Spring break usually began in late February.
For universities and junior high schools, it sometimes started as early as mid-February.
Full-Drive Bunko had set the release date for the second volume of Clannad as February 26, right at the beginning of spring break.
January 19. 9:00 PM. Full-Drive Bunko's official social media account posted the update.
The release date for the second volume of Clannad has been decided! It'll be out on the 26th of next month! Like, comment, and repost this post for a chance to win one of ten full Clannad sets with a personalized message!
The moment the post went up, the comments section exploded.
Everyone was stunned by Oikawa's writing speed.
["Damn. Copycat may be a total bastard, but when it comes to update speed, the guy delivers."]
["At this release speed, as a Hunter x Hunter manga fan, I'm insanely jealous."]
["This is straight-up not leaving any room for other creators to survive. I hereby declare Copycat the hardest-working man in the entire ACGN industry."]
["I'm on episode two of the Your Lie in April anime. Just thinking about Kaori dying makes my heart hurt. Clannad isn't going to have some horribly sad ending too, is it?"]
["Probably not? Didn't Copycat-sensei say Clannad was a healing story? Plus, there's the whole Light Orb setting."]
["Heh. Copycat that bastard also said Kaori just had a little cold."]
...
As Shizuka Hiratsuka browsed the internet and saw these comments, memories she had desperately tried to bury came flooding back.
Whenever she remembered that day, when Oikawa had thanked her so sincerely and told her that Kaori Miyazono's fate was all because of her, Shizuka felt her teeth itch with frustration.
The question had been bothering her for a long time.
Had Oikawa planned the story that way from the beginning? Or had Your Lie in April really become a tragedy because of her?
Shizuka was more inclined to believe the former.
More importantly, she wanted to believe Oikawa had already planned the story that way. At least then, she'd feel a little less guilty.
After thinking it over, Shizuka sent him a message.
[Shizuka]: Oikawa, I always wanted to ask... did Kaori really die because of me?
Oikawa replied almost immediately.
[Oikawa]: Sensei, when it comes to writing novels, I never lie!
A while later, another message arrived.
[Oikawa]: What I originally wrote was some clichéd plot. So it was because of you that Your Lie in April became what it is now! Thanks, Shizuka-sensei.
Shizuka Hiratsuka immediately sank into despair.
One moment, she was happily browsing the internet, enjoying the countless people roasting that bastard Copycat.
The next... Fuck, I really am the worst. I deserve to stay single forever.
After seeing Oikawa's reply, Shizuka hugged her copy of Your Lie in April and spent the entire night having nightmares about Kaori.
Of course, Oikawa had no idea how she reacted.
If he did, he probably would've been absolutely delighted.
I reject my humanity, JoJo!
Oikawa's personal philosophy was to bring sadness to his readers.
And if that sadness happened to be inflicted on someone he actually knew? Even better.
...
Online, the discussion surrounding Clannad continued to heat up.
Especially on one light novel forum, where a post from someone claiming to be an industry insider caught the attention of countless Clannad fans.
Clannad Volume 2: Angst on top of angst||
I just got to see the second volume of Clannad. Don't ask me how I saw it, because even if you ask, I'm not telling.
Anyway, I used to think that, in almost every respect Clannad was far inferior to Your Lie in April. But the moment I read the second volume of Clannad, I realized just how hilariously wrong I'd been.
I obviously can't spoil the actual plot, but I can say this: Clannad is a genuine masterpiece. At least in my opinion, if you stripped away its light novel elements, it could absolutely stand alongside some serious mainstream literary fiction.
Ummm... anyway, let's talk about what you people actually care about. The ending of Clannad wasn't originally the version that's being printed now.
You should all thank the illustrator for the fact that the current ending isn't quite as brutal. She's the one who changed that bastard Copycat's mind. The original ending made practically every editor in our Full-Drive Bunko editorial department want to beat the crap out of him. So you can imagine how good it was and how much emotional damage it dealt.
Oops. I might've revealed something I shouldn't have... Whatever.
Ask whatever you want in the comments. If it's something I can answer, I'll do my best.
...
..
The replies immediately went insane.
"I want to know, does Volume 2 of Clannad really have a healing ending? It's not going to turn into another depression fest, is it? I don't care how painful the middle gets, but the ending has to be happy!"
—It's a happy ending. Yeah.
"Bro, does the second half still take place at school? Do Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa get a happy ending? When you say it's full of angst, you don't mean they get separated because some third party steals one of them away, right?!"
—If the plot were something that cheap, I wouldn't be calling Clannad a masterpiece. All I can say is that the second volume is about the whole town. Nagisa doesn't have that much screen time in it.
"What does that mean? She doesn't have much screen time? Did Nagisa get written out? What about Tomoya? The poor guy has suffered so much just to finally see a little light. Don't tell me he's going to get put through hell all over again in Volume 2?"
—You'll have to wait for Volume 2 of Clannad to come out and find the answers yourselves.
...
The Q&A about the second volume of Clannad didn't last very long.
Because after answering only a handful of questions, the person who made the post was promptly arrested on the spot by Chris Yamada.
The fans had no idea what exactly happened.
The only thing they knew was that the poster didn't show up on that forum again for a very, very long time.
.
.
.