- It's 2:30am and I'm exhausted but I can't bring myself to break my streak of rewatching the previous episode before moving on to the new one. So ep 10 it is, even though I've seen it three times already.

- You know, I think the engineer girl would be less cold if she wore something more than a thin dress. You just know she's going commando underneath it too. Given her skills, I'm sure she'd be able to fashion a suit of armor or something.

- (Still ep 10) BTW is it me or did Nagisa's dango pillow grow? Maybe it's not the same one, but it's 2-3 times as large as the one Tomoya gave her.

- (Still ep 10) I'm curious as to how long Tomoya was working at Furukawa Pan. If he started in March after graduation, and the new school year starts in April, and the club closing was about a week and a half into the term, he would have been there a little over a month at that point.

- Then the next scene is meeting Yuusuke, who he gets the job from that day. We don't know how much time passed between this and the scene before though... I guess all told he only worked there about 1.5-2 months.

- (Still ep 10) And Ryou has a few inches on Kyou when they're standing next to each other... maybe she's got heels on.

- damn that's such a great episode. Onwards to 11! ...Aww, no girl and robot to start this ep. I guess they're still sticking to only having scenes with them when we get new lights.

- I keep hoping for a little half smile from Yuusuke when he admonishes Tomoya, to convey a "It's tough love but you're improving" feel, but I don't know, he doesn't seem happy. Of course, he's Yoshino Yuusuke, one of the quirkiest characters in the show, so that doesn't mean much.

- But you know, it just came to me... wouldn't it be hard to do his job without raising his arm above his shoulder? I imagine you'd really need that kind of flexibility.

- Gaaah, Nagisa, you are so perfect! I want to say you're MAI WAIFU but you rightfully belong to Tomoya, and he to you.

- Seeing her doing her stretches all alone causes me almost physical pain. =/ I'm glad that Tomoya really seems to appreciate her (as his care for her during her long months of illness proves), because she's doing everything she can for him, morning and night, without fail, when she has more than her share of her own issues to deal with. And she never complains, never cries, never dumps her problems on him.

- Yuusuke is not impressed. Work harder, Tomoya! I'm a little annoyed he won't tell Yuusuke the truth about his arm though.

- Looks like things are taking a bit of a toll on Nagisa... and ah that's why he didn't mention the shoulder, he thinks they'll pull him off work.

- Kinda wish they'd at least hug when seeing each other off.
- I think Yuusuke is physically incapable of smiling and the OP is LIES. (Ok, shut up, I know he's smiled before at some point.)

- Haha, Nagisa is unavailable so Tomoya is on a date with.. Akio!
- Lol "action scene". XD So this is where Akio would disappear to?

- Bwhahahaha! Sanae has a very specific least favorite animal. XD
- Isogai-san! "I'll mind the store for you." I like how the neighbors have this down to a science.

- Let's see. Given the title, the fact that they keep missing each other, and the "apology" theme in the preview, I'm betting Tomoya unintentionally stands Nagisa up during the Founder's Festival.

- Things are going better at work though. I feared Tomoya would run into some resistance, but he works with good guys. But oh yeah, with that line about weekends Founders Festival is so sunk.

- And Nagisa is even singing a song about it. ;_; She's going to be so upset.
- Knew she would keep it inside though. =(

- Alright, so Yuusuke reveals he knows about the shoulder, but not only is he okay with it, Tomoya can even get the Founders Festival day off. So what else is going to go wrong instead?

- Gah, a job by himself? At night? Injury (or a big fuckup), here we come!
- Wait, nothing went wrong. What? Have I been watching too much ef?

- Oh, there we go. But, uh, nice of Yuusuke to cover for Tomoya, then again to indulge his desire to take responsibility, but going up on the pole off the clock? Hello lack of workman's comp if he fell.

- And it means Nagisa is stood up after all. ;_; I don't want to say "She's too good for him" because he's fucking awesome as well, but in a sense she's too good for ANYONE, so it's not really his fault.

- Bwhahaha, god I love Yuusuke. He's even theatrical at work. All they can do is roll their eyes.

AWESOME! I was worried something really bad would happen. Granted, the inevitable was only delayed, because as strong, selfless and kind as Nagisa is, she's eventually going to break.

Someone can only take on so much disappointment and isolation before they snap, even if Tomoya isn't really doing anything wrong and genuinely apologizes when needed.

Preview is... very interesting. That shot of them cooking from the back definitely makes them look older. And what is this "sudden happening"? A... time skip perhaps? Hmmm, if so I wonder how it'll be handled. Ominous line by Yuusuke at the end, but honestly, with him everything sounds dramatic =P

This show continues to shatter my expectations, and go places I never even dared to dream of back during season one. I've honestly never seen any other show that took me through these stages of a characters life one after the other.

Honey and Clover did post-high school incredibly well, and a million shows have done high school itself, but Clannad is the first I've seen that has spent lengthy periods of time on both. KimiNozo technically showed both, but it did this on a way way way smaller scale.

Now is Friday, one new day has come, and more time to watch, but now i need to take some sleep!^_^

- Episode 11 rewatch go! ...God, Nagisa is the most perfect being in existence.
- Episode 12, go! It's quite amazing how they've manged to put such gentle expressions on Tomoya's face. I keep saying it, but he really has changed.

- Daddy is sad that his daughter isn't spending enough time with him! Heh, I was thinking during my 11 rewatch that he has to miss losing most of his breakfasts and dinners with her.

- School swimsuit... Nagisa in a school swimsuit... Epic, epic blood loss. Hell, we haven't seen a single one of these girls in even a one piece swimsuit yet, have we? Let alone a bikini or lingerie.

- Clannad has been remarkably devoid of fanservice, though I can't really complain as it's not a fanservice show. But even so, sukumizu Nagisa would be... ::twitches:: Mmmmmmm.

- I'm glad Nagisa is able to be assertive now, because the way Tomoya was dodging her questions started to get to me. Grab his arm and make him listen, Nagisa! Although it's just about his father.

- Tomoya gets a bit of a shock at work - he's being recommended for, more or less, a promotion already? And at a new company? That would surprise me, as it moves him away from Yoshino, which I wasn't expecting. And Tomoya as a manager (eventually)? I guess I can see it, but only after he grows up a bit more still.

- Suddenly a Yoshino flashback! I wonder if this will last the whole episode, and if so, do we get an orb and robot/girl in 13?

- Oh, right, it never really registered but Koukou must be a few years older than Yoshino. A teacher student romance! Scandalous!

- The Yoshino Yuusuke story! Sex, drugs, rock'n'roll! Well, one of the three anyway. The bit where he talks about visiting sick kids and stuff was oddly moving.

- Oh, whoops. Make that two of the three. He really did become an addict. o_O And so his story is over, the moral is conveyed, and I was kinda amused at how he abruptly ended it and caught Tomoya off guard.

- Also seems I was off about that shot from behind, it's not indicative of a time skip at all. Just looked a bit different.

- Big pimpin Tomoya, surrounded by... well old women, except for Sanae and Nagisa

- Oh wow, that is NOT the "sudden happening" I expected. Tomoya's dad is a drug dealer? Well, he always did seem like he was high. But seriously, what a scumbag. A shitty father and a criminal. I really can't begrudge Tomoya his rage and disappointment. Can't begrudge it at all.

- Ugh and then he can't say a damn word when Tomoya visits him at jail. I hate this man so much. If that failure of a human being damages the relationship between Nagisa and Tomoya... ::rages::

But then... a turnaround completely beyond words. His rage is so viceral, but Nagisa chases after him, grabs onto him, doesn't let him lose himself, and when she calls out his name and finally gets his attention, the look on her face did me in instantly and the tears started. She gently pushes him up against the wall and calms his anger, and...

And he proposes and she accepts. They just... they just... words can't express my elation. When's the last time a character we first meet in high school gets married outside of a cheesy epilogue (Onegai Teacher doesn't count =P)? Would you even need two hands to count?

And that simple, simple musical piece that plays is just gorgeous. Honestly, while Yoshino's flashback was interesting to see and I'm glad we got it considering what a major charatcer he's been lately, it wasn't really anything I was dying to get to. But then afterwards, they just redefine awesome and Clannad tops itself yet again.

Part of me was thinking "Wait, you don't even kiss in this kind of situation? " but damnit, it was absolutely perfect nonetheless. God, between this and ef 11 I am so happy tonight I could scream and run around like a lunatic.

The wait for next Friday (or Saturday as the case may be, I won't watch the lame first version anymore) is going to be brutal. But so very worth it.

Ah so I guess in a figurative sense, Yoshino Yuusuke does end up getting an arc sort of. Okay maybe not, but at least we got a bit of back story on him. Plus it's done in a different way from the rest. Although it means the only one we hear speaking ends up being him. I have to admit some of the children show were quite cute. Mainly in terms of some the hair styles.

You know they're going to need to eventually dedicate an 1 to 2 episode arc to Tomoya's father. I mean sure it will likely be filled with large amounts of angst, but as things current stand there are holes that need to be filled. Right now the main thing we get is the impression that Tomoya's father has become a wreck and of course Tomoya is eternally angry with him. Although usually the answers given have me conflicted between being understanding and rolling my eyes. We'll see where the two will be. Then again some stories wouldn't exist if characters didn't have trouble "calming" down.

Ah so not only do we get a subtle and yet interesting marriage proposal, we get one that happens while there's still plenty of time left in the series. It seems like the major difference between Clannad and other series of its kind is that Clannad is more about the long term where as stuff like Kanon and Air were focused on the short term. If that makes any sense.

Which of course would explain why Clannad is the way it is. In order to give validation to what happens later in the story the stuff that happens earlier is needed. Like for example the confession in episode 22 of season 1 has weight to it because of the time the two spent together.

Note what I am saying here is not a case of saying Clannad is better or worse than any given show. It's more of a case of taking into consideration the very different goal the show is trying to achieve. So far it is succeeding at reaching that goal.

The downside is now I'll probably end up finishing other shows with the thought of "Ah so that's how it concluded, but what happens next?" Then again I'm not sure if Kanon really needed an entire arc dedicated to rehabilitation for Ayu (Spoiler for those who saw the entire series).

The long awaited return of Clannad After Story then, I've missed my weekly session of awesomeness, so this should be good.
*goes away and watches the episode*
<speechless>
*watches it again*

That was good. An episode of two halves and much akin to episode 9. The first half seemed to mostly focus on Tomoya getting Akio's permission to follow through with his request to Nagisa from the previous episode. It involved baseball, of course. It wasn't until the second half where the episode got fantastic.

There was another timejump through to December, where we again see Nagisa celebrating christmas and her Birthday, but she again fell ill and was unable to complete her year. Regardless, she goes with Tomoya up the hill in the spring to find some people awaiting her wearing the uniform. There are the unmistakable Fujibayashi twins, Kotomi is there too.

There is also Yukine, Misae (and Shima), Kouko (and Yusuke), the mustachioed teacher is there too. Literally everybody they encountered during their schooltime is there (with one obvious omission). There's also Mei and Youhei Sunohara, not that you would be able to recognise him with his black hair.

They have their own little graduation ceremondy for Nagisa, a beautifully touching moment that was bettered moments later.

There was a visit to Tomoya's father in prison. Nagisa and Tomoya looked older, more mature. Nagisa was wearing clothes you'd normally see on Sanae, and she wore her hair up like her mother's too. And then you see a shimmer from her hand.

They close out the episode with them holding hands, and talking about Nagisa Okazaki.

- Episode 12, go! Teared up at the end of Yuusuke's flashback *again*, on this... 6th? 7th? viewing. Oddly, the only time I didn't was the first. And I still can't get over how incredible the last scene is. (Also, you know, every time I see the woman in the Low Rise poster that replaces Yuusuke's ad, it reminds me of Vocaloid Meiko.)

- Episode 13, go! Sanae is so lovely, and I'm glad they managed to squeeze another bread joke in, given how serious recent events have been. I also reeeeallly like how Tomoya stopped the scene from running its usual comedic course and forced Akio to stay and listen.

- Although it's just like Akio to decide something so important on a baseball game.

- Haha, oh wow, Akio really isn't going to listen until Tomoya gets a hit. That's so silly, but so Akio.

- In the pouring rain. Akio should just give him the win for persistence. Also, lol Sanae. Though they shouldn't go on too long with this.

- Heh, I was about to say "why the hell is it always raining?", but Akio pretty much did it for me.

- And there we have it. It was a bit silly, but I'm not sure I can think of any other way that Akio would have done it.

- We then move straight from Fall into Winter, so it looks like Nagisa will be turning ~20 soon, and it's been a couple (or at least one) months since he got Akio's consent. Hmmm... Okazaki Nagisa? Well, they have to wait until she graduates. Wow, we're going to be covering a lot of time in this ep.

- Oh, good, that confirms Nagisa is 20, since this is the first year she can drink. Nice to finally get something conclusive!

- !!! The sound she made after sniffing the sake...

- She's an anime Insta-drunk. Of course, I guarantee not one person is surprised.

- BWAHAAHAHAH! XD I have laughed many times and very hard through these three cour of Clannad, but hoooly shit, this is in the top five. It may even be a serious challenger for first. It's easily up there with Mei's onii-chan scene, the Ryou is Gay scene, and the Fuuko "it fell off" scene. Drunken Nagisa is GLORIOUS, and Sanae is almost as great! Oh lord, I need to rewatch that before moving on.

- ::watches again:: Nakahara Mai is my fucking HERO. The slurring is godly, and hearing Nagisa angry is... hell have we ever heard her angry before? Also, "Sanae has huge boobs you know." XD

- Lap pillow! Lap pillow! Nagisa finally got that lap pillow!

- Nagisa got sick again. ;_; But... oh phew, she has enough attendance. And she's got that messy hair thing going on again. Nagisa with messy hair is the sexiest thing in the universe (although I wish it wasn't because she was sick.)

- Awwww. She didn't get to go to graduation. ;_;

- Mei-chan!! And Sunohara is doing well enough to have a job to bitch about? Well, good on him!

- YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! Oh god, they even came in their uniforms!

- Black hair Sunohara! And hey, Kotomi even came back from America. Oh man this is so much better than having her go through a ceremony with only ~4-5 people in the school knowing who she is or being willing to talk to her.

Ohhh, ohhhhhhh, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh god. I cried, again. Nagisa's speech was just so moving for me. That the girl from episode one, season one, can stand here now and talk this frankly about her feelings to all these people just makes me so... elated. It's been unofficial for awhile, but it's official now. Furukawa-Okazaki Nagisa is my single most beloved, favorite, cherished character. Ever. Hands down. And the music, holy shit the MUSIC!

And man they caught me off guard at the end. I've seen the preview for this episode a million times already, but every single time I simply assumed it was Sanae with Tomoya meeting his dad. The hair, the fact that it was a Sanae voiceover...

Then they pull back and it's *Nagisa*! And her hair is seriously wonderful, and the idea that they've both aged a little is conveyed very, very well in the designs. Beyond the hair, I still can't point to any one thing and say "KyoAni definitely changed this since S1", but they had to have done something.

Is it just the context? The clothes? I don't know, but they've conveyed the subtlety (18 to 20 is a hard shift to illustrate), with exactly the level of skill I expect from them.

Also, preview is hilarious. Poor Tomoya. Also^2... THERE ARE ELEVEN EPISODES LEFT. E-LE-VEN EPS! We are only slightly over half way!

I should probably wait to say this when I've calmed down a little, but there's a serious chance KyoAni has outdone Haruhi. No show in the past two and a half years has made me even fathom such a crazy thought, and no show before mid 2006 affected me even slightly as much as that masterpiece.

But I am just so consistently floored by Clannad that if they pull this off 11 more times and nail the ending perfectly... well... ...well it's time to stop typing and start rewatching.

I held out! Oh god, I held out! I don't know how, but this show deserves the best possible quality, and having directly compared the two, it's no contest. That's the only thing that kept me going as the painful days plodded past...

And I keep forgetting that this is one episode behind the other shows I watch on the weekend (Index, Gundam, Toradora etc), so it's only 14 right now. I was looking for the 15 subthread at first.

Episode 14:

- Episode 13, go! You know, the best part about the baseball half of this episode is Sanae happily cheering Akio and Tomoya on while they battle. It's not about Akio or Tomoya, Sanae totally steals it. But then the graduation scene... god, I started crying preemptively. This is like the fifth time I've seen this episode too.

- Episode 14, go! So huh, they do plan an actual ceremony. Cool. I can't wait to see that, assuming it happens. And Nagisa still have her sexy hair! Granted I want to see it down again for the norm, but up for now it really pretty.

- Bwahahah! Father! Son! Father! Son! FAAAAAAAATHER! SoOOON!!! XD

- God. Damn. Nagisa is more beautiful than any one person should be allowed to be. It blows my mind.

- Tomoya knows it too. Poor guy, he's only 19, this is going to be too much for him. Nagisa is naked mere feet away! And there's not even a door between them, just a curtain!

- A job! Honestly, I'd never thought about what kind of job Nagisa would go for. This will be very interesting.

- Wow that was an incredible amount of movement animated to get them to hold hands. o_O That was amazing.

- They meet, silhouetted against the sunset, and that version of Dango Daikazoku plays and... ::contented sigh::

- A waitress with Rie? Oh wow, that could be purely epic. Waitressing doesn't seem like a Nagisa job, though.

- "Anything, I'll get it for you!" "...a baby." ...I think Tomoya just broke. His mind committed suicide and evaporated in a mix of horror and glee.

- Akio, you are the fucking man. First he puts on his mini-Kamina glasses and then drags Tomoya on a Nagisa waitress photo shoot! I figure this will either be full of sexy and win, or they'll witness Nagisa failing and this will be the start of an arc of sadnesssss.

- MC AKIO! Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

- Tomoya is taken aback at how things change... it's now that you realize just how much time passed.

- Holy fuck Rie you delicious, wonderful girl you. And hah, her friend/life partner works there too.

- ｷﾀ━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━! AMAZING WAITRESS NAGISA-SAN! YES!!

- Muahaha, she's one of the popular waitresses too. No fuckin surprise there. And these guys hitting on her and so screwed. XD

- And Akio totally leaves Tomoya to deal with the aftermath.

- Oh, phew. The manager is a good guy. They were giving hints that he was going to be a bit of a bastard, but it seems like nothing of the sort. Yay. And like he says... honestly, Nagisa doesn't need saving. Physical strength isn't everything, and the strength she does have, she has in spades.

- Tomoya is taking this "change" stuff a bit too hard. I really hope he doesn't lose it over something stupid.

- ...Like that. C'mon Tomoya, get a grip. What a dumb thing to freak over. You're 19, entirely too young to be so scared of natural, benign changes.

- Akio! Photo master! And oh god. "Is she pregnant? / If you were a man, she would be by now." YOU ARE THE BEST DAD EVER.

- WHAT!? Wait, did they even kiss (on screen) yet? Holy shit man, I'm not looking for porn but they really skipped over that whole aspect of their relationship. Since when do you go from holding hands to pregnancy?

- I'm expecting a nice tender episode that, all along, builds up to this and is interrupted by LOL TORCH right before they do the deed.