???? Check out the Sola OVA….just watched the fansub today…….
Five words: Matsuri in a bathing suit :)
I approve of Kyou being a bi. =P I guess that’s all I have to say to Clannad. Oh, I almost forgot…. MAMIKO NOTOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
“Dango dango dango dango, dango daikazoku~”
Lol…crap, I know what you mean, I accidentally sang this song to myself during a project meeting, got some really weird stares :P
> http://animearimasu.animeblogger.net/image/Clannad/02ClannadScooter.jpg
I dub thee “Haruhara Harukyou”.
Truthfully, the Dango song is the only reason I’m still watching this. Clannad has thus far failed to impress and I’m not drinking the KyoAni kool-ade.
So far I think cCannad was pretty impressive, I vowed to myself this season no more anime of this style but with the storyline and characters and its playing out, its harder than crack to resist!
Also Tomoyo is cute in her on way. by far my favorite of the so far
@ kenshin514: >> I have time because engineer’s class take away a lot of my anime’s time
I should probably say the same, but I fight to make time for anime anyways.
@ Siva: Sure, go for it. I love hearing theories, as long as it’s just a theory, not a spoiler.
@ Kanon_fan82: Oh man the Sola OVA was so win, cept for Aono, no one likes Aono. Matsuri ftw.
@ SHiN_aKuMa: Notoooooo <3 Btw, how go the fansubbing issues?
@ rOninZz: Haha, oh wow. I can imagine.
@ Telliamed: Really? What do you think of KeyAni in general (ie. AIR & Kanon)
@ Fuzzims: Kyou > Tomoyo. In appeal of course, Tomoyo could totally kick Kyou’s ass in a fight.
@Shirukii
I proposed a joint project on the Sola Special with ASHES fansubs and we’re waiting for them to finish TLC. And regarding Myself; Yourself, we’re taking this slowly. We could’ve suffered the same fate like m.3.3.w. releasing a version 2 of episode 1 where they mis translate that Aoi is the youngest of the group. What keeps us from releasing episode 1 is that our TL doesn’t understand one bit of Aoi’s book babble. =)
@ Shirukii: LOL, how can i spoil myself with this kind of show? It is ok for Shounen the more i spoil it the more i want to see the real action but for something like Kanon, Air, Clannad and Da capo…. if i spoil it that mean i got less 50% of impression from watching it. I have never play any kind of Novel games and i have never read any spoiler of Clannad either.
It took me long enough before i figure out. but im not 100% sure yet and I am waiting for the third ep out to see the next flashback and Nagisa’s play.
If i am not wrong the flashback is a dream of some1 or i would say Nagisa’s dream. HOW? If i say it was what i think and believe it then it wont make any sense, right? Ok now explain.
1. Why does Nagisa want to create the theater club?
2. What does the play which Nagisa recites it 2 times already for?
3. Why did Nagisa want to play it for?
Base on these 3 questions i have rewatch the show many times. And here is the answer.
Boy = boy’s voice in the flashback
Girl = Nagisa
>>Boy said “This is a world that has ended. Nothing is born, nothing dies. Even time does not exist. If I were to search for a place to be born, then I realized it should not be here. There was a person in a world like this. Could she see me? I was not born to this world. The girl who lives alone in the world that ended. The girl who lives in a vacant, unmoving world. For some reason, she interested me.” (ep1 at 5:50)
>>Girl said “Do you like this PLACE(school)? I really, really love it. But nothing can stay unchanged. Fun thing… Happy thing… They can’t all possibly stay unchanged. Even so, can you keep on loving this place?” (ep1 at 0:50)
>>Boy said “The girl’s life is a lonely one. No one other than the girl exists. It is a given… since nothing is born or dies here. This is such a world. That body was made for me. Is “wishing” all I have to do? Wish to be born in this world… The one and only warmth in this world. Since sometime ago, I’ve sought that.”(ep2 at 2:45)
>>Girl said “If you wish, would you like me to take you? To the place in this city where wishes come true.” (ep2 at 0:01)
@Shirukii
Since you asked. I haven’t played any of the games and not seen all of Air so I won’t mention those. Just that what I’ve seen of Air was more interesting than what I’ve seen of Clannad.
I like the Kanon story. Unlike most of the stuff you read online, I don’t think Toei was so terrible. I give about 60/40 preference to KyoAni for better animation and some details, but not the deus ex machina ending. (And the absence of a Sayuri X Mai confession.)
The difference between Kanon and Clannad for me is immediate. The first scene of Kanon is 100% refined moe. And as each girl is introduced, she was given plenty of screen time. While in Clannad there’s just enough to find out her name then Emo-kun launches into more angsty navel-gazing.
Regarding KyoAni, their technical ability is undeniable. I don’t consider them the best animators (Shaft at least impresses me more. Though I’m disappointed they didn’t take a more traditional approach to ef.) They’re just a victim of their own popularity.
And I’m one of the few who thought the choco coronet was funny.
I am the best ^^
hola como estan >/>