The end of an emotional journey.
I always thought of the original Clannad series as a mostly light-hearted, entertaining romantic drama. There wasn’t anything in particular to distinguish it from other romantic dramas (be they animated or otherwise) except for the fact it was truly hilarious at times. otou-san was right when he said that the series was too removed from reality; the original show and the first half of ~After Story~ was the typical fluff we came to expect from Clannad and (for me at least) I never attempted to think about the believability of what I was watching simply because I was enjoying it too much.
But somehow, the second half of ~After Story~ justifies almost all the time I spent wathcing the show. But the word “justifies” is more for others than myself as as I said, I loved watching Clannad. What I mean is that the entire 37 odd fairy-tale episodes were needed in order to make those last 7 episodes as great as they were. They established the characters, no matter how underdevloped, for us; they had us experience, no matter how trivial, the highs and lows of their lives. We identify with them and when the show strips away most of the fantasy elements and gets down to the real essence of things, it’s all the more emotionally moving.
That brings me to the highlight of ~After Story~ and the entire show: the shift towards heavy drama. I haven’t seen many (if any) shows that are focused on a single couple, but I was suprised when KyoAni, who’d been messing about for so long with Tomoya’s ever present harem and side-characters (including cats!) that you don’t really care about did just that with Nagisa and Tomoya. Without all of the aforementioned distractions, there was more time for development of the characters and to flesh out the show’s key theme of family. The show gained substance and with it, the viewer became more invested in the struggles of Tomoya, Nagisa and Ushio.
I think part of what makes the latter half of ~After Story~ so good is how much of a contrast it is with the rest of the show. The thing is that Clannad, from start to finish, grows up. Everything about the show evolves: the convential harem is distilled down to the focus on the couple, the messages that the show tries to convey become more concise, even the directing takes a step-up in some of the key scenes later in the series. The actions and emotions of the characters become more realistic and believable as the show progresses and as such it feels as if there’s more of a reason for us to experience such strong reactions during the show. Not only do the characters grow but we do as well. We can look back more fondly on episodes such as 18 of the original series and see it more as a part of our past experiences than the B’AWW-fest it may have been at the tome. The heartbreak of young love was tragic, but in comparison, a son’s reconciliation with the wishes of his father seems so much deeper and more heartfelt.
So in answer to otou-san’s question:
Are we meant to perceive this as dreamlike or memorial, since inevitable tragedy will strike somewhere down the road and shit’s gonna get “real?”
YES.
The only problem I had with Clannad ~After Story~ was the ending. I believe (and I also think the general consensus is so) that simply performing a reset just undermines all of the experiences between the main cast and makes everything that happened seem pointless. Of course, in my heart I’m just thankful that nobody dies and everyone’s happy but in my head I’m thinking what the point of all that drama was if they’re going to cheapen it by wishing it away with light balls and feelings. For all that build-up with the parallels between the illusionary world and the real world, it was disappointing (not to mention a little bemusing) that everything simply explodes and we move on to a good end.
However, with that said, Clannad was definitely an experience well worth it. It managed to mix elements of romance, comedy and drama in such a way that I was always engrossed during the show, even when I should have been sceptical, and if that isn’t a good mark of a show, what is?
dood, slowpoke.jpg
I am listening to Chiisana Te no Hira everytime I read a Clannad post from now on, so I’ll be in an automatic good mood.
I really don’t have much to add except…well it may have had a reset end, but it’s the best reset end ever! I fell like it’s one of those cases where it wouldn’t have been satisfying no matter what. Clannad without a happy ending would have felt off and the episodes even after 18 kind of make it clear that it won’t be a completely happy ending without Nagisa. So I say…reset ftw!!! (And it is the only time I will ever say it.)
Hm… I just realized, my post on episode 22 is kinda misleading. I didn’t find the entire thing terrible, but just the ending. I guess after next episode I’ll need to actually do a final thoughts section.
@Fuyu: I didn’t even like that song D:
I personally think they pulled out a Deux Ex Machina scheme through the reset ending. Then again, I really can’t imagine how else After Story can end that has a much more impact than the one that we’re shown.
The ending was the only thing I didn’t like, like 7 said, it was a Deus Ex Machina to just end the series on a happy note, the series as a whole was great though! ^_^
I think that many fans are judging the ending of Clannad much too harshly, it should be judged by the same standards applied to other fan favorite anime such as TTGL, CG, or Haruhi.
Fans of those shows willingly practice suspension of disbelief in order to be entertained, but many refuse to do the same with anime like Clannad because they say that Clannad is too removed from real life.
But, arguing this is really missing the point about Clannad. You can call Clannad a romance series, a harem series, a slice of life series, and you would be right, but above all else Clannad is a fable/ a fairy tale and should be judged as such.
Plus, I’ve argued that the reset is not as large as one might first think, Tomoya might have lived through that horrible future of his in just an instant. The whole time from when he held a dying Nagisa’s hand till the time she woke up might have only been one second in real life but more than five years in his mind. Plus who would want to watch series where the main guy wakes up in the hospital only to find his wife and child are still dead, it might be reality, but it’s not entertainment.
I think what separates Clannad After Story from the usual fairytale renai game adaptation (like Da Crapo) is that the character development is so good, particularly in Tomoya. As I said elsewhere, I’d like to hold Clannad After Story up as an example to other anime in this genre and say “this is how you develop a male lead” because so many other romance anime just don’t seem to get it (especially those based on VNs).
As far as the ending is concerned, well, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading the responses on the AnimeSuki Forums and every now and then between all the defenders spouting “OMG you just don’t get it” you actually find the occasional post like this one from experienced gamers which demonstrates that there is some sort of logic behind the ending and it was a little more than just a cheap reset for the sake of drama. The problem is that key events, like just what the city was doing to Nagisa and why and the causal link between her illness and her near death experience, were portrayed so ambiguously in the anime, so it’s easy to come to the conclusion that it was a cheap and meaningless ending.
I’m very tempted to write a blog post attempting to justify the ending. The ending has been almost universally negatively received on the blogosphere, and with rare exception, the only defence for it has been “well you just didn’t get it.” The reason people didn’t get it is because it was ambiguous. I had a lot of problems with the ending, but once some of those ambiguities were cleared up a bit, I didn’t find it quite so objectionable.
[…] say the reception has been mixed on the generally staunchly pro-KyoAni AnimeSuki Forums and almost universally negative on the wider blogosphere. My own opinion of the ending sits just one the negative side of […]
@lelangir
No.
@FuyuMaiden
I haet it. But I loev it. Oh well.
@nazarielle
I didn’t think I said it like that, sorry if you came off as being filled with raeghaet.
@7
Tomoya could’ve had to live out a tragic life filled with sadness. Hey, you asked for impact.
@53RG10
The means justify the ends, I guess.
@Chris
I think it’s the exact opposite, that Clannad became so grounded and realistic that to return to that fantasy-like setting present at the start of the series was kind of pulling the rug out from under the viewer’s feet. As such, people are disappointed.
Also, CG, Gurren Lagann and Haruhi are show you expect to see ridiculous things in and Clannad can’t be compared to the likes of them.
@Sorrow-Kun
Ah, I did’t think it was a cheap reset just for the sake of drama, I thought the reset itself, for whatever reason, was executed poorly and undermined the preceding episodes. It may make sense, but that doesn’t mean it’s good.
well.. the vn’s main story ( as well as th games) was basically a fantasy setting… pity they didn’t execute the reset a little better…
but that also goes to show that the “fantasy that was so real” was meant to show the what if scenario blah blah blah…
oh and If bad end in Tomoyo After happens ( you guys who have seen the Visual Novel) I will personally go say FACK yourselves to KyoAni…It need more of MAi Waifu!!!
[…] There is some dialogue at Omisyth’s place: Omisyth: I believe…that simply performing a reset just undermines all of the experiences between the […]
@lord_jagganath
We shall burn KyoAni Studio to the ground if Tomoyo does not get her rightful reward!
I don’t want to go on about this but from what I have seen from other posts is that people had a problem with the reset. For me the reset was fine but the one thing that did get me mad was that after you find out that she lived, they don’t show her. Even in the recap episode you only hear her voice, but still even though I have watched a good amount of anime Clannad is the only one that has made me cry that much(I burst into tears when I saw Nagesa in the Op after she died). Also for the record it is one of the best anime I have watch(I hope that Kanon is better)
PS I had to right this on my Dsi
clannad is so baeutiful and tallented……
tomoyo is so handsome and nagisa is so baeutiful……
thanks for reading…….
i watching everyday clannad it so very very very baeutiful
I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind of disappointed. I guess the bar was high because I was expecting an anime to love and this just wasn’t it. If I’m interpreting this right, the other world was made up of the feelings and wishes of that town, AND was okazaki’s daughter at the same time? and also the cause of Nagisas fever? and he was the robot that made his way to the psyche of this community/his unborn daughter? if so why is it that when that world ends nagisa and oshio can live then? i let a lot of anime’s get away with bringing up questions & themes that they never answer, and for having holey plots so this wasn’t my main deterrent. I guess I just couldn’t buy into the idea of someone who was so kind and so special that they were able to make it into another world just so that a girl wouldn’t be lonely would also be the same guy that was ashamed of his dad, overreacted about everything, and had no interest in his little girl? or interest in life for that matter? the robot was always talking about a warm place but he always complained. He was funny at some points, but by the end he was handling things in a way that was exhausting to watch. I don’t like when animes start making all their characters miserable just to do it. I thought it was okay, I just dont get why it moved so many people
It is a great anime and some scene i laugh very hard but i have a question in the episode 22 after they perform the drama okizaki said too nagisa “what if they woke up in the morning we became girlfriend and boyfriend” and after that nagisa and okizaki is a couple right? So why in the ending tomoyo and okizaki became a couple if they became a couple okizaki break up to nagisa so in the ending it okizaki and tomoyo are the real couple Im a right or no because for me i thought nagisa and okizaki will be still a couple in the ending.
(Hoping to answer to my question)