Ahem. He’s actually the real Shima Katsuki’s cat.
…I didn’t catch that. Exactly what line is that mentioned in, if I may ask? ^^;
It’s never been stated explicitly, but there were at least two points at which some hints have been dropped:
One during Shima’s first real encounter with Misae, when she remembers meeting the real Shima:
And the second one in the epilogue, where he refers to both the real Shima and Misae as his masters:
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Finished reading Misae’s route yesterday and it was a lot better than I remembered when I watched the anime. Misae herself is a really likable character and I think “dorm mother” is rather fitting, cause she’s more or less a motherly figure; kind, caring and empathetic, but also having her limits and isn’t someone to mess with, as we see with her interactions with the rugby players and Sunohara. Speaking of Sunohara, the comedy was pretty funny. The stints with Sunohara being the hamster toy for Misae’s techniques was hilarious and I also love the interactions with Yuki and Saki. They were really funny and added a bit of levity during the bittersweet moments in the route.
Now for the route itself. Like I said, it’s a lot better than I remembered it being and I think part of that is because we’re given a bit more time to invest ourselves into the relationship between Misae and Shima and what’s going on, or at least that’s how it felt when reading this route. This route is rather bittersweet, as we see Misae experience heartbreak from being rejected by Igarashi and Shima disappearing, because his duty has been fulfilled and that he’s the cat who belongs to the real deceased Katsuki Shima. But at the same time, there’s that sense of optimism that while Shima does not exist in human form, he’ll still be with Misae as her cat and Misae is hopeful that Shima might come back and maybe someday, she’ll find out that Shima was with her all this time as her cat (I hope). We also get some insight about the light orbs, with Shima explaining that they can grant any one wish to a person per orb. I do have a question though, why did the light disappear the moment Shima remembered his duty? I want to say it’s because he indirectly granted Misae’s wish by being with her and caring for her when she was feeling heartbroken, but maybe there’s another reason why.
As for the relationship between Tomoya and Misae, I thought it was well done, though to be honest, I see them more as mother and son than lovers and I think Misae shares that same feeling too, as she treats Tomoya more like a close son than anything. The scenes with Nagisa and Ryou, depending on the choice, were pretty nice as it gives some insight of why they like Tomoya, and I like the scene with Tomoyo as well. The ending for the route was very heartwarming and it left me with a good feeling in my chest, and the bad ending wasn’t as brutal as I thought it would be.
So overall, I really enjoyed Misae’s route. It was short but bittersweet, with a sense of optimism. Next up is Tomoyo’s route.
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I like this story a lot. It was interesting, and it gives some insight on Clannad’s world, with the light that grants someone’s wish. I also really like Misae. She’s so modest, but at the same time, she’s quite self-aware of her capabilities. Shima is an equally interesting character, and there’s a lot of care put in writing his character and how his prime motivations went awry. The writing came out naturally. And there’s decent chemistry between Misae and Shima.
Nagisa defending Tomoya was adorable. I agree.
On a side note, I was wondering if Shima was also voiced by Romi Park (known for voicing Ed from FMA) in the VN, and I wasn’t getting that vibes at all, until OH HER NAME IS LISTED IN THE CREDITS WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT.
The family aspect of this story is definitely the master-pet dynamic
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A reliable site for voice actor information says you are correct. Since the anime and VN casts are the same, I don’t think there’s a reason to doubt it’s Romi Park in both.
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So, the ending to Misae’s Route. Did anyone understand it? I mean, we learn how Misae became who she is now and that the cat with her was fake Shima who was granting the wish of his past owner, the real Shima, to stay with Misae (who wished for him to stay with her forever). However, the ending just ends with Tomoya talking about Shima the cat’s wish for him to tell her that he (the cat) will stay with her forever before cutting to the credits. What? So, how does this continue?
She gets over Shima as a person but learns to treasure her cat companion, thus allowing her to move on with her life and perhaps be more open to romantic interactions with creepy guys who like to sniff her futon 
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Creepy guys who like to sniff her futon? Tomoya? Wait, then what was the point of her showing up in Tomoyo’s route after completing her (Misae) route? Is it shown that she would be more open to romantic interactions with said creepy guys at the end of her route? Move on with her life after learning to treasure her cat companion, yes I agree, but it still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense here. Need more clarification!
Well i finished after story and now i can write about these routes, though probably should have written them earlier asafter story really doesn’t feature much of these characters
Misae is a independent, strong women,that’s what i got at the first few moments with her. But then when i entered her route i saw her other or you can saw womenly side. We see how she has her first crush,gets her heart broken and then finds love again.She displays strength from becoming a timid girl who couldn’t speak to her crush to a great student council president. The Romance in her route is utterly good, the shy shima(cat) and her interactions are well fitting. Especially where he confesses to her that scene is well executed.
Her route is a bit like kurugaya you don’t know if she got her love or not until in tomoyo.
overall Misae is one of the strongly written characters in clannad with a controlled route length.
Continuing on from my Kotomi post and how I believe it was a good route to start with, I believe this route was a great route to continue with. I have come to know what “Key Magic” is at this point, and I think this route does a good job at introducing the concept of it into Clannad, with the orbs of light. It is a short route, but I think it is the perfect length. I thought the story of Katsuki Shima was very touching, and I admit I cried at this route as well. The one critique I have for this route is the “romance” part, if you can even call it that. It felt really unnecessary, especially because the romance between Tomoya and Misae never goes anywhere. I think the setup for the flashback sequence could have been done without the romance, and would have felt a little less odd without it.
I like Misae as a character, though she is not given a whole lot of screen time. She seems like a character who would benefit from a side story detailing her adventures as dorm mother, or perhaps even her future once she leaves, if she leaves. What I did see of her was sweet and entertaining. I am not sure if the original text is anything close to her translated dialogue, but I found much of the things she said to be pretty funny.
This is a good route.
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