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Episode 18 – Sakura and the Fire and Water Birds
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.
The Alice in Wonderland pop-up book looks really nice animated!
I didn’t know Rika was that much into music, and I love Naoko for picking the weirdest instrument.
The first half of this episode was largely original content. All of which could have happened in the manga as well, true, but in the anime everything was just generally more explored.
Sakura’s battle costume looks so beautiful! Yes, the references to the Shurano/Sharano arc in Tsubasa are everywhere.
The battle scene was really nicely animated. There wasn’t a lot of action per se, but it was beautifully done, a big departure from last week’s poorly animated episode.
Syaoran is clearly using Sakura’s cards there. It became even more obvious now that we could see The Windy and his guilty and sad behavior when Sakura praised his magic skills.
They have the same talk about the cards representing the four elements and SWING isn’t there. So everyone who guessed that SWING was not the earth element card was right! I personally thought it was! (shame on me). That means we have yet to see the earth-based card.
Then, the very serious talk between Touya and Yue. It was a revealing talk as some of the things said were never said even in the manga, like Yue not feeling Sakura’s presence at certain times (what’s up with that, huh?). And did I feel a self-sacrifice vibe coming from Touya? But I don’t know if he fits the profile or even if CCS fits that profile.
As I said before, the animation on this episode was flawless. I couldn’t spot any badly animated sequences. I am not completely happy with the design for the adult male characters (Touya, Yue, Kaito) but in general everything was top quality, as it traditionally is when Sakura is facing one of the four elements based cards.
Next episode will finally focus on the reading to the children that was talked about a few episodes ago. And it looks like we will be seeing a lot of familiar faces from the Li family! Prepare yourselves for a very nostalgic episode.
Only 4 episodes left!
32 thoughts on “Review: Card Captor Sakura Clear Card arc TV Anime – Episode 18”
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Chibi Yuuto's CHRoNiCLEs 
Do you think the D in Kaito D Yuna is the same “D” as Fai “D” Flowright from Tsubasa Chronicles??
I’ve been thinking a lot about this and I figured you might be the best person to discuss it with!
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i loved this episode so so much! it was very well paced and that battle costume was gorgeous!
with the battle i could only think of harry potter magical duels with those two birds shooting at each other! harry vs Voldemort every time! although it wasn’t as much action as id hoped i still preferred this capture in the anime compared to the manga. perhaps it was the colours…
im standing firm by my theory of syaoran has the sakura cards! that was windy card!! i saw her! and going by what we’ve seen him doing in previous episodes id say he’s having to transform them into moon based magic. (he’d have to right?) i’d be super excited if it was proven that these are his own creations though…
something that came to me… the clow reed magic/creations are the only ones capable of overpowering sakuras magic. syaoran tries with his magic but has to resort to those magic balls (i think sakura cards). the same goes for the other way round. sakura was able to defeat clow reed.
omg omg omg i loved that scene with touya and yue!!! it answered something ive always always wondered… how does touya really deal with sakura sneaking about. she’s really keeping yue out of it isnt she. likely to protect yukito and yue, she’s been asking about yukitos health this time round… anyway LOVE yue and touya interactions!! interesting how yue said he cant always sense sakuras movements right now… is that yuna tampering with her… like the time re winding stuff?
something that made me feel uneasy was this talk about breaking contracts. shit i hope this isnt where clamp are headed. i mean i know sakura is too powerful for her own good right now but i hope clamp doesn’t make her give her powers away or as said in this episode- loose the contract with kero and yue. … i dunno i just love sakura being all powerful mistress like clow and yuuko were. id prefer it if she found a way around the problems clow had. i doubt she’ll ever escape them but she could choose to find a way to get in control.
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“with the battle i could only think of harry potter magical duels with those two birds shooting at each other! harry vs Voldemort every time!”
Hahahaha I thought the same thing too!!!!
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oooohhh!!! I had resolutely given up after so long, but IT happened: the scene where Sakura give the roll cake to Syaoran + we FINALLY saw what the decoration she chose to make is! SO CUTE! I really really really loved their moment together: it was short but sweet ^^ and like several fans noticed online: it certainly remind us of the scene from episode 66, this is a nice parallel > Sakura did find her most important person, and she is definitely happy now 🙂
Girls gathering!
They certainly made Rika into quite an accomplished young lady, as expected of Rika who was made to attend the same school as Fuu by CLAMP: a private school for intellectually-gifted children!
Naoko teased us so much about her script and the theater club, they’ve been repeating it again and again since ep02!! I believe that we are OWED that piece by now XD Also, I thought she was going all Yamazaki on us with her Matryomin, but it’s a REAL THING! I even watched a video of it on youtube hahaha The Keromin made me laugh out loud XD
Sakura having a dream at that moment was very unexpected to say the least: I thought that like the previous times, Sakura just fell asleep right there and then, but was surprised afterward to see her walking in a daze…? Still, Akiho was very much awake and walking around, isn’t she supposed to be the MCF, hey? Else, the Dream Sakura was seeing wasn’t happening ‘live’, it was more of a future premonition, hence why the MCF never answered and almost the exact same thing is being repeated again and again. Else, we should, of course, consider that in spite of all the hints, Akiho might still not be the MCF after all…
Battle!
Sakura battle costume was lovely, it is very much made at the image of Shara/Shura from TRC, such nostalgia! I love it SO MUCH!! 😀
And this is the 2nd time we see Syaoran wearing the battle costume Tomoyo made for him, while he ever only wore it once in the manga, only when it was a couple match with Sakura’s…My hope that Tomoyo might have created a new costume for him too in this episode was dashed ;_; But then again, I would lie if I said I was seriously thinking it would happen, I was only really just wishing for it, somehow ^^;
The part with Sakura thinking back about the moment she was first confronted with the cards and Kero was hilarious XD
YES, Sakura-chan! It was all a scam! You were totally taken it and got into a unbreakable magical contract with a sleepy beast that had you collect the cards he let escape XD XD XD
Kero: teehee? -puppy sparkly eyes- XD XD
The battle was well done I think, and more or less went like it did in the manga, save for one thing : Syaoran.
In the manga chapter, he was clearly holding a card, hidden behind his back, but there was no such a thing in the anime… Not sure where this is going, we will have to wait and see how they decided to adapt this part in the TV series…
Still, in this scene, he is very clearly using WINDY, and the initial questions I wondered many weeks ago about are coming back …. HOW?!
How could Syaoran use the Sakura cards? Are they not Sakura cards anymore? Did Sakura actually LOST ownership of them? @_@ But she still has the Sakura book and the transparent vessels inside + both her guardians…
And if they are still “Sakura” cards: how can ‘someone else’, in this case Syaoran, use them? Too many questions @_@
The bears will probably be able to answer some of these questions (seeing how suspicious they’ve been since the start ^^;), but not all of them…
The only (convenient) solution that comes to mind, is that it’s not magic per se on its own, but more like also about the emotional bond between Sakura and Syaoran: he can use them because he is loved/trusted by their master? But if it was that ‘simple’, we wouldn’t see him being so ‘busy’ and trying so hard to catch those ‘lights’ on his rashinban…
I run in circles and come back to the starting point: HOW?!
^^;;;
The animation in this episode was definitely so much better than last week’s, thankfully! And from the preview, it seems like there is a big hope it shall be the same with episode 19 … and talking about episode 19
Next episode!!!!!
What I NEVER thought possible, and was only a DREAM, shall happen! For the FIRST TIME EVER, Syaoran’s family, his sisters!!, shall make an appearance in the TV series!!!!!!! I CAN’T WAIT!!!! And Syaoran will play the piano again, awwww!! >///< I hope this time we will see Sakura clearly showing some admiration or something, it was a bit disappointing in episode …was it 06?
And!
I CALLED IT!
When the title of episode 19 was first introduced a few weeks ago, I DID say that the whole "Akiho's lullaby" might really just be about MUSIC! XD And it really is Akiho's AND Sakura's lullaby after all haha I wonder which card, very likely an anime original, shall be captured next week!
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“My hope that Tomoyo might have created a new costume for him too in this episode was dashed ;_;”
Same, though it may be asking a bit much for Tomoyo to make two costumes everytime hahaha
“Still, in this scene, he is very clearly using WINDY, and the initial questions I wondered many weeks ago about are coming back …. HOW?!
How could Syaoran use the Sakura cards? Are they not Sakura cards anymore? Did Sakura actually LOST ownership of them? @_@ But she still has the Sakura book and the transparent vessels inside + both her guardians…
And if they are still “Sakura” cards: how can ‘someone else’, in this case Syaoran, use them? Too many questions @_@
The bears will probably be able to answer some of these questions (seeing how suspicious they’ve been since the start ^^;), but not all of them…
The only (convenient) solution that comes to mind, is that it’s not magic per se on its own, but more like also about the emotional bond between Sakura and Syaoran: he can use them because he is loved/trusted by their master? But if it was that ‘simple’, we wouldn’t see him being so ‘busy’ and trying so hard to catch those ‘lights’ on his rashinban…
I run in circles and come back to the starting point: HOW?!”
My theory is that Eriol/Syaoran foresaw the cards disappearing (my guess is by Sakura’s accidental wsh, but who knows, could be because of Kaito/Akiho), and Syaoran used the bear to save the cards and is recalling them. I’d imagine with the help of Clow Reed’s reincarnation, he’d have a lot of knowledge of how to do some magic with the cards that hasn’t been known up to this point. Sakura hasn’t opened up the book to check on the old cards in quite some time.
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My guess as to why Syaoran can possible use the Sakura cards (or atleast tap into there power), might have to do something with the power of “The Hope” and that grey doll that Sakura had (which she exchanged with Syaoran at the start of the Clear Card arc).
I guess, Kaito forcibly made the Sakura cards lose their form in order to get Sakura to create the new Clear Cards, but the power of “The Hope” in some way reacted, and focused the power of the Sakura cards into that grey doll, which Syaoran later took, and its from that he is temporarily tapping into the Sakura cards powers with help from “The Hope”.
As for what Kaito wants with Sakura, and the reason behind the Clear Card creation. Considering how CCS stories have been so far, i would say that he is doing it in order to save Akiho possibly from the curse of that ‘clock’ book and create the moon opposite form/being for Momo (most likely that dragon that Sakura sees in her dreams), in order to balance her powers. And i think that Touya might have some relation with that dragon from the Sakura’s dream as well.
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i forgot to say! the way the blaze bird was animated was just stunning! it was very imposing perched on that arch! once again the damages made to the surrounding remain even after the capture!
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” And did I feel a self-sacrifice vibe coming from Touya? But I don’t know if he fits the profile or even if CCS fits that profile.”
yes i felt that too. but since the sacrifice thing has already happened in the sakura arc with him giving up his powers so yue and yukito could live on. im leaning more towards if sakura does loose control of her magic and of herself (?) perhaps touya is the one who can counter this with both magic and emotional sense. eriol seems to be training syaoran up for this. im excited for the touya story to come into play though since in the manga he is also a child of clow reed so it makes sense he’s be on a sort of level with her despite the clow part of his magic no longer existing he still has his mothers side. either way he’s always been waiting in the wings so to speak, ready to be there for sakura. he’s taken this support up a level by earning money for her to survive on too.
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Good, very good, we’re back to good standards with this episode!!
I really enjoyed the style, and I actually liked the male characters? Also the animation of that battle scene was so well done, with that beautiful lit night sky! Good photography!! I knew we would be safe, because the art directors working on this episode are the same of episode 9.
On to the story! Nice introduction, with once again CLAMP’s Alice drawings appearing on the pop-up book (I think they didn’t directly use those made for episode 55, but the staff has re-drawn them in the same style). I also didn’t know Rika loved music so much, and Chiharu has got a dog named Moro!! Ok so I hope everyone saying that nobody ever points out the weird things happening due to the cards will put their complaints to rest now, hahahah! I loved how Tomoyo tried to shift the conversation onto something else, but Chiharu went back to it, and Sakura felt the guilt pricking her all over XD
The cake roll hand-over: Ohkawa giving the fangirls what the fangirls asked for XD
I seriously felt worried when I saw that somehow Sakura kept functioning even in the real world, while being in the Dream. This is kinda frightening tbh. Because at this point I’m thinking more and more that she’ll end up trapped into that world………
The Akiho/Kaito scene was creepy as always and interesting. So Akiho is “testing” the resonance, uh. Don’t know how this will be relevant, but the hands of the clock in Akiho’s vision are going counterclockwise.
I loved Sakura and Kero’s “quarrel”, hahaha, I didn’t imagine Sakura still held a grudge for basically being tricked into the contract with the Sealing wand and the Clow Book XDDD I also love to see Sakura joking and being playful, a side of her I’d love to see more often.
The battle against Blaze was beautifully animated, as I said earlier, and….WELL NICE TO SEE YOU WINDY!!! XD
They’re not even trying to hide it anymore, next step will be for them to turn the audio on when he’s gonna call for it XD Sakura noticed once again that he’s reacting strangely when he uses his power. Good. Building up for later!!
That Touya/Yue scene was an anime original thing but it was very welcome, because it added even more tension!!
And then, Yue revealing that at times he can’t sense his mistress??? That’s really serious imho, I can see why he’s kinda worried. And I feel he knows that Touya will attempt something reckless to protect Sakura, and since last time he saw very well how she broke down when Touya gave up his powers…well…I think he wants to spare Sakura that pain again. But Touya won’t budge. “The power is mine and I decide how and when to use it”, WOW, that sass, Touya! But this only goes to show that he doesn’t want to be stopped, hence he’s thinking about something kinda problematic.
NEXT EPISODE IS GONNA BE LIIIIT OMG, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I checked the voice actors a couple of hours before the episode: first Wei, then all the sisters…I still can’t believe it, actually XD This also calls for a Yelan appearance, I mean, THE SISTERS are appearing, Yelan can’t be left behind. I’m hopeful!! And I’m also eager to see Sakura reading to little children at the hospital, I find it very endearing.
So everyone who guessed that SWING was not the earth element card was right! I personally thought it was!
*does the victory sign*
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sakuras elemental powers are definitely more aggressive and dangerous compared to the clow card versions. GALE tried to slice sakura into pieces. AQUA tried to drown her in a waterfall rain. BLAZE as they said- the heat hurt them. and it literally “killed” AQUA.
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Yes!
I often see people saying that the captures are too easy (…and it kinda makes sense, uh), but the cards *are* quite more violent, indeed. Especially the elemental ones, which again makes sense. Blaze didn’t go around setting on fire the entire city only because Sakura sensed it beforehand, so they were ready, and they were somehow able to contain and secure it rather “quickly”.
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Hi Alex 😊
“The Alice in Wonderland pop-up book looks really nice animated!”
Doesn’t it? I’ve loved CLAMP’s Alice design since season 3. The part where she’s falling was great, I could feel a sense of depth 💕
The Aqua vs Blaze “fight” was beautifully animated 💕 They seemed colossal. Now that we know Sakura is creating these cards, I wonder what led her to create “Blaze” here. In the manga she was talking about Aqua being a bird and wondering what element “pairs with water”, but they only talked about “Fly” in the anime, was she unconsciously inspired by Tomoyo’s costume? If Sakura brings them into existence, how come she senses some of them before actually creating them?
It was pretty much evident Syaoran was using the Sakura Cards since chapter 18 (but why? I SO want to know why), but even though we already knew it, I was still shocked to see it! Seeing Windy gave me some strong goosebumps and made me realize I kinda miss the old cards, such a dramatic scene with Syaoran feeling guilty, the music was on point aswell 💕 The way Windy entangled Blaze was very similar to the way it caught in “Fly” back in season 1, so good!
How come Windy was much more effective than Aqua? Are Sakura Cards stronger? It’s weird considering the first time Sakura fought against “Firey”, using “Windy” was a terrible idea (because, you know… having wind to fight against fire is not the smartest thing to do), but this time it was the only solution, I wonder if there’s a reason or if its merely a mistake.
Yue not sensing Sakura’s presense at times can’t be good, I wonder if it’s related to the fact that he can’t feel the new cards power aswell.
So many questions, oh so many…
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This episode was gold, I really like it. I am hoping that the reason for Shaoran´s sadness/guilt is just that he is using Clow/Sakura cards and not that he is doing something dangerous/bad ; by the way I really want to believe that Sakura praising his “magic” and then backtraking to “technique” is because she is trying to confirm what she already feels: that is her magic, later when they explain everything to her, she will be like: “I already know”.
About breaking the contract I don´t think that is related to Sakura since Shaoran didn´t react to it more than to explain, so whatever he and Eriol are doing is allowed.
About Yue saying that sometimes he doesn´t feel Sakura’s presence, and Kaito being shady and telling Akiho he hopes her friendship with Sakura keeps growing, maybe he has already started to affect Sakura´s powers, it can´t be related to the dreams because they have been mostly at night so Yue will spot the relation, but maybe is related to Akiho-Sakura´s friendship growing up, and if so it will explain why Kero is tired.
And didn´t Yue told his name to Touya the first time they saw each other?? But then that event happened at Eriol´s house so this name thing and Touya having powers again is related to that or just a mistake/re-writing.
” And did I feel a self-sacrifice vibe coming from Touya? But I don’t know if he fits the profile or even if CCS fits that profile.”
I actually feel like if someone is going to be hurt is Touya, at least for me, he is the most vulnerable character from CCS, and maybe he trying to befriend Yue is related to him setting thigs up to “that moment”.
BTW Touya (sincerely) laughed, that must be a first.
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And didn´t Yue told his name to Touya the first time they saw each other?? But then that event happened at Eriol´s house so this name thing and Touya having powers again is related to that or just a mistake/re-writing.
Sakura84 pointed out that two of the major plot inconsistencies with the original series — Sakura and Kero not being aware that Touya knows about them, and Yue not knowing that Touya learned his name — are tied up in the scene where Touya gave Yue his magic. Considering that Touya’s magic is coming back even though Kero stated it never could, something really weird is going on here.
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It seems like Sakura and Kero is playing the ‘ignore the fact that Touya knows the truth’ game. Most likely because maybe Sakura in someway doesn’t want her relationship with her brother to get weird or anything (by openly admitting the stuffs). Especially after Touya gave up his powers, to help Yue.
The hint to this is the fact is sometimes revealed when Sakura asks about Yukito’s health or eating habits to Touya (because those reveal how Yue is holding up), in a really odd manner.
I think it was mentioned before in Clear Card arc, but the type of power that Touya is getting back is different from the type he had in the OG series (his powers in the OG was more related to spirit medium stuffs, and was more potent than Sakura’s, while in CC we still don’t know what type of power he is getting).
In a way, we can say that what Kero might have meant before was that Touya won’t get the same type of power he had before (which he gave up to save Yue) in the OG again, but that doesn’t mean he can’t recover a new type/form of power.
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I really want to believe that Sakura praising his “magic” and then backtraking to “technique” is because she is trying to confirm what she already feels: that is her magic, later when they explain everything to her, she will be like: “I already know”.
THAT would be a very good twist. It’d be very welcome.
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I’d enjoy that twist, too! It would tie into what Sakura told Syaoran near the end of their visit to Masaki’s house in the comic.
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The Alice in Wonderland segment was such a lovely callback! The way Akiho revered the book up until she found the perfect spot for it in her library was very sweet.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Sakura’s costume this week. 😬 The pants were cute, but the belt combined with the ragged hem for the tunic felt a little too “Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate’s life for me!” Going by the episode lineup, Sakura’s going to have at most two costumes left, so I hope Mokona made them count!
The talk about magical contracts feels foreboding. Since Kaito took an oath with his watch rather than a straight-up contract, it feels like something is going to come up with Sakura and her original decision to take the key and begin capturing the Clow Cards. Has something broken her contract already? Is she going to be put in a position where she’ll want to break her contract? (I agree with Lorna that Sakura choosing to give up her magic would be a terrible ending for the series — no matter how much Sakura has suffered for the Cards’ sake, it’s hard to stand by a protagonist who abandons her duty and her birthright just to have a safer and more comfortable life.)
As much as Touya wants to protect Sakura, I’ve been finding his presence anxiety-inducing rather than comforting? There’s always a frustrated undertone in the way he talks about her magic, and the fact that he’s so blunt about not wanting to tell Yue or anyone else about his powers is unsettling. (Gee, Mr. College Freshman, look at you! Hiding information and hatching schemes as if you were an elder wizard with years of practice and foresight!) To be honest, I’d be thrilled if Touya’s plan failed and the audience got a good lesson in accepting the limits of what you can do, but CCS isn’t that kind of story, ahaha.
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LOL Pan I always look forward to your comments, with all the funny remarks 😛
“Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate’s life for me!”
I was almost falling from my chair, but yes, now that you said it, I cannot unsee it XD
(I agree with Lorna that Sakura choosing to give up her magic would be a terrible ending for the series — no matter how much Sakura has suffered for the Cards’ sake, it’s hard to stand by a protagonist who abandons her duty and her birthright just to have a safer and more comfortable life.)
As I said somewhere else, not even an Ohkawa high on drugs and alcohol could arrive to the point of self-destructing the most popular series CLAMP have ever made. THAT would be a serious let down, not Sakura and Syaoran not kissing…that can always happen later. But if CLAMP make Sakura lose her power, it’s over.
the fact that he’s so blunt about not wanting to tell Yue or anyone else about his powers is unsettling
It’s as if he doesn’t want to be stopped, right? That, or since he’d have to explain the fact that Sakura’s powers are out of control, once the notion is known to Yue, it would show on his face. So maybe he’s trying to avoid that. Hmn.
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“It’s as if he doesn’t want to be stopped, right? That, or since he’d have to explain the fact that Sakura’s powers are out of control, once the notion is known to Yue, it would show on his face. So maybe he’s trying to avoid that. Hmn.”
*NODS SEVERAL TIMES!! i think its exactly this. sakura would read yues face straight away. and i think
she’s always been quite sensitive with yues feelings as well. if sakura were to find out before she’s ready, she’d react badly. she’d be a mixture of angry, guilty and scared i imagine, and those feelings would intensify and turn into something really dreadful i think. perhaps she’d become a real unintentional danger to herself and others.
speaking of triggers i need to make a list of “clues” and moments that happen to sakura that cause the phenomenons to appear. now its been revealed sakura is the creator of these cards. im gonna put it out there that kero is probably her inspiration for the monsters and mechanical themed cards. i mean she watches him play A LOT of online games right?? AND touya has always “jokingly” called her monster! those characters must be etched into her mind! clow created a lot of human female style cards… i imagine he was like watanuki in meeting all these fantastical spirits, gods and demons, plus i assume he was much older when he created the clow cards compared to sakura (?) thats a lot of strange meetings and life experiences put into those clow cards.
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“The talk about magical contracts feels foreboding. Since Kaito took an oath with his watch rather than a straight-up contract, it feels like something is going to come up with Sakura and her original decision to take the key and begin capturing the Clow Cards. Has something broken her contract already? Is she going to be put in a position where she’ll want to break her contract? (I agree with Lorna that Sakura choosing to give up her magic would be a terrible ending for the series — no matter how much Sakura has suffered for the Cards’ sake, it’s hard to stand by a protagonist who abandons her duty and her birthright just to have a safer and more comfortable life.)”
Although the anime may not follow this, the manga might tie into Tsubasa where we see Sakura handing off her Star Wand. And she said that even without the wand, the cards will still be with her. So maybe we can take solace that she will still be master of the cards by the end???
“As much as Touya wants to protect Sakura, I’ve been finding his presence anxiety-inducing rather than comforting? There’s always a frustrated undertone in the way he talks about her magic, and the fact that he’s so blunt about not wanting to tell Yue or anyone else about his powers is unsettling.”
Well, maybe he learned his lesson after dealing with Nakuru, that there’s no point in trying to say anything until the time is right lol
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“Although the anime may not follow this, the manga might tie into Tsubasa where we see Sakura handing off her Star Wand. And she said that even without the wand, the cards will still be with her. So maybe we can take solace that she will still be master of the cards by the end???”
ohhh! thats a very good point! with that sentence winterbat you have made me feel so much happier!!! i cant believe i forgot that. and its a fantastic way to tie up that amazing plot that was left as a huge hole for too too long!! i do think this series has subtle TRC vibes and potential links, that if this link happens it wont ruin (?) or over shadow ccs. theres even a massive link for a potential fai centred TWC arc with the U.K “D” group right! i’d like to see that happen. i want to see fais magic in full glory actually- but thats a TWC related discussion so i’ll stop there! ^^
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Well, I guess we can see where the animation budget from last week went. lol
Cutesherry mentioned this already, but I totally thought Naoko was filling in for Yamazaki with the matroymin thing! How have I never come across those in my life?!! “The More You Know…with Cardcaptor Sakura!”
This series has been good at teasers and delivering what has been promised in later episodes, like the showing of the film footage to Akiho and reading to children and such, so that theater play that Naoko keeps mentioning just HAS to happen right? Although man, we’ve only got 4 episodes left, and the next will be the reading to children, and I’d imagine the climax would be at least a two-parter, so… *fingers crossed for a surprise movie/2nd season announcement*
Huh, Sakura’s vision came on suddenly during their chat, I wonder what triggered it? Akiho’s happiness at receiving an Alice book? Interesting that the broken glass shards (from the cards?) made an appearance, were they there since the first vision of the cards breaking? And I was taken aback by Sakura still carrying on with what she was doing rather than passing out, that was a surprise! Akiho described it as “as though her heart had gone away somewhere…” and then Akiho too experienced the same thing! Perhaps this little tidbit was to show that Akiho and Sakura don’t necessarily experience these visions at the same time. I hope Akiho isn’t sapping away Sakura’s heart!! lol She seems unusually concerned about Sakura’s well-being (a nod to Akiho needing Sakura to live/other personality and purpose theory?) and Kaito sounded a little scared when Akiho was spacing out even though he should know what was going on.
I loved the cake scene of course! I’m glad we got to see what Sakura made after all. (Did we in the manga? It’s been too long… ^.^;)
How did Sakura sense the card beforehand, given what we now know about the new cards? Welp, any excuse to call up Syaoran for some duo adventures is fine by me!
Kero… you’re a fire type… so that means fire shouldn’t affect you, right? I mean, you may not be able to attack, but you can protect everyone, can’t you???
Hmm, at first I was like, “Come on, Sakura, with as many times as you’ve used The Windy card, you don’t recognize it?” But maybe Syaoran had her fly off so that she would be too far to get a good look. Then again, they changed this from the manga as I explicitly remember this being the moment that Syaoran definitely pulled out a card, and there was no Windy spirit shape to be seen. I wonder why they changed it? Also, of course Syaoran feels guilty because he’s keeping secrets from Sakura, but he seemed almost surprised that Sakura mentioned it. Did he too expect her to recognize it and was worried that she didn’t, or at least didn’t ask questions?
This has interesting implications though. You’d think that Sakura using a card of her own making to go against another card of her own making, they’d be about even, perhaps even favoring the one that Sakura casts to capture the new card. But it’s with the (old Sakura Cards) that Sakura’s new cards are overcome. Is it because the old former Clow Cards are more sophisticated than the new haphazardly made ones? Or is Syaoran, on top of presumably recalling the old cards, adding his own power to them? I’ve noticed from the beginning that Sakura’s new circle seems to have the kanji from Syaoran’s Rashinban. Is the aim to combine their magic to prepare for whatever time is to come?
Touya knows about the Mirror Card, and he said that “it didn’t occur to her to use her power.” Does he mean her new powers, or is he unaware of what happened to the old cards? And he didn’t seem to bat an eye at the new plushy in her room, you’d think he’d be suspicious of any plushy with magic lol! I was wondering if he was working with Syaoran, or at least Syaoran filled him in, and that was why he seemed less hostile when he found Sakura and Syaoran on their date. He seemed almost depressed when he first saw them, now that I think about it.
Touya will do whatever he can for his family. Does that mean another self-sacrifice on his part, and knowing Yukito/Yue will stop him, that’s why he’s not saying anything? Or is he gonna do something that may be construed as a betrayal, and he wants to assure Yue beforehand? I really liked the air of foreboding at the end of the episode! Stuff is gonna go down!!
Can’t wait for next episode! Is the new card gonna be music-related?!! Is that a wolf I see in the picture?? A reference to Syaoran maybe????
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“This has interesting implications though. You’d think that Sakura using a card of her own making to go against another card of her own making, they’d be about even, perhaps even favoring the one that Sakura casts to capture the new card. But it’s with the (old Sakura Cards) that Sakura’s new cards are overcome. Is it because the old former Clow Cards are more sophisticated than the new haphazardly made ones? Or is Syaoran, on top of presumably recalling the old cards, adding his own power to them? I’ve noticed from the beginning that Sakura’s new circle seems to have the kanji from Syaoran’s Rashinban. Is the aim to combine their magic to prepare for whatever time is to come?”
Although now that I think back, the capture DID hark back to The Fly’s capture, so that might be why Windy was more effective than anything else. Syaoran overheard that Fly’s capture was right after Sakura released the cards and had only Windy, and this wouldn’t be the first time he’s relied on an old memory of a Clow Card’s capture and replicating it.
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Syaoran overheard that Fly’s capture was right after Sakura released the cards and had only Windy, and this wouldn’t be the first time he’s relied on an old memory of a Clow Card’s capture and replicating it.
RIGHT, that’s why he knew which card to use. Good point!
He knows that, since the new cards are born by Sakura’s memories too, the effective way to win against them is using the same method of the card that triggered Sakura’s memories!
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“Kero… you’re a fire type… so that means fire shouldn’t affect you, right? I mean, you may not be able to attack, but you can protect everyone, can’t you???”
kero saying he’d be like gasoline on flames does that mean yue is the fire fighter out of the two guardians then? if water is under yue, kero would be the life guard i guess? too many questions are building up over how yue and kero are supposed to be sakuras soldiers/guardians. atm all i see is friendship and emotional support/counselling.
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“Also, of course Syaoran feels guilty because he’s keeping secrets from Sakura, but he seemed almost surprised that Sakura mentioned it. Did he too expect her to recognize it and was worried that she didn’t, or at least didn’t ask questions?”
say syaoran has transformed the cards required into moon base, that leads onto the background theme of sakura is immune/unable to detect moon powers. so she wouldn’t trace it right? although im not entirely sure this plot applies to the anime… she was certainly drawn to moon powers in both manga and anime but has it been mentioned she cant detect moon powers in the anime?
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“she was certainly drawn to moon powers in both manga and anime but has it been mentioned she cant detect moon powers in the anime?”
I THINK she can detect moon powers, but may not exactly recognize them for what they are. She just goes all “Hanya~n” lol Maybe that’s why she’s quick to praise and go all lovey-dovey for Syaoran ❤
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“But it’s with the (old Sakura Cards) that Sakura’s new cards are overcome. Is it because the old former Clow Cards are more sophisticated than the new haphazardly made ones?”
mmm could very well be. i’m guessing clow was much older and more established as a sorcerer when he created the clow cards (?). but sakura is literally only just 13. and she’s had a massive power jump too, likely by yuna forcing the issue upon her. maybe she unconsciously sensed the risky time manipulation so her powers responded by jumping up several levels to match his power. imagine doing a straight jump from grade 7 school to university cause you’re too cleaver and you’re at university standard intellectually but emotionally you’re still a kid. something like this has probably happened with sakura. so if she’s creating these cards, her power level is there but knowledge and emotionally absolutely not! and dont forget teenage hormones!! im not surprised its erratic and haphazard!
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This crazy scary thought entered my head.
What if, Kaito indeed did turn back time and resurrected Eriol’s house, then does it make all that happened there non-existent?
Could it be that Toya’s powers are not growing organically but more like its returning from Yue? could it be the reason why he couldn’t sense her at times?
Dang, now I am worried.
CLAMP usually doesn’t take the all too serious approach, but there was a lot of foreshadowing this episode.
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Whoa… That’s quite a theory! That would certainly explain the plot hole of why there is no longer an amusement park! Although would that make the Nothing/Hope Card non-existent too???
Although, I THINK it was said (at least in the manga?) that Toya’s current powers are new, as in different from the one he had before? And I’m guessing the times Yue can’t sense Sakura are the times that she has her visions, since they don’t only occur when she’s sleeping. Here’s hoping??? I wouldn’t think that the story would backtrack to Yukito’s existence being in danger again or else Toya would give his powers right back. That’d be Tsubasa levels of tragic if Toya was forced to choose between Sakura and Yukito.
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Agreed. I wholeheartedly dont want what I thought to happen.
Lol I think my brain went into overdrive, Its been fangirling CCS for 18yrs now.
I think I am in the worrying parent territory who envisions the worst case scenario at all times. :p
But yes, I really want the plot loop explained, which is a lot of information for 4 episodes.
But CLAMP is know to throw intense curve balls right at the end, so we have to wait and watch
I want Toya to do more than just sigh and worry. He needs his kickass moment asap
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