When all things are said are done, I’ve probably come up with a handful of interpretations in the past from the anime, and from the VN, of how the lore of Clannad is roped together. However it simply appears to be that some things were left intentionally unexplained.
I’ve noticed this seems to be a pretty big staple in Jun Maeda’s writing, (habit, or style? I wonder…) in a sense that he likes to give us plot devices. Tell us how they work. Give us situations where we can theoretically explain otherwise impossible situations using those plot devices. However we won’t be given smaller details to show/tell us exactly how certain events play out. Essentially leaving us (the reader/viewer) to fill in the blanks with what we can piece together.
Clannad being the most famous example of this. Other story scenarios from Maeda have also incorporated this ‘trope’ notably, without spoiling anything, Little Busters, and even more recently Charlotte.
If I remember correctly @Aspirety talked about it at some length in a blog post he shared a while ago in that he implements this “Choose your own ending” feeling, but in the case of Clannad it’s… “Choose your own version of events” while not explicitly the same idea, I feel it’s similar and worth mentioning as a relevant nod to the author’s writing tendencies.
I’m incredibly ambivalent with the way After Story handled these things though.
On one hand I take issue with it, because I’ve known people who argued that they think it’s either lazy writing, a kind of “I ran out of ideas to make this work sensibly, so just deal with it”. To which extent I can slightly agree. Part of my passionate fanboy-self desperately wants to know how Ushio came to be the lonely girl in the Illusionary World, why Nagisa’s illness is ominously linked to the town, how was it the town answered Akio’s prayer to bring her life back to her.
Yet on the other hand, I’m fine with the ambiguity to a large degree because it’s given the story a distinct longevity in my mind which kept me thinking and coming back weeks, months, and years after my first experience of the story. While it bugs me that the events are not written to be clear as night and day, it’s truly made me think (probably even over-think) how things might have played out.
Both being desperate to know the single truth, and being able to find meaning and purpose in simply not knowing creates a quite an endearing duality with Clannad, and a lot of Maeda’s story writing in general.
I feel like it’s ironic that I can’t really make up my mind about how I feel.
I’ve watched Air, Kanon, (most of) Clannad, Little Busters, and Charlotte, and while Clannad is the first Key Visual Novel I have read, my familiarity with the anime version had me somewhat prepared for ambiguity and random tragedy. I guess what I wasn’t prepared for was the feeling of inconsistency. Unexplained plot devices can work in a story (I think) as long as there is a sense of consistency. I kind of feel like he over explained his plot device, broke it, and then didn’t explain why it was broken - so now his plot device has a plot device?
Like you I am not sure if I am expressly unhappy with it. I don’t feel satisfied with the ending, but I do like thinking and talking through theories. I also kind of know that I was just kind of annoyed at the game (because of Tomoya in the normal end) when I got the true ending, so I have probably mixed those feeling ins with my impressions of the true ending to amplify my frustration.
I will say that does seem to be a case where the mystery is better than any answer we are given, and so I think the ambiguity at the end is helpful to the enjoyment because it keeps some of the mystery alive.
It has been a long time since I commented on the After Story route. I have been reading through these posts and I think it is amazing that as a theory that in the Illusionary World that the mysterious girl and Ushio could be connected and how the world came together since no new life can be created and it was only Tomoya who could gather the light orbs to find the happiness of those living in that town. If Nagisa had not told him to love the town and the people in it, Tomoya would have lost out on everything between his relationship with his father and especially Nagisa who has been with him throughout the progression of her route and this route. This is still the best route and most endearing route of CLANNAD I have come to love.
Huzzah, I can now be welcomed to the club of “People who finished After Story before the end of the bookclub”! To give a very short review of how I feel about this route, I thought the Cohabitation, Birth, and character routes were all terrific writing. However, the Ushio arc I felt, was pretty rushed. There was so much more depth that could have been given to Tomoya’s point-of-view during that time, and leaving it out made it harder for me to relate to Tomoya as a person during those events. I realize that putting those in would have made people feel horrible about themselves, but that’s exactly the kind of thing that I personally enjoy.
I have so much more to talk about, too, and what I think about all of the messages in CLANNAD, but I will be leaving those to discuss with my good friends in the podcast (hopefully…?). What I would like to discuss, and further the discussion of, is the concept of the Illusionary world. Thanks everyone for starting this discussion and bringing in your opinions. So now: let’s discuss! First let me start with my own theory of things. @ZakM has a pretty good grasp of things already, but I think I would like to strengthen the whole concept with what I believe I have a pretty good grasp of.
The Illusionary World
So… What exactly is this illusionary world? It is, as is explained, a parallel world to the world of CLANNAD. It exists strongly connected to the town, and interacts with the town through the Light Orbs. One thing that needs to be taken of note here is that the world does not conform to the concepts of time as the rest of the universe sees it. It exists on a totally different plane, connected to multiple timelines and dimensions in the town.
The Girl
It’s made fairly obvious that the girl is ushio, but… How exactly did she get there? Well, it was asked:
It’s a bit more complicated than that; the girl is a manifestation of Ushio’s will; the will to make this town happy. It’s something that we don’t see from her, due to her limited speech, but I personally believe that that is something she has been longing for. If only her sickness didn’t get in the way, I am sure we would see more of it from her in the future.
Now, how did her “will” come to get to exist in the illusionary world? Enter the Light Orbs.
Illusionary World Light Orbs
These orbs of light represent the people of the town. Their hopes, their aspirations, their will, among other things. This also answers the second question because each person has their own little Light Orb in that illusionary world. Why only this town? Well, Yukine says it pretty well in that the town is special.
Most of the Light Orbs come and go, appearing and fading as people in the town gain and lose happiness, but Ushio’s is special… Ushio’s entire will seems to have burst forth from her own Light Orb and, in some way, merged with the will of the world, causing her to obtain a physical form in the illusionary world. It is stated that she represents the will of this world and I can only interpret that as her will and that of the world naturally syncing together.
One might be able to chalk it up to the fact that Ushio is a child, and thus has no tainted memories of the town. Perhaps she does die, and her light syncs up with that of the worlds so well that she obtains a form. This is probably the most complicated issue out of the whole thing, but this seems like the most likely explanation to me. This also helps support my answer to:
I think leading into Ushio’s death helps us to realize that it was her will all along that helped manifest this girl that we see in the illusionary world. Sure, there is emotional manipulation, but in the grander sense of things, the epilogue after her death seems essential.
But to end this discussion, each little Light Orb in that world is a person in the town, and Ushio’s is special. But her’s isn’t the only one that is special;
The Junk Doll
We know that the Junk Doll was created from a Light Orb. Specifically, it was Tomoya’s Light Orb. Most definitely, Ushio sought out that Orb and tried to give it a physical form with her own two hands. Only she could have realized which Orb was her father’s, after all. And she spends time with that Junk Doll, and that is something I cannot rationalize. Perhaps she was a little selfish; after all, this world’s timeline isn’t synced to the real one, and she has all the time she needs. But at the end of the day, she slowly starts to merge back into the will of the world, both of them becoming one, and fulfilling the true wish: sending Tomoya back to the beginning of the story.
The Ending
“You’re going to wake up on an important day on the other world” is what she tells the Junk Doll. I found it quite amazing because I never realized early on that this scene directly connects to the beginning of the game, in the first illusionary world scene. This will of the world was able to send Tomoya back to that day, the fateful day he met Nagisa, and allowed him to make many more choices in the real world. I’ve never realized it before, but this perfectly explains why the story branches now; the world constantly sends him back to that first day. Thus answers:
Now, let’s keep going…
The Place
Changes and grows…
That aside, what exactly is this place? Just to clarify, the place is the place where Akio brought Nagisa when she was on the verge of death. But when he brought her there, the place enveloped Nagisa in this light, sustaining her life force. The best that I can explain it is like the Aurora, and how Kotarou was saved by it from Rewrite. This light and this place became Nagisa’s lifeforce.
At first I thought it silly that Tomoya thought the place was making Nagisa’s condition worse, but once I reached the ending, I couldn’t help but agree with him. This place is directly connected to Nagisa, and the destruction of the town was slowly eating Nagisa up. Perhaps her birth pushed the limits of how much the place could support her; or perhaps some monumental tree was cut down as Nagisa’s life ended. But now I truly believe in this.
What strengthened my belief in this? The fact that, at the end of the story, the girl makes an appearance. It is quite vague, but that is how I interpret it: Fuko finds the girl in the grass near the hospital, as she has now been physically manifested in the world through the place.
Real World Light Orbs
The Light Orbs in the real world, on the other hand, are a manifestation of the girl’s desires. Whenever Tomoya obtains one of these light orbs, we see them in a title screen, under a tree. I believe that to be a representation of the real world, and the Light Orb transferring part of the girl into the real world. This counters a previous statement:
I think that the junk doll doesn’t hold any lights. He actually tries to grasp some but is unable to do so. All lights obtained in the game end up with Tomoya in the real world. Rather, I believe they find themselves nestled on a nice little tree in “The Place”, as is shown in the title screen.
The Girl in the Place
Explaining this also helps me answer @Karifean’s last question:
Getting the good end; getting 13 light orbs and saving Nagisa; allows the girl to transcend the illusionary world, and exist in the physical world. In truth, I believe that the illusionary world remains the same; but with one less light orb in it.
“But Pepeeee I thought the girl was Ushio’s light” and yes, it was; until it merged with the will of the world, thus making it both hers and not hers. The girl’s existence is, most likely, a manifestation of the town’s desires and, for some unknown reason, it needed two things to manifest itself: 1) 13 light orbs to arrive in the real world; and 2) Saving Nagisa.
Tomoya was the one that helped her transfer the Light Orbs, as we know from the common routes and after story. Saving Nagisa needed a little bit more of a push.
Saving Nagisa
We know that, in Tomoya’s dreams, he calls out to Nagisa. However, without enough Light Orbs, that is not enough to save her. At the same time, if you try playing this scene twice with enough Orbs, you get the choice to not call out to her. This implies that saving Nagisa is a joint effort between Tomoya and the Lights/will of the world.
So, now to the crux of all this: How was Nagisa saved? By severing her connection to the place. By letting some other entity take over her connection to the place; an entity that can change and grow with the place, and isn’t limited by the mere bounds of a human body. An entity like Ushio’s light merged with the will of the world.
I think, in the original playthrough, without enough lights, Tomoya fought hard enough. However, I am of the opinion that hard work alone is not enough to make a miracle come true. They need a little bit of magic (which is why miracles don’t really happen in the real world ;P), along with your hardwork. Thus, him calling out to Nagisa was all the hardwork he really needed to do, and the rest was the job of the will of the world.
And so ends my grand theory that required way more setup than was necessary.
IN SUMMARY
Akio wishes for his child to be saved on the verge of death, and “the place” grants him this wish, but at the expense of sharing its life force with Nagisa’s. Ushio’s light in the illusionary world merges with the will of the world to create a physical being, likely after her own death. This creates the girl which finds Tomoya’s light orb and turns it into a doll, which they now have the power to send across multiple timelines and different choices. The Tomoya in this different timeline helps bring light orbs to the world, slowly bringing in the girl to the physical world, light orb after light orb. As Nagisa is on the verge of death, and Tomoya had obtained enough light orbs, the girl manages to sever the connection between Nagisa and The Place, and attaches her own life force to the place, thus making her appear in the physical world.
I find it more like:
Nagisa = The Place
Ushio = Light Orb = Merged with the Will of the World
At the end of the story:
Physical Manifestation of the Will of the World = The Place
I love how all of Tomoya’s really deep introspection and anxieties always come out when he’s staring at that ceiling at night. God I can relate to that. Great use of background.
I can easily buy into that Nagisa is tied to the will of the town but Ushio is more of a stretch for me. Maybe I don’t quite understand what you are saying the real tie is between Ushio and the Girl, but if there lives are supposed to be connected I struggle with understanding how Ushio has to die for the happiness of the town/to keep the imaginary world in tact in the normal end, but is fine in the true end.
I can kind of follow the thought that the will of the world combined with Ushio’s light and created the girl. The girl had to cease to exist because the illusionary world needs to continue, but that by taking Ushio’s light the will was able to guide it to Ushio’s happiness. This kind of takes in the idea that will of the world was invested in guiding Ushio to happiness and like that thought. I am kind of really hung up, maybe to a tripping point, on how the journey the girl and the robot take, and how it only continues if you go through the core story of the game, relates to the events.
I disagree. A lot. Maybe this shows how much of a gap their is between me and good people like Sanae, but in the vast story of people taking care of Tomoya I never really felt like he reached the point where he gave back - to the town or anyone. I am really mad at him though. Like, the normal end kind of ruined Tomoya for me. It made me feel like all the strength he should have been building up as he matured through the routes, all the maturity he should have gained by becoming a real member of society, and the promise he made with Nagisa to move forward and be happy (I might need to replay this to get the exact wording of the promise) only to regress into uselessness for 5 years made all of that time feel pointless. And before you really get to a point in the normal route where I feel like Tomoya has actually proven his metal or love for anything Ushio dies, but unlocks the path to the true end where he basically gets to avoid having himself tested at all because everything just kind of works out.
I will say in working out this response I have read through your theory a few times more and I am more sold then when I first started writing this at least as far as the link between Nagisa, Ushio, The Place, and the Illusionary World are concerned, but I will need to digest the thinking more and honestly probably play through After Story again to really see what I think.
For the most part, MUH NATURAL continuation of the Cohabitation Arc.
That all changed when the KeyAIDS nation attacked.
Ok, Nagisa, I get it, home birth is important to you, but when the doctor is saying ‘shit man, better abort that thing’ why does she not consider MAAAAYBE going somewhere…more hospitally and less likely to have to fall over dead on account of being full of people who can help prevent that. Lets all give props to the Anime for a convenient snowstorm FORCING a dangerous home birth, rather than Nagisa endangering the life of herself AND her child needlessly for something that would make a slightly better memory.
WHOOPS IS THAT AKIO STEALING THE SPOTLIGHT. The scene where he corrects himself to say Tomoya instead of ‘kid’ followed by telling him he’s family, MMMMMMMMMMMM I just wanna eat that cheese up. Course Sanae follows it up herself a scene later. Tomoya finally repays the favor when he, in his mind, says matter of fact that he loves Akio too. THE BOND. Furthermore, after Akio does do something, Tomoya PUNCHES HIS ASS FOR WORRYING SANAE. MANLY BOND MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
And theeeeeeeeeen Nagisa(Separation at the foot of the hill) starts playing. Tomoya going on and on about pointless things, trying to ignore that she’s dying, before we get to the climax dream sequence at the hill. The part where Tomoya doesn’t be a bitch. The part where he lets ‘this would have been better if we never met’ cross his mind, but still screams her name anyway. BECAUSE MEETING PEOPLE IS WORTH MORE THAN GOODBYES.
Ushio Arc
And THEN Tomoya becomes a bitch. Proving once and for all, he’s the weakest punk ass bitch in the entire game by breaking when his pillar is gone.
But enough about THAT LOSER, lets talk about the COOL PEOPLE who are doing AMAZING THINGS even though they have ALSO lost one they love.
It’s impossible to imagine how much work Akio and Sanae had put into trying to cheer up their deadbeat ass son in law while also grieving silently and raising HIS child. And to them, whom he has pushed all this stress upon, they bear him no ill will and still love him. I posted an image many posts ago related to this, and how the only thing Sanae, and no doubt Akio wanted in return for this is for him to be happy. I didn’t post that just because that line struck me like a lightning bolt though the heart, which it did, I posted that because I needed to stop playing for a few minutes to regain composure. I legit could not deal with the overwhelming feelings, this is rare, very rare, I’m still feeling the punch talking about it right now, it’s simply magical. Can’t go forgetting Akio being a swaglord and telling Sanae she can cry when it’s over either.
Moving on to Tomoya’s interactions with Ushio, this is good, a broken man who wants to forget the world and an adorable little girl who wants his love, the battle between them is great, seeing Tomoya’s wall of angst slowly crack down with the determination of Ushio was just great to read. Before, at last, Tomoya’s grandma opens up a can of ‘you clueless fuck, stop being so garbage’ that he had coming to him for years. Naoyuki might have broke even harder than Tomoya did, but he sure as hell didn’t break AS easy. She delivers the quintessential, ‘You fucked up with your father, you fucked up with your daughter, now fix your shit pussy’.
And then we get what I’d say is THE CLANNAD SCENE, where Ushio delivers the line that, animated, kicked me in the balls some 8 years ago. The me of today finds more raw emotional OOMPH from how overwhelmingly wonderful the Furukawa couple are, but you can’t say no to the impact of Ushio crying into daddies arms. Although after that, the scene continues with the ride home, where Tomoya finally decides to talk about Nagisa, the scene where the VN reveals a huge flaw. TOMOYA ISN’T VOICED, WHY CAN’T I HEAR HIS VOICE BEGIN TO WAVER AS HE LOSES HIS COMPOSURE TO TEARS, FUCK YOUR SELF INSERT GARBAGE MAKING THIS NONE VOICED PROTAGONIST STANDARD.
Next we have Tomoya winding the key of his broken dad back up so he can go home, seeing him find some small moments of lucidity for the first time in what, 8 years or something is quite a punch also. I notice it’s similar to the Koumura route, Tomoya realizing the man has done so much for him that he wasn’t aware of, but the impact is tenfold.
We get some more Slice of Life with Ushio in place of Nagisa, some absolute horseshit with Fuko, and we wind down for the final boss to make it’s debut. The finale is nothing worth noting, the strongest part of the story has passed, it’s purpose is to set up the great miracle, the only thing I find worth mentioning in this is Tomoya and Yoshino switching screwdrivers like BROS. Tomoya’s desperate, fatal, granting of Ushio’s wish is pretty fucked up mind you, but hey, he’s a weak idiot.
Epilogue
A happy end with a few wonderful parting words and a bitchin’ CG, roll credits with a fantastic song and a bunch of wonderful images.
And then Fuko ruins everything.
Think this post came to an abrupt end? Well that’s because I’m busy right now and feel it’s ok to cut it here. TUNE IN NEXT TIME FOR MY FINAL FINAL POST
So much this. When I first finished the game I kind of hated the ending. I had to step away and remember how awesome so many other people were, and how many amazing moments the people I still liked at the end of this game got.
I don’t hate the ending, I was really angry at Tomoya so when I finished the game I thought I hated the ending. Now that I have digested it I realize that even if they piss me off Tomoy’s reaction is “believable” and the ending was dramatic, visceral, and real. I kind of respect it because it made me as angry as it did. I should probably go back and read it again now that I don’t have my rage engaged.
That said, I am really looking forward to your take on the ending, especially the true end.- which I am kind of undecided about.
Ok, so, a lot of people don’t like the fact that Nagisa lives.
I understand where they come from, they say to the effect of it undermines all that happened after her death, that it kills the emotional value of her death, stuff like that.
Well FIRST OF ALL, yeah, the part of Clannad after her death is the best damn part of Clannad, the messages are along the lines of ‘face reality no matter how sad it is’ and ‘don’t get caught up in the past when the future is important’, stuff like that gets my dick rock hard, and the miracle goes against that, it’s a fantastical unrealistic thing that returns Tomoya to the past.
So why do I defend it?
Because fuck your sad to bittersweet ending or whatever you might call it. Sure it goes against the messages it might have told, but fuck it yo, the miracle was established in lore, I want the happy ending EVERYONE WANTS THIS COUPLE TO HAVE.
Nobody ever said I’d defend it well, but I don’t honestly believe giving us a happy ending takes away from the best part in any way shape or form. Now then.
Overall(After Story)
Absofuckinlutely FANTASTIC. The route has so many faces, such depth, the characters are people, the progression is natural, it has drama, cheese, and is just so genuine and impactful, it’s truly something wonderful and a phenomenal experience, there may be small flaws here and there, but I cannot in good faith bash it at all. Truly 10/10.
CLANNAD
shit guys is this better than Little Busters? For the past 8 or so years I’ve always held Little Busters highest in my heart, but Clannad, well Clannad might just well be the better VN. Especially in the overall quality of character routes.
Clannad is EXTREMELY solid, sure, you have your Fuko’s, you have routes that are just there and not that great, but you have a LOT of very good routes, topped off by the astronomically fantastic After Story. It’s themes, it’s writing, it’s characters who don’t have names that are Tomoyo or Fuko, it’s sheer ability to get the reader so utterly and emotionally INVESTED. It is without doubt a masterpiece worth being called 10/10 and ranks as one of my favorite pieces of media period.
I have no doubt in my mind that Little Busters is a better visual novel
CLANNAD, however, is a masterpiece in terms of writing, and I don’t think any Key work can top it (and not much VNs either).
Of course there are many other aspects to VNs than just writing~
Are you sure about that though? I can’t help but disagree.
I went into some depth in an earlier post, and I would strongly arugue Clannad’s ending stayed true to the narrative to the very end
Because rather than
My view is very different because I see that as being only a facet of the main narrative.
The entirety of Clannad, not just After Story, within pretty much every route leans toward the theme of family and togetherness whilst downplaying egotism
Yukine’s route epilogue explained why people of the town stopped being able to see the light orbs is due to people’s hearts becoming egotistical and forgetting to love the “town” which is also a term constantly used to refer to family.
That theme is central to each character’s route which revolves around learning to love their family and the joys they bring to their lives. Not just with Tomoya.
Fuuko wanted her sister’s wedding to come to fruition
Tomoyo wanted to preserve the sakura trees for the love of her disabled brother
Kyou fights with her own feelings in a balancing act of trying make her sister happy without stealing away the happiness she more or less imposed on Ryou, due to liking the same guy
Kotomi claimed for years to hate her parents, and realised how much her mother and father truly loved her.
Nagisa wonders for years what secret her parents were hiding from her only to realise they did it for her sake so she could have her dream come true.
Kappei never had a family having grown up as an orhpan, but he realises that being selfish would lead to his downfall and accepted help, made friends and found happiness in life.
ect ect ect…
The list goes on.
But the reoccuring theme here is family, family, family, at every fork of the road.
I think that applies to After Story too.
Tomoya resenting his own life because he thinks he’s lost everything, he forgets the people who loved him, and isn’t able to show feelings of love in return.
He goes against family, and leads a life of loneiless and depression.
Nagisa being ‘ressurected’ I don’t think takes away from the message at all.
As I explained in a previous post
Her quote after the true ending child birth which I mentioned before.
Nagisa:
“If this town has a will and a heart, just like a person”
“and if it wished for the people who live in it to be happy.”
“If it really thought that way.”
“Then perhaps the town is responsible for this miracle”
“But actually I guess that wouldn’t be a miracle.”
“People who love the town, live in it… And the town loves those people
back… Those kind of thoughts come from the emotions that we all have.”
“Not just this town. It’s true for any town.”
“We love the town, and the town nurtures us. That’s what I think.”
The town analogy again.
In a literal sense. It makes no sense.
However symbolically, ‘the miracle’ is something which still relates to the core theme of the story.
A miracle is something that we interpret it to be.
Fun and happy times are a consequence of our choices to love the people who show us love. The people of the town. And as she mentions. “It’s true for any town.”
Love the ‘town’ and the ‘town’ loves you back.
I’ve been running late on most Clannad route discussions, especially lately, but there’s no way in hell I would miss the chance of discussing the rainbow of awesomeness that is After Story. For now, I’ll focus on the things that haven’t been discussed in detail yet.
Part 1:
“One more step. I need to move forward believeing that each step is going to be the one that gets us there. And if that step isn’t the one, we just need to take another. If not that one, then another. One step at a time.”
So Tomoya and Nagisa keep getting punched in the face by life - harder and more often than ever - but getting stronger with each hit. Tomoya decides to shut up and do what a man’s gotta do while Nagisa swears not to shed another tear of sadness. Their determination is displayed very well when they were planning on going on a date at the school’s culture festival. Tomoya, driven by his sense of duty, decides to fix his own mistakes instead of letting Yoshino cover for him, while Nagisa does not utter a single word of complaint when her boyfriend arrives horribly late to their date. So their date is ruined, but it’s not all black and white. In exchange for choosing work over family this time, Tomoya earns a big chunk of respect at work - which really made him feel at home there: “When I look back on things, I may consider this the first day that I truly began working here.”
But still, what do you guys think? Would it have been alright for Tomoya to simply accept Yoshino’s kindness?
Speaking of Yoshino,
we can now all see and remember the fact that Yoshino’s past is closely tied with that of Kappei. Yoshino gave hope to hundreds of people like Kappei and changed their lives, while they, in turn, changed his. And in miraculous ways, in the middle of their respective journeys, they both find themselves in the same wondrous town.
What’s the lesson we learn from Sanae’s arc?
It’s to never give up on your dreams. It’s never “too late” and it’s fine to be a bit selfish.
Moving on to Naoyuki’s imprisonment that ruined Tomoya’s career,
the part of it that caught my attention the most were the following words by Tomoya: “Work hard and eventually, you’ll be rewarded. I was so sure that was true. But now it’s all gone… And it’s not my fault.”
Because it’s totally his fault! In fact, I think this incident is the one thing that wasn’t a whim of fate, but a direct consequence of Tomoya’s actions… or lack thereof. To be fair, not as much as Naoyuki’s, but he’s definitely responsible for this mess. Why? Because he didn’t take proper care of his family. He knew that his father was completely broken. That he wasn’t functioning properly anymore and that he was hanging around the wrong people. But Tomoya was too busy being butthurt to do anything about it. “I had wanted to live my life having nothing to do with that man… I was so sure that I could start doing everything on my own…”
Family isn’t something you can cut ties with just cause you want to, and that’s exactly what Tomoya’s mistake was. That is why he was punished.
Good thing Nagisa knew a better thing to do than punching walls in frustration: “Move your hand around. And use it to hold me.” It’s a brilliant line and it really reminds me of a similar line by Ryou in Kappei’s route.
But while Nagisa did manage to make Tomoya happy again by marrying him, she could not take away his anxiety. No matter how much Tomoya grows up, he keeps fearing change:“Everything keeps changing, except for me. That’s how it’s starting to feel. Everything I once loved has turned into plain memories as a brand-new world is built around me. Nothing can stay the same forever… Everything keeps changing. And… that includes Nagisa. Even Nagisa will be swept away by the tides of change, and the two of us will grow further and further apart. The pain in my chest came from a premonition that I’d have to face this sadness one day.” How ironic that these are the thoughts of the same guy who told Nagisa to just find new things to enjoy when things change. Even more ironic is the thought that the night when Tomoya’s fear of change peaked also seems to be the day when Ushio, the greatest change of his life, was… created.
As winter came, both the town and Nagisa kept getting weaker. At this point, Tomoya’s fear of change seemed entirely justified. Due to change, he was about to lose Nagisa, who meant everything to him. The place where Nagisa was saved by the town and connected to it was now being demolished to build a hospital. Remember Tomoya’s words in Fuko’s route? He said something about a town not caring enough about its people to build a hospital. Now he’s eating his words from an alternate timeline. The town DOES care. It keeps changing for the sake of its people and it’s getting weaker in exchange.
By the way, here’s something I want you to pay attention to:
As the hospital was being built, Akio finally snapped and interfered with the construction work. Amazingly, he did manage to save a couple of trees, as it was decided on-site to keep the trees after all, around a corner of the hospital. I’m strongly assuming that this is the patch of land displayed on the title screen. The place where the girl from the illusionary world would appear and be found by Fuko. Not bad, Akio!
Part 2:
Those people who drink themselves half-dead regularly and waste their money on pachinko and whatnot…
Have you ever wondered how those good-for-nothing deadbeats came to be? I mean, have you ever SERIOUSLY wondered?
Well, look at Tomoya after Nagisa’s death (and pre-Ushio-trip). Look at Naoyuki. Maybe that’s how. Feeling more respectful now? All we see is the wreck, but not the battle it fought before becoming that way.
“I think I need to run away from Sanae-san and the old man if I want to forget the pain. But I’m not able to do that. I can’t betray those incredible people. So, I’m forced to keep living with it.”
Even when Tomoya got crushed when he lost Nagisa and had given up completely, Akio and Sanae were far from it. Back when Tomoya lost his job offer due to Naoyuki’s imprisonment, Sanae said “There’s more than one path to take in life.” That sentence seems to be the life philosophy of Akio and Sanae, as both of them keep finding new ways of pursuing happiness no matter what happens. words cannot describe their awesomeness.
I have a question for those who are more familiar with the japanese culture:
Remember how Ushio said she was taught by Sanae-san that she’s only allowed to cry on the toilet or on her father’s chest? I remember hearing something about how crying in public is regarded as unsightly and shameful for a woman in japan. I’m not even sure these things are related, but… could you shed some light on the matter?
So, only after becoming an adult, only after becoming an even worse father than Naoyuki, only after talking to his grandmother and being reminded of Naoyuki’s solemn battle did Tomoya realize his mistake. His view of his father makes a full 180, they reconcile and Naoyuki is finally allowed to rest at his mother’s home.
I’m a bit worried about him, though. I mean, that old woman, Ushio’s great-grandmother ought to be pretty old, no? How long can she keep taking care of a grown guy until she’ll have to be taken care of herself? How long does she have left? And what’s Naoyuki going to do when she’s dead? Will he recover until then?
During the Ushio arc, Maeda shows himself from his most sly and wicked side. It’s downright unfair how he’s utilizing a child to give the readers an excessive amout of feels. His preparations for surprise attacks are top-notch, too.
I mean, who would have thought that “Pee-pee. …I did it myself.” At this point, naive first-time readers have no idea that this was already the first step to robbing them of any and all happiness…
And then, of course, there’s feels jackhammer scenes like Ushio losing her toy robot in the flower field.
“There’s only one of those. Because you picked it for me… And bought it for me. …That was my first toy from you, Daddy.”
Goddammit, Maeda. Using children is unfair! It’s unfair, you hear me??
Still, that’s still nothing compared to the nuke he dropped in the normal ending:
“…Daddy.
…I love you…”
CHEAP TRICKS!! MAEDAAAAAAAAAAA!!
So in the end, what is the message of After Story? Here’s what I think:
You have to keep pursuing happiness. Life is harsh and you’ll face countless trials. Despite it all, you have to move on and keep fighting for your dreams and your happiness. Share it with those around you, help them and let them help you in return. Life is a constant course of ups and downs. Even if you can’t see the next summit from the deep valley you’re standing in, you can only reach it if you keep walking.
But sometimes, life will be too harsh. Sometimes, your efforts will not be rewarded. Sometimes, you’ll suffer despite giving it your all. Effort is a path to happiness, but not a guarantee. Life is unfair like that.
And THIS is where Key magic comes into play and why it’s so WONDERFUL!
Tomoya gave his best. He helped those around him despite being the most unfortunate of them all.
He did everything he could and made so many people happy, as proven by the light orbs. He DESERVES a happy ending, instead of the WORST he got.
So Key magic granted him that.
I’ll be saving most of my thoughts for the podcast, but I’d like to respond to a few comments made here.
Firstly, the assumption that the lights represent ‘happiness’. Yes, that is still an assumption. The whole happiness was just a guess people made due to the observation that the lights always appear at moments of tremendous happiness. Correlation /=/ Causation. The only person with any authority to make reliable claims on the nature of the lights would be Ushio herself, at the end of the Illusionary World story where she has come to realise the truth of everything. There, she reveals that the lights in this world represent the thoughts and feelings of people in the other world. Conversely, the lights in our world represent the thoughts and feelings of Ushio in the illusionary world. Ushio then explains that her heart wishes for all the little lights (people in the town) to be happy.
From this, we can form a new interpretation. The lights themselves aren’t some kind of objective manifestation of the peoples’ happiness. What the lights REALLY are, are a manifestation of Ushio’s heart. What it means when they appear to Tomoya is that he has been able to grant one of Ushio’s wishes; making someone in the town happy. But not everybody’s happiness can be solved through normal means. For some people, like Nagisa and Fuko who are facing death, a miracle is required. That’s where the power of Ushio’s lights becomes necessary. It’s a bit of a system of exchange; you do good for the town, and the town (Ushio) rewards you for your efforts. There’s a lot more crazy stuff to comment on with regard to the Illusionary World, but I’m not gonna attempt it at this point.
Another thing I wanted to comment on is how the route structure of CLANNAD allows us to think of the story in a non-linear fashion. With certain other visual novels where “every route is canon”, we’re forced to think about the story in a relatively linear way. But CLANNAD is a bit more traditional, in that every route represents a different possibility for Tomoya and the others. No route is any more or less real than the other. The only connection they share is the fact that Tomoya, the junk doll, was sent back in time to experience all these different possibilities and grant the townspeople happiness. Once he is able to become “part of Nagisa’s family; someone who receives joy in making others happy”, we get access to Akio’s route (this could’ve been a bit longer, felt like a cheap obstacle before the true ending, but ANYWAY), and then with Akio’s light we’ve finally made enough people happy to grant the one selfish wish we have left; save Nagisa’s life.
I want you guys to think about this without considering the anime at all. CLANNAD is a cryptic-ass game. Without a walkthrough you could be stuck for months trying to figure out the way through each character route. In turns out, making people happy is very difficult! I believe this was a very intentional design choice, regardless of whether or not we think it was a good one or not. Players are eventually well-rewarded for their efforts with After Story, but the fight isn’t over yet; we still have a few more light orbs to get! And once you reach the end of your first playthrough, Ushio is there to kick you back where you started and go looking for any light orbs you might’ve reached. Could this have been designed better? Maybe, but the purpose remains in tact. Getting the true end without a walkthrough is very difficult. From a purely narrative-based perspective it’s very easy to think that the true ending felt, too easy. I mean, all you need to do is re-read the scene and suddenly Nagisa is better. But the ludonarrative communicates something different; you as the player have to work really damn hard to save Nagisa. While from Tomoya and Nagisa it may seem like something which isn’t even a miracle but an ordinary outcome, from our perspective as the reader who has seen all the timelines and what effort all the Tomoyas had to go through to see this final ending, it feels like our efforts have finally paid off. What we have here is the simultaneous dismissal of Nagisa’s recovery being anything extraordinary since it’s just another possibility that coexists in harmony with infinite other possibilities, but also the knowledge of the reader that a lot of work went into producing this ending. It’s very unique. It’s both completely normal and an enormous payoff at the same time. Just something to ponder, I guess.
Does this ending devalue Ushio’s arc in any way? That’s a more complicated question. I mean, it’s not like Ushio died to save Nagisa’s life; there’s still all sorts of meetings and experiences that we know would’ve come about regardless of whether or not Nagisa died. But there’s also all the messages presented in the route of people struggling to face an overbearing reality. But just remember; the fact that Nagisa lived in one reality doesn’t erase the reality in which she didn’t live. From our perspective, we got to see both, and both can exist simultaneously. That said, from a writing perspective, I would’ve preferred if Ushio’s arc was fleshed out more to feel like a legitimate ending. The issue I have is with how it ended with Ushio suddenly dying. Since that really did happen in that world, there’s a Tomoya we haven’t seen who either continued living on after Ushio’s death, or committed suicide. They don’t show us what happened after, which bugs me. If I was writing this, I probably would’ve included something more conclusive, to present the Ushio arc as a legitimate ending, rather than a bad end to lead us toward rejecting it for a more favourable possibility of Nagisa surviving. This wouldn’t be the first time a Key VN has offered the opportunity to choose between accepting reality or rejecting reality for a better world. The problem is that, when reality is such a horribly depressing non-ending, the choice is already made for us. I really don’t like this message of rejecting an unfavourable reality. It’s almost like calling the reader out on being an unreasonable otaku who can’t face reality and turns to 2D to satisfy them. Damn this post got really negative in the end, ahaha.
I am so conflicted on how they wrote this. From the meta perspective, the amount of effort required to get the true ending keeps it from feeling cheap. But taking all the meaningful developments in Ushio’s route and turning it into a bad ending really bugs me! I wanna see more of the Tomoya who survived the loss of his wife and was able to repair his bond with his daughter, and I want to see the kind of Ushio that would grow up from that experience. But hey, I won’t say I’m not happy that Nagisa lived in some world either. Analysing stories non-linearly like this makes things needlessly complicated and conflicting, ahh…
The whole “good ending” in CLANNAD, made me satisfied. It tells you that all your efforts won’t be wasted, it’ll be gifted back to you, one way or another. Plus, I remmeber reading something in a Jun Maeda interview where he said Tomoya would have suicided in the world before the reset.
CLANNAD is for sure, one of the only stories that can make you cry without a scene trying to be sad. Like when Fuko came over and she asked Ushio what her mother was like. That scene wasn’t trying to be sad, yet it had people bawling. That moment when Ushio said “And she was a person daddy loved” made my eyes swell up.
The scene that I always remmeber would be when Sanae and Akio are talking outside, saying how Ushio was the only thing keeping them going. That scene was just sad right there. Give an award to the best parents of all Key works !
It’s a little depressing that the route barely showed any of the past friends. I know this is suppose to focus on the family-theme, but I wouldn’t have minded to see Tomoyo or Youhei or even Kotomi.
You give us Tomoyo After but having Tomoya marry Kyou in After Story is too much ?!
After Story is hands down, one of Maeda’s best routes. I remmeber reading something about how Jun Maeda said that he would never be able to write again like how he wrote CLANNAD. The quotes, the feelings, the interpretations, the meanings, everything. After Story is something you can play over and over again, crying every time.
I also loved the conclusion to After Story. After the reset, there was a song playing with some CG’s, and it was also shown in the anime. How there was that final CG of Tomoya and his father. It really concluded the series for me, as opposed to other stories where you’re still left with many question after the ending, AHEM Charlotte.
Ohh, but I have a question. The illusionary world girl is Ushio. After the reset happened (at least what we saw in the anime), the illusionary world girl was shown in the real world. Then Fuko was arguing with her sister about smelling something cute. Then she ran and we saw the illusionary world girl" sleeping, who soon changed into Ushio. What logic does that follow ? Doesn’t that mean there’s 2 Ushio’s now ? I was thinking that they just combined, but I doubt that if they did combined, Tomoya & Nagisa would leave Ushio in the woods.
I can definitely agree that it is a stretch. The only proof I have for it, after all, is her words as she disappears into the “will of the world”. It’s the point that is least explained, too, so I think we can all take liberties as to understanding exactly how Ushio came to be in this Illusionary World where only lights exist.
I may be misunderstanding, but it seems that you think that he needs to have to have achieved something great to be deserving of the miracle that was granted. And I don’t think that. I think that the only person that he needs to have given back to is Nagisa; and I think he did. By simply being there for her and by encouraging her to take that first step at the bottom of the hill and by not regretting that decision, he gave back more than enough to her. Alas, miracles don’t come from hardwork nor determination; they come from, well, miracles.
Well, definitely not, as it would have prevented him to grow as a person. Thankfully, Nagisa isn’t the kind of the girl to get all huffy for him being late, as are other girls. Although, it would have helped if they actually had cellphones during the time to contact each other xP
That might not mean much, as showing most emotions in public is frowned upon; So I think it’s more Sanae’s style of teaching, trying to push her to become a stronger girl. I guess I don’t necessarily agree with her trying to make her stronger by telling her not to cry in public, but hey, to each their own.
You’d be surprised how strong women like that are; I wouldn’t be surprised if Naoyuki ends up just finding a simple job, and living with her and helping support her as the years pass by.
I definitely agree with this, and I thank you for putting this into words that I absolutely could not.
So I guess this means that Ushio doesn’t support Ryou x Tomoya, huh?
Well uhhhh… We have Ushio, who is the daughter of Tomoya and Nagisa. Then we have this girl who is both Ushio and not-Ushio. It kind of feels like a schrodinger’s cat mystery to me
The soon-to-be-translated side stories might shed some light on this little event.
(Old translation excerpt) [Akio]“It’s like… she’s… inherited Nagisa’s fate, maybe…”
He said it quietly, as if just remembering it himself.
[Tomoya]“Nagisa’s… fate?”
“We’ve talked about this before, dumbass. When she was young, she
almost lost her life… When she woke up in that field with nothing in
it…”
“Yeah…”
“And then, the same kind of thing happened to Ushio. As though she had
been spirited away, she disappeared… to the same place… though there
was a hospital there now… There she slept.”
That time was all a blur to me; I can’t really remember what happened.
But, I know that I had thought I had lost Ushio for good.
I’m not sure whether this was the case in the VN as well but I remember in the anime, he collapsed on the spot due to exhaustion and a broken heart and it was assumed that he died there in the cold weather.
