The School's Trees with Andy: A Roving Artist Has Joined Your Party!

Well hullo folks. I figure that y'all deserve a bit of a proper introduction to the folk known as me. CarpeGuitarrem, CG, Carpe, or you could just call me Andy. ;) Who am I? Well, where to begin? Writer, musician, geek, somewhat intellectual, aiming to be deeply spiritual, and I'm no stranger to kazoku. (You know the rules, and so do I...) I'm such a weird random conbogglement of stuff, I hardly know where to introduce myself. Generally, it's by finding common ground with my audience, we can start with that, and then move on from there.



I suppose that common ground is Clannad, isn't it? After all, it's somewhat the show that we've all gathered here to discuss and commemorate. (Gee, that sounds like the start of a eulogy...that's just not right...) Bear with me. I get random sometimes SQUIRREL! (Okay, I'm not that bad. Joking aside, I'll have to restrain my impulses to go on unrelated tangents, just a tad.) To the Clannad part, Robin!



My Introduction to Clannad

Was, admittedly, something which took a while. Once upon a time, Liam brought me over to his friend Marty's house, for something. Probably an RPG night. Or maybe we were playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Or both. At any rate, he wound up showing me the first episode. This was during his Clannad obsession phase, so I naturally was a bit skeptical. I will say that the first episode didn't do much to alleviate my skepticism. I was pretty weirded-out by the genre-bending comedy, and the fact that I couldn't tell if the show was serious or silly. I just couldn't relate.



I didn't pick the show back up, until some time later, when Liam was showing other friends. This was well after he had finished the series, and continued to rant on about its awesomeness. I picked up part of the way through the Fuko arc, and I decided that I liked the show well enough. Eventually I watched through the Kotomi arc. I think that was courtesy of Brandon, actually. I never got around to continuing the series, though. Other things to do, and other shows that gripped me more strongly. (I really hope I haven't engendered everlasting hatred with any of you by this point, but oh well. Too late for that.)



It took Brandon and another Clannad-obsessed friend to get me to finish the series, when they came to visit my house and introduced my siblings to the series. Well, they liked it, and we watched the entire thing over the course of the summer. And I decided that I really did like the show, in fact, that it ranked among my top anime. There were some things in the first season that really hit home for me, and sealed the deal. Then I started rewatching it with my university's anime club, and found out that it's a very elaborately written show. So, I've a lot of respect for it, even when it doesn't connect as much with me as with other people.



My Take on Clannad

Like I said, I know a lot of people who connect far more strongly with Clannad than I do. I think it's just a personality thing. Don't get me wrong--After Story twisted my gut like none other, it hurt. I didn't find myself moved to tears by the normal parts, though. While I like Nagisa's story, and find her to be a nice character, that's not (in a sense) where my Clannad heart lies. In fact, that'll be the subject of my posts to come.



I think that one of the appeals of the show is that it approaches its subject from many different angles. That's one of the benefits of the first season being a "harem anime", and of the source material being a visual novel. Some will connect better with different angles. Obviously, since Nagisa is the clear favored female character in the show (the others' material being greatly cut out, compared to the visual novel), most people relate to her best. That, and she's likeable to just about anyone.



Me, I'm a bit different. No, I didn't hate Nagisa. I liked Nagisa. It's just that...she never really jumped out and struck me as someone whom I could understand and connect with. It's possible that this is why I took so long to connect with Clannad. For me, it took a good amount of time into the series to find someone I really could connect with, and that's what my series of posts is going to be about.



You can guess, or you can just watch the following clip. As one of the first things I saw of Clannad, it kinda weirded me out. Now, I just think it's awesome.

The School's Trees: Top Ten Favorite Characters, #8-Yoshino Yusuke

Brandon

"This is the best gift I can give you right now. A formless gift called memory."

Who doesn't have a soft spot for Yuusuke's idealistic speeches? They're one of the majorly unique aspects of his character (besides his whole dual career of rock star and electrician). There's not really too much for me to say about him that isn't very obvious just by seeing him on the show: he's a really cool guy with heavily idealistic speeches, and being a good amount idealistic myself, I'm a big fan. Yuusuke also proves to be a great mentor to Tomoya throughout his adult life, and he's got a scene that might make my top 10 for touching scenes in Clannad (at the very least, it's in the top 20, I'd guess). The scene late in the series (I think Episode 21 of After Story, actually) where Yuusuke makes Tomoya exchange screwdrivers so that he will have to come back always gets me, and I'm not too sure why. Maybe it's just the whole idea of commitment: one of the biggest things I like about Clannad is the promotion of making commitments and sticking to them. Yuusuke has Tomoya make a commitment, and the screwdriver is the reminder that will make him stick to it. That importance of commitment is just another aspect of Yuusuke's idealism, I think, which is probably my favorite thing about him.

Liam

In a lot of ways Yoshino's relationship with Tomoya reminds me of my friendship with Andy: a strong brotherly influence that never gives up, regardless of how much I anger him. I remember once a few years ago I had done something to really anger Andy, like for him to come and beat the shit out of me if he so chose. Considering that we were roommates at the time it would be a pretty easy thing to do, and I knew it. And it wasn't that I wanted to stop him, far from it. I knew I would deserve it, and even wanted him to do it. So I just waited in our room, thinking about the fact that he was gonna be gone soon, studying abroad, and what I wanted to do with him. And about what he would do to me for what I'd done. He walked into the room, and I asked if he wanted to play some DnD for the last time in goodness knows how long. Andy kinda stared at me, and said OK. We sat down, rolled out our geekiness, and played our hearts out. I don't think I'll ever forget the look that he got on his face before he told me he'd play. It was thoroughly indescribable, so I'm sorry that I can't be more specific here. All I can say is that, looking back, I knew that I was his brother, that even though he was pissed off at me he wanted to have fun with me more (for whatever reason), and so he put aside whatever he had, and sat down to have fun.

And that is what I think Yoshino and Tomoya's friendship is about. To say anymore would be folly.

Andy

Yusuke-san is one of the Clannad characters who doesn't truly come into his own until After Story. His first appearance, at Ibuki Kouko's wedding, yields very little information about his character. We see more sides of Yoshino emerge, though, as the story continues. We find out that he was once a famous musician, and that he has become a philosophizing electrician. His dramatic seriousness gives a certain levity to the series.

Once After Story begins, Yoshino's true character enters the show. His role in the series is easily on par with other major characters such as Akio and Sanae. After Story is in part about Tomoya finding a family: he finds new family, and connects with old family. Of his new family, Akio provides the role of a father, and Sanae the role of a mother. What about Yoshino? He mentors Tomoya, not only in his job but in his life. I don't know if Tomoya had any siblings, but Yoshino becomes what seems to be the big brother that Tomoya never had.

Yoshino has also hit rock bottom in his past, which helps him to connect with Tomoya through the tragedy in After Story. The likeness between the two is striking at times; Yoshino often seems like a more matured version of Tomoya. I don't personally think it's any sort of accident that they look remarkably similar to one another. This is the main reason why I like Yoshino: he is the stability that Tomoya needs, and he's been down Tomoya's road before. Now, he passes along the formless gift of memory, which in the end (though it's all he has to give) is the greatest gift of all.

Maria

Take silent and reserved, mix it with a hidden philosopher, and you have the character in Clannad known as Yoshino.  When I think of Yoshino, one scene stands out clearly in my mind.  Imagine a bright summer day.  Add the smell of freshly torn grass and a hint of dust, a baseball field, and fans cheering enthusiastically on the sidelines.  The sound of a ball clanging echoes across the park, and suddenly, everything goes still.  Light surrounds the batter and he slowly begins to walk forward.  “Children,” he intones.  “This is the best I can give you right now, a gift without form called memory.  I don’t have money.  I can’t buy you anything with form.  Even so….”  

“Out!”  The voice of the umpire rings across the field, cutting off the stream of words.  

This scene stands out in my mind when I think of Yoshino, but in truth, Yoshino gives much more to Clannad then a random speech in the middle of a baseball game.  Yoshino is the quiet voice of reason.  He is the voice that speaks up and gives answers when none are expected.  When I watched Clannad, Yoshino was a character who faded into the backround as I concentrated on the other twisting elements of the story.  As I went through and wrote up this piece, I realized that I liked Yoshino because he was able to do that.  He could arise quietly, speak his piece, make me nod my head in agreement, and then fade back away until he was needed once more. For me, Yoshino is the steady, solid presence of Clannad.   

Taylor

Yusuke Yoshino: the memorable character. I have trouble trying to find words to describe how much this character means to me personally. He is the character from Clannad that I aspire to be most like. I think he makes a perfect role model for the other characters, especially Tomoya (seeing as they are quite alike), because he encourages everybody in their goals, but he also doesn’t falsely get their hopes up when he sees complications. He is willing to speak his mind, often doing it in a poetic manner. He never seems to get real angry or point fingers when somebody makes a mistake but instead he gives constructive criticism in hopes that they will work to fix their issues next time around.

As is the case with many of the other adult figures of Clannad, Yusuke’s words are often humor-coated wisdom. He may sometimes turn one subject in to a speech that seems completely unnecessary or even draw a little too much attention to his self in public places, but the awkwardness that comes with his words helps express his point better and show who Yusuke really is. He has a strong sense of moral, and his actions show that he believes in being with loved ones and creating memorable moments, as he will never pass up a chance to make new memories.

Perhaps Yusuke's morals are so strong because he knows what it is like to give them up. In Yusuke’s back story, which I believe to be one of the most elaborate and also meaningful in Clannad, it is shown that Yusuke was once a popular rock star who made music because it was his passion. There was a point in time where his reason for making music changed because he saw that others were somewhat dependent on him, but when his reason changed, his music did also. Yusuke’s popularity plummeted, and he was soon left alone with music that didn’t even seem like his. After almost giving up completely, Yusuke received encouragement from Kouko Ibuki, who would later become his wife, and realized that he should continue playing music, if not only for himself, for her also. After giving up and reclaiming his passion, moral, and being, he found himself standing that much stronger in them. He stands by what he says because he knows you can’t live a certain way because others wish for you to live that way. One of the most admirable aspects of Yusuke is that he does what he does because it is what he wishes to do.

As I said before, I feel a personal connection with Yusuke Yoshino because he is strong in his own way, colorful, and his morals are sound. He reflects the ups and downs that life has and also the expectations that people should have for their selves.

A thanks to all the good people who helped me compile this stuff. Although we were a little late this time I think we all wrote quite well, and only hope that we can do the next week this much credit.


Apologies for the late post, we all had quite a few things to do, and then I got sick, and yeah...this week hasn't been too nice as far as academics are concerned. For anyone, apparently. Oh well.


Onward!

The School's Trees: Top Ten Favorite Characters, Number 9: Sanae Furukawa

Maria

The door slides. We step in.  The shop before us is deserted.  We walk forward with Tomoya and gaze down at the trays of bread laid out next to the register.  We follow his gaze.  “That's this week's new release.”  A voice breaks the quiet cheerfully, and we turn with Tomoya and gaze up.  A girl, hair hanging down on either side of her face, stands there smiling.  “Please try one if you like,” she goes on.  “You don't have to pay, since they're left over.”  And that is how we meet Sanae, the happy, beautiful mother of Nagisa who offers never-before-heard-of bread concoctions to strangers one minute, and then flees in tears the next.  Somehow, this sweet, girlish character with her open smile and caring heart captured me.  I never decided to like her.  I simply watched, a little disbelieving, as she ran from the Furukawa Bakery crying in the first scene, and then appeared in the next one, cheerful and ready to dole out ridiculous names to Tomoya.  Sanae adds something important to Clannad.  Her mischievousness, her sweet nature, her unguarded love, and most of all her acceptance of the people around her, touches those she meets and binds together those she loves.  Sanae cares for people because of both who they are, and who she believes they will become.  By accepting others and not judging them harshly, Sanae gives those around her an  invaluable freedom.  She offers them the opportunity to be themselves.  This is her gift to Clannad.  

Taylor

Sanae Furukawa: the caring character. Sanae is the perfect mix of youth, beauty, womanly instinct, and care. The reason I love Sanae so much is because her care and consideration for others, both in and outside of her family, is amazing. Whether someone needs a place to stay, a fake girlfriend, or just a little bit of inspiration, Sanae is always there to help. Sanae has a voice that stands out even though it is physically soft. She may not always have a whole lot to say on a subject, but when she does say something her wisdom and care are perfectly united. She never seems to have a bad response, and a lot of the time it seems like she has the best response. I can’t think of any situation where her opinions or decisions have caused somebody else trouble... except for maybe her choice to continue making bread. Her bread seems to be her biggest fault as people often insult it (including her husband) and are often felled by it. Her bread is probably better being used as decorative ornaments as it’s generally okay for as long as you’re only looking at it.

Sanae is a very strong character, and she’s willing to stay strong for those around her. She knows when she is being depended on, and she won’t break down or give up. When Nagisa died giving birth to Ushio, Sanae and Akio started taking care of Ushio. For the next five years, Sanae held back sorrowful tears because she knew that Ushio needed her.

All the characteristics of Sanae make her the perfect motherly character of Clannad.

 Brandon

"Watashi no pan...watashi no pan..."
When you hear those words, you know there's over-exaggerated drama on the way.
That's, of course, the feature of Sanae that comes to mind first. But that's not all, not by a long shot. How could one forget the mix-ups of her being Nagisa's older sister, or the awkward incident when she plays Sunohara's girlfriend?
For the majority of the series, Sanae is basically a humorous character, and her bread-based shouts are one of the show's iconic gags. But she's not all fun and games. Her emotional parts can be some of the most heartbreaking in the series. Personally, what really strikes me is the scene late in After Story, following Tomoya's reunion with Ushio. Tomoya wakes up in the middle of the night and overhears a conversation between Akio and Sanae, where Sanae cries for the first time after Nagisa's death. I think her entire power in the show is summarized in that one scene. And that's why Sanae is a pretty great character (though there are greater ones, as you'll see in the upcoming weeks).

Andy
I love Furukawa Sanae. I really, really do. (And her pastries, of course, but that's another matter altogether.) We can easily see some of Nagisa's traits in her, particularly her deeply caring nature, and her fragile self-confidence (though she is very self-assured when she has someone backing her confidence up. She's overdramatic in the most lovable way possible, and she cares deeply about her husband Akio. She's perky, sweet, and she makes fantastic pastries. She also happens to be quite cute and youthful.

Beyond the fantastically awkward situations which the last point in particular leads to, Sanae serves as a stable and solid character. She's always a support for the rest of the characters, a strong mother. Her personality, though it doesn't directly reflect this strength at first seeming, is one of the most powerful. And, really, I can't say much more than this scene right here...



Okay, I know Wolfsbane already linked it. But I feel that it epitomizes the true character of Furukawa Sanae. She takes her joy from giving love to others, and from this constant gift, she draws her strength. She's constantly thinking of everyone she loves, and fears that she can't give them enough. She gives the best that she can, but is always nervous that it will be insufficient. She strives to be strong, so that others can live on. And, in the end, it's Akio who knows what she has to deal with, that she still has to fall back on someone for support. Her kazoku. That's why I like Sanae, and it took me some writing to realize that I truly did like her this much. She's not an obviously powerful character, but she's one of the most powerful characters in the show.

Liam
There's a lot I can say about Sanae. Tons. I can go and talk about the girlfriend situation with Sunohara, her crying on Akio's shoulder, or those abominable things she thinks are pastries. But none of those define Sanae in my mind.

But this does:

At this point I couldn't help but understand Sanae, if only because I"m paranoid. Aren't her "bumps" just a little too carefully planned? The whole thing seems so canned, so unnatural, but yet so bloody hilarious that I can only conclude one thing: Sanae knew what was going on and went along with it. The joke's on us. From this incident I can only conclude that Sanae and Akio are perfectly suited for each other, because they really are both practical jokers, it's just that Akio's far more obvious. But Sanae wins out in the end, because she gets to laugh at us with her joke while we roll our eyes and think she's being over-emotional once again. Whatta dirty rotten trick!

I approve. Intensely. Go Sanae!





I'd like to thank all the people who helped me come up with this post for all the people who read. I'm grateful to work with such talented people that God provides me, and I hope that that continues. 

Once again, thank you Clannad Central and Taylor for giving us our videos as we need them. Your awesomeness is uncontested. 

The School's Trees: Top Ten Favorite Characters, #10-Fuko

Taylor

Fuko Ibuki: the childish character. She is stubborn, energetic, and yet, still very innocent. All the characteristics of a child, right? Even though Fuko resembles a new middle school student, she was actually meant to be attending high school for her first year. However, on her very first day of high school, she got in to a terrible car accident. Due to this, Fuko entered a state of deep sleep, while her sister, Kouko, waited for her to wake up.

Even still, Fuko has willpower. In fact her willpower was so strong that when her physical body was useless, she found a way to project her spirit for others to see and interact with her. You better believe Fuko put her whole heart in doing that. But what was her reason? It was for the happiness of others, specifically her sister, who, up to that point, had spent the majority of her time sitting and waiting for the day Fuko would wake. Kouko had told her unconscious sister that she wanted to get married to Yusuko Yoshino, and Fuko wanted her to be happy. Fuko knew that she couldn’t interact with her sister in anyway, so in her unconscious state, she found a way to make her sister happy. Fuko’s spirit was discovered by a couple of students, Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa, who befriended Fuko and decided to help her. Together, the three distributed wooden starfish throughout the high school where Kouko had once been a teacher, inviting the students of the school to attend Kouko’s wedding, regardless of whether they had known Kouko or not. Fuko’s will had brought her to carrying out a difficult task such as confronting every individual of a school, even when knowing nobody at the school. Then came the point where Kouko was unsure that she would even get married. The stress of having her younger sister in the hospital was overwhelming, and she didn’t know if she should pursue her own happiness and marry Yusuke. In this urgent situation, Fuko knew she had to continue working hard, and eventually she had not only personally handed a wooden starfish to nearly everybody at the high school, but also touched them in a way that none of them could even comprehend. As the wedding approached, problems began to occur. Fuko was beginning to be forgotten. This issue grew until nobody in the school, with the exceptions of Tomoya and Nagisa, could remember or even see Fuko. Though she had doubted that she should before, Kouko still had her wedding, and miraculously, even though nobody knew who Fuko was, everybody Fuko had touched was compelled to show up to Kouko’s wedding. Fuko’s emotions and her willpower had been planted deep inside the hearts of every single person. Fuko saw that her mission had been accomplished and after leaving her final contribution of some encouraging words and a wooden starfish to her sister, her spirit faded back in to her sleeping body.

The whole complex situation shows that Fuko is stubborn. It’s not necessarily a bad kind of stubborn, even though it can be, like when Fuko can’t bring herself to accept sensible reasoning. It’s more of a determined sort of stubborn. Fuko shows that she is unwilling to yield; she will do anything and everything she can to make her sister happy, and she /does/ do everything she can. Could you confront an entire school of strangers one by one? Even when Tomoya introduced the point to Fuko that nobody would know Kouko, she still didn’t give up. She wouldn’t even let the physical forces of the universe tell her that she was bound to a bed in sleep. She broke free of her body and did what she felt she had to do.

Fuko is that person that everybody wants as their little sister. However, it’s not for the same types of reasons you would want a little sister like Mei Sunohara. Where Mei is mature and responsible, Fuko is more immature and child-like. In this way, though, Fuko has a character of dependence. She relies on others, people more responsible and open than herself. Fuko was shown to be a shy, lone character. She had no friends, and she was only open with her sister. When Fuko had people to depend on (Kouko, Tomoya, Nagisa), she could open up to these people and show her true colors. When Tomoya and Nagisa met Fuko, they connected with her in a way that they could not have connected with any other character. They had found someone else who depended on them as reliable, individual people. Tomoya was known to be a lazy person, and probably nobody really depended on his actions. Nagisa was still a fragile being, unable to effectively present herself to other people. That’s where Fuko was able to make things better. She was the dependent character who needed both Tomoya and Nagisa, and they were the ones who needed such a dependent character. Fuko was mistaken as Tomoya’s younger sibling at one point in her arc. In essence, Fuko /was/ Tomoya’s and Nagisa’s younger sister. She relied on them even when her childish nature may have limited her actions.

In the end, Fuko was like a mark that stained everybody’s hearts. Don’t take that the wrong way, though. Fuko was definitely a sort of colorful, beautiful mark left behind. Perhaps a sort of rainbow tie dye pattern. Though Fuko was forgotten by everybody she had been close to, she had left behind traces of herself and the actions she carried out. Fuko would never be truly erased from their hearts. There would always be a connection between Fuko and those who had interacted with her. These connections Fuko made would prove to be strong when later Fuko would appear to those she had known in multiple instances of comical mischievousness, for lack of a better term. One of the connections would prove to be even stronger than any other. The connection Fuko had with Tomoya was so powerful that later when Fuko awoke from her years of slumbering, they met once again, even though neither remembered the journey they had once shared with each other.

Overall, Fuko is a stubborn, shy, somewhat overwhelming character, but she is also a very caring, determined one. In the end, we know Fuko to be just like any other character of Clannad. She is an individual with her own unique characteristics and contributions to the series. Like Tomoya stated at one point:
“She’s a little strange, but she’s a normal girl no matter how you look at her.”

Andy

Fuko is one of those characters that always makes me happy. I must admit, right off the bat, that I am a staunch member of the Starfish Legion. "Hurry Starfish" is one of my favorite songs in Clannad. At the same time, she plays a unique and important role in the series beyond providing comic relief. Like Nathan's mentioned, she serves as essentially a representation of Tomoya's future, which comes around in a very real way by the end of the series.

Why do I love Fuko? It's probably because of her combination of sweet, innocent determination and her particularly fussy insistence on her own maturity, and also her plans. It's her love for her sister, and her stubborn insistence on never backing down from her goal. It's her heart of a child, who doesn't care that bad things happen in the world; she just wants her sister to be happy.

Brandon
I think Fuko, like most characters, shows the two important sides of Clannad: humor and drama. Fuko’s arc is definitely heavy on humor, with her frequent trances, her over-the-top fervor for starfish, and the “Fuko Master” moments. But it doesn’t skimp on the drama: I’ve heard of multiple people who cried at the end of her arc. The bittersweet ending is extremely powerful: she was able to accomplish her goal of creating a mob of people at her sister’s wedding, yet in the end she disappears. As I believe Sean mentioned in his post, Fuko’s story represents the fragility of human life (even though the definition of Fuko’s spirit as “alive” would involve interesting metaphysical inquisition); at the very least, it shows the transience of so many things in life, such as friendships (which is a sobering, but true, thought). Overall then, I find Fuko a very humorous character (in all her appearances, including the “Fuko Ninja” moments and her scenes in After Story), but also one with bittersweet drama as well.

Liam 

Fuko was, always has been, and always will be my favorite female non-Ushio anime character. What's not to like, honestly? She's NUTS. She's sane. She's childish. She has the most mature point of view I've ever seen. She's the most determined person ever. And yet the most easily distracted. She's a paradox unto herself, something that demands that I figure her out, and yet I can't. Nor do I want to. Which is fortunate, otherwise I'd go as insane as Fuko.


However, there's another side to the madness that is my love for Fuko: she reminds me of my little sister. Yes, there is someone who acts even remotely like Fuko out there, waiting to inflict her insanity on you. No, she won't smother you with starfish, but she will destroy your puny mind with her anti-logic that's designed to kill all those braincells you hold dear. Maybe that's why I like Fuko so much: she reminds me a lot of my family life: quirky, insane, and yet deadly serious in a package that's too cute, adorable, and deadly to ignore. Or maybe not, I can never be too sure.


Maria
Fuko is like no other character I have known.  She is energetic, entertaining, focused, caring, blunt, and completely tactless.  I feel like she's my younger sister, my friend, and a stranger I only half know.  I like her because she is so completely and wholly herself.  When I first began watching Clannad, I was watching anime for the first time, and in all truth, I was completely unsure of what to make of Fuko.  She was just another one of those crazy, somewhat over-done anime characters that left me half entertained and half skeptical.  I couldn't decide if I liked her or if she drove me crazy.  As I kept watching, I realized that the truth was, I liked her because she did drive a part of me crazy.  I liked her stubbornness and her childishness, and I liked them because they strengthened the deeper part of her character, her love and loyalty for those who were dear to her.  She is Fuko.  What more can be said?

A special thanks to those who agreed to work on this ten week long project with me. I'm honored by your love for the show and your willingness to give your time. And many thanks to those of you who continue to read! I'm glad to have people who're willing to read, and I promise that we'll putting up content for as long as it's readable and meaningful.

Oh, and once again, REVEL in Taylor's awesomeness. That video was a complete surprise!

Be ready for next week, as we cover #9: Sanae Furukawa! 

Announcement!

Starting next week, we're going to have one heck of a convening on this blog. Brandon, Carpe, Taylor, Luthien (that's what we'll call her for now, although she may kill me for it), and myself will start posting The School's Trees Top Ten Favorite Clannad Characters! Every week on Friday we'll post a profile about one of our top ten favorite characters and why we like them.

The list, btw, was drawn up by everyone sending me their list, and then me running it through the Borda Count, a voting system that's meant for sorting lists. Based upon the incredibly objective (and sometimes brutal) approach we have a list that all of us can agree with without getting too defensive over our favorite characters not being number one (and sometimes not even making the list).

So, stay tuned next week, as we cover Number 10 on our list...

The School's Trees: My Story (The End, Part 2)

Y'know... I've been dreading this ever since I woke up. I'm nervous because I'm about to reveal the core philosophy that makes me get up in the morning, that gives me comfort when things are going wrong, and makes me happy to just think about. What makes reality....real. What makes life worth it for me. It's something that I've been thinking about for awhile, and have always wanted to talk about, but now that I"m here, about to do this, I realize that it's possibly the most nerve-wracking thing someone can do. But I want to anyway.

So here we go, kiddies. I can't guarantee that my philosophy is complete, mature, or even right, but it is mine. It is my truth. And I think that's what you guys are here for, so you're gonna get it.

I've been Catholic for most of my life, some might say for all my life. Unlike a lot of people my age I never didn't believe in a personal God. It wasn't that I didn't think about it or question it. It's that, from the time I was little, I knew that God existed, and that He had a very direct hand in my life. I'm not going to say that I don't have my doubts about God being loving, because I do. Terrible things happen in this world every second to strangers and loved ones alike. But I push through it anyway, confident somewhere deep down that free will was given to us because God decided to err on the side of trusting us, so that way the beautiful things that make us live and grow can happen in a way we'd understand better. Good by an invisible being is no good at all, and I think God knows that. Which is why I think we have free will. So that way God can have good things happen that we can understand as being what they are: gifts.

Despite my faith, however, there is one thing that has always disturbed me to my core, which never seems to disturb anyone else in the same way. Sometimes it just irks me, but there are times when I really do get depressed about it.

We die. All things fade.

I guess why this disturbed me so much was the loss of a body. Everything that I loved to do (painting, writing, music, role-playing, etc.) had a physical element that was irreplaceable. That it seemed to not bug anyone else angered me. What's the point of life if we lose our bodies? I concluded that, even though God existed, He must not be very loving, because we were in a trap that gave us the joy of bodily things for only a short amount of time, only to snatch it away. Reading my Bible (at least at the time) didn't help me at all, especially in the Old Testament, where you find the author of Ecclesiastes wailing that all things are vanity because we die. This didn't help, and while I had been taught about a resurrection it had never gotten through the horror, anger, and despair that I felt about death. Just as I started to actively ask myself about these questions, I started going out with Jamie, and struggled with these questions throughout (and past) our relationship. So when she suddenly broke up with me all I had were my questions, and no answer that had actually satiated me. My icons (one of which you can see up above) grew darker and sadder, and I knew I needed to do something. While I had stopped believing in goodness I hadn't stopped believing in God, which was terrifying. I needed to feel something positive again, to see something that would let me know that everything was OK, that I was wrong. That life had purpose and meaning.

Enter Clannad.


It took me watching the show six times to realize it, but that really was the answer that I was looking for.

Resurrection.

The return of the soul to the body that it couldn't go without.

Restoration.

That God was so merciful as to give back that which we can't go without, by virtue of being human. That God was so good and loving as to realize that there were some things we couldn't negotiate on, so He made the single most important concession in the history of humanity, and gave us the thing that would make us happy forever: our own bodies. And all we have to do is ask and believe that it'll happen, and it will. How can that not be the most kind and merciful thing you've ever heard of? We get them back! We don't have to try to "get along" without what was once the most familiar part of our existence. We don't have to move past it, or find a new meaning that we can't find because our bodily memories will always be a part of us. We get them back. And all we have to do is ask.

In this way Clannad is the most realistic show I've ever seen, because it captures the simple reality of it all. There is no great price we have to pay, we just have to believe that God will do it for us and be ready for something completely unexpected. Clannad is truly art, because it actually represents life in a way that we can understand and grow from.

Now what shocked me was that what I'd realized by watching this show had been with me all along, in the form of Christianity. Say what you will about the abuses of Christianity in its 2,000 year long existence. Say what you will about the incredibly dense teachers, lecherous priests, and scandalous nuns of the Church. They're called "failures" for a reason, because they failed the great reality: that we're saved from death and meaninglessness. Everything that we are can go on, because we'll never actually fade. Granted, it'll take some time, but isn't that the case with anything that's truly worth it?

After a year of thinking, questioning, and screaming at the heavens I have my answer from God. It took 22 years to get here, but I have it now. There is a happy ending that we can know and understand. The God that I always knew was there but doubted has been shown to be both existent and loving. And because of this, I can move on to live and give everything that is inside of me. Life, while not perfect, is wonderful. And whether I see it or not, there is a happy end.

For everyone who wants it.

This is the story that I'd wanted to share with you from the beginning of the blog. I hope you enjoyed it, because it was one of the most rewarding things that I've done. I greatly enjoyed writing out my thoughts and watching this amazing show again, for the sixth time. 


I would like to thank all the people who have made this blog what it is. To Brandon and Sean, my co-posters, who have each added their own to something that belongs to all of us. Especially to Taylor, who made this blog what it is with his constant work splicing and uploading videos for all of the posters on this blog. All without a complaint, and overwhelmingly on time. But I'd especially like to thank God, who put this show in my life and used it to get me into a place I can live happily. This is all thanks to Him, and for that my gratitude cannot be adequately expressed.


And so silence is the proper response.


I do have one request for the ending of this blog post


If you disagree please state it rationally and clearly. I understand that I probably hit quite a few buttons, but if you must disagree with me do so in a way that won't force me to delete your comment because of it's...unsavoriness. I welcome a good discussion, and always have. But a quarrel is nothing I'm interested in, and those wishing to pick a fight will find themselves ignored and deleted.


I would like to thank all of you who have read this blog, be it from the beginning or just this, my last post as main writer of The School's Trees. 


Yes, that's right, I'm stepping down. My reasons are simple: I'm done. 


While I will still be on The School's Trees, it will be more of an administrative role, finding other people who want to tell their story about Clannad. These people will fill in the holes of the narrative that I intentionally never filled in, will bring their philosophies to the tapestry that is this blog. While this is the end of one era, try to think of it as the beginning of a new time for this blog. And every once in a while I'll put up a post about a topic Clannad-related that's on my mind, as the muses take me. In the next few weeks expect the next main writer, CarpeGuittarem, to start up his blog posts on the alternate world arcs. I'm really excited to see what Carpe has in store for us, so please!  


Stick around.


It's been an honor and a joy writing for you.


-Liam Francis Traveller

The School's Trees: Explanations (The End Part 1)

Honestly, by this point I had given up. Even the knowledge that Tomoya might be able to bring Nagisa back really didn't move me at this point. Really, why would he? She was dead...



He did it? Wait, what? Tomoya had let it go? Ushio was the kid that the robot was with? What's up with the strange conversation? And the lights? And the...and the....



What the hell was going on?


I'm a diehard fan of Lost, but screw that show, it didn't do this. At least there's a basic system that I'd noticed that made that show make sense. But this? What the hell is this? I thought.  Where's the explanation? Where's the closure? Where's......


ANYTHING?


How did this answer my question? How did this answer the question of death?

To be honest, I didn't get it the first time. It actually pissed me off. The writers had cheated me. All that build up, all that catharsis, all the heartbreak, and HE JUST GOT HER BACK?

I walked away in anger.

But it stuck with me.

That damn happy face. Tomoya was happy.

And I was angry.

I almost didn't want to watch Clannad again. But I couldn't help thinking about it. The show was a masterpiece, almost perfect (gang arc being the only speck in my humble opinion). They couldn't have just screwed it up. They couldn't. They couldn't be wrong. It had to be me that was wrong.

So I watched it again. Just to see. And to facilitate that I've made a new page on this website. You can find it here. It has all the videos that I think are essential to understanding Clannad's plot. I'll update it as I feel the need. I suggest going to that page and watching all of them, in order. But there one's set of videos that you need to watch.

That's right. Taylor spliced together all the robot clips. ALL. OF. THEM. Marvel at Taylor's awesomeness!






I watched all of these things. Over. And over. And over. All to see what I'd missed. Each time I watched Clannad I felt that I'd gotten another piece of the puzzle. I wanted to know what these guys were thinking when they made the most realistic anime I'd ever seen tell us all we had to do was wish and we could come back to life. Even starting this blog I had no idea what the answer was, still. I didn't know why the ending jived at all with me when I started. I didn't know where I got this feeling of familiarity from, or why I liked the ending more every time I watched it. But I started the blog anyway, reasoning that writing out my obsessive thoughts on Clannad would help me process what was going on.

But I figured out something that I think is true. So here goes.

Each alternate world is someone's mind, which interfaces through our body. Tomoya, for whatever reason, wasn't firmly "interfaced" into his own body, and so therefore could wander around his own mindscape during dreams. Ushio was the same, being related to Tomoya, and so the two of them could share their mind and dreamscapes. Their worlds could mesh. Tomoya isn't really a robot, but that is how he sees himself, which is why he appears as such. The same goes for Ushio, who just sees herself as a girl.

The two of them share dreams for years, because minds are not restricted by time. Only the body is restricted by time, so Tomoya and Ushio could have been talking since the start of the show without any trouble.

During Tomoya's time on earth he had unleashed certain lights, which were stored inside of him. These lights ARE Ushio. Ushio is the combined total of the happiness of Tomoya and Nagisa. She is Tomoya and Nagisa's wish. 

Well, eventually Ushio and Tomoya actually meet and things start to change. The two of them don't want to just share dreams (remembered or not) anymore, they want Nagisa. They want family, like all of us do. But the two of them alone are not enough. So Ushio decides to make her wish, using herself as the "barter", so things can be made right. She gives up the limited time she had with her father so that way all of them can be together. She's the only one who can do it because if the others did something like this they'd have to give up themselves to do it, which is something that they can't do and be with Nagisa. Like it or not, but God has rules to this thing, as evidenced by Shima. It only makes sense then to assume that Ushio really is the only one who can make this wish. What's her wish?

Give Mamma back to Papa and me. 

But the trouble is not with Ushio. It's with Tomoya. Will Tomoya be able to let go of his bitterness over meeting Nagisa to be with her again? Thankfully, Tomoya finally comes through! In total faith (and blindness to Ushio's plan) he lets go of his bitterness, which allows God to finally give him the happy ending that he'd wanted all this time. Things resume as they should have, and the Okazaki family finally defeats the tragedy that had plagued it for so long.

This, in my opinion, is what happened. Keep in mind that I haven't beaten the Visual Novel, so I don't have a complete view of what's going on. But this is the closest that I can get.

HUGE kudos to Taylor. He made those videos in two weeks, flat. I can't believe the amount of work and energy that he puts in to making this little blog so awesome. 


Taylor, you are the reason why this blog works. Thank you so much.


Part 1 is over, but Part 2 (My Personal Ending) will be covered tomorrow. Check back tomorrow!