Ep 21. Face Toward the School Festival

Tomoya and his friends are all busy preparing for the upcoming school festival. The student council has assigned all the club members various tasks for making the event a success. Fuko is in charge of creating posters and decorations for the festival, while Tomoya is tasked with the setup of the festival stage.

Tomoya and Nagisa work together on the stage setup. They bond over the task, with Tomoya even teasing Nagisa about her clumsiness. However, as they work on the task, Nagisa starts feeling faint and dizzy.

Tomoya calls for medical help, and Nagisa is taken to the infirmary. Fuuko is also present and helps take care of Nagisa. Ultimately, Nagisa recovers quickly, and both of them are relieved.

In the meantime, Nagisa's father wants to come back to his hometown temporarily to check on the family business. It’s a welcome development, considering Nagisa's mother’s health condition has been a cause of concern for some time now. However, when Nagisa's father comes to the school and learns about her repeating a school year, he insists that Nagisa stop going to school and work with him instead, causing her undue mental stress.

Elsewhere, Tomoya experiences a flashback of his past and remembers his difficult relationship with his alcoholic father. The revelation brings both Tomoya and Nagisa closer, as she sympathizes with his troubles.

As the school festival comes closer, preparations continue. Fuko is still working tirelessly on the decorations, and the whole town chips in for the event. At the festival, the participants put on a series of events and performances. Tomoya helps Nagisa with her play, and Fuko's craftwork is a hit with the visitors. All in all, the festival turns out to be a great success.

In the end, Tomoya and Nagisa share a moment by themselves. Tomoya tells Nagisa that he's happy they’ve come closer, but Nagisa asks him whether he'd be okay with them being distant. Tomoya promises to be there for her no matter what, and both decide to focus on making the most of their school life.

Overall, Clannad Season 1 Episode 21 is a beautiful episode that showcases Tomoya and Nagisa's relationship. The episode highlights the themes of friendship, love, and family while making the audience invested in the protagonists. Moreover, the portrayal of the school festival is both heartwarming and realistic, giving viewers a taste of Japanese culture. The episode lays the groundwork for future plot points while keeping the atmosphere light and uplifting.