Well I kind of didn’t reserve enough time for this but… I still had one more part lined up to discuss about Nagisa’s route. Too bad I couldn’t post it before the podcast but hey, better late then never!
Nagisa Route Reflections Part x: The Illusionary World
One thing that is pretty apparent from Nagisa’s route is the extension of the Illusionary World segments that we’ve been seeing since the start of the game. It’s very very hard to talk about these segments while still feigning ignorance about the true ending of CLANNAD. As such, I think I will avoid stating out what the illusionary world segments mean and what it is supposed to represent, and save that talk for the After Story discussion.
But one thing very very interesting that is never answered: Why does Nagisa even know about this story? We know that Tomoya sees these scenes in his dreams (as is implied by the scenes playing once the days end), but where does Nagisa see them? Tomoya tried so hard to figure this thing out, and came out empty-handed. Could it have been one of Nagisa’s dreams, just like Tomoya? This, more than anything, implies Nagisa having a connection to Tomoya stronger than that of a loving relationship.
One also very interesting thing to point out is that, while Tomoya can only see things from the perspective of the junk doll, Nagisa apparently sees things from the perspective of the girl. In fact, her entire play is about the struggle of the girl and her loneliness in this empty world, leading her to build that junk doll. And you know what? The girl actually does seem satisfied with all that. She seems satisfied simply having one partner to spend the rest of her days with in this empty world.
It’s a very good contrast of perception; the junk doll wants to bring the girl to a happier place because he cares so much for her, and he believes that a happier place lies beyond the boundaries of this world. The girl, however, seems to be satisfied just living out her life together with this doll, as it has saved her from her own loneliness, as is implied in Nagisa’s perception. In a nutshell, I believe that, independently, these Illusionary World segments are giving us the message that when we struggle to please those who we care about, we sometimes lose sight of that which is truly important: that those who we care about want nothing more than our company.
Again, this says so much more about After Story, so I’ll leave this topic at that, and I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading my spew of thoughts on this amazing route. I rated it a 4 out of 5 because of some issues I had, but on the long-term, this route sets us up for the true story of the game. Yes, the opening does mean that we have finally started CLANNAD, and we are in for a wonderful ride.