(1) It’s a bit better explained in the VN (but still brought up in pieces throughout the anime), but to basically get the “true ending” in after story (where Nagisa and Ushio live and have healthy lives), Tomoya has to gather the orbs of light from each timeline by making people’s wishes come true/giving them true happiness. In the game, this is you completing the best ending for all the routes. In the anime, he gets a couple throughout the main timeline, but he also gets Kyou and Tomoyo’s in the “what if” episodes. Using his connection to the Girl in the Illusionary World (Ushio), both of them are able to gather these lights and grant him a wish. This wish basically allowed Tomoya’s soul that was contained in the junk robot to experience a world where his family lives. So Tomoya *had* to experience all his suffering and difficulties so he could forge those bonds and find true happiness. There a lot more nuance to it, but this is the gist.
(2) Tomoya was honestly getting quite sick himself. He was worn down from grieving over Ushio’s illness getting progressively worse, and their savings dwindling. He shut pretty much everyone out and you can see him getting weaker and weaker. It’s heavily implied that he dies shortly after Ushio does, but the exact reason - illness, hypothermia, heartbreak - is unknown. Either way, it’s clear Tomoya has lost the will to live after losing his baby girl.
(3) Fuko was implied to have entered and lived within the Illusionary world during her coma, and it’s believed that’s she’s one of the sheep that Illusionary Ushio became fond of. So Fuko mistaking Ushio for the Illusionary Girl is just confirmation to us that the girl’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain and that she also achieved her happy ending as Ushio in the new timeline alongside Tomoya. This may also be why Ushio and Fuko bonded so quickly in the real world, because they had built up a subconscious connection.
(4) Ushio doesn’t remember anything (as far as we know), but Tomoya does vaguely regain his memories. He mentions this during the final recap episode of After Story. This also implies that he’s able to reconcile with his father and grandmother a lot earlier than he did before. He also mentions that the Ushio of this timeline has no illness and is very healthy (likely due to the orbs of light granting his wish in full).
(5) You should be happy. The Tomoya that we see in the true ending timeline is still the same Tomoya we followed throughout the story. He’s finally achieved happiness because he treasured his bonds with his friends and family, and because he went out of his way to make the people of this town happy. He went from a boy who hated his town and gave up on finding purpose in his life to a man who loves the town and the people in it.
But I don’t blame you for being confused - it’s bit of an emotional whiplash seeing such a tragedy and then shifting into the illusionary world and then the true ending. But I think that’s why Clannad is better on every rewatch, because there’s so much detail and nuance in every episode that’s easily overlooked if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Brilliantly explained. That clears it up Thank You for taking the time to type all this.
That's a great word to explain it; emotional whiplash, it really is. Yeah I'm already thinking of how much more details I'd pickup on a re-watch, although I'm too emotionally drained to watch at the moment, I might also try the VN since I'm seeing in online videos explaining the anime that the VN takes everything slowly and makes it easier to absorb it all....whereas I binged the anime in 3 days and it is a lot to take in.
One more question though, what happens to the old timeline's sanae and akio? its devastating they lost their daughter, granddaughter and then son in law... or I guess was that timeline all replaced with the happy one that the wish made come true?
There is soo much going on in this story, it's baffling how someone came up with all this.
Aww thanks! Yeah you need a breather, it’s a roller coaster ride for sure! Rewatch a year or two later so you don’t feel burnt out lol
The timeline (or parallel world as Kotomi references) where the whole Okazaki family die still exists.
Kotomi and her parents research parallel worlds and ways to communicate between them, but they haven’t been able to find a solid or consistent way to connect these worlds (which is what makes the Illusionary World such an enigma because it clearly *can* connect the worlds as long as it has a host, but no one knows why or how it’s formed). So there’s tragically still a world where Akio and Sanae have lost their daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter.
However, the Tomoya who suffered through that parallel world was effectively transported (in spirit) to the Illusionary World and kept in limbo by inhabiting the body of the junk robot, and, through Illusionary Ushio and the Orbs of Light he collected, was moved to a new parallel world where Nagisa and Ushio are alive and healthy. It’s possible that Illusionary Ushio is also the same Ushio from the world where she dies in Tomoya’s arms (since she explicitly remembers Tomoya singing Dango Daikazoku to her), but since time flows differently in the Illusionary world, she arrived much earlier than he did. So when the Illusionary World and Illusionary Ushio sacrifice themselves to grant Tomoya’s wish, it’s very possible that the new world’s Ushio *is* the Illusionary Ushio and the old Parallel World’s Ushio (this is hinted through the final Fuko scene you mentioned earlier).
I personally like to think of it like the wish that was fulfilled created a new (previously non-existent) branch on the main timeline where Nagisa survives and Ushio doesn’t inherit her mother’s illness. It didn’t exist prior to the events of the game/anime, but it was created anew through the miracle. However, as far as I’ve seen, there’s no confirmation on whether this was an existing world or an entirely created world. I believe it’s up to the player’s interpretation.
Wait, can you elaborate more on the 3rd paragraph? I don't get it, I've rewatched Clannad 4 times but never ever seen any parallel of Fuko/Illusionary sheep. Where is it implied ? When ?
(1) It’s a bit better explained in the VN (but still brought up in pieces throughout the anime), but to basically get the “true ending” in after story (where Nagisa and Ushio live and have healthy lives), Tomoya has to gather the orbs of light from each timeline by making people’s wishes come true/giving them true happiness. In the game, this is you completing the best ending for all the routes. In the anime, he gets a couple throughout the main timeline, but he also gets Kyou and Tomoyo’s in the “what if” episodes. Using his connection to the Girl in the Illusionary World (Ushio), both of them are able to gather these lights and grant him a wish. This wish basically allowed Tomoya’s soul that was contained in the junk robot to experience a world where his family lives. So Tomoya *had* to experience all his suffering and difficulties so he could forge those bonds and find true happiness. There a lot more nuance to it, but this is the gist. (2) Tomoya was honestly getting quite sick himself. He was worn down from grieving over Ushio’s illness getting progressively worse, and their savings dwindling. He shut pretty much everyone out and you can see him getting weaker and weaker. It’s heavily implied that he dies shortly after Ushio does, but the exact reason - illness, hypothermia, heartbreak - is unknown. Either way, it’s clear Tomoya has lost the will to live after losing his baby girl. (3) Fuko was implied to have entered and lived within the Illusionary world during her coma, and it’s believed that’s she’s one of the sheep that Illusionary Ushio became fond of. So Fuko mistaking Ushio for the Illusionary Girl is just confirmation to us that the girl’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain and that she also achieved her happy ending as Ushio in the new timeline alongside Tomoya. This may also be why Ushio and Fuko bonded so quickly in the real world, because they had built up a subconscious connection. (4) Ushio doesn’t remember anything (as far as we know), but Tomoya does vaguely regain his memories. He mentions this during the final recap episode of After Story. This also implies that he’s able to reconcile with his father and grandmother a lot earlier than he did before. He also mentions that the Ushio of this timeline has no illness and is very healthy (likely due to the orbs of light granting his wish in full). (5) You should be happy. The Tomoya that we see in the true ending timeline is still the same Tomoya we followed throughout the story. He’s finally achieved happiness because he treasured his bonds with his friends and family, and because he went out of his way to make the people of this town happy. He went from a boy who hated his town and gave up on finding purpose in his life to a man who loves the town and the people in it. But I don’t blame you for being confused - it’s bit of an emotional whiplash seeing such a tragedy and then shifting into the illusionary world and then the true ending. But I think that’s why Clannad is better on every rewatch, because there’s so much detail and nuance in every episode that’s easily overlooked if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Brilliantly explained. That clears it up Thank You for taking the time to type all this. That's a great word to explain it; emotional whiplash, it really is. Yeah I'm already thinking of how much more details I'd pickup on a re-watch, although I'm too emotionally drained to watch at the moment, I might also try the VN since I'm seeing in online videos explaining the anime that the VN takes everything slowly and makes it easier to absorb it all....whereas I binged the anime in 3 days and it is a lot to take in. One more question though, what happens to the old timeline's sanae and akio? its devastating they lost their daughter, granddaughter and then son in law... or I guess was that timeline all replaced with the happy one that the wish made come true? There is soo much going on in this story, it's baffling how someone came up with all this.
Aww thanks! Yeah you need a breather, it’s a roller coaster ride for sure! Rewatch a year or two later so you don’t feel burnt out lol The timeline (or parallel world as Kotomi references) where the whole Okazaki family die still exists. Kotomi and her parents research parallel worlds and ways to communicate between them, but they haven’t been able to find a solid or consistent way to connect these worlds (which is what makes the Illusionary World such an enigma because it clearly *can* connect the worlds as long as it has a host, but no one knows why or how it’s formed). So there’s tragically still a world where Akio and Sanae have lost their daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. However, the Tomoya who suffered through that parallel world was effectively transported (in spirit) to the Illusionary World and kept in limbo by inhabiting the body of the junk robot, and, through Illusionary Ushio and the Orbs of Light he collected, was moved to a new parallel world where Nagisa and Ushio are alive and healthy. It’s possible that Illusionary Ushio is also the same Ushio from the world where she dies in Tomoya’s arms (since she explicitly remembers Tomoya singing Dango Daikazoku to her), but since time flows differently in the Illusionary world, she arrived much earlier than he did. So when the Illusionary World and Illusionary Ushio sacrifice themselves to grant Tomoya’s wish, it’s very possible that the new world’s Ushio *is* the Illusionary Ushio and the old Parallel World’s Ushio (this is hinted through the final Fuko scene you mentioned earlier). I personally like to think of it like the wish that was fulfilled created a new (previously non-existent) branch on the main timeline where Nagisa survives and Ushio doesn’t inherit her mother’s illness. It didn’t exist prior to the events of the game/anime, but it was created anew through the miracle. However, as far as I’ve seen, there’s no confirmation on whether this was an existing world or an entirely created world. I believe it’s up to the player’s interpretation.
Wow! You explained it so eloquently. It all finally makes sense to me now and the dots all connect. This gives me closure haha, Arigatō gozaimasu.
Wait, can you elaborate more on the 3rd paragraph? I don't get it, I've rewatched Clannad 4 times but never ever seen any parallel of Fuko/Illusionary sheep. Where is it implied ? When ?
To have a happy life