Heh. Neck scratching. Heh.
This is probably the first episode where the "Nagisa" theme song way played dominantly and to completion. Absolutely fantastically beautiful...
But on to serious matters...
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I forget where I heard it from, but the origin of the word "marriage" is said to be that of "to gamble", that is to say that marrying someone is to gamble and bet on them. Having never been married, heck I don't have a girlfriend, I never really understood why it is comparable to gambling that one marries someone. But I think, as I watch this show and play the VN maybe I'll understand what it means.
"This is my home now."
It honestly never really hit me that these two are married, share a home and a life until Nagisa said this. She wants a job to help out, and yey she'll still take care of the apartment. Because this tiny, one room flat with low rent and slow-heating water is still a home.
Their home.
The distance between their futons that night is strictly a physical one, nothing more and nothing less. Their hands can easily bridge the gap, as it is nothing more than a custom of single occupancy. The gap is bridged both by hands and by words, and even by the silence, something very few people can understand.
Something greater connects them together, something no matter of physical affection can ever bridge.
The scenes that did it for me in this episodes were so quaint, mundane and everyday that if it were any other show, I'd have been bored to tears. Instead I was awwed to tears. Maybe it was because of Nagisa's theme being played, or maybe because seeing two people so meant for each other and so deserving of their hopes for happiness that I found myself also joyful, teareyed and simply awestruck. Man struggles in their pursuit of happiness, and even though these two human beings have just left the starting line of their new lives, even though full aware of the wild card life could always deal them, they continue with a smile.
Tomoya helps with the cooking. Nagisa sets the futon. Tomoya hangs a towel around his neck as they chat over dinner.
Above all that, however, is when they meet along that side road. Tomoya is dirty from work. Nagisa is coming home from job hunting which probably didn't go well. And yet on that road, to the backdrop of the setting sun, they smile at each other and walk home together.
This is real life folks, and it is nothing short of poignant.
"You can make a wish if you hold this light."
Good lord the foreshadowing. This is pretty much it. Game vets knew what the lights were even before this scene, but for everyone else pay attention to the lights and to what Tomoya had said about them. This is the magical aspect of the series and perhaps the critical component of this tale.
"A baby..."
I want to do a Beavis laugh but I won't heh. One can see just how straightforward and courageous she has become over the time we have seen her grow. Even in her work as a waitress, how she is able to bear herself despite all the dickheaded customers that hit on her and all the staring she gets, she manages to do so strongly and deal with her situation. A lesser anime lead would probably just go with it, but she can't, and she won't. The manager even mentions to Tomoya just how much she's a wise and hard worker despite her inexperience and tendency to be negative. Nothing showcases just how much she has grown and matured than this.
"Everything will change."
Tomoya can only recall the memories of the days spent in those schools. It's been years since then, but he recalls vividly and fondly, as if they were yesterday. These are memories of the time in he life when he finally encountered what it means to live and to be happy. Naturally he would be angry, sad and emotional. Again we see just how much of an anger issue he still needs to deal, and how much personal sadness he bears.
And once again, Nagisa is there to help and guide. Again she speaks to him calmly, as all couples should, to discuss their feelings and emotions in open conversation.
That is one of the pillars of marriage, isn't it?
"We slept together..." / "I knocked your daughter up!"
Okay the second one wasn't said.
But this is it. Confirmation that the central event of not only After Story but of the entire Clannad series has begun. She's pregnant. A new life is about to begin.
It all begins, again, when a child is born.
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We have 2 more episodes or more before the child is born. Well most of us already know the name they'll give.
But I guess what makes me and nervous is what will actually transpire once the child is born. The game had 2 outcomes, and only one can really happen.
Which one we won't know until the episode itslef, but game veterans pretty much have an idea which way KyotoAni will go. As such I think we've steeled up our tear glands just in case.
Fansubber
