[Ascaloth] CLANNAD (TV), Episode 20 at Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

[Ascaloth] CLANNAD (TV), Episode 20

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Popularity: 6% [?] Published by Ascaloth March 7th, 2008 in Ascaloth, Anime

20 episodes in, and we finally get the first clue pertaining to the "Mysterious World" scenes; the hints given by Nagisa indicate that it has something to do with her play. However, clearly it is more than just that; amongst various other clues, KyoAni would not have blown so much budget on producing the ridiculously-detailed animation on the "Mysterious World" scenes if they were indeed nothing more than a figment of Nagisa’s imagination. Okay, blatant shippin’ aside, this is the first episode where clues about the "Mysterious World" start appearing, and while they still don’t point to anything conclusive as yet, the likelihood is that more would appear within the last 2 episodes of this series.

And those of us who have already watched the episode would no doubt have noticed that at the end of Nagisa’s soliloquy, the CLANNAD title screen appeared just before the commencement of the OP, something which has not happened previously. The word from the game vets is that its importance lies in the fact that it signifies the "true" beginning of the story of CLANNAD; all well and good, but how can there possibly be a "beginning" if there’s only 2 episodes left?!

I know about as much as everybody else, but if I were to theorize, I’ll take it as a hopeful sign; specifically, that KyoAni recognizes this as the "true" beginning of the CLANNAD story as well. In other words, the chances are that much higher that the studio would not leave the series as it currently is rumoured to be at 22 episodes, and would indeed continue with After Story once the 22 currently announced episodes are over; whether it be through a continuation, or a second season, it’s fine as long as it’s done. Let us wait for two more weeks for KyoAni’s next announcement, and then we shall see what they have up their sleeves.

CLANNAD (TV), Episode 20.

Speaking of the "Mysterious World" scenes, they’re starting to come one after the other at this point. Even so, nothing that has been shown in these scenes hint at any link with the main story thus far, apart from Nagisa’s hints.

What are the odds that sooner or later, someone’s going to Photoshop out the bread and replace it with a drill, and accompany the picture with a "This is the drill that pierces the heavens!!!" caption?

I would say that it’s amazing how Yukine manages to figure out almost at once that Tomoya was talking about Nagisa, but when everyone including Sunohara has it figured out already…Tomoya really is bent on denial, isn’t he?

LOL, poor Sunohara, even Yukine’s magic spell could not save him from the "loser sidekick" fate that has been bestowed on him from the start.

Speaking of which….oi, oi, Tomoya!!! Shouldn’t you have known better than to go along with Yukine’s magic spells by now?!

There you have it, this is the sort of thing that could have happened…although I have to say once again, nice save there, Tomoya!

LOL, KyoAni does not support the Fuuko ending! Although I’m wondering what’s the basis for Fuuko’s appearance this time around; she is not trying to "help", neither is she getting in on the fun like she did with the "harem" lunch scene the other time. Speaking of the "harem" lunch scene, Tomoya seems to have forgotten all about Fuuko each time she goes away after Summoning herself into the fray.

That made her the God of this world.

For a good half of the episode, Tomoya keeps remarking on Nagisa’s idea for her play as being familiar to him in some way; that is a sign that there’s more to it than it seems. How it links back to the Mysterious World, I have no idea. I’m pretty sure that it DOES link back to the Mysterious World though, somehow.

LMAO. Akio is officially the Best. Dad. Ever.

I have this feeling that this particular version of Sanae’s experiments might have potential as an alternative energy source for the future. Would probably be more cost-effective and easy to defend than building some newfangled space elevators to collect solar energy, for sure.

I never knew that Akio could be so serious, but he certainly had quite the tale to tell. But having seen the Furukawas’ closeness all this time, it does actually come across as a surprise that it wasn’t always the case; Nagisa’s past, while not that fully expounded on, sounded like she used to be something of a latchkey child.

……

So that was what this particular scene in her segment of the OP was all about. I have to admit, I almost choked at this scene.

There’s just something inherently powerful about a scene of a father cradling his fallen daughter in fear and despair. It’s probably not something I would ever fully understand until I reach that stage in my life, but the sacrifices that parents make for their children are truly some of the most emotionally affective phenomenons in humanity. And that’s all the words I can find to say on Nagisa’s past. Sorry, but it just chokes me up too much.

Yeah, I didn’t know there was such a thing as picric acid, either.

After doing a bit of my own research, I’ve found out that picric acid was apparently military-grade explosives material in the days before TNT was available, too. You learn something new every day.

Every time we start thinking that Sunohara is just a complete ass, he goes and does something which impresses us. And every time he manages to impress us with either his perceptiveness or his rarely-seen good intentions, he goes and makes a fool of himself once again. This is one of those times when he does the former, realizing and in turn waking Tomoya up to the fact that the latter was the one who was responsible for Nagisa blossoming the way she is now. I think we can expect another beating for Sunohara next week, when he completes the cycle yet again.

Something I’ve noticed; it’s no secret that Akio throws out the highly vulgar reference てめ（Or is it てめい？I’m not too sure on this one) quite liberally, but I’m surprised that he has no qualms doing it around the kids, either. I mean, it’s about the equivalent of him using "you f#@&er" around the kids; wouldn’t someone have complained about him teaching kids the wrong things by now?

This is one of those things I just love so much about the social dynamics between Tomoya and Nagisa. They really seem to work on the same wavelength, and if you think about it, the dynamics between them are actually getting quite similar to the kind that runs between Akio and Sanae. I don’t ever recall seeing such a down-to-earth, yet undeniable chemistry between any other couple in anime; not in True Tears, not in ef ~a tale of memories~, not even in previous Key adaptations by KyoAni.

For some reason, she reminds me of a certain other red-haired female character in a KyoAni show who’s best known for being even more of a doormat than Ikari Shinji. Hmmm, I wonder who could that be…?

And with that, this episode of CLANNAD (TV) ends on a very slice-of-life note, with little else happening apart from the revelation of Nagisa’s past. There’s just something very different about the feel to CLANNAD in recent episodes; KyoAni’s Key adaptations have been described as being "in a genre all of their own", but CLANNAD just feels like a whole different beast altogether from the likes of even Kanon (2006) or AIR (TV), particularly at this point. With the other girls shoved out of the way, this series really has been focusing on the budding romance between Tomoya and Nagisa, and somehow, I really like it a lot. Of course, the relatively leisurely pace with which the progression of their romance has caused several others like Hinano and Totali to cry out; "hook up already!", but as for me, I’m just happy sitting here and relax, while watching their relationship play out in a non-melodramatic, comfortable manner.

Maybe it’s just as Jeff Lawson said; if not for the fact that I know I can expect a hell of a story to come up, I might well be content to watch the whole cast do their Dango Daikazoku act all the way to the end. CLANNAD (TV) has been perfectly entertaining as a visual novel adaptation, as a slice-of-life series, as a harem comedy, as a romantic comedy…I’m just none too sure what to fit it in anymore.

Ah, well. What do I care as long as I can continue to watch it?

Next Episode Preview

First off, who’s this girl in the preview, and what’s she doing there with the Drama Club? I could swear that’s the girl from the Choir Club who confronted Nagisa the other time, but I can’t recall offhand if it’s really her. And in any case, the question remains; what is she doing there in the first place?

In any case, the preview for next episode suggests that we may finally see what served as Nagisa’s inspiration for the play, or at least, that’s how I read it. Until then, there’s nothing to do but wait, and hope that KyoAni will release an announcement about their intentions for the next season soon.

Ascaloth, out.

Popularity: 6% [?]

8 Responses to “[Ascaloth] CLANNAD (TV), Episode 20”

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1 velocity7 6 comments Mar 8th, 2008 at 12:46 am

“There’s just something inherently powerful about a scene of a father cradling his fallen daughter in fear and despair.”

There’s a very terrible irony that Kyoto Animation is playing here for that scene. Those who have played the game know what I mean.
2 Xstacy02 33 comments Mar 8th, 2008 at 12:53 am

It’s probably てめぇ where the ‘me’ is extended.

Besides, using vulgarity in front of kids is not too much these days. Kids are no longer the angelic creatures we all like to think they are. Besides loli material, they (more so, the boys) know a lot of vulgarities and are not afraid to spew it to us adults.

Wonder what’s ‘pick pick’. And what/who will be picked…
3 A 1 comment Mar 8th, 2008 at 1:47 am

“The word from the game vets is that its importance lies in the fact that it signifies the “true” beginning of the story of CLANNAD; all well and good, but how can there possibly be a “beginning” if there’s only 2 episodes left?!”

I guess you could say that if you really wanted to wrangle some significance out of it, but I think it was just a bit of fanservice for people who’ve played the game. The opening scene was a nearly-exact copy of the equivalent scene in the game, and that scene ends with… the OP. That’s right, you don’t actually see the OP with all the girls in it until about halfway through Nagisa’s route.

But “the ‘true’ beginning”? Uh, I guess… in a way… sort of…
4 Sam 1 comment Mar 8th, 2008 at 2:04 am

Great EF reference there.
You’re right about the girl in the 2nd to last picture; she’s from the choir club. She’s there for a reason but if I tell you why it’ll probably ruin the fuzzy feeling that scene will give you. Anyway, great review as always.
5 Totali 19 comments Mar 8th, 2008 at 6:17 am

“That made her the God of this world”

rofl.
6 leefe 119 comments Mar 8th, 2008 at 8:15 pm

After Story would probably come out after the 24 episodes… XD
I’m rooting for a CLANNAD Second Season!
7 Setsukyie 34 comments Mar 9th, 2008 at 1:05 am

“There’s just something inherently powerful about a scene of a father cradling his fallen daughter in fear and despair.”

I was speechless when I saw this scene..
Who knew that Nagisa has this kind of past..
And who knew that Akio was different back then…

“That made her the God of this world.”

No wonder I felt something familiar when I heard that…
lol…

1 CLANNAD - 20, Hidden Past at Anime Banzai ! - アニメ万歳！- For Fans, By Fans Pingback on Mar 10th, 2008 at 12:01 am

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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