Clannad 09
November 30th, 2007 by Shirukii
A great ending to a great opening arc for Clannad. Those who were predicting Fuko’s arc would end on the extremes of the emotional spectrum, that is, either really happily or really sad, might be disappointed to see that the middle ground was chosen instead. It was a very bittersweet ending, which I felt was really fitting all things considered, it was also how I predicted it would end (a winnar is my theory!) so I’m pleased to see everything go just as planned.
Episode Rating: 9.5/10
Seeing Akio and Sanae in pain when trying to remember Fuko, the three head to school to spend the night there. In the drama club room Fuko impatiently tears open her birthday set, unable to resist her longing to wear the party hat, even when Tomoya teases her for being childish. As she spaces out, Tomoya pulls his final prank on Fuko, grabbing the party hat, when Fuko snaps back Tomoya tells her that if she’s a mature adult she’ll restrain herself, well Fuko says screw that, I’ll be a child for now and rushes Tomoya for her hat back.
Afterwards there’s a touching scene where Fuko tells Tomoya and Nagisa that they should properly address each other by their first names, probably not realizing the implications doing so. They struggle through it but finally manage to do so, Fuko tells them that she loves them both and wishes them the best (does she really not know what she’s implying here? lol). And with that, Fuko walks up to both of them and gives them a kiss on the cheek. Aaaand then promptly returns to acting like a five year old once she gets her party hat on >_>
Even though it’s early and the bride and groom aren’t present, Fuko suggests having a celebration for Ibuki-sensei just between the three of them. So they light the candles that came with the birthday set and sound off the indoor fireworks with a big “Omedetou!”. The three spend the rest of the night sitting around talking to each other amidst the faint glow of the burning candles, just like a happy family, until one by one they doze off to sleep.
The next morning Tomoya wakes up to find Nagisa leaning on him, fast asleep. The two of them wake up and wonder what they’re doing at school, the unthinkable has happened, they have forgotten Fuko…Looking at the party set up of the room they figure that they must have stayed overnight thinking of the drama club revival, but can’t help but think that’s not the case.
They make their way to Nagisa’s house where Akio chases Tomoya around with a baseball bat for keeping his daughter out overnight, but stops and remembers that Nagisa mentioned that they’d be out all night for some important reason, but strangely none of them can remember what exactly the reason was. On their way to school, Nagisa pulls out one of Fuko’s stars and shows it to Tomoya, but neither of them can remember what it is or where she got it, only a slight calming feeling from looking at it.
At school, Kyou flirts around with Tomoya for a bit, eventually inviting him to go shopping with her and Ryou on Sunday, Tomoya declines her invitation, feeling that he has something important to do that day, but oddly enough, he can’t remember exactly what it is. When he asks Nagisa about it, she feels the same way. Then the two spot Koumura-sensei, putting the finishing touches on the banner for Ibuki-sensei’s wedding. Suddenly, it hits them and they remember everything about Ibuki-sensei and everything they went through so they could have her wedding at school, eventually this leads them to remember the one who brought it all together, Fuko, who then reappears in front of their eyes. Tomoya apologizes for forgetting about her, even though he tried so hard not to, Fuko says that it’s a natural occurrence, so he shouldn’t worry about it, but Nagisa hugs her and tells her that they won’t forget again, that they’ll stay by her side until the wedding.
That is one promise they manage to keep, properly attending Ibuki-sensei’s wedding the next day with Fuko in tow, even though no other students show up for the ceremony. But afterwards, as Tomoya, Nagisa and Fuko run to the front gates to cheer Ibuki-sensei on, they see an amazing sight from the window, it looks as if the entire school showed up. Outside, they meet up with Kyou and Ryou who say that they suddenly remembered about the wedding when they saw Fuko’s star carving in the morning. Sunohara is there too and he dragged along Misae and the entire male dorm. Akio and Sanae showed up as well, embarrassed that they forgot about the wedding until the day of. As the newlywed couple come out of the front gates, the crowd erupts in cheers of congratulations and a flurry of confetti.
When Kouko and Yuusuke get to Nagisa and Tomoya, the two are in tears. Tomoya explains to Ibuki-sensei that there was one person who was responsible for all this, who made this celebration possible, the one who wanted to see this sight the most…Ibuki-sensei understands and thanks them both for staying with her all this time. Then, Fuko appears before Ibuki-sensei and hands her a star, congratulating her sister on her marriage, wishing her a happy life and giving her a big hug, only to disappear a second later in a gust of wind.
After the celebration, Ibuki-sensei tells Nagisa and Tomoya that Fuko’s feelings finally reached her, that she was giving her blessings all along from her dreams, and that as long as they hold on to these happy feelings, she believes that one day Fuko will surely wake up.
The next day, Kyou, Ryou, Nagisa and Sunohara have forgotten about meeting and spending time with Fuko. But they all have the image of a cute, cheerful, energetic little girl always running around school. And in Sunohara’s hands he holds what they all instantly recognize as a carving of a starfish. Meanwhile, Tomoya is passed out on his desk, dreaming about the very same cute, cheerful, energetic little girl who wants nothing more than to be friends.
Thoughts
What an awesome ending to Fuko’s arc, and I’m not just saying that because I called it. I’m happy with KyoAni’s choice to go with an ending that was neither really happy nor really sad. I feel that if Fuko’s efforts were all for nothing and nobody showed up to Ibuki-sensei’s wedding coupled with the fact that she disappears would have been just too painful to watch, to the point where I would have accused KyoAni of reaching out for sympathy tears. On the other hand if Fuko had woken up and been able to attend the wedding with everyone else I think it would have trivialized the pain that everyone went through, struggling to honor her memory. The middle ground really was the best choice, melding the two endings together in one that left you with a bittersweet feeling. Sure Fuko didn’t wake up and that’s pretty tragic, but her efforts reached the the student body, each of them ending up attending Ibuki-sensei’s wedding at the last minute.
I actually didn’t find myself very saddened by this episode. It’s a little depressing to know that Fuko wasn’t able to wake up and celebrate the wedding with every one else, but she did what she set out to do, give her blessings to her sister and wish her a happy life. No one wants to feel like they held someone back from their happiness, Fuko was relentless in her efforts and they got through in the end. The only scene that did sadden me a bit was the brief time when it looked like Nagisa and Tomoya had forgotten Fuko. All I could think about was poor Fuko standing there besides them, unable to be seen by anyone, all alone. But then Koumura-sensei and his awesome memory helped them to remember.
I’m also pretty sure that by the end of the series, we may see Fuko again, whether in her spirit or fully awakened physical form. KyoAni likes to bring characters back randomly like that.
Judging from the opening arc alone, I can feel that I’m really going to enjoy watching and blogging the rest of Clannad, perhaps even more than I did Kanon. The characters are interesting and the balance between drama and comedy makes for a fun watch. The only thing I’m concerned about is that Clannad might fall into the same template as Kanon, as their structuring thus far (comedic opening followed by a dramatic, bittersweet opening arc) are quite similar. But a few readers of the visual novel have assured me that the two are quite different, so I suppose that won’t be much of a problem.
Another small thing that I noted in this episode is that it showed the beginnings of Kyou’s story. At this point I wouldn’t outright say that she’s in love with Tomoya, but her constant flirting with him and the reaction she had when he nonchalantly rejected her invitation to go shopping is an indication that she’s interested in the guy. I was also reminded this episode that her voice is teh secks, I love it, and I can’t wait for Kyou’s arc, I hope it’s distinct from Ryou’s though.
Buuut, next up isn’t Kyou or Ryou, the preview for next episode suggests that it’s Kotomi who’s going to be taking centre stage. And perhaps not only in a figurative sense, the preview showing Nagisa explaining Kotomi’s role as a character in a play. I’m sure that Noto fanboys everywhere are creaming themselves with excitement.
Finally, with Fuko’s arc over, this will be the finale of the dango/star/starfish voting. As things stand right now:
Star Alliance vs Starfish Alliance
Star Alliance = 9 (Shirukii, Siva, Nightingale, Fuzzims, ItAintEazy, Levan Polkka, Hopey, Kei-clone, Chou)
Starfish Alliance = 8 (Kanon_fan82, Totali, We be anon, Agis, kenshin514, hazy, Michael, Crisu)
Starfish vs Dango
Dango = 11 (ItAintEazy, Pyrrhusonline, Siva, Levan Polkka, Shirukii, Michael, Nightingale, Kay_kay, Orange-kun, We be anon, Kei-clone, Kanon_fan82)
Starfish = 4 (kenshin514, Totali, Avisch, Hopey)
Not exactly the biggest voter turn out ever, but we’re talking about commenters spread through a mere two blogs, so hey, it’s not bad. I’ll probably close the voting Sunday or Monday, depending on whether comments are still coming in.
Vote Star Alliance for great justice! Don’t give in to the Subculture’s campaigning!
Gao~
That juice box has been in every single one of KyoAni’s shows since 2005. For those who aren’t getting the reference, go watch AIR, you won’t regret it.
~ Shirukii ~
26 Responses to “Clannad 09”
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>>That juice box has been in every single one of KyoAni’s shows since 2005.
Was it in Haruhi?
>>you won’t regret it.
AIR > Kanon
there is only one way to live
!!!
Time-stamp 21:24…… Starfish alliance ftw! :)
Although Clannad is following the KeyAni template, it does have its own charm :)………
though not quite the tear-jerker that Makoto’s departure was it has to be said……that was one of THE most heart-wrenching scenes E-V-E-R- (at least as anime goes)
Also…….purple haired chicks ftw! :)……Kyou/Ryou & Kotomi are all UBER cute and entertaining to watch :) Can’t wait for the next arc!
@ Shirukii:
Funny you should mention AIR….I recently watched the movie version…….everyone in the blogsphere seems to hate it, or find it weird, but in a lot of ways it’s better than the series….both in terms of art-direction and story :)
Nagisa, Tomoya, and Fuuko are one big Dango Daikazoku!!!
There’s just one commenter so far from over “here” who hasn’t posted to join the Starfish Alliance. Everyone else has forwarded to Arimasu just as planned! >:3
I am also one of the few who liked Air more than Kannon. As far as the movie goes, I still thought the anime was better. Meh, the ending!
9.5 out of 10 !! Come on, Shirukii. This episode should deserve a 10 !! What’s matter with you? lol
I thought that I won’t get emotional in this episode because I saw a lot of preview pictures. Everything comes together perfectly. I was little bit disappointed from the last episode, but this one makes up the whole thing.
I have a hunch long time ago that they will do Kotomi’s arc next. Her arc seems to be shorter compare to the other heroine. Nagisa’s arc will obviously get the last spot. The better question is which arc gonna be the next one, Kyou/Ryou or Tomoyo.
If they finish Kotomi arc within 3-4 episode then we will have 11 or 12 episodes left, which can divide up evenly for each heroine. In Kanon, they kinda combine both Nayuki and Ayu arc together. I don’t think we can combine Nagisa arc to Kyou/Ryou or Tomoyo stroyline. I don’t think Kyoto animation will do a series for “Tomoyo After: It’s a Wonderful Life”either. So it will be interesting who gonna come after Kotomi and how they gonna wrap up the whole series.
@Nightingale: I got bored the other day and I read your great analysis that your wrote long time ago about the end of Kanon along with preview of Kyoni for Clannad. Do you feel the same way now after you watch up to 10 episodes? I’m just curious.
Wow! that was Tomoya’s waterwork it was pure win to me.
Hell yeah! Kotomi is next. I have been waiting for it.
@Totali: I thought the over-all of Kanon was much better than Air because the side story arc in Kanon was better but the main story arc in Air was better than it was in Kanon.
@kenshin514: lack of sadness, that is what i thoght.
Yeah, I’m definitely voting Starfish over Dango after this episode like I thought I would xDD
I totally cried my eyes out. True, it’s not utterly sad as in she died and will never come back, but still! Probably because I haven’t cried for the entire arc and it just all comes out now xD Also because it seemed like she did die until the end where they say she’s still in a coma.
I really liked how Fuko was trying to get Tomoya and Nagisa more closer, and the fact at Kyou totally likes Tomoya xD
I wonder if it’s because Koumura-sensei never met Fuku that he didn’t forget her?
Definitely loved this episode and this arc and I hope CLANNAD won’t go downhill from here ^^
As if we needed more proof that Kyou is flirtatious with Tomoya, let’s take a time warp to episode 4. Anyone recall this? : http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i203/hotdrummer128/Kyou1.jpg
Kyou’s worried Tomoya might get too attached to Nagisa when they hang around making the club? ^_^
That’s my take on it at least. Great episode overall, and even more so, wonderfully well-put analysis. Keep up the good work =)
Hmm, something must be wrong with me, since I didn’t cry or was overly affected by the episode. I guess it’s the expectation that we’ll hear from Fuko again that has me placated. Still, good job in emphasizing throughout your post that those are stars that she is handing out, not starfishes. Take that starfish alliance!
@ lolikit: Hmm, actually, you might have me on that one. KyoAni hadn’t yet turned into the self-referential marketing whores they are now when Haruhi was released, perhaps it was spared from the the peach pulp cameo.
Second point goes without saying.
@ Kanon_fan82: Lies, they were all members of the star alliance initially, cept Sunohara and his random shiruken. They were just brainwashed over the course of Fuko’s arc.
Kyou ftw, Kotomi a close second, though it remains to see how quickly I’ll get bored of her “ijimekko?”.
And while I don’t hate the AIR movie, it skipped past a lot of key elements of AIR and so I feel it’s not as good as the series, animation was purdy though.
@ Totali: Added Crisu to the list, thanks. And apparently a lot of people like AIR more than Kanon, if the small sample of commenters from this blog is anything to go on.
@ kenshin514: My ratings are rather arbitrary, not much thought goes into them =P That being said, I try to reserve 10s for the “HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME, I’M CRYING LIKE A LITTLE SCHOOL GIRL” episodes.
I have actually heard rumors supposedly floating around on 2ch that they’re going to extend Clannad to 52 episodes =O Awesome for Clannad fans, a kick in the nuts to Haruhiists and FMP fanatics.
Oh, and Nightingale’s comments here are rather random and spaced out now. He was a regular back in my Kanon blogging days and now he pops in once in a while to leave a random quickie. Dunno if he’ll see your address to him, lol.
@ Siva: Hmm, I actually see the opposite. I think Kanon faired better over the course of the entire series and AIR just had an AMAZING final arc (Misuzu’s). It’s almost impossible to watch her “Gooooooal~” scene without tearing up.
@ Hopey: Haha, this one didn’t bring me to tears. And I suppose that’s a good thing too, seeing as everyone else is telling me that Fuko’s is probably the easiest story to get through without crying, apparently the others are much much sadder.
Btw Hopey, are you still blogging? You don’t seem to hyperlink your name back to Butterfly Dreams anymore, and it’s been a while since you’ve updated =(
@ Pyrrhusonline: I’m saddened that Kyou won’t be the winner of Tomoya’s little harem, an honor obviously reserved for Nagisa. But as long as she gets a fair bit of screentime, I’ll be happy.
@ ItAintEazy: Nah, you’re not the only one. I didn’t think it was a particularly sad episode, seeing Fuko’s dreams come true.
Stars ftw. Come on, admit it guys/girls, NONE of you thought they were starfish before Fuko said they were.
Is it just me or does Yuusuke look like Tomoya?
I thought I wouldn’t and yet I still cried. At least was more of a happy cry than one of those “that’s so freaking SAD” ones. I do hope Fuuko wakes up someday. >.
Way I see it, Kanon only lost to AIR because Kyoani neglected to properly go through Nayuki’s happy arc and skipped straight to the “Most awesome car accident in the history of anime”. In actual fact, Toei might have done better if they were actually serious about it. Actually, it IS better if you ignore the absolutely abysmal art quality, the level of development, and the huge chin-o-rama.
Now, back to the topic at hand. Frankly, I do belive that this episode could be easily split into 2 episodes. The impact of them forgeting about Fuko was lessened considerably by how long it lasted. It kinda feels like they just slapped it there because they ran out of material for that episode. Apart from that, the delivery was brillant. I was actually expecting a total baw fest for the ending, but they managed to make it…. not a baw fest while still make it look like it was planned out all along rather than they just put it in due to popular demand or something.
Now, is it just me or does Sunohara’s suit look like an exact copy of the one Jun wears durin the Dance festival?
Bwaahaa! Clannad got SHAFTed this week (no link, watch for yourselves)
@ Rukii - Haha, OMG, if it gets sadder, I’m going to dehydrate by the end of the series xDD And eeeh, I’m not sure. Currently I’m not, which is why I took out the link. I feel like just starting a whole new small blog, though, so I won’t feel pressured to have to keep it up. Nice fresh start or something xP
@ Michael - I’ve been thinking that ever since I first saw Yuusake. They look more alike than Tomoya’s own father xD
Shirukii: As much as I want to see more Clannad and kick some nuts for the Haruhism and FMP fanatics, I think 52 episodes is kinda too long. Kyoani hasn’t done any series that longer than 24 episodes. The longest series were Kanon and Lucky Star. I understand that Clannad game has the longest storylines, but I don’t know how they’re going to deal with that. If they want to extent, 36-37 episodes like Death note probably be more appropiate IMO. Then again, more episodes = more chance for Kyou’s screen time. Now, that’s what I like.
BTW, (Rurouni Kenshin is an awesome series + it’s my favorite along with Evangelion), so please try not to misspell my username. lol
@Kenshin514: I’m a Haruhiist -_- But I know what you’re saying.
It does seem like the length of Death Note length would fit here, but, having said that, maybe they will split Clannad into itself and a branch of itself, Clannad After (Seeing as Nagisa and Tomoyo both have arcs which extend past school life). Or maybe they won’t split it at all…It might stay a 30-some odd episode series with a two-part tale. Let’s hope it doesn’t end up like Death Note did, though.
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On that note, it’s hard to speculate on the series so early, anyway. We’ll just have to wait and see what KyoAni has planned ^_-
Most of people know that Clannad game has the longest storylines but the anime only has 24 episodes. Alright, If you take a good look at Fuko’s arc what do u get from it. It seems like they make a combination of Nagisa and Fuko’s arc together and what if they keep on doing this don’t u think 24 episode is enough? I think this new strategy is doing well.
@Shirukii: I think i didn’t make it clear but our opinion are not that much different.
Awesome!
Though not particularly tearjerky, I think I can feel that moment where Fuko’s effort came true!
So where is Fuko gonna end up now? I mean that last scene does that indicate she’s gonna turn up again someday(some episode)? I mean she will right? Right? Right? O_O
@ Shirukii
I too admit I was thinking of star until Fuko said it was -_-
So star me in!
But no worries, I support the Dangos AND Starfish which sorta makes me neutral -_-
@ Michael: I thought the same thing when I first saw the two on screen together.
@ Kari: Haha, it got you huh? I bet Fuko will make another appearance before the enf of the series.
@ Alias: The problem is, they couldn’t have done Nayuki’s happy end, as it directly contradicts Ayu’s happy end. Toei tried to appease Nayuki fans with her alarm clock confession, but the way that KyoAni did it was much truer to how it actually went.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if Sunohara’s suit was a direct copy from Jun’s, KyoAni loves their self references. Though I’m way too lazy to go check myself.
@ ItAintEazy: Are you serious >_> lol, I’ll have to check that out.
@ Hopey: Ah, ok. If you do switch blogs, gimme a shout, I’ll update blogroll links and whatnot.
@ kenshin514: LOL, sorry about the typo, that tends to happen sometimes, especially since I don’t type “properly”, I freestyle.
As for the length, 52 does seem quite long, but Clannad has more dialogue than AIR and Kanon -COMBINED-, so take what you want from that lol.
@ Pyrrhusonline: I’ve heard about the “After” story of Clannad, and from what I hear, it’s one of the most well written pieces of the game, KyoAni would be insane to leave it out.
@ Siva: It’s not impossible to fit it all in 24 eps, but there are sure to be things left out, and I’m just afraid those things may include Kyou =(
@ Chou: She’ll show up again, if only for a brief cameo.
Excellent, score another one for the star alliance XD
@Shirukii: Nah, I think Kyou will get more screentime than Tomoya and Kotomi so she should be ok.
@Siva: “Nah, I think Kyou will get more screentime than Tomoya and Kotomi so she should be ok.”
Do you mean Tomoyo? because there is no way that Kyou will have more screen time and Tomoya since he is the main protogonist.
Maybe you can determine each character’s screentime based on their line in the game from this website:
http://forums.visualnews.net/showpost.php?p=6352&postcount=17
So, based on that website, Kyou will be #4 (No !!!! I need more Kyou). BTW who is your favorite heroine then?
Also, have you read Claymore chapter 75 yet? It’s pretty dope.
They could have at least done the shopping arc. I mean, sure, the alarm clock confession would not be technically possible due to the conflicting endings, but the least they could do was to make her play a larger role in some of the other arcs, like what they did for the manga. She basically dissapeared for the latter part of Makoto’s arc due to ‘Morning practice’, which is pretty much just a convinent plot device to get her outta the way, and then for Mai’s and Shiori’s arc….well, that is understandable considering the circrumstances, but the main problem here is that her appearance compared to the others in the series is practically miniscule.
@kenshin514: Ah sorry typo, it was “Tomoyo and Kotomi ”
I just analyze from what i have seen so far in the series even without that site i can say the Kyou will be the second one after Nagisa. As for Kyou, they have been hidding her real character but they did show us that she is teasing with Tomoya have an interest in him and she is a tsundere but we never know what she is going to do next with Tomoya if you are not a gamer.
My favorite heroine must be 1.Nagisa 2. Kotomi 3.Kyou
Yes, no matter what Galatea became but her coolness never change and only getting better and better. Thats all i can say if i go into more detail it will be a spoiler :D
Seems like no one is interested to join Shuriken Alliance, or there ain’t such thing from the beginning.
As if Kotomi wasn’t adorable / funny enough, I was watching the episode again and came across this: http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i203/hotdrummer128/KotomiScrd.jpg
I thought that face & pose was amazing. I wonder how her arc is going to follow through…almost makes me wish I had access to the visual novel for some basic ideas.
Favorite heroines….I’d say Nagisa is my favorite, but I’ve always had it in for the shy ones. Does Ryou count? I’m unsure as to whether or not she is receiving an arc (although I highly doubt it). After Nagisa I’d go with Tomoyo and Kotomi.
@Shirukii: With regards to the after story, I’m just interested to see how they wind it into the series itself.
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It’ll be interesting to see how they fit each heroine’s arc into the same mix as an, as you said, beautiful after story.
And thus ends the first arc.
And I’m not usually up for fanboyism buuuut…..
GO MAMIKO NOTO……..I mean…”that girl”
I liked the inclusion of Kyou talking with Tomoya (the implication that she likes him).