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SJCrew · 2010-04-14, 11:41

Looks like it's been a year without anything having been said about Tomoyo. This will not do.

Consider me apart of the Tomoyo fanclub, because after having played through her route on the VN, she is now officially my favorite character in Clannad, period. While her strength and ambition would normally be grounds for me not to like her, a few things about her stood out to make her more than a cookie-cutter female archetype:

- Her weakness. One of the things I admired most about her character is how despite the fact that she's so strong, charismatic, intelligent, and determined to reach her goals, the mere notion of Tomoya breaking up with her was enough to sadden her. And the sensitivity she expresses regarding her struggle with her feminine side really moves me too.

- Her femininity. While this might be one of the more odd qualities to list for a character like Tomoyo, her resolve to distance herself from her violent lifestyle of the past and become more of a woman was actually quite admirable. She also had an inadvertently cute side about her just waking up Tomoya every day and cooking lunch for him. True girlfriend material right there.

- Her love. Let me put it like this: she's the most popular girl in school, receives the highest grades, becomes the student council president to save the sakura trees that brought her family together, and was a shoe-in for college...but she was willing to compromise all of it to live a happy life with Tomoya.

"I will go wherever you go. I want nothing more."

You could never tell she was this devoted in the anime series. As a matter of fact, when I saw the OVA, I really wasn't feeling the whole Tomoyo/Tomoya dynamic until the breakup scene, where she makes a sudden outburst in a struggle to hold onto their relationship, despite the fact that everything Tomoya said was true and that he really had been distracting her from a higher purpose.

Sadly, they chose to omit ALL of these things in the main series, which led me to believe for the longest that she was just some boring B-list character with no real significance to the plotline. I'm glad I was wrong. Oh so wrong.

I heavily anticipate the English translation of Tomoyo After. It's a shame it doesn't seem to be anywhere close to finished.

2010-04-14, 11:41	Link #163
SJCrew Anachro-Romeo Join Date: Apr 2010	Looks like it's been a year without anything having been said about Tomoyo. This will not do. Consider me apart of the Tomoyo fanclub, because after having played through her route on the VN, she is now officially my favorite character in Clannad, period. While her strength and ambition would normally be grounds for me not to like her, a few things about her stood out to make her more than a cookie-cutter female archetype: - Her weakness. One of the things I admired most about her character is how despite the fact that she's so strong, charismatic, intelligent, and determined to reach her goals, the mere notion of Tomoya breaking up with her was enough to sadden her. And the sensitivity she expresses regarding her struggle with her feminine side really moves me too. - Her femininity. While this might be one of the more odd qualities to list for a character like Tomoyo, her resolve to distance herself from her violent lifestyle of the past and become more of a woman was actually quite admirable. She also had an inadvertently cute side about her just waking up Tomoya every day and cooking lunch for him. True girlfriend material right there. - Her love. Let me put it like this: she's the most popular girl in school, receives the highest grades, becomes the student council president to save the sakura trees that brought her family together, and was a shoe-in for college...but she was willing to compromise all of it to live a happy life with Tomoya. "I will go wherever you go. I want nothing more." You could never tell she was this devoted in the anime series. As a matter of fact, when I saw the OVA, I really wasn't feeling the whole Tomoyo/Tomoya dynamic until the breakup scene, where she makes a sudden outburst in a struggle to hold onto their relationship, despite the fact that everything Tomoya said was true and that he really had been distracting her from a higher purpose. Sadly, they chose to omit ALL of these things in the main series, which led me to believe for the longest that she was just some boring B-list character with no real significance to the plotline. I'm glad I was wrong. Oh so wrong. I heavily anticipate the English translation of Tomoyo After. It's a shame it doesn't seem to be anywhere close to finished.