© CLAMP・ST/講談社・NEP・NHK
Episode 6 – Sakura, the Rabbit and the Moon Song
Card Captor Sakura Clear Card TV Anime is being broadcast in several countries around the world via online services in a simultaneous or semi-simultaneous fashion. Please check the guide below to see if your country is included:
Where can I watch Card Captor Sakura Clear Card TV Anime? – A useful guide
If you watch the anime via one of these channels, you’ll be supporting the creators and helping to make Card Captor Sakura even more popular worldwide.
We are now on volume 3 starting from this episode.
Sakura has her roller blades in the opening scene and yet in the anime she’s not. Come to think of it, the roller blades haven’t appeared in the new anime yet. I wonder if that’s a deliberate decision (as to give the feeling that Sakura has “grown”).
Momo makes her first appearance. Can’t wait to see her talking. I’m very curious about her voice actress.
Always nice to see MADHOUSE showing that Nadeshiko’s picture has been changed. In the manga, there is a panel with a worried looking Fujitaka right after Sakura talks to her mother. In the anime, that was completely erased, which makes me think that this must be a manga-only subplot and related to Fujitaka losing his powers.
Then, Meiling called! What a lovely surprised. I liked how they talked in a very matter-of-factly matter, as if they often called each other (which is true considering what we’ve seen from Episode 2). She looked and sounded just like the Meiling we know and love. She says she will be visiting them in the summer (as I expected). I’m looking forward to that! I like how they are keeping things reasonable, since yes, it is expected that she can’t skip school in Hong Kong.
Just because I praised MADHOUSE a few episodes ago for making the students move around and not just stand still, they looked pretty stiff on this episode. It’s as they say, don’t praise too much or you’ll spoil it xD
The later part of the episode was heavily adapted for the anime. I might be the only one here with this opinion but I always thought Tomoyo’s singing to be pretty boring. The duet was even more boring (I yawned a few times). I thought it was too long and I didn’t like the art direction and photography for that sequence (so much haze my eyes hurt). The part where Sakura secures RECORD was a little underwhelming too (I want action scenes all the time, LOL). But hey, we learned that Syaoran knows how to play the piano and he isn’t half bad at it.
This episode had some weird animation during medium to faraway shots. Nothing too grotesque but it was noticeable. Specially when Fujitaka was around. He was particularly not great except for the closeups.
Looks like FLIGHT is going to give Sakura a hard time on the next episode and Ohkawa managed somehow to fit Sonomi in it ♡
14 thoughts on “Review: Card Captor Sakura Clear Card arc TV Anime – Episode 6”
Leave a comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Chibi Yuuto's CHRoNiCLEs 
This episode was more based from the manga than I expected to be asides the majority of it to be anime only.
So Sakura and Akiho had their first shopping spree anyway, even though that was slightly different. And yeah Momo at last, though we still have no idea what she is up to.
Meilin’s appearance surprised me. I remember to hate her back then in my childhood since she was so immature and clingy but soon she realized Shaoran’s feelings for Sakura, she showed an incredible maturity and quick acceptance. That’s how I’ve started to find her a good character.
And called it, Kero only assumed his real form just to show off to Meilin. Yeah a cougar via messenger is not too spooky, I’d be sassy too.
Again full kudos for that form it is so much better than his dumb plush looks. Inconvenient but better.
RECORD sure recorded the first manga card to have a completely different way of capture. And yay FLIGHT is appearing next episode!
LikeLike
I guess from the screencaps announced in advance, it seemed like quite an original episode but it was pretty much 60/40 manga/anime.
I remember to hate her back then in my childhood since she was so immature and clingy but soon she realized Shaoran’s feelings for Sakura, she showed an incredible maturity and quick acceptance. That’s how I’ve started to find her a good character.
Yeah, bless her!
LikeLike
Personally, I also always had the feeling that Tomoyo’s singing voice felt a bit bland. However, I really enjoyed the duet this time, mainly because of certain musical aspects and how they were portrayed! As a pianist, I’ll take this opportunity to talk about this for a bit!
First of all: the sheet music
There is a short cut, where you can see Syaoran placing the sheet music onto the grand piano. The sheets are showing the full score for the accompaniment down to the last note. It even included all needed signs as A/B part, the “rit.”(ritardando) at the end, the tempo information at the beginning. I played through it on the piano and I could read everything perfectly!
Secondly, Syaoran’s playing
in the short moment where you can see his hands playing, they made sure to match it perfectly (they definetely made sure to use a reference). His movements look extremely natural, his fingers are hitting the right keys.
As someone who majored in music, this is something which I personally appreciate enormously. In most anime, they rarely animate instruments correctly unless it’s a completely music-themed anime (in which case you can usually see the change from 2D animation to 3D which usually also looks a little off).
The only thing which is unrealistic is Syaoran closing his eyes while sight-reading the sheet music (people who sight-read are usually glued to the music sheets). But that’s something I can easily forgive, they just wanted Syaoran’s piano skills to shine even more. At least Sakura was obviously really impressed by this new side of Syaoran and that’s what matters.
and thirdly, the singing
I always felt that Tomoyo’s voice felt a bit too bland and airy, Akiho’s voice however has a nice ring to it which blended really well with Iwao Junko’s singing this time. I loved how Tomoyo sang the first verse in unisono with Akiho and only switched to the alto part from the second verse on. It’s as if she was looking out for Akiho, making sure that she can hold the melody without problems and only then she switches to the alto part. Being able to continue singing your own part while someone sings a harmonization is actually not a given skill for many people. But it’s obviously an important requirement for someone who wants to join a choir. Tomoyo made sure to test her thoroughly!
The capturing this time obviously lacked the action in comparison to previous episodes but the picture of the posessed Beethoven out of all pictures they could have chosen made me laugh way to much.
Anyways, these were the little details that made me appreciate the long awaited duet between Tomoyo and Akiho! I’m really positively surprised and thankful for the attention to detail which they put into the musical aspects here, making the scene appear very natural from the standpoint of a pianist and choir child like me.
MADHOUSE definetely delivered in that sense.
LikeLike
I never liked Tomoyo’s singing voice, not even in the original series. I guess I am not fond of that voice timbre.
I did notice the split second where we can see Syaoran’s fingers playing the piano, I thought that was such a nice shot, and I am glad to hear that they animated it correctly. Also happy to hear that the song sheet is legit. Those small details really do matter and it’s what makes this adaptation a good one!
but the picture of the posessed Beethoven out of all pictures they could have chosen made me laugh way to much.
LOL yes!
LikeLike
Jun, thank you for this insightful review about the piano scene!!! That was very very interesting!😍
LikeLike
This week, I decided to write here BEFORE going to my twitter account later today XD
It seems like it has been decided that the series shall be a mix between fillers and manga material, and so far they are doing fine ^^
Some things feel off due to the fact I remember them differently in the manga of course, but I think the anime definitely makes sens to this point~
I was always more involved with the manga than the anime, I don’t remember completely since it’s been decades, but there is a good chance I might have read most of the 12 volumes of the manga while having only watched a few episodes in comparison?
I am telling you that to explain I just do not feel the nostalgia I see in so many people who are extremely happy about Meiling being shown in the anime and even hopefully included in the episodes when summer vacations come their way ^^
To be sure though: I don’t hate her, never did, but I didn’t feel the need to absolutely see her either, well, to be clear, I would have been fine either way? ^^;
I agree that she is very much like she has always been hahaha~ And we got to see Kero in his super dupper big cool form! We’ve yet to see it in the manga to this day XD
They are making the watchers curious about that mysterious caretaker who Akiho likes so much, but they didn’t give away anything at all, looks like we will neither see nor know nothing about Yuna until episode 8 when Sakura and Tomoyo go visit their house~
Now, THE PIANO! 😀
Tomoyo totally planned this in a flash and jumped on the opportunity to make Syaoran shine XD She both got a pianist to accompany their singing and also made him shine by making Sakura discover something he never told her about ^^ The poor boy didn’t look too comfortable with the whole thing but quickly capitulated at the sight of his girlfriend 😉
It was cute, but it still fell flat compared to my expectations of the whole thing.
This is not an SxS moment in my eyes, it’s a Syaoran’s moment, which is 100% perfectly good with me btw 😉
Am I being too harsh…? She did look excited and surprised, but I wouldn’t have been particularly surprised if she had had the exact same, or close, reactions and facial expressions facing another friend in the same situation: if it wasn’t Madhouse intention for it to come out this way, I don’t know?, but they failed in my personal opinion > they focused on Syaoran, which again is so very ok with me, he showed a large fan of emotions this episode, that was done so well! ^^
And he is being too modest too! He definitely plays really well like Meiling told Tomoyo: as someone who played the piano my entire childhood, I confirm that NO, it’s not easy to just come around, sit, and starts playing a whole piece by sight with both hands on his first try: even after more than a decade, I couldn’t do it, and I was playing the piano very seriously, I had classes every week and everything for so many years! ^^;
One very simple thing could have transformed this entire scene: if Sakura had taken her eyes off Tomoyo and Akiho for even a second and looked at Syaoran lovingly/impressed/pleased etc.., the entire thing would have immediately been turned around, but she didn’t, and even at the very end, the one who came to Syaoran’s side near the piano was Akiho ^^;
Still, it might be just me asking for too much and nitpicking about little things and craving SxS so badly that nothing Madhouse throws my way is enough, so don’t take my opinion above too seriously?
Now!
RECORD!
That was totally changed that’s for sure, it’s nothing like the manga at all ^^;
You are right when you say that there weren’t much action in this capture, it ended up underwhelming, but I still think that photo of Beethoven holding his hands out wasn’t bad XD
Now, back to Syaoran again, I was very surprised by his final and heartfelt outburst at the very end of the episode, in the manga, he feels a lot more calm and in control, more worried and guilty than anything, but in this final scene of episode 6, he was showing a mix of powerlessness and frustration I didn’t see coming at all @_@
The fact all the “power ups” were concentrated on Sakura and Sakura only is one of the things I have always been bothered by in the CCS series: no, he is not the selected card master, but was it necessary for him to be kept so far behind power wise?
I felt happy about this sequel since, while not showing much, it did feel like he had some sort of training, felt more confident in himself and his magic when facing the cards (even though we don’t know what power is this he is using), but in this scene of the anime, he reverted back to that boy who is so hurt and pained not being able to protect the one he likes, who stands there not being able to do anything, not even sensing the presence of the card ;_;
Considering the preview of the next episode, we are actually going to witness the capture of FLY, something we failed to see in the manga ^^ In that sens, everything is not that bad actually: we had our share of actions with the capture of RECORD in the manga, and now what we didn’t see in the manga is going to be animated in the TV series! 🙂
Panicle said so in the discord chan, but Syaoran’s clothes are really not up to date in the actual fashion trends, sweater vest for a boy in middle school over and over again, kids these days just don’t wear that, and TRC has shown that Syaoran is quite versatile and can wear anything, a shame his clothes design are so limited in both the anime and the manga.
And Syaoran is taking that sword out of his hands next episode! -million thumbs up to that!-
last but not least -look right and left- -whispers- I also always kinda sorta never was too impressed by Tomoyo’s singing most of the time, though she did have her great moments too to be fair, sorry ;_; -run away-
LikeLike
Hi there! Thanks for writing here first!
About Meiling, I think she spice things up a little xD But everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course =)
It was cute, but it still fell flat compared to my expectations of the whole thing.
Oh, I am sorry to hear that. I liked how Syaoran noticed right away that Sakura looked worried about something. He pays a lot of attention to her ❤
I agree that Syaoran is being modest. As for the toned down SyaoSaku scene, I didn't pay attention to those details you referred to, maybe Ohkawa's script lacked the proper description. From where I was sitting, she looked very enthusiastic but I agree that the direction you pointed out would be far more romantic.
Syaoran must be feeling a big internal conflict what with having to pretend he doesn't know anything (for the greater good) and being unable to help Sakura since he can hardly sense the magic. Poor boy.
And I agree with Pan about Syaoran's fashion sense, haha He looks really good in the ED, he should wear clothes similar to that style.
last but not least -look right and left- -whispers- I also always kinda sorta never was too impressed by Tomoyo’s singing most of the time, though she did have her great moments too to be fair, sorry ;_; -run away-
HAHAHA yokatta!
LikeLike
I re-read myself and it does feel like I am complaining a tad too much ^^;
Sorry for giving you the wrong impression, I should have began by saying I am always profoundly happy each time I’m watching a CCS CC episode, and I’ve been grinning like an idiot during 20min since episode 1 XD
Actually, the fact in itself this piano scene exists at all is a blessing: there is no such a thing in the manga! Though, to be fair, they did kill the botanical garden date in exchange 😛
And you are right, I noticed but failed to write that he indeed keeps looking at Sakura, his eyes betrays him and keep on following the person he likes ;), and he realized something was wrong with her instantly ^^
Another thing I forgot, was Chiharu’s wink when they all existed the music room and left only Sakura and Syaoran behind HAHAHA Sorry, but things didn’t go quite like you were imagining between them in that room XD Nice Try!
And to be fair, he is not alone in the ‘I’m so useless’ team: both Kero and Yue are together with him on the frustratingly powerless bench ^^; I believe that Sakura is pretty much the only one who can feel anything at all so far.
He will show off his skill to summon his sword in the next episode, and will be able to save Sakura from Spiral and help her capture 2 cards (as seen in the manga) with his newfound power, he DID power-up, though it’s not shown yet in the anime~
LikeLike
That’s okay dear, you’ve been redeemed xD I can tell you are very excited about Clear Card. I am sure that in the long run, these nitpicks are going to be fogiven and forgotten.
LikeLike
Ohhhhh I loved syaoran playing the piano! Such I great surprise. Wish there was more screen time of him playing the piano. There was a little too much time focused on akiho and tomoyo singing. And I also feel that it would have been super special to show Sakura glancing at syaoran playing.
I love mei ling in the anime. She add that much needed spice to the fluffy sugary sweetness of Sakura and co. Syaoran and yue provided the spice and ice in part 1 and2 .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heeeee!!! Cant wait to see my queen aka momo talking! I want to see how they animate he/she moving. The mannerisms with the speech… Can not wait. I think this is one of the things I’ve been looking forward to the most. Hopefully itl live up to my head canon expectations XD.
Also interested to see kaito. I can’t help but think of him as a cross between watanuki, Subaru, and sebastian from black butler.
I actually briefly thought that clamp had done a mild adaptation of black butler. Especially since clamp have been doing adaptations recently. But that thought only lasted for the first 2 chapters that he appeared in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
*arrives in a hurry*
I’M HERE I’M HERE! this past weekend has been crazy and couldn’t find the inspiration to do the review, so guess what, I’ll do it now during lunchtime XD
Let’s start from the quality of the animation…this is the first episode in which the drop of the animation quality is tangible…nothing to the extent of Sailor Moon Crystal of course, but yeah sometimes even the close ups were a bit weird…If I remember correctly, I think I’ve read on a japanese blog that the animation directors were actually two for this episode…I’ll check it up when they update the japanese CCS wiki with episode 6 staff credits!
Even so, they always try to make Syaoran and Sakura’s close ups as better as they can, so it’s ok with me, lol! And the animation of Syaoran playing the piano was TOP NOTCH anyway, so they still tried to insert some quality content in an episode which apparently had less budget.
I think we can have a less refined episode once in 6 ones, right? Right.
The pace of the episode was slow, another slice of life one it seems, even if it had quite a good amount of material from the manga, The Dream is important, after all. I really liked how they portrayed the clocks and the gears, I’ve said this before but whenever she enters a dream I always get excited! I just wished they did draw Touya a bit better and with a bit more emotion when he was staring at her, that parts is important damn!
Then, one of the highlights of the episode: MEILING IS OFFICIALLY BACK!! I’m sure a good portion of the fandom rejoiced about that, my post on tumblr about her appearance on episode 6 made a shitton of notes! People cried everywhere and such…this is a proof that, however bratty and obnoxious a Clamp character may be in CCS, they still can win people’s hearts because of their good nature. I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE SUMMER VISIT, maaaaan she’s going to tease the hell out of those two!!
What else….I liked Akiho+Tomoyo’s duet of course, their voices mix together very well, and Syaoran playing the piano was a nice surprise!
I also liked how comfortable Tomoyo was in running after Syaoran and asking him to follow her, like she knew he wouldn’t be able to say no to her AND ESPECIALLY to Sakura, after she’d learn he’s able to play the piano! XD AND LOL TO CHIHARU’S “mmmmhhh” AND WINK! YOU KNOW YOUR FACTS GIRL, you’re in a relationship since forever, after all XDDD
Beethoven’s picture was creepy as hell and I’ll have nightmares for months.
Last but *not* least, I liked the added angst at the end of the episode. This aspect isn’t addressed in the manga, but it is very much IC for Syaoran.
Imagine knowing your girlfriend will encounter a dangerous situation, imagine being anxious about that and yet not being able to tell her *anything*, at the risk of being called a liar later on, when everything is out in the open.
Imagine seeing magical things happening before your eyes and even though you’re the most powerful of your family of sorcerers, you can’t feel a thing. The only one able to feel those things is actually the one you should protect.
Imagine the building up frustration. I like where this is going, for Syaoran’s character development of course. Sakura has grown and will continue to grow up in her own way, but there’s room for Syaoran too. Nice! 👍
Can’t wait to see next episode at Tomoyo’s mansion!!! FLIGHT and its love hearts incoming! XD
LikeLike
Let’s start from the quality of the animation…this is the first episode in which the drop of the animation quality is tangible…nothing to the extent of Sailor Moon Crystal of course,
Yes.
but yeah sometimes even the close ups were a bit weird…If I remember correctly, I think I’ve read on a japanese blog that the animation directors were actually two for this episode…I’ll check it up when they update the japanese CCS wiki with episode 6 staff credits!
Oh I see. Let’s keep an eye on these names and hope they never return again xD It might be like that one episode in which Sakura had the weird big eyes (the one she meets her great-grandpa for the second time).
I think we can have a less refined episode once in 6 ones, right? Right.
Right. Totally within the “acceptable” range.
I just wished they did draw Touya a bit better and with a bit more emotion when he was staring at her, that parts is important damn!
I don’t think the animators got hold of Touya’s design just yet. He doesn’t look ikemen enough.
AND LOL TO CHIHARU’S “mmmmhhh” AND WINK! YOU KNOW YOUR FACTS GIRL, you’re in a relationship since forever, after all XDDD
I totally missed that part so I had to rewatch the scene and that was a nice little detail. Also the smile fading off Tomoyo’s face as she closes the door, like you pointed out on your twitter.
I like the way it ended too, it wasn’t a powerful cliffhanger but it still was a cliffhanger of some sort, from Syaoran’s perspective as a character, as you pointed out. Ohkawa is really doing a good job with the end of each episode, really hooking the viewers in different ways.
LikeLike
“I like where this is going, for Syaoran’s character development of course. Sakura has grown and will continue to grow up in her own way, but there’s room for Syaoran too. Nice! 👍”
this is why i love the anime. please dont shoot me, but i have always preferred syaorans character development in the anime. and also the budding sxs relationship changes displayed in the first series. it felt more natural whereas in the manga it was very sudden. it kind of shot from rivals to crush to “THE ONE” for him. the anime added more layers to this development
LikeLike