Clannad ~After Story~

After Story is the continuation of the story of Clannad, practically right where it left off. It is not as long of a story as the bulk of Clannad, as that it focuses on the story between Furukawa Nagisa and Okazaki Tomoya. There is, in the game, two small paths that delve into the stories of Nagisa's parents, but the anime doesn't touch on those.

The game and the anime have only minor differences as to the presentation of the story, but the plot and the overall ending remain the same. It still, even throughout the other stories during the first few episodes, focuses on the growing relationship between Nagisa and Tomoya.



The differences, which will be briefly explained in a moment, are some character stories that were different paths in the first part of the game. Due to the length of the first half of Clannad, the stories were placed at the front of After Story before the real story could truly commence.

The first story is about Sunohara Youhei, Who is Tomoya's best friend. He takes a call as a prank for Youhei, and ends up forgetting to tell him that his sister Mei is coming to town to check up on him because she is worried about him. Tomoya and Nagisa don't want her to worry, so they want to have her believe that he is fine because he "has a girlfriend", which they hope will convince her that he actually devoted his life to something ever since he losthis place on the soccer team, which was due to him not wanting to deal with the demeaning authority figures in charge.

The only problem with their plan was that no girl really cared for Sunohara, and were repulsed at the idea of any sort of romantic relations with him. Tomoya and Nagisa asked some of their friends if they would pretend to be so until Mei went home, but met with no luck. They ended up with Nagisa's mother playing the role, and it unfortunately worked too well on Sunohara himself, who was unaware of who she was, and fell in love with her.

Mei doesn't leave right away, and tries to validate the relationship. Sunohara thrusts himself into the relationship, and ends up practically ignoring Mei, which ends up making her incredibly sad. She go to great lengths to try to get him to get back on a good path, one she feels a brother should be on, starting with claiming she has an "older boyfriend" (which Okazaki attempts to portray to help her out) to asking the Soccer team to take him back in. After the Soccer Team starts picking on her, Sunohara jumps in to rescue her, leading to a large brawl. Okazaki and Sunohara get into a fight afterwards, and it ends with things going back to normal, including finding out that Sunohara's "girlfriend" was in fact Nagisa's mother.

Sunohara Mei and Sagara Misae, as portrayed in the game.

The second story follows the history of Sagara Misae, the dorm mother of the men's dorm Sunohara lives in. One note that has been a focus for her is that she has an orange cat, whom is portrayed illicitly as the reincarnation of Misae's high school sweetheart, Shima Katsuki. The character is not around, not even in the past, but is in a similar situation to Michiru from the anime Air. Katsuki had passed away due to a childhood disease, but his projection lives on to find Misae so he can thank her for being so kind to him when he was in the hospital. He feels that he has to grant her a wish with the orb of light he had obtained from "a close friend", although the persons' name is never mentioned. She originally has eyes for someone else and refuses to accept the wish, but finds out the person she likes is seeing someone else, and gets depressed. She sees how kind and caring Katsuki is when he constantly tries to comfort her, and ends up doing activities with him and coming to love him.

Katsuki has, however been coming to realize that he is not as people think he is. Misae's friends also befriend Katsuki. One day while they are hanging out, it gets late and they tell Katsuki that they would be happy to walk him home. He then realizes that he doesn't remember where he lives, and after a search they find his home, only to see that he had actually passed away some time ago. the friends decide to keep the condition a secret.

The relationship between the two continue, and Katsuki had forgotten about the wish until the night of a school festival. But when he reaches for the pouch that he had the orb stored in and opens it, he finds that it is empty. He gets frustrated, and Misae tells him that she has a wish anyway and that the orb is not necessary. Right after she tells him the wish, he vanishes. He shows up again a short time later, but as a reincarnation of a cat.

After the main bulk of the story has ended, another one-episode alternate timeline - like after the first half of this anime - is shown, and it follows the story of Fujibayashi Kyou. The episode, being only 22 minutes long, covers the last half of her story. the first half is hinted at, but regrettably can only be truly grasped if one has played the game.

It starts off with Tomoya and Kyou's twin sister, Ryou, beginning their relationship as a couple. Ryou is of course very happy, but Tomoya feels that something is not quite right. As he thinks about it and talks with both of the twins, he realizes that he should have actually been with Kyou. Kyou obviously has a lot of romantic feeling for Tomoya, but wants her sister to be happy and tries repeatedly to push Tomoya away when he tries to talk about it. So he tries to break up with Ryou, who can tell what is going to happen, but tries hard to shrug it off. After a couple of attempts, he tells her to meet him in their classroom (in the game it is the school courtyard). He gets there and sees her, and Says that he cannot be with Ryou because he loves Kyou. Then it is revealed that the girl in the room with her is actually Kyou, who cut her hair to Ryou's length and came in her place so she could hear those words herself. It ends with them starting the relationship that was meant to be for that story.

The ending scene of Kyou's arc from the game.

The real story then takes place after the festival regarding Misae. Nagisa comes down with another case of what took her out of school the year before, which ended with her being held back a year. As time passes and Nagisa doesn't get any better, it becomes painfully evident that Nagisa will once again have to repeat the senior year of high school. Tomoya decides that he wants to fail purposely so he can be with Nagisa through the schoolyear repeat, but after a long conversation with her parents, he decides it is best that he graduate and get a job so he could support Nagisa when the time comes.

So Tomoya graduates, moves into a small apartment, and starts working as an electrician with Yoshino Yusuke, whom he had met at the beginning of the school year and helped out of a small problem. Nagisa had finally recovered and is repeating the third year. A difference of some note between the game and the anime for during this time is that in the game Nagisa had moved into the apartment with Tomoya, whereas in the anime she still lives at home with her parents.

As Tomoya progresses in the job and in the relationship he has with Nagisa, a much more grand management position becomes available to him through his current manager. right as it draws near for Tomoya to accept the job, though, his father gets arrested. The job offer falls through because of it, and Tomoya becomes infuriated. He visits his father in prison, and as he storms out frustrated, he tries to injure himself. Nagisa stops him, and Tomoya realizes that without Nagisa he would have given up on things long ago. He proposes, and she accepts.

Tomoya and Nagisa tell Nagisa's mother, Sanae, who is thrilled. The father, Akio, whom can obviously tell, does not listen. Tomoya tries several times to talk to him, and challenges him to a baseball match. The rules were simple. If Tomoya could hit one ball thrown at him, then Akio would listen and accept what Tomoya would say unconditionally. There were two problems with it: one, Tomoya has a bad right shoulder, and has a hard time swinging, much less doing anything requiring a shoulder; and two, Akio loves and is really good at baseball. Match after match Tomoya fails and Akio just laughs. Tomoya practices constantly to beat him, but to no avail. Eventually Akio becomes tired of this and forces a final round. Tomoya fails to hit it once again. Akio laughs and walks off, but then is convinced by his wife that he should have just one more go, to which Tomoya finally has a successful hit. He unconditionally accepts Tomoya's engagement to Nagisa.

As the school year progresses, Nagisa once again falls ill to the same condition that held her back the last two years. But unlike the last two years, the school has said that she has enough days in to graduate. so although she is still sick on graduation, she does indeed graduate, just at home. Shortly after she gets better, Tomoya invites all of the people she knew to the school and they all throw her a small graduation ceremony. After the ceremony, Tomoya and Nagisa finally get married.

Nagisa at her own little graduation ceremony.

Nagisa now lives at the apartment as well, and some of the stereotypical newlywed scenarios appear, but only briefly. As time goes on, Nagisa becomes pregnant. Friends from their school life show up for a party and how each of their lives had turned out after school is the primary topic.

The main focus for most of the story arc dealing with the pregnancy begins when Nagisa once again falls ill due to her weak body. A doctor comes and initially informs them all that as long as Nagisa is taken care of, the baby should still be able to be delivered fine.

But, Further complications occur when the condition worsens. Tensions build between Nagisa and Tomoya when the doctor initially recommends an abortion after the news comes that Nagisa may not make it out of the pregnancy alive; Nagisa wants to have the baby and Tomoya wants to make sure Nagisa does not die. Tomoya goes to live in Nagisa's old house and Sanae lives with Nagisa for a couple of days. Tomoya realizes over the time apart that he wants the baby just as much as Nagisa does, and the tension subsides between them, even though Tomoya considers keeping Nagisa alive as a top priority. As they discuss the baby, they decide on the name Ushio, for whether it is a boy or a girl.

The day finally comes, and the baby girl Ushio is about to be born. They were wanting to have the birth performed in a hospital, but the snow piled up incredibly fast in the city and the roads were dangerous to be on, so the baby was going to arrive in their apartment. Nagisa's condition also coincidentally worsens as the whole event is happening. Then Ushio finally arrives, and Nagisa and Tomoya joy over it. Then Nagisa passes away.

Five years pass, and Tomoya is at an all-time low. He feels he has no reason to live since Nagisa is gone, so he just works and blows most of the money on alcohol and gambling. After Ushio was born, Tomoya had Sanae and Akio take care of her. Sanae tries to visit often with Ushio during those five years, but Tomoya only barely acknowleges their existence. Sanae has had enough of that, and convinces Tomoya that he needs to take a couple of days off of work and come on a family trip with her, Akio, and Ushio. Tomoya reluctantly agrees. When he arrives at their house, however, the only person there is Ushio, with a note from Sanae saying that herself and Akio needed to go somewhere urgently and will be back as soon as they can.

Ushio, slightly scared of Tomoya after he seriously acknowledges her existence.

Tomoya is not thrilled that he has to be alone with Ushio, especially since not only does Ushio remind him of Nagisa, but that she also looks a lot like her, too. He spends time with her and does things with her as to what he feels he is required to. After an entire day passes and Akio and Sanae have not come back, Tomoya asks Ushio if she still wants to go on the trip that Sanae had planned. Ushio wants to, so they leave.

There were, conveniently, the tickets of where they were going to go immediately available, as well as where the destination was. Tomoya recognizes the destination only vaguely, but does not dwell on it. They get on the train, and Ushio keeps asking about Nagisa, to which Tomoya just shrugs it off saying that he will not talk about it and so she should just keep asking Sanae. As they sit there, there is a kid behind him that is making a lot of noise, to which Tomoya raises his voice to both the parent and the kid, asking them to keep it down. When he returns to his seat, he sees Ushio is not there. He goes looking for her, and finds her in the bathroom crying. He asks her if she was crying, to which she says that Sanae says she can only cry if she is in the bathroom. Calms her down and they return to their seats.

After a couple of stops they go to a store and Tomoya buys Ushio a present before they turn in to a hotel. When the morning comes they get back on the train and arrive at the destination that Sanae had set out for them, which is a large field of flowers, which Tomoya realizes as a place his father took him as a child. Ushio plays in the field until she comes back and says that the toy Tomoya bought for her is lost. Tomoya looks for it with her, but continues to have recollections of his past, to the point that he tells Ushio he will be gone for a moment, and leaves as Ushio continues to look for the toy.

He arrives at a coast, where an elderly woman is waiting. She is Tomoya's grandmother, and she tells Tomoya the story of his father, and how he vowed to raise Tomoya on his own with all of his heart when Tomoya's mother had died. She then also tells him what sacrifices the father made for Tomoya, and the depths of despair he went into to keep Tomoya happy. Tomoya has the startling revelation that he is no different than his father, and vows to raise and love Ushio similar to how his father raised him. He takes his grandmother to the field he left Ushio in, and sees her still looking for the toy. He goes out to her and says he can buy another, but Ushio says she wants to find the one she has been looking for, since it was the first thing Tomoya gave to her. When she realizes she can't find it anywhere, she asks if it is okay to cry, and she says that Sanae would only allow her to cry in the bathroom or in her father's arms. Tomoya, who is now deeply regretting how he had treated her for the last five years and how much he realizes he loves her, allows it. They both talk to Tomoya's grandmother one last time, and go home. Tomoya then asks Ushio if she would like to know more about Nagisa, and as he tells their story, he breaks down and cries, realizing all of the joys they had and all the joys he could have had with Ushio. He asks Ushio if she would like to live with him from now on, to which Ushio becomes very happy and agrees.

Ushio, smiling after she knows she will finally live with her father.

Upon arrival, they see Sanae and Akio, and Tomoya informs them that he will be taking care of Ushio from now on. Tomoya decides to grab all of the things that were once Nagisa's, and he and Ushio begin living together. Tomoya moves his work schedule around so he can take Ushio to school, and finds out that Fujibayashi Kyou is Ushio's teacher.

Time goes on, and their bonds develop. Tomoya runs into Yusuke's wife, Kouko, and sees Fuko. Fuko and Tomoya, although they do not remember each other due to the way their situation from the first part of the had worked out, end up going through the same teasing that had frequently gone on. But Fuko sees Ushio, and instantly falls in love with her and declares herself Ushio's sister. Ushio doesn't seem to really care, and befriends Fuko.

As a kindergarten parent's game arrives, Akio and Tomoya sign themselves up to participate, but Tomoya drops out when Ushio falls under the same weakening condition that befell Nagisa. A doctor merely says that it is the same as Nagisa's and only time will tell if she gets better. Tomoya feels that he has to take care of Ushio full-time, and so he quits work and lives off the money he has been saving since Ushio moved in, doing something quite similar to what Akio and Sanae did when Nagisa had initially came down with the same condition.

Ushio's condition deteriorates as the seasons change from summer to fall to winter. Ushio frequently asks if she and Tomoya can go on a trip like the one they had previously, and Tomoya keeps replying that they will most definitely go when she gets better. But Ushio does not get better, even to the point that she can no longer do basic things right. Finally, with the realization that she won't get better, Tomoya decides to take her on a trip when Ushio asks again.

As they walk down the snow-laden path, Tomoya keeps helping the rapidly deteriorating Ushio up and helps her walk. She finally just collapses, and asks if they are at their destination yet. Tomoya replies, and Ushio tells him she loves him. Tomoya returns the sentiment, and Ushio passes away in his arms. Tomoya yells out, and everything fades away.

The Hidden World's final story arc transitions in, and it shows the machine and the girl walking through the heavy snow. The girl collapses, and the machine tries with no luck to get her to keep moving. The girl informs the machine that she was having a dream, a dream of the two of them in the world that he has been trying to get them to. She tells him that he was the only thing that was connected to this world and the other world, and that although she cannot leave the world they are both in, he must go back to that world. She tells him that she wants him to be happy in the other world, ending with one simple phrase, "Goodbye, daddy." The Hidden World then vanishes.

Things return to Tomoya, who seems to be stuck in a nightmare. He has the recurring thought that he hates the city he is in, because it holds all of the memories he wants to forget. He feels that if he never met Nagisa, if he never gave her that push up the slope to the school, then he wouldn't have had to deal with the pain he went through over the past six years, and that Nagisa and Ushio would both not have had to go through what they went through. As the nightmare comes to the climax, he is arriving at the point where Nagisa and he first met. The thoughts of the pain still racing in his mind, he hears Nagisa say the same things she did that radiated the signs of lack of courage and emotional struggle. But instead of saying what he did to give her the courage, he remains silent, thinking to himself that it would be for the better.

Nagisa then turns around and begins walking back down the slope. Suddnenly, Tomoya then begins thinking of all the happy times he had with both Nagisa and Ushio alike, and realizes that they still greatly outweigh the sad times, and that they all became better stronger people because of it. He yells out her name and chases after her down the slope. He catches up to her and apologizes for doubting and trying to forget their memories. Nagisa replies that she is glad he stopped her from thinking all the sad thoughts, saying that without him she would not be as strong as she was while they were together. The nightmare Tomoya was experiencing then fades out.

Coming out of the nightmare, Tomoya is awoken by the sound of a crying baby. He realizes he is back to the time of Ushio's birth. He holds Ushio and shows her to Nagisa, exclaiming all of the things he and she will do with Ushio, and all the joy they will have. This time, Nagisa regains strength and lives through the ordeal. They spend their first few days with all of the family, and as the story ends, it shows Ushio growing up with both Tomoya and Nagisa present to see it all.

And the story ends, as the story's true ending.




~Koubo

The Clannad article List
Part one: Clannad
Part two: The Hidden World
Part three: Clannad ~After Story~