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This was the not-a-main-girl arc that I remembered the best from my previous playthrough. I enjoyed it then, and I think I enjoyed it even more this time. It’s by no means perfect, but it does what it needs to do, and it does it quite well.
Personally, I felt that this was a really great arc to do first (aside from the common route/baseball, of course). Not only is it short and easy to get through, but it does a pretty good job of spelling out the rules of this world. Not just what the orbs of light do, but the very fact that this is a world with a hint of magic. Wishes can be granted, cats can become people, and memories can be shared. Knowing that helps frame the rest of the arcs.
Yeah, that was really disappointing. I would have expected at least 1, you know?
I know this was during the baseball route, but man, I laughed so hard when that happened!
-Bacon41
There are some contradictions in Misae’s character that make her more interesting and pretty funny.
She’s kind and loves taking care of people. But she tends to express that goodwill through violence. She’s pretty sharp when it comes to matters of love, much more than she gives herself credit for. She’s good at giving people advice even though she’s not all that experienced, either. Though for someone who can tell how other people feel, she’s kinda tactless. I mean “The girl you like is sad? It’s your chance!” or “You better give up on Okazaki as well”? Pretty harsh. I liked how Nagisa started defending Tomoya when she was told to give up on him ^^
What kinda bothers me is that the route ended on a bittersweet note, but looking at Misae-san’s past from the side, it seems rather depressing. She was in love but it was unrequited. She fell in love again, but the guy disappeared soon after. She’s still waiting for him after over 5 years. And now, she’s in that cliché situation of a single woman who owns a cat.
I’m also not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing that in this route, Tomoya didn’t play an important role. He merely reminded Misae-san of Shima by saying the same things.
“The ‘me of right now’ fell in love with the ‘Misae-san of right now.’”
“I like things like how you scold… how you worry… I even love the fact that you smell nice when you grab my neck. And also because you’re beautiful, Misae-san.”
EDIT: What I’m getting at is: Unless Tomoya was really getting close to Misae-san because he didn’t have a mother, anyone else could’ve taken his place in this route. Except Sunohara. Sunohara is too obvious about his desire for boobs.
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[quote=“Naoki_Saten, post:43, topic:1951”]
But she tends to express that goodwill through violence.
[/quote]Interesting point. While we certainly see that with Shima in her highschool days, I think thats changed by the time she becomes dorm mother. Sure, we see her old habits come back with the rugby players and Sunohara, but I really dont think she’d lay a finger on anyone who wasnt messing with/bothering her.
She really has matured; she seems like the kind of person that has grown mentally old a lot faster than physically. (There’s your character development, Kanon)
[quote=“Naoki_Saten, post:43, topic:1951”]
Unless Tomoya was really getting close to Misae-san because he didn’t have a mother, anyone else could’ve taken his place in this route.
[/quote]I disagree, 1) because I think your “unless” is a very good reason, but also2) because I believe Tomoya is a very special kind of person. The kind of person who is able to help all the people he does. He needs to have mutual support with somebody.
A random rugby player who went to Misae for advice might have been able to even remind her of those things in the same way Tomoya did. But the crucial point is, its not Misae that causes this flashback to be shown. Its the cat. And the cat showed Tomoya this for a reason.
Oh and also 3) because Tomoya’s probably the only person who can help both Misae and Tomoyo, which we will see later on.
This route is just brilliant. Not only is it a great story, it’s so… CLANNAD. More on this in time, but man this route is so perfect to read early because of a not-so-exclusive but oh-so-cool amount of pieces that overlap and tie into other parts of CLANNAD’s really nice ‘small world’ and really well developed characters. It also showcases some flat out outstanding lessons or maybe even regrets to those who are a bit older and at about Misae’s power level to think about. This route, me being 22 and quickly getting farther and farther from my school memories get such an immense amount of romantic nostalgia and it hits like a freight train.
In such a short span of time such a meaningful scenario is presented that makes you appreciate it even without knowing what it means to CLANNAD as a whole- And maybe even to some who would say it has no meaning in the end. It’s just flat out good. 10/10.
Also maybe I haven’t seen it in a while but the anime does a shit job of presenting what this character has. Shame, but I know that it didn’t give me anywhere near as much of an attachment as this did. Tomoya’s attachment added quite a lot and I really like how both he and Shima act about it- I can really respect them both because I agree with them. Tomoya just being a bit less innocent.
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Depressing is one way of looking at it. I think that life fits her though. And I don’t mean that she doesn’t deserve to be loved or anything. Like, she spends her time taking care of the dorm. She’s clearly good at that, and she doesn’t really show an intention to switch jobs despite complaining a lot. I just thought that’s how she chose to live her life and the students are the people she chose to spend it with. It might be a bit of a stretch but you could call that a family. People can find comfort in many different ways.
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I quite liked this route and in that it is one of the side routes I thought it was timed pretty well, the flashback in particular seemed just about perfectly constructed amount-of-content wisel. Misae and Tomoya generally had a good back-and-forth and I enjoyed the consultation scenes as well. The flashback was quite good and Misae and Shima has a very good connection, though I will say that the total amount of time they spent with each other was obfuscated more than I would have liked(but I always have this problem in VN’s when they stop giving the date after a common route).
The ending was quite bittersweet but definitely not in a bad way and it serves fairly well as an explanation of why Misae is how she is. I’m not sure it was explicitly stated but I definitely inferred that the reason she came back to the school was that so she could somehow meet Shima again and probably the most bittersweet part of the story is that, despite not realizing it and probably never realizing it, she was able to see him again and he has been with her “forever”.
As far as Tomoya and is concerned I definitely think he was largely looking for someone as a something of a surrogate mother. If I’m remembering right the relationship he ultimately has with Misae is entirely chaste and he never really makes any sort of effort to move beyond that, maybe some desultory suggestions but nothing really meaningful. I suspect there really is no reciprocity coming from Misae in that way but she probably does see him in something like a mother role, similar to the boys who live in the dorm, just maybe to a greater extent. It is kind of sad that they will probably continue to see each other in these ill-fitting combinations of roles but, then again, it seems like it works for them.
Some additional thoughts: firstly Saki and Yuki were both fantastic and really deserved to get some sprites even if they only showed up Misae’s route. It would have been nice for them to stop by as adults and have them meet Tomoya either before or after he sees the flashback. Secondly the scene where Sunohara catches cat-Shima and is planning to skin him definitely gets a lot more meaningful in retrospect, particularly in that that scene led to Tomoya going into Misaes room if I remember right. Lastly the scene where Tomoya tells Misae what he likes about here is also so much more meaningful in retrospect that I kind of misted up a bit when it came up in the flashback, thinking about how she must have felt about it.
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Cuz this ain’t no datey sim.
It helps the message because it’s not lame.
What defines a dating sim? 5/10 routes have dating (just counting school-life) with 4/5 main heroines having dating. I guess I was referring to most games would have those 5 main routes and nothing else (maybe stuff like Baseball or Sunohara bad end).
A dating sim teaches you how to actually date by improving your character stats and making events you have to respond to. VNs have long since stopped being “dating sims”
Oh really? I just heard many people refer to VNs with dating such as Kanon and Grisaia as “dating sims” so assumed they were right. I guess I’ll edit that to make more sense.
Stop And Smell The Futon / 10
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Well, Tomoyo is just trying to be Misae, but she has the delinquent aura, so she can’t manage what Misae did.
One of my favorite characters in the game. Definitely my favorite male character.
Generally not in Key VNs, because the old art had weirdly shaped bodies.
I don’t think it’s depressing. It’s the past. You always see it in a certain way.
This is why I have it as the first route to read. It’s short, it’s expressive of CLANNAD’s themes, it introduces some of the other characters, it gives us an insight into Hikarizaka, and it just feels nice. Moving onto Tomoyo afterwards continues the things introduced in Misae’s route, but also brings in more elements that are prominent in CLANNAD. Then Yukine is a good transitional route, and that route also feels nice.
Yeah. If you have a box on the side with stats like “Athleticism” or “Intelligence” and a menu that shows your affection points with different heroines, then you are a dating sim. The protagonist generally doesn’t have a name or a personality in those things either.
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Should have posted my final thoughts of this route when I finished it several days ago but here goes.
Wow, this route is short. I remembered it was among the shortest ones but the only thing I can remember from when I first played years ago is that I found the route boring and long-winded. I remembered playing it as my first route then and I guess the biggest reason I found it boring was that it was about a different set of characters and I wanted to know more about the present ones. Also, it might’ve had something to do with Clannad being amoung the first VNs I played as well.
About the story I agree with what’s already been stated. Not CG, Saki and Yuki are really good friends to have and that it’s great to get to know the story behind Misae’s past. But for the overall story of Clannad I find it unecessary. Sure, it mentions something about the lights and shows some examples of what to come in the other routes but I don’t think the game would suffer anything without this route. But if you just see it as a bonus route which was just added on, it’s hard to complain about it in any way.
Still, it’s hard to really give the final conclusion without having played the last part in Tomoyo’s route. It’s gonna be interesting as I’ve forgotten what excactly happens during that scene.
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(I was sick for a week so I’ve fallen behind on the bookclub, just started Tomoyo route today so hopefully I’ll be back on track soon!)
I found the Misae route to be much more enjoyable than I remembered. I think that the message of the story, whether there was meant to be one or not, is that you should appreciate the people (and pets) that make you happy in your life, rather than mourning the ones who left you. In the Tomoyo route Misae finally realizes that Shima never left her, he’s been keeping her company all this time, all the sadness and regret she’s felt about her high-school love leaving her was a waste. But even if the cat wasn’t Shima he’d still be something that loves her and makes her happy. Life isn’t perfectly designed, people can’t stay by you forever, we have to focus on who we have in our lives in the present.
I think this is easily one of Clannad’s more easily relatable stories. We’ve all had our hearts broken, had people leaving our lives when we didn’t expect them to, and it tends to make you harder on the outside and softer on the inside. Misae is outwardly dismissive but she’s ultimately a very loving character.
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One of the messages 
There’s also something about moving on in there. Tomoya reminded her of Shima, but she didn’t get stuck in the nostalgia. She treasures that past, but goes on to live something different.
Am I missing out on something good?
It’s definitely a special kind of circumstance, but good is not quite the word I’d use there.
Finished this route last night. I ended up with a lot of scenes with the twins because of my choices, so it felt like I was playing their route almost! Misae still was kind of backroundish for a while. I did like her more as I got to know her. She’s a nice woman to give advice out to those in need and take time from her schedule to do it, which I appreciated. Her story was a pretty big surprise, especially after just doing the common route. It introduced more concepts that I was unaware of. I thought it was really sweet and touching
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Misae is an interesting character, as it’s not very often that I get to see a glimpse of what could happen to a schoolgirl in her adult years. Granted, it’s a rather specific glimpse, but it’s still insightful and quite worth the trip. She finds herself engrossed in, but not quite satisfied with her work as dorm mother of the boys’ dormitory where Sunohara lives. TomoyaCosmo spends time advising her on how to be a better dorm mother, to the point where he earns her trust and grows close to her. It’s then that Cosmo gets curious about a boy who turned her down once, and then most of the route focuses on her younger self.
During Misae’s high school days, a young boy named Shima approaches her, promising to grant her one wish as repayment for saving his life. She doesn’t take the topic too seriously and would rather see him go away, but he resolves to stick to her until the wish is fulfilled. Shima hears from Misae’s crush, Igarashi-san, that he already knows about her crush on him, and asks Shima to tell Misae about it. Misae does not take the news well, and Shima does his best to bring her spirits back up, falling in love with her in the process. (And it’s more natural than Fuko’s romance scene, thank heaven. )
Misae prospers as an individual and with Shima until Shima remembers his duty to grant Misae’s wish. He discovers that the light that provides the wish is missing, leading him to question his purpose. He eventually decides that he can still provide a lesser form of wish-granting, one within his own power as a human being. When he discovers that he isn’t really Shima, but a shadow, an identity-less spirit who was entrusted with the task of granting Misae’s wish. When Misae decides to grant her wish, he disappears soon after, his work complete.
It’s then revealed that the cat she has been keeping for a while is a reincarnation (?) of Shima, still lingering around her master in the hopes of fulfilling the measure of his creation. It’s actually quite a heartwarming ending… :’)
Aside from Misae’s own development, her route offers quite a bit of insight into Nagisa and Ryou’s characters as well, depending on the choices Cosmo makes. Nagisa discusses her feelings for Cosmo as she saw them during the first day she met him, and while it’s a little predictable of her to think so highly of him, both Misae and Cosmo’s reactions are what make the scene. Same goes for Ryou, although I always wondered, as I watched the anime, how she’s developed feelings for Cosmo, and the explanation given is actually pretty satisfying. It makes me look forward to her route in the near future~ 
Misae is also the first route I’ve read so far that goes into some detail about the central plot MacGuffin of CLANNAD: the light orbs. According to Shima, they grant any one wish a person has per orb, without limit of scope. However, the procedure for using them is still a little vague, as they seem to activate subconsciously rather than ceremoniously. It actually makes me question if the light really was meant for Misae, and if so, when she made the wish to be with Shima forever. 
Overall, this was a fairly short, but sweet start to the slew of routes I’m bound to tackle next. Next up is Tomoyo, so hopefully the next few routes will be a nice upward trend (otherwise Tomoyo After has no chance of being in my Steam library in the near future~ ).
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