CLANNAD ~After Story~

[narutosharingan]

It certainly has taken Tomoya a long time to try and get over Nagisa. I'm surprised they fastforwarded 5 years. Based on the preview, Tomoya still has his many issues of depression and anger. But it'll be interesting to see whether Ushio will have any effect on him for the positive, or he'll just end up the same. Maybe he'll reflect on what his father was like, and that will push him to become a better father.

I also thought the ending was much better. The skipping in the beginning of the ED was actually Ushio, and the lead into it was much better.

[TheBladeChild]

This was a touching episode i gotta admit, anyway looks like Ushio will bring Tomoya out of the darkness. Also I love how Sanae has aged a day since Nagisa died.

[Kraco]

The five years skip might have been needed simply because now that Ushio already is old enough to have thinking capabilities, it will be immensely easier to build a plot that may allow Tomoya to shift his attention from Nagisa to Ushio (from past to future) and heal. If Ushio was very young, she would have no lines and far more limited potential for interaction.

[narutosharingan]

That is certainly true. Plus, they would have to dwell on Tomoya's depression as well. They kept that short in the beginning.

[Buffalobiian]

Haha, I knew the family genes would run like this. Ushi looks exactly the same as Sanae and Nagisa (More Nagisa though, with the occasional pouting look)

It's always sad to see parents and kids treat each other like strangers, but this was by far the best way for things to go. Beeing raised by Sanae and Akki (I loved that part ), Ushio gets a proper upbringing, even if it wasn't from her actual parent, while Tomoya takes his time to get over things. When he's ready, Ushio would be there to start fresh with him.

On the other hand, if she had stayed with him since birth, who knows how neglected she'd be. We can only guess from the way Tomoya lives, and his smoking. Even if Tomoya's ready, say 5 years down the track, he'd have to repair the damage to their relationship he's caused previously.

You can say Tomoya's fallen into depression, but he's still got enough in him to clean the house and act more cheerfully when people come around. That in itself shows he hasn't completely hit rock bottom, like his Dad had. It's just when he's by himself, stray thoughts get to him, which he wards off by working, which is why Ushio occupying his time is a healthy way for things to go. (For Tomoya, at least).

It's also great knowing she refers them as Sanae-san and Akki, leaving it completely open for Tomoya to be called "Daddy" the first time (betting it'll be the climax of the series). Not only is there no identity crisis for Ushio down the track, but it also prevents Tomoya to completely palm her off and assume no responsibility over her.

Overall, a very entertaining episode, and refreshingly more to my liking than I expected last week.

[animus]

Ushio is too cute to not like her. The cute moments with Tomoya's awkward lack of father talent moments meshed well like bragging about going to the bathroom. And Tomoya bragging that he could do it too.

[Buffalobiian]

About that, it looks like she misses next episode, cops an outburst and runs away.

(Yeah, the "I can do it too" put a smile on my face )

[narutosharingan]

Shio is ridiculously cute. At first I though it was some other kid running around, and then I realized they skipped 5 years. But their interactions were great, even though they don't spend much time together.

[oyabun]

Episode 18 by [AQS][Sprocket]

Freaking awesome episode.

[animus]

Ushio is pretty awesome. And yeah, that was a really sweet and very warm episode.

I'll admit, I cried a bit.

[MFauli]

really heart-warming episode.

but now that tomoya and ushio already got together, i wonder how this series ends. another dramatic event, maybe?

[Buffalobiian]

Wow. I didn't realise this many people watch AQS.

[animus]

They're decent enough and come out fast.

[Marik]

[SS-Eclipse] Clannad After Story - 18 (h264) [720D652B].mkv
[SS-Eclipse] Clannad After Story - 18 (XviD) [0B054BC2].avi

[Nadouku]

Tomoya finally learned from a fatal mistake that he shouldn't have ever done: not knowing what to protect and who to care for. That was so touching the way how he managed to learn from it and how it brought Ushio closer to him. Very warm-hearted episode.

[Buffalobiian]

-That was some episode, agreed. I snapped when Tomoya did remembering Nagisa. That perfectly placed soundtrack sure does the job. They actually wrapped everything up this episode, save the Tomoya-father bit, so I'm expecting another timeskip sometime down the track.

-That robot very much resembled the one in the opening, especially the head. Now that it's lost though, I guess it wasn't symbolizing anything.

-What I was surprised to hear though, was that Ushio knew all this time Tomoya was her dad.Seeing as he's only seen her a few times these past few years, it totally caught me off guard.

[David75]

I was semi-touched by this ep. But I was a tad annoyed to by a detail that holds a lot.

Why does Sanae-san tell Ushio to go to the Toilets to cry!
That's purely insane! I won't talk too much about it and the psychology behind that, but to me it shows that Sanae has a severe problem too and I even wonder if she's somehow responsible for Nagisa's condition... (I'm maybe going a bit far here...)

Regarding Tomoya, we now understand that unconsiously he choosed Nagisa because he felt she was so weak she could die on him. I wonder how unconscious it was, still he lived that to the extent he ends up in almost the same situation his father was around his age.

[animus]

Regarding Tomoya, we now understand that unconsiously he choosed Nagisa because he felt she was so weak she could die on him. I wonder how unconscious it was, still he lived that to the extent he ends up in almost the same situation his father was around his age.

Wait, what? This episode didn't indicate anything like that. And he didn't choose her because she was gonna die on him... Unless you mean somehow he wanted his situation to be exactly like his father's, which would just be far-fetched.

[David75]

Think about it:
I'm not saying he did it on purpose, just that something inside him had him towards Nagisa. You know the "like father, like son" idea. Unconciously by chosing Nagisa, the outcome could be that she eventually dies.
And then, they even go as far as having a child together.
That's also the truth behind his lamentations on Nagisa's death bed, just he doesn't know some force in him pushed him that way.

For a reason, lots of things in that ep rubbed me the wrong way.

And the "Cry in the toilets" thing was a climax to me, because it's some kind of psycological torture, again to me. I know the stereotypical japanese should'nt show much emotions, but that's going a little far. Oh and it's not located only in Japan...
The thing is that it's the seemingly incarnation of good that did this to Ushio.
Toilets other than their obvious use carry a deep meaning, even more for young children.

So telling them to go there to hide their sorrow from everyone isn't something healthy

Oh, and I knew I'd get a negrep from this anyway, thanks.

[Ryllharu]

Why does Sanae-san tell Ushio to go to the Toilets to cry!
That's purely insane! I won't talk too much about it and the psychology behind that, but to me it shows that Sanae has a severe problem too and I even wonder if she's somehow responsible for Nagisa's condition... (I'm maybe going a bit far here...)

Regarding Tomoya, we now understand that unconsiously he choosed Nagisa because he felt she was so weak she could die on him. I wonder how unconscious it was, still he lived that to the extent he ends up in almost the same situation his father was around his age.

Yes, Sanae has Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome, and loved that her daughter was sick all the time and is now dead.

Sanae told Ushio to go to toilets to cry probably because she didn't want Ushio to look like a crybaby like Nagisa did. Especially in front of her father. That's why the other stipulation was that Ushio could only cry in her own father's arms, because after that point, he would have accepted her. The point of this roundabout method, I don't know, but Sanae probably knows best. Perhaps Tomoya would have recognized his daughter's plight sooner if he always saw her crying, or perhaps he would have only seen more of Nagisa in her and labeled her more of a burden. The same may be for Sanae. Having another crybaby would remind her of her own deceased daughter. Crying only in the bathroom also gives Ushio the outer appearance of being happy, instead how lonely she has felt until now.

Regarding Tomoya, you've got the cause and effect backward. After Nagisa died, Tomoya kept thinking that everything would have been better off if he had never met Nagisa. He wouldn't feel hurt, beaten down and depressed. He wouldn't have a constant reminder of his dead wife in Ushio (he had asked Sanae whether she was alone or not when she dropped by, referring to her usually bringing Ushio along). Tomoya remembered that Nagisa, though she was weak, had little tricks to give her just enough confidence to continue on. He chose her because he, being the weaker of the two ultimately, was relying so much on her. When everything clicked, he finally figured it out and realized that he was even weaker than his own "deadbeat" father. In her own crybaby way, Nagisa supported Tomoya and his rehabilitation. When he lost her, he went back to the way he was before he met Nagisa. He cries at the end because having finally realizing what he's become, all the memories of how Nagisa supported him flood back, and he relates those to his daughter on the ride back.

In short, when she died, Tomoya forgot why he loved Nagisa. He forgot how she was strong, and could only remember where she was weak. He chose Nagisa for her strengths, but mourned her for her weaknesses.

EDIT: I think this post covers your newest one as well David.