Clannad ep.20

March 7, 2008 | 16 Comments

I'm sorry for the lack of update in the past few weeks. I've been really busy with work and haven't had the chance to do anything else except playing games during my short free time. It doesn't help that I've pretty much given up on Honey and Clover live action. I tried to watch episode 6 the other day and I just felt sad because the episode bored me to death. I can go back and watch the anime over and over again and I'll never get bored. So for the drama to be boring, that's an achievement on its own. As for this series, I don't think it's as funny as it used to be. I kind of miss the slapstick comedy that Sunohara, Tomoyo, and Ryou used to bring. Having said that, I appreciate the introduction of the mystery and hope that it'll be the main focus until the end of the series. Anyway, with only 6 more episodes to go, I hope the writers will be able to incorporate all of the important sub-plots and end this neatly.

Tomoya finds Nagisa practicing her lines in the middle of the night. He warns her that it's dangerous for her to be alone at night but Nagisa is not concerned since she's practicing in front of her house. Later on, Nagisa tells Tomoya that she already know what plays she wants to do. While she doesn't know the name, it's a very sad story about a girl who lives on her own. The story then shows the girl, who still lives with the male robot, trying to build another robot. Unfortunately for them, they find out that despite their best effort, the other robot is lifeless. Tomoya thinks that he's heard the story before but can't remember where. Because of this he asks Nagisa's parents if they were the one who told the story to Nagisa. Akio and Sanae, however, believe that they never told Nagisa such story. Despite this, Tomoya feels that the story means something to him. At school, Yukine teaches Tomoya and Sunohara a charm to find out which girl has been thinking about them. After performing the charm, however, Sunohara finds out that no one is thinking about him while Tomoya bumps into Fuko. Realising that it'll be a bad luck if Fuko talks, Tomoya manages to send the girl away without talking to him. The next girl who talks to him ends up being Nagisa, much to Tomoya's embarrassment.

At school, Nagisa tells her friends the full story of the tale. How the girl was all alone until she made a doll out of the junk that she collected. That evening, Tomoya and Nagisa try to find the storybook in the shed but Akio caught them. He explains to Tomoya that the shed contains his and Sanae's past. Because of their work, Akio and Sanae didn't pay much attention to Nagisa. One night Nagisa was sick but because both of them were busy, they couldn't leave their job. When Akio came home that night, he found Nagisa unconscious outside because she was waiting for them. When Nagisa regained her consciousness, they decided to change jobs. In the present day, the whole Furukawa family decides to have picnic. Tomoya, who's still not used to the family's warm vibe decides to skip the picnic. Sunohara, however, thinks he should not do that because Nagisa will be worried. Moreover, he believes that Nagisa's confidence comes from her being with Tomoya. Eventually Tomoya decides to return to Nagisa's house and finds out that the whole family is still waiting for him. In the end, the family have fun playing baseball together and Nagisa accidentally lets it slip that she loves Tomoya.

Impression:

Just like Tomoya, I don't get along with my father. His idea of parenting involved abuse and the perception that I'll never be as good as other people. Thankfully, I had the fortune to know someone who treated me like a father would treat his son. That means offering encouragement and support when I'm in doubt and giving constructive criticism when I'm not doing well. I am really grateful to know that person because through him, I knew what it feels like to have a father who actually cares about you. This is why I can understand well why Tomoya feels a bit weirded out with the Furukawas' kindness. For someone who's gone through years of unpleasant parenting, it's strange to see someone being so kind to you. Unlike Tomoya, I don't really hate my father but at the same time, I also don't feel much for him. If I do something for him, it's mostly out of the sense of obligation that he's the person who brought me to life instead of because I think that he's my father. Anyway, sorry for going off the rail but the episode simply brings back some past memories. It also makes me wonder how many people out there are lucky enough to have father who really care for their well-being.

This episode is pretty much a way for the writers to flesh out the romance between Tomoya and Nagisa. It was amusing to see Tomoya going out of his way to make sure that Fuuko doesn't say anything. Of all Key's characters, she is the most annoying one so far. Even Sunohara has one or two good advice to dispense but Fuuko is simply a waste of space. Akio and Sanae's past turned out to be quite ordinary and realistic. The most interesting part of the episode, however, is the lonely sad girl story. So it's now obvious that the images that we've seen so far actually comes from Tomoya's memory. Nagisa explaining the story simply serves as a reminder for Tomoya. It's intriguing because both Tomoya and Nagisa remember hearing the story before but neither of them can recall from where. If I may have a wild guess, the little sad girl and her robot are probably some kind of past incarnation of Tomoya and Nagisa. Okay, I admit it sounds crazy but this being a Key story, I don't think re-incarnation is too much of a stretch. Although I haven't seen Air, I remember reading that it has something to do with reincarnation as well.

© memento 2003