Discussion thread for the Youhei Sunohara’s character in CLANNAD. Feel free to discuss anything from the Mei and Common routes, but if you need to reference content other content, tag with [spoiler]. If you would like to discuss Mei’s route & character, visit the Mei Topic.
Man how has no one posted on here yet? and a toilet seat cover. I mean really, Sunohara is such a bro. and a toilet seat cover.
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Geez this guy can really scream.
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I think you’re kinda understating the importance Sunohara has to Tomoya. Sure, Tomoya maybe doesnt want show it, but Tomoya kinda has a “delinquent complex” or something. He wants to makes himself believe that he doesnt need anyone, that he’s a loner and a jerk.
But who would Tomoya have if it werent for Sunohara? He is at his room literally every single day. Seriously, how would Tomoya even have made it to where we find him at the beginning of the VN if not for Sunohara?
And why does Sunohara let Tomoya mooch off of him? Why does Sunohara insist on sticking around with Tomoya, even when, in the character routes, he will diverge and go spend time with other people?
Don’t you remember what Sunohara’s response about why he just let Tomoya “date” Mei? I’ll come back and edit this later with the new, official TL, but it’s something along the lines of “I LET IT HAPPEN BECAUSE IT WAS YOU!” Sunohara trusts Tomoya more than anyone else. And dont forget that one moment and the end of the route, the one with the CG in the OP of this topic.
Im sure those two moments were probably what you were thinking of, but that’s pretty strong evidence to me. And my memory of the VN is getting mixed with the anime, but Im pretty sure there are some moments in After Story that show how much Sunohara cares, even after they have gone theyre separate ways in life.
No one can deny that Sunohara is an idiot. And yeah, the entire cast loves to exploit him. But to me, discounting all that time Sunohara spends being a clown and a punching bag with Tomoya is like discounting all the time Masato spends spouting off about kinniku. It may not seem like it, and Tomoya may not want to accept it, but it really is what keeps Tomoya going in a way.
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That’s the thing, both Sunohara and Tomoya dance around the fact that they keep each other going. I guess it’s their pride or something, but they themselves don’t realize how important they are to each other. Sometimes, all it takes to get you going is an idiot you can joke around with,
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Dat Sunohara ending though. HIIIIIIII!!!
Much funnier than I expected.
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“If you make that face one more time, I’ll kiss you.
Oh, there it is again smooch”
Yeah that won everything for me
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The one and a half true bro moments of Sunohara I was referring to were the following:
Half a bro moment in Nagisa’s route, when he found out who was trying to stop Nagisa from reviving the drama club. That’s where we see Sunohara do what he does best: Getting stuff done. This time, he didn’t dick around and mess it up. Only half a point, since he did it partially for his own amusement and was going to bully the perpetrator.
The full bro moment was during Kyou’s route, when Kyou asked Sunohara out just to act like she had no interest in Tomoya, thus getting out of her sister’s way. However, Sunohara had already gained an understanding of the entire situation. So then, Sunohara, THAT Sunohara, who would pounce at every female he thought he had even a tiny chance with actually saw through Kyou’s act and rejected her. As he himself pointed out later, he could’ve just kept his mouth shut and walk off with a cute girlfriend, but he didn’t. THAT is the act of a true bro.
I’m not denying that Sunohara is important to Tomoya. They obviously need each-other. But that’s the thing: Sunohara is not sacrificing himself for Tomoya. He needs Tomoya just as much as Tomoya needs him. Who would Sunohara have if it weren’t for Tomoya? They are friends. They surely are bros. But Sunohara is not a “bro” character.
Sure, Sunohara lets Tomoya hang out at his place. But if he didn’t, who would he hang out with? In school, Sunohara calls Tomoya to tag along all the time. And while we’re talking about Sunohara’s room, let’s take a look at the early common route. If Tomoya decides to record over Sunohara’s mixtape, completely destroying it, Sunohara tells him not to come to his room again, but Tomoya does it anyway. As long as they’re still friends, Tomoya can do whatever the heck he wants with Sunohara.
The Sunohara route is actually where Sunohara is the least likeable. I do find his reason for not objecting to a relationship between Tomoya and Mei touching, as I stated in the route topic, but his overall behavior during that route is still quite disappointing. Without getting too much into detail just yet, let’s not forget that Sunohara is extremely naive and I personally think that he was trying to stay out of Mei’s business similarly to how Tomoya’s dad was staying out of Tomoya’s business.
Sunohara can’t compare to Masato. Masato already has a ton of bro moments throughout the common route and certain girl routes. Masato (LB Refrain spoilers) is fully aware of the fact that he’s an idiot. He went through a life-changing experience but he insisted on acting exactly like he used to so that his bro could be at peace.
Once again, in my opinion, Sunohara is a friend. A good friend in an important position. But he is not a bro.
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My opinion of Sunohara has changed as I work through Tomoyo’s route. He pissed me off a lot on the Baseball route because he spends so much time bragging but getting in everyone’s way. In Tomoyo’s route though I am able to respect him more (well, maybe respect isn’t the right word…) because you can really see the kind of emotional support he is for Tomoya and how much he cares. I think he is at least half aware of himself as the punching-bag/clown and embraces to an extent. You can see this when his attitude does a 180 after from the banter to brooding when the find out that Tomoyo is running for Student Council president, and it is expanded on with how he interacts with both Tomoyo and Tomoya when the two start dating.
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I’m confused what you consider a bro. Is a good friend not a bro? o.o
I mean…
That sounds like a thing bros would do.
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That would imply that “bro” is synonimous to “good friend” and thus redundant. That is not the case.
I don’t really have a solid definition of bro in mind. It’s kinda vague.
But I consider “bro” to be the next level. bro > good friend > friend > acquaintance.
A bro is more dedicated. A good friend can still be your rival, but a bro can’t (unless he only acts as a rival for your sake). Though both of them will smack you if you stray from the right path for your own good. Both would risk their lives for you. But a bro would also adjust his lifestyle for you.
Sunohara never goes out of his way for Tomoya’s sake. He’s only at the level of tagging along and enduring Tomoya’s shenanigans.
Sunohara not kicking Tomoya out is not “being a bro”. It’s “not having a backbone”. You can still kick him out and be friends, but Sunohara is unable to assert himself. Only by actually ending their friendship would Sunohara be able to get Tomoya to leave, but that not something a friend would do over a mixtape.
Letting Tomoya in is not a selfless action. Sunohara needs company and he gains something from it. It’s different from Masato, who would leave the room and look for a different place to sleep, just so that Riki could take care of his girl.
…I feel like I’ve had this discussion before
In this sense, would I consider Sunohara a bro? Is he even a true friend? I think his relationship with Tomoya is a lot more complicated and that it can’t be fit into just one title. Both of them dance around the fact that they are friends, with Tomoya denying it at any chance, and Sunohara only using it when convenient. But all of us know that they have this symbiotic relationship with each other, and when push comes to shove, they will support each other.
In that sense, I feel like the relationship between Sunohara and Tomoya are less of friends but more of siblings. So he isn’t a “bro” but a brother; one that tomoya never had.
See, I’d call them bros, but I wouldn’t call them friends. They are only together for the bro moments really. They keep each other going without trying to interfere with each other’s judgement’s.
So I played through the Ryou route and am working on the Kyou route now, and I am really impressed with Sunohara in this route.
I love that he sees right through Kyou when she confesses to him, and that he seems to have a good grip on Okazaki’s compatibility. But the best wasn’t just that he knew she was forcing himself, but he had no intention of taking advantage of the situation regardless of the golden opportunity. And then when he finds that Okazaki was spying he talks straight with him that he just doesn’t think Ryou is a good fit. In this scene he shows himself to be perceptive and have more respect for himself and others than he can normally be given credit for.
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This is Youhei’s side of my discussion on the Sunohara siblings route. For my thoughts on Mei as a character, check this post instead.
Youhei is cocky, self-centered and stupid, so it’s no surprise that TomoyaNii likes to make him the butt of his sarcasm and practical jokes. By the time I reach his route, however, it’s plenty clear that Nii has every right to call him an idiot. He shows little consideration for the people he talks to, and seems to only think about his own welfare. Nii shows clear disgust at his behavior even though they are like-minded individuals.
So what does the Sunohara route do to amend this? Well, as I stated in my Mei post, absolutely nothing. Youhei still acts like a reckless, perverted, egotistical idiot at the end of everything, but everyone comes out with a deep respect for one another. It feels like, in the midst of all this, he feels more like a respectable friend to Nii (and by extension, myself as the reader). Although it’s difficult to see at first, he does care a lot for his sister and sees Nii as a trustworthy person, far more than he can claim himself to be. Most of his actions were for the sake of returning to the home he knew, until Nii came and changed his life. Through this revelation, their bond as more than acquaintances, less than friends suddenly becomes more relatable and heartwarming.
With this route done, I’ll do some Fuko Master cleanup before I do Koumura. I look forward to both of them~! ^^
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I like him. I don’t get the hate tbh.
Hate? Most of this thread is talking good about him. Sunohara is pretty widely considered a good character. Yohei and Tomoya’s relationship how they keep each other going and support one another is one of the better parts of CLANNAD.
If you were referring to how some people dislike him in the Sunohara route you should specify because that’s a very small piece of his character that people dislike. Plus, if you point out more specific details it opens up better possibilities for discussion.
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I think that to Tomoya, Sunohara is that one friend that you secretly are really tight with, but are low-key about it. Like you know he’s an idiot and pretty weird, but you care about him a lot, and secretly grow to appreciate even the stupid things about him. It’s kinda hard to describe but that’s a basic jist. I know because I have a friend who is almost exactly like Sunohara. He’s a complete dumbass, and oftentimes get annoying, and oftentimes I’m embarrassed to be in public with him for various reasons I won’t get into lol. But it’s ironic because those annoying, idiotic traits are what I like about him, and what has kept us friends for years now.
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I’m pretty sure necroposting isn’t an issue on this site 
And so I’d just like to come here and say that Sunohara is probably my favorite character in Clannad – well, maybe that’s a bit much, but he’s in my top 5 at least.
I think Sunohara was the first best friend Key character that actually had a soul and a personality; the only one before Clannad that had a decent friend character was ONE and that’s not even really a Key game.
Not only is Sunohara hilarious, and a lovable idiot, but there are many times in the story where you can tell that he actually cares a lot about Tomoya, and about Nagisa and Fuko and Yukine and the various other girls in routes of which he had a big role in. And more than that, I actually believe his idiocy is an act, sort of like Akio’s. I think Sunohara just wants to lighten up the stuffy atmosphere in the prestigious high school where everyone is cold to one another, only focusing on studying to get into college. The evidence for why I think he really is just acting like an idiot is because, there are times in the story where Tomoya is depressed and is about to give up, and Sunohara snaps Tomoya out of it by offering him pretty wise advice. Most notably when Tomoya runs away from the Furukawas the morning before they went on a picnic, because Tomoya thought he was getting in the way of their family bonding. Sunohara told it to Tomoya straight: Nagisa wouldn’t be happier if Tomoya gave her space. Nagisa is happy because Tomoya loves her.
This is why I think the people in this thread saying that Sunohara isn’t a true bro are wrong. Even when you look at Sunohara’s route; yes, he didn’t handle the situation in the best way and (seemingly) chose Sanae over Mei. But, it turns out that Sunohara only “didn’t care” about what his sister did because he trusted Tomoya to take care of her. If it were some other man, he would have not acted that way, and he would have charged in and beat the man who was seducing his sister, in a similar fashion to how he beat up the soccer club at the end of the route.
Personally, I don’t think I’d be the same way if I were in his shoes – you know, with being okay with my best friend dating my little sister, but that only goes to show that I’d be less trusting in my best friend than Sunohara is. Sunohara trusts Tomoya, his only real friend, that much.
Sunohara is a bro if I’ve ever seen one.
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