[212] Writing CLANNAD: A Story That Reads as Life

Time flows on, and the scenery outside the window shifts from bright daylight to the darkness of night.

After dinner, the once-empty document on Akifumi's screen was now filled with dense text. However, the main storyline had yet to begin.

It wasn't that he had been slacking off. Instead, he had been meticulously crafting character settings, backstories, and the structure of key plotlines—especially the most crucial aspect of the entire narrative: the thirteen glowing orbs that connected the entire story.

Since his script was based on the CLANNAD anime rather than the original game, the reason was simple—workload.

Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.

The game itself had an extensive narrative, requiring players to spend over 100 hours to achieve full completion.

If he were to adapt it in its entirety, the sheer amount of work would be overwhelming.

Even if he had the luxury of copying everything verbatim, he wouldn't want to. After all, he didn't have a full development team at his disposal.

A small-scale game like The Witch's House could be developed solo without much trouble. But a visual novel like CLANNAD? That was a completely different beast.

In the game version of CLANNAD, there were fourteen light orbs.

However, one was consumed when Fuko made her wish, triggering the "Orb Disappearance Event."

If this event occurred, only seven orbs were needed to unlock the After Story arc.

Without experiencing Fuko's wish, eight orbs would be required.

Due to time constraints, the anime adaptation simplified this. Even without Fuko's event, the After Story still began with just seven light orbs.

These thirteen orbs were the core of the story, and only by collecting all of them could one reach the true ending.

In the final moments of the tale, the illusionary world collapses.

It is because of these thirteen light orbs that time is rewound, taking us back to the moment five years prior—Nagisa Furukawa's childbirth.

With the orbs replacing her fate, she no longer suffers a tragic death during labor.

"Phew..."

Looking at the text he had painstakingly structured throughout the day, Akifumi let out a deep sigh.

"I didn't think writing this would be this difficult."

Characterization, for instance, wasn't something that could simply be described in text.

Instead, it had to be subtly revealed through the story itself.

Take the protagonist, Tomoya Okazaki, for example. Many people, after watching CLANNAD, came away with the impression that his father was indifferent and neglectful.

But this was an oversimplification.

In truth, after Tomoya's mother passed away, his father lost the will to live, and Tomoya became his sole reason for moving forward.

However, as Tomoya grew older and gained independence, his father, having lost his purpose, fell into despair. This was explored in depth in CLANNAD: After Story.

Jumping to conclusions based only on the first half of the story could easily lead to misunderstandings.

To ensure accuracy, Akifumi had to cross-reference scenes, analyze subtle details, and rewrite sections repeatedly.

Many character traits were only hinted at indirectly, requiring careful interpretation to put them into words.

Despite these challenges, he had managed to make significant progress—proof of his dedication.

Would this work pass the initial selection?

He had no doubt!

After all, this was CLANNAD—a story that wasn't just written, but lived.

The phrase "Writing CLANNAD, Reading Life" might sound a bit dramatic, but to earn such praise was a testament to the story's depth and impact.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

Although he wasn't particularly tired yet, it was already past 11 PM.

Since it was a rare day off, there was no need to push himself too hard. It wasn't a project that could be finished in a single day—he could take his time.

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In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

Meanwhile, the second volume of Akame ga Kill had been released to positive reviews.

The protagonist had joined Night Raid and embarked on a new mission.

Though the journey was dangerous, he ultimately made it through unscathed, gaining valuable experience along the way.

However, fans were surprised by one particular change—the protagonist's partner had been switched to Sheele.

"Wait… so Akame isn't the main character?"

That thought crossed many readers' minds, only to be quickly dismissed.

After all, the title was Akame ga Kill—if Akame wasn't the lead, then who was?

Besides, the new character design was visually appealing, so fans decided to overlook the minor inconsistency.

Little did they know, Akifumi was merely setting them up for an emotional gut punch!

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"Aaagh! One volume per month is not enough!"

"Come on, you're only working on WorldEnd and this! Pick up the pace!"

"Are you dragging it out on purpose? Do you think I can't afford to buy more volumes? Hurry up and release the next one!"

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Seeing these passionate complaints in the comments, Akifumi chuckled.

"I hope you guys still feel the same way next month."

Yes, he was planning to hit them with some devastating plot twists. But this time, he wasn't going to follow the original script exactly.

One of the biggest criticisms of Akame ga Kill was how characters seemed to die purely for shock value.

At first, Night Raid was introduced as an elite group with formidable abilities.

But then, an Imperial Guard member—a relatively minor character—managed to take out one of them in a two-on-one fight? It just didn't make sense.

The problem wasn't the death itself, but the lack of proper buildup.

Take One Piece, for example. From his very first appearance, Garp was established as an absolute powerhouse. Yet in the later arcs, he was defeated far too easily.

If the scene had shown Garp being ganged up on by the entire Blackbeard crew—taking down several opponents before finally falling—fans wouldn't have had an issue.

Because no matter how strong he was, he was still just one man.

That's logical storytelling.

Similarly, if the Akame ga Kill scene had given Seryu more backstory and established her as a worthy adversary, then Sheele's death in a two-on-one battle would have felt justified.

As a creator, adding depth and foreshadowing was just basic craftsmanship.

Why the original author didn't think this through? Well, only they would know.

Just like how no one can fully understand why Oda is handling One Piece's final arcs the way he is now...

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