CLANNAD / First Impressions

Summary:

As they arrive at school with Fuuko, Nagisa explains to Tomoya that she told her parents that she’d be with Fuuko tonight. Akio had seemed to remember something about Fuuko and had let Nagisa come, and she takes that as a sign that he hasn’t forgotten about Fuuko completely. In the clubroom, Fuuko immediately gets to ripping open the birthday set that they bought for her, causing Tomoya to think again that she’s like a child. He takes the birthday hat and tells her to endure not having it if she’s an adult, so Fuuko decides that she’ll momentarily be a child and runs after him for it. The two end up falling down together, and after she gets her hat back, he tells her to act like an adult since she’s the same age as him. However, Fuuko insists that Tomoya is the child and points to how an adult would call a girl close to him by her given name, like how Yuusuke does with Kouko. She’s seen that Tomoya and Nagisa still call each other by their family names and wants them instead to use “Tomoya-kun” and “Nagisa-chan,” but the two have a hard time doing so without getting embarrassed. Tomoya finds that he’s more comfortable with just saying “Nagisa,” similarly to how he addresses Kyou and Tomoyo.

When Tomoya questions why Fuuko is being so bossy about this, she explains that she loves them and wants them to be happy like her sister and Yuusuke. She then kisses both of them on the cheek and is overjoyed when Nagisa puts the birthday hat on her head. Since Fuuko suggests they have a celebration beforehand for the wedding, the three light the candles and say some words of congratulations for the married couple, even though they’re not there. It gets colder as the night drags on, so Nagisa suggests they get closer together as if they were playing oshikura manju, and doing so makes Tomoya and Nagisa feel like they’re a real family. Fuuko soon drifts to sleep on Nagisa’s shoulder, and Tomoya and Nagisa eventually fall asleep too. The latter two wake up in the morning next to each other, but Fuuko is gone and they don’t remember why they’re at school. Tomoya thinks that it’s because they fell asleep while thinking of ways to bring back the drama club, but Nagisa notices that the birthday stuff on the table doesn’t indicate that. When they return home to the Furukawa family bakery, Akio is initially angry, but he vaguely recalls Nagisa saying that she wouldn’t be home that night. Both he and Sanae can’t remember what the important thing was that Nagisa had said that she needed to do.

Tomoya also retains the feeling that he’s forgotten about something important, and to add to the mystery, Nagisa shows him one of the starfish carvings that were in the clubroom and in her own room. When Kyou later invites him to go shopping with her and Ryou on Sunday, Tomoya turns her down because he feels that he’s got something important to do on that day. Nagisa admits that she has the same feeling, and the two don’t get any clues until they see the old teacher Koumura making a wedding sign. Koumura finds it strange when they ask him if someone’s going to get married and encourages them to remember, and it’s after a moment of staring at the sign that the two recall that it’s Kouko’s wedding. With these memories back, the two wonder why they wanted to celebrate this, so Koumura reminds them of Kouko’s little sister. The moment Tomoya and Nagisa remember Fuuko, she reappears beside them, and they realize that she’s been with them all along. Tomoya thinks that he’s the worst for forgetting about her, but Fuuko feels that it was natural. Hugging Fuuko, Nagisa suggests that they stay close together until the wedding.

On the day of the wedding, the three find that plenty of adults have come for the wedding, but no students have. Fuuko, however, is content with just having Tomoya and Nagisa there. The ceremony takes place in one of the classrooms, and afterwards, the three rush towards the school gate so that they can see the couple off by yelling louder than anyone else. They never get there though because they find that the schoolyard is now full of students. Kyou and Ryou are among those present, and Ryou reveals that she remembered about the wedding after seeing her starfish carving that morning. Sunohara, Misae, Yukine, Tomoyo, Mitsui, Kotomi, and both of Nagisa parents all also remembered to come, causing Tomoya to tell Fuuko that her feelings remained in everyone. As they watch the new couple emerge from the school building, Fuuko asks Tomoya if he remembers the dream of him that she told him about. In the dream, he had pulled her hand and asked what she was doing since today was the starfish festival. Fuuko feels that every day since she met him and Nagisa has been like a festival, and she thanks them for it.

After saying this, Fuuko disappears again, and both Nagisa and Tomoya are in tears when Kouko comes over to talk to them. Tomoya ends up telling her that there was someone here who had been looking forward to such a scene and had worked hard for such a day. This person had collected a lot of blessings for Kouko all by herself, and Tomoya confesses that he and Nagisa loved the person. When Kouko realizes that Tomoya and Nagisa had always been with that girl, he explains that it was because they had fun together with her. He finally asks Kouko to become happy for this person, and after a moment, she agrees. Tomoyo and Nagisa then suddenly find starfish carvings in their hands, and they notice that Fuuko has appeared beside her sister. Giving Kouko a starfish carving too, Fuuko congratulates her on the wedding and hopes that she can be happy forever. With that, Fuuko disappears, and a great wind blows. Kouko later tells Tomoya and Nagisa what Fuuko had said, and she thinks that it was a blessing from within Fuuko’s dream. She now believes that if she and Yuusuke keep their happy feelings, then Fuuko will surely be happy too.

In the aftermath, Kyou tells the group about the rumor of the unconscious girl who got into an accident two years ago. Ryou knows that it was Kouko’s cute little sister, but Sunohara doesn’t recognize who they’re talking about. Nevertheless, he has the same feeling as Kyou when she mentions sensing a girl who’s always running around the school. Sunohara still has the carving with him, and although he doesn’t know where he got it from, he and everyone else remembers that it’s supposed to be a starfish. Sleeping nearby, Tomoya thinks to himself that, before he knew it, this girl had become the talk of the school. He sees an image of a girl running innocently, with all her might, around the school, and he knows that everyone is waiting for the day when this girl wakes up. He is one of those people and is sure that the day will come when Fuuko presents him with a starfish carving and asks him to be her friend.

Preview:

Yea, so forget everything I said last week about this not being as touching a story as I had hoped it’d be. This episode got me very teary-eyed, especially when everyone showed up to the wedding, and definitely during the scene where Fuuko gave her sister a starfish. It’s hard to describe, but it was that kind of tears of joy feeling you get overwhelmed with how well everything turned out. Fuuko didn’t quite wake up and show up physically at the end like I thought she would, but she reappeared twice (once when Tomoya and Nagisa re-remembered her and once to her sister), and that was just as good. I also love how the show manages to feel like a final episode and concludes everything on such a hopeful note – it just makes me want to see more. I assume though that Fuuko won’t be making any more appearances unless she wake ups at the end of the series or shows up in Tomoya’s dream or something. It’s also kind of depressing to know that we’re already moving on to the next arc, Kotomi’s, but hopefully that’ll end up being as good as this was.

71 Comments

  14. well, they basically combined two things from the two ends. In the game if Fuuko doesn’t wake up the sister doesn’t get married. If she wakes up then the sister get married.
    So we got a bittersweet end instead of a Sad end.

    golthin
    Reply

  19. I agree. very touching episode. I was rather anoyed when they woke up and (Self censor) But the scene where fuko gave koko a starfish,complete with the song playing (Was that the one Tomoyo was singing in the game? I cant be certain my game got ruined when I came back from korea and the disk got smashed by baggage handlers ;_;…

    Anywho, Looks like kotomis arc starts up next.

    And, I’m sure everyone has said this…but am I the only one who thinks that the little girl in the opening is tomo, tomoyos half sister? (Just recently started on tomoyo after)

    Dan-Dan
    Reply

  21. @Xellos
    Pretty sure it’s Kotomi’s arc next. It would make a lot more sense to have Kyou and Ryou stories closer to the end.

    @Dan-Dan
    The song at the end is called Ana, but I have no idea who sings it.

    As for the girl in the OP:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Ignite
    Reply

  23. I don´t understand Japanese at all, but with this episode i didn´t needed it, i laughed when i had to laugh, i cried (a lot) when i had to cry. The images displaying across the screen told me more than the words being said by the seiyuus.

    See you later Fuko-chan^^

    Shigure
    Reply

  24. Things like this is what makes CLANNAD one of the masterpieces ever created. Be prepared to shred even more tears though. This is just the beginning.

    Given how Kyou&Ryou story and Tomoyo story is unrelated to Nagisa, it makes sense that they will be featured closer to the end. Also, I can’t see Kyoto spending much episodes with them either. Yeah, Kyou and Tomoyo are probably the most popular characters, but they’re also the ones where their storylines pale compared to others.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    solgae
    Reply

  25. Ding Dong the witch is gone!

    Now, maybe we can focus a bit more on Tomoya his elicit relationship with Botan! Oh, and of course, the other girls too if you’re into that kind of thing.

    Remy
    Reply

  27. This episode was amazing, it was really something very different that Makoto’s arc. Now there’s just i think i wonder is that will Tomoya and Nagisa start calling each other with their given name after what has happen eventhough they forgot about Fuuko

    setsuke
    Reply

  28. ACK!
    Well, Yeah I guess it would make sense for Show Spoiler ▼

    Shuffle1 in all honesty took me by surprise because It was almost given in the beginning who Rin would end up with.
    @rythel Show Spoiler ▼

    Speculation moment though, do ya think they would adapt, say, planetarian into a movie only? Or even eventually see little busters or tomoyo after adapted in any way shape or form to a series Show Spoiler ▼

    Yes, I rant and speculate too much. The forum I run is littered with thoughts and rants like these.

    Dan-Dan
    Reply

  32. I don’t know if i was expecting too much or what.

    I think Kanon should stick with comedy because drama kinda doesn’t fit into it or they don’t make it appealing enough?

    The thing is that i get this awkward feeling when they make it serious. I did get tear eyed but the drama were too cliche of kind, too absurd or unrealistic.

    banzemanga
    Reply

  33. very touching! Was really happy for Fuuko that not only did her wish come true (students attending her sister’s wedding), but she was able to personally give her sister her blessing… that was… sniff.. feeling like crying again…

    DAMMIT, this is why I hate this kinda show… they get me all riled up… dammit, tearing up again… where’s the fking tissue when I need it? Man, I’m really weak when it comes to this kinda stories… dang!!!

    I need some comedy… actually, no, I need LOTS of comedy to get my mood back up again. But really, Nonaka Ai is amazing… really unique voice, very memorable…sniff sniff….

    So now that she’s gone, does it mean they might remove her from the OP sequence (of course, unless she wakes up… which in my opinion is a bad direction, after all the greatness that they’ve built up)?

    Jayars
    Reply

  36. “Yea, so forget everything I said last week about this not being as touching a story as I had hoped it’d be. This episode got me very teary-eyed, especially when everyone showed up to the wedding, and definitely during the scene where Fuuko gave her sister a starfish. It’s hard to describe, but it was that kind of tears of joy feeling you get overwhelmed with how well everything turned out.”

    Yeah, that pretty much sums up how I felt too. i.e I didn’t feel that it was going to be touching at all leading up to this episode, but then Fuuko handing Kouko the starfish with the music playing in the background did the trick. ;_;

    よくできました、風子ちゃん！

    divine
    Reply

  40. sayonara fuuko-chan…
    A friend of mine also pointed out to me that there’s now a single light at the title scene of the episode (the one with a tree and grass in it)
    Next up is seeing everyone bullying kotomi xD

    kaisis
    Reply

  41. Well this is no masterpiece by any standards, but at least it was more interesting to watch then your average Visual Novel adaptation in that it isn’t outright ridiculous. The fact that they take a stab at at least trying to tell a solid story is something I wish would happen more often, but it fails to escape the own tropes itself has created (KEY that is). Clannad is an above average series for it’s genre, but still not what I’d call a masterpiece of anime or the Greatest Story Ever Told (which itself also happened to be a movie that rose above the pile with a strong effort and a hefty budget, but never achieved anything especially noteworthy).

    Kaioshin Sama
    Reply

  48. Excellent. I love it.

    Oh, and anyone notice that Tomoya’s seiyuu also voices Graham Acre over on Gundam 00 as well?

    Of course, now I’m wondering about how cool it could be to have a 00 reference in Clannad – or whether Tomoyo could pull off a 1000+hit combo with Exia!

    Sad, I know.

    Nerroth
    Reply

  50. Hehe Ol.

    I got raked over at Xebek’s by some random guy because I didn’t like the really badly done english song.

    Anyway, I am enjoying Clannad a great deal overall. Also, despite some people complaining about the lineup this season, I am rather liking a number of the shows on the air at the moment.

    Derek
    Reply

  51. Oh, also, I mentioned this on Xebek, but I thought it was interesting how Tomoya and Nagisa also apparently forgot about trying to call each other by their first names, because he reverted to Furukawa immediately upon waking up.

    Derek
    Reply

  53. Engrish lyrics is just gonna happen in anime. Check out Black Lagoon’s opening for instance. Suitable and nice tune but weird ass lyrics.

    And to go further on the Gundam fan boys and the Clannad fan boys daily arguments:

    Gundam fan boy: I can’t be seen watching your sissy, moe, cuteness soap opera! Some of you must jack off to this stuff. It’s a visual porn adapdation!! Gundam’s story potential is way deeper. The writers have so much more freedom because they aren’t confined to a novel already made!!!!
    (Irony: Gundam is for horny male teenagers with the added bishi for fan girls + shallow romances + mecha action + unrealistic portrayal of politics.)

    Clannad fan boy: You’re one of those ADD generation people! You simply cannot understand the subtlety, the beauty, the magnificent and surreal storyline. The breathtaking moments are simply too much for your mind to even begin to comprehend. It’s so ironic you claim that Gundam has the potential to have a deep storyline when simply it’s just a shallow story!!!

    It’s amazing what both sides can come up with.

    Ol
    Reply

  54. @Ol: Sounds about right, but your missing the “Kyoani showed those detractors and Anti-Kyoanists” “Kyoani once again showcased there attention to detail” “I don’t normally cry with anime but….” one liners. There’s so many of them that people tag onto there rationale when they proclaim “another Kyoani masterpiece” that you see over and over again, that it’s hard to take Kyoani/KEY fans at face value anymore. It seems more like going through the motions. Some of them can also be overly defensive to the point of self contradiction. I mean there tendency to fly off the handle when somebody doesn’t give an episode like this one the highest possible praise and to call them an anti-kyoanist kind of reminds me of good old George Bushes “You’re either with us or with the terrorists” rationale. When the hell did this ridiculousness start anyway, and why is it so unnecessarily divise.

    As for the Gundam Fan Boy, that is bang on. I happen to be a Gundam fan, but I’ve never felt the series has ever had an particular good romance or realistic portrayals of politics. That’s more in the court of Legend of The Galactic Heroes. Though I disagree completely that it’s nothing more fodder for horny male teenagers and for Yaoi obsessed fan girls. But yeah I know what you mean for the dialogue coming out of their mouth. I’m a fan of all kinds of things so I winced a little when I saw somebody I thought was just a fellow Gundam Fan proclaim that Clannad was just loli porn and therefore automatically garbage. I kind of wanted to put my hand on the guys shoulder, shake my head and give him the “shut up before you make us all look bad” eye.

    Frankly all fanboys/fangirls can take a hike and I’d be so happy. There all just a bunch of agitators who get in the way of a normal and reasonable discussion.

    Kaioshin Sama
    Reply

  56. Good points on the other things those fanboys say. No knock on the show Clannad or Kyoani productions as I think they’re in the top tier of anime but blind faith is hilarious.

    I didn’t say Gundam was nothing more than that. I did mean that’s the audience the show targets at. That’s their bulk. They wouldn’t have these exaggerated breast sizes for nothing if they didn’t care for their intended target audience. And that’s where other type of fans of this show who come to watch it suffers for it.

    You close off some of your rationale while watching a show to enjoy it but there’s a point of ridiculousness and Gundam 00 is trying its best to cross it. Even worse are their lazily drawn animation frames.

    Ol
    Reply

  58. @Ol: Hmmm, yeah I see your point on the other fans thing. I consider myself part of that other fans group. I don’t really know what you mean by lazily drawn animation frames though because outside of episode 8 things have been pretty solid for 00. Although if you mean Gundam Seed Destiny then it was rock bottom.

    By the way who else do you consider to be in the top tier of anime?

    Kaioshin Sama
    Reply

  59. I agree about it being very heartwarming and emotional. I also wasn’t too attached to Fuuko before, but this made me love her. I think it really kind of brought everything together and shows her place in the story of Nagisa and Tomoya. The only slight thing I’d complain about is the horrible engrish insert song. It took away from the otherwise wonderful scene. Though I loved how she reappeared when they remembered her. Great episode.

    anne
    Reply

  62. Just in case it wasn’t clear in the last post, I like and follow both 00 and Clannad, and wouldn’t class myself in one camp or another. There’s no reason not to like both shows, surely.

    But since this argument sprung up after my other post, it seems some of you didn’t quite catch that.

    Unless, of course, you didn’t note that post at all, and were at each other for some reason.

    Sigh.

    Nerroth
    Reply

  64. I thought this arc was better that Makoto’s arc, but that might be because I disliked Makoto a bit and I have a soft spot for characters voiced by Aipon. The final episode/scenes of both arcs probably made me cry the same amount, but I preferred Clannad’s tears of joy more than Kanon’s tears of sadness. I’m actually surprised that Clannad made me cry at all because I was just thinking that the last few episodes didn’t have quite the same level of well-executed sentimentality that Kanon seemed to have. Yeah, this episode proved me wrong. That was a well handled arc and I can’t wait to see more.

    Neo Horizon
    Reply

  65. >>DOZO = DOZO
    Too bad this meme got a late start.

    Great episode. I got teary-eyed, too, despite my cynic-ness. I still wish it should have end an episode earlier, though, so that the other girls get more episodes. (Shiori in Kanon got shafted to 3 episodes. That was sad.) My confidence in CLANNAD has risen once again.

    pakxenon
    Reply

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