Watch Durkoala explore the Magical Girl Genre! Part 1: Card Captor Sakura

[BWR]

Oh dear. My English is in such a terrible shape at the moment. I can read English quite well but writing is another story. I feel so embarrassed. I should stop posting now.

Is this a joke? Because what little is wrong here is so minimal you'd be hard pressed to call it wrong. It's certainly a lot better than some native speakers' I've come across.

[Durkoala]

Honestly, I initially worried that after 20 or so episodes, you might get bored a little bit due to the episodic nature of the show plus the fact that the story itself is not really much about a magic fighting/action. Therefore If you manage to reach 35 episodes (the end of season 1) while still enjoy it as much as you do right now. I think that watching wise, you should not have any problem to finishing it. The plot itself will be more driven and complex at the start of 2nd season (36-46) and characters will be already well established by then. (Did I use 'to establish' correctly?). To make it short by not spoiling anything, the second part of the story is a lot more enjoyable than the first. There will be some development later that'll become both an important theme and my favorite part of the show. That's all I can say right now

It is rather episodic, but by and large the plot keeps moving on, so I'm happy with that. In the beginning I felt that there were two ways to watch CCS: as a general monster-of-the-week, a cute and relaxing look at two schoolgirls and their magic cat keeping the peace or as a slow piecing together of a plot. Now, there is undeniably a plot, or three: we're trying to deal with an infestation of Li-s (that's probably not correct grammar, btw, but 'Lis' didn't look right), Sakura's estranged family is trying to reconnect with her while avoiding her father, and we still don't know why Shaoran came looking for the Cards in the first place. Things are a little slow but there's definitely a story going on.

Oh I forgot to mention about the kids. They're so adorable, aren't they? Even you're not a big fan of some of them by now. There're literally no Yamucha or Tenchinhan in the story, everyone will have a chance to shine or have a part to play. Some might even surprise you unexpectedly with character development or his/her own back story.

To be honest, Meilin's the only one I find annoying, and she's still sympathetic beneath that. Despite my constant griping about Shaoran, I've actually liked him from the start. I just didn't like the way he treated Sakura, so I started a semi-kayfabe about hating him. By now, the joke is that he's stuck with the title of worst character in the series (until I find something else sufficiently detestable) despite the fact that he doesn't deserve it. Tomoyo's generally a sweet and smart character, but musing on her actions turns up some rather disturbing implications.

I was surprised at how quickly and strongly I became protective of Sakura. I was already upset at Yukito twisting her feelings for his own ends as early as the second or third episode, but by the time Shaoran appeared and started pretty much bullying her, I almost immediately declared him my enemy (and a good antagonist).

I also like Kerberos. He's cute, funny, and naturally the main source of exposition. When I first did a bit of research about the magical girl genre and found out that creatures granting powers were a common thing andknowing that the empowerer in Puella Magi Madoka Magica is evil, I wondered how mystical things giving faustian bargins became an accepted genre convention. Kerbie answers that perfectly: as an immortal cat-thing he just doesn't get how humans work, and so thinks that it's perfectly acceptable to recruit a child as a magic hunter, despite being well-meaning and supportive otherwise. By the way, "Kerbie" is my own nickname for him, not the result of a translation.

Blogging/LW wise, I'm fully understand how hard good writing is. It takes a lot of effort, time and energy. So take your time and do what you feel comfortable to do. I also think that if 'LW' recap scene by scene as you did takes too much time, just write an impression and/or commentary of key moments or whatever you'd like to do for each episode would be fine. I'd just like you to know that you have a follower.

As I said when I was starting out, doing long, detailed LW's is my 'thing'. This is both because I like details of the show and to make it more accessible to people who haven't seen it before or have not watched it for some time.

Thanks for your support.

I think it is a fair assessment. But no worry, at the end of the day this is one of the most famous mahou shojou anime (and manga) of all time. Magic still has a huge part to play in the story. You'll see how Sakura becomes the most powerful magician on earth in Clamp universe at the end.

I'm afraid you've misunderstood me. I like the effect of the magic on the ordinary, how Sakura has to deal with magic beings by locking them in fridges, how she uses her powers on her friends and family to help them and how her life is often interrupted by a group of genies. It's very refreshing to see an anime that doesn't devolve into fighting for the sake of fighting, with powers built around fighting.

Also, I can get a bit touchy about spoilers, so please be careful to use spoiler boxes when you talk about things like Sakura becoming the hokage.

Sakura's father is named Fujitaka. It's a type of flower. Wisteria, specifically.

Fujikata sounds like some sort of mountain-based martial arts display

Oops. I'll remember that from now on.

[A.Shinohara]

Is this a joke? Because what little is wrong here is so minimal you'd be hard pressed to call it wrong. It's certainly a lot better than some native speakers' I've come across.

Ah thanks, It's very nice to hear. In fact I didn't write anything in English for 6-7 years and forgot the basic grammar (and 12 ****ing tenses) by this point. I don't have much confidence in me about a lot things in real life, including writing in English language too.

Also, I can get a bit touchy about spoilers, so please be careful to use spoiler boxes when you talk about things like Sakura becoming the hokage.

Opps My bad. I think it's a given but no excuse right there. Please forgive me. sincerely apologize.
To tell the truth, at first I have no intention to even register here, and just fine to be a lurker due to my language limitation. But the lack of activity in this thread lately makes me think that maybe showing your support a little bit would be nice. It takes me a very long time to compose each sentence so I don't think I can post regularly much here.

[Durkoala]

It's OK, but don't do it again.

Thank you for your support. More posters are always welcome, especially as two of the regulars seem to be otherwise engaged. I hope nothing bad's happened to them.

Don't worry too much about taking a long time to post. I frequently get stuck on posting, whether due to not being sure what to say, not being sure how to spell things or just being bored.

[A.Shinohara]

To be honest, Meilin's the only one I find annoying, and she's still sympathetic beneath that. Despite my constant griping about Shaoran, I've actually liked him from the start. I just didn't like the way he treated Sakura, so I started a semi-kayfabe about hating him. By now, the joke is that he's stuck with the title of worst character in the series (until I find something else sufficiently detestable) despite the fact that he doesn't deserve it. Tomoyo's generally a sweet and smart character, but musing on her actions turns up some rather disturbing implications.

Meilin's personality is initially indeed hard to take, I think we can fully agree with that. Then again, this is what her role supposed to be, an annoying clingy jealous girlfriend of Syaoran who make things more awkward between them and Sakura. Every fiction needs this kind of character to spice things up, A character that we - the audience love to hate. And she arguably plays this part so brilliantly. As you noticed before, most of the time, Meilin have a tendency to knows when to stop when It's gone too far. Approaching her as a comic relief is the easiest way to enjoy her part in early stage, supposedly. (Am I using 'to approach' correctly?) I'm sure she'll grow on you later though.

Also, I can't help but wonder if her relationship with Sakura could begin more friendly if they didn't meet each other for the first time in that kind of situation. For such a very insecure person like her, seeing a girl wearing the shirt she brought herself to her fiance whom she knew him very well to be very introvert, a person who not so easy to make friend with, and that girl also happened to be a rival in cardcaptor business must upset her a lot. It could be so different if she didn't meet Sakura in that fashion at first. I have no doubt in my mind that Meilin could be more friendly towards her. Don't forget that in the end of episode 19 She looked very happy to meet Syaoran again and then greeted his guests enthusiastically until she noticed what one of them was wearing. Their relationship couldn't possibly start any worse.

Regarding Syaoran. He has a huge fanbase. I'm a massive fan of him too. But even his biggest fans can't deny the fact that he was a little bit ... ******* towards Sakura at the beginning. However, his initial attitude towards her is quite understandable. Collecting scattering Clow Card is his family task/business as a magician clan. For such a young kid, he has got so much responsibility. This poor boy had to train martial arts and magic since very young, then has to come to live in a foreign country, study foreign language, go to school, not to mention risking his life with collecting the cards to fulfill a family duty. The quicker he collects all cards, the sooner he can go home. That's the reason - apart from his own not so socialized personality - why he has no intention to befriend with anyone including Sakura whom is basically an obstacle of his mission in the first place.

Considering the tone of CCS which everything is so idealized; we have a super dad, a very protective handsome brother, a cute, lovey, rich and supportive best friend. A bunch of lovely and fun to hang out school friend. Everyone is so nice towards each other, the town they're living in also looks peaceful and being a fun place to live, etc. Having another 2 major characters who aren't so 'nice' but imperfect, honest and so naive with their own feeling is quite refreshing and adds an interesting dynamic to the show.

[Yuki Akuma]

my language limitation.

Dude. You're better at English than a majority of native speakers.

You just have a bit of trouble with verb tenses and possessives. You're perfectly understandable.

[A.Shinohara]

Dude. You're better at English than a majority of native speakers.

You just have a bit of trouble with verb tenses and possessives. You're perfectly understandable.

Thanks again for such an encouragement. To be honest, I feel reluctant to post more often here because of that. I'm an 'Asian' who live in 'Asia' country. Therefore my daily life is far from being familiar with or using English language. The last time I wrote anything seriously in English was about 10 years ago when I was still in high school, I think. I guess I have to practice more now.

Anyways, I revise some part of my post above, I hope it's more readable.

[MLai]

Dude. You're better at English than a majority of native speakers.
You just have a bit of trouble with verb tenses and possessives. You're perfectly understandable.

Illegibility and grammar abuse is the mark of native speakerhood, doncha know.
It's our god-given right to mangle the language we're born with. We're the ones responsible for its evolution!

[Durkoala]

I'm afraid that I'm having trouble with the current episode. I will get it posted by 7-8 PM GMT tomorrow, though. EDIT: sorry, it will be a bit later.

Have a sneak preview!

When they arrive a few seconds later, Sakura shyly offers Yuki some tea. As she pours it, Toya starts talking about the ghost story. The nightly singing has been going on for a week, which certainly sounds like a Card to me. He’s got a curiously wooden delivery, but I’m not sure if it’s because he’s trying to act (lie) or if he’s just being his broody self again. Maybe his VA is just hungover and the Director of Facial Expressions is in the loo.

Hmm, Fujitaka is actually leading the exposition on. He hasn’t shown any supernatural knowledge before, but actually verifying the time of the ghostly appearances at 10 O’clock while looking at Sakura is very suspicious behaviour, although he may just be wondering why she’s shaking.
Given that Toya’s got the same expression for all his parts of the story, I’m saying that he’s lying.

Also, English is a nightmare mongrel of a language, even if you've been speaking it all your life.

[Zolem]

Yeah, English isn't really a proper language. It's a thug that follows proper languages into allies, beats them up, then goes rooting through their pockets for lose words and conjugates.

[Durkoala]

Yeah, English isn't really a proper language. It's a thug that follows proper languages into allies, beats them up, then goes rooting through their pockets for lose words and conjugates.

Are there any proper languages left? There's at least six ways to speak Spanish, German is in a similar state from what I hear, and Latin has been a zombie for centuries.

Thanks, Zolem, you saved me from having to edit this into my earlier post.

EPISODE 23: Sakura, Tomoyo and a Wonderful Song

Spoiler

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It’s the morning at school, and Sakura’s in a very good mood. When Tomoyo asks, she says that Yukito is sleeping over at the Kinomoto house today. The camera pans down to show that Shaoran is listening in. Predictably, he rages, but this draws Meilin’s attention. When she asks about why Shaoran’s shouting, everybody goes quiet, as they don’t want to explain that her fiancé has feelings for a man. Then Yamazaki steps in and makes everybody jump. However, he’s just here to tell Tomoyo that their teacher has secured a room so she can practice for the music contest. Sakura and the rest of the girl group ask to come and watch her. Meilin declares that she can sing very well, and is surprisingly friendly when Tomoyo asks if she wants to join the choir. This reminds Naoko that somebody saw a ghost. I’m not sure how that works...

Title card! Sakura, Tomoyo and a Wonderful song. I don’t know what to say, but I expect this to be good.

Naoko tells us the story: late at night, a girl had to go back to find something that she had forgotten. She heard somebody singing in the empty music room... and that’s it. We cut to Tomoyo’s practice straight away. Sakura is quivering in her seat as Tomoyo confirms the story. Presumably, she’s confirming that the story is told, rather than that it happened. This doesn’t help Sakura, but then she senses something odd. Shaoran, sitting conveniently behind her, tells her that there is something in this room. He doesn’t know if it’s a Card or not, so they’ll have to check at night. Sakura screams, and then has to stammer an apology to the room.

At home, in Sakura’s room Kerbie is assessing the situation. He thinks that it’s more likely to be a ghost, then decides that since Shaoran’s going there they’ll have to get there before he turns up. Sakura refuses, as she’s still terrified of ghosts and because she wants to stay back when Yuki arrives. She goes to get some more tea so she can be there to greet him, but he isn’t home yet. Fujitaka comments that Toya and Yuki are late. They probably got in a fight with an Oni or something.

When they arrive a few seconds later, Sakura shyly offers Yuki some tea. As she pours it, Toya starts talking about the ghost story. The nightly singing has been going on for a week, which certainly sounds like a Card to me. He’s got a curiously wooden delivery, but I’m not sure if it’s because he’s trying to act (lie) or if he’s just being his broody self again. Maybe his VA is just hungover and the Director of Facial expressions is in the loo.

Hmm, Fujitaka is actually leading the exposition on. He hasn’t shown any supernatural knowledge before, but actually verifying the time of the ghostly appearances at 10 o’clock while looking at Sakura is very suspicious behaviour, although he may just be wondering why she’s shaking.
Given that Toya’s got the same expression for all his parts of the story, I’m saying that he’s lying.

Kerbie’s very surprised at Sakura’s change of heart. Because Yuki want’s to hear the ‘ghost’ singing, Sakura’s going to record it with her walkman, instead of him deciding to walk down to the school himself. Wow, a walkman. Kerbie isn’t impressed with her reasons.

At ten O’clock, Cardcaptors Co is sneaking through the hallways of the school. Sakura’s in a pink dress and hat that makes me wish I knew more about fashion so I could describe them properly. The dress has a bit of a cape/mantle thing: there’s a cream one over her shoulders like a puritan woman, and another one on the skirt itself. The hat has a musical note on it and Kerbie has a matching pink swimming cap.

Shaoran announces his presence by tapping Sakura on the shoulder. Once everybody recovers from that, Kerbie claims that Meilin shouldn’t be allowed along because she has no magic and Shaoran agrees. Meilin tries to claim that Tomoyo shouldn’t be allowed either, but has no answer to Tomoyo’s calm declaration that she’s in charge of recording. Shaoran shushes them because he can hear music. Sakura notes that it’s in the other building and Meilin immediately runs towards it. Kerbie cajoles Sakura into following them.

I like the way we keep getting zooms at the images of corridors receding into darkness. Even if it is recycled footage, it’s a good way of pushing the spookiness. Now that they’re back together, Sakura asks the group if it is a Clow Card. When there’s no positive answer and Meilin pushes the ghost theory, she tries to back out. Kerbie reminds her of her promise to record the voice, but she muffles him when he tries to mention Yukito.

At the door to the music room, both Tomoyo and Sakura recognise the song. Meilin doesn’t and, impulsive as always, throws the door open and marches in. The probable Card blasts out in a wave of sound/wind and disappears. While Shaoran scolds Meilin, Sakura has recognised the song as one that Tomoyo’s been singing in practice for the music contest. This reminds Kerbie of something, but before he can declare that it’s the Parrot Card, the music starts again and everybody starts running towards it.

The singer is at the top of a flight of steps, but the balustrade is blocking it from the camera. The group can’t even see that, but they do say that the singer sounds exactly like Tomoyo. I can’t hear the singer at all.

Kerbie tries to announce his revelation, but Shaoran beats him to it: this is the SONG Card. Kerbie adds that it sings songs. And it listens. Sakura is suitably underwhelmed.

Song sounds like Tomoyo because it copies the best singer it’s heard. Meilin tries to claim that she’s a good singer too, but then sends the Card running again when Kerbie says that the Card choosing her would be a disaster.

The Card is tracked to the rooftop, but it’s normally invisible so it can’t be sealed. Fortunately, Kerbie has a plan: because it’s drawn to singing, Tomoyo can lure it as her practices haven’t been perfect yet. The Card is trying to improve on her song. Brushing aside Meilin’s volunteering to sing, he says that if Tomoyo perfects the song, the Card will be satisfied and give in.

With a little encouragement, Tomoyo sings. As she sings about a single star in the sky, The Card appears as pink ball of light floating just past the railing. It spills out ripples with her singing. At the end, it sings with her, then changes into a woman in a long pink dress, floaty purple hair and what looks like an earpiece and microphone. Sakura quickly seals it. I didn’t see it before, but she’s also got a musical note on her chest. Also, that went surprisingly easily. Everybody praises Tomoyo, even Meilin.

Disaster! Sakura forgot to record the Song! Kerbie says that she can just record Tomoyo, as the Card was copying her, but Sakura now wants the duet. Shaoran says that once she names the Card she can command it to sing along with Tomoyo. The Li’s settle back to watch, Kerbie gets to work the walkman and Sakura calls forth her new Card.

And that’s it. This felt a lot like the early episodes where it was just a hunt for a Card. No family getting in the way, no person snatching the Cards (Shaoran’s priorities seem to have changed to keeping Meilin safe), just some kids chasing down monsters in the night. The way all the five play off each other was done well and was a good reminder that things aren’t the same as they were back at the start (and yet, it is much the same. We’re just more aware of the world around them). Tomoyo being useful was good to see, as she still has some relevance in the field despite being the least skilled teammate.

The Card was OK. It was pretty much harmless, but I liked both of its forms, although the modern headset looked a bit odd on a magical creature. It was also a bit strange that a being designed to find the best songs and practice them couldn’t seem to improve it, but magical creatures are often said to lack creativity. I can’t see it appearing much in the future, as Tomoyo already has most of the singing bases covered.

Once again, the plot seems to have hit a plateau. I expected the strife caused by Meilin to last longer, but she’s pretty much in Shaoran’s comic relief spot without his combat/magic skill to balance things. I expect the next plot spike to involve her trying to do something for recognition, or maybe Tomoyo’s family will intrude on the peaceful lives of our heroes again or even getting an answer on how much Fujitaka knows about recent events. Aside from that, I’m hoping that we get to see some of the high-level Cards coming to play. (Please don't actually tell me how long I have to wait for them)

[A.Shinohara]

Kinda agree that nothing much interesting to be said on this episode. It doesn't add anything fresh both in term of plot and character development at all. That said, this won't be the last time we see the plot involved with Tomoyo's voice though. We'll get to see more later.

Speaking of which, are there anyone else who's not that big on her singing voice? Don't get me wrong, Junko Iwao is a great seiyu and plays Tomoyo perfectly but her singing voice is not that great. It reminds me of Marcross Frontier that we - audience need to make ourself believe that the two heroines have such great voice (I think their songs are pretty terrible, of course it's probably just me) although I highly doubt if those two with those kind of songs can make it in real life though.

Overall, I can't say that I pretty much enjoy this episode. It's probably my least favorite since ep 15, so to speak. Unfortunately I'm also not too keen on the next one too even though it's rather more fun to watch than this one IMO.

[Zolem]

The High End Cards are comming. And they are NOT happy.

[Durkoala]

Kinda agree that nothing much interesting to be said on this episode. It doesn't add anything fresh both in term of plot and character development at all. That said, this won't be the last time we see the plot involved with Tomoyo's voice though. We'll get to see more later.

Speaking of which, are there anyone else who's not that big on her singing voice? Don't get me wrong, Junko Iwao is a great seiyu and plays Tomoyo perfectly but her singing voice is not that great. It reminds me of Marcross Frontier that we - audience need to make ourself believe that the two heroines have such great voice (I think their songs are pretty terrible, of course it's probably just me) although I highly doubt if those two with those kind of songs can make it in real life though.

Overall, I can't say that I pretty much enjoy this episode. It's probably my least favorite since ep 15, so to speak. Unfortunately I'm also not too keen on the next one too even though it's rather more fun to watch than this one IMO.

I felt that her singing voice wasn't as good as advertised, too. I suppose that when the script calls for a character to have a voice beyond human comparision, it's asking for trouble as it won't be easy for the studio to find a fitting voice.

The High End Cards are comming. And they are NOT happy.

YES.

Also, I have the sad news that there won't be an episode this week, as I'm taking a break for christmas, and currently have infrequent internet access. We should be back to the usual schedule by the following week, though.

In the interests of keeping the thread running, how about we have some discussion? Which of the Cards shown so far is your favourite, and why? Feel free to talk about future Cards, but please remember to spoiler how they meet the plot.

[cobaltstarfire]

I like the FLY, well how it looks, giant awesome crane bird is awesome. I like Water too, but I'm biased to like aquatic themed things.

I think most of my favorite cards actually haven't shown up yet though...and since I can't remember what all has and hasn't shown up...

I actually really liked the episode with JUMP in it, even if everyone else in here hates it, it's just so silly and I enjoy that.

[Zolem]

The Erase. Seriously, that thing is kind of a win button.

[TherianTheorist]

The THUNDER, mostly because I like the non-humanoids. FLY would be my second choice.

[A.Shinohara]

Well, just found this info on Tumblr. According to the interview of CCS director, Morio Asaka at The Anime Expo 2 years ago, his most favorite scene in the entire series is apparently from episode 22:Sakura and Her Kind Father. Here's the actual quotes.

Q: Good morning Mr. Asaka, I’d like you ask you specifically a question; what was your favorite episode Cardcaptor Sakura to direct?

(Asaka) Well, the quick answer to you, is that I loved all those episodes. But one scene that I personally like, is that there’s this scene where Sakura loses a report that her father was working on, by breaking the computer. And Kero-chan says, “Magic cannot fix everything,” and that’s what I really liked.

For the rest, please see this (nothing spoil about CCS): http://ineedanumbrella.tumblr.com/po...with-animation

[deuterio12]

I had a busy last month, finally got some time to check on this. Nice to see it's still going, even if a bit slowly.

Spoiler: Late Merry Christmas fan art!

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And damn, just a few more episodes and I could've posted another Christmas super-cute image...

As for my favorite card so far, that's easy, The Time. Both for its power and being one of Syaoran's main moments of awesome.

The only complain I have of the Time it's that it's not a girl/woman in a frilly dress. I guess that Clow was in serious business mode when he decided to make it.

Trivia time! The Song first appeared as an extra side-story to the manga that was sold separately in the form of a drama CD, but had some pages as well for the aftermath of Sakura recording Tomoyo's duet (she wanted to offer it to Yukito the king of worms).

Spoiler: Stop breaking the 4th wall Sakura!

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I also love Syaoran's dynamic entry and facepalm.

Also, I can't help but wonder if her relationship with Sakura could begin more friendly if they didn't meet each other for the first time in that kind of situation. For such a very insecure person like her, seeing a girl wearing the shirt she brought herself to her fiance whom she knew him very well to be very introvert, a person who not so easy to make friend with, and that girl also happened to be a rival in cardcaptor business must upset her a lot. It could be so different if she didn't meet Sakura in that fashion at first. I have no doubt in my mind that Meilin could be more friendly towards her. Don't forget that in the end of episode 19 She looked very happy to meet Syaoran again and then greeted his guests enthusiastically until she noticed what one of them was wearing. Their relationship couldn't possibly start any worse.

I fully agree that Meiling and Sakura could've become best friends right away if Meiling didn't mark her as a love rival. She came to Japan to date with Syaoran, and the last thing she wants is risking somebody else stealing his heart.

Spoiler: End of the series

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And ironically enough Meiling was right. Syaoran's is falling for Sakura and will eventually declare his love for the card captor. Meiling saw it coming right from her arrival in Tomoeda. After all, Syaoran does not simply invite a girl to his house and borrows his clothes to her.

Regarding Syaoran. He has a huge fanbase. I'm a massive fan of him too. But even his biggest fans can't deny the fact that he was a little bit ... ******* towards Sakura at the beginning. However, his initial attitude towards her is quite understandable. Collecting scattering Clow Card is his family task/business as a magician clan. For such a young kid, he has got so much responsibility. This poor boy had to train martial arts and magic since very young, then has to come to live in a foreign country, study foreign language, go to school, not to mention risking his life with collecting the cards to fulfill a family duty. The quicker he collects all cards, the sooner he can go home. That's the reason - apart from his own not so socialized personality - why he has no intention to befriend with anyone including Sakura whom is basically an obstacle of his mission in the first place.

I stand by my reading that Syaoran didn't intend any will towards Sakura at start. It's simply that he arrives in Japan to find an untrained naive-looking girl handling the ancient and dangerous magic artifacts, so he decides "I'll just take her cards and take care of the rest myself before she gets herself killed". And Sakura would've kicked the can happened if Syaoran wasn't watching over her for the next episodes.

In particular because

Spoiler: 1st movie

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Between his clingy cousin and ice mother, I feel like Syaoran doesn't miss home that much.

I'll however admit that he could've handled that in a much better manner, but he's a 10 year old kid so I can forgive him.

Considering the tone of CCS which everything is so idealized; we have a super dad, a very protective handsome brother, a cute, lovey, rich and supportive best friend. A bunch of lovely and fun to hang out school friend. Everyone is so nice towards each other, the town they're living in also looks peaceful and being a fun place to live, etc. Having another 2 major characters who aren't so 'nice' but imperfect, honest and so naive with their own feeling is quite refreshing and adds an interesting dynamic to the show.

Yeah, Tomoeda is pretty idlyc, so Syaoran and Meiling bring a nice touch of realism. One of the advantages of the anime over the manga, where Syaoran stands alone, and everybody else is even more idealized.



EDIT:

I think it is a fair assessment. But no worry, at the end of the day this is one of the most famous mahou shojou anime (and manga) of all time. Magic still has a huge part to play in the story. You'll see how Sakura becomes the most powerful magician on earth in Clamp universe at the end.

Ahem

Spoiler: 2nd movie

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When all is said and done Syaoran has more leftover magic than Sakura, actually managed to hurt The Nothing, take a direct hit from her oblivion attack and keep on going while all of the Sakura cards and everybody in the city was absorbed, so I would say that who's the strongest magician on Earth by the end of the series is up to debate. Not to mention Sakura never could get the hang of the Time while Syaoran used it to solve multiple challenges. By the end of the anime I'll agree that Sakura's clearly way ahead of Syaoran, but he clearly was grinding levels in China between that and the 2nd movie.

[A.Shinohara]

Ahem

Spoiler: 2nd movie

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When all is said and done Syaoran has more leftover magic than Sakura, actually managed to hurt The Nothing, take a direct hit from her oblivion attack and keep on going while all of the Sakura cards and everybody in the city was absorbed, so I would say that who's the strongest magician on Earth by the end of the series is up to debate. Not to mention Sakura never could get the hang of the Time while Syaoran used it to solve multiple challenges. By the end of the anime I'll agree that Sakura's clearly way ahead of Syaoran, but he clearly was grinding levels in China between that and the 2nd movie.

[/spoiler][/QUOTE]

Spoiler: spoiler

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Actually, I'm talking about 'Clamp Universe' which I based this mainly on manga.
To be honest, I'm not much into the whole 'who's better than who' thing. So If Clamp doesn't have any problem to make an official statement in the manga that Sakura has become more powerful than Clow and the latter have still been considered the strongest magician in Tsubasa/XXX Holic. I don't have any reason to think otherwise though.

Even we consider The Movie 2 as a canon. For being the strongest magician in Clamp universe, we shouldn't think that at the end of the film, he becomes more powerful than the characters from RG Veda or X 1999, do we? I means those dude can destroy the entire Tokyo without breaking a sweat. I'm afraid the our little Syaoran still doesn't have enough power to do that yet.

However, If we're talking about CCS only. This is Cardcaptor 'Sakura' after all. While Syaoran is more calm and athletic plus also being a very good tactician in a combat situation. At the end of the day, Sakura is still a new card mistress. Raw magical power wise, she shouldn't be 2nd to none. This girl changes the entire deck by her own power not to mention being a direct descendant from Clow himself in the manga or at least get an endorsement by Clow's reincarnate in the anime after all. Random scenes on movie 2 can't convince me to think otherwise.

Besides, I don't think we need to feel much sorry for Syaoran though. Part of his journey over the course of the series is to see him accept his own limitation. Dealing with feelings of helplessness, and his belief that he can’t do anything for Sakura, that she doesn’t need him after she becomes mistress of her own cards. Finally, he comes to terms with the fact that for the most part, he’s going to have to support her from the sidelines. I think it's so nice to see him grown up that way.

To tell the truth, I don't really care much about magical stuff. Plot about The Card/Yue/Clows etc bores me to death, really.

[deuterio12]

Spoiler

Show

Actually, I'm talking about 'Clamp Universe' which I based this mainly on manga.
To be honest, I'm not much into the whole 'who's better than who' thing. So If Clamp doesn't have any problem to make an official statement in the manga that Sakura has become more powerful than Clow and the latter have still been considered the strongest magician in Tsubasa/XXX Holic. I don't have any reason to think otherwise though.

Even we consider The Movie 2 as a canon. For being the strongest magician in Clamp universe, we shouldn't think that at the end of the film, he becomes more powerful than the characters from RG Veda or X 1999, do we? I means those dude can destroy the entire Tokyo without breaking a sweat. I'm afraid the our little Syaoran still doesn't have enough power to do that yet.

However, If we're talking about CCS only. This is Cardcaptor 'Sakura' after all. While Syaoran is more calm and athletic plus also being a very good tactician in a combat situation. At the end of the day, Sakura is still a new card mistress. Raw magical power wise, she shouldn't be 2nd to none. This girl changes the entire deck by her own power not to mention being a direct descendant from Clow himself in the manga or at least get an endorsement by Clow's reincarnate in the anime after all. Random scenes on movie 2 can't convince me to think otherwise.

Besides, I don't think we need to feel much sorry for Syaoran though. Part of his journey over the course of the series is to see him accept his own limitation. Dealing with feelings of helplessness, and his belief that he can’t do anything for Sakura, that she doesn’t need him after she becomes mistress of her own cards. Finally, he comes to terms with the fact that for the most part, he’s going to have to support her from the sidelines. I think it's so nice to see him grown up that way.

To tell the truth, I don't really care much about magical stuff. Plot about The Card/Yue/Clows etc bores me to death, really.

Spoiler

Show

For something that bores you to death, that's quite a lengthy post.

Anyway some counter-points:
-Syaoran is too from the Clow bloodline. Even Eriol goes around calling him "my cute little descendant".
-Manga Sakura may become the top magician in the manga, but anime Sakura is way beyond that, having performed much greater deeds, including creating a card of her own. And anime Syaoran keeps up with that, even capturing some cards along the way himself.
-I totally bet Syaoran could blow up Tokyo with lighting/fire if he put his mind to it by the time of the 2nd movie. It's just something that he doesn't do overkill (remember in the anime his plan A to capture The Time is to blow up the tower where it was hiding)
-Last but not least in the TRC manga we see that a slightly older Syaoran can and does keep up with a slightly older Sakura in terms of raw magic power. Again, Clow bloodline rocks. Sakura is just extremely lucky by gaining a bunch of free power-ups along the way and Clow/Eriol himself providing mentoring on the conversion of the cards, but Syaoran has the discipline and will to train and hone his skills. Favored daughter of the gods indeed.


But ok, if you would rather discuss something else, I'm all ears. What about my "Meiling's a ditzy love genius since she notices Sakura and Syaoran are gonna end together".

[Zolem]

Is this thread still alive?

[Durkoala]

If I can get my computer to play the videos, it should make a full recovery. I'll have a go at it tonight, but I make no promises as to when the finished product gets posted.

EDIT 14/1/15: I'm working on it right now. With luck, it should be up tomorrow. I'll definitely post it by the weekend.

[Durkoala]

I used watch an anime
about a magic girl who wasn't bright
and then my impressions I would write

More than twenty episodes did I see
And you were there along with me

We stopped so soon, before episode twenty-five
But this thread is still alive


EPISODE 24: Sakura's Little Adventure

Spoiler

Show

This year’s episode opens in the living room of Sakura’s house. Sakura and Toya are watching a programme about a castle. Sakura says she wants to live in a castle and Toya starts winding her up by saying that she isn’t princess material. Fujitaka arrives as it’s getting funny to tell Toya that the bath’s free now, so Toya heads off to the bathroom. Sakura glares after him, then returns to looking wistfully at the TV.

Title Card: Sakura’s Little Adventure! Silly Sakura, you want a Little Pony, not an adventure! ... I apologise, because that was terrible. Hands up who wants to see CMC Sakura?

In School, two of Shaoran’s zoo group discuss the fact that there’s no school tomorrow, while Tomoyo asks if she can come around to Sakura’s house. I forgot how understated and formal Tomoyo is: she feels a bit like The Stalker Fang, Rei Ayanami and Kasumi Tendo combined into one individual. I’m sure she wasn’t this bad before.

We cut to Tomoyo arriving at the house and being welcomed in by Sakura. Dad and Toya are out late today, so they’ve got the house to themselves. Kerbie is in Sakura’s room, reading a manga that’s probably another CLAMP publication. As an aside, I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I really like the small shots of mundane details that this show uses to set the scene, like a shot of Sakura’s rollerblades next to a pair of shoes at the front door. It’s very soothing, and also makes these quiet scenes feel much more real.

Besides bringing delicious baked goods, Tomoyo’s here to measure Sakura to make sure that her new costumes will fit her, which is sensible as she should be in early puberty now. The new costume is... a lot like a modest blue maid outfit. Sakura rightly points out that Tomoyo’s embarrassing her, but Tomoyo says that the world’s only Cardcaptor looks amazing in her clothes. Listen to the pros, Tomoyo: A hero costume needs to be Bold! Dashing! Heroic! Also, stop creepily obsessing over your cousin.

...And all my annoyance with Tomoyo is gone because she’s put Kerbie in a pink top hat and a blue bowtie. His anger at not being able to start eating is interrupted by something sparkly bouncing by the window. Sakura quickly confirms that it’s a Clow Card. Her sensing powers have come a long way.

As the Card’s inside the house, Sakura summons the Key and tells Kerbie and Tomoyo to stay put. While this is really cool seeing her taking charge, I can’t help feeling that this is going to result in her being captured by the Card.
The sequence of Sakura tracking down the Card is slow and tense, with a lot of Sakura’s pov. Her sixth sense leads her to Fujitaka’s room, which is apparently empty. Only when she notices the open window, does the Card reveal itself as a little spark bouncing on the bed. Sakura hesitates as she seals it, and it takes the opportunity to jump up at her, knocking her to the ground and setting her glowing.
OK, Sakura’s been shrunk. She’s about half the size of a pepperpot. Has anybody read the Mrs Pepperpot Tales? They were a series of Norweigan (?) children’s stories about an old woman cursed to shrink to the size of a pepperpot at random, which somehow gave her the power to talk to animals while shrunk. Of course, she had a lot of adventures, matching wits with a flock of Ravens, a fraudulent door-to-door salesman, her husband, an interfering neighbour and many, many others. I think I’ve still got a copy on my bookshelf...

Anyway, Sakura’s as dim as ever. ‘Has Dad’s room got bigger?’ No, Sakura, he just got a really thick carpet and built the roof a bit higher to fit all this building-sized furniture in while you were out at school.
Oh, dear. The Key didn’t shrink with her. Maybe she can use the Power or something to lift it?
And then a gust of wind sucks her out of the window. Oh.

A few seconds too late, Tomoyo and Kerbie run into the room. They find only the key lying on the floor. Naturally, they’re worried and wonder where Sakura has gone to. The camera pans down to the roof of the bus stop outside, where Sakura. I don’t think I remember there being a bus stop there before, but it has been a while since I last watched this and I think we’re on a different side of the house.

As Sakura begins to get to her feet, a shadow falls over. It’s from a very big, fluffy cat. Oh dear.
Sakura tries to persuade it not to eat her, but she’s no Mrs Pepperpot. She makes it to the edge of the of the roof but there’s nowhere to go but down from there. After a moment’s hesitation, she jumps and lands prettily in a flower she and her father planted, after a few seconds of inelegant screaming. Overjoyed at being alive, she starts spinning on the spot (on a flower, mind you. I don’t know how she keeps her balance) before telling herself off because this is a serious situation. She starts to assess the situation AND OMG SHE’S BEEN CAUGHT BY A PRAYING MANTIS.

Fortunately, Sakura’s struggles manage to knock the giant insect off the flowers and it lets go when they hit the ground. Sakura does the sensible and sane thing and runs like the dickens while screaming and crying her eyes out. The Mantis isn’t easily discouraged and chases after her. Sakura, run!

As is the general rule for when something wild, big and scary chases the hero, the mantis is crushed by the cat. Sakura hides behind a flowerpot.

In the living room, Tomoyo and Kerbie are trying to work out what’s happened to Sakura when Toya and Yuki arrive home. While Kerbie’s hiding behind the sofa Tomoyo comes up with an excuse for why Sakura isn’t here: she’s gone shopping. Yes, while she has a friend over. She said she’d be right back. I thought Tomoyo would be the type to come up with flawless lies, but it looks like I’m wrong.

Meanwhile, Sakura’s made it into the greenhouse. As she pauses for a moment on a wall, she looks down into a green pool of water below and sees the Card standing on the water. As usual, it’s got the shape of a little girl. It’s dressed in yellow, with a calf-length scalloped cape, blonde hair in bangs to the side of the face and a hat with two points, one long enough to curl down to its back and the other fairly short.
Sakura shouts at the Card, but it laughs and runs away into the house. With no other option, Sakura jumps into the water to chase it.

Back at the living room, Tomoyo is having tea with Yuki and Toya while Kebie is forced to wait in hiding. Tomoyo announces that she prepared a cake and jumps up to fetch it. At the door, she has the most unconvincing fainting fit ever, saying she feels dizzy, stumbling halfway around the room, falling over behind the sofa and then immediately popping up and sayng that she feels fine now. She then backs out of the room with Kerbie hidden behind her back. Oh, Tomoyo. You should have just hidden him in your hair, silly.

On the stairs, the supporting members of Cardcaptors Co discuss their plan of action: Tomoyo will serve cake and Kerbie will go looking for Sakura.

Back with Sakura, she’s just got out of the sink-thing she jumped into. After swimming through the equivalent of a swimming pool in a frilly dress, she’s exhausted. Oh wait, it’s the bathtub; I suppose we aren’t in the greenhouse after all. It’s a long way to the ground, but Sakura sees a sponge in a bowl on the ground. Trampoline time!

After a superb running jump and a rather ungainly landing from the rebound, Sakura finds the Card laughing at her. It’s probably called the Shrink or something, but I’m christening it the B A N A N A F A I R Y.
Sakura takes offence to being laughed at and runs after the Card. The Banana Fairy bounces out of the bathroom and down the hallway with Sakura in hot pursuit.

The chase is interrupted when Sakura has to hide from Toya walking past. This is brilliant: the camera shakes and loud crashes are heard with each footstep he takes and his voice is slowed down as he grumbles about Sakura.

He fills a jug from the kettle, unaware of the bouncing Banana Fairy beside him. It’s right in his path, so when he starts back Sakura calls out a warning to stop him from treading on the Card. He stops in confusion and looks around for Sakura. Seeing no sign of her, he continues on his way. I’m not sure if Sakura was trying to protect the Card or her Brother. Would the Card being trodden on have hurt it?

Now that Toya’s left, Sakura chases after the Card again. It flees up the stairs, and Sakura is too small to follow. She sits down in despair and wishes that Kero was here. Guess who taps her on the shoulder? Kerbie looks adorable when he’s twice Sakura’s size, btw.

For some reason, Kerbie thinks that halfway up the stairs is a good place for exposition. Anway, this is the LITTLE Card. It’s actually got a fairly interesting power: it doesn’t just shrink you, it also shrinks your powers. This is why the Key reverted to it’s original size instead of remaining as a wand. It’s also one of the easiest Cards to undo: if you touch it again, you revert to your original size and power. Time to play tag!

Tomoyo leaves Sakura’s room and sees the Banana Fairy bouncing by the stairs. I thought Tomoyo couldn’t see magic stuff? On second thoughts, she could see the Flower and the Shadow and a few others, so ignore that. It hovers in the air in front of her and she reaches out to touch it...

Flying griffin riding! I’ve been hoping for this since Kerbie said he was going to look for Sakura. Seeing her best friend in danger, Sakura shouts a warning as Kerbie flies around the corner. As Tomoyo pulls back, Sakura wraps both arms around the Card and returns to normal in midair. She wastes no time in asking for the Key and seals the Little without getting up, unless you count the minute-long summoning the key sequence.

Then Sakura realises she’s squashed Kerbie.

The cake is served at last and everybody agrees that Tomoyo is an excellent chef. Nobody compliments Toya on his skill of being able to move his jaw when he chews, and this may be the reason why he takes a dig at Sakura’s cooking skills. She retorts that she could do just as well... when she learns the recipe. Tomoyo offers to teach Sakura. I just realised how complicated this room’s relationships are. Tomoyo is crushing on Sakura, who is crushing on Yuki, who is very likely feeding her infatuation for his own mysterious purposes and is the most likely candidate for Toya’s unknown object of affection. Whew.

Because the Cake was so popular, there’s only a tiny piece left for Kerbie. While he iniatlly sulks, he gets the idea for Sakura to use the Little on him, making him about the size of an ant. He happily starts tucking in.

Later, Sakura is watching the castle programme again, but she changes the channel. Fujitaka notices that this is unusual, and Toya says he thought she liked big houses. Sakura sighs. ‘I’ve had enough of big houses.’

And that’s it. It’s good to be back. This episode was another one with no larger bearing on the plot, but that’s probably the best kind to start up again on.

There’s not much to say about this one. Sakura showed a lot more maturity here than she did before, but I’ll wait until the next episode before I declare it to be character development. There was also the implication that Toya at least doesn't know the specifics of his sister's adventures, but I'm not if this is a filler episode or not.

The Card was pretty good. I liked it's cheerful, trollish attitude and bouncy movement. The idea that it also shrinks powers is pretty interesting and something I haven't seen before.

[A.Shinohara]

Very nice to see this back again, still don't have enough time to read it all yet, sooo busy right now. May I reseve this post and perhaps come back to discuss things a little bit (with broken English) regarding this eppy on this weekend?

take care
A.S.

[Durkoala]

Yes, go ahead. You have my gratitude for posting, btw: I was afraid I'd have to triple-post for the next episode.

[Qwertystop]

Yes, go ahead. You have my gratitude for posting, btw: I was afraid I'd have to triple-post for the next episode.

Well, now that you've posted that, you might still have to double-post.

Oh, wait...

Unrelated: originally I was planning on watching this along with you, but fell behind as soon as you got past the Tree (last one I'd seen, which I watched before you started). Planning!

[A.Shinohara]

Yes, go ahead. You have my gratitude for posting, btw: I was afraid I'd have to triple-post for the next episode.

Nah, I just would rather not bump this thread unnecessary with no good reasons, that's it.

Btw, have you seen ep. 25 yet? There're plenty of things to talk about that one. Actually few next episodes are really great and highlights of episodes 20s or even throughout the first season for me. Thus having to triple or even quardable post for the same episode is indeed, perfectly justifiable. hehe

EDIT: ugh I'm currently writing a sad and stupid M.A. thesis to save my ass. To write anything in English for me is kind of a big deal, I'm too busy and definitely not going make it for this weekend. I'll try to revisit this thread on Monday though.

Well, now that you've posted that, you might still have to double-post.

Oh, wait...

Unrelated: originally I was planning on watching this along with you, but fell behind as soon as you got past the Tree (last one I'd seen, which I watched before you started). Planning!

Spoiler: not really spoiler

Show

If I'm correct. 'The Tree' you're referring is actually in ep. 27.

So far this thread manage to reach to only ep. 24. So you can watch this along with the op too. Just do it. Sakura needs us united to fight with the baddies.

[Qwertystop]

Nah, I just would rather not bump this thread unnecessary with no good reasons, that's it.

Btw, have you seen ep. 25 yet? There're plenty of things to talk about that one. Actually few next episodes are really great and highlights of episodes 20s or even throughout the first season for me. Thus having to triple or even quardable post for the same episode is indeed, perfectly justifiable. hehe

As I said above, hope to have things (plus spare time) to discuss on ep.24 this weekend. Must rewatch again then.




If I'm correct. 'The Tree' you're referring is actually in ep. 27. So far this thread manage to reach to only ep. 24. So you can watch this along with the op too. Just do it. Sakura needs us united to fight with the baddies.

It most certainly is not. The episode with cleaning and chores and a tree growing through the house and two Cards (the other one being rain).

[Durkoala]

Right. Thread resurrection, take two!
Really hoping this falls inside the necro limit.


EPISODE 25: Two Sakuras

Spoiler: I'm really sorry this took so long

Show

Episode 25

Today we open with Sakura finishing her shopping in a little grocery store. For some reason, she’s wearing a red hat with bunny ears, which is very strange. I think Tomoyo’s had a hand in this. She pauses outside the shop before walking out of frame. Then she comes back a moment later to look at something in the window.

Title card! Two Sakuras. OK, maybe Sakura didn’t come back to the shop and it was Sukura, her mysterious twin.

Sakura finds that Yuki’s at her home when she gets back. He’s cutting Toya’s hair, apparently because Toya’s trying to save money. Somewhere, thousands of yaoi fans are cheering.

Right here, though, Sakura throws a private anime tantrum because She isn’t under the scissors. *Somehow*, Yuki picks up on this desire and offers to do her next. So, we have a (probable) powerful wizard, the main character and hair is often used to make spells centred on a single person... This is looking very bad. And he’s got Toya’s hair as well, who may be more powerful than Sakura.

Yuki does ask if she would rather go to a proper hairdresser, but Sakura would have to held at gunpoint before she considered missing out on an opportunity to be with Yukito. Toya also reminds them that they’ll be cleaning up the house before Sakura goes into her own private universe filled with roses and petals and looking a lot like other anime universes when a character is in an infatuated stupor.

And we change the scene. Now we’re looking out into the street through a bridal shop window, with the camera framed by two wedding dresses. Shaoran and Meilin are walking past and of course Meilin stops to look at the dresses. Shaoran keeps on going and she has to run after him.

She catches up to find that he’s stopped to look at Sakura, who’s knocking over a stand of plush penguins. They chase after her for a bit, but stop in front of the wedding shop. Meilin wonders why Sakura’s gone delinquent, but Shaoran is just looking at her; He can probably sense that she’s a Card.

‘Sakura’ stops in front of another shop, with two globes in the window. Inside, Chiharu and Naoko walk into view. ‘Sakura’ pulls a big cattish smile, quickly runs into the shop, overturns a bookshelf, picks up one of the globes and throws it into the ceiling as she runs out. Chiharu and Naoko are understandably utterly undone by this behaviour. OK, they stand there in shock and watch Not-Sakura make her escape. The Card’s actual name is probably Twin or Clone or Double or Mirror, I’m guessing. There’s actually a lot of ways you can describe the power of duplication, come to think of it. Doppelganger is an obvious choice, but I think it’s a little too long to fit on a Card.

And we’re with Kerbie now, who is sitting in Sakura’s room playing video games, as usual. Sakura bursts in through the door and looks at her new haircut. When she asks Kerbie for his opinion, he tells it like it is: she hasn’t changed a bit. When Toya calls for Sakura to come and help and she rushes off, Kerbie comments that he doesn’t understand girls in love.
As Sakura does ... something with the carpet and a roller (I think that she’s cleaning the fluff out of it), Yuki takes the opportunity to compliment her on her cleaning skills. Toya naturally says that Sakura’s not normally good at cleaning and often breaking things (all together now: like a monster), then he dodges Sakura’s attempt to kick him so she stubs her toe. I don’t usually advocate injury to Sakura, but since she’s distracted from Yukito’s manipulation now, good job, Toya. Or not, since she offers to help cook with Yuki immediately after.

While Sakura and Yuki cause chaos in the kitchen, Not-Sakura, who I now dub Arukas on account of being a reflection of Sakura, runs past on the road outside. Toya does a double-take as he can clearly hear Sakura in the kitchen, but then something falls over and he closes the curtains.

Next morning, Sakura meets Tomoyo outside the school and starts telling her all about her great time yesterday and complaining about Kerbie saying that her hair looks the same. Tomoyo says that she watches Sakura enough to be able to tell when she cuts her toenails. I’m going to ignore that, because yikes.

In the classroom, Naoko, Chiharu and Rika apprehensively greet Sakura. They’re reluctant to talk about Arukas’s actions, and Sakura has no idea why they’re all upset. Then Meilin marches up behind her and starts telling her off for knocking over the penguins. She calls on Shaoran to back her up, but he’s doing his usual death glare, which probably counts. Chiharu asks Sakura if she was at the stationary store the day before, and is very relieved (along with her friends) when Sakura denies it. Meilin isn’t happy with this easy acquittal, but Shaoran doesn’t acknowledge her, so she gives up. Also, Shaoran seems to have got taller: he’s looking down on Meilin and Sakura, and we have a bit where Sakura is fixed by his glare and she’s clearly looking up, and up.

Disappointingly, after communicating with glare code for Sakura to wait in the hall, Shaoran’s advice is just ‘be careful’. No intel on the Card, no hint that anything magic’s happening, just telling her to be careful. Worst mentor ever!!

And we cut to PE. Sakura’s so busy wondering about Shaoran’s terrible warning, she clocks herself on the head with the baton again. It’s as the lesson ends and the class starts to head back, that Sakura’s friends start to talk about Arukas. After the usual “fact” about there being two people in the world who look exactly like you, Naoko starts telling Sakura about doppelgangers and how if you see one it means that you’re going to die soon. Arukas is actually Sakura’s godmother, escaped from magic prison and checking up on her goddaughter while planning to murder somebody!

We cut to Arukas doing things like messing up hedges and demolishing Sandcastles. She runs into Chiharu and Naoko, then runs off and they chase after her. OK, it must be the end of school now, as they’re all in their school uniforms. Come to think of it, Arukas has always had the same clothes on that Sakura does; she also lost the rabbit hat at about the same time Sakura did.

Sakura and Tomoyo are sitting on a bench with ice cream while Sakura frets about the Grim doppelganger. Tomoyo calmly tells her that it’s just a myth, but Sakura is less than convinced. Just then, Arukas runs across the road a little distance away and aims a smile at Sakura. Sakura goes into a panic and clings onto Tomoyo, which is where Chiharu and Naoko find her. While they initially think that Sakura is the Sakura they’ve been chasing, Tomoyo tells them that she’s been here the whole time. The would-be investigators are confused that Arukas was wearing their school uniform, making Sakura privately realise they’re talking about her double she just saw cross the street. Between this and Shaoran’s useless warning, it’s safe to say that the Director of Character Intelligence was not in the building.

Finally, talk-to-Kerbie time! Maybe we’ll get some answers now. As an aside, I like the way the ‘camera’ is positioned: Kerbie sits on Sakura’s desk and we can see Sakura’s face in the table mirror beside him. Naturally, Sakura is afraid that Arukas’s antics are going to ruin her and that seeing a doppelganger means she’s marked for death. Kerbie actually implies that doppelgangers are a real occurrence, but doesn’t think that Arukas is one because Sakura didn’t feel any forebodings. Sakura finally brings up the idea that her double is the work of a Clow Card. Really, girl, have you met anything that wasn’t a Clow Card? Your mother’s spirit doesn’t count because you didn’t actually meet her.

Apparently, the Clow Cards can be used for fortune-telling, which makes sense since they’re based on the Tarot cards. Still, it does seem to be a bit late to be introducing this useful application: the last magic skill Sakura was working on was the sixth sense and she pretty much mastered that a few episodes ago.

Right, fortune-telling time. Start at a desk, with the Cards in a deck and the book at hand. Shuffle the cards with your left hand, then cut the deck into three, again with the left hand. Put them back together in any order, then draw ten cards and place them in a diamond pattern. Close your eyes, recite the incantation, miss the special effects because you have your eyes closed, then open your eyes and turn over the card at the top of the diamond. I really like this sequence and the way everything is presented so smoothly, with no odd camera angles or nondiegetic tints. It really feels like a subtle intrusion of some power into this normal room. The alternating between the subdued cards on the desk and Sakura’s rather pink room spoils the mood slightly, though.

The revealed Card is the Windy, associated with communication and information. This means that the Cards are aware that Sakura is hunting them down now, which is a pretty big jump in difficulty. Sakura connects the dots and realises that Arukas is a Clow Card that is specifically targeting her, which is actually a bit worrying as I assumed that it was just being a chaotic card.

The three central cards are related to the Arukas Card somehow: they are Shadow, Watery and Illusion. Kerbie skips over these and instructs Sakura to draw the card at the bottom of the deck, which will show what the Card is after. It’s the Flower. So, Arukas could be looking for any of the cast then. Sakura has a brief vision of peach blossoms, which means that Toya is the Card’s actual target. Oh, dear. Actually, this could show us the extent of his powers and knowledge, so bring it on, Arukas!

Presumably, it’s the next morning, and Toya sees the Card walking down the street alone, looking like Sakura in her full uniform. He cycles up to it, and is a bit unnerved when it just smiles emptily at him, which is very understandable.

My mistake, it’s still the same evening, as we cut to Sakura running out of the house to find Toya. Kerbie notes that Sakura’s sensing abilities have got much stronger as she’s able to home in on Toya. Also, it looks like the Card doesn’t have to copy Sakura’s current clothes: it’s in the school uniform and hat, whereas she’s in her pink and yellow dress.

The Card can talk! I think that’s the first Card we’ve see that’s tried to communicate in some way. It asks him to follow it down some stairs as Sakura finds his abandoned bike by another flight of stairs. I think we’re near to the forest and cliff where we saw the Illusion.

The Card has Toya hunting around in the bushes for something, leading him further into the woods. Something invisible hurts his wrist, but he doesn’t say anything. Sakura is hot on their trail, when suddenly she loses the signal, saying that while she can’t sense the card, she can sense but not see a lot of people. Kerberos cuts himself off saying that they’re ghosts blocking the Card’s presence, and just says that the Card is awakening bad stuff.

Toya is confused and suspicious, but isn’t suspicious enough and suddenly falls down a hole. I hope it’s just a hole, and not a cliff edge.

Appropriately, Sakura is curled up with no idea what to do. Kerbie flies around cursing his powerlessness, but stops when he sees that Sakura is crying. ‘What if something happens to onii-chan?’ Oh, Sakura...

Hooray! The Spoiler of All Good Things is here, and he’s brought his compass! That Card is a very Good Thing, Shaoran, so make sure it’s spoiled properly. He asks Sakura why she’s curled up, and she tearfully begs him to use the compass. Not the cute puppy eyes begging, the shouty desperate kind; I need to turn the volume down.

The good news is that Toya hasn’t fallen off the cliff that the Illusion nearly lured Sakura off of. The bad news is that he’s fallen off a different cliff... somehow, as there were trees all over the place when we were with him before. He clings to the edge with one hand, the Card standing over him. Then the cliffside crumbles and he falls. Well, that fall looked survivable, if very nasty...

Back with Sakura, Shaoran and Kerbie, the compass points out the direction of the Card. Sakura immediately takes off and the boys hurry after her. Does Kerbie count as a boy? He certainly acts like it.

Toya’s alive, but he’s not in good shape. The Card slowly walks up to him at the bottom of the cliff. He tells her that he’ll help her find what she’s lost... as long as she stops pretending to be Sakura. Oooh....

So much good stuff here. Toya’s intent on helping the Card, but he thinks that it’s a ghost looking for a lost possession and doesn’t realise that it’s goal is to harm him. He tells it to stop looking like Sakura because he doesn’t want to see his sister as a ghost and that he knew it wasn’t Sakura shortly after he looked at it closely. The Card shows that it’s capable of having an actual conversation and is moved by his compassion. When he tells it to go home (as in, to the afterlife), it starts quietly crying, seemingly at a loss for what to do. Then Toya slumps over.

Sakura chases after the compass line, following it to the cliff edge before pulling out the Fly Card without hesitation and following it down. She checks on Toya, then turns to the Card when Kerbie tells her he’s just unconscious. Arukas just stands there, crying gently. Sakura moves to seal it, but the Windy passes right through it. At Kerberos’s advice she tries the Watery, but that’s just as ineffective. This is a Special Card, Shaoran explains, it can’t be caught with other cards, but must instead be bound by calling its name. As Sakura tries to think, the Card glances shamefully at Toya. Seeing that the Card isn’t being aggressive, Sakura walks towards it against Shaoran’s advice. The Card addresses her as the little sister, and Sakura hotly say that it hurt Toya, making it hang its head. As Sakura tries to think of its name, she notices that the Card is mimicking her movements... oh.

I really want to express what’s happening here. This isn’t a reflex or something on the Card’s part. It’s only following her a second after she moves, and it isn’t copying her expressions at all, but has a sad smile with a touch of resignation. It’s actually deliberately giving her hints. Of course, it’s the MIRROR Card. Its true form is a green shrine maiden with mirror in her arms and a purple marking on its forehead. Mirror kisses Toya on the hair, then returns to Sakura to be sealed.

Later, Sakura and Kerbie are talking about the Card in the kitchen while cooking for Toya, but it’s basically recounting the last two paragraphs. Toya is stuck in bed with a cast on his leg, insisting that he can get his own meals. From upstairs. He notices Kerbie riding on Sakura’s shoulder, but she quickly goes to answer the doorbell. She stops at the door to say sorry, but I’m not sure why, unless she thinks that he thinks that she was the Mirror. Or maybe she’s apologising for releasing the Cards and bringing this down on him. Toya is just as confused and wonders if she’s put something in his food.

At the door are Tomoyo (hooray!) and Yukito (boo!). In Toya’s room, he and Yukito have a conversation about how Toya overreaches himself helping “them”. There’s no clue if they’re talking about Cards or ghosts. Also, Toya is feeding his meal to Yukito on his fork. I’m about ready to declare these two as actual boyfriends, but maybe it’s different in Japan?

After a few bright seconds, the Cardcaptors Co meeting in the kitchen takes a darker turn as Sakura worries about other Cards specifically targeting her. She then asks Kerbie about what he meant all that time ago when he said that releasing the Cards would bring a catastrophe. He denies that the world will explode and says that for the right kind of person it may not be a catastrophe at all. Sakura vows to catch all the cards and leaves with tea for the two boys. Kerberos’s smile fades as he watches her walk away and he adds to himself that for some kinds of people, the catastrophe may be worse than the world exploding.

We cut to outside, and the camera zooms down to a woman with long, red hair and sunglasses looking at the house.

And that’s it. This was a really good episode. There was more exposition and world-building, some focus on Toya, a Card unlike any seen so far, a feeling that things are going to get nastier soon and a slightly ominous new character, who I will call Sharon until her name is revealed.

I mostly want to talk about Toya, whose presence was an unexpected pleasure. Despite his gruff exterior, he really is Sakura’s brother, willing to help a supernatural creature impersonating his sister even if he got its motives wrong. Given how he treats the Mirror as a ghost, I’m going to say that he’s unaware of the Cards, which I can see getting him into trouble later. Yukito does seem to know what’s going on with the Cards and for some reason he hasn’t told his partner-in-crime about it, which is very interesting.

The Card was also good. It’s only real downside was that it was another humanoid design. It’s easily the most intelligent Card, with a goal in mind, capable of carrying a conversation, regrets it actions, can communicate its name in charades and can empathise with others. It was also really interesting how it didn’t seem to be able to seal itself like the Wood Card, which may be part of being a special card. It clearly wanted to be sealed, as it made no attempt to avoid or block Sakura’s first attempts to seal it and then did its best to help her when she needed its name. I’m not sure about the idea of special cards, but the name of something giving command of it is a well-established fantasy trope. It just coming out of nowhere for this one Card that’s immune to the normal methods of capture is the annoying bit. Overall, though, it was a very entertaining Card that acted very differently to the other Cards we’ve seen.

There were also a lot of other things in this episode. Sakura apparently still can’t see ghosts even though her powers have advanced dramatically since the start of the series, so either Toya is super powerful or ghost-spotting is more like a talent than a measure of power. There was also the divination with the Cards, which I would like to see more of in the future. And of course the biggest information is that the Cards are now aware of Sakura and some of them are going to go on the offensive. Hopefully the anticipation will be enough for me to resume a proper schedule.