Clannad ep.14-15

January 26, 2008 | 16 Comments

Well, this marks the end of Kotomi's arc. Overall, it's been a rather pleasant arc in comparison to Fuuko's one. It helps that Kotomi gets a better background story and characterization than Fuuko. I am also glad that she doesn't actually leave the series like I thought she would. It'd be strange to see her phasing into the background but that is to be expected if the story wants to develop the other characters. Anyway, with only 11 episodes left, I wonder if the series will be able to cover every single plot left. I originally thought episode 15 will focus on Kyou or Tomoyo but that doesn't seem to be the case here. If anything, it's Sunohara who actually gets some kind of development.

Episode 14

Tomoya plans on skipping class to clean up Kotomi's backyard. Despite this, he refuses to let the others to do the same. Ater reading a book that belongs to Kotomi, he falls asleep and remembers how he met the girl. He remembers how Kotomi didn't like going outside her house and that she didn't have any friends. At one point, Tomoya promised Kotomi that he'd bring friends to her birthday party. Unfortunately his friend refused and Tomoya had no idea how to convey this to Kotomi. Because of this, he decided not to come to the party. Later on, however, he felt guilty and decided to go back to her house. When he entered the house, he found Kotomi crying after she burned down the envelope. Tomoya tried to extinguish the fire to no avail but thankfully the guys from the research company came in time to do it. After the incident, Tomoya never saw Kotomi again and eventually forgot about her. In the present time, Tomoya wakes up and finds Kotomi standing next to him. Kotomi tells him that she never forgot about that boy because he was her first friend.

The next day, Kotomi goes back to school and is given a gift certificate by her friends. They tell her that she can use it to redeem the violin that is currently being fixed. A teacher then comes out and tells her that her godfather will see her. Tomoya and the others encourage her to see him since he's not a bad person. That afternoon, the old man comes bringing a suitcase belonging to Kotomi's father. Apparently they recovered the suitcase the night before and within it, is the teddy bear that Kotomi requested. There's also a letter in English asking the person who finds the suitcase to give the teddy bear to Kotomi. There's also a letter addressed to Kotomi, telling her that the world is beautiful even when it's filled with tears and sadness. Because of this they ask her to open her eyes and do what she wants to do, become what she wants to become, and make friends. A few days later, everyone comes to Kotomi's birthday party and present her the repaired violin. It looks like Kyou invited too many people but Kotomi doesn't mind because her backyard is spacious.

Episode 15

The little robot in the other world claims that he probably was in another world a long time ago. This prompts the little girl to ask the robot if that world is more beautiful than this one. The robot tells itself that he knows this place is not fun but that's why he chose to be born here. In the present time, the girls decide to lend their name to the theater club so that there'll be enough members for the club. The other thing that they need is an adviser. Unfortunately Koumura-sensei already promised the choir group that he'd become their adviser so this puts the theater club in direct conflict with the choir group (which includes Nishina Rie, the girl who gave the violin to Kotomi). That night, Tomoya is informed by the landlady that a little girl is asking to talk to her brother, Sunohara. Since Sunohara isn't around, Tomoya decides to talk to her and finds out that she's going to visit Sunohara. The next day, Nagisa receives a threat asking her to give up the theater club. Sunohara finds out that the one who wrote the letter is a junior called Sagisaka.

After meeting Sagisaka, the girl explains that Nishina Rie is a talented violin player who can't play violin again so she moves to this school. Because they feel sorry for her, the girls decide to form a Choir club because Nishina can still sing even though she can't play violin again. Upon hearing this sob story, Nagisa decides to give up theater club. Sunohara, however, can't accept this and lash out at Sagisaka for manipulating Nagisa's feeling. Later on Tomoya explains that Sunohara had to quit the club that he joined as a part of sports requirement for the school. Tomoya asks Nagisa if she's okay with not being able to form a theater club. Nagisa claims that she's okay because she gets the chance to be friends with Tomoya and the others. She also feels that she's stronger now but still can't stop herself from crying. Tomoya tries to calm her down by placing his hands on her shoulder but the moment is interrupted by Kyou's arrival. Later on, Tomoya decides to take Sunohara to the library so they can drink free coffee made by Miyazawa Yukine.

After Yukine reads some kind of fortune telling to Sunohara, he suddenly gets an idea to 'challange the impossible' and runs out of the library. Later on, Tomoya meets sees Tomoyo being hassled by two Judo captains who want her to join their club. Tomoya manages to scare the two of them, earning Tomoyo's gratitude in the process. The next day, Sunohara comes up with the suggestion of competing against basketball club and if they win, he hopes the choir club will give the supervisor to them. Tomoya, however, thinks it's a ridiculous plan and decides to ignore Sunohara until the later continually harass him. Because he can't get rid of Sunohara, he tells Nagisa that the reason Sunohara has been after him is because Sunohara loves him. As a result, when Sunohara comes by and tells Nagisa that he needs Tomoya, Nagisa tells him that Sunohara can't be with Tomoya because Tomoya is her boyfriend. This upsets Sunohara so he runs away from the two. After Sunohara left, Tomoya thanks Nagisa but their moment is interrupted when Sunohara's sister, Mei, arrives.

Impression:

Although some of the situations and circumstances feel a bit forced at times, I really like episode 14. I think it's an excellent ending to cap off Kotomi's arc, which thankfully is a lot more interesting than Fuuko's arc. I'm glad that the writers explained why Tomoya didn't come to her party back then. Although the explanation is simple, it actually is pretty realistic. It must be quite embarrassing for Tomoya to say that he'd bring some friends only to not actually be able to do that. Unfortunately, he didn't know that Kotomi didn't have anyone coming for her birthday either. It was just an unfortunate circumstance that piles up on top of another unfortunate circumstance. As for Kotomi's parents, I still think it's lousy of them to leave their daughter before her birthday. Having said that, I can't imagine how much regret they must felt while writing that letter and placing the bear inside the suitcase. It's kind of horrifying to think that they did this a few minutes before their plane crashed. On that note, it's kind of convenient that the bear arrives in time for Kotomi's birthday. The same can be said about the violin. But I guess that's just the bitter-sweet nature of the story.

Episode 15, on the other hand, feels all over the place. I'm not even sure if the focus is supposed to be Nagisa, Sunohara, Tomoyo, or Kyou. I thought it would be Kyou's turn to get the focus after Kotomi but that doesn't seem to be the case here. It looks like the writers want to develop Nagisa and Tomoya's romance but since there are still other girls, they can't do much to facilitate this. On that note, I'm sick of Fuuko's constant appearance. It's not even funny anymore and her character is annoying. Even if she's meant to appear later on, there's no need to make her appear again and again like this. I also don't understand the sudden shift to Sunohara and his sister. The series is already crowded as it is now and some characters like Tomoyo, barely receives any development. With only 11 more episodes left, I wonder how they'll be able to tell Tomoyo, Kyou, and Nagisa's story properly. Not to mention they need to explain the connection between that little robot character and the main story. On a completely unrelated note, is it just me or does anyone else think that Nishina Rie looks a bit like Rika from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni?

© memento 2003