The magic 8-ball say:
YES - DEFINITELY
Episode 21 -
spoiler
I put off watching this weekâs episode as long as possible. I didnât want to watch it because I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen and by not watching it, it wouldnât happen. Silly me! So, I finally watched it.
Ushio is in bed in Nagisaâs old room, where the doctor has examined her. He says that she has the same illness as Nagisa and he doesnât know the cause. He also says that she will most likely have the fever for a while, just the way Nagisa used to get it. Tomoya looks devastated. Sanae sees the doctor out and Akio tells Tomoya to be strong.
At home, Ushio is in bed and asks Tomoya about Sports Day, but Tomoya says that he will stay with her. She then asks about Akki and Tomoya says that heâll probably run anyway, so she says that she wants him to beat Akki. He tells her again that he is staying with her and will protect her âno matter whatâ. Ushio falls asleep.
A month goes by and Ushio still has the fever. Tomoya resigns from his job to take care of her full time. Yoshino says that it was a hard decision for him to make and Tomoya says that both Akio and Sanae tried to stop him, but he wanted to be with Ushio. Yoshino asks him if he has money and Tomoya says that he has a little saved for Ushioâs education. He then tells Tomoya that heâs worked hard and Tomoya thanks him for all heâs done. Yoshino makes them exchange screwdrivers, to be exchanged again when Tomoya returns to work. I thought this was a nice way that Yoshino had of making Tomoya promise to come back to work someday.
Ushio is still sick and Tomoya briefly considers taking her to the hospital, but decides against it, since they donât know how to treat her illness. He also keeps her home because Ushio wants to stay at home. When itâs time to change her pajamas, she wants to do it herself, but when she tries to stand, she falls back down and looks surprised and sad that happened. Since she hasnât been able to take care of herself, Tomoya has been doing everything for her and looks exhausted himself. He wonders if better days will ever return.
Tomoya asks Ushio if she wants anything, saying that heâll get whatever she wants, toys, sweets, etc. However, all she wants is to take another trip with him and he promises that they will when she gets better. But she wants to go now and he has to plead with her not to be unreasonable. It seems that she gives in and it breaks his heart that he canât grant her wish, silently asking Nagisa for advice. He shows some bitterness towards the town again, saying that it has toyed with his family, granting them happiness âjust for funâ and then taking it away. Tomoya vows to save Ushio âno matter whatâ.
Sanae stays with Ushio, while Akio and Tomoya go out. Akio tries to give Tomoya some money, but he refuses it, saying that heâs ok for now. Akio lets him refuse and Tomoya promises to let him know if things get bad. On the way back from the store, they stop to rest at a bench on the hospital grounds. Tomoya says that âhumans sacrificed natureâ to build the hospital and asks what they will sacrifice next. Akio says that they are leveling a hill to build a shopping mall, but I donât think that was what Tomoya was asking. I almost think that he was referring to himself and what heâs expected to sacrifice. Tomoya muses that perhaps Nagisa became bound to the town when Akio brought her to that area before the hospital was built. Now, Ushio may be bound to the town as well and wonders if change is causing the town pain. Akio says that itâs just change.
Tomoya says that â âif people dying are part of change, then maybe we have to accept thatâ. I think with making this statement, he knows Ushio might die. But Akio says that â âpeople build hospitals because we donât want to accept thatâ. And I think Akio is really saying that he wonât accept the possibility of Ushio dying. They see a mother and a little girl leaving the hospital and the nurse giving the child some flowers. I think they both realize that Ushio will never be as well as that little girl ever again.
I noticed something interesting here. There are several scenes of Tomoyaâs apartment building in the episode and at this point the scene looks very faded. I wondered if itâs perhaps because Ushioâs life is fading as well, taking all the âlifeâ out of the apartment. Then again, it could just be that Iâm seeing things again.
Now, Tomoya looks sick as well â I donât think heâs taking good care of himself, putting everything he has into taking care of Ushio. Not only that, it looks as if heâs hallucinating â he sees the other world, covered in snow for a second or two. Or maybe itâs a message of some kind. Tomoya asks Ushio if sheâs thirsty and she says that she is, so he goes to get her some water. But when he opens the fridge, water is just about the only thing in it and he gets such a look of despair on his face. After Ushio sips the water, she tells him again that she wants to go on a trip and he again promises that they will when she gets better. This time she is insistent that she wants to go to the field of flowers, telling Tomoya that âit has to be nowâ and he finally gives in. I think he knows itâs her final request.
Before leaving the apartment, he takes the picture of Nagisa with him. I found this a little disturbing. At first I thought that he just wanted her to go on the trip with them, perhaps as a âfamilyâ. Then I got the feeling itâs because he doesnât think heâs coming back. Tomoya wants to carry Ushio, but she wants to walk with him. He looks back at the apartment building â is it for the last time? Again, I found that disturbing. Ushio hardly makes it to the end of the block and falters. Tomoya tells her that itâs enough and it starts to snow. They both tell each other that they like the snow and I realized that they havenât even been together for an entire year.
Tomoya wants to take a cab at this point, but Ushio refuses and keeps walking. It is so hard for her, but she keeps going. She finally collapses and Tomoya catches her. She asks him if they are already on the train and he says that they are. She says itâs dark and asks if itâs night and he agrees that itâs the âmiddle of the nightâ. Then Ushio says âDaddy, I love youâ and Tomoya says that he loves her too and begins to cry. Ushio closes her eyes and dies in her fatherâs arms. He holds her closer and cries harder, screaming her name. He hugs her tighter and says â âno, I donât want thisâ and asks Nagisa to save Ushio. Tomoya calls out one more time to Nagisa before collapsing himself. Is he dead too? Is that why the orbs rose up?
In the other world, the girl is lying in the snow. The little robot wakes her up, helps her to stand, and they keep walking. The robot wonders how far they still have to go and the girl collapses in the snow again. I used to think that the girl represented Nagisa, but now Iâm wondering if itâs somehow Ushio instead â just a feeling on my part.
Back to the beginning â Tomoya is walking to school and saying how much he hates the town and how âitâs stained with memoriesâ he wants to forget. He says that he goes to school every day, he hangs out and then goes home to a place he doesnât like. He wonders if the day will come when anything will ever change. Then he sees Nagisa on the path with the cherry trees. He stops behind her and hears her ask herself if she likes this school. Then she answers herself that she loves it, âbut nothing can stay the sameâ.
Tomoya says that if he talks to her, they will eventually start dating, but thinks it might be better if that didnât happen. He says that â âit would be better if we had never metâ. This makes me think even more that Tomoya is dead too and that this is his chance for a different outcome of past events.
You wonât want to wait to watch the last episode. Well, itâs not the last, 23 is a flashback episode, but it wraps up the story.
I know Iâve been unusually quiet on the last few episodes, considering the comments I had before. I assure you, itâs not for having lost interest in CAS. Iâve been siting here for weeks contemplating what to say. Iâll probably put my thoughts to electrons this weekend (which for me is Sunday/Monday).
Ep. 22
spoiler
So the girl was Ushio and the robot Tomoyo. Still wonder how they got there. I was very glad to see they changed the time line. Was so nice seeing Nagisa survive. I love the scenes of the family growing up together. Also nice to see how the others were doing. I bet Ryou makes a great nurse. The scenes with Fuku were funny. What was with her finding the two versions of Ushio in the forest by the hospital? Wonder if we will get an answer to that.
Iâm just glad they gave us a happy ending. 
OK, here goes. Iâll start with Episode 19.
spoiler
Wicca, you may be surprised to find out I was pleased with episode 19. Tomoya resolved his feelings about his father and fulfilled his grandmotherâs request by getting his father to return home. He also took over his duties as Ushioâs father. It was the closing of one chapter in his life and the opening of a new chapter. Tomoya has really matured and become a caring and loving adult. Perhaps the act of letting go of his resentment towards his father was the catalyst for this change.
As for Akio and Sanae, I think I see the scene outside Tomoya and Ushioâs bedroom a bit differently from you. I donât think that Sanae was crying over the departure of Ushio. I think that Sanae was finally grieving over the loss of Nagasa. How do I come to this conclusion? First off, it was Sanaeâs rules that the only places that Ushio could cry was the bathroom or in her daddyâs arms. I would imagine she lived the same rules herself. She wanted Ushio to grow up in love and not be wracked by grief over never having met her mother. When Tomoya finally had dealt with his own grief and was able to assume the role of father to Ushio, which meant that she would be moving out, then Sanae finally could allow herself to grieve for the loss of her daughter. Akioâs words to her seem to confirm that.
As for Tomoya leaving Ushio alone as he goes to work⌠I feel that this was what you thought would be the place I would have expressed disapproval. However, I canât. For one thing, I realize that there are differences, sometimes vast ones, between the American and Japanese cultures and I have to consider what I see here in that light. Also, while they werenât as young as Ushio was when Tomoya left her alone, I had to leave my three kids alone while I went to work when they were growing up. Knowing that you sometimes are faced with difficult, if not untenable choices, and you have to do what needs to be done to get by, I could understand what Tomoya had to do.
Fukioâs reappearance was a nice thing but her demeanor was a bit off-putting. Given Keyâs penchant for throwing in a âcurve ballâ every so often as a humorous break, Fukio seems primed for some interesting scenes.
The ending, with the orb entering Tomoya with only Ushio noticing it, was a sweet moment. A foreshadowing of future events perhaps?
Episode 20
spoiler
The before the open scene at breakfast was enjoyable-Tomoya has become such a loving father. Did you notice he was a bit surprised when Ushio said âTastes good!â I love the way the include Nagisa in their daily activities, as well as the longing glance Tomoya give the photo as he closes the door.
One way Tomoya hasnât changed is with the interaction with his classmates. He suspects that Ushioâs teacher is Kyou when he finds out that the class pet is a âwild boarâ⌠well, not really, itâs just an adult Botan. Kyou doesnât recognize Tomoya until he turns around as she does her introduction as the Kindergarten teacher. When she does, and starts giggling at Tomoyaâs formal posturing, we flash back six years or so and itâs high school all over again! Once again Sanae shows her superb wisdom when Kyou tells Tomoya that Sanae asked her not to mention her friendship with Nagisa before Tomoya does. Sanae engineered everything so that Tomoya was the ultimate source for information on Nagisa.
I have to wonder about what Kyou told Tomoya about the idea of her, Ryou, Kotomi and Youhei going to visit him one New Years. Might it have pulled him out of his depression earlier? Of course, since it was five years elapsed time from Nagisaâa death and Kyou doesnât specify which year they thought about it, weâll never know. Itâs nice to know his friends stayed concerned about him, though?
Ushioâs visits to the hospital location were something to be concerned about. As a parent, I would have worried about a small child walking all that way-apparently even in the dark-but I have this feeling that Nagisa was walking with her all the time. Oh, and she wasnât visiting the hospital, Wicca. Shawn was right in remembering it was Nagisaâs special place. Could that be the significance?
As expected, Fukoâs visit to the Okazaki household was a wacky change of pace. I have to wonder which Furukawa backed the star bread-Akio or Sanae? The âbattleâ between Fuko and Tomoya was hilarious! I loved the part where Tomoya called Fuko an alien because of her peculiar mannerisms. She said âFuko is not an alien!â but with the big stuffed Dango on her head, how could we tell?
It was sweet to hear Ushioâs description of her mother-sheâs young and still processing all that her father tells her-but she was very sure of the most important part-that her daddy loved her mommy very much. What better impression to be the most prominent?
More good-natured sparring with Kyou when Tomoya comes to pick up Ushio. Knowing the somewhat rocky relationship they had in school, itâs nice to see they are friends still. As for the Sports day challenge, I can totally understand how Tomoyaâs mind (and heart) was changed when that little hand tugged on his sleeve and he hear that voice say âgood luck!â
Ushio makes another trip to the woods, this time with Fuko to accompany her. They return to the hospital, and Ushio admits that she doesnât know why she likes to come to this spot-but we know.
The âRockyâ-inspired training sequence was very cute-a real period of father-daughter bonding. Iâll swear Iâve herd that background music before-it sounds like something from a music library I used at my last video production job about 9 years ago.
I liked the transition from the two dogs sniffing each other nose to nose to Akio and Tomoya trying to psych each other out-a great moment of film making. But then, it all comes crashing back down to earth-Ushio comes out of the bathroom and collapses.
Fate can be so cruel.
Episode 21
spoiler
A plunge into the depths of despair. The same doctor who took care of Nagisa tells Tomoya, Akio and Sanae that Ushio has the same disease her mother had. He doesnât know any more about the sickness now than when he treated Nagisa, so Tomoya takes Ushio to their apartment and tries to care for her with the help of Sanae while still working his job. After a month, he makes the decision to leave his job and care for Ushio full time. His boss expresses regret at his leaving, and Yoshino makes him promise to return by giving Tomoya his favorite screwdriver and taking one of Tomoyaâs in exchange. Itâs a touching and low key way to let Tomoya know how much he cares. Iâm sure heâll think about Tomoya and Ushio every time he uses it, too.
Ushio grows weaker as the days and weeks go on. She canât stand, canât dress herself and can only eat soft foods. Even though she has all these obstacles, she wants to go on another trip with her Daddy. Tomoya slips deeper into despair, lamenting that he canât grant his daughter her only wish. Iâve never faced such a grave situation as Tomoya has, but Iâve been in enough desperate situations that I have an idea how he feels at that time. I think thatâs why he didnât attempt to take Ushio to the hospital. With a new, seemingly state of the art facility in town now, surely it would have been the best place for Ushio to be. However, Tomoya was going on the experiences of Akio and Sanae with Nagisa, where her sickness would, for lack of a better term, go into remission. He was hoping that Ushio would get better with time like he had seen with Nagisa.
Akio and Sanae came over to the apartment so Tomoya could go and do some shopping. When they left the apartment, Akio offers Tomoya some money. Tomoya refuses the offer as he feels the situation has not become desperate enough for him to accept charity. Akio gave him a good piece of advice: âEven if you lose face as a man, there are things you must protect.â Good advice-pride is worth nothing when compared to the ones you love, who look to you for love and protection.
They stop in front of the hospital and Tomoya and Akio engage in a philosophical discussion about the town and its residents, including them. I like your interpretation of the conversation, Wicca-I can be somewhat dense when it comes to philosophy at times. I wonder, though, if Akio was in some gentle way trying to get Tomoya to bring Ushio to the hospital. If so, it would seem to be out of character from his brash, swaggering persona, but not from the loving and caring man underneath.
We jump forward to December-the stores are all decorated for the Christmas season but thereâs no joy in the Okazaki household. Tomoya, in the position a have to assume he maintains most of the day, is watching Ushio sleep. He gets up and we see he is weakened and haggard. He has trouble focusing on the picture of Nagisa and as he looks out the window he gets-what? Perhaps a glimpse of the Unseen World?
Ushio awakens and Tomoya offers her some water. As he retrieves it from the refrigerator, we see that apparently Tomoya did not keep his promise to Akio to let him know when things get desperate. Ushio asks again to go on a trip with Tomoya to the flower field. She insists it must be now. Could it be that in her own way she knew this would be their last time together? Tomoya relents and they leave the apartment. After all this time, Iâm amazed that Ushio can walk any distance at all. Their preparations for leaving are intercut with them starting out on the street in front of the apartment building, and I noticed that Tomoya took Nagisaâs picture on the trip, too. Unlike you, Wicca, I donât think Tomoya thinks they wonât be coming back. However, I think he took Nagisaâs picture to give him strength for the journey.
I donât know what more I could say about that final walk that you havenât said Wicca, except to express my belief that Tomoya wasnât dying himself, except maybe in spirit. If it were me, I would have used the excuse of going on the trip to get Ushio to the hospital, but then I would have had he admitted months before. I donât blame Tomoya, I just would have done things differently. I do have to say that this was one of the most painful sections of the entire two series, and itâs even more so now that I realize it wasnât even a year in their lives. It was touching to see, though that Tomoya still had his wedding ring on, over five years after losing Nagisa.
We switch to the Illusionary World, where it seems the same scene is being played out. I did not have a firm opinion on who the Imaginary World girl was, Wicca, but I could see the similarities between the previous scene and this one.
Now, having lost the two people he most loved in the world, Tomoya is a broken man. He say he hates the town and wishes that he had never even spoken to Nagisa, had never started the journey that brought him to this moment. Is this how he truly feels or is it the despair speaking? Thereâs only one way to know-Episode 22.
Now, Wicca, I donât believe that Tomoya is dead at this point. I have my own take on this, but Iâll hold on to that until the end of my thoughts on episode 22.
Episode 22
spoiler
The parallels between the ârealâ world and the Illusionary World begin to fall in place. We see that the girl is Ushio and the robot is Tomoya. She explains to him that she must stay in the Illusionary World but he must return to the real world-but at the point where he meets Nagisa at school for the first time. Ushio explains that the desires of the people in the real world become the lights that enable Ushio to send Tomoya back to that first meeting. As she does, we see all the people that have been in Tomoyaâs and Nagisaâs life-itâs actually the âparadeâ from the end credits and we move from back to front passing each of them until we get to Tomoya. Ushio explains that Tomoya is the bridge between the two worlds. She begins to sing the Big Dango Family song and His robot form flies apart.
Tomoya finds himself watching Nagisa walk away on that hill by the school and realizes he canât let that happen, no matter what they may go through in the future, so he calls out to her and runs to embrace her. (I thought it was so sweet that Tomoya knocked one of Nagisaâs shoes off!) Itâs not the Nagisa he met that day, itâs the one that went through all the good and bad time with him, and she thanks him that he didnât pass up the chance to meet her then. Nagisa asks Tomoya to not âlose his wayâ again, and never to regret the time they spent together.
We then look around the town as the world seems to âresetâ and Nagisa asks Tomoya if he would like to go tothe place in town where wishes come true. He says his long journey has come to an end, then he hears a noise and wakes up.
That noise is Ushioâs first cry, and Tomoya finds himself back at Nagisaâs side in the apartment just after she has given birth to their daughter. Heâs still holding her hand but he remembers her hand lying there limp and calls her name. She wakes and asks him whatâs wrong, to which he replies âWeâre together, right?â She says, âWeâll always be together.â Then the midwife pronounces both mother and child are fine and Tomoya gets to give Ushio her first bath. The look on his face as he lowers his daughter into the water is priceless-itâs as if heâs defusing an atomic bomb!
Then Nagisa sees something beautiful outside the apartment. Tomoya thinks itâs the snow, but then realizes they are rising-itâs the orbs rising to the Imaginary World. Nagisa and Tomoya sing the Big Dango Family song to Ushio as the proud grandparents and midwife look on. We then see many scenes of the Okazaki family as they grow together. They finally take that trip to the field of flowers⌠and I completely lost it here the first time I watched the episode, and I still tear up now as I watch it while writing this. Why? Itâs revealed that the girl running through the field of flowers-the shadow we see on the ground in the opening of Clannad (and the single most amazing shot of any I have seen in any anime open, bar none) is none other than Ushio! She was the first one we met so many episodes ago. I so love happy endings!
We also get to see all the people we came to know so well as they live their lives in happiness, filling the town with the joy that generates more orbs. It was so nice to see that Ushio gets to meet one of her great grandmothers-Tomoyaâs grandmother. And the final shot of the two walking in the field of flowers⌠if Iâm not mistaken, isnât that Naoyuki and a very young Tomoya?
OK, now for my view on the second half of After Story. Itâs a decidedly different take on the story line. I donât feel that any of the events of episode 16 (starting with the birth of Ushio) through Tomoya and Nagisaâs reunion at the hill in episode 22 actually happened. I feel that Tomoya was so stressed over all that had transpired that he had a dream (one might say a nightmare)-or even an experience like that of George Bailey in Itâs A Wonderful Life (though in reverse), where he got to see what would happen to Ushio and him if Nagisa was no longer in their lives. When he realized that it didnât matter what happened to the three of them, that it would be all worth it for what they had together that the miracle happened and Nagisa lived. Maybe Iâm wrong, but thatâs the way Iâm going to see it.
Now we have a bit of a epilogue, as we find Kouko taking Fuko to the hospital for a checkup. They have a spirited discussion about Fukoâs manner of referring to herself that is hilarious. Fuko then tries to get out of the hospital visit by feigning hunger for hamburger steaks with a fear that the restaurant will run out of them before they get there. They get to the hospital and Fuko smells something-a âcute smellâ-and after a bit reminiscent of a Abbot and Costello routine she goes running off into the woods to find a girl sleeping under a tree. We get a glimpse of the girl from the Illusionary World but the next time we see her, itâs a sleeping Ushio. Hmmmm???
Then, for the final closing credits a real treat! We find that . leading the parade of characters is none other than Ushio and Fuko! Why did I miss them for the entire series?
For those of you who have gotten to see After Story episode 22:
TvTropes.org has two pages discussing Clannad and both are chock full of spoilers.
spoiler
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Clannad = the series
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/Clannad = character sheet
Notice there are differing opinions in the AlternateUniverse section regarding the meaning of episode 22.
Was it âŚcomplex.com/?tags=clannad+group+rating%3Asafe or âŚcomplex.com/?tags=clannad+calendar?
Episode 22 -
spoiler
In the other world, the little robot tries to wake the girl lying in the snow. As a blizzard rages around them, the little robot blames himself for taking her with him and says that he made her suffer.
Tomoya is still standing on the path of the cherry trees â a place of limbo, staring at Nagisa in front of him. Heâs faced with the agonizing dilemma of whether or not to speak with her for the first time and have her in his life or not. It is silent and the colors are muted â as if the world is waiting for his decision.
The little robot is now lying in the snow as well, wondering if it is the end of their journey and saying that he never wanted to let the girl fall asleep there.
On the path, Nagisa turns towards Tomoya and walks back to him. She hesitates as she passes him, giving him the chance to say something, but he remains silent, facing forward, ignoring her and she passes him, continuing on.
The little robot finally wakes the girl and tells her that heâll always be by her side. She thanks him and then tells the confused robot that she can hear him now. She says that soon she wonât be a person anymore and thatâs why she can hear him. She tells him that she had a dream and found out things about him and herself. The girl tells the little robot that they came from the same world and were very close to each other. The robot says that they donât belong in this world then and should go back to the other one together, but the girl says that she must remain. She tells him that she is this world, but the robot doesnât understand and says that they promised to leave this world together. She says that if she leaves, this world will disappear and that âthe lights will become misfortunesâ. She then explains that the lights are peopleâs desires in the other world and that he was one of the lights (I remember in the last episode that when he collapsed, an orb rose from his body. He had asked Nagisa to save Ushio â a desire?). There is the parade of people from the end credits and the girl tells him that they were from the same place, but saw things differently. The robot asks if there was another him there and she says that he should know because he exists in both worlds. As she says this, the parade ends with Tomoya - is the little robot Tomoya? She says that they were able to meet because he overcame the distance between the worlds.
The girl tells the little robot that he will soon lose consciousness and wake up in the other world. She tells him that he will meet many people and experience many things and that then they will meet as well. She explains about the lights again, saying that just as peopleâs desires are lights in this world, her desires shine as lights in the other world and tells him that âeach light is small, but if you have a lot of them, theyâll be a wonderful, powerful forceâ. The snow has stopped completely now and the little robot looks across the frozen, white landscape into the distance where a bright light is shining down from the sky. The girl starts humming the dango song and the robot says that he knows it. The girl agrees, saying that he used to sing it to her. Bright beams of light suddenly shoot from the sky and a strong wind blows the little robot apart. He is able to get one final look at the girl, as she says âgoodbye daddyâ and then her body turns into orbs of light. As the orbs reach the little robot, what is left of him disintegrates.
I knew that the girl might be Ushio, but now that I know the little robot is Tomoya, I feel that this âother worldâ was of his own making. Iâm still not sure if he is alive or dead in the real world â I still think he might have died from a combination of illness and grief and that is how he ended up in the other world with Ushio. But I believe the other world is somehow inside of him â a mix of the physical and the spiritual. A cold, barren place that he created with his hatred of the town and the sorrowful tragedies of his life experiences. As things in his life got worse, the landscape in the other world became more desolate and grew colder. The death of Ushio may have been the last straw and he retreated to this world, thinking it was the only way to stay with her. Now that he has the chance to change things, this little world of his can no longer exist. Just a theory, but I do believe that the spiritual concept of the orbs is real in the story.
Tomoya comes to himself on the path. The colors are vivid now and the birds are chirping. The limbo world is becoming real. He finally realizes all that he is giving up and he just canât do it. He turns and yells Nagisaâs name but she keeps walking. Tomoya drops his book bag and runs to her, calling her name again. Nagisa finally turns and he hugs her so violently that he knocks the breath from her, as well as knocking off one of her shoes. Nagisa says that sheâs happy that he called her back, because she was really worried that he never wanted them to meet after all. Tomoya can only cry and hold her closer as she says that she was glad they met. He can only repeat her name, but he pours everything he feels into saying it. Nagisa tells him not to lose his way anymore âno matter what awaitsâ and asks him not to regret meeting her. She asks if itâs too much to ask for and Tomoya takes her face between his hands and tells her sheâs right. He then kisses her hands, telling her âthank youâ and hugs her again, this time lifting her off her feet. The world distorts and there seems to be light orbs. Nagisaâs voice asks â âshall I take you to a place where wishes come true?â and Tomoyaâs voice says that âmy long journey has come to an end.â
Ushioâs cry brings Tomoya to himself and he is holding Nagisaâs hand. It is just after the birth and he says Nagisaâs name. Thinking that he is reliving her death, he says her name again and begins to cry, clutching her hand. However, this time, she miraculously opens her eyes and says his name. He looks at her in surprise and shock and she asks him whatâs wrong. Tomoya says âweâre togetherâ almost as if he canât believe it. Nagisa agrees with him and says that theyâll âalways be togetherâ and that they âalways say thatâ. He examines her hand, perhaps to reassure himself that she really is alive this time. The midwife is there holding Ushio and says that he doesnât have to âworry about the baby or the mother anymoreâ and tells Nagisa that sheâs done well. Akio appears behind Tomoya and says that he âdid well tooâ and Sanae, kneeling on the other side of Nagisa, asks if heâd like to bathe Ushio for the first time. As Tomoya nervously bathes Ushio with everyone looking on, Sanae says that she is a healthy baby and Nagisa says âI hope she remains healthy even as she gets olderâ. Tomoya says that âsheâll be strong in both mind and bodyâ and Nagisa tells him to look out of the window at a beautiful sight. He looks and sees orbs of light rising up to the sky. At first he thinks âsnow?â but then âno, this isâŚâ He knows the orbs are Ushioâs desires in this world and with so many of them, is this the âwonderful, powerful forceâ she spoke of?
Nagisa sings the dango song to the sleeping Ushio and Tomoya, lying on the other side of the baby, joins in â itâs a very sweet family scene. The baby wakes and cries. Nagisa speaks over the following scenes and says that âif this town had thoughts and a mind just like a person, and if it was trying to make its residents happy, this town might have caused this miracle, but itâs not a miracle is it?â She goes on to talk more about the town and how people love it and want to be there. Tomoya says that the people of the town are âlike a giant happy familyâ and Nagisa agrees, saying that it is âa big dango familyâ. Tomoya says that heâs "finally beginning to understand that.â Iâm happy that Tomoya is finally coming to accept his place in the town and no longer hates it or blames it for his troubles.
All through this are scenes of Ushio growing up with her family and having a perfect life â maybe a little too perfect. Tomoya, Nagisa, and Ushio take a trip together and Ushio gets to run through the field of flowers. There are other scenes of how their friendâs lives are turning out and I swore that I saw Fuko all grown up, but maybe I was mistaken - Iâm not that good with faces. There is a scene of Naoyuki at home and another of the family visiting Shino. There is one especially nice final scene of a little Tomoya and his father walking through the field of flowers, hand in hand. Then everything fades out. Was any of this real? Iâm not so sure. Perhaps this is how things might have been had Nagisa lived. I keep thinking of the line saying that this wasnât a miracle.
Fuko and her sister, Kouko, are walking through town with Fuko referring to herself in the third person. She is angry because someone mistook her for being a little girl. There is some funny interaction with Kouko about speaking in the third person, but when Fuko tries to use âIâ, she thinks it âsounds dirtyâ and goes back to using third person. Then she has a sudden urge to go to a family restaurant and her sister promises that they will go after the exam, but Fuko is worried that they will run out of hamburger steak and wants to go right away, causing an argument with Kouko. They are almost at the hospital and her sister tries to explain that she worries about her and wants to make sure that she is healthy, so Fuko needs to have periodic check-ups. Fuko then lays spread eagle on the ground and tells her sister to go ahead and dissect her so she wonât worry anymore. She gets up and tells her sister to hurry up because sheâs walking too slowly. Poor Kouko can only say â âsheâs a handfulâ. I really love the Celtic background music here too.
Once on the hospital grounds, Fuko smells something â âa cute smellâ and tells Kouko that someone is there. Thereâs some very funny back and forth banter with Kouko and several repetitious statements of âshe probably came to see Fukoâ and âshe smells cuteâ. Fuko then tells Kouko that âsheâs sleeping over thereâ and that âsheâs waiting for someone to wake her upâ, before running towards the woods. She yells back to her sister that she should follow quickly if she wants to see her as well and that she is under a tree. Kouko asks âwhoâ, but Fuko doesnât know and can only say that âsheâs very cuteâ, causing her sister to repeat that âsheâs really a handfulâ.
Fuko quietly creeps through the woods and calls out âare you there?â and âitâs Fukoâ. The girl from the other world is under the tree. Fuko asks âwhatâs your name?â and the girl under the tree is shown to be a sleeping Ushio. Fuko says âletâs be friends and play together â the fun has just begunâ. At least I now know why the orbs are on the ground under the tree on all the title pages in the beginning of the episodes.
I really get the feeling here that this is the reality â that Nagisa and Tomoya are both dead and that somehow their love sent Ushio back. Tomoya did ask Nagisa to save Ushio and I think it happened. I think too that Fuko will also get her wish to make Ushio her little sister. And I see that Ushio and Fuko now appear in the end credits as well, as part of the parade. This was an amazing series and was well worth the emotional roller coaster ride!
Newshawk - Just wanted to say that I love what you wrote and that you make many good points. However, Iâm glad we disagree on a few things!
ShawnMerrow - I doubt we will get an answer to that, although it would be nice to know for sure.
Wow, Wicca. And I thought I was going off in a direction that no one had gone off in before! Iâll have to mull this over for a bit.
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I believe that it may have been what Tomoyaâs life could have been like had Nagsisa lived. That was the impression I got from watching those scenes of a perfect life together - it was a little too good to be true for me and there were a couple of what I took to be hints that it wasnât real. But the way the episode is done, it sort of leaves you to draw your own conclusions, as many of these shows do. We have differing opinions right here for you to read. Iâm curious to know what youâd like to believe. Which ending would you prefer?
Pick mine! Pick mine! :silly:
Some of this was very interesting, but what was really nice to see was under âAnd The Fandom Rejoicedâ -
A link to this site, as well as a link to Dragoonâs SXAniMedia article! 
:laugh: Sometimes, I think too much!
There are so many ways to interpret episode 22, but I think I will
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just take everything at face value. I would much prefer that through some cosmic act of âmagicâ, however unlikely, that time has gone back and Nagisa, Tomoya, and Ushio are all alive and happy. Both Tomoya and Nagisa worked very hard to build their lives together and I think itâs simply too much for the world to be that cruel to them, not to mention Nagisaâs parents. With all the suffering and guilt they already had, the death of both their daughter and granddaughter would be far too much for them.
However, I could easily see how this could be interpreted as dream sequence, or just showing how their lives could have been. It certainly leaves itself open to be viewed however the watcher likes. Tomoya could be dead or comatose and everything could be in his head. Their town could be full of miracles and this was just another grander one. I donât really think there is any definitive answer.
Clannad After Story certainly has a very controversial ending. But despite that, it makes you take pause and think. It makes you consider many various ideas and interpretations, and doesnât give you all the answers.
The show and the ending make me think and feel, and in the end, I think thatâs the definition of a great show.
No one can argue with that, Cody!
Donât forget, there are still 3 eps. left. After seeing them, it might help how you interpret the latter half of After Story and ep. 22, specifically. If it helps, keep in mind the last two eps of Evangelion and the Human Instrumentality Project.