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Yay, my bet for the color page came true! Momo is looking fabulous in full color. Her hair has a slight shade of blue, just like her simplified form. As a bonus, the Japanese version shows the cover of Clear Card volume 10! Make sure to check it out.
As we all guessed, nobody from that alternative Tomoeda seems to know who Sakura is: Touya, Tomoyo, her school friends and also Syaoran. It hit her hard for every person Sakura met and who didn’t recognize her, but it hit the hardest when Syaoran didn’t recognize her.
I was surprised how quick this was. I was sure we would spend several chapters exploring this alternative Tomoeda, but no. I had guessed that Akiho would be taking Sakura’s place in this reality, but that doesn’t seem to be the case as Akiho wasn’t shown at all.
The brooch in Sakura’s dress — also, Sakura’s dress itself — didn’t play any role at all… It makes me wonder if we will see more of this book world (or scenes that weren’t shown in this chapter). Specially considering that once again Kaito turned back time — just when we all thought he couldn’t do that anymore…
Kaito comes out of nowhere (wasn’t he, lol, gardening?) and has a very interesting, plot-revealing chat with Momo. She reveals that she knows Kaito’s “true name” since he firmed a contract with Momo and because of that, it’s almost like Momo has Kaito’s “heart” at her hands — we know how important names are in CLAMP universe. I now feel a little stupid for not thinking it before that Kaito uses an alias. You have to, when you’re that powerful. Makes me think of: 1) Is Clow’s name really Clow Reed or is that an alias too? I guess it doesn’t matter anymore since he’s dead; 2) Will Sakura ever make an alias to protect herself?
Side note regarding Kaito’s true name: if you’re reading the Kodansha USA English translation, they translated Kaito’s true name as “Mana”. That is, however, a mistake. His true name was not revealed by Momo and that was a translation mistake. Kaito’s true name is not Mana.
Momo is clearly struggling to make Kaito realize that the plan he is trying to put in action is too dangerous for his life, however Kaito doesn’t seem to care. Momo’s show sorrowful eyes when she asks him if he plans to risk his own life in order to achieve his goal. She’s really trying to put some sense into him without interfering too much beyond her own limits.
The page with shattered glass gave me so much X vibes!
So time was rewound, but not as much as Kaito wanted — probably because he is not as strong as before. I think Momo could definitely have prevented this from happening, as she is clearly stronger than Kaito is now, but I think that would be “interfering” too much.
Momo is giving me SO MUCH YUUKO ENERGY. Yuuko is gone and the role of sassy, wise, sexy one million years old hag powerful motherly figure has been successfully replaced by “Momo”.
Sakura is back at her house and a feeling of dread took over her — meaning she is still somehow feeling what she saw in the Book World, despite the fact that time was turned (another strong indication that her powers are getting stronger).
In the midst of all this, Sakura created a new card: TIME. This is the 24th card of this new deck (in the manga) and along with MIRROR, this is the only other card that shares a name with a Clow Card, The Time. However, The Time was an anime-only card and did not exist in the manga version.
Now, the big question is: IS THIS THE CARD THAT KAITO HAS BEEN WAITING SAKURA TO CREATE? I think yes. He has indicated in the past when she created REWIND that the card he wanted had a similar power but it was not quite the one he wanted. We know Momo’s book is related to time magic and we are at volume 11 so it’s about time (pun intended) Sakura creates the card Kaito needs.
Sakura does not remember when she created it, though. Are we getting some flashback or “unseen footage” of what happened just before time was rewound that made her create the card? Is that be even relevant for the story?
Speaking of the card’s design now, did you notice how the 3 clock pointers are all scattered?
This was a really good chapter with some key development (considering TIME is that card). I expect no less from Chapter 52 onwards!
The updated list of cards secured so far:
- GALE
- SIEGE
- AQUA
- ACTION
- REFLECT
- RECORD
- FLIGHT
- LUCID
- SPIRAL
- SNOOZE
- LABYRINTH
- APPEAR
- BLAZE
- MIRROR
- BLADE
- REPAIR
- REWIND
- SHADE
- BREAK
- TRANSFER
- PROMISE
- MIRAGE
- DREAMING
- TIME
Anime-only cards:
- GRAVITATION
- HAIL
- REVERSAL
- SWING
- STRUGGLE
27 pages for this chapter. 56 pages so far for volume 11. The next chapter will come out on March 31st!
8 thoughts on “Card Captor Sakura – Clear Card arc – Chapter 51”
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Chibi Yuuto's CHRoNiCLEs 
I can’t confirm if this was CLAMP’s intention or not, but both Momo’s dress and Sakura’s costume on the cover of Vol. 10 have Tudor-era influences! It’s more obvious in Sakura’s outfit.
I was surprised how quick this was. I was sure we would spend several chapters exploring this alternative Tomoeda, but no. I had guessed that Akiho would be taking Sakura’s place in this reality, but that doesn’t seem to be the case as Akiho wasn’t shown at all.
Me, too–and pretty disappointed, to be honest. I hoped Ohkawa was planning to subvert all our expectations and have the final confrontation occur when we least expected it, but I guess we have to wait for The School Play for that to happen. It’s a shame we got more insight into Kaito than we did Sakura in this chapter.
Speaking of Kaito, it was weird to see him look so healthy and defiant just minutes after he was literally gasping to death in his garden, but I guess he can rewind time right up until he dies?
Kodansha USA’s translation mistake is just embarrassing. A user on the Discord server said it’s as if they thought Kaito’s real name was “REDACTED.”
Makes me think of: 1) Is Clow’s name really Clow Reed or is that an alias too? I guess it doesn’t matter anymore since he’s dead; 2) Will Sakura ever make an alias to protect herself?
You know how much I’d like to know the answer to that first question. 😂 I don’t think Sakura will ever make her own alias, though. For whatever reason, it seems it was important for her to grow up in a normal family without the same pressures that Syaoran and Akiho faced, so I wonder if Clow, Nadeshiko, and all the people looking after Sakura now want her to be able to live freely with her own name.
In the midst of all this, Sakura created a new card: TIME. This is the 24th card of this new deck (in the manga) and along with MIRROR, this is the only other card that shares a name with a Clow Card, The Time. However, The Time was an anime-only card and did not exist in the manga version.
I have no idea how Madhouse is going to deal with this when (if?) the second season of Clear Card eventually comes out. Maybe this is why they changed Nadeshiko’s heirloom into a key? So it’ll eventually be the inspiration for the RELEASE card, which will unlock the book’s powers…? (I’m sorry, ahaha.)
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I can’t confirm if this was CLAMP’s intention or not, but both Momo’s dress and Sakura’s costume on the cover of Vol. 10 have Tudor-era influences! It’s more obvious in Sakura’s outfit.
That’s true!
The School Play
The School Play is back in the game.
It’s a shame we got more insight into Kaito than we did Sakura in this chapter.
I know… I am still trying to figure out what was the purpose of all of what just happened there…
Speaking of Kaito, it was weird to see him look so healthy and defiant just minutes after he was literally gasping to death in his garden, but I guess he can rewind time right up until he dies?
I felt the same. I even told Cinzia about this. It was really strange, continuity-wise.
Kodansha USA’s translation mistake is just embarrassing. A user on the Discord server said it’s as if they thought Kaito’s real name was “REDACTED.”
Truly embarrassing… and they are supposed to be the most accurate considering they are related to Kodansha. The irony.
I don’t think Sakura will ever make her own alias, though. For whatever reason, it seems it was important for her to grow up in a normal family without the same pressures that Syaoran and Akiho faced, so I wonder if Clow, Nadeshiko, and all the people looking after Sakura now want her to be able to live freely with her own name.
Sakura is also potentially more powerful than anyone that came before her. I can see her being more powerful than Yuuko when she becomes as old as Yuuko was. Maybe she will be so powerful as to not be affected by anyone trying to do her wrong by knowing her name xD I don’t know how this logic works, I’m just making guesses…
Maybe this is why they changed Nadeshiko’s heirloom into a key? So it’ll eventually be the inspiration for the RELEASE card, which will unlock the book’s powers…? (I’m sorry, ahaha.)
WE HAVE AN ANSWER! haha But considering it was “okay” to have a MIRROR card, I assume it’s “okay” to have a TIME card. But yes, we have yet to see why the clock turned into a key in the anime…
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Sakura is also potentially more powerful than anyone that came before her. I can see her being more powerful than Yuuko when she becomes as old as Yuuko was.
If Sakura is still supposed to be more powerful than Clow, then she’s definitely more powerful than Yuuko ever was, ahaha.
TBH, I’m not sure why you even brought up Yuuko, since the Clow parallel is a lot more relevant? We focus a lot on how Clow lost control of his magic when Yuuko died, but lose sight of the fact that he was apparently able to manage his problem for hundreds of years before that, suggesting he had some kind of coping mechanism that helped him get through lord-knows-how-many deaths of family and friends. (Otherwise, why would the Yuuko incident be the one that convinced him to give up his life out of guilt?) Momo seems to be trying to tell Sakura that the coping mechanism she’s come up with–“Everything will be all right”–isn’t going to hold up well in the future unless she understands it on a deeper level.
That’s why I think the issue here isn’t raw power. Spinel said it himself a few volumes ago: if Sakura can’t control her magic, then she might as well not have any at all when it comes to protecting herself and others. This isn’t a series where “more power = better,” but where knowledge–especially your ability to understand yourself and others–is most important. Syaoran and Kaito understand Sakura’s mentality very well, and they’ve both been able to overpower her despite being much weaker than her. If Sakura never backs up her power without any deeper understanding of herself and her relationship with magic, then other magicians will be able to take advantage of her for her whole life.
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Momo seems to be trying to tell Sakura that the coping mechanism she’s come up with–“Everything will be all right”–isn’t going to hold up well in the future unless she understands it on a deeper level.
Pan spilling facts as usual!! Yes, I completely agree with you.
I think that’s one of the many thematics I can see surfacing in Clear Card. “Everything will be alright” is nice and all ONLY as long as Sakura really understands what it means and what’s at stake, here.
What you said is very true: both Syaoran and Kaito were able to deceive and overpower Sakura, in their own way, because they understand how her personality works.
Kaito, in fact, seemed quite shocked when Sakura switched places back in chapter 42: it wasn’t a move that he expected from her. It wasn’t her usual naive altruism (what he knows her for), it was the FIRE to fight back because fueled by the love she’s got for Syaoran, something that Kaito, of course, doesn’t understand.
This also connects to the possible reason why Momo let her see her loved ones not recognizing her in this chapter: it’s the love for them that will give Sakura the KEY to understand herself on a deeper level, and consequently manage her ‘natural gift’ in a better way as well.
Remember…..”I wish I could have a mirror to understand myself…so I wouldn’t make the people I love worry about me…”
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You are right, by the end of the original CCS series Sakura was already more powerful than Clow and therefore, more powerful than Yuuko. Because Yuuko is able to send people to other dimensions I tend to think she is more powerful than Sakura NOW.
The thing is, I think Sakura is potentially more powerful than any magician, including Yuuko of course, but I am speaking of raw magic, as you said. Since she doesn’t have enough expertise, she may seem less powerful than a lot of magicians, but that is only because she is a magician in training.
I made a mistake by saying “I can see her being more powerful than Yuuko when she becomes as old as Yuuko was.”, because she already is more powerful than Yuuko, but that is not shown to us, the readers, as clearly as it was shown for Yuuko.
Yuuko was completly secure about her own magic and Sakura is not there yet, but once she is, she is going to be Yuuko 2.0.
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Here I am!! While I have told you the most of my thoughts about this chapter over audio messages, I will leave here random things that came to my mind after reading your post:
First of all, YAY it’s so good to see you weren’t disappointed by the chapter XD
I also do think this is IT, the card Kaito was looking for. The card took 90% of the page all for itself, so you just *know* that it’s going to be it . Also it’s about time , as you said, hahaha!
Kaito comes out of nowhere (wasn’t he, lol, gardening?)
OMG you reminded me that I was thinking yesterday “uh, look at him, he even had the decency to take off his gardening apron before reaching Momo, how thoughtful of him….gotta look presentable!
LMAO maybe some grass or leaves were still stuck on him, can you imagine? XDDDD
I now feel a little stupid for not thinking it before that Kaito uses an alias.
It’s not entirely your fault: the story made us believe so. Eriol mentioned that he went around disclosing his real name and affiliation like that because it didn’t pose a threat to him, and we all believed it. It didn’t even cross Eriol’s mind that Kaito might have used a fake name??
Truth to be told, I had already imagined something was up with his name, because I was eyeing suspiciously the “Kaito” part of it, which is written in kanji….he supposedly comes from Europe or at least a foreign country….(the same reason why Akiho’s name is 100% fake).
Momo is giving me SO MUCH YUUKO ENERGY. Yuuko is gone and the role of sassy, wise, sexy one million years old hag powerful motherly figure has been successfully replaced by “Momo”.
YAAAAASSS yasss to all of the above! With the difference that to me, Momo seems nicer, more friendly, more…I don’t know?? Likeable?? Anyway I’m totally, utterly in love with her. Gosh Ohkawa really got me, because I am loving all the new characters she carefully and painstakingly tried to weave into the fabric of the already established CCS world……
Speaking of the card’s design now, did you notice how the 3 clock pointers are all scattered?
I SAW THAT, it’s so peculiar. On our server I think Pan (was it you??) said it was to indicate the manipulation of time??
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The card took 90% of the page all for itself, so you just *know* that it’s going to be it.
Hell to the YES.
“uh, look at him, he even had the decency to take off his gardening apron before reaching Momo, how thoughtful of him….gotta look presentable!
I knoooow xD
It’s not entirely your fault: the story made us believe so. Eriol mentioned that he went around disclosing his real name and affiliation like that because it didn’t pose a threat to him, and we all believed it. It didn’t even cross Eriol’s mind that Kaito might have used a fake name??
Thank you sooo much for reminding me of this. Ohkawa-sensei is so tricky! And this is similar to what I wrote to Panicle regarding Sakura creating an alias for herself: I think she will become so strong that she won’t represent a threat to anyone.
Truth to be told, I had already imagined something was up with his name, because I was eyeing suspiciously the “Kaito” part of it, which is written in kanji….he supposedly comes from Europe or at least a foreign country….(the same reason why Akiho’s name is 100% fake).
Yes. Good points. Both their real names must be foreign, then.
On our server I think Pan (was it you??) said it was to indicate the manipulation of time??
Interesting. Also maybe they didn’t want to stick with any particular “hour/time” in the card so they did it that way to go around that.
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I SAW THAT, it’s so peculiar. On our server I think Pan (was it you??) said it was to indicate the manipulation of time??
It was me, yeah! Imagine taking off the hands of the clock and rearranging them as you see fit. That’s how you change time, ahaha.
With the difference that to me, Momo seems nicer, more friendly, more…I don’t know?? Likeable??
I agree. I enjoy this character archetype a lot, but I’ve never really liked Yuuko that much, so it’s nice to see CCS get a genuine “bitter wise woman” in the cast. On top of that, we’ve gotten more insight into Momo’s background in just a handful of scenes than we did into Yuuko’s background over…14? 15 volumes? We can infer a lot about why she’s dedicated herself to protecting Akiho and Kaito, and we even have a good explanation for why she can’t interfere more directly in the events that are unfolding, which makes her more sympathetic to the reader.
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