Once again, I’m not sure where to begin. Unlike last episode where I was a little bit too warm to post coherently, this episode brings about all the other feelings of .. humor at first but then extreme catharsis. (Am I using that word right?) The truth that became so much more evident at the end of this episode that everyone witnessed… I want to be sympathetic but if I were there with them, I’d feel just as helpless.

So in short we have more Tomoyo development, a hilarious face-off for Tomoya’s affections through food, but then Nagisa comes back, and everybody gets a huge reality check. And while many of us expected it, some of us didn’t really want to believe it. Then you add in how it actually happened and I can’t say anything else other than I’m just stunned…

That lovely neck… *swoon*

But I have to go in order. First Kyou. After the blood-rushing high that was episode 17, we’re treated to much more visual teasing that is Kyou sucking on a lollipop. To quote Kurogane: “Oh god, Kyou. Oh god.” And then the confrontation with Tomoyo was awesome (more on that later). But that all didn’t matter … because at the end, we saw Kyou’s true feelings — ones we’ve also known for a while but had never seen surface. Of course she likes Tomoya. And we see here that Ryou knew it, too.

Maybe that’s why she reacted the way she has been in previous episodes. I just thought Ryou was apologizing for being passive about trying to get Tomoya or out of concern for Nagisa, but maybe she was holding back because she didn’t want to hurt Kyou’s feelings either. Ryou has probably been rather underrated in the series so far, I think; while she has behaved rather meekly on the outside, I find her very thoughtful on the inside after realizing all this.

Fork in the road; choose your path; choose your future

And she gets to show a lot more of her depth with her conversation with Tomoya — I’m happy she’s able to talk to him finally, too. It’s good she realizes that fortune-telling isn’t absolute, but it’s still a fun hobby. And her explanation about several futures reminds me of Kotomi’s arc and the string theory, so that theme returns again.

Tomoyo is the primary focus for the most part here. I wonder how she spent her time before going to Tomoya’s house all the time, but I totally don’t mind this change of lifestyle. 2D>3D notes how refreshingly short Tomoyo is, and I’ll admit I’m a fan of shorter girls, too. Add in her athletic skills despite the height, and you have one really enjoyable person. I’m surprised Tomoya’s dad doesn’t joke more about a girl being over, but I guess a lot of jokes haven’t really been told around the house.

All the club competitions were great to watch. Like Totali I also immersed myself in the Bamboo Blade moment of Tomoyo in kendo gear. I wonder if any of Tomoyo’s fangirl crowd also participates in the Kyou fanclub. Seeing her in bloomers wasn’t as great as I thought it would be — maybe because she didn’t get a real close-up shot as Kyou did. Or, despite her greater athleticism, Tomoyo just doesn’t compare to tsundere thighs. Later, when I saw the tennis match, I was expecting only the action — with some climactic (but not over-the-top like Prince of Tennis) ending that would seal Tomoyo’s victory. But instead all the other Nagisa-related stuff happens…

Oh, I do hope she takes a moment to express her platform after all those wins. To be voted on just because she’s a good all-around athlete isn’t what being student council president is about. ^^; But I’m just being picky here.

But Sunohara taking at least nine baseball hits to the face was very, very commendable. Why he never learned to guard his face after the fourth one or so I’ll never know. Perhaps he deserved to get hit then. But I always enjoy how funny the guy is; Tomoya is a great friend to him, but he oftentimes isn’t.

Ah, Tomoyo’s family … (again I thought it would be the only emotional part of the episode, but I was proven so wrong) My eyes started glimmering like Kyou’s when Tomoyo was delivering the climax of her story, how her recovering brother would just wish for family moments like watching the sakura. And Tomoyo cries (which only prompts me to do the same) plentiful KyoAni tears. All I could think about was the overall family theme of Clannad being referenced again .. and also how the younger brother resembles Tomoya.

For the first instant I saw him, I thought it was another “I met you in the past” scene with Tomoya and Tomoyo, but it wasn’t him. Instead this kid, Takafumi, actually goes through with his threat to jump in the river/stream/off-a-bridge if his parents wouldn’t reconcile. What surprises me more is that it actually worked, but that makes for a good story. She and him look so different sitting side-by-side, though. Tomoyo seems tall again … but still in her trademark headband.

The food scene had me grinning the whole time. Oh how I wanted a duel between Kyou and Tomoyo. And then Ryou got in on the urging, too. Tomoya was just looking for some help, and he turned to Kotomi, his last hope .. but to no avail (however I agree with Ascaloth’s opinion that Kotomi was just innocently following along what others were saying — or that she really just wanted him to eat her food because it would be a nice thing, not because she it was some hidden symbol of affection).

Oh god, Kotomi. Oh god.

Kotomi really is a cutie, especially in that shoulder-revealing dress. At the end of the ep, she had the least reaction to the Nagisa revelation. But I wonder if that’s because 1.) she didn’t notice it as much as Kyou and the others did or 2.) because her arc is over, she wouldn’t have had recurring feelings for Tomoya. But I’m not sure if there was a lot of romance floating around her arc anyway; it was kinda reshaped as a deep friendship the whole way.

But yeah .. quite the dilemma with all the food. I would probably stretch it out as far as possible with conversations, so the lunch ends up taking several hours — that’s the only way I could stomach that much food, even if it all tastes like heaven.

Fuuko just added more to the hilarity with her starfish creations. She completed the polygon of stress: five girls wanting Tomoya’s attention … but she really did appear sooner than I expected. At least this was a humorous scene, so her appearance wasn’t so distracting. But I guess I should just continue to keep her in mind rather than prepare myself to move on without her and then suddenly get struck again by another surprise pop-up.

Is Kyou threatening to tickle him? That surely would not help the digestive process. And poor Botan who truly felt the fearsome atmosphere.

All these girls have really hot Sunday clothes by the way. Bare shoulders must be the ‘in’ thing despite the weather also being likely warm.

Nagisa .. well .. unfortunately I have some bias going on right now based on my disappointment that the other girls’ arcs are probably all over now. But Tomoya has just decided. From blushes back in Kotomi’s garden to him missing her in the club room last episode .. now this confirms everything pretty much. If he’s protecting her without even realizing it, of course the other girls would pick that up. They’re kinda good at that.

Kyou, dear…

There are so many downcast gazes this episode .. in places I didn’t even realize on my first watch through the ep. Kyou was breaking down from the start, really. And then you add in Ryou and then finally Tomoyo giving up the chase. Echoing Kurogane, he just broke three hearts in an instant. It couldn’t have been one at a time where they at least have a heartfelt talk with each other. Instead they all crash at once: the twins having each other for support and Tomoyo always independently strong already. It’s part of what leaves me so speechless at the end and unable to give any full support for Nagisa right now. At least Tomoyo did end up winning the election with her new, positive publicity.

But I could watch this tennis match over and over again and see pages worth of unexpressible emotion. Kyou and Ryou hardly enjoyed the game at all. Neither of them noticed when Nagisa was hit by the ball, which is what you normally look at if you had been paying attention to the game. Kotomi couldn’t help but be a little cute as she was observing things around her (it reminded me of the Ibuki wedding where she looked so confused around all the people), but then Tomoyo makes her conclusion.

And Kyou just wanted to push the truth away as long as possible. She wouldn’t even turn around when Tomoya walked Nagisa off the court. I could barely read the subs anymore; my gaze was fixed on Kyou’s eyes, searching for what would happen next — the slightest of movements that would speak volumes.

Then we hit the climax. Tears and broken hearts and mutual understanding. I like Xebek’s compliment of these girls realizing Tomoya’s feelings on their own, even though I think it would be more gentle to have a private rejection conversation .. just so they can at least confess and get their feelings out and done with (Kei from ef needed it).

Others have said that the image song “Over” was awkward since it was so upbeat. I will disagree, but it’s probably because I heard the song for the first time this episode; I thought it was a new composition. But while the song itself could sound happy, in the setting of this scene, I could feel the irony and the conflict. Tomoyo’s tennis match on its own is exciting and thrilling. Nagisa and Tomoya are getting into it. But the atmosphere is balanced by the depression of the other girls, and the vocals are soft enough to reflect that sadder tone. I’ve been lonesome at active parties before, and the noise just kinda gets drowned out while I sit there by myself. So that’s how I identified with Kyou and Ryou: the silent pain in their hearts was louder than any cheers — image song included — right around them. Tomoyo, too, would have that moment (in the above screencap), but she had the benefit of the match as a worthy distraction.

Powerful stuff. I forgot to expect it after the epic ep17, but I even forgot the first half of this ep by that point, and it’s KyoAni once again knowing how to lead their viewers’ emotions wherever they want. What’s to happen next now with all the girls’ arcs done except for Nagisa’s?

I thank Hinano for her screencaps of the game and remarks on the comparisons between the anime and game (even though we don’t share the same views about the emotional part and Fuuko ^^;).

Tomoya has three bars of cellular signal

We have to wait two weeks for episode 19! According to RC, there’s women’s soccer on Japanese TV.

~Crisu