Character discussion - Tomoyo

[synaesthetic]

Out of all the characters in CLANNAD, Tomoyo I actually like quite a lot despite her general lack of screen time (especially in After Story). She has the best character design (seriously, she's gorgeous) and I totally love her voice actress.

I don't like her whole "I must act weak and girly else people will think I'm a thug" attitude, but I feel that's less Tomoyo's fault and more Most Writers Are Male and that Key is a Japanese company.

It's not a surprise that most American viewers find Tomoyo to be pretty damn awesome. Most American dudes aren't threatened by Badass Action Girls. It just makes them get even bigger boners.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

Out of all the characters in CLANNAD, Tomoyo I actually like quite a lot despite her general lack of screen time (especially in After Story). She has the best character design (seriously, she's gorgeous) and I totally love her voice actress.

Wtb more Tomoyo scenes. I just wished when Tomoya made that wish with the lucky charm on which girl would get stuck with him, it would have been her . Would have been really awkward. Also I think the producers made the OVA of Tomoyo being Tomoya's girlfriend for an entire episode (well when they wernt separated) just to make up for her lack of screen time.

It's not a surprise that most American viewers find Tomoyo to be pretty damn awesome. Most American dudes aren't threatened by Badass Action Girls. It just makes them get even bigger boners.

I find this somewhat disturbing o.o

[goodscoolxh]

i like Tomoyo very much , the ways of her dealing with things appeal to me , she is brave to accept the challenge , she is the hero in my heart .

[Archon_Wing]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

Out of all the characters in CLANNAD, Tomoyo I actually like quite a lot despite her general lack of screen time (especially in After Story). She has the best character design (seriously, she's gorgeous) and I totally love her voice actress.

I don't like her whole "I must act weak and girly else people will think I'm a thug" attitude, but I feel that's less Tomoyo's fault and more Most Writers Are Male and that Key is a Japanese company.

It's not a surprise that most American viewers find Tomoyo to be pretty damn awesome. Most American dudes aren't threatened by Badass Action Girls. It just makes them get even bigger boners.

Haha, yea I think so too.

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by Hooves

I find this somewhat disturbing o.o

It's true, for most American men, the thought of tough, capable, badass women who can slug it out with the boys--I'm sure you've heard or seen shows where it shows women using guns or fighting hand-to-hand and male bystanders will comment on how hot it is.

But in Japan the cute/moe/helpless girls, or conversely, the Yamato Nadeshiko stereotype are the more popular--the "housewife" material.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

It's true, for most American men, the thought of tough, capable, badass women who can slug it out with the boys--I'm sure you've heard or seen shows where it shows women using guns or fighting hand-to-hand and male bystanders will comment on how hot it is.

But in Japan the cute/moe/helpless girls, or conversely, the Yamato Nadeshiko stereotype are the more popular--the "housewife" material.

Now that you say that, in the Highschool of the Dead, people are really all over Saeko just being so amazing with her fighting against the zombies in that show. So that sorta clears things up..

People cannot resist the cute/moe/helpless girls Especially the cute housewife material.

[SJCrew]

Ah, bumping the Tomoyo topic...you guys sure know how to get a guy to post.

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

It's not a surprise that most American viewers find Tomoyo to be pretty damn awesome. Most American dudes aren't threatened by Badass Action Girls. It just makes them get even bigger boners.

The funny thing about that is that most of Tomoyo's appeal, from me, comes from her strong will, strong heart, and the cute side of her that actually wants to be more feminine. The fighting was only funny in the VN when it was more slapstick and less "I'm trying to look cool, watch my excessive lightning kicks". That shit really turned me off in the anime.

[Leo_Otaku]

I agree with the anime version of her beating Sunohara they went way too overboard and didn't even do funniest part with the 64 hit.

[synaesthetic]

The anime did go overboard with the Sunohara beatings, one of the things that lowered season one in my estimations. After Story did away with a lot of that Three Stooges-style humor, much to my relief.

I personally liked Tomoya's verbal abuse of Sunohara far more.

"The hologram just kicked me! Hey, you're real!"

"I'm actually a cyborg."

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

The anime did go overboard with the Sunohara beatings, one of the things that lowered season one in my estimations. After Story did away with a lot of that Three Stooges-style humor, much to my relief.

I personally liked Tomoya's verbal abuse of Sunohara far more.

"The hologram just kicked me! Hey, you're real!"

"I'm actually a cyborg."

You mean this?

I cannot believe Tomoya could have kept a straight face that entire time and Sunohara actually believing him to the end.

Now that you think about it, the Sunohara beat-down does seem a bit out-of-it, but it shouldn't really be that much of a let-down since the matches between Sunohara and Tomoyo only last about 1-2 minutes.

[Tomoya Okazaki]

(tomoyo)
i wanna make this self defence...come at me
(sunohara)
alright i guess u leave me no other choice.RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAA!!!!!!
2 seconds later
(sunohara)
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
(tomoyo)
if u let go ull fall...whats that u want to fall ok then .
(sunohara)
WHAT I HAVENT SAID ANYTHING YET!!!!
. . .
................................................
(sunohara)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!
__________________________________________________ ________________________
the examplein this post is if someone semes too strong its probably safe to leave it be.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Tomoya Okazaki

Spoiler for Scene:

(tomoyo)
i wanna make this self defence...come at me
(sunohara)
alright i guess u leave me no other choice.RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAA!!!!!!
2 seconds later
(sunohara)
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
(tomoyo)
if u let go ull fall...whats that u want to fall ok then .
(sunohara)
WHAT I HAVENT SAID ANYTHING YET!!!!
. . .
................................................
(sunohara)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!
__________________________________________________ ________________________
the examplein this post is if someone semes too strong its probably safe to leave it be.

This scene was indeed hilarious Tomoyo just clearly slaughters Sunohara at anytime.

[Archon_Wing]

"Did I go too far"

lol <3

[Tomoya Okazaki]

yeah when i first saw it i thought it was funny as heck
lol x3

[Tak]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

But in Japan the cute/moe/helpless girls, or conversely, the Yamato Nadeshiko stereotype are the more popular--the "housewife" material.

Not quite true, fiesty girls and tsundere types are amongst the most popular as well, especially the latter.

And not every Yamato Nadeshiko is a Belldandy. Moreover, depending on who you ask, chances are, everyone has their own image of the Yamato Nadeshiko Japanese woman.

On the other hand, Lacus Cylne of GS/GSD fame had consistently topped New Type polls for nearly a decade, but we cannot really pin a 'stereotype' on her. That woman has a category all by herself.

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

It's true, for most American men, the thought of tough, capable, badass women who can slug it out with the boys--I'm sure you've heard or seen shows where it shows women using guns or fighting hand-to-hand and male bystanders will comment on how hot it is.

Originally Posted by Hooves

I find this somewhat disturbing o.o

Funny how you should mention this.

Though if anything, Tomoyo may be a subtle parody of the Japanese stereotype for Germans.

And here I shall list several reasons why:

1. Incredible organization ability (especially as student president): Check.

2. Has virtually no tact, and tend to be straight-in-your-face: Check.

3. Cannot comprehend humor, and has a very difficult time understanding jokes or hints: Check

4. Possess a completely straightforward way of thinking. Ie. there may be a solution against the problem, but no way around it: Check.

Of course she also has great oratory abilities and been mistaken for a man, but I am not going to go too far with that...

- Tak

[Hooves]

1. Incredible organization ability (especially as student president): Check.

2. Has virtually no tact, and tend to be straight-in-your-face: Check.

3. Cannot comprehend humor, and has a very difficult time understanding jokes or hints: Check

4. Possess a completely straightforward way of thinking. Ie. there may be a solution against the problem, but no way around it: Check.

Of course she also has great oratory abilities and been mistaken for a man, but I am not going to go too far with that...

These are the things that make Tomoyo awesome

[Archon_Wing]

Hmm, a Japanese Stereotype for Germans. Well, someone has fulfilled those criteria already.

If Tomoyo was a man it's still be a cool character. We'd have to call her Tomoya... oh wait. >.>

[Archon_Wing]

Oh that'd explain why she'd only fulfill some of them =p Come to think of it Asuka's more of an American anyways.

But in any case, Tomoyo is definitely the type of characters that appeals to the western fans out of all of them (Kyou as well)

[Archon_Wing]

Oh man, it's been so long since I wrote anything of substance in this subforum.

But yea, It's so unfortunate I'm so god damned lazy with Visual Novels; I'm really not into that medium. I guess I'll have to promise to play Tomoyo After when it gets translated to finally cement myself as a fanboy perhaps.

Though recently, when skimming through Clannad for a new avatar I got reminded of a few things about why she ranks so highly for my character favorites.

In any case, I felt that she was clearly the best character from any Key series to leave an impression. She doesn't seem to be prone to cry over everything (except those things that matter) and actually manages to have a will of her own. Though I find it odd that Key always makes side characters more interesting than their leads. No hate for Ayu or Nagisa or anything, it's just the way it appears, and it's pretty amazing that Clannad AS managed out to turn out that well.

So, Tomoyo kinda breaks the mold by being someone that doesn't need to have a guy come and save him. She doesn't need to, even if she wants to.

The other thing is the utter aura of confidence that shows up frequently on characters that I like a lot. But it's not just plain arrogance to cover insecurity like someone such as Kuroneko. She's confident about her abilities and simply does not give a shit. Something else that kills me is her utter bluntness and use of logic that makes everyone else feel stupid.

Provoke others into attacking and win! Great strategy.

Well, she kinda does. And as said earlier in the thread, it's one of those meh things that gets required because of anime. She wants to be more feminine blah blah blah. I suppose it's kinda cute though; but it just doesn't work out. Though I do like how the anime kinda suggests she'd be more successful if she just does it her own way.

And of course, the character design KyoAni did was just spectacular; she just looks utterly imposing even with the long hair and stature even if she's not even that big herself.

In essence, she become some kind of standard where my favorite characters are derived from. She has the determination and dorky cute but somehow cool aura that Mai and Homura possess; She has the intelligence and not afraid to use it to bully people like Kuroneko, the maturity through hardship of the likes of Rin Tohsaka and Misato Katsuragi, and the battle elegance and good heart of Fate Testarossa.

But a character is not just the sum of their traits, but how they combine together to create the character.

And it's not done in the sense of way of "this character is perfect, you should worship her" such as the likes of Kanade. Tomoyo is simply more believable because of her conflict and flaws. Some characters manage to do that on their own instead of being constantly shoved down our throats (Hi, Kirino)

Even though her character was watered down due to the nature of the anime, it just didn't take that long to become a fan.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

I don't like her whole "I must act weak and girly else people will think I'm a thug" attitude, but I feel that's less Tomoyo's fault and more Most Writers Are Male and that Key is a Japanese company.

It's not a surprise that most American viewers find Tomoyo to be pretty damn awesome. Most American dudes aren't threatened by Badass Action Girls. It just makes them get even bigger boners.

Tomoyo is popular with Japanese Clannad fans too.

Personally, I don't think "most writers are male and Key is a Japanese company" as "Key is Key". They probably could have done the feminine ex-gangster thing in a subtle fashion and still had it be amusing, but as you may or may not be aware, all Key girls are required to have at least one very standout weird personality quirk that can be used in a running gag. At least she doesn't haven't a catch phrase. Actually, Clannad is less obnoxious about this requirement in general than Kanon and Air were.

(Besides, all Key fans who are into housewives want Akiko - the MILF to end all MILFs.)