- Oh god that looked painful. Also, it's so refreshing to see someone refer to the two main characters as boyfriend and girlfriend, and not be met with a denial. Tomoya x Nagisa is perfection

- Suddenly, Tomoyo! You know, come to think of it, we should see a bit of her in a Misae arc, even if only as she sits down to hear Miase tell a story about her younger days. Looks like for now she wants to hold a week of no lateness or absences at school, like Misae managed years ago.

- Divine retribution! Hah, oh Misae. I cracked up at Nagisa totally ratting out Youhei without a second thought. I love you, Nagisa. ...And you know, I'm not sure the human body is supposed to bend that way...

- "That won't happen, I won't be taken away by some other guy!" Tomoya, you lucky, lucky son of a bitch. Oh the cuteness is too much to handle.
- I think Misae drugges Tomoya's tea so she could have some intimate girl x girl time with Nagisa.

- Or it was just an interesting way to transition into Misae's backstory. I was sort of wondering how they were going to get her to bring it up and start talking. This works as well as anything, I guess.

- Young Misae. Oh my god, young Misae. Visually, it's like... Kotomi and Kyou did one of their epic symmetrical dockings, and the mass of their breasts created a time-space distortion that merged their existences and formed one person. (Ok, I guess it looks nothing like that at all but it gave me an excuse to think about Kotomi-Kyou symmetrical docking, so whatever)

- Shima Katsuki, his story sounds like something straight out of a dating sim but Misae doesn't seem to be enticed into "sick character" moe.

- Hah, Katsuki is awesome. Raise the voice a little and give him some boobs and he could just as easily be a female bishoujo show character.

- Hmm but maybe Misae is into the "pure, naive" type... =D

- And unfortunately Misae chooses this moment to become uncharacteristically dense. She really couldn't read the hint Katsuki was trying to pass on about Igarashi? And then she inadvertantly gives him the most awkward advice possible...

Oh man. How did they get me this emotionally invested in 1) a side character and 2) a boy we just met nary 10 minutes ago in 3) a different timeline from the show we've been watching all along? Oh, right. Because it's Clannad.

- Today: Clannad time! But first, I rewatch 5 before watching episode 6. I wonder how many eps I can keep this rewatching previous ep first thing going for?
- Ah yes, such a good ep. Lots of emotional attachment built up in so short a time. Now for 6.

- Saki and Yuki I wonder what they're doing present-day?
- OP!! (...I still can't get enough. I just spent almost as long watching it as the episode is long...)

- Oh Shima. "I'm not crying." "Then in case you don't find paper in the bathroom." Wahahaha.
- And an adorably awkward unintentional confession. Awww.

- What the hell, how are they presenting such an satisfying relationship in so little time? Why doesn't this feel rushed? WHY IS THIS SO AWESOME?
- Ahhh! It's a trap! Hahaha, Yuki and Saki are looove. "Actually, he looks so cute it's starting to make me angry." XD!

- YOSHINO! Hahaha, man I was hoping we'd see him back in this period.
- Kouko was a teacher? She looks the same age as she does present-day.
- God this episode is win upon win stuffed inside win. "I want to be with you forever." !!

- But now Saki and Yuki want to visit his house, and we know that's always gonna be where things get ugly.
- And so, yes, he's the cat. Interesting that it's still hanging around Misae. You'd think it would disappear when the wish was granted... unless the wish was to remain with her as a cat.

- Well, turns out something like that. Her wish is for him to love her forever, but unfortunately it turns out that a cat has to be fine too. The whole autumn festival scene was really beautiful though, definitely got me choked up. All for a character we met just one episode ago, and another character who never got serious focus before one episode ago. This is absolutely Clannad doing what it does best.

- It ends, and Tomoya wakes up. Ahhhh... never did I imagine a 2 ep Misae arc would be so great. I really have to hand it to Yukino Satsuki too, I absolutely love how she delivers her lines.

- Off to Tomoya and Nagisa's "date". Nice little glimpse of Yukine and weird-hair dude thrown in there after the KyouToRyou shot. They're always together now, and I love ittttt I really adore how everyone in this show found other people to spend their time with. Tomoyo with Misae. Kyou, Ryou and Kotomi. Nagisa and Tomoya. As for Fuuko, well, we'll see I suppose. Also a glimpse of Rie, and the dude who got his car dented by the fat cat XD

...Oh wow, they got me again. The end of this episode brought on full out tears. The end of the flashback was really sweet, but it wasn't until the end where Tomoya starts telling her the message from the dream that I really lost it. The music was like 80% of it too. How many times have we heard that very, very simple, sparse, background track? The answer is that it doesn't matter - it's incredibly moving every time.

::sigh~~:: I feel so utterly content right now. I haven't felt this good after an episode of anime in a while. Hell this might be one of my favorite Clannad arcs. I'm so glad they took a little time to share this story with us, and did it taking up only two episodes! That's an incredibly win-win situation there.

I can't wait to see what Yukine has in store for us. But that's enough for now, i'll enjoy rewatching episode 7 at night after dinner...^_^

- Once again, I begin with a rewatch of the previous episode, episode 6, after such a delicious meal and having fun while rewatching this favorite!^_^. And that means I watch the OP over and over... it's interesting how the anime OP is plucked from the middle of the full version. It makes for two very different listening experiences.

- And goddamnit, I want to make love to that scarf Nagisa is wearing at the end.
- Hey, just noticed that the place where Katsuki meets Misae at the start of 6 is where Nagisa and Tomoya went with Fuuko after Tomoya bought her the kid's party set. Looks just like it, anyway. And I seriously need to figure out who Yuki reminds me of. She looks IDENTICAL to... argh, *someone*. And god, Nagisa's outfit at the festival makes her look even prettier than usual, if that's even possible.

- But now for episode 7! And a very very interesting girl&robot scene. One of the benefits of these short arcs is that we get more of these two, which is great because I find them absolutely fascinating. The two lights that joined and warmed for a moment - Katsuki and Sanae? It's always been a lingering question of mine if the girl and the robot are contemporaneous with the events of the show (and, well, if they're even real, or whatever the hell... I have some theories but they're based on nothing) but this makes me believe they are.

- And now the "plot" with these two is moving again. The girl has a lizard-like metabolism, apparently. The robot is worried. Winter is closing in. And they decide to leave the house they've been living in. God they're so interesting, I really hope the story lives up to the promise it's stored up within these two nameless individuals.

- And the OP... I watch it over and over and over. I think I've scrutinized every pixel of every scene a hundredfold by now. I've memorized the lyrics and developed a thousand conflicting and unsubstantiated theories based on every fleeting glimpse of the characters and settings it shows us. And yet I keep watching it, every time, multiple times. I've never been this obsessed with an OP sequence before. Not even close.

More about it, i really want to express more and more about them:
- Yukine(e) in an apron And poor Youhei, instantaneous rejection, take two!
- Nine light orbs.

- Yukine aneki! Oh man this is hilarious. Thugs and gangsters all treat her like their mom, and as they get ready to beat the crap out of each other they make sure to thank her for her hospitality first XD Fuck yes, Yukine is even more awesome than I could have hoped.

- HAHAHA! Little boy jumps her, so she just bends down and picks him up for a piggyback ride. Oh god, Yukine I worship you.
- Oh Youhei you dork. I love how they always end up at his place.

- This is the best gang war EVER. "You have good manners, Yuu-kun!"
- "You look like a bad person. But she looks like a nice person." XD At least he knows a sweet girl when he sees one.

- Youhei says something good for once? I bet he was quoting a manga.
- But oh no, now he's going to teach Yuu about manliness. Please let Tomoyo come by and show Yuu just how tough and manly Youhei is XD

- New teacher? Don't think we've met her before.
- Heh off to the gang's hideout and Yuu's sister is hot. And Youhei's Kazuto act is shot.
- Hah, the gang girls are hitting on Tomoya. Don't you cheat on Nagisa! XD
- OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD NAGISA AND YUKINE KARAOKE! I WANT TO HEAR IT! That shot needs widesceeen soo badly.

- Tomoyo! I love how it's immediately obvious who took those guys out. ::thinks:: In the hospital... Kazuto is Fuuko!! =P (Actually, I'm kinda thinking Kazuto is dead.)

No! The ep ended! It always feels too soon =(

But it was awesome, and it confirmed everything I expected out of Yukine and then multiplied it by like a thousand. What an absolutely perfect way to get her involved. Anekiii~~~~~ Interestingly, we didn't get the "this arc is ending!" type music in the next ep preview, so maybe Yukine goes to 9?
Now to rewatch the ep!

Ah, one more thing, if i can rank my feelings for characters in Clannad right now, it would look like this:

[Really Love]

Furukawa Nagisa
Fujibayashi Ryou
Fujibayashi Kyou
Sunohara Mei

[Really like]

Sakagami Tomoyo
Furukawa Sanae
Furukawa Akio
Sagara Misae

[Like]

Ibuki Fuuko
Ichinose Kotomi
Dango daikazoku
Starfish
Okazaki Tomoya
Sea Slugs
Yoshino (Ibuki) Kouko
Yoshino Yusuke
The Mysterious Girl
Botan
Shima Katsuki

[Ambivalent]

Miyazawa Yukine
That Robot
Komura Sensei
Kotomi's Father's Friend
Those Sheep
[...]
Sunohara Youhei

[Hate]
Soccer Club

Episode 8:

- Starting, once again, with a rewatch! That's a really convenient thing about two episode arcs. I can see the whole thing right as I watch the last ep. I also watched the whole Sunohara arc in widescreen earlier this week, which was neat. The video had its share of quality problems but at least it was wide.

- So since I've already watched episode 7 three times before this, I've decided that I will watch it this time with my eyes directly on Nagisa every single time she's on screen no matter if she's doing anything or saying anything. Think I'll even turn off the subs for most of the ep, toggling back on only during the more complex dialog. This is the All Nagisa Love Love version rewatch! (Well really it's always Nagisa Love Love time for me, but whatever.)

- ...Man that really drives home how there needs to be way more Nagisa...
- To ep 8! Are the Lucky Star people back? According to the ANN credits, no (instead it's the same as ep 2 for ep director and animation director) but I really feels like that same awesome softness/roundness to the designs is here again, to an extent. God I still can't get over how well a sorter approach to the designs works. Yukine in particular looks so much better - not that she ever looks at all bad mind you.

- Oh god Nagisa, you are the most perfect human being ever. How many other girls would offer you as their boyfriend, to play lap pillow for a pretty girl?

- Yukine is so cute as she's wavering about accepting the offer. Even cuter when she finally lays he head down. And then there's Nagisa, happy, but slightly jealous! And damnit Youhei, shhhhhhhhhh! What a great start to the ep, I'm completely in love before the OP even starts.

- And speaking of... Scarf! Love! The! Scarf! Nagisaaaaaaa!!!! NAGISA + SCARF = HEAVEN!!

- I love Yukine's laugh, she gives me Sayuri vibes. Also, wow Youhei, you really fucked this situation up, didn't you? It's impressive just how much shit hit the fan because of his silly games.

- And there's Tomoyo! I really feel like some of these gang members are related to her past. Hell Sudou may even have specifically recognized her. Love the glimpse into what happened in the tunnel too.

And still:
- Oooh, she's heard of Kazuto. The only one who would have been able to challenge her!

- Man, really nice scene at the rival gang's place. The respect they all have for Yukine is touching, in a weird way.
- And Youhei's bluster lands him in even deeper shit...

- Nagisa is adorably dressed for a gang war! Really though, all the other gang should have to do is look and see Yuu's sister, Yukine, and Nagisa and just admit defeat right then and there. And she's set for a picnic with... Hyper Rainbow Bread!

- HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT! THEY DID IT! A BREAD AND JAM JOKE! THEY DID IT! DEATH BY MILF! It's from a friend... =D!
- Haha, oh wow, the silly joke becomes a plot point when Tomoya needs to fill in.

- Wow Tomoya. That looks painful. I guess this guy is a few steps above the soccer team... This also marks the second out of three arcs where Tomoya ends with black eyes. I wonder if this is a preview of Nagisa becoming an abusive wife and beating the shit out of him all the time? =P

- Heh Tomoya gets a nice hit or two in, though he takes about two dozen for each. And finally the effect of death jam on death bread wears off...

- ...Kazuto? or rather...
- Ouch, right to the face. And wow it was pretty shocking to hear such a loud voice out of Yukine. Those were the just about the first lines she delivered that weren't gently and slow. But she sold it incredibly well. Nice work with Tomoya telling them they're dumbasses for not understanding why Yukine did what she did.
- Interestingly, two members of Kazuto's gang already knew, Sudou and Tajima. Love the scene where they all just silently bow their heads in prayer.

- Even more interestingly, Tomoya sees the "light"... huh, very very interesting indeed. He just saw and arc end! =P Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. They're definitely working towards the supernatural there. This was the first concrete example, no dreams of cats or anything like that, but an actual physical phenomenon right before his eyes.

- And now Yukine puts it into words as the city's legend.

Yuki-nee arc, you are an awesome awesome arc. Once again, so much emotion packed into only two episodes. Both this arc and the Misae arc really help gradually set the stage for bringing the story of the girl and robot closer to the main story. I don't feel like we're "treading water" one bit here. We fleshed out two really awesome characters and got wonderfully emotional stories, as well as delved into those lights to boot. They had to make the transition somehow, and I think this was a bang up way to do it.

And, hey, this preview has what I consider the "arc ending!" music, even though it just ended. Tomoya is caught off guard by a question about what he plans to do after graduation, which is a fantastic way to transition into a more focused approach to Nagisa x Tomoya. Very interested to see how the graduation and events leading up to it are handled over the next episode plus.

Very good season though it made me cry :O

Episode 9:

- As always, I start by rewatching the previous episode. Lap pillow scene! Yukine-nee~

- ::finishes:: Episode was still awesome the second time. God I love Yukine, and the episode had some really cute Nagisa shots too. And Tomoya is awesome as hell, as always, so time for 9!

- "We began to build a vehicle that can fly." Holy shit. Really short girl/robot scene this time, unfortunately, but good god, she's creating a junkicopter. That's... utterly amazing.

- OP! OP! Scarf! Nagisaaaa!!

- Nagisa is smart enough to get into college but would rather work, eh? She could totally have majored in the dango daikazoku. Well, I suppose that makes sense in the context of the show, since Tomoya obviously won't be getting into college and separating them wouldn't work. Then again, I have absolutely NO idea (and don't want to know!) how long a time skip it is to After Story proper... if there even IS a time skip.

- Nagisa says the most adorably embarrassing things ever. "If that were the case I'd have to give you a present every day." I DiiED.

- Her birthday is Christmas Eve? Interesting! We're less than a month from International Nagisa Day!

- Hahah, Nagisa tried to keep the conversation on track but he managed to change the subject anyway.

- We're gonna run out of space for light orbs soon.
- Youhei as a model? Good luck with that buddy. But... Ryou's fortunes say it'll work! =P

- Ryou as a nurse. God that's so perfect. However, I really can't see her dealing well with wounds and blood and such.

- Kyou as a kindergarten teacher, basically what I expected given the OP.

- Kotomi will study abroad! Also not a big surprise, though it's a big deal to hear her say it out loud. That would practically knock her out of After Story. Though she says she'll return to visit a lot.

- So that's why Nagisa put her hand to her head earlier. It was a weird litter mannerism to animate right then, so I couldn't tell if it was supposed to mean anything or not. Get better, Nagisa ;_______;

- "Make sure you take good care of her." Dude, Tomoya is totally going to become a house husband. XD

- Hahaha, Kyou shoots first, asks questions later. "Oh, so you weren't trying to eat him."

- Tomoya babysitting Botan. Everyone in the class just staring at him. XD
- ::blinks:: Oh wow, this little fever is turning into a much bigger deal than I expected. It's been a *month*! Is she going to have to repeat again? =(

- ...Damn. I knew the more we got into Nagisa x Tomoya the more awesome it'd get, but this scene right now where they hold hands blew me away. Sooo good. I always love love love Nagisa when her hair is a bit mussed too. But I do wonder how far they're going to go with this illness. It's... pretty damn serious to go on this long.

- What this does do, though, is speed the way along to graduation. Just a few episode ago we were still, what, six months out? But we've already covered about two months in this ep alone, and it keeps plowing onward too. Doing it in a very well paced way, though!

- It'll be so sad if Nagisa can't graduate with everyone else, though. =/ It'd also suck if she had to go through another year, without her friends and with a reputation as "that old girl who can't graduate". Tomoyo would still be there though.

- Happy Birthday, Nagisa! Beautiful scene when she gets her dango pillow. And man I love the Purple Hair Trio. Just seeing them lined up always makes me smile XD

- Aww, even the nice old teacher is "graduating". And it's official, Nagisa has missed too many days to graduate =/

- Huh, I forgot Yukine was a second year. With Yukine and Tomoyo on her side, Nagisa should be okay! ...Well, I guess I still have trouble believing the show will actually go for another year of story with Nagisa back in school, so now I'm really thinking there will indeed be a time skip.

God damn that was gorgeous. God daaaaaaaamn. I have no idea where the show is going to go from here (well until the ED finishes and I see the preview), but what an amazing transitional episode.

::watches preview:: Oh yay! Perfect set-up (also, Toki wo Kizamu Uta as the preview music = win!), though he seems to be looking into apartments too. We also get that shot of Nagisa on a chair in the drama club room by herself. Fight Nagisa! Fight!

This show makes me so, so ridiculously happy. Best couple in anime. Ever.

Okay! I give in. I tried to watch nearly everything else I had on hand hoping for the superior version to get released while I delayed, but I can hold out no longer. I must watch Clannad now. In episode 10:

- However, I have one more thing to watch before I watch Clannad AS ep 10... Clannad AS ep 9!
- ...God damn it's so beautiful.

- Yes, more girl and robot! I had thought the previous ep's scene was rather short, but if we're getting them again already, that's okay.
- Oh no, wake up girl~~ The parallels between the girl and Nagisa have always been there, but now they begin to worry me, what with the return of Nagisa's illness and all.

- ::blinks:: Wow. That's not how I expected this episode to start. It was... slightly evil sounding.
- Hmmm, aren't the previews usually lifted straight from in-episode dialog? The conversation was slightly different from the preview this time.

- Jumping right into the thick of things! It's about a month later and school has started up again for the now healthy Nagisa. Tomoya is working hard at Furukawa Pan too. I really like getting a bit more detail on what that place is like during the day, when we were always at school with the students. I'm curious about this Mysterious Akio Time.

- Jelly bread!
- Nagisa didn't end up in class with Tomoyo or Yukine. ;_; I hope nobody starts teasing her.
- "My bread is... my bread is... meant for hurting people!" XD Oh I just knew a disaster was coming when Akio started tossing it around.

- Things aren't going well, kinda like I feared. It was clear her "third third" year wouldn't be a piece of cake but it's still sad.
- And the drama club gets disbanded. =( Bastards giving Nagisa weird looks, I want to strangle them all!

- Tomoya runs into Yuusuke. The beginnings of whatever causes that scene where we see Tomoya in his van in the OP? They're talking about work, so... I think I can guess where this is all going.
- "Kouko-san's sister..." Oh god! Please let us get some Fuuko soon~

- College version Fujibayashi sisters! Waaaaaaay too sexy!
- Yep, like I thought, Tomoya is moving out and working with Yuusuke. I wonder what Nagisa thinks about this. It's a good move for him, if only to get out on his own, on his own two feet, but I hope she's okay.

- Now that was a fantastic scene. Tomoya and Akio playing catch. Akio knows Tomoya has something to say. Tomoya... says it. He, well, pretty much asks for Akio's blessings for a marriage, only without the marriage. I'm super impressed with him that he even broached the subject, and even more impressed with the period of silence that followed for a couple tosses afterwards. But Akio says yes, in a roundabout way.

- Heh, Tomoya's level of comfort around Akio is a joy to watch. Especially his teasing attitude after Akio and Nagisa help him move in. And adorable Nagisa blushing!

- Nagisa, please just move in now. You two are beyond words like "perfect". That just doesn't begin to do it justice. And he sooo wants it. Haha he's adorable too.

- Oh god, she even wakes him up with breakfast ready. THEY ARE SO FUCKING CUTE ARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHBW!@*&^#!@&(#( I wonder if things are going too well though, watch her get hit by lightning or something ;_;

- Now this is pretty awesome. More Yuusuke, and Tomoya learning quickly the difference between being an adult and wanting to become one. But more than that, a larger role for Yuusuke also leaves a perfect inroad for a Fuuko return storyline to mesh in with Nagisa x Tomoya storyline.

- And that in itself is pretty important because it's Fuuko who first got Tomoya and Nagisa to call each other by their first names, and who was practically like their child. Given Tomoya's interest in happy couples with a kid just now, it's at the very least symbolic.

- Heh a fright for Nagisa - suddenly a collapsed Tomoya at the door!

Now that's a weird place to end the episode. Lots of apologizing in the preview... while I know that adversity is necessary, it really does pain me somewhat to see these two have a rough time with anything.

But goddaaaaaaaamn, this is more than I could have ever hoped for when I started watching Clannad over a year ago. Plenty of romance shows are able to deliver a canon couple, but it's extremely rare for a show to spend so much time in high school and then continue beyond. I find it utterly fascinating to see these characters continue on to the next major stage of their lives.

And we have 14 episodes left! I'm getting ever more excited about where this show is going. Everything seems to be falling into place, and hinted at storylines are definitely on a path where they could converge. I'm not sure exactly how, but the girl and the robot, Nagisa and Tomoya, and Fuuko/Yuusuke/Kouko all have to be related somehow. I can't wait to find out how.