Sora no Kikou ~The sky of the longing for memories~

Early this autumn, my friend from Japan brought me back several items, the one presented in this entry is Sora no Kikou ~The sky of the longing for memories~, featuring digital backgrounds by the studio CoMix Wave. The book is a 175 page softcover, the majority of which are images, which I find uncommon for most fanbooks. The pages are smaller than your standard letter/A4 meaning the images are a small, and knowing the level of detail in Makoto Shinkai’s work I think these images could be spectacularly crisp even if enlarged 4× the size. Inside you will find hundreds of backgrounds from Byousoku 5 Centimeter (5 Centimetres per Second), Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho (The Place Promised in Our Early Days), Hoshi no Koe (Voices of a Distant Star), and a TV advertisement for the newspaper “Shinano Mainichi Shumbun”.

In addition to the backgrounds, there is a section about the software and technique behind CoMix Wave’s animation, which based on my very limited Japanese seems to talk about the key features of the software they use at various stages of production. There is also a lengthy (Japanese) interview with Makoto and other key members of his studio.

Aside from the special sections, all the work presented are direct cutscenes from the animation or the background renderings, minimizing the presence of any characters. Unlike my Clannad or Spirited Away artbooks, there are no sketches, hand paintings, storyboards or other evidence of development. Nevertheless, it is still a beautiful resource for fans of animation and digital artwork, it is simply amazing how much vividness and emotion Makoto can put in a drawing of a pencil and eraser or a high-rise construction crane.

Again, I don’t want to damage the book’s spine nor do I have a worthy scanner, so I have uploaded another photo-gallery. Apologies for the inconsistent images, I was struggling to find a good method of holding the book open. For your convenience, a batch download is available (just the images below, not the entire book):

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I had thought of buying this phone for a long time, but because Nokia Build only currently operates in Europe there were a lot of issues with regard to payment shipping. Luckily I have a friend studying in the UK who bought it on my behalf and brought it over this June. The total was €142 including shipping and VAT (tax), which is approximately $224 CAD or 200 USD. A quick eBay search reveals that the current typical Canadian price is about $190, and that’s without the most important part: the loli custom cover.

Naturally, it’s a little embarrassing to have it out; luckily it came with extra covers that can be quickly interchanged. I imagine for more professional environments I’ll have to think ahead and stick on the blue cover. The green one is plain fugly, but it was either blue & green or pink & white.

The resolution and quality of the custom image are mediocre, if you look closely there’s some obvious distortion from downsampling and I’d have preferred a matte finish over a glossy finish. But, thinking about it, people will either be too engrossed or disgusted over the content to make such observations.

The default ring tone right now is ‘Don’t Say Lazy’ (the ED theme from K-ON) and I made a Mio theme for the menu and startup/shutdown screens. I’m wondering what accessories to put on it, maybe a lace-like string not unlike the Fujibayashi’s hair… whatever you call it?

1:50 Laser-cut anime figures from 3mm basswood

In other Otaku news, I had some extra time with the laser cutter and I decided to cut out some 1:50 scale figures out of 3mm basswood to use in my architecture models. Anime figures are the easiest, firstly because I have a huge collection of images, and secondly because the cel-shading and relatively simple backgrounds call for easy extraction. In many cases I could just plop them into Photoshop, run a few filters, send it to Illustrator and live-trace the outline. I also had my wallpaper which already had silhouetted figures which can go directly into illustrator for a live-trace. I already have 80 or so cuts of about 10 different characters (some anime some non-anime) but I’m definitely going to do this again if I book spare time on the laser cutter in the future.

The following are my source images. I left out a lot of details like kannagi’s hair and shoujo-wand, because I am using these in an academic context and I don’t want it to be totally obvious that I’m using anime characters…

There probably won’t be many updates for the next two weeks, but once I’m back home things should start to pick up again. I’ll be doing some periodicals on K-ON! and am considering following Saki, since I am a mahjong player myself), and I’m looking for somewhere to buy more Ghibli artbooks.

We seem to have some character design recycling going on here in K-ON!. Strangely, it doesn’t bother me as much as I think it should, probably because their personalities are likeable and not identical copies of other characters, and the episode is presented well. Is anyone else in love with the ending theme? It’s been stuck in my head since I heard the first 5 seconds. The only thing that worries me is the guitarist in the ending theme – I hear chord changes, but I don’t see hands moving… Hopefully it’s not like this in the episode body, especially concert scenes. With the mention of NEETs, it’s probably directed toward the otaku crowd, but if you like bands and light comedic drama then this might be a show for you. I’m definitely going to be picking this series up; I probably won’t be blogging about every episode though.

[streaming audio]

I hope you all have at least heard of her, but for those that haven’t, Yoko Kanno is one of the most famous music composers in the anime and video game industry. Her list of works is not the longest, but she far exceeds in quality. Some works include the soundtracks for Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Card Captor Sakura, and the Honey and Clover live action movie.

Before we can fully appreciate a soundtrack, we must understand the setting the songs will be used in. Ragnarok Online 2 is a medieval fantasy world based on Norse mythology, and the main focus of the game is adventure and socializing. The game world is very pristine, with large fields, swamps, and forests alike. In the towns, there is a very rustic historical feel, and the attire the characters wear share similar qualities.

If you like symphonic compositions with a very serene cultural feel, you will most definitely love this soundtrack. The primary palette includes the viola, piano, harp, and hand drums. There are some select tracks with goodies like the mythical vocalist Gabriela Robin, and some great supporting instrumentals like the didgeridoo, marimba, and pan flute.

The first song you hear is the intro theme to the game. My first time opening the game to the login screen, I couldn’t help but listen to half the song before entering my login credentials. We hear a vocal feature in a fantasy language, which to me sounds like a mix between Latin, French and Elven. The harp and string chorus pull my consciousness into the vast outdoors; I feel as if I am flying in the air over a vast plain with forests and mountains looming in the horizon.

[streaming audio]

Welcome, young adventurer, to the town of Hodemimes. This is a quiet coastal town with no more than a few dozen yurts and pavilions. It is here where adventurers start their journeys; a friendly, social, but quiet community. At the outskirts there is a vast coastal field for novices to train, develop their skills, and learn the adventurers’ ways of life. It isn’t an easy life, but here in county overseen by the village chief there are barely any substantial dangers.

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All adventurers will eventually become well-acquainted with Prontera, the capital of the Rune-Midgarts kingdom. The King’s castle seated on the top of a hill overlooks the town bustling with adventurers and merchants alike. It is a crowded town; there are many guilds, stores, bars, and even a church. The music no longer has the pastoral feel of Hodemimes, we now are immersed the crowdedness of a small medieval Celtic city. From the King Tristan’s Castle we hear the echoes of a bagpipe salutation, and all around we hear the busy crowds of the city move in, out and about.

[streaming audio]

In the previous decade Rune-Midgarts was industrializing, but due to intervention by greater forces, the industrialization was halted. Cognito was once a large industrial town, full of factories and labourers, but now it is abandoned. Mechanized fiends wander around the outskirts of the town, showing hostility towards those of other races. The once busy city is now an industrial junkyard; factory scraps are littered everywhere and the stench of rust lingers in the alleys. We hear a lonely saxophone lament, but its echoes fall upon deaf ears: Few travellers visit Cognito, and those that do leave only shortly after they finish their business.

[streaming audio]

Far north in the Alfheim Forest, far from Norman (Human) development, live the spiritual Ellr elves. The Ellr obtain their magical powers by links with nature, and have built their town around the Mother Tree. A large library full of religious works is built into a large cranny in the surrounding mountains, Many Ellr come here to worship or to enrich their magical abilities. The Ellr are much sanctified; the music emphasizes the importance of their spiritualism and religion. The Ellr village lacks the casualness of the Hodemimes village, they are a devout civilization and unlike Normans spend much of their time meditating.

[streaming audio]

Scattered around the lands are the homes of various tribes. These are monsters that have evolved to sentience, but still lack the intelligence and craftsmanship of the Norman and Ellr races. Their music is very primitive in feel, with heavy ethnic beats and tribal chants. Due to oppression and uncompromising behaviour these tribes are becoming more and more hostile towards the Normans, and fewer and fewer adventurers are able to learn about the depth of these tribes’ cultures.

[streaming audio]

Aside from composing music for the geographic locations, many of the NPCs have their own themes as well. Misha is a perky and cheerful shoplady, while Holgrar the blacksmith is much more straightforward and always hard at work in his shop.

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There are some songs that I have not heard in-game, but according to the title they are part of the game’s plot scenario. Various styles exist here, from symphonic suites to upbeat military briefings.

[streaming audio]

And remaining are the “uncategorized” songs; songs I do not know the exact background behind. But they all have the same great traditional ambience presented by Ragnarok Online 2, and amongst them are my personal favourites of the soundtrack. Closing my eyes while listening to these songs instantly teleports me to another world where man lives in harmony with nature and the greater forces of the world.

[streaming audio]

To sum up, Ragnarok Online 2’s soundtrack is a serene symphonic compilation using the music of various fictional civilizations. Due to continuously delayed production and release of the game, I believe this soundtrack to be underrated because it is unheard of by most people. Kanno did a great job at composing music that attaches us to the natural world, making players breathe the crisp morning mist through their ears in our expeditionary quest through the Rune-Midgarts Kingdom.

[streaming audio]

I have made the entire soundtrack available to download. The files from the Korean Open Beta are in Ogg Vorbis format, aside from meta tags these are the original files extracted from the official client. Songs that didn’t make it from the third Closed Beta to the Open Beta are included, these are in MP3 format. I have archived the collection into two files to facilitate downloading.

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This entry covers the closing episodes of Clannad After Story. I will probably do one last shorter entry for my overall thoughts and opinions, but first I need to set the story straight. I’ll give you a forewarning that this entry is extremely long. A PDF version is being prepared.

I hate this city. It’s full of all the memories I want to forget about. Go to school every day, chat with friends, and then go back to the home I don’t even want to go back to.
Will something eventually change, doing this? Will that day come?

An-pan!
Do you like this school? I really, really like it.
But nothing can stay unchanged.

A girl I’ve never seen before.
The words weren’t directed at me. She must be talking to someone in her heart.

Fun things… Happy things… They can’t all possible stay unchanged.
Even so, can you keep on loving this place?

Just find them. Just find new fun and happy things.
C’mon, let’s get going.

We start to walk up…
…the long… long… uphill climb.

Tomoya & Nagisa, episode 1

The closing episode of Clannad After took us by quite a surprise. The cryptic and puzzling ending, especially with Fuko, could be referred to as the Evangelion of Drama: fragmented pieces, seemingly irrelevant scenes, and an indefinite ending With time travel inevitably in the picture, the issue of ‘what happened when’ arose and aroused.. Many of us have our attention on 2chan’s Clannad Storyline Diagram as presented by Sankaku Complex. I have not played the game yet, so I was half-excited and half-nervous when I saw this; I really wanted to make an interpretation on my own. But I also wanted to see what interpretation was most widely accepted by the community, and I believed there might be some clues to help my own interpretation. Sankaku’s diagram gives an explanation of the entire Clannad series by showing us when each episode actually occurs. According to it, we never watch Tomoya and Nagisa in their first life, until her death after Ushio is born. The story then proceeds with After Story episodes 17 – 21. After jumping back in time, Tomoya saved Nagisa with light orbs gathered by helping the supporting characters as we saw in episodes 1 to After Story episode 16. Aside from completely omitting the Illusionary World, it contradicts with the story as presented by the episodes. This is my train of logic:

1. Tomoya went back in time due to grief over Ushio’s and Nagisa’s deaths.
2. For both Ushio and Nagisa to have died, Tomoya must have married and started a family with Nagisa.
3. For Tomoya to have married Nagisa, they must have dated.
4. For Nagisa and Tomoya to have dated, they must have re-established the theatre club.
5. To have re-established the theatre club, Tomoya (and Nagisa) must have recruited other members.
6. To have recruited other members, Tomoya and Nagisa must have helped them and become their friends.
7. Therefore, if Tomoya did not help the other characters, none of the above would have happened.

This alone is enough evidence to disprove the diagram. There are additional discrepancies which I will present, but before I move on, I need to lay out some terms that I will be using.

Back on topic, remember the scene in the final episode of After Story with the following conversation? This is right after Tomoya was sent back in time.

Nagisa…

I was really worried you might be thinking that you should have never met me.
I’m glad that I met you. I had a wonderful life.

Nagisa.

So please. Don’t lose yourself.
No matter what may await, please don’t regret meeting me.
Is that too much to ask?

You’re right…
Thank you.

Nagisa & Tomoya, After Story episode 22

This quote proves two things. Firstly, this undeniably proves that Nagisa is also aware of what happened in the previous world. Secondly, if at the bottom of the hill both Nagisa and Tomoya were aware of their travel through time, they would acknowledge that they have already married. Building from this, there would be no shyness between them in any of the episodes, and would have no motive to suppress or hide their feelings from each other.

Continuing, recall when Nagisa had a mental breakdown the day before the School Festival. If this indeed happened after travelling back in time, Nagisa must have already known that her parents changed their dreams for her sake, and thus would not have been emotionally shocked when she found photo albums and video tapes in the shed.

If Tomoya had known about the seriousness of his father’s condition, he would have done all that he could to prevent it. His promotion was drowned because of his father’s dealings with drugs, so if he had known beforehand he would have done all he could to prevent it. Also, he made up with his father before Ushio’s death. There would be no reason for Tomoya to put off settling the misunderstandings with his father after travelling back in time.

It must have been hard.

Yeah.

Ryou, Kotomi, and Youhei are all worried about you.
We were thinking maybe we should visit you when we got together over New Year’s, but we ended up saying it’d be best to leave you alone for now.

Thanks.

But this means that everything’s settled, right? All the loose ends?

Yeah.

Kyou & Tomoya, After Story episode 20

After Nagisa’s death, Ushio proceeded to attend kindergarten under Sanae and Akio. Kyou was her teacher, and when Tomoya finally readopted Ushio, Kyou mentioned the members of the theatre club and how they wanted to meet him. Nagisa had already died, and Tomoya was friends with the Theatre Club. This proves that Tomoya had already helped the heroines during his first psychological life, again disproving the timeline diagram.

All girls like fortune telling at the genetic level.
Of course, it’s a pity that I can’t get it right, but I think it’s better if I don’t.
If the results come true, it’s as if there’s only one future.
But if it fails, we can think that other futures exist.
We never know how the future shifts because of the slightest change.
I want to believe that in our future there are many possibilities waiting.

Ryou Fujibayashi, episode 18

Now I would like to bring forward and explain my own interpretation. There is no way of knowing how true to the intended plot my interpretation stands, but all the clues I have found have pointed me this way, and I cannot find any big holes in my interpretation.

This is a world that has ended; a world where no one but I exist.
In the room are a small wooden table and a chair.
Outside the window is a vast plain with nothing.
The building is old, and there is no clue of when it was built.
I live here alone.

The play, episode 22

Ushio existed alone in the imaginary world. I am uncertain the exact reason for this, but it definitely has something to do with Nagisa’s disease, which was passed onto Ushio when she gave birth and died. In this world, we have illuminating light orbs. We have learned from various segments that the lights represent memories from another world. We learned in Shima’s arc that these light orbs are able to grant wishes. I will jump to conclude that these orbs are ‘happy’ memories, as I see no reason to consider otherwise. But, aside from the light orbs floating freely in the sky, there is another major phenomenon in the Illusionary World. This would be none other than the junk, whose existence is similar to the light orbs, but have a different implication. If the light orbs are good memories from the Real World, then what is the junk?

I picked up branches, nails, and may other things.
It’s to make a friend.
But, will the one being born be happy?
With some doubt in mind…

The play, episode 22

This world has indeed ended.
No more lives will be born; she’s the only being with life.
Either in the distant past or the dist future, I was in a different place.
It was a very lively place, but I can no longer return there.
I have this body she made for me.

The Robot, episode 22

As you may have guessed, the junk represents despair; they are memories from the Real World that one does not want to keep. And using this junk; using this despair, Ushio create a companion. Tomoya was not born into the Illusionary world by pure coincidence. He existed in the Illusionary World in the form of bad memories, which is precisely what he became after experiencing Ushio’s death. He regretted meeting Nagisa and all the things they did during their senior year. With nothing left, he no longer wanted to live on in his current world, so he was created and born into the Illusionary World. Whether he and Ushio actually died or not is not shown, but that is irrelevant.

In the Illusionary World, Ushio eventually comes to realize who she and the Robot are. She tells Tomoya, and then sends him back in time to the moment where he and Nagisa first met at the bottom of the hill. Having learnt everything he needed, he grabbed Nagisa and re-lived his life. The second third of AS episode 22 shows his second life, the surreal light and slow-motion are fast-forward representations of what happened between metting Nagisa the second time up to Ushio’s birth. Tomoya’s second school life is represented in the episode, but beyond that we don’t know any details. This leaves all but one section covered, which is the final third of AS episode 22: Clannad’s final closing scene.

So what’s the deal here? Fuko again? As moé as Fuko is, doesn’t KyoAni realize they already budgeted too much time on her? Why would they use the most insignificant, childish character for the closing scene to an otherwise great series? It seems like they tried to put so much emphasis on her, too. Aside from her screen time, she’s second in line in the ending sequence of AS episode 22, and fourth in line when he have the achromatic fly-by right before Ushio sends Tomoya back in time. But… why?

The city will change. But there are many people who treasure these sakura trees. Not just me. Many people who live in this city feel that way. No matter how depressing a place may look, the most important places don’t change. I think there’s a similar aspect to family, too.

Tomoyo Sakagami, episode 18

The answer is clear. At least, it will be by the time you finish reading this entry, to which I must inform you is not even halfway to the end yet. Let’s first run a background check on Fuko. She was involved in a car accident in her freshman year and has been in a coma ever since. Because of this, Fuko’s sister, Kouko, was thinking of putting off her plans to marry Yoshino until Fuko awakened. Fuko knew she would not wake up anytime soon, so she created a second existence in her high school and tried to convince the students to give their blessings to her sister and fiancé. She met Tomoya and Nagisa, and together they convinced Kouko and helped her carry through with her marriage, and they even gathered many students to give their blessings and wishes to the newlywed couple. Fuko would be forever grateful towards Tomoya and Nagisa.

After her main arc, Fuko had some random appearances. Although these sequences were awkward yet light-hearted, she continued to try to help Tomoya and his friends whenever they encountered difficulties. Whatever her actions were, we can say for sure that Fuko has a strong ability to transverse between the worlds and to re-manifest herself in a secondary form. This must have been the result of the accident that happened to her on the first day of her freshman year.

Let’s take a more detailed look into Fuko’s arcs. In her first main arc, Fuko had one major contribution: She brought Nagisa and Tomoya closer together, both mentally and physically. She made Tomoya and Nagisa call each other by first name and made them comfortable sleeping on each other’s shoulders (episode 9). Helping Fuko also acquainted Tomoya and Nagisa with some of the other heroines, and without her help Tomoya and Nagisa may have never taken the first step towards their dating. We also have the appearance of Fuko towards the end of After Story; her second main arc. She fell in love with Ushio, but more importantly, Fuko recognized that Tomoya was still grieving over his deceased Nagisa. She kept asking Tomoya if he saw Nagisa in her, and was troubled when Okazaki started crying after hearing Ushio talk about her mother (AS episode 20). She must have remembered, subconsciously, what Tomoya and Nagisa had done for her and her sister many years ago. And because of that, she felt the need to repay Tomoya for his good deeds.

Shall I… Shall I take you?
To the place in this city where wishes come true?

The play, episode 22

Ushio had a habit of walking to the hospital; this is the field Akio brought Nagisa to after he found her collapsed in the snow. Nagisa dreamt of the imaginary world and linked with that field, and when she died giving birth she passed that link onto Ushio. In the final scene, we watched Fuko find her way from the hospital to Ushio by way of scent. When she first arrives, she sees Imaginary World Ushio, but we know from the subsequent sequence that it is the Real World Ushio. Maybe Fuko does in fact see Ushio as she is presented in the Illusionary World? Whatever the case, knowing that Fuko had a glimpse of Imaginary World Ushio is further evidence to support the theory of her hidden world abilities.

Now, brace yourself while I present my biggest conjecture of this article.
Recall Fuko in the earlier episodes. More precisely, recall her attire. Aside from the standard school uniform, she had black knee-socks, and a ribbon that tied her hair into a tail. Black feet, black tail. Does that ring any bells?

Now does that ring any bells? Fuko is the sheep we see in AS episode 2. But it’s not only in the appearance where I have proof. Remember how the Robot got lost, and the sheep somehow led him back to Ushio? The sheep must have been able to instinctively lead the Robot back to Ushio. Fuko stated in episode 20 that she had memorized Ushio’s scent; that’s how she found Ushio by the hospital two episodes later. The field by the tree, where Nagisa was brought by Akio, where Ushio instinctively wanders, and where Fuko saw Illusionary World Ushio, is the place that links Nagisa, Ushio, Fuko, and the Illusionary World together. Here, Fuko, after recognizing Tomoya’s grief, showed the Imaginary World Ushio the dream where she learned who she and the Robot were in the Real World. Just like how Nagisa dreamed of the Illusionary World at that place, Ushio in the Illusionary World dreamt of the Real World because Fuko and Ushio were there. That is the place in the city where dreams come true. Ushio’s revelatory dream in the Imaginary World was what Fuko meant the by closing statement “This is where the fun begins”.

So you’re saying that this world and the hidden world are related strongly at a deep level?

Yes. Time, space, and people’s minds echo in a strange way to recreate both worlds or create whole new ones. They might be affecting each other like that. That’s what I wanted to say.

Could our lives be tied to that world, too?

Maybe, then yet again maybe not.

Kotomi Ichinose, After Story episode 16

Fuko holds a key to the Clannad series. In fact, I believe she holds the key, the key to Tomoya’s time travel and consequently his second joy-filled life. That is why Fuko is so strangely emphasized throughout the entire series. Without Fuko, Nagisa and Tomoya would have never gotten that first push needed before they could start pursuing each other. Without Fuko, the Robot would have gotten lost in the Illusionary World. Without Fuko, Illusionary World Ushio would never come to realize who she and her creation were, and thus would not have been able to send Tomoya back in time. Without Fuko, Tomoya would forever live in grief like his father. When Tomoya and Nagisa decided to help Fuko and her sister’s wedding in their senior year, they had created a foolproof plan towards their ultimate happiness. If anything went wrong in the future, Fuko would restructure the worlds and send Tomoya back in time with knowledge of the abilities of the Illusionary World.

Like we can see people’s feelings from the other world as light in this world,
my feelings will become many lights in that world and shimmer.

Illusionary World Ushio, After Story episode 22

There is one more piece to put together before the entire picture is complete. This is Ushio’s role. We learned that Ushio is the Illusionary World; she is the container of memories. We know the rumour about light orbs granting wishes, but: Can one’s wishes be granted if they are unaware they are in possession of any of these light orbs? Simply put, no. We know this because Nagisa had died. If Tomoya was aware of the Illusionary World’s abilities the first time around, (remember that Ushio is the Illusionary World) we would have had a happily ever after and AS episodes 17 – 22 would not have existed. So the only way the light orbs could be used is if one is aware of their existence, and the only way Tomoya could be aware depended on two conditions:

1. Nagisa and Ushio must have died, causing Tomoya to despair over his entire life and subsequently be delivered into the Illusionary World;
2. Fuko must have revealed to Illusionary World Ushio who she and the Robot were in the Real world.

After reawakening at the bottom of the hill, Tomoya knows exactly what his, Nagisa’s and Ushio’s roles are. With this knowledge he is able to live the happy life which formerly was only a fantasy.

There may be more than one hidden world.
There’s a theory of multiple worlds existing, too.

Fujibayashi, I remember you saying something like that when you were talking about fortune telling.

Yes. There is no one future, but there are many possibilities. I still think that.

Kotomi, Tomoya & Ryou, After Story episode 16

This concludes my discourse. I will now summarize my interpretation of the entire plot of Clannad; please refer to this timeline diagram.

Everything up to AS 21 happens as we perceive it. This is the first psychological life; Nagisa dies, but Tomoya can’t save her; he is unaware of Ushio’s abilities. Upon death, Nagisa’s ailment is passed onto Ushio. Fuko, who has frequently transcended the worlds during her unconsciousness, is able to rouse Illusionary World Ushio and reveal her role in the Real World to her. This is the final scene if AS episode 22. Real World Ushio and Illusionary World Ushio are now connected. Ushio eventually dies from Nagisa’s ailment. Illusionary World Ushio creates the junk doll and brings the despairing Tomoya to her world. Since time does not exist in the Illusionary World, this occurs before Ushio’s dream and contact with Fuko. Illusionary World Ushio’s powers slowly start running out. Because of Fuko in the Real World, she dreams about who she and the Robot are, and she uses the last of her strength to send Tomoya back in time. This is the first third of AS episode 22. Tomoya awakens at the foot of the hill and dashes to Nagisa. He goes through his senior year similarly as we have seen in his first psychological life, but this time through, he is aware of Ushio’s abilities and is able to save both her and Nagisa. We don’t see this in detail; this is represented by the blurred surreal monochrome sequences in the second third of AS episode 22. As per the middle section of AS episode 22, Nagisa and Ushio are alive and cured from the ailment, and Tomoya, Nagisa and Ushio live happily ever after.

I ordered this custom Nokia 7310 last week. It’s a Europe-only promotion so I’m having my UK friend bring it back to me during his summer break.

Kyou Fujibayashi + Ryou Fujibayashi + pantsu + bed + phone = win

It ships with some additional backplates, so I can swap a more “normal” one on for more professional situations. If you’d like to give it a try, this is the website where you can create and order your own custom designs: http://83.150.66.193/Campaigns/UK/build.html

While on the topic of Clannad, I have finished drafting a giant entry explaining my interpretation of the plot and sequence of the entire Clannad TV series. After I watch the special and get some feedback from my friends, I will post it in both web and PDF formats. As it stands now it’s a massive 3,500 word seven-page entry.

Any suggestions as to what strap, what background, what ringtones, etc. I should put on the phone?

Clannad has taken quite a big turn from the standard visual novel genre, as I watch on it seems to be shifting towards those Korean dramas where peoples’ lives grow and fade intermittently. The characters and we, the audience, are caught between emotions. The coinciding uncertainty as to whether one should smile or cry is a very hazy emotion, yet Clannad is able to capture it spot on.

However, as accurately as Clannad captures these emotions, I find it harder and harder to sympathize with the characters—the transition from love story to life story is leaving me behind in my youth. Unrequited love is something I am familiar with (and surely most others, too) and in the situations they presented to me my mind jumped through my past experiences and absorbed itself into the Clannad world. But as the story progresses from unrequited love to mutual love, from mutual love to marriage, and from marriage to family, the situation drifts farther away and I no longer have a vantage point from which I can get a clear, close view of the situation. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but Clannad’s cohesion with my own life that was so eminent in the former parts slides ahead of me. It seems like these closing episodes will be something I will learn to understand over time, as I progress forward in my own life and gain the experiences necessary to make the connection. As it stands now, Okazaki & Co. have grown up ahead of me and show me how much more I have to go through.

It’s strange, however. I know that if Clannad had started at this point, I know would have no interest in watching it whatsoever. I have no recollections of ever going though marriage, supporting a family, having a child, and losing one dear to myself; in this case the relevance of this hypothetical Clannad naught but zero. Yet I watch on, knowing but not understanding; seeing but not feeling. Why does Clannad, which has advanced from the relevant to the irrelevant, still hold my interest?

I believe the answer is because it advanced, as opposed to starting somewhere already out of reach. I laughed with the characters and I cried with them, while they initially were walking alongside my memories. I got to see their deepest secrets, and in doing so I revealed my deepest secrets to them. The Theatre Club became a family, my family. So as it moved forward, although it surpassed the realm of my memories, we were still attached, holding on to the unbreakable thread also known as family. Now, as a spectator from behind, I get to see everything by the third eye, and even though I can no longer sympathize with them, I can still see how their actions led to them arriving at their unstipulated destinations.

This path they lay down before me is now a trail for me to follow or avoid. Now it is my turn to make the move forward in the footsteps of they who have left before me. I cannot feel what they feel now, but I know that by pursuing their tracks I will gain the memories that are needed to return me to their sides. Clannad is becoming a guide; a guide I can choose to follow or avoid to help me reach my own aspirations. I have pushed this argument quite far, but the bonds I have with the characters that have outgrown me stand as strongly as it did when the characters were within my grasp of maturity. I think it’s unarguable that I will enjoy the first season much more than the second, but After Story is making me face the reality of growing up everyone has to do so sooner or later in life.

Because I have yet to advance as far as the After Story characters, I have no memories, so I lose the ability to sympathize. However, this new observation deck offers me another activity: thinking. Watching these episodes triggered me to think about what life and love mean to me, what sacrifices are necessary for either and what I would do if I had to choose between the two. Do love and happiness equate? Do life and happiness equate? What action should we take when we advance along one path believing it leads to the best, only to discover in vain that tragedy lies ahead? These past few episodes have taught me nothing directly, but have made me think and analyse what it means to be alive and what it means to live.

I’m going to use this popular image for the characters an this picture I took myself for a backdrop.

Open up the photo in Photoshop and apply some artistic effects to make it look illustrated, since we want to loose the photograph feel. I used the Cutout filter in addition to some Poster Edges and Sumi-E.

Paste on the characters and erase away all of it’s surroundings. The magic wand and polygonal lasso tool can helpful here. Be sure the edge lines are clean so that it looks very smooth and clean.

After pasting the character’s, create a lens flare over the background, because it look’s so cool

Duplicate the Character layer, zoom in on it with the Transform tool and set the opacity down to 50%. This gives it a nice affect of depth and puts a big emphasis on the character.

Lets add some text now. We should make sure to write the names of the characters because the person that download your wallpaper may not know who she is. Comic Sans MS seems like a nice popular font, so lets use that. Add some layer affects if you want, I had to and white glow around it becuase otherwise the font would be unreadable with my favourite colour.

It was created in the image, please do not forget to write your name people know it. Also, make sure to put your name over a important part of the image so that every time they look there they know who created the awesome wallpaper. Also it’s very importance to don’t forget the name of the company that made the characters because for copyright issue’s.

Save the file, and dont forget to make for different monitors resonations. Now all we had to do is to upload them somewhere so that people can download them and easily too.

Download for standard screen resonation: 1024×768 | 1280×1024 | 1600×1200
for wide screen resonation: 1680×1050 | 1920×1200

…I decided to write this article because my previous wallpaper was getting out-dated, it featured Kagami Hiiragi and the Yuukos from Dennou Coil. I have three monitors, so that’s why it’s in that extremely widescreen resolution with the edges chopped off.

As I was looking for suitable replacement, I came across some more “Very Bad Wallpapers”. After a certain point I decided to start saving the bad ones and write an article about them. To the artists: if you ever read this, I don’t mean to insult you. Everyone has to start off somewhere and everyone takes wrong steps sometime or later, and I’m sure you nowadays you can create much better results, even before reading this un-tutorial.

In the end, I decided to make my own wallpaper, to keep a similar style to my previous one, and at the same time, I wrote this tutorial on some elements one should never do in making wallpapers, or at least be very vigilant towards. My drawing and digital illustration skills are far from impressive so I can only work from scans pre-existing and user creations. You may recognize some of the sources immediately, for others it might be a bit tricky because I did quite a bit of leg mix-and-matching, in addition to some minor redraws. Anyhow, as I promised, here is the wallpaper I made. It’s eerily simple compared to TsundereStorm, since it’s only some outlines with light layer effects. The characters are all major characters of the year 2008, and I have a slightly modified version for myself where I replaced Kyou with Nagisa, since, well, Kyou > Nagisa. Nothing fancy and no completely original illustration, but hey, it works for me. I do watermark my own creations but I do it in such a way that it’s not intrusive and really easy to remove.

1024×768 | 1280×1024 | 1600×1200 | 1680×1050 | 1920×1200

Can you distinguish the characters? I can’t give a good measure of how well one can recognize these silhouettes since I created the image myself. Good character design should have immediately recognizable outlines, I’ll hope that that’s the case.

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They’re both so adorably cute and out-of-character (which only adds to the cuteness!) Nagisa has turned into a very intimate tsundere and Tessa is off in her dream world where all there is is Sagara, Sagara, and maybe some more Sagara. You gotta love the facial panic of the men, too.

If you want to download the above videos for whatever reason, here are the links:

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