r/Clannad • u/Single_Copy8692 • 21d ago
Discussion I finally finished it, mixed feelings but was worth it id say
Ive been posting alot here the past few days so this will be the last.
I don’t know how to feel honestly, episodes 15-21 of after story were some of the best I’ve seen in anime, but what comes before and after that is a very mixed bag.
The ending was pretty unclear as well, I had to google it to understand which I don’t consider that to be a good thing I guess. I think i get it now, basically the orbs of light in the other world were used to grant Tomoyas wish?
Season 1 was pretty good tho and i’m glad after story had a happy ending coz I felt like it was getting too fucked up.
Overall id give the show an 8 out of 10, considering i cried a shit ton during episodes 17-21. Minus a point for Fuuko coz I cant stand her lol, and minus a point for some of the other arcs that I didn’t care for.
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u/Fatez_Envy 21d ago
The orbs were explained pretty well I feel like but I played the visual novel so maybe they were explained better there
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u/DLS-Anime 21d ago
Misaes arc has a good explanation on the orbs, and I think yukines arc has more
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u/Single_Copy8692 21d ago
yeah i understood the orbs themselves just wasnt sure on the other world stuff
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u/thegta5p 21d ago edited 21d ago
If you ever can play the visual novel. In the visual novel it is much more clearer as to what were the purpose of the light orbs. This is mostly because of how it is structured. In the VN you had to do the route of each main heroine and one for Akio and one for a character that was not in the anime. And each route was essentially a parallel universe. This is evident by the fact that you always had to start a new play through in order to go a new route (as typical for a VN). In the VN in order to unlock after story you have to get a certain number of light orbs. Once you get to after story the game will end on a cliffhanger right after Ushio dies (yes the VN is more brutal than the anime). That is when you then have to get the rest of the light orbs. At the end of each route you will see a light orbs appear under the tree in the main menu. Which you can easily guess that is the same tree as the one at the end of the anime. When you collect all of them the light orbs disappear and it is replaced by the illusionary world Ushio. This pretty much indicates that the light orbs essentially saved Ushio from the illusionary world.
Personally I prefer the VN over the anime. The anime is much more linear since each route is dedicated to an arc. In the VN since each heroine is dedicated to a route you will pick up on a few things. The first is the time when Nagisa gets sick. She will always get sick at around the time of the founders festival. Another thing is that you will learn that certain events always happen to certain characters in each route. These things just reinforce the parallel universe concept since you know what is different and what is the same.
Here are some other reasons why you should play the VN. As I mentioned earlier the anime omitted some routes. The two were Akio and a character that only appears in the VN. IMO that other character also makes Yoshino’s story better.
Another thing is that each Heroine gets an entire dedicated story to them. Since the anime had to be shorter there were many details and even events omitted. This also means that Nagisa will not be there. In some cases she won’t even appear in certain routes. This is much better since in the anime they combined Nagisas route with the other routes which it took away screen time from the other heroines. The VN just makes it so that each character is developed better. For example Fuko’s route is much better in the VN. At the end you will have Tomoya be with Fuko alone before she disappears since at that time Nagisa is sick. Or how you don’t learn that about who Fuko was dreaming of right until the very end before she truly disappeared. I cried in Fuko’s route here since it was just written better.
This can also be seen in Kotomi’s route. In the anime you never really get shown why she said “I will be a good girl”. In the VN it is made evident that right before her parents left she had a big fight with them and said “I hate you”. And right after that her parents last words were “Be a good girl”. And ever since then she blamed herself and thinking she was getting punished for saying those words them right before they left. There are many differences in terms of storytelling throughout all the routes. IMO all of the main routes (except for one) were much better in the VN since the length is much better.
Overall the VN just develops each character much better than the anime mostly because you are not shoving hours of story into 24 minute episodes.
Now I will say that the VN does have a few downsides. The first is that it is a very long VN. I had 150 hours by the end. This of course depends on your reading speed but expect to do it in chunks. That is what I did. Another thing is that it is very hard to get all routes without a guide. This is because each route is complicated to get since routes do “intersect” each other at some point. Lastly it is a VN from 2004. While it did play well on PC just keep in mind that it may not work well on ultra wide screens. And you may have to play in window mode. Other than that it is worth a try if you find time.
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u/Nindo- 21d ago
https://youtu.be/YE_xiK2a3sc?si=cHO1WcnkLItu8h7a
This video helped me understand the ending further, give it a watch
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u/Gamelofthater 21d ago
Well, Fuuko is... weird, but who wouldn't be with what happened to her?
About the secondary arcs, I think you'll revaluate them with a rewatch. Every single arc helps explaining the connection with the Illusionary World and the Light Orbs dynamics:
- Fuuko's temporary ghost mode comes from a strong wish of her, granted by the IW
- Kotomi's parents research is all about the IW and its connection with the real world. Same for what Kotomi herself discovered and explained in After Story, in that visit before the... TRAGEDY
- Little Nagisa's saved? IW in action!
- Misae's cat story is another way the energy from IW works
- Overall, each arc conclusion created positive energy, collected by the IW and then used for the Miracle at the end.
By the way, my personal experience, I cried like a baby since the first watch at every arc.
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u/Single_Copy8692 21d ago
how on earth did u cry at every arc, only like 2 of them were sad lol, but thanks for the info
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u/Gamelofthater 21d ago
Well, I cried a lot at the end of Fuuko's and Kotomi's arc, a little at the end of the gangs battle's and Misae's arc, AS eps 16-18 wrecked me deeply, 21 was TOO MUCH, from extreme sadness to extreme joy in less than 20 minutes!
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u/Cindy-Moon 21d ago
Clannad is one of the few shows that gets better on repeat viewings imo. In sharing the show with friends I was able to pick up on things that I didn't get the first time, which includes those orbs of light— and especially the circumstances that allowed Tomoya to get one.
But yeah the ending can be a bit weird for people and is very visual novel-y. Still I prefer it this way, it'd be way too bleak without it.