Clannad 14
January 18th, 2008 by Shirukii
As usual my predictions are garbage, I thought we had at least another two episodes of Kotomi, and instead it all came to a climactic end this week. I think they could have pushed it a little further, but I’m pretty happy with how things turned out, much better than watching Tomoya garden grinding to level up his tools to gold status. I know I risk scorn for saying this, especially from a certain rabid Fuko fanboy, but I thought Kotomi’s ending was much more emotionally impactive, tears of sympathetic joy welled up in my eyes during Kotomi’s monologue about her parents.
Episode Rating: 9/10
Tomoya continues to work away at his gardening project, Kyou, Ryou and Nagisa offering to skip school to help, but obviously Tomoya isn’t going to let them do that. The three help in their free time after school and contrary to common sense and time constraints, they manage to restore the garden to its previous state with time to spare. Admiring his job well done, Tomoya pulls out the book Kotomi lent him and starts to read through it, recognizing Kotomi’s quote “The day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, yesterday a deer, and today, you.” However, Tomoya’s scholastic skills (or rather, a lack thereof) quickly becomes apparent as he falls asleep after about 10 seconds of reading.
Flashback tiem! We get some more insight into Kotomi’s past and more specifically the events that occurred on Kotomi’s birthday. Wanting to help Kotomi make more friends he promised her that he’d bring his friends over to her birthday party, the more the merrier, right? Well Tomoya’s friends are asses about it and flat out reject the idea, ashamed, Tomoya can’t bring himself to face Kotomi and skips her party. But guilt creeps in and he goes to her house afterwards to apologize, instead he finds Kotomi in the midst of almost burning her house down. Luckily, the “bad guy” comes in and puts the fire out, at the same time trying to comfort Kotomi, drowning in her own tears.
When Tomoya comes to, he sees Kotomi standing over him, she tells him that she always remembered the boy who wandered into her yard many years ago, he was her first and only friend and she was always waiting for him.
The next day at school, everyone is waiting at the gates to wish Kotomi a happy birthday. They tell her the mishap about the violin and instead present her with a Nagisa drawn voucher that serves as a placeholder until it gets repaired. Then, Kotomi’s welcomes back Kotomi and tells her that the “bad guy”, who is actually Kotomi’s godfather, is waiting in the school, he has something to give her. With everyone backing her up and Kyou suggesting they meet in the drama club room so she feels comfortable, Kotomi agrees to meet with him.
The thing that Kotomi’s godfather wanted to give her turns out to be the suitcase her parents had with them when their plane crashed. Expecting her parents’ precious paper to inside, Kotomi is surprised when she opens it and finds a teddy bear instead, attached with a note signed by her parents saying that if the suitcase was found it should be returned to their daughter. The file that Kotomi burned as a child was not a copy of her parents’ paper, it was a catalogue of teddy bears, a fact which her godfather didn’t think she’d believe until now, there was never time for her parents to make a second copy, they were editing it to the very last second. Attached with the bear is a note addressed to Kotomi with wise words explaining that even when filled with sadness, the world is a beautiful place.
That afternoon everyone gathers at Kotomi’s place for her birthday party, compensating for his past failure, Tomoya ends up bringing a larger group of invitees than expected. Sunohara is on the way, Nagisa took the liberty of inviting her parents and Kyou…well Kyou invited (forced?) a group comparable in size to Kotomi’s violin recital to attend. Tomoya thinks that’s going overboard, but Kotomi says that it’ll be fine because she has a big yard, which courtesy of Tomoya and co., can actually be used now.
Thoughts
Kinda sucks that the Kotomi arc is ending actually, because thanks to KyoAni’s handling of Key adaptations, you know that we’ll probably never see her again until the epilogue, failing that, random cameos like Fuko’s crane game appearance.
But I am quite pleased at how things came together at the end of Kotomi’s arc. It wasn’t as outright sad as Fuko disappearing, but the suitcase thing was a nice conclusion. Disregarding the fact that an aluminum suitcase could survive a plane crash and make its way around the world, it was a very touching scene. Kotomi’s parents defined themselves through their research, the culmination of which was represented by that single research paper, in essence that paper was a physical manifestation of their lives up to that point. And instead they tossed it out to replace it with a teddy bear for their daughter, I find that absolutely mind blowing.
Oh, and kudos to SS-Eclipse for taking the time to identify all the languages spoken in this episode during the suitcase scene.
As for loose ends in Kotomi’s arc, the only ones I can think of is a definite answer to whether Kotomi’s godfather is the one paying for her living expenses or not. It’s logical to think he is, but Kotomi’s treatment of him prior to this episode would suggest otherwise, if someone were my life support, I sure as hell wouldn’t call him a “bad guy”. Other than that, I can only wonder how Kyou got the violin repaired in time for Kotomi’s birthday after so much emphasis on the fact that it wasn’t possible, unless I’m missing a time skip somewhere? Which is doubtful.
Checking out the preview, seems like we’re getting a Nagisa centric episode next week. Which is odd, I’d have thought they would want to save her for last, unless it’s just a one shot buffer episode into the Fujibayashi arc or perhaps Tomoyo. It’d be interesting if we sped full on into Nagisa’s arc though, I for one would love to see Tomoya end up with someone else with her, just to break the predictability of KeyAni series. But delusions of a Kyou ending aside, I’m thinking not.
Also, looks like we’re getting design changes next week, summer uniforms!
On a random closing note, I lol’d so much at this scene. KyoAni knows their viewers way too well. Even when doing gardening they kept Kyou in her zettai ryouki thigh highs. Thumbs up KyoAni, well done.
~ Shirukii ~
26 Responses to “Clannad 14”
Leave a Reply
Please use [spoiler] [/spoiler] tags for spoilers.
Loading ...
Whereas you’re probably right about Kotomi’s appearances in the future, I’m just glad they didn’t throw her in the hospital (a la “Kanon 2006″) or on the plane.
Show ▼
And if KyoAni knows their viewers, then when are we going to see more Mahou Shojou Kyou? >8D
Quick follow-up: either the spoiler tags failed, or I did. ;_;
It seems to me that they either postponed the birthday party until the violin was fixed, or they are just having yet another dreaded violin recital to celebrate that the accursed instrument has been successfully repaired. In any case, there must have been a timeskip of at least one day (probably more) since Kotomi’s real birthday, since there was plenty of daylight, while the previous scene (the conversation with the godfather) took place during sunset (or so the red skies lead me to believe).
wow! where is my episode rate?
I really like the conclusion of Kotomi’s arc it is really fit the theme of the title Clannad.
But in the end as i thought they are going keep the secret about Tomoya’s past. I really want to know why he forgot his past but I think this may have something to do with Nagisa’s arc.
I heard some1 said that the next arc will be for our Kyou’s.
I don’t know, the overall I’ll say Fuko’s arc is little bit better. However, the emotional at the end of both arcs were about the same to me. Now, my remaining question is “which heroine will get the next arc?” Based on the preview, I can’t really tell. Most people said that it’s gonna be my Kyou’s turn =) but still I’m not sure.
They have only 10 episodes left. Hopefully, they still have enough time to put wrap thing wrap and still have emotional/tear jerking episode like this one.
Siva: Good point to connecting Tomoya’s lost memories to Nagisa’s arc.
>>but the suitcase thing was a nice conclusion.
>>it was a very touching scene.
>>Oh, and kudos to SS-Eclipse for taking the time to identify all the languages spoken in this episode during the suitcase scene.
Yeah, too bad that scene was hilariously reminiscent of the GMail video. Hilariously so to the point of excruciating lulziness. Terrible. Terrible.
Pssh, Fuuko’s ending will ALWAYS be the best…..cause she’s Fuuko.
Also, I actually played the playstation version of Harvest Moon and its GBA remake….maybe I should buy the Gamecube one for my wii…..
w/e I’m double posting cause I’m awsum like that..
They’re making a Harvest Moon for the wii! ZOMGS!
Sorry, I give this episode a “meh” since it was a long way to go to reveal a bunch of truisms. Kotomi’s touching release from her hikikomori state balances out that shortcoming though.
Very well done episode. Most of the time, they stayed true to the game and delivered it as I expect them to do.
I also liked how they kept Tomoya-Kotomi childhood stuff to a minimum. They cut off a lot of stuff relating to that in order to emphasize more on Kotomi’s parents, and that’s a good thing b/c we all probably agree that the childhood stuff is overused. Besides, their relationship is not the main focus of Kotomi’s arc.
This really shows what is means to be a parent - You have to be willing to sacrifice your most important things for the sake of your child, even if the last thing you ever heard from your child is “I hate you”.
As for Kotomi telling the guy as “the bad guy”, remember that Kotomi was pretty much in a state of shock. At that state, would you tell a kid that you’re here to find the copy of his/her parent’s work? And showing up in front of the kid while dressing like a stalker doesn’t help matters either.
I for one was also surprised to see Nagisa being centered around the preview. Not going to make any predictions, however, as I’m prone to mistakes.
>>You have to be willing to sacrifice your most important things for the sake of your child,
Wrong. Your most important thing is your child.
While the episode played out pretty much how I expected it to (ie. happy birthday, everyone hunky-dory and closure for Kotomi) it still made me feel warm and fuzzy inside :D
If I wasn’t a Noto fan before, I am now :)….
Actually, there’s the possibility of seeing Kotomi again, quite a few chances to slip her in, actually. Let’s not forget that she’s helping out in the Theatre club (Or whatever it was called, I haven’t watched Clannad subbed for months).
@ W4: Fix’d. And yea, I know, but still, I can continue deluding myself. Mahou shoujo or not, I just want moar Kyou.
@ Erilex: That’s weird though, since they were so adamant about having the birthday on time with Tomoya working hard to get the garden fixed and everything. Meh, I’ll just chalk it up to TIME PARADOX, and leave it at that.
@ Siva: Oh yea, haha. I keep forgetting to rate episodes nowadays, they were more or less arbitrary anyways.
I hope you’re right about the Fujibayashi sisters being next, and I hope it’s not too Ryou centric.
@ kenshin514: 10 episodes is still plenty to work with, and KyoAni is pretty good at pacing anyways. But I’ll worry if they start going into Nagisa’s after story, that thing is so long, there’s no way they could do justice to it with the time they have left.
@ lolikit: slowpoke.jpg, I hadn’t seen that prior to this, quite similar indeed.
@ Totali: You should buy Harvest Moon 64, it was the best one I’ve ever played, no contest. And I don’t have a Wii ;_; or any of the current gen consoles, PC gaming ftw!
@ ItAintEazy: Sure the message Kotomi’s parents delivered isn’t exactly the most profound of life lessons, but the effort that went into conveying it overshadowed the message itself, in my opinion anyways.
@ solgae: It’s too bad the true impact of something like this will only be realized when (if?) we become parents one day ourselves.
Kotomi’s godfather really only came off as looking like a stalker because of the sunglasses, without them he looks pretty normal.
@ Pyrrhusonline: Nothing wrong with being wrong with these things, theorizing is fun and heightens both the anticipation towards and surprise of the coming episodes!
@ kanon_fan82: Haha, and yet another anime fan falls to Noto fandom.
@ Sylon Beta: Yea, but it’ll never be anything more than a cameo and maybe a “nande ya nen?” or something. Nothing like the ongoing character interaction you see in, say, Kimikiss. Though, it’s KyoAni’s style when adapting Key works, I’m more or less used to it.
You always find a way to respond to even the smallest of comments, Shirukii…and it pleases me so :P
Keeps me in the conversation at least. I think Nagisa’s AS had the most beautiful “Clannad”-type themes, but if they choose a different ending girl, I’d be thrown for a loop…so many admonitions and tidbits of foreshadowing say Nagisa is definitely she who must be his. :P
Okay, that is one TOUGH teddy bear.
Kotomi looked like the hottest clannad chick in these episodes lol
For some reason, I thought that this show was going to be four cours…?
Coast is clear… no impersonator today ¬_¬
I was going to take a picture of the prize pack Shirukii, but my camera battery died and then after I plugged the charger in, I had to leave with friends to watch Cloverfield *cough* Show ▼
AND realized I forgot to turn on the power strip that the camera is plugged into @_@…
I specifically watch Clannad for Kyou… and dango.
Also, have you checked out Shigofumi?
uwah… spoiler tags didnt work
sorry those who havent watched Cloverfield, I didnt spoil that much though…hopefully
Show ▼
@ Pyrrhusonline: Haha, I try =P
Definitely going to be a Nagisa end, anything else would require some insane twist of events that would probably be more trouble than it’s worth. But that’s alright, there’s always the visual novel for more Kyou.
@ Michael: Tell me about it. Must smell like ass though.
@ proxyman: Nobody will be able to rip that title away from Kyou, at least in my eyes.
@ lolikit: Only two I believe, I think four would be pretty overkill too, not to mention the Haruhi fans that would go berserk if that were the case.
@ Servbot: Ah, cool, no rush, whenever you get the time is fine.
And yes, I did watch Shigofumi, the first episode was soooooo good. I’ll probably do an impressions post tomorrow or Sunday if I’m not too busy.
Sorry about the spoiler tag issues, they’ve been fixed now, but you must use square brackets now, not angle brackets.
“10 episodes is still plenty to work with, and KyoAni is pretty good at pacing anyways.”
That means it gonna be 3,3 and 4 episodes for the rest of heroines. My Kyou better gets 4 episodes devoting for her!! Unless, they combine two heroines in one arc, which I don’t know how they gonna do it. I agree with you that there is no way that Kyoani will do Nagisa after story. That will way too looooooong.
“Nobody will be able to rip that title away from Kyou, at least in my eyes.”
Hell yeah, Kyou definitely the most moe girl in all of Kyoto animation. BTW, she is mine not yours, Shirukii. All mine !!!! lol
>>Definitely going to be a Nagisa end, anything else would require some insane twist of events that would probably be more trouble than it’s worth.
I dunno man, didn’t Shuffle! go Asa despite the first 2/3 of it indicating that Rin would end up with Kaede?
>>Only two I believe, I think four would be pretty overkill too, not to mention the Haruhi fans that would go berserk if that were the case.
I would not mind a year of Tomoya’s lulz (which were painfully absent in the absence of Fuuko and Sunohara… Kotomi just is not that funny). I would also not mind Haruhi fans going berserk. Silly Haruhi fans.
Sometimes I worry that, had they not planned on making a sequel series to Haruhi, fans would have toppled their production company over in a magnificent fit of human rage and manpower.
Also, it’s a pity that we won’t expect to see the after story in the main series, but it might appear as a series of OVAs over the course of a summer or fall season, no? The story is too beautiful to kick to the side of the road, but then again…….
Show ▼
It’ll make its way into something. Maybe they didn’t plan on making an after story because Toei is basing the movie on it. WE SHALL SEE!