May 17th. Clannad season two, episode nineteen, aired.
For once, this episode did not open with the little girl and the robot. Instead, it started right away with the male lead bringing his daughter back to the female lead's parents' house.
The male lead said he would raise Ushio himself from now on. The female lead's mother agreed.
What followed was a warm little baseball scene, and then the OP kicked in.
After the OP, the scene shifted to nighttime.
The male lead stirred awake and overheard the female lead's parents talking outside.
"Sanae, you're not really one to talk, are you? You haven't cried once since that day."
"So you noticed."
"Of course I did. Who do you think you're married to?"
"I had something I had to do. I had to raise Ushio. Honestly, if it weren't for her, I might have lost myself completely."
"Five years. I'd say we were both saved by that little girl."
"Yeah, we really were."
"But now, that chapter is finally closing."
"It is."
"You've worked so hard for such a long time."
"It's fine. We're family, after all."
"It's okay now. You've done more than enough. You can cry now. Even if you fall apart, I'll hold you up. I'll stay right here until you've cried it all out. So... it's okay now."
After those words, there was nothing left but the sound of the female lead's mother quietly sobbing.
Watching this, the audience was moved all over again. Countless viewers found themselves in tears.
A night passed. The male lead took his daughter to preschool. As he was leaving, people nearby started whispering and pointing.
The old version of the male lead would have snapped and made a scene. But this time, he did not lose his temper at all. He walked up to those people, greeted them, and calmly explained the situation.
The gossips looked a little embarrassed but could only smile and respond politely.
At work, his coworkers heard about the male lead's situation with his daughter and told him that if he ever needed help, the company would try to accommodate him.
So the male lead started picking up his daughter after preschool, bringing her home, and then heading back to finish work.
Ushio seemed fascinated by everything in the apartment. She poked around here and peeked around there, then ran out to the balcony, grabbed the railing, and let the breeze blow through her hair.
She was impossibly well-behaved and adorable, making plenty of viewers think, "Having a daughter must be wonderful."
Quite a few people felt like they were finally recovering from the emotional devastation. All the gloom was swept away in an instant.
In the second half of the episode, Ushio sat at home drawing with crayons.
The doorbell rang. The male lead was back, and he had brought the Dango Family collection from the female lead's parents' house.
A photo of the female lead smiling and waving was placed in the apartment too.
After that, the male lead took Ushio out to buy groceries for dinner.
On the way home, they ran into someone: the female lead's former teacher, who was also Fuko's older sister.
Fuko, who had been declared unlikely to ever wake up back in season one, had actually regained consciousness and been discharged from the hospital.
Seeing this, many viewers perked up immediately.
If Fuko could wake up, the female lead's revival had to be right around the corner.
That bastard Shido really had not been lying.
Fuko was still the same old Fuko. She had not changed one bit.
She absolutely adored Ushio and the two of them became instant friends.
The next stretch of the story followed the male lead bringing his daughter to visit his father, telling him it was okay to rest now.
His father's reaction was simple.
"Is it really... okay now?"
"Have I fulfilled my duty?"
The male lead answered. "You sacrificed everything and raised me, didn't you? You gave up your entire life for a good-for-nothing son like me. That's more than enough."
Paired with an absolutely devastating BGM, it was yet another scene that had people reaching for tissues.
At the very end of the episode, the father picked up his bag and walked away as the male lead and Ushio watched him go.
Then a Light Orb appeared and entered the male lead's body, though the male lead could no longer see it.
Only little Ushio could.
After episode nineteen ended, the internet erupted as expected.
"Fathers really are incredible."
"That conversation between Akio and Sanae had me crying nonstop."
"How is every single episode this moving? I've cried so much I've run out of tears."
"Tomoya has really grown up. He doesn't lash out anymore. He finally understands what his father went through. That's such a relief."
"I used to naively believe that Nagisa alone could fix Tomoya's relationship with his dad. But then... ugh, I don't want to talk about it. President Shido, when are you going to bring my Nagisa back already?"
"I thought we'd never see Fuko again in season two. Then she just woke up in this episode. Thank you, President Shido."
"Only a few episodes left. I hope Nagisa comes back soon, and I hope the final stretch keeps delivering."
...
Starfall, the president's office.
Aoi carefully studied the storyboards for Clannad season two, episode twenty. When she finished, she stared at Yuta, wanting to say something but unable to find the words.
"Aoi, is there something on my face?" Yuta asked.
"No." Aoi shook her head.
"Then it must be that I'm so handsome your eyes were drawn to me involuntarily?" Yuta tried.
Aoi: "..."
He was admittedly a little good-looking, but she had never encountered anyone this shameless.
She looked away, set the storyboards down, and said, "Didn't you say the female lead would come back to life?"
"She will." Yuta nodded.
"But season two is twenty-two episodes total. This is already episode twenty and she's still dead. Don't tell me you're planning to wait until episode twenty-two to bring her back?" Aoi guessed.
"Aoi, you really do have a sharp eye. Spotted it right away. Truly a master of the anime investment world." Yuta did not try to hide it.
After a pause, he added, "But there's one thing you got wrong. It's not up to me when the female lead comes back. At this stage, the story has become its own complete world. I'm just a faithful recorder."
"Is that your excuse for torturing the audience again in episode twenty?" Aoi said flatly.
"Torturing the audience? Where?"
"Are you seriously saying you're not?"
"Of course not. That's slander. I would never torture the audience. I'm simply providing them with the ultimate emotional experience."
"Impressive. Completely shameless. Truly the Tearjerker Demon King everyone says you are. When episode twenty airs next week, the audience is going to explode again. The more they trust you right now, the more they'll hate you then. I won't bother asking if you can change the script. Just think it over carefully."
"It'll be fine."
Yuta was not worried.
Worst case, he would just hide at home for a while. Not many people knew where he lived anyway.
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