Discussion topic for CLANNAD -Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de- Episode 02: Kouko’s Diary, told by Kouko Ibuki as written by Jun Maeda. For general discussion of their characters, visit Kouko and Fuko’s topics.
Spoilers for the vanilla CLANNAD are permitted, but please tag references to other Side Stories with the [spoiler] tag, providing adequate context in parenthesis.
How would you rate this episode?
0 voters
Basically, Fuko is a weirdo, and Kouko is trying to figure her out. Sounds to me like Fuko was been reading too much manga. But this story is significant because it show’s Fuko’s first real effort to leave the safe environment of her household and start making friends. This is also notable for ending right before the school entrance ceremony, and her hospitalisation. Kinda sad in that context.
Fuuko = Goku confirmed.
Not bad though. I liked that.
Nice to see a new perspective, and pretty cool to see Fuuko pre-accident and pre-ghost form.
I felt like this was one of the weaker side stories. It was pretty much Fuko being Fuko for the first 3/4 with an ending that, in true Key fashion, is simultaneously heartwarming and tragic. I would have preferred it if more time was spent on Fuko trying to be outgoing.
I’ll never forget Fuko’s Kaaaa-Meeee-Haaaa-MEEEEE!!
I agree with @Arete that the episode was a bit boring due to Fuko doing what she’s always done. However, I learnt that Fuko had been like that always. I thought that before the accident she was just very shy and introverted, and that the outgoing personality of going jumping around and screaming developed only when she was a ghost, because she had a very clear goal to fulfil.
So yeah, I learned a bit, but it still felt too plain.
I’ll have to agree with @Arete on this one. This episode felt pretty boring and it wasn’t much fun to watch.
But the ending, in true Jun Maeda style, always ends on a touching note.
This episode feels a little different. Not much really happens and it’s not very interesting plot-wise, but what it does have is an insight into Fuko’s personality in the home. Kouko’s Diary expands a bit on what occurred between her and Fuko before the fated accident. The problem is that there’s not much to gain here that we haven’t already seen in CLANNAD, save that Fuko is always strange no matter where she goes.
In fact, how Kouko reacts to Fuko’s antics in this story reminds me a lot of the relationship between me and my little brother. Although my family in general does some pretty strange things to begin with, my little bro tends to do some really questionable things. He talks to himself out loud at times, he peeks into rooms and then just leaves silently, and he even asks strange, out-of-context questions when starting up or in the middle of a conversation. We have the occasional chuuni fight too, so Fuko’s hijinks in this story really take me back to the best of those times.
The fact that Kouko interprets Fuko’s actions as her own means of maturing is also interesting. I personally would have interpreted it as a means to get Fuko’s busy onee-chan’s attention, but how Kouko sees it makes me think in a different way. My mother never got what I meant when referencing shows I watched or games I liked, so I always wondered what was going through her mind. I wanted her to understand what I liked, but after a while I realized that it was too much to ask. We share a few more common interests now, but sometimes I still feel that we don’t completely understand each other in that respect. It’s fine, though, as long as we understand how much we care for one another.
Wow, a lot of personal parallels with such a small story. Maeda really knows how to hit those heartstrings, huh? I can’t wait to see how the next few stories fare. 
Man it would be tiring to be around Fuko all the time =P
I like how this story ends on a hopeful note. We witches know that Fuko gets into an accident shortly thereafter, but in that moment where she leaves the house the future is still full of possibilities. If she had never gotten into that accident, she’d have probably led a pretty normal life.
This episode was… okay. It has its amusing moments, but I think this one could have really used a glossary that defined some of the jokes, because a lot of the time… I was lost. I also wish there was a little bit more logic to some of Fuko’s behvior because, while she does have odd interests, she normally uses SOME kind of logic. Kouko’s musings on the matter we’re pretty funny, though, and the ending was heartwarming.
2/5 Fuko is a weirdo. Really isn’t much to say or gain from this episode 
My favourite part of this episode was simply the CG artwork.
I’m not sure what it is about it, but the image of Fuuko nibbling on Kouko’s ear was super cute 
‘Fuko is now a glasses girl’…
Of course being a Fuko Fanboy I did enjoy 20 mins of the world through Fuko’s World Filter, but the main positive from this for me is how we get to see more of Kouko trying to puzzle out her little sister, as against through Tomoya’s viewpoint post accident. And honestly if she can’t manage it there’s not much hope for the rest of us.
We also get more of Kouko, which is nice, but all in all it doesn’t rise much above average. A good choice though that they left it on an optimistic note, given that we know what happens and better to leave it to the imagination.
