P E E P S I S G O I N G A L L O U T
1 Like
Clannad being the super worldwide popular series it is from it’s anime…
It has always really bugged me when I’ve talked to people about Clannad in the past and bizarrely a lot of people formulated this idea which I think is a huge misconception, that Nagisa is just a “plot device” who doesn’t serve any purpose in the story other than;
After Story major spoiler >>>>> to follow Tomoya around and die giving birth <<<<<
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely salty at the fact so many misconceptions have risen from the series despite the writing of not only this route, but the majority of the others making most things clear.
This route alone solidifies Nagisa’s importance as a character, and without spoiling anything, becomes so much more important later on.
From the beginning of this route, to the end of the series Tomoya and Nagisa are like bread and butter. Its hard to imagine where one would be without the other.
Nagisa understands the trouble Tomoya has at home with his disconnection and hostility to his father and offers him a place to live with her family to escape that. In doing so Tomoya learns more about family life through seeing the antics of Akio and Sanae. Tomoya subsequently helps Nagisa by assisting her with the drama club and introducing her to a slew of new people whom she would otherwise be too afraid to talk to, allowing her school ambitions of being more brave and socialising in this club she desperately wanted to become a reality.
It’s really not difficult to see how the romantic feelings were just slowly rinsing out even from parts of the Common route leading into Nagisa’s route. Personally it’s one of my favourite romantic developments I’ve ever seen, and seeing them share their first kiss during the baseball practice…
I think I may have diabetes. 2sweet4me.
The concluding segment to the actual play scene is questionable I’d say… At first I found it pretty disconnecting to try to empathise with Nagisa simply because she was crying in the middle of the stage… However I do kind of empathise because I’ve had my experiences of serious stage fright and conflicting emotions in a different way. It’s not exactly unrealistic, but more so that I can understand if people found the scene to be questionable. I certainly did at first, but after reading into it a little I feel like I understand her feelings at that point.
Aside from that.
Akio best character. I am glad we are in agreement.
5 Likes
I actually prefer Sanae as far as Nagisa’s parents go, myself 
1 Like
Seconed~ I really like the spacey but perceptive dynamic. I love it when she goes along with Akio’s lies and then just turns to Tomoya and says something that dismisses Akio’s version of the story completely.
Alright now to continue my thoughts about the Nagisa route~
Nagisa Route Reflections Part 2: Tomoya just wants a daddy
One pretty important plot point in this route is Tomoya moving out of his own house and into the Furukawa family’s house because of the problems with his dad. In truth, nothing really exceptional happens; there wasn’t some dramatic scene that suddenly forced him out. His relationship with his dad was the same as it had always been. And what caused him to move out was Nagisa, being his girlfriend, offering him solace. Even though she offered him back when he first met her family, he just didn’t want to bother relying on her. At this point, him moving to Nagisa’s house was not only to escape his dad; it was also to find comfort in being together with Nagisa.
On a semi-related note, all this time I’ve personally thought that Tomoya’s dad wasn’t such a bad guy. And even Tomoya himself was saying that most people wouldn’t think of him as a bad guy. However, when I saw how he reacted to Tomoya moving out, well… I just suddenly understood everything that Tomoya hated about him. Nagisa suggested it because of her optimism, but optimism doesn’t work out all the time… And this simply solidified the decision for Tomoya to leave the house of “that person”. It’s a bit sad now that I think about it; we, as children, always take for granted the kind of scolding that our parents show to us, not realizing that the only people in the entire world that would show their affection in that manner is our parents. In this manner, I like to call on a made-up mnemonic of mine for the Japanese word 親切 (shinsetsu), which means kindness. The first kanji stands for “familiarity” and the second stands for “cut”, which essentially implies that only people who aren’t familiar or close to us would be “kind” to us.
And now we move on to Tomoya’s life in the Furukawa family, especially his relationship with Akio. While they do like to intimidate each other a lot, there is one recurring joke that Akio points out: how Tomoya should man up, or be more responsible. Sure, he’s most definitely saying this because he wants him to be a better person for Nagisa, his daughter, but for Tomoya, maybe even subconsciously, this provides the kind of scolding and fatherly love that he was never able to have. Akio, you da real MVP.
6 Likes
Now I finally get to talk about this one.
Nagisa’s route was the very first thing I read this bookclub, and man did it set the bar high. Nagisa and her family are all really compelling characters and this route’s format of having multiple small conflicts centered around its primary characters instead of having one major conflict works very well in its favor. We observe and witness as each and every one of those conflicts shape our main characters and help them overcome their weaknesses. It’s quite different from all the other routes in CLANNAD. But before I end up going on a rant about why this route is so amazing (I think others are doing a way better job with that than I could) I want to bring attention to exactly that: how it’s quite different from the other routes, and what that means for it in the context of CLANNAD, a romantic galge, specifically.
As other people have already gone into, Tomoya and Nagisa fit each other extremely well. Both suffer from a major lack of self-confidence and greatly benefit from being able to rely on the other. I dare you to try to find another route where Tomoya and the romantic partner in question have that kind of mutually beneficial relationship. In my eyes, there is no such route. Nagisa and Tomoya support each other in ways only they can. It works so well exactly because Nagisa is who she is and Tomoya is who he is. None of the other routes are like that, not even Tomoyo’s which is likely the best comparison; neither Tomoya nor Tomoyo fulfill a role for the other that no one else could (reasonably) fulfill. Sure, they come from similar backgrounds and connect quickly, but when it comes down to it they don’t feel nearly like they’re as much of a ‘match made in heaven’ as Tomoya and Nagisa.
With a romance like that, it almost feels weird to have the choice not to go for it. If the creators just wanted to tell this tale of a great romance, there’s no need to make the other routes be legitimate alternatives in gameplay. So did they want to present this as the ‘one true way’ for things to turn out?
But if that were the case what does that leave us with? Does that imply that the other routes are, in some shape or form, bad ends? At the very least I will acknowledge that Tomoya will probably never gain as much strength in a different route as he will in Nagisa’s route, and he will probably never inspire whoever his partner may be as much as he does Nagisa. So then, could I say that none of the other results reach up to this one?
Perhaps. But that’s okay.
This is my take on it, my take on the reason the creators juxtapositioned this amazing romance with several other romances that honestly don’t feel like they inspire nearly the same kind of growth in both parties involved. That sort of ideal outcome is just that: an ideal. It may happen. If it does, that’s great. If it doesn’t, that does not mean it’s bad. We can see how in Tomoyo route their relationship may not be the best for Tomoya’s self-confidence, but in the end they can still support each other and help each other grow. Just because we know there is an arguably better alternative for Tomoya, that doesn’t invalidate the relationships he can hypothetically build up with the other girls. You don’t reject the imperfect; you make the best of what you have. And that’s exactly what happens in the other routes.
Hell anyone who’s read Tomoyo After will know that Tomoya does turn out somewhat different than what we know of him in Nagisa’s route, but that’s just it: he goes through different experiences and learns different things, values different things, treasures different things. He becomes essentially a different person than he is in Nagisa route. Even though they started from the same point. And regardless if you think he turned out better or worse in Tomoyo After, that’s okay. That’s simply the way it went in that story, and it is a valid way for things to go.
CLANNAD was the first visual novel that really conveyed this feeling of life not being just one straight path, but littered with heaps of possibilities every day, and at the same time that neither of these possibilities are truly inferior to one another. As some like to say: the only things you really regret in life are the things you didn’t do. And THAT is what the bad ends are. Leaving things unfinished. Not attempting to adjust or engage with the situation you find yourself in.
Is Nagisa route the ideal outcome for Tomoya? Whether or not it is, it doesn’t matter. It’s what it is and the other routes are what they are. No point in looking back and longing for things to have gone differently.
How much of this is actually purposefully in the game I don’t know. And I don’t really care. This is simply what I got out of it, and I’m glad for it as it taught me a great deal.
Okay so this was a long rant that was more about the existence of the route rather than the contents of the route. Maybe later I’ll post a few things I love about this route in particular. I’ll just say four words: To the Same Heights.
8 Likes
EREYONE GOIN’ ALL OUT.
Another part to go~
Nagisa Route Reflections Part 3: Furukawa Daikazoku
One of the other important relationships in this route is that of Nagisa with her own family. No matter how you slice it, Akio and Sanae really really love their daughter. From the eyes of someone like Tomoya, it seems like it’s the epitome of a perfect family. Heck, anyone looking at them would think they are pretty much a perfect family. Despite the dysfunctional nature of the whole family, they are pretty close and very caring for each other. Sure, they might not be perfect but what family doesn’t have their own problems, right?
And Tomoya realizes this in the middle of him staying with their family. He says “It’s the entire Furukawa family that I like”. And it’s that kind of endearment that adds in to the appreciation for the whole family. I guess that’s one of the main reasons that Nagisa loves the Big Dango Family: because she just treasures her family so much. It’s the complete opposite of Tomoya, really, who grew up without a family.
So the addition of some drama between Nagisa’s parents and her was pretty well-placed, because it attacks something very important to her, and adds all the more pressure towards her. Although I personally thought it way too conveniently placed. She just suddenly remembered it as she was nearing the day of her performance. And then she suddenly decides to go looking the night before her performance. It could have happened any other day, but it happened there. I guess that’s probably one thing that drags the route down for me, considering it is the main conflict.
3 Likes
While I think that the idea of the her having to face those feeling with her parents was good, and it did add drama to the play scene, I just don’t think they built it up well. Especially because it is presented as something Nagisa always kind of wondered about.
1 Like
I’m gonna try something a little different. Rather than analyzing the story and characters (I think y’all did a great job with that already), I’m going to really focus on the music and visual portions of this arc.
Music
Nagisa’s theme is notable, if for no other reason than it’s simply called “Nagisa,” unlike other character themes with more cryptic names. The song begins with a very simple melody, slowly expanding with more voices until you have completely filled all the space. Making a simple melody that can stand that well alone is no mean feat, and I love the instrumentation as the song fills in. There’s that otherworldly warbling sound that appears early in the song. And the light chords on the strings building slowly towards the bridge. Finally, when everything hits you have the tympany to really fill out the bass, a woodblock hitting every couple measures, and something akin to chimes to add a high end. Finally it goes back to the piano theme.
Something else I love about the song is how it sends mixed messages throughout. The song is really played at a Moderato tempo, but has the feeling of Adagio because of the bass line hitting on 1 and 3. Similarly, the primary theme is in F-minor, but the bass line invokes the relative major key, helping to lend the song a melancholic feel which is resolved when the secondary theme comes in on the major key.
Excellent song, and they make good use of it in After Story as well. Expanding on it with the Parting at the Bottom of the Hill.
The Days’ Leisure could really be called the route’s secondary theme. Another piano tune, this one far more harmonic than Nagisa. This one actually is Adagio, fitting with its role of laid back and leisurely. The song sticks firmly to its major key, though its slow pace makes it seem more pensive than expected (if you don’t believe me, try singing it to yourself at a higher tempo).
And how can we leave out Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye? I think Nishina-san made a perfect choice on this song for Nagisa’s performance, but I can only imagine how jarring it was for the audience when Nagisa closed with her rendition Dango Daikazoku.
Character Design
Nagisa’s design is remarkably plain. Short brown hair with the little clip for decoration, rounded brown eyes. Her only really notable feature is the antennae on her head, which suggest her ditzy personality. One thing I really like about her is that cute serious and determined look that she gets sometimes. It’s very endearing!
CG's
Our first exposure to Nagisa, and the first character we see in the visual novel. The dramatic wind through her hair and the falling sakura petals strongly convey not just a sense of motion, but of a moment captured in time. Everything is in focus and high detail, from the falling petals in the foreground to the leaves on the trees in the background. Nagisa herself, is center of the frame, looking directly at the viewer. I think it's noteworthy that while Nagisa's body is facing left, the fact that she's centered helps to convey the sense that she's stopped (if she was positioned just a little to the right, it would look more like she had space to move into in the frame).
The official start of Tomoya and Nagisa’s relationship. Nagisa’s positioning has her largely being framed by Tomoya. The ruddy light coming through the trees helps to communicate the the time, and you can even see the reflection of the orange sky in the windows behind them. Though I will say that this image has one of my pet peeves about Clannad’s CG’s…tilted orientation as opposed to shifted perspective! But that’s a rant for another time. This is hardly the worst offender in the set.
Okay, this is the worst offender in the set. The damned picure is turned at like 45º…Anyway. Here we have “Sad Nagisa in the Rain.” Nagisa’s hair is slightly darkened, her face and the ball have deoplets on them, and the mist on her head helps to convey that she’s not just wet, but actively getting poured on. I love the body language here. Tight in pose, arms wrapped around the ball like she’s giving it a hug. Nagisa really looks pathetic here, which I’m pretty sure is the desired response. There’s also the muddy ground there, which is directly referenced in the scene.
If I can make one complaint (other than the angle) is that Nagisa’s hair and clothes don’t hang like they’re wet. Her antenna are slightly droopy, but nowhere near what you would expect. Compare to (spoiler other routes) Kyou Route, which does it better.
The first kiss. I love how close Tomoya and Nagisa are here, shoulder the shoulder, it really feels like a natural first kiss, unlike the face-to-face kisses you usually see. Sanae’s position in the frame makes it feel like a private moment, despite being outside with the children in the background. I really like the texture on the clothing, especially Nagisa’s dress and the flannel shirt. Also, dat Sanae booty in dem mom jeans.
Nagisa on stage. The use of light in this shot is really striking. Nagisa is starkly lit from the front, giving her lots of defined shadows, and something of a glow. We also have this costume which is reminiscent of the school uniforms from Kanon (probably intentional?) Even beyond the circumstantial reasons, I like how Nagisa is facing towards the bright part of the frame, and just how much negative space there is in this image. It really helps to convey that she is alone up there. Worth noting is that Nagisa is just slightly left of center in the frame, helping to draw the eye towards the space on the right. I also can’t help but wonder if that conspicuously positioned door is supposed to signify a point of escape, or if it’s just incidental to its primary purpose of filling an otherwise empty void in the shot.
The other shot from that scene. Here we have Tomoya’s view of the scene above. Nagisa is there on stage, all lights pointing at her. Her form is immediately recognizable and is notably smaller than all of the people watching her. It’s noteworthy that we have this angle, as it’s one of the only non-character focused CG’s in the entire VN, and the scene could have still been conveyed with the earlier angle focused on Nagisa. I think this is supposed to reinforce how far away Tomoya is, and the helplessness he feels given the circumstances.
Our closing shot of the couple. Again, it’s turned at a bit of an angle, but at least this one feels artistic. With the pair turned upwards and off-center in frame, there’s a distinct sense of motion into the negative space on the right. That combination hearkens back to the first meeting on the hill, but now with the couple moving up and towards a brighter future. And where the first CG seemed to convey a single moment in stark detail, this final shot seems to suggest an emotion that blurs time. I think the grainy texture, the pastel colors, and the overexposed background all lend themselves to this sense.
8 Likes
I think this picture of them walking up the hill is really cool. I’ve forgotten the details of why they’re walking up the hill in their uniforms after Tomoya has graduated, but that doesn’t really matter. I like having this be the final shot of the route because it’s them continuing to go up the hill. The hill is an allegory for the journey through life. School might be over for Tomoya, but life goes on; you just gotta keep walking.
1 Like
Many people call Nagisa weak and disagree with her being the main heroine. The feeling I’m getting from it all isn’t that it’s not an alleged weakness of character they have a problem with. It’s the fact that Nagisa could “win” in a competition against all the other girls and be chosen by Tomoya. That impression is even stronger in the anime, because that’s where Clannad is portrayed as a harem-like story where the hero goes around saving girls and finally falls for one of them (and I’m assuming, with nothing to prove it, that most complaints are coming from anime-only viewers). I do agree that if you view it from this perspective, it looks strange for a “weak” competitor like Nagisa to “win”. After all, Nagisa, like Ryou, is a rather boring girlfriend, but has a huge potential as a wife. Sure, the romance in Nagisa’s route isn’t among the most exciting in Clannad, but it was never supposed to be. Just like how Clannad was never supposed to be just a high school love story. It’s not about being the “best girl”. As many of us have agreed on in this topic, in terms of a long-term relationship, Nagisa is the most fitting partner for Tomoya. There is no doubt for me. Throughout all of Clannad, everything about Nagisa is exactly what Tomoya needs. Her love, her strength, her weakness, her family, everything. She is his savior just like he is hers.
Did nobody find it strange or have we talked about it previously somewhere? It’s only in the latter half of Nagisa’s route that the Opening video of Clannad is played - right when Nagisa reveals that she, too, knows the tale of the girl who’s all alone in the illusionary world. It’s like the game is saying “You’ve seen nothing yet! The actual story has only just begun! (Also, pay attention to the illusionary world sequences!)”
There is something I don’t understand though. It’s the second-last choice where you can choose to call Akio a failure of a father. How is it possible to blame Akio for anything? What exactly did he supposedly do wrong, from Tomoya’s perspective? I understand that this option exists in order to drive the point home that both Tomoya and Nagisa’s parents have to call out to Nagisa in order to drive away her feelings of guilt, because on their own, they would fail at doing so. But the line itself kinda doesn’t make sense to me.
This screenshot points out one of my favorite things about this route in general.
This doesn’t just concern the romance between Tomoya and Nagisa. This concerns all the little conflicts we’ve observed this entire route. All of it has been about a small group of people that deal with their difficulties with doing things they’d love to do and would be the simplest thing in the world for anyone else to do; Sunohara with playing soccer, Tomoya with playing basketball, and of course Nagisa with participating in the drama club. Even the choir club subplot with Nishina and Sugisaka is the same.
Right here, Tomoya reaches a conclusion. A conclusion that the handicaps each of them face are not absolute. That there is meaning in continuing to struggle. That, as long as he has the support of Nagisa, he can keep going. It really brings a smile to my face too, seeing the group succeed against the odds with their idealistic ‘never give up’ approach. Maybe it’s cheesy, I still like it regardless.
And then To The Same Heights starts playing with absolutely impeccable timing. Such a good track.
Also, this is a bit of a non sequitur, but since I brought it up; the choir club subplot. In this conflict there’s one scene that sticks out to me in particular, the scene where Sunohara learns of the threatening letter, immediately blames the choir club and Nagisa vehemently defends them. To me, this shows one of the downfalls of Nagisa’s kind of naive idealism, which is that she deliberately blinds herself to reasons why people might do something like this. She has such a simple view of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people in that moment that her accepting that the choir club “would do such a horrible thing” instantly puts them in the ‘bad’ people spectrum in her mind, which is why she denies it so firmly, even proclaiming herself as the true culprit. Of course Sunohara doesn’t help at all, being more or less the other extreme and instantly having no further concern to share for the ‘evil’ choir club. But still, in that scene and only for a moment I had sympathy for everyone who dislikes Nagisa for her idealistic self-blaming nature. I don’t dislike her myself because the route also gives many, many examples of the good that kind of approach can bring. But this is an obvious pitfall for this kind of thinking, and one I take care to avoid being a pretty idealistic fellow myself. And I like that the route doesn’t shy away from showing this.
3 Likes
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.
5 Likes
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.
Spoilers for just about everything, including the final episode of side stories:
I think that Nagisa saw the story whenever Akio brought her to the clearing. I think most people here accept that Akio bringing Nagisa to the place caused her to gain some sort of link with the town. I believe that when she was there, before she woke up, she saw the story from the girl’s perspective. The illusionary world already seems to be fairly disconnected chronologically from the real world as evidenced by the girl sending the junk doll/Tomoya back at the end of After Story’s first end. So my theory from here on out is a loosely cobbled together mess of things of read form other posters on the After Story board as well as some ideas of my own. To go as chronologically as possible this is what I think happened:
Nagisa got sick with a severe but natural illness. The flu or something. She was about to die when Akio took her to the place. The spirit of the town, who is also the girl from the illusionary world shows Nagisa the story and forms a link with her, saving her life. As others already posted elsewhere this is likely why she gets sick around winter; because the town itself is weakened. Anyway, fast-forward to the start of the game. The spirit of the town forms a link with Tomoya to send him to mend Nagisa’s issues (her self consciousness, fear of unknown, etc). This is evidenced by the fact that we see the first part of the illusionary world (well technically its at the end, but the first one we see) immediately before Tomoya meets her. Tomoya has the first dream, and then the next morning he meets Nagisa. Fast forward again through Nagisa’s route and After Story, with some multiple-timeline shenanigans as outlined in Kotomi’s route, and we get to Ushio’s birth. The girl in the illusionary world calls the junk doll “dad” so we can assume Ushio is this girl. The stress of giving birth to Ushio plus her sickness is too strong for even the spirit of the town to keep Nagisa alive so she dies. After Tomoya gathers enough orbs of light (apparently he is connected to the versions of himself in all the other timelines) he can save Nagisa after being sent back by Ushio.
As for the reason the spirit of the town decided to become Ushio, I think this is because of her wish to see other places and meet people that we see in the last episode of side stories. This is the only reason I can come up with for why Ushio is the spirit of the town.
This might be better off on the After Story page, but it is about Nagisa’s character/past so it should work here.
I decided to write down notes for this one, since this is perhaps the most important character route of CLANNAD. Also, there were quite a few thoughts I wanted to get off my chest, so be prepared.
Let me start off by saying that I’m usually not a big fan of the main/canon heroines in any given visual novel. It’s not that they’re bad, but more because they don’t interest me as much as some of the other available girls. They’re usually tailored to be more rounded and generally likable than the majority of the other girls, who are more catered to specific tastes (tsunderes, yanderes, lolis, etc). There are special exceptions to this (such as my personal case with Ayu in Kanon or perhaps even Misuzu in AIR), but CLANNAD is not one of them.
When I first watched the anime, I was drawn to Nagisa’s quiet, reserved demeanor. The opening episode did a fair job of introducing her character in an exaggerated, romantic way. But I only remember being drawn to her through that, and not much else. Eventually Fuko won my love for how cute and quirky she was, but Nagisa is the focus here, and while I could spend all day talking about the superiority of her predecessors, I’m choosing not to do that for the sake of focus and (hopefully) positivity.
So let me start with Nagisa’s good parts. Maeda certainly put some work into making her a legitimate character, with clear goals, labels and personality. Her passiveness and lawful good tendencies remind me of myself sometimes, particularly after I finished high school and started learning my way around social media. Her relationship with her parents does feel genuine, and although its never properly explained why, I can only assume her personality has a lot to do with them.
Despite these, Nagisa is still a divisive character for me. Many of her character strengths, more often than not, double as weaknesses the more I look at them. She has clear goals, sure, but her passive nature makes it difficult for her to show resolve in achieving those goals. I can’t recall when anything significant she did was the result of her own decisions. She’s entirely dependent on what others tell her to do, and that doesn’t really make for a strong character. What doesn’t help things is her false modesty about herself, which leads me to think she’s nothing other than what she tells herself she is. I hated it when Sayuri did it in Kanon, and I hate it here. It’s not appealing, and only serves to damage her character rather than help it. Also, I wouldn’t have a problem with her lawful-good tendencies if there was a reason as to why she acts that way. Unfortunately, her route gives us almost nothing to go by.
What her route does give us are two things:
-
some nice backstory for Akio and Sanae that ties into Nagisa’s love for theatre, and
-
Some clues toward the origin of the light orbs and the purpose of the Illusionary World in CLANNAD’s narrative.
Both are certainly important for the narrative, but there doesn’t seem to be any purpose to them in terms of developing Nagisa’s character. She’s pretty much static throughout the entire ride, even if she and TomoyaDango grow closer in their relationship. Their chemistry is good, but I never got the feeling they were really meant for each other. It reminds me a lot of his relationship with Ryou in Kyou’s route, particularly the fact that they had pretty much nothing in common and were forced into the relationship because Kyou wanted her sister to be happy. Throughout the route, however, it shows how the ones that were truly meant for each other were Dango and Kyou, even though it wasn’t out of the question for Ryou to be with him. After seeing that, I realize now that Nagisa is one of the least romantically-compatible with Dango in the entire story, and yet they’re together. Perhaps it means there’s an underlying message in Nagisa’s route, that there’s no such thing as two people being meant for only each other. There’s always another possibility.
(Introspection with After Story spoilers) Still, it leads me to question that while possibilities exist for Dango everywhere he goes, and he’s free to choose whatever end he aims for, he’s still collecting lights for the purpose of satisfying the wish Akio made to preserve Nagisa’s life. So it appears to me that Nagisa is more precious to him than any other girl, perhaps because he canonically chose her first and developed a bond towards his daughter. There’s a lot at stake for Dango, but again, there’s nothing stopping him from choosing a different path and finding a different happiness.
I’m probably getting too carried away with this, and I’m sure reading After Story will provide further clarification on some of my issues here. At least, I hope so. If not, at least I can be assured knowing that the rest of this story is about Dango’s personal development and no one else, so I can’t wait to see how things unfold for him…
1 Like
I feel like… arent those just things that are part of her as a person, not so much as a written character? Its fine if you don’t like those aspects about her, as some of them are pretty big flaws, but you talk about them as if they make her a bad character, when to me they just seem like legitimate flaws.
I see people talk about romance like this all the time, and I’ve gotta say, it really just irks me. I dont really mean this in a rude way, but really, why should it be an outsider’s place to say if two people are “meant for each other” or not? This goes for real romance and fictional romance. Like, thats just not how love works.
As for the rest of your comments, I think I’ll let you go read After Story first, because I think you might be misunderstanding/misremembering a few things that a reread may or may not clear up (^^)b
I feel like a lot of your issues are going to be resolved in after story but… I’ll try to defend her as much as I can so far 
No, yeah, that’s true; at the beginning of the story she is not, by any means, a strong character. Even as the story progresses, her strength comes from one main person: Tomoya. The reason why she becomes strong enough to do what she wants to do is exactly because Tomoya is there. Which is why I think that fits in to their romantic chemistry because:
I’m hoping you’ll see more of the effects of Tomoya pushing her around in after story though~ I thought they were pretty clear 
Wait, what false modesty? She thinks she sucks, and she actually, well, kinda sucks. It’s different from Sayuri who is just being polite but is actually amazing. Nagisa is a loser and that’s kind of the point of her character and her story (sorry, nagisa).
You should read my post to figure out why I think they are chemistry is amazing and why they really are meant for each other After having experience with my own relationship (and helping other people out with their relationships), I’ve come to the conclusion that good chemistry is not simply being attracted to each othe from the get go; it’s being able to triumph and help each others’ flaws. As you can see from the route, their relationship grows from a very simple “I’m interested in this person” to a deep and meaningful “I need this person in my life”. And I think that’s what makes their chemistry so important compared to all the other romantic interests that Tomo-err, Dango has.
So, sure, even if Dango has way more initial attraction to other characters, do you honestly believe that they can help triumph his flaws? And that he can triumph their flaws? I’ve thought long and hard about each and every other female character in the story and I honestly think that no; only nagisa will be able to help dango with his issues, and only dango will be able to help nagisa with his issues.
(also, as much as I absolutely love the nicknames you’ve given him, I’m hoping you remain with “Tomoya Okazaki” for the rest of after story because, at that point, he deserves to be his own character )
5 Likes
You can’t make characters to be perfect. The fact that she is shy isn’t a flaw, nor a strenght. It’s just a feature of her personality. What is really a flaw is her lack of resolve, like you said, but if you erase that characteristic from her, she is left like a flawless character that wouldn’t fit the CLANNAD Scenario.
(Mild After Story spoilers) Their relationship and story is about, like @Pepe said, helping each other out and supporting each other through whatever problems life throws at them. in the school arc, Nagisa is the one who needs the most help and support, but this situation is reverted most of the times in the cohabitation arc.
One can’t decide who to fall in love with. Even then, Dango lacked a proper family and its affection, and that’s something Nagisa and her family gave her. She might lack self determination as you said, but that’s only when talking about her goals. When Tomoya is feeling a bit down, she’s always there to cheer him up. That’s what Tomoya is looking for, someone who plainly loves him. (After Story Spoilers) Well, his father loved him after all, it’s just that Tomoya didn’t notice.
Of all the heroines in Clannad, Nagisa is the most human and relatable. Her ambition to reform the Drama Club in order to form a lasting memory and overcome her insecurities is compelling from the start. As the lone artifact in an ever-evolving environment, Nagisa is worried her new third-year peers will be unwilling to bond with her. A simple gesture not unlike Tomoya shatters those concerns. His decision to lift her spirits means little to him, but for Nagisa, it’s an answer to prayer. From then on, she resolves to become a strong and confident individual.
However, her chemistry with Tomoya is what makes her story so memorable. Tomoya’s blunt disposition callouses her heart. She learns to accept others’ disapproval and to persevere anyway. She learns to assert herself around others, while maintaining her kindhearted nature inherited from her mother. In turn, Tomoya benefits from Nagisa’s sensitivity and her understanding nature. He learns to forget the pretenses he once held about his present circumstances and move forward with his life. Both characters reveal hidden truths about each other and organically develop as characters because of their qualities as people, and Maeda executes every up and down of their relationship expertly.
8 Likes
