So another girl’s story on Clannad has finished and it’s left me with my usual reaction to this series and Kanon. I’d say that reaction is somewhere in between the two extremes of crying profusely or laughing derisively, although it tends towards the latter of these two. Crying is the response of those who’ve bought in to what Key and KyoAni are selling, although this requires a suspension of disbelief of monumental proportions. For those unable to meet this requirement, a range of possibilities, including laughing, groaning, facepalming or “meh” are the inevitable result, that is if such people are even bothering to watch anymore. But I think many of them may be, perhaps in the hope that something more than the usual overly-obvious emotional manipulation might come along, or perhaps because they have fallen in love with one of the girls (Oh Tomoyo and Kyou, how do I choose between you!) and need to hold out for their favored one’s arc to appear. As I said, my reaction is not as extreme as open contempt. While I can’t help but find myself distanced from the story by the various outrageous plot elements I’m expected to swallow, I accept it as a necessary evil of this genre. As the Kotomi plot reached its conclusion, I watched it in a surprisingly neutral frame of mind, simply enjoying the entertaining moments with the other characters (go Kyou!), although apparently these are not in the game.
So yeah, I noted that Teddy Bear catalogs are kept in manila envelopes, that a bunch of teenagers can create a beautiful garden in someone else’s yard while working in the dark and not getting arrested for trespassing, that a single suitcase can survive from a plane crash and be passed from person-to-person for years without picking up too many of those cute but dangerous microbes from Moyashimon, and that said suitcase can arrive at just the right moment, although a few birthdays too late. But I could not really accept these developments as realistic. I was therefore not drawn into the story’s emotional nexus. For one thing, I had grown a little bored of Kotomi. After Kanon and Fuuko, you kind of knew the type of story that was coming and it’s easy to think, “Oh, this will happen next,” and it does! Kotomi also makes less of an impression as a character then Fuuko, who was very self-directed and whose plot, while it didn’t make me cry either, still had an emotional impact and many effective scenes. Somehow, being a fantasy to start with made Fuuko easier to accept than the more “realistic” Kotomi plot. It was also a disadvantage that the two plots were so similar: both brought an isolated girl into a circle of friends and both centered on celebrating a birthday. But as I’ve pointed out before, Fuuko had a degree of her own “agency” to complete her task. Kotomi was more passive, simply going through a difficult emotional patch with some help from her friends, rather than struggling against an inexorable destiny of fading into oblivion.
I guess all of the girls can’t have arcs on the scale of Makoto or Ayu or Fuuko, but do they all have to be such manipulative tear-jerkers? Oh…sorry–I know I already said I accepted this as part of the genre. Even the forgotten childhood memory thing, lol. So, moving along, Kotomi, in a way even more than Fuuko, is a throwback to the Kanon girls, in that she has a powerful past tie-in with the main guy. She is supposed to be a genius, but while this would seem to distinguish her from the child-like Makoto, Ayu and Fuuko, her lack of social skills effectively make her something of an idiot-savant, still in need of guidance from the male protagonist. But the changes made from the game, if they don’t reduce her dependence, do serve to change its character, as the emphasis is shifted, at least somewhat, from the main guy to the group of friends. And perhaps Kotomi, like Fuuko, is also more independent than she might seem at first. When she retreats into her house, she must deal with her grief on her own. She is aware of what her friends are doing for her, it no doubt influences her, but it is eventually Kotomi herself who decides to emerge and return to school. The revelation about the Teddy Bear only comes as a coda after this. “Day before yesterday I saw a dango, and yesterday a starfish, and today, you.”
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Hammer to the nail, DS. I felt just like you did: neutral, aware of the good parts but emotionally unstirred, unlike with Fuko’s arc. This arc really did seem like a step backward, with plot elements that stretched my suspension of disbelief to the breaking point–and it’s one that’s been stretched mightily by my experience with anime already! :) You especially hit it right when you say that it’s somehow easier to swallow Fuko because her story has more overt fantasy elements than this one, which is supposedly “realistic”–and thus has a higher bar of realism to go over. I’d thought there would be SF elements in this arc, but they were unfulfilled.
For me the amazing thing is how much I still like this show on the whole, because I normally dislike this genre. That’s already an accomplishment!
I have to say that while editing Kotomi’s focus from the protaganist to her friends is plot friendly, it sort of reduced the impact of the plot on a whole. Especially after the quote from The Dandelion Girl, which led to people drawing, or trying to draw, parallels between them, which doesn’t quite work out due to the element of romance in The Dandelion Girl. Oddly enough, though, I can imagine the quote and the parallels working out great in the game, or in a romantic setting, especially with the past and all.
Would have to agree with Mike about you nailing the analysis of this: it was a good arc, but one that wasn’t very touching due to it’s stretching of disbelief.
And on your last note, I wish they had done something more about how Kotomi returned to school herself. It really confused me for a bit when she suddenly appeared in the garden and was all “I’m happy now.” Certainly that could have helped her story a bit, although a monologue from the girl’s side about how she’s learned to get over it, isn’t exactly Key’s style.
Some excellent analysis there. I agree that people are more willing to suspend disbelief if it is overly fantastical. It was harder to swallow than the previous arc as it felt like a highly improbable slice-of-life dorama. However, I still found it touching and enjoyable.
I have no problem suspending disbelief. I am never inclined to laugh at this show. But neither am I much inclined to cry. Despite some wonderful voice-acting and some touching moments, Clannad just doesn’t have as much emotional power for me as I would like.
My only actual experience with Key writing comes from planetarian, so bear with me for a bit.
Unfortuantely, Key is very good at taking the emotional mallet (or M1 Abhrams from 5 storeys, or Barret M900, or- You get the picture.) and whacking people over the head with it. It’s an annoying way to evoke emotions, really…
Sometimes I imagine Jun Maeda throttling me as I watch Clannad/Kanon/AIR or read planetarian, threatening me to cry the Pacific Ocean, or esle I would DIE.
In fact, the kind of suspension of disbelief needed for any of the games is so extreme I can’t help but laugh sometimes. Then I actually do it because it feels good to feel something other than pure unadulterated rage. Or randomness.
tl;dr, I’d rather suspend my disbelief and cry than not feel anything. Tears are a very good indicator of the fact we are human. That and red blood. Don’t ask me why I said the last bit.
@DrmChsr0: Unrelated, but apparantly Maeda Jun is going to step down as main scenario writer. Instead, Tonogawa Yuuto, who worked on Little Busters! will be taking over, or so Wikipedia says. I suppose that would be good news to you?
@Mike: Maybe there are SF elements we don’t know about, like maybe the plane her parents were on is the one from the TV series Lost?
@Sylon Beta: I guess they can’t take the romance too far if they want him to end up with Nagisa :)
@CCY: The thing she was really upset about must have been her lack of gardening skills, but she was too embarrassed to ask for help. When her friends fixed her garden, she was suddenly better and ready to go to school. lol
@hashihime: Maybe we are too jaded, or perhaps the plot manipulations are just too obvious in this one!
@DrmChsr0: Your comment almost made me cry (or laugh).
“So yeah, I noted that Teddy Bear catalogs are kept in manila envelopes, that a bunch of teenagers can create a beautiful garden in someone else