Clannad: Another World, Kyou Chapter, Tenchi Hell

Well then….I see. And really I should have. All the information about Clannad and Tomoya’s different game routes are plastered everywhere on the internet for me to see. Perhaps I should have spoiled it for myself before hand and read up on Kyou’s arc. That way I would have known in advance to be bored and underwhelmed.

Well and a tiny bit surprised...

Before I get into anything about the actual episode I will say that part of the reason I am disappointed is because there was no Kotomi at all in this episode. I love me some Kotomi and would have loved to see her cute face again. But I understand that if Tomoya went this route there would be no reason for him to end up in the library and meet up with her. But I can still complain about it and wear a sad little face.

And I am sure to the disappointment of many there is no Nagisa either. I am sure Tomoya could have still run into her at the bottom of the hill and gave her encouraging words. He didn’t have to be romantically attached to her. He could have just been a decent human being and viewed her as a classmate. But nope, no Nagisa for us. Or Kotomi. Or Tomoyo. :(





I think I will start off with the world’s longest episode summary. Be prepared as it will be epic in length.

Tomoya agrees to go out with Ryou. Kyou covers up her hurt (badly). Kyou “volunteers” to let Tomoya practice kissing on her. School finds out. Sunohara tells Tomoya to make up his mind who he likes. Insert twins knowing the other loves Tomoya. Tomoya tells Ryou he loves Kyou only it is Kyou with short hair. Tomoya picks Kyou.

Were you able to navigate that huge wall of text? Was the complicated plot too much for you to handle? Are you lost and or need an adult?

Or or….are you like me and are bored? Or wondering how the episode was able to fill 23 minutes with only that limited amount of material?

Yes I know I am talking about Clannad, the anime with dramatic heartfelt moments and where nothing can be easy or simple. All emotions must be multiplied by 119 and the easiest solution can’t happen. Or else the episode would end after 5 minutes.

Usually I like all the overdramaticness of Clannad. Because life is slightly overdramatic at times and it makes me feel more connected to the characters. Even though you the viewer see how overcomplicated the characters are making the situation you still watch as they make their own decisions and resolve the problem in their own way.

The only over dramatic moment that worked for me....

So yes I am usually down with Clannad and its buffet of drama. But this episode just rubs me the wrong way. I thought we were getting a tiny bit more of Clannad before it left us for good. But now I almost wish they left us with Ushio sleeping under the tree.

Before I talk about the episode itself I guess I will explain what I was expecting. See, I didn’t play the game so I wasn’t exactly sure of how the girls ended up with Tomoya in their own respective arcs. So when I saw Kyou’s arc I thought this will be what happens if Nagisa stayed dead (wow that is harsher than I meant it to be). I imagined that Tomoya would still be in that very dark place where he lost all hope. But instead of Sanae trying to bring Tomoya and Ushio together it would be Kyou. Somehow she would trick Tomoya into coming to the school to discuss Ushio’s problems at school. She would be the one to make Tomoya realize that he still had a reason to live. After Ushio and Tomoya were reunited and began living together again Tomoya would show up to the school more often. Ushio would say something innocent like even though I don’t have a mommy anymore Kyou feels like one. Tomoya relies more and more on Kyou and he realizes that they are acting like a family. He notes that it is a different kind of feeling and that he will never forget about Nagisa but he feels that Nagisa would want him to be happy. In my little mind Kyou cries (here is the overdramatic part) that she was trying to fight her feelings and would never do anything to dishonor Nagisa’s memory but she still loves Tomoya. Tomoya doesn’t want to do anything without Ushio’s blessing. Ushio cries, saying that daddy told her how nice mommy was and mommy would want daddy to be happy. THE END.

And I realize how insane that all is….

Yes I am insane. But I thought maybe this show could take a more reality based ending than a complete reset. I thought it could show how dedicated Kyou was to Tomoya, that Nagisa would want him to move on with his life, and Ushio would learn that even though life can be tough sometimes love will get you through. But apparently this would be too much for a 23 minute episode and I am insane.
So as you can see I had set the standards impossibly high and was disappointed obviously. I will credit my high expectations and ridiculous standards for 50 percent of my RARWNESS. But only 50 percent.

The other 50 percent is just because the episode was boring.

But....he is still sweet.

Tomoya wasn’t Tomoya. I like him being sweet and blushy but not at the expense of his sense of humor. No pranks, no real snide remarks, and no asshole behavior. It was almost like Tomoya was just window dressing for this episode and allowed for these two girls to fight over him. Tomoya should be the one helping the girls out like always but not this time around.

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch.

Now I hate Ryou. Before she was just generally annoying and a lame secondary character. But now I hate her. I can’t fault her for falling for Tomoya. You can’t help who you fall in love with. But she knew her sister had a crush on Tomoya. Now had she gone about it in a mature manner and let Tomoya pick from the twins I would not be as mad. But Ryou went to her sister for advice knowing that would make her sister back off her own Tomoya advancement and that is a bitch move. Go die in a fire Ryou.

Kyou Kyou Kyou. I think it was really sweet of you to not bash your sister’s skull in when she made a move on your man. Or a man you wanted. You put aside your own feelings to make your sister happy. I might think that is stupid but commendable and maybe you will get sister of the year award one day (or biggest idiot ever award).

I don't blame you at all! :( Just....

And really…in most cases I would be calling you a skanky slut for “practicing kissing”. I would call Tomoya a skanky slut too but he obviously had no idea what was going on so it doesn’t apply. So feel honored Kyou because most girls who try to kiss other people’s guys get the STINK EYE from me and a one way ticket to SluttyTown. But since Ryou was the one who stole Tomoya in the first place I will give you a get out of jail card. That and you stopped yourself before you did anything and you were just a confused girl. That is all okay.

Bring back Kyou NOW!

What is not okay is that you get the guy….and you turn into a completely different person. Really, it was like someone was writing a crappy fan fiction and OOCed Kyou to death. I get that she is happy with Tomoya and walking home together is exciting and wonderful….but where is the Kyou I love? She can be in love with Tomoya and still throw insults at him and pretend that he drives her crazy. But now we have a giggly boy obsessed crazy pants.

Unless all along the insults were just a cover up and the real Kyou is a giggly boy obsessed crazy pants. Oh dear lord help us all.

The over emotional part of this episode is all the back and forth Kyou/Ryou stuff. They both think they are hurting the other and hate themselves for that. There were some dramatic crying sister moments but nothing really touched me hardcore. Mostly because I wanted to stab Ryou.

I would have been way nicer to my twin!

Maybe it was just hard for me to understand. I am the type of person who always wanted to be a twin and would dream about how lovely it would be to have a real other half. Of course this scenario was slightly different as I imagined my twin a boy (but we still would fall for the same guy XD) but still! I can’t imagine being so crappy to my twin. So instead of getting caught up in their sadness/drama I was angrier that they were letting a guy get in between their more important relationship.

Just rarw! That was the whole episode. Two sisters fighting over a guy. Oh and Kyou cutting her hair for no reason. -_- This greatly displeases me.

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Clannad After Story Episode 23 and Series Review

This is the last episode of Clannad. *insert sad tears from many loyal viewers* Technically episode 22 was REALLY the last episode and this one is just extra. More like a bonus episode for all the dedicated fans across the globe.

This is how all the great romances start, with one person unconscious!

Instead of this episode revolving around Nagisa meeting Tomoya in his third year, it revolves around the beginning of her FIRST third year and his second year. X_X Which made things interesting. And different. Much different than I thought it was going to be.

But it's Clannad and I will blog Clannad to the end! So some spoilers ahead and a slight review on how awesome the entire series was. XD Hopefully everyone else feels that way too.


Nagisa spent most of the episode sad. On the first day of school she realizes she is in a classroom with none of her friends. Her old friend tries to give her encouragement but runs off. Tomoya then runs into Nagisa and Nagisa apologizes to him. He brushes it off and Nagisa goes back to being sad. Akio kept trying to give her advice on how to make friends. Most of the advice was pretty bad, like to call the teacher mom and feed them all Sanae’s bread of doom. He eventually tried to make it a math problem..because out of ALL those kids someone should want to be her friend. Sanae’s contribution to the episode was running out crying because her bread sucks. Nagisa continued to just sit in class and not speak up to make friends. She tries to make an effort to go to the theater club but she doesn’t make herself known and is easily forgotten. She even tries to turn down an old friend’s invitation to hang out. She smiles through this all, but deep down she is lonely. It is puzzling how she is so alone given this is her third year at this school. You would think that SOMEONE would be in her class.

High school is serious business.

Tomoya and Sunohara spent this episode being ACTUAL delinquents. It was finally explained that yeah, they do try to skip class and cause problems. After trying to escape out a window Tomoya and Sunohara are punished by doing some work for opening ceremonies. The class representative is in charge of watching them and that turns out to be Kyou. She is unhappy about being around this duo and refuses to be nice, despite Tomoya saving Kyou from being squished (and totally allowing Sunohara to be nearly killed by the planks of wood). While searching for Tomoya because he is skipping class, Kyou stares a little too long at Tomoya and thinks he is cute. Sunohara catches this moment and makes a huge scene. He then decides that he is going to prank Kyou by leaving her a love letter and sending her running all across school to find this dreamboat. They are eventually caught and are made to suffer.

Her love for Tomoya runs really deep. See the passion in her eyes!?!

Sunohara decides that he is not done pranking and will focus on some stupid 1st year kid. He and Tomoya make this piñata type thing and attach a cord to the bottom saying pull here for something interesting. They wait and watch for some stupid kid to pull it. Enter Nagisa. She pulls the rope (much to Sunohara’s joy and Tomoya’s shock) and this huge pan falls out and smacks her on the head. DOWN SHE GOES! Everyone around her panics and takes her to the infirmary. When she wakes up a girl from her class is there to greet her. This girl has been watching Nagisa and wanted to make friends but apparently was too scared to make the first step. But now that Nagisa was nearly killed she had the perfect opportunity. Nagisa comes home and tells her family she has made a friend. And she thanks the prank Tomoya pulled on her and decided to keep the message inside the ball as something to motivate her in the future. Oh and random fan service scene of twins in the bath together. THE END!

Welcome to the rest of your life Nagisa. It's going to be a bumping ride.

To say the least…this episode was not what I was expecting. But since I tend to go on and on…perhaps I will expand on that comment.

So I was mildly disappointed this was not Nagisa’s version of bumping into Tomoya on the hill. Totally my fault as I misunderstood “event from one year ago”. That now makes more sense to me so it’s my fault I was disappointed.

But…I still fail to see why they made this episode. Sure it was a cute way to explain how Tomoya and Nagisa met, but the events leading up to that BOINK moment were painful at times. Painfully boring. I would not choose to end a great series like this, with such a weak episode. Slice of life is one thing, slice of boring is another.

Attention: Boobies. That is all.

The entire episode wasn’t boring. Just the parts with Nagisa were. And perhaps boring isn’t the right word. Maybe I mean to say frustrating. I think every single viewer understood that Nagisa was lonely when Clannad started. She had really lost every single friend as they had graduated and she did not. That made people feel sorry for her and understand her loneliness.

Or I feel sorry for her because that is her dad.

This last episode makes me feel less compassionate to her now. Or roll my eyes a lot. There was no reason for her not to make friends this time around. Almost all those kids had been around since 1st year. Even if they weren’t in the same class she still knew OF THEM. And we are to believe that she was separated from all her friends?! Not ONE ended up in her class?...That is some amazingly bad luck.

Apparently they can't be friends anymore and it's the end of the world.

I mean…I guess you can say Nagisa was shy and that is part of her charm. And I get that. Not everyone can make friends at the drop of a hat. I just feel as if Nagisa COULD try more after seeing her interact with other people. And now that I have viewed the entire series, I see all the girls as Tomoya’s friends and they liked Nagisa as she was around Tomoya. It is sad, but without Tomoya none of those girls would have gotten to know Nagisa.

Angry Tomoya is VERY angry. X_X

But that is not to say the other girl wasn’t to blame either. It’s not like Nagisa is some scary girl that is hard to approach. Nagisa was obviously having problems and that other girl should have come to her. It is sad that it took a clunk on the head to make her notice her…but then again this friend didn’t sound so great. I mean, no mention of her the entire series. But I guess it is good to know Nagisa’s first year of senior grade wasn’t like her third: Depressing and alone.

Because talking to people is really hard.

So in the end…I was trying not to get mad at Nagisa. It’s like watching your friend fail and you know she can fix it. You scream and yell but in the end all you can do is watch them fail. Not that she every got any good advice on how to make friends (but at 18 you would think that she would have already…learned how). By herself Nagisa doesn’t SEEM very interesting. Which isn’t fair to say because alone I might not be interesting either since I have nothing to bounce off of. I just think….it was hard for the viewers to grasp, Nagisa being alone AGAIN. Or the beginning.

But Tomoya’s part of the show was great. I was tired of the entire series Tomoya and Sunohara being called delinquents and all I saw them doing was being bored in class. But we finally got to see them skipping school and generally being disruptive in class. Now I apologize to all of those who stayed clear of Tomoya…as his reputation might have affected theirs.

They just needed fresh air DUH!

I was surprised about Kyou. I thought that she and Tomoya had known each other a lot longer than one year. They just seemed to have a great closeness (on some level) and I think it is odd that it all occurred within one year. It also makes Ryou’s dramatic tears about Tomoya choosing Nagisa even more over dramatic as she hadn’t been in love with him all her life and this new girl stole him. Also, in my head I like to imagine everyone being friends from a chibi age and it’s all cute and violent in my head.

Her thanks was very overwhelming.

So putting aside that they should have known each other a lot longer than one year…I thought Kyou’s portion of the show was funny and special. She wants to pretend she is a great student and she is above someone like Tomoya…but she can’t help but think he is cool and molest him in her mind. Then she spends so much time running around the school looking for this love letter writer which I am sure she hoped it was Tomoya. That makes me wish they did a Kyou arc like they did for Tomoyo…as I think Tomoya would probably would have ended up with Kyou if he hadn’t ended up with Nagisa.

This isn't creepy at all...

Sunohara was Sunohara. His scenes made me a little sad…as we hadn’t gotten that fun WTF part of the show since graduation. :( He was always pulling prank or generally being stupid and I miss that part of the show. His pranks did come off a little meaner this time (making a PAN fall on someone’s head?! X_X) but he was still fun to have around. At the very least he made life a lot more fun.

Let's take joy in the suffering of others YAY!

This entire episode was focused on the fact that Tomoya affected Nagisa’s life before he met her (bumping into her really isn’t meeting her). His tiny message in that prank (that could have killed her) gave her such encouragement she wasn’t mad that she was nearly squished. And in a way, I find it romantic. It would have been REALLY romantic if she wasn’t injured and could have been lying in a pool of blood, but not all great romances start with unicorns and butterflies. Sometimes it starts with humiliation and memory lose.

Nagisa is still very special. Or this is the beginning of her specialness XD

So while I understand this episode….I don’t think it ended the series very strongly. Parts of it were cute and other parts made me x_x LIKE THE PART WITH NO KOTOMI! It’s like people are trying to kill me or something…But even when Clannad has an “eh” kind of episode…they are still pretty good.

So, putting aside this one questionable episode, this entire series was pretty great. This anime made me cry more than any other anime I have watched. But despite all the tears I found myself laughing at silly random moments as well.

Toilet seats are all the rage!

I don’t think it is a secret that Kotomi was my favorite character in the entire series. I wish she had more face time and hung out with the group more. She was weird in a cute way and it wasn’t overwhelming. She was just interesting and didn’t mean to do silly little things. XD I will miss you Kotomi and all your silly moments.

Kotomi love!

Tomoya was a great main character. His dry sarcasm was mostly lost by all the other characters, but that’s okay. We viewers go to experience his wit and one liners. He tried to come off as tough but deep down he was very sensitive. One of the most sensitive male characters I have ever seen before. I don’t think I have watched a series before that had the male lead crying so much.

He was fabulous!

But his tears never made him look weak. If anything it enhanced my impression of him and made him see much more real to me. Because I like to pretend that all guys can be great like this, that they have a deep sensitive side and they aren’t afraid to shed a few tears. Even that isn’t true…I still like how Tomoya was portrayed and went out of his way to help people.

First tears of the season!

Nagisa was very likable at times, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Some parts of her life seem so unnecessarily tragic, like no one joining her theater club (never understood why Tomoya, Sunohara, and Kotomi couldn’t pretend to join and make her happy…). She was constantly alone and sad in school. She kept repeating her third year even though…it seemed kind of useless. Once she got one second of happiness it was taken away.

But at least she got to perform.

And through it all she had a smile on her face. That’s what makes her likable. It also makes me want to scream in frustration…but it made her likable. When someone can still appreciate the good things in life despite all the bad…it makes me look up to that person (and or pity them). Plus….how can you not love Nagisa and her love of dangos?

All one million of them!

The characters were pretty interesting too. Some of their back stories were really good and others are okay. Tomoyo’s was probably the weakest for me (but I love her anyway) while Fuko’s produced the most tears. The stories that made up the first half of After Story all felt a little rushed and I think there was more potential for Yoshino’s arc (or…7 minute explanation).

Uncalled for violence is awesome!

The overall theme of family and togetherness was really hammered into our brains quite often but it was a gentle hammering. XD You wanted these characters to stay together and be close. Despite how weird each and every one of these characters were…they all made a great team and everyone was generally happy.

When you are with friends, you don't have to make sense.

One of the funniest moments of the show has to be Yoshino’s epic speech episode 1 of After Story. I think what made it even more epic was he was dead serious and wasn’t meaning to be funny. I think I rewatched that scene at least 5 times….truly very entertaining.

But we enjoyed your gift so very much.

Early on I found the random Nintendo scenes entertaining…and random. Almost every scene with Sunohara in it was pretty cracktastic. Sometimes Fuko got to be a little too much at times but that’s okay. She was still pretty cute. The Sanae bread thing got old after a while..but I kinda liked seeing what freaky bread she would make that day.

Game Play at 100 percent.

The main part of this series was Tomoya and Nagisa’s relationship. It showed how Nagisa and Tomoya grew as a person and how they really became each other’s world. They made the other one a better person which is what ALL relationships should do. It wasn’t an overly touchy feely romance, but the feelings were still there and that was the most important part.

Holding hands can be a very big deal!

Ushio was cute. That is all.

Almost makes me want to have kids..almost.

So I am a little sad that this series is now over. There is another episode next week but it doesn’t seem like that is going to give us any new information. So…no more Clannad. :( It seems as if I have been watching this series forever and I am sad that it’s over. But that means the series was successful, leave them wanting more and not wishing you had ended a long time ago.

I hope that everyone enjoyed this series as much as I did. I am sure I will compare this show to other new animes for a long time to come. XD And if they ever made an Ushio story I would be the first to watch it. But for now…Goodbye Clannad.

One last party for old times sake.

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Clannad After Story Episode 22: More Tears for Everyone!

The end of Clannad is upon us! (sort of). After I got done drying my eyes I decides to blog about this episode. It took a little while since I went...a little screenie crazy. But everyone likes pictures right?!

Nagisa looks down upon my screenies :(

So as before...Do not ruin this episode for yourself. Watch it first, then read my happy little blog. XD But if you must...I hold no responsibility for spoiling the entire episode for you. Proceed with caution before clicking read more!

Everyone is all up in the snow and dying!

The girl in the hidden world is half covered in snow and doesn’t look like she can get up. The robot man holds her hand and thinks about how he has always been with her. There are flashes of Tomoya looking at Nagisa on the hill…and whether or not he should call out to her. She turns and starts to leave, Tomoya thinking it will all be better if she never met him. In the hidden world the robot tries to pull on the girl, not wanting her to die in the snow and it to end so sadly. The girl starts talking to the robot man in his mind and happy to hear his voice. She explains that she understands everything now and will explain things before she is no longer a person. She reveals that she and the robot man exist in another place, a happier place. The girl became this world to protect the happiness orbs the robot man was gathering in the other world. She tells him the robot man has to leave alone, back to the other world to meet lots of people and experience highs and lows. Robot man wants the girl to go with him, but she can’t as she IS the world and must stay here to protect everything so perhaps a miracle can happen. She promises that they will meet again as the dango song starts playing and light fills the world. She starts to glow and slightly float as the robot man falls apart and his head is barely hanging on x_X. She bids her father goodbye as she dissolves into lights and he breaks into many pieces.

Call out to her NOW!

Suddenly Tomoya looks up, shocked and filled with too many emotions to handle. He turns around and shouts to Nagisa. She doesn’t respond to him so he runs up to her and holds her tight. He starts to cry as she smiles. She says that she is glad he called out to her as she was worried he thought it would be best if they never met. She tells Tomoya no matter how sad things get she doesn’t regret meeting him and hopes he feels the same way too. He cries and says he does…and keeps on holding her tight. Then a blob like entity flies around the town in a slow manner…and we are back in the room as Nagisa gives birth. Tomoya holds Nagisa’s hands as she is about to die…but she doesn’t. She opens her eyes and asks what is wrong? Tomoya smiles and says nothing as he strokes her hand lovingly. The midwife tells the happy couple that Nagisa and the baby are both okay. Tomoya then gets his first task as a father and gives the VERY pink Ushio a bath. It is very stressful. As Tomoya talks on and on about how special Ushio is Nagisa notices how pretty it looks outside. Tomoya looks (with baby Ushio in his hands) and it isn’t snow…but the happiness orbs. Nagisa and Tomoya sing the dango song while talk about the town’s happiness is discussed and how the town reacts to the people’s hearts. Everything is happy and sparkly.

I NEED THIS HAPPINESS!

Then Tomoya and Nagisa raise their Ushio together and many cute moments attack my screen! Ushio learning to walk, petting a dog, celebrating her 3rd birthday Japanese style, a birthday party, learning how to play baseball, and finally her first day of school. The entire family visits the field of flowers and Ushio has the time of her life with both her parents watching her. Then there is a little montage of all their friends and how wonderful their lives have turned out. Tomoya, Nagisa, and Ushio go and visit Tomoya’s grandmother and his father (I believe). There is a brief scene of a baby Tomoya walking in that field of flowers with his father and all is cute. Then…Fuko and her sister are walking to the hospital so Fuko can have a check-up. Fuko decides that she is an adult and lies on the ground having a tantrum. She doesn’t want a check up because she is better in her mind. Kouko insists and on they go. Along the way Fuko tries talking more like an adult and decides she smells someone cute. This goes on for quite a while. But finally Fuko runs off right before she gets to the hospital. She tells the cute person to wait, that she will find her. Under a tree sleeps the girl from the hidden world, but at a second glance it is baby Ushio. Fuko finds her..THE END!

And they all lived happily ever after!

:( The end has really come from Clannad. ..Even though there is another episode left, the core series is over. And as much as I wanted to see the ending of this fabulous series, it’s still sad that it is all over. :(

Despite several bloggers and hordes of forum threads speculating we were going to get the bitter sweet ending, we didn’t. I am not even sure WHAT the bitter sweet ending would be as I never played the game. But from the moment I found spoiled everything about the game for myself I was hoping and praying for the happy ending.

Happy with the simple things in life=win.

At first I just wanted a happy ending because…Nagisa and Tomoya were a cute happy couple…and I tend to want happy endings for most animes I watch. The bad guy is defeated, the world is saved, and the guy gets the girl (or vice versa…or even the guy gets the guy).

How is that not overwhelmingly cute?!

But as the series progressed…I wanted a happy ending almost solely because of Tomoya. I wanted him to be happy. Sorry Mrs. Nagisa…but Tomoya’s happiness was more important to me than your life. But not by much because I am not that cruel. And since Tomoya had moved on from wanting Nagisa back and only asked for Nagisa to save Ushio…I thought that would be his happy ending. I would have been satisfied with the orbs performing that kind of miracle if that made Tomoya happy.

NO MORE CRYING!

With that said…I am still a sucker for a COMPLETE happy ending. Nagisa deserved to raise her kid and I wanted to see them all be a happy family together. After all the pain everyone went through…it was time to let viewers dry their eyes and watch everyone live happily ever after.

If only you knew....

For those not familiar with the game play and didn’t spoil it for themselves (like me) the other/hidden world was finally explained. But then not really explained. It probably could have been made clearer with some points but most things could be implied or picked up on. Perhaps if more of the episode was dedicated to explaining this issue and not focusing on another character so much it would have been clearer.

Of course you have....

But yes. Ushio was the girl in the other world and Tomoya was the robot/trash man. Ushio…became a little obvious after time but Tomoya not so much. And I feel as if Ushio BEING the entire world was a bit too special. I would have liked it more if Tomoya and Ushio kept returning to a world just for them…but I guess it is kind of special that Ushio wanted to save her family so much she was able to create a world…become a world.

Weird how the daughter is saving the father (and mother).

Ushio dying in the real world caused her persona to collapse and hover close to death in the hidden world. Both Tomoyas were helpless and could only watch as their special person suffer. Then hidden world Ushio explained everything to hidden world Tomoya, that they both exist in a different world, that Ushio must stay in this place to collect the happiness orbs, and that Tomoya must leave this place and help others find their happiness. Hidden world Ushio promises that she will meet Tomoya again.

Then robot man falls apart. X_X This part of the episode was a little…much for me. I know it was just a robot and the important part of Tomoya was his consciousness, not the nuts and bolts holding him together. The hidden world starts to fall apart…fill with light…and Ushio explodes. X_X Of course it’s not really an explosion but…it came off as very powerful anyway. I knew Ushio had to…err explode but the way she exploded was well…much again.

Just...too Scifi for me x_X

The explody killed my screenie!

And then we return to the very first scene in the entire series. Tomoya gains the knowledge of the robot man and or his future self and he realizes what he will lose if he doesn’t call out to Nagisa. He runs after her and holds her for all he’s worth. And then he cries…so I cry too.

RUN NOW!

The part that confused me a bit was Nagisa KNEW what Tomoya was thinking, that she was also aware of the future and that Tomoya didn’t want to experience that kind of pain. I understand Tomoya being aware of this magic but I am not sure WHY Nagisa did.

Who needs details when you are that cute?!

But if she hadn’t…we would have heard her convince Tomoya that she wanted everything the future held, the good and the bad. She says this all with a smile while Tomoya cries. That has happened often in this series, Tomoya crying while Nagisa puts on a brave face. So whether or not it makes sense that Nagisa KNOWS what is going on….I like how they both decide that it is better that they are together for a little while then never know each other at all.

Dang right she is!

And of course I cried more when Tomoya kept touching Nagisa. I mean…I guess I was hoping too much for a kiss, but Tomoya was still very romantic and loving. I love how he kissed her hands and kept holding her close, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. He might not have been as affectionate the rest of the series but he more than made up for it now.

The most romantic gesture of the entire series!

THEN OUR MIRACLE!!! Tomoya is back during the delivery and is holding Nagisa’s hand as she dies. BUT SHE DOESN’T! She looks up at Tomoya and gives him the WTF are you crying about face? Instead of being extremely overwhelmed, Tomoya just smiles happily. As if he thinks the entire last 7 episodes were just in his mind and this is his only reality. The moment passes without much mention of the miracle at all.

It's all going to be okay! Just like they deserved!

The only thing that seems out of the ordinary is the special SNOW outside the apartment. Tomoya ALMOST vocalizes what he thinks they are…but instead spends time with his family instead.

Just...be happy and don't think about it too much XD

Some people may think this ending is too happy and a magical do over makes everything we have gone through the last half of After Story meaningless. I can see what they are coming from…but I am still happy. This is anime; I want a magical ending where everyone is happy. Especially this little family who has had it rough from the start. I rather focus the magic on Tomoya himself than the town but meh. I can deal.

After all that pain and hurt...Tomoya gets a fresh start at doing things right!

Watching Ushio grow up with both her parents was nearly too cute for my eyes to handle. I also enjoy Tomoya not aging so fast and looking so ragged but that is a different story. This is the childhood that Ushio deserved! The only thing that could have made it better was to have a scene that had Ushio and Nagisa waiting for Daddy to come home from work. Other than that I am pretty satisfied with the cuteness.

YAY FOR PUPPIES!

*dies from cuteness*

Time for cake!

Second best screenie in the entire bunch.

What I am NOT happy with is how all the other characters were given like a whole 3 second follow up. Like HEY here is everyone else, they are still alive THAT IS ALL! Seriously, do we even know what Sunohara, Tomoyo, and Kotomi are DOING with their lives? I felt that more time could have been spent on all their friends and loved ones. You know, perhaps in one of Ushio’s scenes the whole gang could get together and celebrate an important milestone or something.

Not too much changed with her.

Not really digging the uniform.

This tells me...what?

MOG! SOMEONE AGED IN THIS SHOW!?

Random moment is random.

AS long as she's happy x_X I guess.

She sweeps...A LOT x_X The only one without a happy ending...and it involves an animal again...

And I wanted to be excited to see Kotomi again. But all I get was her looking cool driving down some random street. Like that means something to me. And Tomoyo…looking out at the ocean? Yeah, what is that supposed to mean? I know these characters all had to grow up and live separate lives…but I still wanted them to be friends and have SOME connection! I am slightly disappointed.

BUT I LOVE YOU FOREVER KOTOMI!

And this all could have been avoided if they dropped most of Fuko’s scenes. I mean..I wanted her to come back and enjoy her crazy antics again. But devoting 6 minutes of the final episode to her acting weird…when everyone else was neglected was bleh. A lot of bleh.

I'm sorry...but you took up a LOT of time.

Most of her walking to the hospital was special and any other time I would have enjoyed most of it. I mean….repeating a conversation three times got to be too much but whatever. I did enjoy her little I am a ruined girl and her flopping around like a dead fish. But this could have been condensed to maybe 2 minutes and the other time focused on all the other friends stopping by for a visit.

Totally ruined forever and ever!

I am not sure why it was so crucial to see Ushio sleeping in the woods. It was made perfectly clear that Ushio was the girl in the other world and I am not sure why it was important that Fuko find her. I guess it was a touching way to end the series, but I think it would have been cuter to have Ushio hold one of the plushies or sing the song or something.

Random moment seems random.

Personally I think that this episode would have been better had it been showed at the same time as the last episode. An hour special might have been more emotional than waiting a week to see the conclusion. It lost some of its impact not being viewed at the same time. The ending was still good and I got what I wanted out of it…but something was missing and I am not sure what it is.

The romance was great though!

Overall I think the episode would have been stronger had the hidden world been explained more and everyone getting more air time. But I think Tomoya was portrayed wonderfully and all the cute scenes with Ushio made me happy. So again, I am happy but it could have been an A plus and not just an A.

I will talk more about how I feel about the entire series in the last episode…which is surprising to me. I thought we were going to see another girl get a chance with Tomoya (Like Tomoyo’s episode at the end of the first season) but I guess we are going to getting episode 1 from Nagisa’s perceptive. It should be interesting…maybe. I will see.

I hope everyone enjoyed this series as much as I did. Even if you thought the ending should have been different I hope you could appreciate what they did give us. XD That and I hope you didn’t drown yourself in happy tears. Thanks for reading!

NO! It can't be over!!!!!

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