CLANNAD ~After Story~ 22; FFFFFFFFFFFFF
March 15th, 2009 by Shirukii
Screw you KeyAni, screw you and your bullshit miracles.
Let me assert a belief of mine before going onto my rant: reset endings, wherein previously killed characters return to life, suck. If you disagree with that, stop reading now.
Reset endings are terrible excuses for series finales, it didn’t work for Mai HiME, it didn’t work for Wolf’s Rain and it didn’t work for Clannad, tainting otherwise excellent series in each case. Reset endings are stupid primarily because they invalidate all the emotions felt during the deaths of the characters that return to life. Both Nagisa and Ushio’s deaths had profound impacts on the characters in the show and those watching it. Tomoya was thrown into 5 years of emotional ruin because of his wife’s death, building a strong sense of sorrow and pity in the viewers, almost as if we were going through the grief with him.
We watched on as a childish delinquent pulled his life together in the name of love and the hell his life became when that was snatched away from him. Then we saw it happen all over again with his daughter Ushio. The deaths of those characters, whom we had grown to know and care for were BAAAW worthy moments, sending many an anime fan into honest to god tears. Then, in the last 15 minutes of a four cour anime series, spanning over a year, it’s all undone.
I suppose the counter to my argument would be that Tomoya endured his share of hardship and in the end deserved to be rewarded for his efforts and suffering. While I agree with that sentiment, is it inconceivable that he could be happy otherwise? If the ending were to have done the same, transported Tomoya to the alternate world and given him one last talk with Ushio, and then thrown him back in the snow with a dead daughter in his arms, it sure as hell would have taken him longer to get over it, but he would, Tomoya’s a strong person.
The whole thing with Fuko didn’t exactly serve to make this a more enjoyable finale either, my dislike for her having been voiced many times in the past. I find Fuko to be a gag character with one joke that’s been played ad infinitum since her appearance. Yeah, okay, she’s an eccentric ball of energy who clings onto cute things on sight, acts half her age and likes starfish, I get it.
Also,
WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!
So, in conclusion…
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
Jay will likely be along soon with a proper, and less hate filled, summary and review, touching upon story elements and whatnot, since I believe he actually enjoyed it.
~ Shirukii ~
Jay’s thoughts
To clarify, yes, I did actually enjoy it. ^^; Since this was an important episode, I would’ve normally done a summary, but I’ve got midterms to study for, so I’ll just be leaving some quick thoughts since Shirukii’s already done most of the job for me.
Everything after the snow part, anyways, since I really didn’t understand everything Illusionary-World Ushio said about being the world and what not. From what I understand, the Okazaki family all reincarnated into another world where Nagisa lives? This whole parallel world stuff was always left vague, so it’s sudden importance makes it feel too deus ex and convenient, even with Tomoya’s light from a few episodes ago. I’m sure it would really bore the viewers, but maybe they should’ve taken a bit more time to explain the mechanics of the lights and such, or at least word it differently.
It would’ve been better time spent than say, seeing Fuko act moe-tarded for the last 5-minutes, and it’s not as laughable since we don’t have Tomoya’s sarcastic comments to go along with it. I understand she had very little screen time, but even so, they could’ve just included her in the montage. Still, that faux-adult voice sounded pretty hawt… o_o
And no, Mei with boobs is fine too.
So is Cooltomi. What’s NOT fine is…
Bullshit, why is she alone!? ;A;
Tomoyo After. Now.
PREVIEW
It would’ve been great if the next episode was something like a picnic with all the characters, but no, it looks like we’re being treated to Nagisa’s POV of the beginning of Clannad. Maybe there’s a twist at the end where she’s telling all this to a sleeping baby Ushio or something.
How could I have missed the implications? These two are obviously lesbians.
-Jay
35 Responses to “CLANNAD ~After Story~ 22; FFFFFFFFFFFFF”
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Shirukii’s blasting off at the speed of light!
totally agree.
“given him one last talk with Ushio, and then thrown him back in the snow with a dead daughter in his arms, it sure as hell would have taken him longer to get over it, but he would, Tomoya’s a strong person.”
So you’re saying you’d rather see that?
Oh yeah, can finally fap to Mei (^^) bb
I for one, like this ending. Who cares if its a reset end, considering the hardships Tomoya has been through, he deserves it.
Generally speaking I agree with you that reset endings are shit BUT… there is a big “but” here. The ending isn’t Kyoto Animation’s “fault”, it is Key’s “fault” since they just followed the game.
Granted, this kind of story works better in the Visual Novel because you have to go through the BAD END, then you learn that you must go back and complete all other characters’ routes to get the balls of light and finally you reach the TRUE END. This kind of multi-route story is difficult to translate into animation form and I think that KyoAni did this to the best of their capabilities.
I got a warm fuzzy feeling when I watched the Okazaki family being together happily. Also, it’s not like the reset came out of the blue because the visions of the little girl and the robot interspersed within the story suggested some kind of otherworldly resolution.
Well for me it’s the same with the first season, in a way that I knew that it’d end like this, yet I’m still disappointed with the fact that they really go for it..
Well at least the characters are enjoyable, and the anime also has its moments. I think I’ll just stick back to the novel, where I can somehow still go for Kyou end ;__;
@ Lumi: FFFFFFFFFFFFFF *whoosh*
@ boku youna: :3
@ Cyn: Yea, pretty much, at least that wouldn’t have invalidated the emotions built up over the course the the series. A catharsis could have been reached through other means than bringing Nagisa and Ushio back to life.
@ Omisyth: D: DFC ftw
@ Kraker2: Yea, I addressed that, and while I agree with you on some level, that Tomoya deserves happiness, I’d have rather seen it done another way.
@ Son Gohan: Ah, excellent point, KyoAni revised to KeyAni. And yes, this was a long time coming.
@ albert_2mb: There’s an idea, Tomoya could have shacked up with Kyou down the line =D
well, i think the point of making everyone throughout the series happy was to give Tomoya a miracle later. perhaps it could have been more realistic if his miracle had just saved Ushio? because i don’t think he would have recovered from that loss ever.
Fuko dragged the episode down. way too much time was focused on her and the jokes at times were too boring. bleh.
This is all because of that boobs crack I made a few days ago, isn’t it? : 3
I didn’t enjoy the whole reset ending either, felt like a total copout after everything that happened. However, I disagree on one thing – I did enjoy Fuko. :)
As much as I agree with your ragequitting over KeyAni over the reset ending, I’m not sure if there’s any other way to end it. With all the themes about families and the warm fuzzies being tossed at us throughout the series, Turning Tomoya into Job would have been severely out of place (which was why I’ve already ragequitted during the last episode with Ushio’s contrived illness and death)
Well, I decided to put up with this Afterstory because I stupidly thought it would only be 13 episodes. Turns out it was 13 episodes too long, lacked a filler arc involving those two lesbians and had a preposterous ending. Oh well, I guess the series had its moments, I guess.
Dunno, I’d have to disagree. Tomoya, the feelings, the emotions; they aren’t all invalidated. Tomoya still had to go through the pain and the suffering, to learn how to be a better person, before he could go back to a better time. His consciousness is still with him, across these parallel worlds, and he holds onto these life lessons. It’s entirely because of these lessons that Tomoya could have his second chance.
Would he have called out at the bottom of the hill, despite the pain he knew it would cause? Would he have gotten his second chance if he did not learn to accept and love Ushio? Why would he? Why would the Illusionary World exist to collect these lights and grant Tomoya his one wish? Ushio is the Illusionary World, in the form of the Girl, and I highly doubt that an apathetic Tomoya would have crossed consciousness into the Robot if he hadn’t gone through his tribulations.
I guess, simply, it was a reversal in plot chronology, but not in character development, and I think that the character development is more important.
If you didn’t like the end, your a f***** emo… DOU YOU WANT TO SEE SUICIDE? DOU YOU WANT TO SEE THEIR TOMBS? HELL NO!
a bittersweet ending (in which only Ushio and Tomoya survives) would be even shittier… Tomoya suddenly married with one of the other girls would be like WTF! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED HERE!… or ending up alone, raising ushio on hisown, what a life. com’on, the man deserves to be happy.
the true end is the best end.
Prove me wrong.
@Chuu – I chu you! :*:* Well Said!
I agree that the way the series was played out, there was no avoiding this ending.
That said, yes, I would have wanted to see Tomoya suffering through a life where he lost both his wife and daughter. You know why? Because that’s how life works. Orbs of light do not resurrect your loved ones or transport you to parallel dimensions where suffering doesn’t exist, people die and they stay dead. This argument is somewhat moot because we are talking about Key here, and they love their miracles.
However, my tirade was more against reset endings in general than Clannad specifically. People die when they’re killed, and endings resulting in otherwise are cop out fantasies and are almost always worse than if they had just left things alone.
I’m not emo for wanting a bit of death and mourning in my entertainment, I’m a realist who can appreciate the emotion it incites, you seem to be an escapist who can’t. Enjoy your ruined endings while I applaud productions with the balls not to shy away from tragedy.
To be honest, I thought Chuu was one of your friends trolling you or something. ^^;
That said, sorry, your Tomoya alone end will never happen since Show ▼
Even so, I actually don’t believe Tomoya to be as strong as you think he is: it seems to me that even though he’s content being with Ushio, it never really felt like he got over Nagisa’s death, which is why he still wondered if it would’ve been better for the two not to meet each other. Without the whole “miracle” elements, as you said, Tomoya probably wouldn’t have recovered.
I’ve been wondering this, but why did you rage at this and not the “Ayu cures everyone” miracle in Kanon? Twas a better show, but the Key-miracles are as existent there as they are here?
I thought I would comment rather than update the post.
While not a friend, that probably is a troll.
As for Kanon, I wasn’t as outspoken a blogger back then, Shiori ending up fine and dandy did irk me at the time, I just never said anything publicly.
GOOD ENDING WAS HERE.
RESET ENDING IS A LOSER!
However, my tirade was more against reset endings in general than Clannad specifically. People die when they’re killed, and endings resulting in otherwise are cop out fantasies and are almost always worse than if they had just left things alone. – Blog Boss
This is always a valid point, but I don’t view Clannad’s ending to be a “reset”. Like I said before, this ending could only come about through Tomoya’s trials and pains. They were entirely necessary for him to accept the past and have no regrets, allowing him to call out to Nagisa, not doubting his friendship and love he had for her, nor denying the true feelings of fatherly love he had for Ushio. I suppose it could be called a “reset” chronology wise, but character-wise, Tomoya has all the memories and all the pain, but can be happy that he was able to have his second chance.
I’m not emo for wanting a bit of death and mourning in my entertainment, I’m a realist who can appreciate the emotion it incites, you seem to be an escapist who can’t. Enjoy your ruined endings while I applaud productions with the balls not to shy away from tragedy. – Blog Boss
I really would have hated this type of ending…despite it’s value plot-wise, I was really emotionally invested in Tomoya and his relationships with people, and to see it all come crashing down would put me off the series forever. It would just be far too hard for me to stomach without getting bad vibes whenever I rewatched Season 1 or something. Now, I can marathon Season 1 AS with some real comfort, knowing that would work out in the end, and find out about all the little things I missed on my first run-through.
Also, on a side note, wouldn’t this really go against the themes that Clannad had presented so far, about the importance of family? To see Tomoya trudge it out alone would seem like more of an exercise in tragedy rather than keeping with the basic theme of the joys and comforts family brings.
@Jay: Crap, I read the spoiler.
As an aside…I must be one of the few people that enjoyed the Ibuki comedy routine. It showed some nice interaction that we rarely saw outside of the main cast, and is the first time, and probably will be our only time, we’ve seen Kouko and Fuko actually have a real conversation. Plus, it was a nice lead-up to that final shot, which I thought had real impact, driving home the fact that Ushio herself had given her dad his second chance.
@ Some guy: I know that Clannad had set up the miracle end, working so hard to establish Tomoya’s connection with everyone in the town, the importance of family and friendship, etc. I’m just kinda disappointed they didn’t go the other way with it and use the ending mentioned in Jay’s comment (which interestingly enough, I forgot about).
That sad of an ending would have left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. I’m happy they finished Clannad the way they did, so to each his own.
Plus, we have a lot of shit to cope with in real life. I don’t need more in stories, books and manga. They should be and escape from the usual crappy day you have and give you some comfort.
As I said, escapist mentality, which is fine if that’s what you like, just realize it’s not a healthy way to approach things. Just because something pushes you outside your comfort zone, forces you to to make ties back to reality and incites difficult emotions, does not mean it’s bad. On the contrary, to elicit such feelings is an amazing thing, perhaps the rarity at which it is executed properly is the cause for the stigma against it.
Call me a cynic, call me emo, call me whatever you want, but sometimes a depressing BAD END is the best thing in the world.
Don’t believe me? Watch School Days. Alternatively, pretty much anything by Makoto Shinkai.
PS: To clarify, I’m talking generally now, about reset endings or endings that would have been better off ending in tragedy only to cop out. I do agree that the way the Clannad anime panned out, this was the only option.
Jeez, School Days was gruesome. However…
Show ▼
If they did go for a darker route with Clannad, plot-wise, it would have probably been pretty significant (somewhat cuts out the meaning of the IW, though). I agree that darker conclusions can be pretty powerful, I just don’t believe it would have agreed with Clannad. Looks like we’re on the same page.
hi
it was really good ep
but in the first i wasn,t understand
but then i was able to under stand
but i get really angry win i read (end)
:)
and i am going to wait the extra ep
in waiting
bye
……
Actually in the VN, the timeline reset after you finish each and every girl’s route. So you don’t just reset bad ending, you reset good ending(with other girl)as well.
And After Story route reset TWICE before you can finally get the true ending (i.e Episode 22)
The theory about the Illusionary World is very complicated, so I’ll leave it.
I think Mei with boobs is fine too.
Oh btw, if you want a realistic ending where everyone die(well not everyone) and no light orb nor reset nor resurrection, go play Tomoyo After.
@Shirukii: Don’t you do it. Don’t you reccomend that piece of shit anime to people. Chirst, that should should be punishable under the Geneva Convention.
e: Also, that sure is a bunch of words about this here anime.
at some points I agree with you Shirukii, but this is way the anime is more complete, more faithful to the visual novel, since in the anime we can’t select the routes like in the game, the only option is show the both finals.
If you ask me If i like the final this is my answer: “…”
I neither liked nor hated
and Makoto otherwise was a motherfucking bastard, nobody would want a good final to him
By the way, your Fuck pic make me laugh so hard
Best KyoAni Rickroll since Haruhi season 2. Not that I care since I didn’t watch this animu.
Even Doctor Who’s Series 3 reset button was better than this bullcrap.
There is enough tragic anime and Japanese movies (RAN for one), that one could say that things are over balanced in favor of tragedy.
So a good ending is fair enough.
I’m glad it ended the way it did. I just marathon’d the entire After Story. And I remember joking to myself when Nagisa became pregnant, “Wouldn’t it be crazy if she died during child birth?”
Of course, I didn’t expect it to actually happen and was quite mortified when it did. I usually don’t hold any emotional attachments to anime events or any type of media, for that matter, but that seriously made me sad, almost to the point of crying.
And then Tomoya works his way back up, gets on his feet and actually starts to find a bit of happiness. I joked again, “What if Ushio has the same illness as Nagisa and gets sick?” lol, And it happened. What I didn’t expect, was for her to die.
With the way it happened and even Ushio herself self-aware of her own demise was just too overwhelming. After seeing that I honestly thought, “Wow, he’s got nothing to live for.” Sorry, but I don’t think Tomoya was coming back from that. So, I’m glad it ended it like it did. Seeing him forgo his regret and call out to Nagisa and then seeing her open her eyes after giving birth was the probably the most satisfying part of the series.
However….
Why was there no Tomoyo x Sunohara? I seriously had my hopes up for this until the very last episode.
I don’t think the ending was ’shit’ but it wasn’t too good either. Personally, the After Story is a masterpiece and that ending kinda ruined it for me :/
I think that the whole anime should have ended at the events around episode 18.
That’s the episode where he takes that trip with Ushio and she says ‘first thing from daddy’ . Or something along those lines. <3
I don't think Ushio should have gotten sick or died. That was pointless in my opinion :/
Tomoya said how he was 'looking for Nagisa and finally found her' referencing Ushio. or something along those lines..
I really liked that part a lot ^^
I'm not saying it should have just abruptly stopped at ep 18 but maybe one or two more to tie up loose ends (like Tomoya's father)
Tomoya starting a new life together with Ushio would of been perfect for me (with Nagisa's picture facing right at his door <33)
So, yeah, just my opinion..