Clannad ~ After Story OVA – Kyou goodness
As a Ryou-turned-Kyou fan, this Fujibayashi-centric OVA is a dream come true. Ryou and Kyou represents the 2 classes of bishoujos I would have loved to date during my younger days - the gentle, kind, oh-so-bashful-she's-cute type and the effervescent type whose energetic antics barely conceal their girlish charms. Traditionally, I'd bully the former and let the latter bully me but that's not relevant to this entry except to impress upon the point that Ryou/Kyou are my types. Which is why I doubly feel Tomoya's pain. Both are great girlfriend material although Ryou would make a lovely wife while Kyou, wonderful mistress.
Some would know that I enjoy 'taboo' love. Maybe 'taboo' is too strong a term. 'Off-limits' is probably more apt. Your best friend's girlfriend, your childhood friend and of course your sister are some illustrations of 'off-limits'. Of course in this case, it's the sister's boyfriend/girlfriend's sister. I enjoy such romances because it almost certainly involves emotional struggle, leading to drama and hopefully, character development. And I have found all these elements to be well integrated and executed in Kyou's OVA. Given the tight airtime, this OVA achieved a great deal in relating a bittersweet tale of maturing in love. I admire Tomoya a great deal for doing the right thing with Ryou. It was a courage I did not possess while younger and I live to reap the consequences of my evil deeds. (Come to think of it, I did marry 'Kyou' instead of 'Ryou'...)
Sufficient to say, I enjoyed Kyou's OVA tremendously seeing how authentic the portrayals of the pain and pleasure of love are. Heartily recommend to fans of the bishoujo-romance genre.
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July 3rd, 2009 - 03:43
In the game her route was the weakest as it went on way too longer and just too melodramatic even for Key’s standards. In bite-sized 30 minute OVA form it was much more pleasant and likable. It’s nice seeing Ryou be so forward and Kyou look so vulnerable, pushing the moe buttons quite well.
July 3rd, 2009 - 06:58
A warning for you, nii nii. I suggest you play Kappei’s route in the game, and reevaluate Ryou. She’s a closet w_ _ _ _. Not cute at all.
July 3rd, 2009 - 10:27
good, but strangely unsatisfying…
Kyou arc is simply too complex to fit into one episode. Kyoani is obviously rushing through this and only animating the key scenes. Even though this is the Kyou arc, not enough focus is place on Ryou to give you a nice Da Capo “love denying” feeling…
Well flammin’ aside. I guess it was done relatively well considering its episode limitation. And no, I’m not a Kyou hater
July 3rd, 2009 - 14:56
I came out of Kyou’s route a year or so ago very VERY angry at Kyou’s antics. Then again, I’m a girl, and two-faced backstabbers really raise my hackles. The OVA, not surprisingly, does nothing to change my low opinions of Kyou’s route, but at least the short length makes it bearable.
Frankly, Kyou only became bearable as a character (to me) in her After Story incarnation.
July 4th, 2009 - 01:57
Calawain: Well said. In total agreement on the OVA bringing out the lesser facets of the Fujibayashi siblings. 2D has lately taken a literal meaning for many characters of late – with either too much tsun or dere. It’s nice to see the middle ground covered in this OVA.
aurabolt: I suspect one of the KEY reasons I enjoyed the OVA a lot more than most is because I didn’t play the game. No, in fact, I know nothing about it much less the Kyou arc. Possibly, that gave me an edge in that I could assess the OVA without the influence of insider knowledge. I’m glad to report I like what I saw.
Vin-nii: I think the OVA assumes intuitive viewers who can immediately establish the context within mins of the episode, hence it didn’t waste time in building the mundane (which I’m rather glad for actually). As mentioned, maybe because I didn’t play the game, the OVA didn’t seem all that rushed to me. Ahh and the mention of Da Capo was apt since I thought of Nemu and Sakura while catching this ep.
Myssa Rei : I absolutely understand where you are coming from. My wife has a special voodoo doll for man-snatchers. But myself I’m a lot more sympathetic towards Kyou. Her love for Ryou and honourable intentions at the beginning exacerbated the cruelty inflicted on herself, Tomoya and eventually with multiplying with great intensity on Ryou. It’s an irony and an honest mistake than may young ones make. It was a painful lesson for all 3 but I believe it’d serve them well in life.
July 4th, 2009 - 12:38
Hrm… I dunno, I felt strangely… unsatisfied. Perhaps I had too much expectation from Kyou’s route, having not played it myself and not knowing what to expect. I guess I just wanted more than what they could deliver in such a short time frame. I suppose there’s also my superficial side showing… WHY KYOU?! WHY DID YOU CUT YOUR BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL HAIR?! T_T My heart mourns the loss of her lovely, waist-long hair T_T I didn’t see any need for her to actually cut her hair, so WHY?! :< Ok, I'm done~
July 5th, 2009 - 07:40
this is why i think Islam is a great religion. With Islam you don’t have to choose one, you can have them all
July 7th, 2009 - 04:25
I’m back! o/
Stripey, I have just one thing to say: Play the Kyou route in the Clannad game.
I myself actually finished that route about 2-3 days before the devastating episode 18 of the first season of Clannad (man, I was just emotionally destroyed after that episode), but that’s not the point.
The point is that even the Kyou OVA was wonderful, as it in my opinion excelled the game at both the rain scene and the “climbing the hill” scene at the end, it still wasn’t even near in portraying the escalating love triangle between the three. ▼ Show
July 7th, 2009 - 14:34
Kyou… so much untapped (pun intended) potential. They should’ve gotten rid of Kappei’s route, made Ryou’s route a “good ending”, and had Kyou’s route in After Story after Nagisa dies.
July 16th, 2009 - 22:31
Nazarielle: I absolutely agree about the Kyou’s hair! That’s a REAL waste of such gorgeous tresses. Plus, it’d be embarrassing if “Ryou” come out instead of “Kyou” during erm the critical moments. XD
Xellos-_^: Myself, I’ve always thought bigamy is the solution to most of the heartaches in the world. (Shhh, don’t tell wife-chan…)
flaskis: Welcome back! Ahh.. that deep kiss part would have been very poignant. Pity it wasn’t animated. Nevertheless not knowing about the game probably help me enjoy the OVA a little more.
Beowulf Lee: You Sir, need to get into that director chair and animate Clannad After After Story now.
August 9th, 2009 - 11:59
Just watched it and I cried almost as much as Ryou and Kyou did on screen. A nice 49th Episode of my Favourite Drama anime series. I may be a Fuko fan but I can see a little interesting thing or two in all the girls in the show. Nice to see the dere dere side come out in Kyou as well, but wtf is with that haircut Miss? Tsunderes and short hair don’t mix. All in all a lovely tale that makes me wish this series could go on for years!
Perhaps an Ushio: after story could be in the pipeline some time?
Stripey, do keep up the fine work ok.