クラナド アフターストーリー Episode 12

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

After having a fun dinner at Nagisa’s home, Nagisa and Tomoya walk back to Tomoya’s apartment. Nagisa has something she wants to talk to Tomoya about, but he quickly deflects the conversation into getting her a swimsuit. Since she only has her old school one, Tomoya wants his girlfriend to have a cute swimsuit and promises that they’ll have a fun-filled shopping day. Nagisa is happy with this, but she hasn’t forgotten what she wanted to talk to Tomoya about and she won’t let him deflect it a second time. She wants to know if Tomoya has told his father where he’s living now. Tomoya hasn’t and doesn’t want to, but does promise Nagisa that the two of them will visit his father at some point in the future.

At his job, Tomoya’s work has been recognized and his boss tells him about a project management opportunity with high pay, but working for another company. This surprises Tomoya, but Yoshino feels Tomoya is ready. During their travels to work sites, Yoshino tells Tomoya his story from the 3rd-person. Back in high school as a 3rd-year student, Yoshino got into the rock scene and was encouraged by Ibuki-sensei to follow that dream. After high school, Yoshino rose quickly to popularity on the music scene but after seeing how his music was having an effect on others (in a positive way), he stopped writing music for himself and tried to write for others, but failed. So, he took off for a time before returning to the music scene where he learned that someone committed a crime because of his music. This sent Yoshino into a tailspin where he resorted to drugs before leaving the music scene completely. When he returned to this town, Ibuki-sensei met him at the bus stop. With that, Yoshino stops his tale as they reach their destination.

At his apartment, Tomoya and Nagisa work on preparing dinner and Tomoya tells Nagisa about the opportunity. She is very happy for him because this means Tomoya’s work is being recognized. With her encouragement, Tomoya decides that he’ll accept the offer. The next day, Tomoya spends the day with Nagisa and sits with her and a bunch of neighborhood women rather than play ball with Akito-san and the neighborhood children. That evening, Nagisa and Tomoya walk to his apartment where she comments on how much he’s changed since she met him. Once they get to the apartment, the phone rings with a message for Tomoya to get in contact with his father’s acquaintance. Tomoya does this and learns his father has committed a crime and been arrested.

The following day at work, work of Tomoya’s father’s arrest has already gotten around and in Japanese society, that’s enough to cause Tomoya’s job opportunity to be withdrawn. His boss tells him that Tomoya still has a job with the electric company though. That evening in the park, Tomoya and Nagisa talk about this. Tomoya wants to move away from the city with Nagisa. Nagisa calmly rejects this idea as it means running away from a problem. Tomoya is very frustrated by things that are happening. Nagisa tells him that she’ll go with him anywhere, but she wants to leave on a positive note rather than a negative one. If they leave on a negative note, then the city they were born and raised in will not be a good place to return to (such as visiting friends or family).

Tomoya and Nagisa visit his father in prison. Nagisa stays quiet as an angry Tomoya rants at his father. His father says nothing, so Tomoya has had enough and storms out, Nagisa following. In a residential alley, Tomoya takes out his anger by punching the wall, injuring his knuckles. Crying and still in rage, Tomoya tries to attack the wall again, but Nagisa grabs him and holds him before maneuvering to the front on him, where she tightly embraces Tomoya until his legs give out and he goes down to his knees, Nagisa with him, holding him. Having calmed down, Tomoya asks Nagisa to marry him and she accepts, saying he’s the only one and they are strongest together and that she’ll stay with him forever.

Thoughts/Review:

  I couldn’t help but notice the continued thunderhead clouds that kept being shown. Foreshadowing for more gloom and doom on the horizon? The fact that one was shown in the final scene before being focused on tells me, “Yes.” Man, I tell ya, if Nagisa dies, I’m going to be crying like a baby and I’m going to hate it with a passion, even if she is only a 2D fictional character. However, her saying she’ll be with Tomoya forever as a big thunderhead is shown approaching makes me think for sure she’s gone. I hope I’m wrong somehow.

The part about Tomoya losing his new job offer due to something his father did makes me glad that I wasn’t born Japanese in Japan. ^_^; I’m not sure how much this element of Japanese culture still prevails today in Japan, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does at least to some degree, especially in a smaller city. Man, can you imagine how you’d feel if that happened to you? I think we’d react as Tomoya did. I’m glad that Nagisa is there for him though and that they are finally engaged to be married. I wonder when we’ll see that happen.

The strange part of this episode was how Yoshino’s story is told. I sorta expected things to shift to his story in a traditional sense rather than Yoshino being a narrator over his story, which was rapped up in about half an episode. I guess that means that the writers feel the Tomoya and Nagisa story as a couple has to press forward, though with 12-episodes remaining, I’m wondering what else could be in store. Normally, these Kyoto adaptations of Visual Art’s/Key products seem to be a tad rushed at the end but it seems that may not be the case this time, but who knows for sure.

So, half-way through and finally Tomoya and Nagisa are engaged. Yay! Please don’t kill Nagisa.