[Ascaloth] CLANNAD ~After Story~, Episode 21 at Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

[Ascaloth] CLANNAD ~After Story~, Episode 21

(4 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)

Loading ...

Popularity: 7% [?] Published by Ascaloth March 7th, 2009 in Ascaloth, Anime

The newfound happiness is but a fleeting one; it almost seems that for our ill-fated hero Okazaki Tomoya, there’s no escaping the cursed life that has been foisted on him, as he finds out the hard way that lightning can, and does, strike twice. The loss of his greatest love five years ago had already taken a horrific toll on him, but faced with a repeat blow with the impending fate of his beloved child with no recourse to prevent it, how can any man summon the will to continue living? What kind of man could possibly be strong enough to weather all that Tomoya has gone through, and is about to face yet again? There are no more tears, and only exhaustion remains. When all hope fails and all happiness fades, the End of the World is nigh.

CLANNAD ~After Story~, Episode 21.

It is a horrible feeling for a man to realize, in a time of crisis, that one is too powerless to do anything to protect the people he treasures and loves above all else from the cruel clutches of inexorable Fate. For Tomoya, first it was his lover, and now it seems his daughter is going the same way….would any other man in the same situation be able to cope any better?

Several similar hints have appeared before in the series, but this is the first time that Tomoya states out loud the possible connection between the state of the town and Nagisa’s life, and by extension Ushio’s. Having seen the previous hints of it, and especially having heard the same thing being echoed by several game vets over the past few weeks, one has to wonder just how salient this possible connection could be to the overall storyline. Could this be the link to the Illusory World?

And the moment of truth. By this point, the After Story has well and truly exhausted me emotionally, so forgive me if I’m not quite writing at my usual standard for this episode. The moment of realization on both their parts that Ushio was not going to get better is an epic Key tragedy in its own right, but it might be that the last few episodes were just too good at wringing out the tears, that I felt like I didn’t have any left for this moment. It’s almost not so much grief I feel anymore as it is….utter hopelessness. And in a way, that’s even more terrible a feeling.

In Kanon, the meme "sad girls in snow" was inspired from the perpetually snowy city in which the story is set, and it is the snowfall that made the Kanonverse such a distinctive setting even within the VN genre. The snow was witness to every emotion running the gamut from happiness to grief in Kanon, yet fast forward to the 2009 KyoAni adaptation of Kanon’s successor CLANNAD ~After Story~, and here it’s like the harbinger of impending tragedy. It’s almost as if Fate’s chilly claws are reaching out to poor Ushio through the snowflakes…. T_T

Heaven weeps eternal tears/For those who could not cry.

It was the snow that had plagued the poor Nagisa all her life with sickness, set the stage for Tomoya’s first great loss in his life, and again it is the snow setting him up for the next great fall. I’m almost convinced that there’s a malicious spirit dwelling within the snow of the CLANNADverse at this stage.

Ushio…..please, stop…… T_T

Velocity7 of AQS-TWH-Sprocket was right. There was a terrible irony that KyoAni was playing in the scene of Akio cradling the fallen Nagisa in the snow….I just didn’t realise just how terrible it would be. It’s just so….heartbreaking.

……………

….Ushio…..Tomoya….

And the malicious spirit of the snow extends its cruel reach even to the Illusory World, striking down the Girl in almost the same circumstances as Ushio and Tomoya. With but one episode remaining of the series, are we about to get the link between the Illusory World and the real CLANNADverse? This shall be one of the longest weeks of many a CLANNAD viewer’s life, mine included.

And the After Story comes full circle….

….with Tomoya somehow arriving back at the starting point of where it all began, except that this time, he’s aware of what might possibly transpire once again should he make the same choice he did at the beginning of the story. How did this come to be in the first place? Is it the CLANNADverse finally working its Key magic? And leaving that aside, will Tomoya fall once again into his trap of wishing that the sadness will never happen, or will he take Nagisa’s speech about liking the city even in its throes of change to heart? One more week, one more episode, one more dose of CLANNAD ~After Story~.

The ending of the story rests within the palm of a tiny hand. Ascaloth, out.

Popularity: 7% [?]

12 Responses to “[Ascaloth] CLANNAD ~After Story~, Episode 21”

Feed for this Entry Trackback Address

1 Hinano 13 comments Mar 7th, 2009 at 2:01 am

Well now that Tomoya has all his hikari no dama with him, a restart will give him the TRUE END!
2 Fhal 16 comments Mar 7th, 2009 at 8:07 am

Ok. Why would a parent take a sick child in a winter cold day out to a trip?!?!! It was like asking to be sorry. The heck is this guy thinking. Damn.

The scene itself played out particulary touching but utterly stupid. I don’t even have words to describe my rage right now.
3 Konochi 1 comment Mar 7th, 2009 at 11:17 am

@Fhal
If you watch the episode, you would know.
4 Fhal 16 comments Mar 7th, 2009 at 3:44 pm

I did watch and seriously… WHAT THE HELL!?

Any “normal” person wouldn’t even think in take a sick child out, if not to take her to a hospital, on a cold winter day. Am I the only one thinking this? It doesn’t matter how much it pains for him to stay there with her, seeing her suffering. Don’t go and do something as stupid as this!

When he quit his job I imagined that he would take her to make exams, another hospital, another town, something. If the doctors don’t have a clue what was happening, at least wasn’t for him not trying. But what he did? Stayed all day and night beside her waiting for the inevitable.
Don’t come out and say that the doctors didn’t know what was wrong with her without taking the kid to MAKE SOME FREAKIN EXAMS!!! Thinking that it would be a waste of time because one doctor didn’t know what the hell was wrong is NOT something a parent who really loves his child should do. It’s just derrotism to think this way. A real parent should at least TRY, and I didn’t see him trying, not even implied in what he said.
5 CynicalGamer 4 comments Mar 7th, 2009 at 6:12 pm

@Fhal
Tomoya and Ushio both knew that she wasn’t getting any better, if she had just stayed in bed that whole time he wouldn’t have been able to do anything at all for her and she would’ve passed away anyway. They were desperate! They knew the time was coming and the only thing Ushio wanted was to do was go on a trip with her father again, and with time running out they set out… but Ushio couldn’t make it.

They never had a major hospital in that town until the very end of the story, and all they showed was that one examination. Could he have done more? Probably, but do you think Akio and Sanae just had Nagisa live like that for all the years without them trying really hard? I think by this point they had accepted the fact that nothing could be done to treat it; Ushio had the same thing that Nagisa was burdened to live with.
6 MinaMurray 2 comments Mar 7th, 2009 at 11:10 pm

Partly, I think like Fhal about the episode. Usually, parents would try everything to heal the sickness of their child, even searching in the whole country and elsewhere to find a treatment. And Ushio is only examined by one doctor who really doesn’t seem like a specialist. Nevertheles, what could he do when he’s not in a hospital at least? How proper is such an examination? Is sure she that Ushio has the same sickness as Nagisa? I would have hoped that medicine has found new techniques to help Ushio until now. Additionally, Nagisa has never seemed so ill that she would fade away so easila as Ushio, she was only very weak in some times but real danger was only there when she fell into the snow or when she gave birth to Ushio. So, Ushio’s state is worse than Nagisa’s and the hospital treatment seems even more neccessary.

Unless, everyone is sure that Ushio will die. So sure that Tomoya wants to grant her last wish of taking a trip. If not, I agree to Fhal, the trip is incredibly stupid. That would also explain to keep her at home since she is to die there in peace. But Tomoya’s words when quitting work don’t seem like he has lost all of his hope yet. So why isn’t he doing anything?! Ushio can’t get better from waiting and just thinking there’s no treatment is no real explanation.

Nevertheless, I still hate the plot twist of killing Ushio which is jsut cruel to Tomoya and me as the watcher. Even worse since the reset button as the likely ending destroys all the positive power created by solving the problems with mourning and so on.

Maybe I should regard episode 20 as the ending which resembles the good solution of the movie.

Greets, Mina
7 Tremere 28 comments Mar 7th, 2009 at 11:15 pm

I don’t think even Dr Gregory House would have the answer. And whoever the deity of the land is, she’s probably of a much more malicious nature compared to Nagi or Zange.
8 rinco 2 comments Mar 7th, 2009 at 11:24 pm

I think it was a little weird. I mean, what the hell is their problem? why kill ushio? why not give her more chance to live longer? anyway, what i was wondering about was if Tomoya also died. He fell in the snow right? so did he die and restarted his life again?
9 CynicalGamer 4 comments Mar 8th, 2009 at 3:12 am

@MinaMurray
Thinking like that only ruins the impact of the episode IMO. Learn to accept things as they are.
If you think they’re just randomly going to do a reset, you’re wrong. What would be the point of the “Illusionary World” and the light orbs they keep showing us then? They’ve had hints the whole way if you haven’t been paying attention! Ep 22 is going to be the amazing ending, as long as they do the episode right; this comes from someone who completed the visual novel.
10 MinaMurray 2 comments Mar 8th, 2009 at 6:20 am

@CynicalGamer:
I don’t know how it was handled in the game. I hope it will be convincing in the anime. I see that the lights are the rewards for the “good things” that happened (sorry for not knowing an better term) but making Tomoya first suffering from the worst experiences and then taking it back is a twist I cannot like. Especially since it contains revivng the dead. What is the point of killing them then? To make people cry? I hope they will do it right in episode 22 and deliver a great ending since I do not want to get a bitter taste from the anime I really like.
Well, the connections with the Illusionary World” become stronger in latest episodes but until now, I have been quite unable to make out what the world symbolizes from the “real” world. For example, the “real world” plot has highs and lows (of e. g. sadness) with changing characters but the Illusionary world parts does not reflect the feeling fron the particular episodes.
Yes, I’m bad at explaining this…

Well, I can accept that logic is not needed at all points (@hospital thing). I was just thinking about it, but I don’t mind the lack of that that much. I can imagine myself that Tomoya has spoken to one more doctor who has stated the situation as hopeless as well - though I preferred to have it mentioned in a sub clause - but I am depressed by Ushio’s death too and I’m not only blaming Tomoya for not doing enough instead of feeling with the characters.
But yes, sometimes I keep searching for other possibilities instead of accepting the happenings of the story. I don’t think it is bad to think more about it as long as I continue to respect the characters.
11 Fhal 16 comments Mar 8th, 2009 at 8:16 am

Just to make myself clear here. Is not that I don’t like the show and I’m looking for things to flame it. Actually I do really like this show. If was some other that I didn’t like this much I wouldn’t be here stating my thoughts and would just go ‘meh’.

@CynicalGamer
I understand that, but as Mina pointed out, counting from the time Nagisa first symptoms appeared till Ushio’s it took around 20 years. Medicine could had found more about this illness in this time frame. I understand that if it was implied in some sorta way that it didn’t, but it wasn’t.

I too want a decent ending for this show, and do hope that they don’t revive the dead. It would kill completely all that has happened till now and wouldn’t feel right.
12 CynicalGamer 4 comments Mar 8th, 2009 at 2:52 pm

@MinaMurray
I know exactly how you feel, about Ushio’s death. Best way to accept it is to just rely on the thought that the one doctor completely knew what he was talking about. I won’t give away the ending of the story, as the anime could change things around from what I know. Maybe when you get the full story of the Illusionary world you’ll accept what follows, personally with the whole focus on a whole fantasy link of Nagisa’s illness with the state of the city and the orbs it was easy for me to see how the ending came about in the novel.

@Fhal
Well, according to the one doctor you see in that whole deal there still wasn’t anything that could be done even after 20 years. Mystery illness is a mystery, and Tomoya accepted that and didn’t want to force Ushio to go to the hospital just to hear that they couldn’t do anything for her. She would’ve died the same way, hospital or not. You may say “but he’s just one doctor, what does he know?” but for the sake of the story you really have to accept the fact that the one doctor represents pretty much all the medical care around. She’s sick, there’s no cure, and the only thing they can do is simply let her rest. Thinking about it too much kinda lessens the impact of the episode IMO.

Do not use any < and > for your own sake. It will end the comment there and then. Also, there is an automatic IQ filter which weeds out comments made by those who accidentally got transported from the stone age.

Search

Latest

Related Entries

Counter

21 currently online

88 maximum concurrent

4752726 total visitors

Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts