[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Nightbat®

Chrno Crusade:
Though the ending itself was very fitting and memorable, the final fight was one of the biggest letdowns I've ever seen

You just had to remind me of that one hum? Oh how I felt like crap after that end.

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

@Akito

I have something else I found baffling about Clannad AS's ending

Spoiler:

Aside from the deux ex machina about it, I was always unable to accept the lack of closure for everyone else. Clannad is about family, yes, but it's also about the people around them and the goodwill that allowed Tomoya and Nagisa to get together. By not giving the other characters much heed, they are ignoring the core of what made Clannad in the first place. I mean sure, as you grow up, friends grow more distant, but the audience deserves more. So, how can a show that has built up this so much and so well end up completely ignoring this in the most important part? I mean, those orbs of light wouldn't be possible unless...

Yes, it trying to go into that would have delved into anime original territory, but at the same time I feel that the combined path method for the series became a double edged sword and because the anime had to become its own story through this method, that the original ending even if perfectly adapted in and of itself is thematically incompatible with the build up.

And ultimately, it's baffling because it effectively contradicts everything the show had gotten us to cherish. That actually hurts the story to me more than the supernatural element.

I agree with you on that. The Clannad AS end works as the end to the VN (where you naturally only concern yourself you a single girl at any given time) but even then the ending isn't without it's deus ex machina feel. It is still pretty much an enormous deus ex machina and basically shatters the forth wall to make you realize that it's just the game's mechanics working under the guise of some random and unexplained in-universe magic. It is however understandable with some thought to the average player which is something you can't say of the anime. (more in the spoiler-tagged section)

Spoiler for Clannad AS:

How do you explain the orbs in the show? If it weren't for these forums and some people pointing out how many of them had shown up I wouldn't give them a fleeting glance. They were too subtle for their own good and failed to lay the groundwork for the end of the show leaving it with an even greater feel of Deus ex Machina.

Virtually everyone I've pointed the show to has failed to understand the ending on their own.

I love the show but even I can understand that the ending is a major black spot on an otherwise brilliant track record.

Spoiler for Clannad AS again:

On another note I really find that Ushio dying is what prevents Clannad from being a true masterpiece. It's so sadistic to effectively pull the same awful stunt twice especially when the main character is on the road to reaching a truly heartfelt and meaningful lesson: sometimes you lose people you love yes but you shouldn't forget that there are others who love you.

I identified with Tomoya quite a bit because he was weak and I would probably go on a similar downward spiral if I was ever in the same spot he was. Seeing him overcoming his loss and watching his love for his daughter grow even after all the hardships made me feel hope. Then the story just robs me of all that by killing off that cute little Ushio and tops it of by pulling the "it's OK, stuff works out if you're a nice guy and you wish hard enough card". If it weren't for my affection for Nagisa I would never let that fly. It just goes to show just how damned well written those characters were for me to let it slide.

The same ending could have worked just fine by just having Tomoya get back to his normal life with a newfound love for his daughter (and sure, throw in the near death experience that magically ends after an dream-like event or something). Would it be bitter-sweet for a Nagisa fan like me? Probably but it would at least be better than ending the show with a long scene entirely dedicated to bloody Fuko. Oh how I disliked the little twerp!

/end rant

Contributing something more to the thread than just ranting over Clannad let me add the End of the East finale. The original show was great and kept me on the edge of my seat but the final movies just felt like they rushed through not just the story but also the writing itself. It felt like they just gave up and winged something to end the show.

I can't contribute much more because an ending is such an important thing that unless the show is very recent I tend to forget the details of the one's that disappointed me the most. A memorable ending it half of what it takes to get me to remember a show so I'm a bit at a disadvantage here.