The true ending

[misanthropist]

First off, let me say that I'm aware that Key meant the true ending to be ambiguous, or open to your own interpretation, just like a song sometimes is.

But something about it is bugging me.

(WARNING, if you have not played this game and have not gotten the true ending, please DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!)

Originally, the ending that I got from it was that Tomoya did not survive the surgery and it was not successful. He regained enough of his memory to speak Tomoyo's name, which made Tomoyo break down crying (happy tears obviously). But he soon after died and Tomoyo stayed strong, helping people online. Then when Tomoyo died, she was reunited with Tomoya in the afterlife.

After doing another playthrough, I am starting to see a different ending outcome. The one I'm seeing now is that Tomoya DID survive a SUCCESSFUL surgery and basically Tomoya and Tomoyo lived happily ever after. Tomoya still decided to help people online because she's a genuinely good person.

The part that's bugging me is that, if memory serves me, during the ending Tomoyo says a few things that contradict the two aforementioned endings.


"There were times when I cried"

"I waited for you for 8 months (when they broke up during the school ark), then I waited for you for 3 years, how long do you plan on making me wait" (indicating this is what she said when the possibly reunited in the afterlife).


I can see how people are thinking Tomoya survived the surgery and lived happily ever after with Tomoyo.
But suppose the happy true ending is true, and Tomoya and Tomoyo lived happily ever after, why would Tomoyo say those things if Tomoya survived a successful surgery and lived?
Or am I just reading WAY too much into this?

[Nicolas]

maybe it's:
8 months - breaking up during school
3 years - time he was in a "coma" of memory loss
"how long do you plan on making me wait" - time for rehabilitation

[misanthropist]

That seems quite possible as that DOES make a lot of sense.

[misanthropist]

The part where she says "There were times when I cried" still contradicts the two endings.

[Dix-Neuf]

Actually for both death and living interpertations that actually makes a lot of sense.

For death I think Wolverine said it best:

Originally posted by start:

It's like someone shot a cannon ball right through your stomach, leaving a great big hole. Eventually, it starts to close up from the outside in... And one day it'll be different, the load won't feel as heavy. 'Course, then you'll hear a song or somebody will laugh or the wind will blow the wrong way... And the hole will tear open again.

Believe it or not, it heals back faster each time. A death is like losing a job or getting a divorce, you don't "get over it". You have to integrate it into you life, learn to live with it. But... life does get better.
[End quote]

I imagine that would be what a death ending would be like for her, she would cry at the funeral and probably a long time afterwards. Until one day the hole heals and for a time she can go on normally... but then a song would play, she crosses past grounds, talks to old faces or the wind blows the wrong way. And again the hole opens and her tears flow until again the hole closes.

That quote is probably how she would descibe it too.

For a "living" ending I imagine it would be quite stressful and taxing depending on how you interpert his survival. If he ended up a vegitable of course she'd cry. Her husband would be brain dead and probably a drooling or babling mess that's better off actually dead. If he ended up with anterograde amnesia, well that would be depressing enough to cry over as well.

Even if it was just something like him not being able to control a bodypart(s) it would still be a struggle because certain activities and places they could go together would be lost, ex: if he lost use of his leg(s) most jobs would be off the table, stair heavy and stair only areas would be hell or out of the question entirely, swimming and going to beaches would probably not be a good idea and doing basically anything would be hell.

And of in the event of a complete recovery senario there's the PTSD possibiity, as I'm sure dealing with three years of that and then a rehabilitation period that could last days, months or years with the possibilty of relapse... yeah.

At least that's what I think, but what do you think?

[misanthropist]

It looks like you really put a lot of thought into this.
I respect that.

As much as I LOVE (and I relly do love) happy endings, I'm of the camp that the true ending was meant to be a tragedy.
One clue that cued me to the true ending being intended to be sad was, during the true ending Tomoyo said something like: "There were times when I cried."

Let's suppose, for the sake of argument, Tomoya survived his surgery and not only gained his memories back but made a complete recovery. Why would Tomoyo say "There were times when I cried" if her husband survived, gained his memories back and made a complete recovery?

That's why, for all intents and purposes, even though it doesn't make sense, accoring to game logic, I consider the happy ending, the one where they go back home and live as a happy family, is the true ending to me.

[Mich-666]

Tomoyo is standing alone in the end, and she mentions she was crying alone.

Whole game is about moving on after something bad happens to you, coping with death, standing up again after being reduced to a crawl, overcoming bad things the life offers you.
I think the Tomoya death outcome is the most logical and the most impactful.

It's sad, yes, but the message here is that it's still worth living your life on despite all hurdles it gives you. That there is also a hope hidden in wonderful memories you make and those are the ones you have to treasure as noone can take them away from you.

For me this story was actually even more intimate and impactful than whole Clannad itself.

Just one note here: The original version didn't have that aftercredits scene at all, only Tomoyo, standing on the beach by herself. And that was intended end from the start. Just because some fans didn't liked the outcome they changed it later in Perfect Edition (which is Steam based on AFAIK) to more happier outcome... but that was just simple fanservice, the original story story was supposed to be sad. Also, even in PE you can view that last scene as happy memory only, a dream if you like, nothing else.

You can watch original true end here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k36e7tqdM4k

[tayslay.wift]

There's no reset mechanism in Tomoyo After like in Clannad After Story, sadly. Once he's out, he's out. No orb of light to save him

[Tomato & Egg]

As I read the last scenes I think the true ending is that Tomoya dies. Tomoyo mentioned that the surgery was a failure although Tomoya got back the memory. If Tomoya did not die, the surgery could not have been a failure, for whatever repercussions the surgery still achieved the goal. Together with what Tomoyo said in later scenes, I believe the irresistable inference is that Tomoya must have died in the true ending.

Ironically, all the "bad endings" are actually "good endings" for Tomoya in the sense that Tomoya survived and in some bad endings he and Tomoyo lived together happily with Tomo. The "bad endings" are only bad for Tomoyo because she would not grow and become the great person in the true ending.

That is the reason why i think the true ending is truly impactful, touching and impressive. If Tomoya did survive the surgery and rehab fully, whatever happened to Tomoyo in that three years would eventually fade in memory; but only with Tomoya's death we will feel that all the waiting and endurance in those three lost years were in vain for Tomoyo. I believe that is the point that the story wants to tell: many things you do in your life will be in vain and bad endings are also guaranteed for some cases, but you will still do it, live with it, and move on. The thing is, can we find a meaning? Can we help others to find the meaning? Of course the true ending is depressing enough, but this is life. Clannad is a story about life after all.

[MKTw0]

considering the fact that the original version of this VN had nothing but the "Tomoya dies" ending (this title is WIP lol) I thought that it was the "true ending" as well. However:

Something was off so I'm going to share my thoughts with you. Tomoyo asks how long is Tomoya making her wait again but is that the question to ask a dead person? Not at all. If they were to meet in the afterlife it would be Tomoya who is actually waiting for Tomoyo and not the other way around. If I take a look at the last CG I can clearly see Tomoya and Tomoyo together the way we know them = young adults. If they happened to meet in the afterlife this way Tomoyos age would be off. She should be much older right? And we know for sure that she would never commit suicide anytime (I mean that would make no sense if you look at Takafumis past).

So we have:
- Tomoyo and Tomoya as young adults
- Tomoya does look healthy in the last CG
- Tomoyo is the one waiting for Tomoya not the other way around

so far it looks like Tomoya is still alive BUT

- Tomoya falls asleep deeply (that's when he died in the original version)

If I would summarize all the given hints I'd say he takes some time recovering from the surgery but lives in the end. To be honest it reflects the games message much better anyway. Sure it's not super dramatic and sad like this but if the old ending was intended why would they touch and change it?

that was a rhetorical question ofc I don't want an answer since it's my personal interpretation of the ending.
In conclusion I'd say that Tomoya dies in the 18+ and he survives the all ages version to close the chapter with a smile

off topic: Hearing sunoharas voice in the end was enough to deal with anyway :'(

But yea idk fee free to share your opinion

PS: I only did one playthrough of this version and I got the "tomoya lives" (name is WIP agin lol) ending so how did you end up getting a different one?

[vegitotssj3]

Originally posted by 72 Hookers:

considering the fact that the original version of this VN had nothing but the "Tomoya dies" ending (this title is WIP lol) I thought that it was the "true ending" as well. However:

Something was off so I'm going to share my thoughts with you. Tomoyo asks how long is Tomoya making her wait again but is that the question to ask a dead person? Not at all. If they were to meet in the afterlife it would be Tomoya who is actually waiting for Tomoyo and not the other way around. If I take a look at the last CG I can clearly see Tomoya and Tomoyo together the way we know them = young adults. If they happened to meet in the afterlife this way Tomoyos age would be off. She should be much older right? And we know for sure that she would never commit suicide anytime (I mean that would make no sense if you look at Takafumis past).

So we have:
- Tomoyo and Tomoya as young adults
- Tomoya does look healthy in the last CG
- Tomoyo is the one waiting for Tomoya not the other way around

so far it looks like Tomoya is still alive BUT

- Tomoya falls asleep deeply (that's when he died in the original version)

If I would summarize all the given hints I'd say he takes some time recovering from the surgery but lives in the end. To be honest it reflects the games message much better anyway. Sure it's not super dramatic and sad like this but if the old ending was intended why would they touch and change it?

that was a rhetorical question ofc I don't want an answer since it's my personal interpretation of the ending.
In conclusion I'd say that Tomoya dies in the 18+ and he survives the all ages version to close the chapter with a smile

off topic: Hearing sunoharas voice in the end was enough to deal with anyway :'(

But yea idk fee free to share your opinion

PS: I only did one playthrough of this version and I got the "tomoya lives" (name is WIP agin lol) ending so how did you end up getting a different one?

just finished the game and i have same thought with you.
In the end Tomoya also say let's live a wonderful life together. Surely not live in heaven.
But i don't like that kind of open ending. I do hope they should let us see Tomoya and Tomoyo live together,visit his father like they did with Tomoya and Nagisa in Clannad.
PS: what is playthrough you play to get the "tomoya lives"

[MKTw0]

to get the same ending as me you have to:

Keep fighting the dudes untill they give up, keen going while trying to beat takafumi, make sure to have takafumi stay at tomoyas place (take Kanako and Tomo with you), build the school and decline pretty much everything Tomoyo offers.

I don't know if it matters but I exhausted every dialogue. If you get every single CG in a playthrough you should be good but I'm not even sure if you can miss any of them in the steam version

[vegitotssj3]

Originally posted by 72 Hookers:

to get the same ending as me you have to:

Keep fighting the dudes untill they give up, keen going while trying to beat takafumi, make sure to have takafumi stay at tomoyas place (take Kanako and Tomo with you), build the school and decline pretty much everything Tomoyo offers.

I don't know if it matters but I exhausted every dialogue. If you get every single CG in a playthrough you should be good but I'm not even sure if you can miss any of them in the steam version

thanks.
If so that is the ending i got yesterday.
Still a open ending (not my ending type)

[Falcon]

Heyho all,

so I finished the true ending 10min ago...and I have the same thoughts as 72 Hookers except for one thing. He said following:

"If I would summarize all the given hints I'd say he takes some time recovering from the surgery but lives in the end. To be honest it reflects the games message much better anyway. Sure it's not super dramatic and sad like this but if the old ending was intended why would they touch and change it?"

It could be that way, that he is taking much time recovering from surgery. But I do not know...my thought of the deep slumber is that it could also be a coma...

She is spending maybe another 1-2 years alone, helping other people out who suffers from much same tragedies...but then he awakes and resulting in those CGs after the credits...

Maybe I just want to be optimistic here...but right now it does make sense to me^^

[MKTw0]

uh I never thought about that option. I like it! I think I'm fine with it being a coma and tomoya waking up in the end. Sounds Key-like :)

[Compliant]

Originally posted by misanthropist:

That ending was rough on me. I think he definitely died and they met in the afterlife. There's no way I can talk myself into accepting otherwise and somehow get that magical rescue for my feelings that I got in CLANNAD. I think it's a great game and a beautiful impactful ending, even if I also hate it and wish it were different.

That said I went back and got the comfy bad ending where she defeats you with sexual temptation, just so that's my final playthrough. No so bad an ending. "Comfy" as others are calling it. I remember thinking the bad endings of Tomoyo in CLANNAD were unusually...realistic and acceptable and kinda happy compared to the other routes, and this game followed that trend well.

The vibe from those Tomoyo bad endings from both CLANNAD and this is: We aren't perfect, but we're young lovers and we've got eachother and we'll do the best we can and live the best we can? Just like real life.

I accept in my mind the bad + happy ending that Tomoya lives because I realize...minus the sexual temptation failure at the end, Tomoya isn't pathetic. He still did awesome things for his friends and lover, even if he didn't quite get to Akio's level of "save everybody".

I think he's banked enough light orbs from CLANNAD at this point that he flippin' deserves that humble happy ending. He's not quite the badass as he is in the route he dies, he doesn't quite have the respect from the younger two members of the team, but he's still the kind and amazing guy who scored at least one or two light orbs in this life and deserves some happiness.

Or maybe he didn't. Because the event that created the light orbs never happened. Ah ♥♥♥♥. It's really an alternate reality. Still, he's awesome, and I want him to live! ♥♥♥♥.

I guess I don't regret playing this game? I GUESS? I need a hug.