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Last chapter let’s GOOOOO!
Regarding the color spread, I absolutely loved the clear homage to the color spread of the last chapter of the original series, with Sakura flying in the sky! Even the blue birds are there! Such a nice nod and a very CLAMP thing to do!
So Sakura slept for 4 days straight after using that amount of power. I like the fact that although Sakura is very powerful, she’s still just a child after all and needs to be “restored”. This makes her more credible as a character and a reminder that everything has a “cost”.
So multiple smaller books were “detached” from the original big “book” that was “inside” Akiho and they are all stored in Fujitaka’s library? Wow. I did not expect this to be relevant, I didn’t even pay attention to the fact that the spells turned into small books. These books have officially entered the CLAMPverse and they will come in handy whenever CLAMP need them in one of their future stories.
Really lovely moment between Fujitaka and Sakura. It’s nice that now really EVERYBODY knows that Sakura has magic. If CLAMP ever decides to do another arc, it’s unlikely that they will keep the same settings such as Touya and Fujitaka not getting involved. It would be cool to have Touya and Fujitaka being more involved. Both of them have magic powers, and Fujitaka has half of what Eriol used to have. That’s quite something! I think CLAMP would not be able to replicate many of the elements from the original series in a possible new arc, and that is more interesting in my opinion (we’ve had 28 volumes of that setting!)
Which book CLAMP decide to show Fujitaka flipping through? Of course, the one with Fye’s tattoo. Who knows, maybe it’s the very original book that came from Celes.
So, the clear cards (and I believe this is the first time Sakura refers to them like that?) have disappeared due to the world being rewritten and the massive amount of magic that was used. All but one: FLIGHT, of course. So Sakura has all the Sakura Cards + FLIGHT? Eriol also explains that some of them changed their shape/design because Sakura cast them using the Dream Wand.
When Clear Card started, we all wondered whether we would see the scene in which Sakura gives away her Star Wand to clone!Sakura from Tsubasa and although we did not have the direct crossover scene, it’s heavily implied that this is what happened, because of the way she says, quoting Fujitaka, wondering if the key will also go to where it’s supposed to go. Now, I also know that there are theories that say that that scene in Tsubasa never took place because it is from a reality that was erased after time and space were readjusted, so maybe CLAMP did not want to touch that and leave that door open to interpretation.
Oh my, Touya is looking so HANDSOME!!! Everyone is so well drawn! You can really tell how much effort CLAMP put into this final chapter. Also nice to see Kero and Touya as pals (again, a dynamic that can never be unchanged from now on).
Full circle moment with Sakura going to Yukio’s house wearing the pin he gave to her. But I thought we would see their conversation? I guess CLAMP wanted to show a bit of every character in this final chapter.
I was a bit surprised to learn that Akiho would leave Japan. Somehow, I expected them to stay in Japan given how close she became to Sakura and everybody else. But Kaito’s time has stopped (akin to Yuuko?) and Akiho wants to search for a method to make his time run again. Girl, it took a whole mess to resume someone’s time again the last time this happened… xD
So that means, at least for a while, only Akiho will grow older, while Kaito will remain the way he is, at least on the outside…
So Kaito’s real name is Cristaux (French for “crystals”)! Is this why crystals were a regular motif all throughout Clear Card? For instance, when Sakura was securing a card, we could see some crystals, but the magic was coming from Sakura herself, not Kaito/Cristaux… hmmm.
So Eriol will buy Akiho’s current house and Clow’s former house. Yes, everything is back to normal xD
And Akiho’s bedroom is still in Sakura’s house?? So that really means that there was some sort of “merge” between the two realities. Some things were erased or changed and somethings not. It’s cute that Sakura will keep it as a guest room whenever Akiho comes visit =)
What did Kaito/Cristaux hear from Syaoran that made him offer to teach Syaoran how to use time magic? I am too lazy to check a few chapters back ˆˆ” So cute to see the “moonies” exchanging contacts xD But look at CLAMP planting seeds for future arcs or cameo appearances xD We should all look forward seeing Syaoran performing some time magic.
SO AKIHO’S TRUE NAME IS COSMOS, just like her favorite flower! It seems fitting considering Sakura is also the name of a flower. But isn’t Shinomoto an alias too? Surely that’s a Japanese surname? I thought we would learn her full name…
Once again CLAMP pays homage to the last chapter of the original series by reproducing line “We’ll be together forever!”, but this time meant for Cosmos and Cristaux (“You’ll be together forever!”)
Those last two pages are so beautiful! ♡
And then another full circle moment showing the back of a clear card — as opposed to the back of a Sakura card as seen in Chapter 1. Very much RuPaul’s The Beginning haha!
AND SO IT ENDS!
I still have a lot to digest. It’s still very fresh and maybe what I write now will change, but these are my raw impressions right now.
Before I go, I need to point out the fact that sadly the latter half of Clear Card did not connect to me the way I had hoped it would. As much as I love all CLAMP characters, I was not fully involved in Akiho and Kaito’s storyline, which took most of the attention as the story progressed. It’s very painful for me to write this, because I really wanted to connect to the story on that level. Nonetheless, it was still a joy following this story monthly for the past 7 and half years.
In general, I am very happy with this ending. It works even if the series was shorter (which is my main complain). I still don’t think Clear Card needed to have 16 volumes and I think the same effect could have been achieved with less volumes.
This ending also felt more “complete” than a few of the more recent endings by CLAMP. Other than the Magic Association, which I had a hunch we would not get a lot of details about, pretty much everything else is explained. I didn’t feel like there were any loose endings. I know I mentioned Akiho’s real surname, but that can be revealed later in a guidebook or something. It’s not relevant to the plot. Having such a “complete” ending was a relief to me. I was afraid CLAMP would leave a lot of things without an explanation, as they have been doing on their more recent endings.
I am not too sure about Kaito’s outcome. He looks very miserable that’s for sure, but for someone who messed with time left and right, I thought he would get a heavier punishment. But then again, I guess having your time stopped can be quite sorrowful. Watching everyone you love around you growing old but not you must be terrible. Maybe I need to digest that more.
All in all, this ending made “sense” to me. However, when Clear Card started, I asked myself several times if this sequel was necessary and what would “change” in Sakura as a character after the end of the arc. What are the consequences for her a character, that was brought thanks to this arc? I must confess I am having a hard time answering that question. If you remove Clear Card of the main “Card Captor Sakura” storyline, I don’t know if there is a lot of impact in Sakura as a character. Sure, she became a lot more powerful and in control of her magic, but what else?
I know Ohkawa-sensei said multiple times that this is Sakura’s story, but from the latter half of the arc all until the end, it did feel like her story was left aside a bit in favor of Akiho’s storyline.
I don’t know if I am using the right words, but if you take Sakura from Chapter 1 and this Sakura from Chapter 80, what else has changed except her getting more powerful and two new friends? I know this sounds REDUCTIVE but this is a genuine question.
One can argue that her bond with Syaoran is stronger, same with her other friends and guardians, but this was a given ever since the original series ended. We all knew that as time went by, her bond with the people she loves would only grow stronger. It was a given. It was also a given she would become more powerful as time went by.
Even if we never get another arc or cameo appearance again, ever, we can be sure that she will be more powerful and her bond with her loved ones will get stronger. So the question remains: what is the impact of Clear Card in the “Card Captor Sakura” storyline?
Since CLAMP were paying a lot of homages to the original series, it would have been nice to have a time skip as well at the end. Maybe in the special chapter coming on March 1st? Either that or some crossover with XXXHOLiC (which may or may not be resumed by then)?
Compared to the original series, this ending felt a lot more like CLAMP were leaving several “open doors”. The original series sort of lived on its own and at that point it was not connected to any CLAMP work until XXXHOLiC and Tsubasa came about. It ended in a way that did not necessarily leave any room for a continuation. This time, many years and works later, however, it is clear that Card Captor Sakura fully belongs to the CLAMP universe and it’s a living organism. CLAMP left enough threads to be explored whether it being on a new arc or a crossover in a future work.
Surely this won’t be the last that we see of Sakura, Syaoran, Cosmos and Cristaux.
A very special thank you to all of you who have been reading these reviews monthly. From the bottom of my heart ♡
13 thoughts on “Card Captor Sakura – Clear Card arc – Chapter 80 (Final)”
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Chibi Yuuto's CHRoNiCLEs 
It seems like there will be a special chapter coming out on March 1, 2024, so it is not fully ended for the release.
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Yes, but it will most likely be a short chapter, like the previous “special chapters” released.
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Wow, what a journey! I have some mixed feelings about this series too, but overall, I think I’m satisfied. I was very nervous as time went on, but I’m glad that CLAMP was allowed time enough to write the ending they wanted instead of rushed into one.
Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into this site. I’ve been lurking lately, but I always look forward to reading your takes on things. Looking forward to reading more on whatever CLAMP decides to put out next (hopefully xxxHolic Rei!)
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Thank you very much for lurking around and reading my comments! But thank you even more for manifesting yourself this time around. I really appreciate it! =)
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i’m a bit confused. are the clear cards now locked in the alice in clockland book akiho has been carrying throughout the manga (with the exception of flight)?
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I am not sure… I think they just disappeared.
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Reading again I suppose that’s what happened but it’s hard to tell if that happened to all of them or just blank and rewind it’s not written very clearly.
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They all disappeared except for flight, they were consumed by Momo’s book as “magical fuel” for Kaito’s activation of the book, and “Remind” and “Blank” consumed themselves to remind everyone of their true memories, and make all the magical association and clan forget about Akiho and Kaito.
I think this is a way for CLAMP to nerf Sakura, because she may have been too overpowered with time and mind-altering magic at her disposal. There would be no one in the world who could face her if they wanted to make a villain for a potential sequel.
But the old Sakura cards were all changed, they became a combination of the old cards with the new magic. Look at the back of the card when Sakura is showing Eriol the cards through the pone. The Sakura cards now have the new magic circle of the clear cards, and the front has the same elements as well.
The cards changed first when Syaoran took them form Sakura, they gained moon elements to their design, and now they are a combination of the clear cards (which were a force without master because Sakura created them unconsciously) and the Sakura-Clow cards. Leaving Sakura with a “spare” wand, which she can gift to CloneSakura in the future.
I’m a bit disappointed that we did not get to see what the more abstract cards could do, like Choice and Kindness, but maybe the anime will give them some use. Let us hope so…
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This chapter… It does not feel like an ending at all… It feels like it’s preparing a setting for a new story. Maybe a movie? Hopefully? I don’t think there is enough material for a full sequel, as you mention Chibiyuuto, this setting cannot work anymore. If Sakura’s story is continued, it should be sweet and short, tying loose ends, like meeting with Momo again, Sakura having a proper conversation with her mom, Touya meeting his great grandpa, Akiho visiting Fujitaka’s library and Sakura remembering ALL the times Kaito turned back time (I love the chapter where Touya warns him not to mess with his family).
You are right, Kaito looks miserable, and there is something wrong with his eyes, they look glassy, but not quite like Yuuko’s, which looked “dead”, though that may just be because of the difference in drawing style for this manga…
I’m all up for a movie in which Kaito is healed and his time starts advancing again, though I think it would be better for Kaito to stop the time within Akiho too, as we have seen him do before (in the pool chapter, when Sakura uses Reflect). As it stands now, Akiho’s time is moving, but Kaito’s isn’t, the situation was reversed. There indeed was “no coming back” as Sakura’s dreams predicted.
Also, I think only Momo can heal Kaito, the gimmick is that, as Kaito’s clock is stopped so is his time, thus, he will not suffer more or get any worse than he is now. Does this not imply that if his time starts again he will die? That is why Akiho plans to first cure him and then make his time advance, but we are talking Yuuko and Clow levels of magic here, maybe they won’t be able to heal him ever… CLAMP loves their drama.
I predict that the special chapter on March 1, will be about Sakura visiting Yukito’s house within this chapter’s timeframe, this ending is missing Yue, after all.
Thank you so much for always giving us the news, I’ve been following you for many years and I will continue to do so, have a wonderful end of the year XOXO
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Oh, I so agree with you. It felt like there was something missing in the story, and Sakura ended up taking a back seat in the latter part of the narrative! Even Syaoran seemed to have a more important role than she did.
While they were in the book ‘Alice in the Clockland,’ they made me expect so much more than what actually happened. ‘Cause it was the “this is it” moment awaited in the story, and it was like a ‘puff,’ so much anticipation for, I’d say, “nothing really”, and that was kind of it…
As I read through the entire arc, I was always expecting the worst drama possible for when ‘the time would come’ and the ‘no going back’ thing. I thought of many more sad and dramatic possibilities for the ending. At first, I thought Kaito hated magic because of the clans and what they did to Akiho, and he was planning to use the forbidden spell to cease it forever. Or when Sakura went with Syaoran to help save Akiho’s most love person, with her most loved person (Syaoran), I thought she’d have to give up her loved one or her magic or something of this sort.
And I don’t know about you guys, but for me, there were many loose ends and unanswered questions that, when mentioned, seemed really important, like:
– What did Yukito have to give in exchange to own his powers? (Ruby Moon made a very serious face about the price he had to pay for it.) Even in the alternative timeline, it is understood that he did it as well. So, he had to pay it anyway. What was it? And it was simply forgotten.
– Why are Sakura and Akiho-chan so much alike? I mean, they aren’t really twins; they’re from different mothers. (Are they both daughters of Clow Reed? One being Fujitaka and the other Reed himself? Since Kaito stopped Akiho’s time many times, maybe she’s older than she looks? Just the fact that they were born on the same day and time shouldn’t be enough, right?
– HOW and WHEN did Lillie meet Momo, and WHY did Momo agree to help her? (It is sort of let to understand that Momo was the beloved one to Lillie, and she had turned into that fluffy creature to dismiss the clan, but then it seemed like Kaito had just had a misinterpretation of Lillie’s words.)
– I also thought they’d go a little more into Nadeshiko and Lillie’s relationship, as well as Nadeshiko’s abilities.
And some other questions I can’t remember right now, hehe. Well, at least I couldn’t find if they had any answers.
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“I don’t know if I am using the right words, but if you take Sakura from Chapter 1 and this Sakura from Chapter 80, what else has changed except her getting more powerful and two new friends?” I am absolutely with you here. I guess that unfortunately in Sakura’s world, where everyone is welcoming, supportive, caring and forgiving from day one, there is no much room left for any real coming of age. As far as I understand, Sakura and her peers are designed to act super wisely; by design, they are spared from ugliness, misery, loss. I think this is somehow a pity, but not a fortuity. I am quite sure Ohkawa-sensei carefully planned Sakura’s world as we have come to know it. It is just… the more I grow old, the less this world resonates in my heart. To explain my point, I will go through examples.
– Akiho is presented as a pretty girl with basically no talents, no ideals, no plans. In real life as I know it, this kind of person would be fun for a little while… but eventually extremely boring. Yet everyone, especially Sakura, is willing to find her super cool. Why? Would not Sakura and Tomoyo, the perfect best friends, be more likely to ignore Akiho, if not despise her? How would Sakura feel if, by interacting with Akiho, she came to realize, say, her own bullying/hypocrite/miserable sides?
– Tomoyo watches her best friend taking a liking to a newly-come person. In real life as I know it, this would be enough for even for some adults to break up. Here we have prepubescent girls which do not blink an eye at this. I would have loved to see Tomoyo getting mad at Sakura, separating from her, getting a girlfriend of her own. And I would have loved to see Sakura experience the loss of her dearest friend (at least for a dozen of chapters). How would this have impacted her as a person? How would it have affected her magic?
– Syaoran steals Sakura’s cards behind her back. These are the very cards she took twelve tankobon to capture and transform. He did that without telling her, deciding by his own judgement what is best for her. In real life as I know it, these are serious issues: lovers can pick big fights for much less. Moreover, the cards pledged their absolute love for Sakura, only to silently abandon her and join her boyfriend. Therefore Sakura would have plenty of reasons to feel betrayed and lonely, if not desperate, at least for a few pages. She goes through none of these feelings.
In my opinion, the only circumstance when Sakura does grow up is episode 46 in the anime, when she fails the Final Judgement. As a results, she is condemned to a world where people have forgotten their feelings for the person they love the most. Everyone is courteous, everything works… but Sakura finds it unbearable and starts crying. Despite her “everything is gonna be alright” motto, she would be lost forever, if Ms Kaho Mizuki did not open her a way out by ringing her Moon Bell. Let me say Ms Mizuki’s intervention resembles the kind of action that has helped me grow up in real life. Every time I watch episode 46, the Moon Bell does resonate in my heart.
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Akiho and Kaito do reference Usagi and Mamoru of Sailor Moon due to the names Cosmos and Crystaux, but that is not the first one, several of Miyuki Chan in Wonderland’s chapters have spoofs of Sailor Moon itself in fact you can see some of the characters there being identical to the characters of Sailor Moon.
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I agree with you! I liked the ending, but I too felt the story focused too much on Akiho and Kaito in the second half. They didn’t even explained further on how their mothers meet and set the path for their girls.
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