In the original Clannad, the preview shown after season two's episode sixteen had teased the male lead's bleak, depressed life after losing the female lead.
Yuta changed the preview. Instead, he used a short clip of the male lead interacting with his daughter Ushio.
This was the best way to keep viewers from abandoning the show. But calming their emotions was equally critical. If they were not properly reassured, even a cute preview would not be enough to hold them.
May 3rd. Clannad season two, episode seventeen, aired.
The first portion of this episode dealt with the male lead's life after losing the female lead. Grief, depression, the whole world turning gray. He threw himself into overtime work, keeping himself busy so he would not have time to think about the painful things.
He had never smoked before, but at some point, he picked up the habit.
As for his daughter Ushio, she was being raised by the female lead's parents.
Seeing her reminded him too much of Nagisa, so he rarely visited. The female lead's mother would occasionally bring Ushio to see him though.
Later, the female lead's mother tricked the male lead into coming over.
Left alone with his daughter at the female lead's parents' house, the male lead found that little Ushio was incredibly sweet and well-behaved. Even when she tripped and fell, she held back her tears.
The two spent the night together, and the next morning, the male lead took his daughter on a trip.
When this episode aired, ratings did dip slightly, but not by much. And whether it was thanks to Yuta's earlier reassurances or something else, the online reaction was overwhelmingly positive. People gushed about how adorable Ushio was and how talented Yuta was.
On the Radiant Warriors side, Ryouga had indeed pumped in a huge promotional budget, and the episode quality was excellent. Ratings jumped considerably, closing the gap with Clannad season two by a significant margin. But they still could not overtake them.
This was within Ryouga's expectations, so nobody was too disappointed. All their hopes were riding on episode eighteen.
...
Starfall, the president's office.
Yuta quietly read through a script that his cousin Kotone Mikage had brought him. As a literature major at Higashi-Waseda University, Kotone naturally had ambitions. She had started trying her hand at scriptwriting in her very first year.
She had come by hoping Yuta would read it and offer some feedback.
Since arriving in this world, Yuta had been working hard to improve his writing skills. But he had started as a key animator, not a screenwriter. Reaching a professional level overnight just was not realistic.
Kotone obviously did not know about his situation. Judging purely by Clannad, she assumed his scriptwriting abilities were top-tier. It was not strange that she would ask him for pointers.
Limited ability was one issue. Being incredibly busy was another.
If it had been anyone else, he would have said no. But he could not turn down Kotone.
Besides, even if he was not a professional, giving feedback to a beginner should be manageable.
Kotone's script was short. It told the story of a fifth-grade boy named Fumihiko who secretly had a crush on the popular girl in his class, Nana.
The two connected through drawing and shared a beautiful stretch of time together.
But one day, out of the blue, news came that Nana was transferring to another school.
Everyone gathered to see Nana off, but Fumihiko could not bring himself to go. He stayed behind, drowning in his sadness.
After Nana's car drove away, Fumihiko came to his senses and chased after her desperately. At that moment, the drawings he had made seemed to come alive with some kind of magical power. The goose he had drawn materialized, picked him up, and carried him through the sky.
The two managed to meet at the train station.
Fumihiko poured out his feelings, then tearfully said goodbye.
Reading this far, Yuta felt a strong sense of familiarity. In the other world, there had been an animated short with a very similar story.
Though if he remembered correctly, in that version, the male lead never actually confessed. He just told the girl to take care of herself.
After seeing her off, the story ended.
In Kotone's script, Fumihiko told Nana he liked her. But the instant he finished speaking, the train doors closed and carried Nana away.
And it did not end there. The scene shifted. Fumihiko was lying face-down on a road, having tripped and fallen. The drawings he had meant to give Nana were scattered everywhere.
Bruised and disheveled, Fumihiko stood up, looked at the distant sky, and wept. The story ended there.
After finishing, Yuta was stunned. Fumihiko had never actually reached Nana.
The confession, the farewell at the station, all of it had been Fumihiko's fantasy.
In other words, reading just the first part made it seem like a heartwarming, moving little story. But reading the whole thing revealed it was actually a gut-punch of despair.
Yuta took a deep breath, set down the script, and glanced at Kotone, thinking to himself. 'Are you a warrior of love too?'
"Big bro, what do you think?" Kotone looked at him eagerly.
"Really good."
Yuta gave her the compliment first, then asked, "Have you written short pieces before?"
"Yeah. In high school, all of our school plays used scripts I wrote," Kotone answered.
"That explains it." Yuta nodded.
After a moment, he added, "This short piece is genuinely impressive. But I'd love to see you try writing something longer."
"Something longer?" Kotone tilted her head, thinking. "That does sound pretty challenging."
"If you're stuck for ideas, I've got a few I can share with you. And if you write them well enough, there's a real chance they could be turned into anime," Yuta said.
"Really?" Kotone's face lit up. "Thank you, Big bro!"
"Don't mention it." Yuta smiled.
Before transmigrating, he had watched over a thousand anime.
But only the ones that made him cry had left impressions vivid enough to remember every frame and detail. For other types of anime, he could only recall the broad strokes.
Writing full scripts from those vague memories himself was not something he had much confidence in. But giving the concepts to Kotone and letting her flesh them out eliminated the risk of things going sideways.
If Kotone wrote them well enough, turning them into actual anime would be perfectly viable.
Of course, when that time came, he would only handle character design and production.
Directing, music, and everything else would be handed off to other people, doubling as training for new talent.
He rattled off several ideas for Kotone to jot down. Once she left looking satisfied, he got back to his own work.
Episode eighteen was coming up soon. It was time to unleash the big guns, and the production side absolutely could not fall behind.
Even if it meant burning the midnight oil for the next few days, episode eighteen had to be perfect. Only then could he deliver the ultimate emotional experience to the audience.
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