Clannad Character Spotlight Challenge: Kotomi Ichinose
Warning Ahead: Spoilers for Clannad
We're moving on to week three of our Clannad Character Challenge. Last week we did the Tsundere Kyou Fujibayashi, and the comments are much appreciated. Seems I'm starting to catch on some; good, cause after this week we have like another 7 to go XD. And with that in mind, it's time for us to introduce...
Kotomi Ichinose
Basics: Yes, this week's spotlight is being shown on that shy, socially awkward genius Kotomi-chan (we must refer her to that or she won't listen to us ^_^). Kotomi is the school's resident genius, and her name is spelled with three hiragana. She is in Class A, here hobbies include reading, and she would like you to be her friend. For all intents and purposes she lives in the library to the point she has a key to it and is where she reads books that would probably make all other students cry trying to read it. Her parents were also famous researchers in what amounts to string theory. One of the main heroines of Clannad, and actually gets her entire arc shown in the anime.
Character Design: Like Ryou, I think they were going more for 'cute' in this design. Kotomi technically has long hair, but the focus of her hairstyle is that area right around her head (with those little ball things) that makes you forget that sometimes unless you are paying attention. Her hair and eyes are purple like Kyou's, and she is in fact the third girl in the series with purple hair. This makes me believe that someone over at Key might have a fetish for this sort of thing (joking by the way...or am I?). Her eyes tend to be big and expressive, usually with a puzzled or confused look on her face to emphasize that she has no clue what she is doing in a particular social situation. Overall, as Kyou points out, Kotomi is sort of like a lost child that you just can't help but have some kind of 'maternal instinct' for.
Kotomi's overall character type is a little harder to pin down. Obviously, she is the Genius Ditz; one of if not the smartest high schooler in Japan, but put her in a social situation (at first) and she's rather clueless and, well, awkward (how else would someone being able to accuse Nagisa of being a bully XD). She's also a little bit of a Cloudcuckoolander, so lost in her own world she didn't even notice Sunohara when he knocked over bookcases. That, and her 'magical incantation' (which the informational things tell is is quoted from a Lovecraft story...) thing makes us wonder sometimes "what is she thinking about". However, and I'll save the explanation for later, she is also The Woobie. Trust me, if you don't get it now, you'll see why in a bit.
Personality: The Character Design section really hit the high points of Kotomi's character, but I'm not afraid to go a little more indepth with it. First, the Genius Ditz/Cloudcuckoolander part. As mentioned, when we first see Kotomi, she is completely incapable of noticing someone else in the room unless the person calls her "Kotomi-chan." Otherwise, she just sits there, reading her book, and occasionally wanting to take scissors to it. If it wasn't for the fact that the books were things dealing with advanced mathematics and physics, you'd probably be wondering just what is wrong with that girl (well, you might still be wondering that but...). Once she starts to open up a little, she still retains some of this ditziness. Her short lived comedy career involved her constantly messing up timing on even the simplest of jokes, and I have a feeling she might not have been completely sure what the joke was. Then of course, the violin; anyone who thinks that her playing is 'beautiful' definitely must be in her own world, and I don't doubt she really thinks it beautiful. Sadly, the people who are listening to her don't get to enjoy Kotomi's world.
Next, Kotomi starts off the series as a Shrinking Violet that puts Ryou to shame. The only person she opens up to at first is Tomoya (for good reason), and when he starts taking her around to meet people, clings onto him for dear life. First question she ever asks of anyone is "Are you a bully?" And even if it isn't the first question asked, you can bet it will be asked eventually. Usually she is doing this from behind Tomoya, but eventually she warms up to others (except Kyou who kind of scares her, but she scares everyone *is smacked by dictionary*). Eventually, this all culminates in her violin concert, where she stand up in front of a big crowd of people
to play the violin. She shows little fear during the event, and after calming down some eventually plays rather well according to Nagisa...after knocking Akio, Sanae, Misae's Cat, Sunohara, and Bontan ^_^. Still, it's the effort that counts.
Of course, underneath the kind, timid, genius-ditziness lies a girl who is suffering some rather serious trauma. In my personal opinion, Kotomi probably has the most tragic-ridden back-story of all the Clannad girls due to her parent's death. Since the last thing she said to them was "I hate you," it's understandable. As shown in her arc, Kotomi is suffering from some serious guilt related to their death. She feels that since she was selfish, God punished her by taking them away, so she says "I'll be a good girl" (will have more to say on this later) and promises to not be selfish and to study hard and etc. if she gets them back.Then, in a fit of despair and probably some range, burns what she thinks is her parents' important paper (it wasn't, but she didn't know). This really doesn't help her guilt issue, and so combined with her natural timidness and the trauma of being left alone in the world, she ends up isolating herself into her studies in hopes of making up for it, to follow in their footsteps. It also explains the breakdown she has when she thinks Ryou has been in a bus accident; another person she is close to might have died, and she just couldn't handle it. This is where that "Woobie" trait mentioned in the Character Design comes in; her life has just been so bad, and she's just such a sweet girl you just can't help but feel sorry for her and want to give her a big hug.
And since that paragraph basically revealed it, might as well get to...
Storyline: Now, I'll admit right here I have a biased view of this story due to it's ending, and I'll explain why at that part. But don't think this means I won't criticize it; this arc also has what I feel is the biggest WTF? moment in Clannad XD. Now let's dive in!
Kotomi is introduced early enough in the series, but except for a few appearances, doesn't really do much till her arc. It's understandable though; what were they going to do, have Tomoya drag Kotomi around throughout the Fuko arc? Her natural timidness meant she was basically resigned to the library, and since getting over it was about half the Kotomi arc, they couldn't move her from it at all. So, I'll let it slide; it happens. Besides, she has her own entire arc so she really can't complain about not getting screen-time XD.
The arc itself starts when Tomoya decides to try recruiting her into the Drama Club since, well, the last girl obviously couldn't do it (what, with being Fuko and in a coma and all that stuff). He tricks Sunohara into trying to flirt with her (fails), and then goes in himself. Seeing that Sunohara knocked over a bookcase and she still didn't notice, along with chatting with her a bit, Tomoya decides to help her make friends. Dragging her around, he introduces her to Kyou, Ryou, and Nagisa (though maybe not in that order, I can't remember). She hits it off with Ryou and Nagisa pretty nicely, though she calls them bullies. Nagisa for telling her she would have to cry if the role demanded it, and Ryou because she told her the fortune said she wouldn't be able to make friends (great confidence builder, huh XD), though Ryou saved herself by pointing out fortunes aren't written in stone and can be changed. Kyou's encounter was a little more brutal, and it seems at first they failed with Kyou walking off. Later she ambushed Kotomi, giving her a big hug, and then forces Tomoya to take them all out somewhere.
Cue the Drama Club room. Kotomi introduces herself to everyone, and everyone introduces themselves. As part of an attempt to help Kotomi in learning to socialize, Tomoya wants to teach her comedy, and during Kyou's speech interjects with "Her hobby is bullying weaklings"...the resulting kick confirms his suspicion, but they laugh it off as a friendly jab. Kotomi is really starting to be more social, playing around with the magic wand prop and attempting to make some jokes and humor. Let's just say that Kotomi was not made to be a comedian, and so utterly fails that is sort of funny in a way. Kyou, however, crushes her dreams a little bit, though Ryou and Nagisa stand by her and want to try and improve their 'jabbing' abilities as well; Kyou crushes their dreams as well.
Then comes a moment we all fear; Kotomi hears the people playing the violin in the music room. Entranced (and she played it when she was younger) she goes in and, with their permission, plays. Soon the whole room is down in agony; Kotomi+Violin=WMD. A few incidents later, Kyou comes up with a plan to help Kotomi make friends and play the violin by arranging a concert, but before that, well, the scene below occurs.
Eventually we arrive at the library on a Sunday, with Tomoya ending up having a nice afternoon with Kotomi. She gives him a delightful apple pie, tea, and some foreshadowing (wonderful part of every lunch) as she quotes off her "Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, and yesterday a deer, and today, you." poem. Now, at first this seems out of place, but later on this makes sense somewhat since it was a poem she read to Tomoya when they were younger. Now, what really seemed out of place was Tomoya's dream from this scene, when he falls asleep in Kotomi is reading to him. Three letter's express my opinion: WTF? I mean, what was in that pie and tea that made him have that dream? It was rather weird, creepy, and the line (remembering it best I can) made by Nagisa in it "the dangos will make love tonight"...yeah, bad time for me to have an over-active imagination. Really, I would love for someone to tell me there was some kind of symbolism or foreshadowing or something in that dream cause then it would make some sense. If not, taking into the account there is no mention of it afterward but saying basically "I had a weird dream" it's a: Big Lipped Alligator Moment. So then, why don't we move on....
The day of the concert arrives, Kyou has blackmailed most of them and making money off of earplugs, and Kotomi's big moment arrives. Nagisa says she has gotten better, but then probably the most drama-comedic moment occurs as one by one people fall victim to the music. Misae's cat and Botan go down together, Sunohara is beaten by Tomoyo (again) after trying to get her to 'save' him, and Sanae falls in Akio's arms. Oddly enough, the Kotomi theme can be heard underneath it all; ironic since her theme is a violin. Later on Nagisa says she got better as time went on, but I have a feeling by that point it was because everyone had earplugs. Kotomi of course is as happy as can be...till they run into a strange man in a coat that we later learn is her godfather. He wants to talk to her, but she calls him a "bad guy", and he backs off when the others intervene. No offense to the man, but what do you think would happen when you approach a girl in a trenchcoat, sunglasses, and a hat. That is, like, stalker-stereotype right there. At least he admits later on he was acting suspicious.
Socializing continues as everyone goes out on the town for the day. We get a nice return of Fuko here in the crane game, though fail to get the stuffed toy (she, however, walks away with a lovely star....fish ^_^). Everybody is having fun, but later on after everyone leaves, the guy shows up again. Once again he fails in his attempt to talk to Kotomi, and the drama part of the story begins to weave it's tale. The biggest sign of this occurs when Nagisa comes running up to everyone, saying that Ryou might have been in a bus crash. It turns out she is all right, but Kotomi (as mentioned in the personality) has a major emotional meltdown, laying on the ground crying and saying "I'll be a good girl." Now, personally, I thought it a little overdramatic with the screaming and face, but it's an understandable level of drama so I have to let it slide. After all, she probably just relived in her mind loosing her parents and all of that situation so I'd probably be down on the ground in fetal position as well. It ends with Kotomi going home and locking herself up in it. Tomoya talks with the guy again, and we learn he isn't a bad guy; he just wants to talk with her. We also get foreshadowing and signs something is wrong, but nobody will tell them anything and leave it up to her.
Tomoya goes over to her house to speak with her, and memories of the past start coming in. It isn't until he finds Kotomi in the room with all the clippings related to her parents that the big story comes out. Turns out Kotomi knew Tomoya from when they were kids, and pretty good friends to boot. However, her parent's had to leave for a meeting on her birthday, and in anger she yells at them and tells them she hates them. Then, later on, no one shows up to her birthday party, and her godfather arrives and tells her that her parents died in a plane crash (such a happy birthday, right?). In despair, she prays to God, promising "I'll be a good girl" if she could have them back. Trust me, nothing is sadder than seeing a little girl running around the house trying to find her parents saying "I'll be a good girl" while knowing no matter what, they aren't coming back. How could you not cry during a moment like that. Heck, I'm tearing up just typing about it. If you doubt the idea that her story is the most tragic backstory, then you apparently never watched this part of the arc. Of course, it gets worse. In anger/despair, she decides to burn the "paper" since such a foul thing shouldn't exist since it took her parents away. Tomoya finally arrives, wanting to apologize for ditching her (as we learned later he never showed up due to embarrassment of going to girl's party and not being able to get any of his friends to come). He finds her alone, crying, with the room on fire. The godfather and another man arrive and put it out, but obviously the trauma is already done.
So then, everyone decides that they need to do something for Kotomi and her upcoming birthday. Tomoya begins working on cleaning up the yard, and the others go to get her that violin from the music room. Both have some issues; the yard is a whole lot of work, and the violin breaks after a biker runs into them. Eventually both of the issues get solved, though the can't get the violin in time for her birthday (so we get an IOU instead), and the other pitch in to help Tomoya. After one last night of work, the place is ready, and Tomoya settles down for a nice nap where he dreams his side of the story of him and Kotomi. He had run into her yard while chasing down a butterfly, and the two of them became close friends. They would eat together, she's read or play violin, and all around fun times. Tomoya promises to go to her birthday party, but doesn't do so because none of his friends would come and he is embarrassed. He arrives to apologize and, well, the rest is told above. Sadly, he forgets her over time, but when he wakes up, she's standing there happy.
Kotomi tells Tomoya she never forgot him; he was her only friend (awwww). She had been waiting for him to come and get her, which was why she was so happy when he came to the library. Also explains why it was so easy for her to open up to him. The two have a wonderful moment staring up at the sky, and the next day Kotomi returns to school. This alone would have been a great ending to the arc; Kotomi has overcome her shyness, is surrounded by friends that love her, and reunited with her old friend from childhood. But there is still the issue of the godfather and her parent's, which leads to that moment that I said was my favorite arc ending.
Handing over the briefcase, Koto
mi opens it to find not the paper, but a teddy bear and a note from her parents. The note simply said "If you find this suitcase, please take it to our daughter" (paraphrased) and was signed by them. Kotomi is confused, but the grandfather tells her that there was no second copy of the paper, that what she had burned was a bear catalog. Her parents had removed everything from the suitcase but the bear and the letter, and sent it off to sea. Now this is the heartwarming moment for me: we get a montage of people ALL OVER THE WORLD passing that suitcase on. No offense Nagisa, Fuko, Kyou, and Tomoyo, but your arc endings didn't involve the entire world working together to bring a little girl the last possessions of her parents. I mean, really, it went all over the place :US, France, China, Russia, Egypt, and a whole lot of other places. Personally, this was just a Global Crowning Moment of Heartwarming for me; I'm a diehard optimist when it come down to it, so this really struck me deep. Just the thought of people working so hard to give a girl they didn't know her parent's last words and gifts, well, I just have to grab a tissue real quick.....okay, moving on *sniffles*
But then it gets better. There is a note alongside the bear, and I just had to go and get the note in its entirety for this review, and I think works as a great ending for this part of the review (minus a little closing stuff at the end):
Dear Kotomi-chan,
The world is beautiful. Even when they are filled with sadness and tears, open your eyes. Do what you wish to do. Become what you want to be. Make friends. Don't rush, and take your time in becoming an adult. He's a bear we found at a gift shop. We looked around many places and he was the biggest one. We didn't have time and couldn't send him from the airport.
Our cute Kotomi,
Happy Birthday
The arc ends with everyone heading over to Kotomi's house, and Kyou mentioning more are coming. Kyou is happy, smiling, and says that "My yard is big" in response to the question if they can fit everyone. We then get a nice image of the bear and the violin together in the chair. A beautiful ending to a beautiful arc. So you know what Kotomi's dad, I agree with you 100%. The world is beautiful, and I dare anyone to tell me otherwise.
Oh, and I almost forgot; Kotomi arc, when discussing the 'hidden world' thing, gives some explanation/foreshadowing of the Illusionary World concept that keeps occurring in the series but gets big strength in After Story. So, yeah, we're done here ^_^.
Summary: Kotomi is, and I'll say this again, the girl in my view with the most tragic backstory, and I think also one of the most uplifting of the arc endings. Of course they all are uplifting, but this one just hits it big time with the whole world being involved in creating it. When Kotomi shows up, you just have to want to give her a big hug with her innocence and naivete, and then when you find out her story, just because she really needs one (that is the power of the Woobie). It is a little sad she gets kind of marginalized as the story goes on, but that's the Nagisa-is-main-girl effect in place. Still, for this arc of hers, she gets a moment in the spotlight. With laughs, WTF Tomoya dreams, and a global crowning moment of heartwarming, this was a great arc and my personal favorite.
"The world is beautiful."
Yes it is Kotomi, yes it is.