August 4, 1994.
4:50 PM.
Tokyo.
Studio Ghibli.
"Suzuki-san, care for a Yakult?" Hayao Miyazaki tore open a pack of Yakult, took one for himself, and handed another to Toshio Suzuki.
The latter glanced at it
"Whose is this?"
"Who cares?" Miyazaki glanced at a nearby drawer. "I think it's Tanaka's."
"Oh. No wonder. I figured it was her." Suzuki didn't seem to mind at all.
Tanaka was a new girl at Studio Ghibli. She often brought snacks to share with everyone and had a huge sweet tooth.
According to her, if she didn't have something sweet in her mouth while working, she couldn't get any inspiration at all.
This claim has some scientific basis: the brain consumes a vast amount of energy during work, and sugar can effectively replenish that energy while stimulating the release of dopamine.
In such a state, one's thinking becomes sharper and more agile.
"Still, I should be the one to bring the snacks next time," Toshio Suzuki thought, a pang of guilt stirring in his heart.
It was no new occurrence for Hayao Miyazaki to share other people's snacks.
A documentary from his past life, The Hill Where the Poppies Bloom: The 300-Day War Between Father and Son, had clearly recorded the entire process.
His son, Goro Miyazaki, was the director of this animated film. However, out of fear of Hayao Miyazaki, he had covered the storyboards with a cloth. To steal a peek at the boards, Hayao Miyazaki pretended to visit the set for a consultation and, while there, casually found a bag of candy in a staff member's drawer.
Miyazaki Hamster didn't hold back either, scattering the candy in a circle before finally handing a few pieces to his son.
The scene was truly both adorable and hilarious.
***
The two of them sat on their chairs, each holding a bottle of Yakult, waiting for the CLANNAD PV to air on TV Tokyo that evening.
They loved Pokeni's games, but more importantly—
This was a project Hayao Miyazaki himself had worked on.
Well, not entirely on his own, but as the Animation Director, he had handled the art style and storyboarding for both the game and the PV.
The quality of the PV was directly tied to his work.
Moreover, since this was the first game he had ever been involved in, Miyazaki was exceptionally excited.
At 5:00 PM, the CLANNAD PV finally began.
The screen faded in from white.
The large Pokeni logo appeared in the center.
Against the white background, a gentle rain of Orbs of Light began to fall.
At that moment, a melodious BGM started to play:
"Dreaming a clear and transparent dream,
A gentle, eternal warmth.
A voice as faint as a breeze,
Calling me from the high sky.
If I fly into the sky like this,
I can reach anywhere.
Swaying in the light with the wind,
All my thoughts and words—
I will surely convey them all to you without reserve..."
The song was titled "Island of Joy." Aoki Haruhi had hummed the melody from memory, handing it over to Shirakawa Atsushi and Jun Maeda to complete. It was ultimately performed by Miyamura Yuko.
In his past life, "Island of Joy" served as the opening theme for the anime Clannad. It was also one of the insert songs in the game.
The melody was breathtakingly beautiful. Its warm, healing vocals only served to tear open the audience's wounds, bringing them to tears and making them recall the anime's plot the moment they heard it.
That was why Aoki Haruhi had poured so much emotion into his own performance.
Of course, Shirakawa Atsushi and Jun Maeda didn't see it that way.
His pitch was accurate enough, but something still felt... off.
Later, after the composition was finished and the voice actress Miyamura Yuko sang it, everyone was struck with awe: "Whoa, is the song really this beautiful?"
In any case, now, whenever this BGM played, the two old men sitting before the screen felt a wave of emotion wash over them.
Though titled "Island of Joy," it perfectly captured the game's sorrowful atmosphere.
Of course, that was partly because they had already read the script.
"Is it snowing?" Toshio Suzuki asked impassively, sipping his yogurt.
"How can this be snowing?" Miyazaki shot him a reproachful glance. "This game is a story about spring. What's falling from the sky is light rain.
Emmm... I think it was also called Orbs of Light.
Anyway, these are the wishes of the people in the town, also known as the Light of Wishes."
"Oh~ I see," Suzuki nodded.
"Suzuki, didn't you read the script?" Miyazaki asked with some dissatisfaction.
"I forgot. I'm getting old."
"..." Miyazaki wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat.
Getting old, can't remember things, then just take a good rest, why are you still working?
He almost blurted out those words.
Thinking carefully, Miyazaki felt that he was also around the same age.
Sometimes Miyazaki even thought that Toshio Suzuki's role in Studio Ghibli was more important than his own. Without Hayao Miyazaki, animations could still be made. Without Toshio Suzuki, they would lack an excellent producer.
So, he still hoped this guy could stay at Ghibli longer and work until he retired together with him.
Yes, yes.
***
The two turned their attention to the television.
As the background music swelled, the scenes from the game began to shift and flow.
Countless Orbs of Light fluttered down from the sky, which was a pale, washed-out gray above the treetops. The whiteness was so stark it made their eyes ache.
The camera followed the Orbs of Light as they descended, revealing a vast sea of flowers on the ground, rippling in the wind.
The entire scene was breathtakingly beautiful.
Then, the characters appeared one by one.
Their names and the names of their voice actors were listed below.
But this was by no means the CLANNAD art style Aoki Haruhi remembered. Instead, it was steeped in the unmistakable style of Hayao Miyazaki.
The lighting had more depth, and the characters' colors were softer and richer, bringing them closer to the figures Miyazaki himself drew.
Their eyes weren't those oversized orbs that took up half their faces. Instead, each character had a unique look, yet their eyes were all incredibly bright.
Their eyes are so bright.
That was Toshio Suzuki's first impression of the characters.
They weren't empty and wide, nor were they like shimmering pools of water. They sparkled with a brilliance that told you, at a single glance, these characters had souls.
***
After the characters flashed across the screen, a male protagonist's monologue echoed:
[I hate this town.]
[Because it's filled with memories I want to forget.]
[Going to school every day.]
[Day after day.]
[Will there ever be a day when things actually change?]
The monologue was oppressively bleak, and the dominant color palette was a dull gray and white, making Toshio Suzuki frown.
To think Miyazaki would accept a game with this kind of setup, he thought.
After all, Miyazaki Hamster was the kind of person who always found endless hope even in the direst of circumstances. No matter how tragic a protagonist's fate, they were always expected to muster the courage to keep living.
But this script...
How should he put it? The atmosphere was suffocatingly sad from the very beginning. Without some cheerful elements, it would probably drive a person insane.
Just as he was thinking this, a splash of vibrant scenery appeared in the protagonist's line of sight.
Standing beneath a row of cherry blossom trees was a shy young girl.
The world, once drained of color and rendered in gray and white, suddenly burst into light.
[That day, I met her.]
[And from that day on, she and I began to climb this long mountain path together.]
[Perhaps... this is our story?]
At that point, the screen faded to white.
Then, the word "Pokeni" appeared.
[CLANNAD, a heartwarming and healing story, a must-play galgame.]
[The comeback work of Kogahara Tsubakiaki.]
[On sale at all major game stores starting September 5th. We welcome you to come and purchase it.]
***
"Huh? That's it?"
Toshio Suzuki was dumbfounded.
It felt like sitting in a movie theater and watching the opening scene, only for it to end before the plot even started.
"What did you expect from a PV under a minute?" Miyazaki retorted.
"I... I mean, there should be some information conveyed, right?" Suzuki argued. "The PV just showed the school, a boy and girl meeting, and that indescribable Orb of Light... Overall, the visuals were beautiful, but I feel like I've seen nothing at all."
"As long as the atmosphere is conveyed, that's enough. This is a story about a boy and a girl, after all," Miyazaki countered.
The true pleasure of this game lay in allowing players to experience the story.
In Miyazaki's view, certain things had to be kept hidden.
But if CLANNAD were to hide its ending, it would just be another cheerful school-life game, losing its true charm and value.
Hayao Miyazaki was leaving things unsaid here, relying solely on visuals and music to convey the atmosphere. In a way, this was actually protecting the game.
Or perhaps, in his eyes, this was already enough.
"Hmm... I suppose you're right."
However, Toshio Suzuki couldn't help but wonder if relying so heavily on visuals and character designs to build appeal—with so little information provided—was really a good idea.
Was it truly okay to reveal absolutely nothing about the plot?
Although the atmosphere Miyazaki Hamster mentioned had indeed been conveyed...
Had it been conveyed fully?
Suzuki was skeptical.
But then again...
For the players of Pokeni, perhaps just the name [Tsubaki Furahara] alone was more than enough.
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