芳野祐介 (Yoshino Yuusuke)

"This is the best gift I can give you right now. A formless gift called memory. I don't have money. I can't buy you anything with form. Even so, even without form, a memory will last forever! I believe that it will."

Yoshino Yuusuke is a recurring minor character in Clannad. Though he appears sparsely throughout the first series, he becomes much more important in After Story, with his backstory being explained in Episode 12. Once he achieves this level of importance, around Episode 10, he appears in almost every episode of After Story.

Personality

Yuusuke is a rock-star-turned-electrician who can act a bit odd and mysterious at times. He has a penchant for the dramatic (and somewhat cheesy): bold, idealistic statements are his trademark, such as the one above. His idealism can be a bit of a problem at times, diverting him from facing reality. When he is not living with his head in the sky, though, he is very professional and serious: he takes care to make sure jobs are done right and that lives are lived right. Though it can sometimes border on the unrealistically hopeful, his advice is in copious supply, especially for Tomoya. When it's more down to earth, this advice can be extraordinarily helpful. Overall, then, Yuusuke is known for mixing the serious with the over-dramatic, in the end to good effect. His first scene shows this intriguing personality balance well.



Story

Yuusuke first appears somewhat randomly. Tomoya is walking down the street when an enraged man pulls him into an argument. The man claims that Yuusuke, an electrician, dropped a tool while working and dented his car. Yuusuke calmly responds that he did no such thing, eventually monologizing grandiloquently about love. As the angry man stands in shock, Tomoya inspects the car and deduces that a fat cat (a very fat cat) jumped on the hood and dented it. This is proven when the cat walks by. Yuusuke thanks Tomoya for helping to diffuse the situation, and he gives him his business card. Later on, speaking with Sunohara, Tomoya learns that Yuusuke used to be a famous rock star, who both Sunohara and Mei love.


This seems like just an interesting random occurrence until Tomoya is in a conversation with Fuko. When explaining her sister's marriage, she says that Kouko is engaged to Yuusuke. Later on, as they're visiting Kouko, Nagisa and Tomoya congratulate her on her engagement to Yuusuke, at which point Kouko is flabbergasted: she'd never told anyone except Fuko about her engagement, much less it being to Yuusuke. Tomoya quickly sidesteps the true cause by saying it must just have been rumors escalating.

The events of Fuko's arc play out without too much involvement from Yuusuke, except for the wedding, of course. Yuusuke is, obviously, at the wedding, energetically professing his vows to Kouko, and he stands on the sidelines as Fuko says her congratulations to her sister.


Following the wedding, Yuusuke, like Kouko, mostly reverts to the background. He doesn't really appear again until the After Story baseball game. After an amusing Yoshino Call instigated by Sunohara, he joins Akio's team. He's shown at bat twice; the first time, he tries to make an inspiring speech as he is tagged out. The second time, he calls a time out, and delivers the following inspiring speech (which I excerpted for the opening quote):



Following this fun (and inspiring!) instance, Yuusuke returns to the background for a few more episodes (including during Shima and Misae's backstory), until Tomoya graduates from high school. Tomoya starts off his adult life working at the Furukawas' bakery, but he realizes he needs a job of his own. As he walks past Yuusuke working on a lightpole, an idea clicks in his head, and he races to Yuusuke, begging for a job. Thankfully, Yuusuke agrees to help.


Yuusuke's experience (and possibly an inspiring speech or two) lands Tomoya the job at Hikarizaka Electric Company, and he becomes Tomoya's trainer. There's a bit of a learning curve for the young man (especially with his injured shoulder), but Yuusuke is persistent and also kind in his corrections and advice. Soon it looks like Tomoya is becoming a fine young electrician, and he's also beginning to look up to Yuusuke, which is when the former asks for the latter's life story. And the latter responds (albeit hypothetically).



A young man (read: Yuusuke) had a natural talent for playing guitar and being a singer-songwriter, so he decided to pursue that course of action after high school. During high school, he met a charming young teacher, and he grew enamored with her, and she became fond of him. As he was leaving to become a famous rock star, he promised her that he'd take her on a date when he returned as a pro. At first he seemed to be on the road to glory. His songs were well-received, his concerts were packed, and his albums sold like hotcakes.


His life started to change, though. A group of kids suffering from many hardships (and I think some terminal diseases as well) informed him that his music kept them going and gave them strength. This struck him with an overwhelming sense of responsibility, and he took a break from his idealistic songwriting. During this sabbatical, though, another man committed a crime he could never recover from, due to the lack of the rock star's music. This young rock star then turned to drugs.


As the musician's addiction grew worse, so did his music; eventually, his concerts were barren and his music was removed from the shelves to be replaced with better selling music. Everything he had was gone. So he returned home, an empty, broken man. And as he stood at the bus stop in his hometown, he saw the woman he had loved, and he collapsed. He realized she was the one he should have been writing songs for the whole time, not anyone else. She was the one who was supposed to be his goal. It was all about her.

And there Yuusuke's story abruptly stops. He tells Tomoya that's it, and they move on with their job.

Yuusuke continues to be a wise mentor for Tomoya in the coming months, encouraging him when he is offered the new position outside of town, supporting him as he gets married, offering him sage advice (and a new rock album!) during Nagisa's pregnancy. He's there as Tomoya enters his years of depression following Ushio's birth and Nagisa's death, although he can't help the new father out, no matter how hard he tries. He's even there after Tomoya and Ushio are reunited. And when Tomoya quits his job to care for Ushio, Yuusuke doesn't let him go that easily: he has the two friends and coworkers exchange screwdrivers, so that Tomoya will have to return to work eventually.



This exchange is Yuusuke's last major role before the final events of the series occur. We last see this rock-star-turned-electrician playing his guitar for his coworkers as he sits in the back of his work truck: a fitting final image of a man such as this.

Effect on the Main Plot

Yuusuke's biggest role is his mentorship of Tomoya. If it weren't for that, he would just be a minor character, just the husband of a minor character. He really supports Tomoya in his adult life, which is a big help: being an adult can be a scary thing, especially when getting married and having a child so soon into it. Having a knowledgeable and wise (and idealistic) mentor is a big plus for new adults. So that support is crucial for Tomoya: without it, who knows how he would have developed?

As mentioned in previous posts, he can be seen as a foreshadowing of Tomoya in a way, like Kouko is to Nagisa. They look similar (come on, they share a hair color!) and both have the same job (through the influence of one of them, though...). They both have to learn to overcome hardship and the collapse of their life plans in order to realize what's really important (for Yuusuke, that's Kouko; for Tomoya, that ends up being Ushio). Could Tomoya have ever ended up coming to his senses without this example? I don't know, but I'm guessing Yuusuke's story was definitely helpful, at least. In the end, I don't know if Tomoya could have survived the adult world without Yuusuke's help (although other people's help was crucial as well).

Themes

Of course, family's a theme. But from what we see in the show, Kouko is the only family Yuusuke has. His backstory never mentions his family, and he never mentions it; his only family is his wife and his sister-in-law (Fuko). But there is more to it than that: he's sort of like an older brother for Tomoya. You could almost compare it (maturity-wise) as if Sunohara is Tomoya's younger brother and Yuusuke is Tomoya's older brother. Yuusuke corrects him, advises him, and supports him: all things a good older brother should do.


There's also perseverance, or, you could say, the effect of a lack of perseverance. Many of Yuusuke's speeches mention perseverance or family, but in his actual story, it's more a lack of perseverance. When he finds out that all these people depend on his music, he doesn't keep writing; instead, he takes a break. When a man commits a crime due to a lack of his music, Yuusuke doesn't keep making his music to stop such things from happening again; instead, he starts taking drugs, and his music goes down the drain. In the end, he realizes his real problem was that he didn't focus on Kouko, that girl of his dreams he'd known since high school. If he had persevered in writing music for her sake, maybe it all could have turned out differently. I think the example of what happens without perseverance helped form him into the wise man he is at the present day.

Yuusuke also shows a bit of breaking out of conventions: who would think the strange, idealistic electrician is actually a formerly famous rock star? And who'd imagine an electrician that releases an rock album? It just proves the famous adage: you can't judge a book (or a man) by its (his) cover.

Reflection

First off, does anyone else think that Yuusuke sort of looks like Roy Mustang in this picture?


Anyway, Yuusuke is just a great guy. I'm a bit of a sucker for these inspirational speeches, as long as they aren't too sappy. Yuusuke's speeches hit the perfect balance between sappy and true, I think, which is completely amazing. All his speeches hold gems of wisdom in my eyes, so I'd recommend watching all of them (for instance, this one).

He's more than just a guy with pithy and sappy speeches, though: he's also a hard worker who knows what's important in life, and he supports his friends and family. By the end of the show, I think Yuusuke grew to be one of my favorite characters (although Akio still tops him for me; more on that later). There's just something about a guy who's idealistic (like me) and makes mistakes, but knows how to learn from them and live through them (something I need to always keep in mind). Plus he knows how important friends and family are, and he supports them whenever he can. In some ways I think Yuusuke could be the epitome of a great friend; so when you're wondering how to be a friend, take some tips from him: offer advice and support whenever possible. It can only help.


Thanks for reading. God Bless, and peace.

Nota Bene: All clips are from the Clannad Central YouTube channel run by the Clannad (クラナド/Kuranado) fan page on Facebook. All character themes and other music from the show can also be found on said fan page, in the music player. My gratitude to them and all the work they do.

伊吹公子 / 芳野公子 (Ibuki Kouko / Yoshino Kouko)

"If you continue and don't give up, your wish will be granted."

Yoshino Kouko (originally Ibuki Kouko) is a recurring minor character in Clannad. Though she has no backstory of her own, she's involved in Fuko's story (she's present in Episode 6 to 9 of Clannad) and in her husband Yuusuke's backstory (shown in Episode 12 of After Story). She appears a few other times as well (such as the show's final scene).

Personality

Kouko is a soft-spoken woman who is often smiling. She's optimistic, and she does her best to support all her friends and family, most especially Fuko and Yuusuke. Her love for others is powerful, to the point of almost foregoing her marriage to be able to better take care of her comatose sister. Her patience and encouragement of others served her well during her years as an art teacher at the high school. Maturity and politeness are values she wants to stress, particularly for Fuko (who can at times be lacking in both). Overall, then, Kouko is a woman who thinks positively, cares for others, and pushes them to be the best they can be. You can see this when Nagisa and Tomoya invite her to the school's Founder's Festival:



Story

Kouko is first seen as one of the customers of the Furukawas' bakery, who Tomoya meets as he watches over the store following on of Sanae's bread breakdowns. Later on, Tomoya learns that Kouko used to be the art teacher at the high school; even more importantly, she's Fuko's older sister, the one whose wedding Fuko is promoting. In another twist of coincidence, it turns out her fiancee is none other than Yoshino Yuusuke, an electrician whom Tomoya met during a random encounter on the street. (He's also a musician the Sunoharas love.)

After learning that Kouko is Fuko's sister, Nagisa and Tomoya visit her multiple times. She remembers Nagisa from her last year of teaching (even though Kouko stopped teaching the year before the story began, since Nagisa is repeating a year, she had her as a teacher). Nagisa and Tomoya learn Fuko's backstory: she was a girl who often played by herself and didn't make many friends. At one time, Kouko tried to force Fuko to get friends by giving her the cold shoulder, but that wasn't very effective. On her first day of high school, Fuko was hit by a car, and she's been in a coma ever since (three years). Kouko visits her often and does her best to take care of her. She even ponders foregoing her marriage to Yuusuke (which is a secret that Fuko informed Nagisa and Tomoya of) in order to take better care of her sister.


The two convince Kouko to come to the school's Founder's Festival in order to talk with her sister, but it's to no avail: she can't see Fuko. Thankfully, though, they're able to convince Kouko that what Fuko would want is for her to get married, and she decides she wishes to be married on school grounds. Nagisa and Tomoya go to Koumura for assistance there as people begin to forget Fuko.

Soon the day of the wedding arrives, and it goes off perfectly: it's held on school grounds, and countless guests are there thanks to Fuko's starfish. As the newly wedded couple comes to Nagisa and Tomoya, by a supernatural happenstance, Fuko is able to tell her sister congratulations on her wedding, just as she wanted to. (Kouko appears at about 3:45 in this video.)



After this, Kouko is basically relegated to the background until After Story. Now known as Yoshino Kouko instead of Ibuki Kouko, she appears with her husband at the baseball game. She next appears during Shima's arc. While Shima is dressed as a girl, he runs into Kouko in the halls (since she's an art teacher), and she allows him to see Misae at the student council meeting.


Her next main role appears when Yuusuke is telling Tomoya his backstory. He was a student when Kouko was a teacher, and they grew close. After he graduated, as he was heading off to become a musician, he swore he'd become famous, and he asked if she'd go on a date with him when he returned. She accepted his offer. During his tumultuous time as a rock star, he eventually hit bottom and returned home, only to serendipitously run into her outside the train station. He realized that she was the one he should have been focusing on, and he collapses into tears in front of her. She encourages him and offers him support, telling him to persevere and not give up, and that eventually led to their dating and getting married.


She next appears again 7 episodes and 5 years later. Tomoya and Ushio are walking by a park and see her and (lo and behold!) Fuko, woken up after all these years. She introduces herself to Ushio and tells her she'll grow up to be cute and strong like her mom. She then introduces Fuko as well, leading to an interesting friendship between her and Ushio.

Finally, Kouko appears for the last time during the final scene. She's walking with Fuko to the hospital to get a check-up (after being in a coma for about 10 years, you'd need check-ups too!), and they're having a cheerful walk, Fuko being childish as ever. Suddenly, Fuko glances into the forest and starts up a strange conversation that Kouko can't make heads or tails of. Eventually, Fuko just runs into the forest, leaving Kouko confused and dumbfounded.

Effect on Main Plot

Kouko helps Nagisa and Tomoya's relationship in a few, kind of indirect ways. For one, she provides the goal for Fuko's starfish quest; without her, Nagisa and Tomoya would have never met Fuko, and their time with her is a big help in building up their fledgling relationship. Kouko is also the one who supported Yuusuke; without her support, who knows what would have become of him? His being supported his a good thing, because he is a wonderful mentor for Tomoya in After Story. She also (re)introduces Fuko to Tomoya and Ushio. This provides Ushio with what appears to be her first real friend, which must make Tomoya glad (I have a feeling that having a friendless child would make you worried for her).

Kouko is also an effect in an even less direct way: she's somewhat of a foreshadowing of Nagisa. Liam Francis Traveller drew my attention to this aspect in his post on Fuko's arc: Kouko is a strong, caring woman whom Nagisa knows and who sort of looks like Nagisa. Both her personality and looks bear some resemblance to Nagisa (Liam says she looks like an older Nagisa, and the resemblance is definitely more blatant when looking at Nagisa at the end of the show). It's interesting to see that this woman who resembles Nagisa also have some aspects of her relationship with her husband resemble Nagisa's: she's an older woman who helps support a guy with some delinquent tendencies and inspire him with self-confidence and courage. There are definitely some interesting correlations between Kouko and Nagisa.

Themes


Once again, the big theme is family. Most of the times we see Kouko are because of her connection with Fuko. Her familial love with Fuko is a two-way street, even if it might not seem like to Kouko for a while. Kouko cares for her comatose sister for over two years with no sort of loving response from her (because it's simply not possible). Even with no possible encouragement from Fuko, Kouko still goes to visit her and care for her; she perseveres in it (and it's self-sacrificial as well). Through that supernatural occurrence, though, Kouko is able to receive a loving message from her sister; all the work that Fuko puts into making the wedding a success could almost be viewed as her thank-you gift to Kouko for all the caring she has had over the years, even if Fuko doesn't consciously talk about being in a coma.

Kouko also offers Yuusuke the advice to persevere, as the quote that started this post attests to. (The inspiration of others with advice such as this seems to be a common event in Clannad, even from the very first scene.)

Reflection

There's only so much to say about a character like this. She has no real backstory: she just plays parts (at times crucial ones) in other people's backstories, like Fuko and Shima and Yuusuke. Sometimes she just seems like an accessory to Fuko: if Fuko weren't there, she wouldn't be there. It's almost like Kouko is a contingent character, depending on Fuko and Yuusuke to exist (in the show). Actually, Yuusuke almost seems like a contingent character dependent on Kouko (would anything have come of that random encounter with Tomoya if he weren't Kouko's fiancee?); so one way to say it would be that Yuusuke is dependent on Kouko, who is in turn dependent on Fuko. So it all rests on Fuko: that just goes to show how important of a character she really is.

That's mostly all I have to say about that: Kouko is sort of a support character for Fuko and the gateway (and sometimes a support character) for Yuusuke, plus she's also a bit of an alternate Nagisa. But above all, she's Fuko's sister, and a antithetically mature one too (she's sort of the Mei to Fuko's Sunohara, in a way).


Thanks for reading. God Bless, and peace.

Nota Bene: All clips are from the Clannad Central YouTube channel run by the Clannad (クラナド/Kuranado) fan page on Facebook. All character themes and other music from the show can also be found on said fan page, in the music player. My gratitude to them and all the work they do.

宮沢有紀寧 (Miyazawa Yukine)

"My brother's wish was to rid this town of the fighting...I wanted to make that happen...no matter what."

Miyzawa Yukine is a recurring minor character in Clannad. Her story takes place in Episodes 7 and 8 of After Story, the last minor arc before the series dives full-on into Nagisa and Tomoya's story.

Personality

Yukine is a high school junior who spends most of her free time in the library: not the main library, where Kotomi is, but the secondary, even less used, library. It's also called the reference room. While this room isn't used much as a library, people still go there to visit Yukine. She's always waiting there with tea and a smile (and sometimes some food as well). She's pretty social for voluntarily confining herself to a library; though she doesn't seek out other people's company (at least at school), she has no problem with talking to anyone she comes in contact with. She's a (for the most part) calm girl who is also caring: she does whatever she can to help others out, whether by providing them with obscure charms or first aid. One of her goals is to get rid of the town's fighting and make it a more peaceful, caring place.

Overall, then, she's a somewhat reserved, calm, and caring girl who is at home in the secondary library; her theme's title, "Tea in the Reference Room," fits her remarkably well. Her first appearance is a good example of all of this:



Story

Yukine is first seen when Tomoya is looking for a book on how to write speeches, so he can help out Nagisa. He tells Sunohara, who (always on the lookout for a cute girl to befriend) visits her the next day, with Tomoya in tow. Throughout the series, then, Sunohara and Tomoya (along with other characters at times) visit Yukine in her reference room to discuss topics of interest and sip tea calmly (and give her a starfish). She also provides assistance in interesting ways at times...


For instance, by teaching Sunohara and Tomoya charms they can use. In the same episode where Yukine inspires Sunohara to suggest a basketball game to resolve the choir club vs. drama club conflict over Koumura-sensei, she also informs them of an interesting charm. After performing the charm, the subject must walk around the school, and the first girl who talks to him is the one who likes him. Sunohara does this to no avail (after 5 rounds, no one had talked to him), and when Tomoya tries it out, Nagisa (of course) is the first one to talk (since he stopped Fuko from speaking).

Later on, Yukine also teaches Tomoya the charm that leads to his awkward gym storage room scene with Kyou. Also she unknowingly assists in causing Nagisa's onstage breakdown during the school festival: when Nagisa asks where the videos are of the former drama club (which her father was in), Yukine helps her find them. Watching those videos of Akio adds to Nagisa's guilt, which culminates in the previously mentioned breakdown.


Yukine's real story doesn't begin until After Story. During Sunohara's arc, when he is frantically searching for a fake girlfriend, he asks Yukine. Though she declines politely, a guest does not take it so lightly. A rough-looking young man appears from under the table and almost roughs up Sunohara, until he realizes he's lost his cover, and he escapes out the window, after which Yukine politely asks Sunohara and Tomoya to leave.

A few episodes later, Sunohara, Tomoya, and Nagisa return to visit Yukine, where Sunohara asks her to be his girlfriend for real (she declines instantaneously). After this, a strange, injured young man jumps through the window, and Yukine cares for him. Yukine explains this odd occurrence: her brother is the leader of one of the two rival gangs in the town, and she is friends with them, but she offers first aid and assistance to members of both gangs. Her connection to them can invite a bit of trouble, though, such as when a young boy named Yuu tries to intimidate her into telling him where his sister, who joined her brother's gang, is. Yukine responds to his threats with calm and caring, and she says she'll take him to his sister. While this conversation is going on, Sunohara somehow claims to be Kazuto, Yukine's older brother, the gang leader.

This has ill effects once the group reaches the gang's hideout, and Yuu points Sunohara out as Kazuto. The gang does not react too kindly to this lie. It turns out Kazuto's been in the hospital for a while, since he saved a friend and got in a car accident. While at the bar (the gang's hideout), Yukine explains well how the gang is like a family:



The troubles with Sunohara's claim don't end there. Apparently the rival gang heard about him being Kazuto, and when the group of friends is walking home from the hideout, members of the rival gang attack them, thinking they'll about to get Kazuto. Thankfully, Tomoyo appears (in a bit of a Deus Ex Machina way) and saves them.

Tomoyo then talks to Yukine and the others about the gangs: she warns that if the fighting doesn't settle down, the police will get involved. To avoid this option, Yukine and Tomoya speak to the two gangs about having a one on one showdown between their leaders, with Sunohara being Kazuto. This all seems like it'll work out well, until Nagisa brings her mom's gift of "Hyper Rainbow Bread" and "Ultimate Jam": this combination fells all of Yukine's gang, plus Sunohara. Thus Tomoya has to take the initiative, and he begins a fight with the rival leader.

The fight seems to go on forever, as each fighter keeps getting weaker and weaker, but they won't stop...until Kazuto appears, that is. A covered person appears on the hill above the battleground and charges the battlefield. When he's hit with the first punch, though, it turns out that it's not Kazuto at all: it's Yukine.


She just wanted the fighting to stop, so she pretended to be her brother. It turns out her brother can't come save the day, because he's actually been dead. His gang hid it from the others, not wanting to be attacked as a result of this knowledge. The other gang, Tomoya, Sunohara, and Nagisa are stunned to hear this news. At her brother's grave, Yukine declares her brother's intention that the fighting stop, and the rival gang agrees to this, giving Kazuto reverence as they do so.



After the scene at the grave, Yukine thanks Tomoya, Nagisa, and Sunohara for their help, and she explains something that Tomoya saw at her brother's grave: the lights (I'll describe her explanation in the Effect on the Main Plot section). Following this explanation, she says goodbye to her brother one last time, and her arc ends.

Yukine doesn't really appear after her arc. She's at Nagisa's fake graduation, but besides that, she's only in the final montage, where we see her with her family: the gang.

Effect on the Main Plot


Yukine helps Tomoya and Nagisa's relationship in many small ways: the charms, the speech advice, the videos of Akio's plays. But really, her main plot effect is her explanation of the lights. While in Shima's arc we learned what the lights do, Yukine explains where the lights come from: an equally important aspect of them. In her own words: “Whenever something good happens or someone feels happy, an orb of light appears…It’s not certain what it is. But what is certain is that, that light is a symbol of happiness. If you can get one, you’ll be granted one wish…" Thus we learn that happiness causes these lights; that explains why when Fuko finally got to be in a class, one appeared, or when Kotomi finally received consolation and a final message from her parents, we saw them as well. These were moments of definite happiness for the people involved. Yukine also gives some interesting information: fewer people have been seeing this lights lately, but Tomoya can, and thus she says Tomoya is special (she also says "Okazaki is Okazaki"). That's true: the only time I recall anyone else reacting to a light is when Fuko's light appears: I believe Koumura follows it with his gaze. Most definitely, Yukine's words are key to understanding this supernatural aspect of Clannad, and thus the ending as well.



Themes


There's no doubt that family is a blatant theme in this arc: Yukine talks about the gang like a family of those who don't have families of their own, and all the tension focuses on her brother. If Yukine hadn't been so close to her brother, she probably would never have gotten involved with the gang (she doesn't seem to be the gang type), and none of these events would have happened: there would have been no end to the fighting, and Tomoya wouldn't learn about the lights either. Yukine truly has a deep love for her brother, and she has a deep drive to keep her brother's memory alive, first by trying to convince people he's alive, and then by fulfilling his one goal: the ending of the fighting. I find the scene at the grave, where she and the gangs honor her brother's memory, to be very powerful. It shows that the love between family can last even after death (something we see with the Okazaki family later on).

As I mentioned above, the supernatural is present in terms of the lights. There's some self-sacrifice here; in one way, Yukine's giving of her time and talent to help the gang members through first aid and whatnot is a sacrifice, and, in bigger ways, the people who fight for her brother's memory are showing self-sacrifice. Sunohara attempts this (although Sanae's bread takes him out), and Tomoya and later Yukine both go through with this, opening themselves to the possibility of physical pain and possibly serious injury by going out in the battle against the other gang's leader.

The other big theme is breaking out of conventions. Normally, a gang member is seen as a harsh person with no concern for others or common decency. But these gang members, even the rival ones, don't fit that stereotype at all. They can have kind, harmless fun (karaoke? Not your stereotypical gang activity...), and they can be loving (like Yuu's sister). They treat Yukine and others with respect, and she treats them the same way. She doesn't see them as lowly gang members, but as real people and as friends. And the fact that a quiet library girl is hanging out with gangs...definitely not a stereotypical activity for her either.

Reflection

It's interesting to compare Yukine's experience with gangs to Tomoyo's experience. Yukine's gang friends are kind people who can bring out the best in her. Tomoyo's gang acquaintances, on the other hand, make her a hard-hearted, cold, brutal person. It shows that not all similar groups are equal.

What I especially like about Yukine's arc is the scene at her family grave. Something about the reverence that she and the gang members show really strikes me. I'm not even sure how to describe it...but it's powerful.

Yukine was originally supposed to be one of the heroines of Clannad, but her story ended up being too weak for that, so she became a minor character. I wonder what it would be like for Clannad to have an extra heroine for Tomoya to bypass on his way to Nagisa. How aggressive and appealing would she be in her attempt to attract him? I mean, even here she's got some familiarity with him, like in the somewhat awkward scene where she sleeps on his lap. What would the show be like with Yukine having a more major role? It would definitely be interesting to ponder.

But now that the minor arcs are done, we can move onto the more major characters, at least plotwise. We can't leave Yukine, though, without one last look at her and her gang.


Thanks for reading. God Bless, and peace.

Nota Bene: All clips are from the Clannad Central YouTube channel run by the Clannad (クラナド/Kuranado) fan page on Facebook. All character themes and other music from the show can also be found on said fan page, in the music player. My gratitude to them and all the work they do.