[Ascaloth] CLANNAD (TV), Episode 14 at Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

[Ascaloth] CLANNAD (TV), Episode 14

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Popularity: 8% [?] Published by Ascaloth January 18th, 2008 in Ascaloth, Anime

Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, and yesterday a deer, and today, you.

As was pointed out to me thanks to IRJustman of TWH-Sprocket, this was a line from Robert F. Young’s The Dandelion Girl. It is a science-fiction short story, but it is also quite a special little love story that’s very much worth a read. Although the events of Kotomi’s story does not quite square with the events in The Dandelion Girl, the line still retains a certain relevance in her relationship with Tomoya. It might be a good idea to go through the short story at least once before watching this episode, for it will offer certain valuable insights into Kotomi’s state of mind throughout the course of her story.

CLANNAD (TV), Episode 14. The end of Kotomi’s story.

Kotomi’s story really is a story of two halves, and this is reflected here in this episode, with the first half revolving around her history with Tomoya. Which leads us to the standard KEY trope of the male lead having known a female character since young, and how his forgetting about her sets up their story; it’s really no wonder that people saying that they’ve seen Kotomi’s story before, since in its setup, it really is similar to the Kanon staple. However, there are several differences in Kotomi’s story from the Kanon ones, the biggest one being that Kotomi’s angst doesn’t actually revolve around Tomoya himself. As for Tomoya, I dunno….I’m still wondering what kind of boy his age would really make friends with a strange girl so easily in the real world, something I’ve been wondering since Kanon. At least, for the moment, he’s not yet at the level of His Pimpness, Aizawa Yuuichi.

Ah, yes…this is more like how I’d expect boys to react. The behaviour of Tomoya aside, it’s more common (at least from what I remember) for boys and girls to stick to their own groups at that age. It ties in with Freud’s assumption of the Latency stage between ages 6-11, when he theorizes that children at this stage focus on same-sex friends and schoolwork, in the meantime developing their superego…

….wait wait wait, WTF?! Why the heck am I mentioning that perverted old geezer in a CLANNAD article?! My sincerest apologies…give me 5 minutes while I go wash out my mouth with soap.

…there, all better. Did I mention how Noto Mamiko’s crying never seems to fail to get me? The first time I remember hearing her crying was when I played Narcissu Side 2nd, and it’s haunted my mind ever since. She certainly hasn’t lost her touch here since; that’s the sound of despair, if ever I heard an example of it.

And here we are at the conclusion of the first aspect of Kotomi’s storyline; her memories of her time together with Tomoya, the rationale behind her recitation of her lines from The Dandelion Girl. It is a classic KEY technique which has been used since the days of Kanon, although they’ve changed it up here with Kotomi never having actually forgotten about the past.

However, I felt like there was something missing from the conclusion of this aspect, and after thinking about it, I’ve come to a conclusion as to why I felt this way; it is because the Dandelion Girl lines are supposed to be the basis for the romance between Tomoya and Kotomi that happens in the game. It basically underscores Kotomi’s feelings towards Tomoya in the game, which is why I suggested reading the short story before watching this episode.

However, the impact of the Dandelion Girl lines seemed to have been lessened in the anime adaptation, and I think I know why; it has become a sacrifice of KyoAni’s treatment of the material, which is more or less geared towards the Tomoya-Nagisa pairing to the exclusion of all others. Without the possibility of a romantic relationship between him and Kotomi, what purpose does the Dandelion Girl lines serve anymore? After all, The Dandelion Girl is ultimately a romance story; the usage of its trademark line in a Kotomi story stripped of the romantic factor robs it of much of its purpose.

Ultimately, Kotomi’s relationship with Tomoya is not really the primary focus of her arc in the anime; unlike His Pimpness Yuuichi, who was basically responsible for breaking the hearts of almost all and sundry, Tomoya was only responsible for having known Kotomi before, and didn’t have a hand in the trauma that she suffered. Therefore, Kotomi’s story was set up in such a way that Tomoya is not going to be the one who resolves it eventually; the main focus of her arc is going to be found in the second aspect of her overall story.

Tomoya finally manages to deliver on his promise of bringing friends over to celebrate Kotomi’s birthday. Here’s an interesting juxtaposition; the boys in his childhood flashback rejects Tomoya’s invitation to Kotomi’s birthday back then, while here, the friends who are willing to celebrate Kotomi’s birthday with him are all…you guessed it, girls. Perhaps he subconsciously learned from that time that when it comes to situations like these, his fellow brothers are less trustworthy than the girls around him?

And this is the conclusion of the second aspect of Kotomi’s story. I have to admit, I almost BAWW-ed here; not quite, but close enough. Here once again is the theme of "family" brought up, and more specifically in Kotomi’s case, the love that parents will always hold for their darling children, long after they have passed on. It is an unconditional love, a love that will persist no matter what happens. It is a love that holds no grudges, that makes no demands. It is the most beautiful love in the world.

If I were to say what Kotomi’s particular theme on family reminds me of, I would have to say it’s somewhat akin to what I felt when I watched Be With You; Kotomi suffered an emptiness in her world from the departure of her parents from this world, but eventually, she learns that whatever else in this world might pass on, the love her parents have for her will never die.

It was a damned beautiful scene, if I may say so myself. Even though the strangely-accented foreign languages were a bit much, and even though in the final reckoning, Kotomi’s arc didn’t quite do as much for me as Fuuko’s did, it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a beautiful story all by itself. In a depressing world such as this, sometimes it is just good to pause, and reflect on the important things in life that we’re taking for granted, and give thanks for our blessings. Stories like Kotomi’s are what helps us to do just that.

In any case, just like Fuuko’s conclusion, Kotomi’s conclusion was a bittersweet one. She will never get her parents back, and that is something that cannot be replaced. But she will never forget their love, and now she can finally move forward with her life. How do you define an ending such as this? A sad one, or a happy one? A Kanon-esque fairytale ending, or an AIR-esque tragic ending? Neither; this is neither Kanon nor is it AIR. This is CLANNAD, and it comes with its own style; Kotomi’s ending, like Fuuko’s, is a bittersweet one, to be savoured slowly.

Happy birthday, Kotomi-chan.

The Next Arc: ???

Well….the preview for Episode 15 is rather vague. Summer uniforms, basketball, and Tomoya staring down a gorilla-man? Not to mention Sunohara as well…he’s been somewhat absent for the Kotomi arc, and I hope he makes up for it; the development he had at the end of the Fuuko arc was quite good, too bad all that went into the dustbin of memory. There are some rumours stating that this is the start of the Sunohara route (WTF?!), and others saying that it’s part of Nagisa’s character development before the start of the Tomoyo arc.

I don’t know for sure how it’s going to play out, but I do know one thing for certain; if we’re going by the 24-episode format that Kanon took, KyoAni only has 10 episodes left to squeeze in the stories of 3 more girls, and there’s still After Story to boot. In the past, KyoAni has shown that they have enough storyboarding creativity to weave disparate storylines into a fairly cohesive whole, but even I can’t foresee them coming up with the kind of wizardry needed to come up with the kind of miracle they’re facing now. Do they really have time to play around with what looks to be "filler" episodes? Or is it an indication of the truth of yet another rumour; that this is but Season 1 of CLANNAD, and KyoAni’s got a secret CLANNAD (TV) Season 2 up their sleeves?

I have no clue, but then again, we’ll only know when we get there. For now, all we have to look to is next week, for the next episode. Ascaloth of RIUVA, signing out.

Popularity: 8% [?]

8 Responses to “[Ascaloth] CLANNAD (TV), Episode 14”

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1 not safe 1 comment Jan 18th, 2008 at 11:51 pm

One can also notice the group of girls on the upper left corner in the scene where Tomoya was asking the boys to come to the party.

I think one way of relating the Dandelion Girl to Kotomi’s arc is by looking at the “promise.” I really can’t explain it well but the teddy bear for Kotomi is like the dress in the suitcase in the Dandelion girl or something like that.
2 Xstacy02 33 comments Jan 19th, 2008 at 12:51 am

On a side note: observe how they spelled “suitscase”. Lol at the Engrish!

Compared to Foo-san’s arc, I find Notomi’s finale rather…subdued. But, it was a nicely paced finale…although the chances of having a “suitscase” returned after so long and so far is, well…..luckily didn’t end up getting pilfered in KLIA. Never mind the incomprehensible foreign languages….
3 FlameStrike 52 comments Jan 19th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

Well, Tomoya’s forgetting is more forgivable since he really only knew her for a few days… and he must of put it in the back of his head with all the stuff going through his life. His mom dies later too and he did end up durining into a delinquent.
4 Sylon Beta 32 comments Jan 19th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

As surprising as it seems, there IS a Sunohara arc. In the arc, his sister is introduced, and the player has to try and get him a girlfriend, if my memory serves, so as to make him act more responsibly.Or something like that.

But there’s also a basketball game in Nagisa’s arc. Well, I won’t elaborate, since this is meant to be spoiler free.
5 Stifler 106 comments Jan 19th, 2008 at 6:57 pm

Darn, I think the Internet just ate my post.
6 Slumber 1 comment Jan 19th, 2008 at 10:29 pm

Somehow, this arc didn’t do as much to me as the fuuko arc did to me. Surprisingly, even though I believe in fairytales and miracles, I can’t believe how the suitcase managed to get over so many countries and finally end up in Kotomi’s possession.

Haha, seriously, what are the chances of your lost wallet being found again in your native country, and compare that to a suitcase with a huge teddy bear and a letter from many other countries with citizens who might not even understand english just plifer the contents.

I still love kyoani romance dramas anyway!!!
7 Stifler 106 comments Jan 20th, 2008 at 12:26 am

Well, stranger things have happened than a suitcase making its way back to its intended owner’s hands.

1 THAT Animeblog » Kotomi ~Pure Moe~ Pingback on Jan 19th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

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.

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