To Liu Daosheng's surprise, while he had been wondering if Episode 9 would include a funeral scene for Nagisa Furukawa, the story instead jumped several years ahead, to after her death.
The episode spent a few minutes establishing Tomoya Okazaki's current state.
He was single, living alone, emotionally shattered by Nagisa's death, and burying himself in work. His daughter, Ushio Okazaki, had been left entirely in the care of his in-laws, Akio and Sanae. He paid child support, but that was about it.
Huh?
What the hell?
Liu Daosheng frowned as he watched this part of the episode.
This... this was turning Tomoya into a copy of his own father, Naoyuki Okazaki, wasn't it?
Naoyuki hadn't exactly abandoned Tomoya, but he did spend most of his life drinking and drifting aimlessly.
Tomoya, weren't you the one who hated irresponsible parents the most? How did you become exactly what you despised?
Still, complaints aside, the story moved forward.
Akio's wife, Sanae, trying to foster some father-daughter bonding, persuaded Tomoya—after a lot of back-and-forth—to take time off from work and take Ushio on a trip.
Wait, seriously?
It took three phone calls and two in-person meals to get him to agree to a few days off to take his daughter on a trip.
What the hell is this?
"The hell's wrong with the main character?"
"Yeah, he's being way too distant. She's his daughter!"
"Since Nagisa is gone, shouldn't he be pouring all his love into their child? How did he end up like this?"
The fan group was having a hard time accepting this plot direction.
But all dissatisfaction vanished the moment little Ushio appeared on screen.
Backpack slung on her back, eyes slightly evasive, looking like a tiny angel in the Furukawa family bakery...
Yet strangely shy in front of her own father.
"I want to go on a trip!"
"I want to go with Sanae and Akio!"
Calling her grandparents by their first names, Ushio didn't come off as bratty. On the contrary...
Liu Daosheng's eyes widened.
Too cute.
An absolute little angel!
How could a father ignore such an adorable daughter for five or six years?
From the way she spoke, it sounded like she'd never even been on an outing with her dad.
"Take her, man! You already took four days off! Go!"
"Jesus, watching Tomoya is giving me an aneurysm."
"He's just sitting there at the bakery, waiting for the grandparents to come back and take her out."
"God, that scene where Ushio peeks from behind the door while he's sitting in the living room... heart-wrenching."
"He's clearly panicking—probably doesn't know how to be alone with his own daughter."
"Well, he's been an absentee dad for years, so yeah. It's gotta be awkward."
"Let's go on a trip…"
"The uncle and Sanae will probably come back tonight. Just ask them to take you. For now, stay home and play."
"Okay."
Then Ushio ran off outside... tripped, and her toy broke. Tomoya glued it back together.
The rest of the episode just showed the two of them spending an ordinary day together.
But somehow, this ordinary story drew Liu Daosheng in more and more, until he was fully immersed.
Ushio was just... too lovable.
There was a small moment where they were sitting in the bakery waiting for Akio and Sanae to return. They never did. Instead, Ushio saw a happy family walking by outside—a child giggling in their mother's arms.
Suddenly, Ushio said she needed the bathroom.
No one thought much of this moment—not even Liu Daosheng.
Eventually, when the grandparents still didn't return, Tomoya made up his mind. Since he had time off, he'd take Ushio on a trip. The destination? Written on a note given to him by Sanae.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny.
Father and daughter set off on their first-ever outing together, under the summer sky.
But the usually quiet Tomoya failed to notice the emotion behind Ushio's calm face, or her increasingly excited steps.
Episode 9 of 'Clannad' didn't spell out everything, but Liu Daosheng could see the clues.
Little Ushio cared deeply about her father—far more than her calm exterior suggested.
For the first time, he bought her a robot toy from a shop.
She asked about her mother, and he refused to talk.
Then they played in a flower field in the countryside.
The plot was simple, but it somehow held the audience spellbound.
Still, Liu Daosheng found it odd—why did the story keep bringing up Ushio going to the bathroom?
But he didn't overthink it.
Ushio was just too well-written.
"My robot... the one you gave me."
Then came a turning point—Ushio lost the robot he had given her. No matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find it in the grass.
Any adult would think: the time spent looking isn't worth the toy's value.
So Tomoya suggested buying a new one.
"I want that one."
"We can't find it. Let's just get a new one."
Seeing her so stubborn, Tomoya gave up. They proceeded to the destination from Sanae's note, where a grandmother, whom Tomoya had never met, was waiting.
Liu Daosheng was confused.
"What's the author trying to say? They were having a great time, now suddenly he's meeting his grandma?"
"This plot is jumping all over."
"Weird vibes."
"But the grandma's so polite."
"Wait—this is the first time Tomoya has met his grandmother? And it was Sanae who dug up her address?"
As the sun set, the grandmother began talking about Naoyuki Okazaki, Tomoya's father.
"He wasn't always like that…"
Through her story, the audience learned about Naoyuki's past.
Just like Tomoya—a high school romance, marriage right after graduation, then his wife died in a car crash.
What broke him?
And why didn't he give up completely?
"He said he'd raise you with his own hands."
He got fired. Got another job. Used his little money to buy Tomoya toys. And when Tomoya reached high school, he lost his last shred of purpose.
Because Tomoya was no longer a child who needed his support to survive.
So Naoyuki drowned himself in grief, unable to escape the pain of losing his wife a decade prior. He spiraled into alcoholism, eventually ending up in jail.
"But still, he chose to stay with you." The grandmother's words...
They shattered Liu Daosheng's emotional defenses.
Compared to Tomoya's behavior, even his "terrible" father looked more responsible.
"I want you to know what kind of father he was."
"He used to buy me snacks... and take me out…"
Tomoya said it quietly.
And Liu Daosheng immediately remembered—Tomoya, as a father, had only now bought his daughter her first toy. Only now, taken her on her first outing.
History, eerily repeating itself.
Tomoya had always resented his irresponsible father, yet now, he was even worse.
"Do you think he was a bad dad?"
"No. I'm worse. I'm weaker."
With the sunset and music swelling behind it, Liu Daosheng found his eyes watering.
"As a person, he had flaws. But as a father... he was great."
The meeting ended.
The sun was almost down.
Ushio was still searching for the robot.
"Ushio... I don't think we'll find it. Let me buy you another one."
Honestly, Liu Daosheng agreed. If it were him, after a few hours searching for a cheap toy, he'd give up too.
"That one was special... because it's the only one you picked for me. The first one... from you, Daddy."
Her voice trembled.
If the earlier scenes were touching, this one broke everyone.
Tomoya finally realized just how much he had failed his daughter.
"You must have been so lonely, Ushio."
"Yeah…"
"Can I stay by your side now?"
"Yeah. I want you with me. But today... I lost something really special. Daddy, I just... I can't hold it in anymore. Sanae said, The only places you're allowed to cry are the bathroom and... in Daddy's arms."
On screen, Ushio hugged her father and burst into tears.
Liu Daosheng sat there in a daze.
So that's what it was.
All those scenes of Ushio going to the bathroom...
She wasn't just going because she had to pee.
It was because every time she saw another family laughing together...
Every time she saw a child cuddling with their mother...
Every time she saw a parent's warm smile...
She went to the bathroom to cry.
It broke him completely.
He'd complained about the show before—but after this episode, he was a crying mess.
Episode 9.
Tomoya meets his grandmother for the first time. After five years. Finally, understanding why his own father fell apart after losing his wife.
Finally, understanding how he, too, had failed as a parent.
And then, apologizing to Ushio.
In less than an hour, Liu Daosheng cried three times.
All across the country, forums and fan groups exploded after 9 PM.
The tone of the discussion around 'Clannad' Season 2, Episode 9 changed drastically.