Happy International New Trials Day! Tsubasa World Chronicle Review

Tomoyo's Choice, Leiyun's Determination by wishluv on deviantART

I can't believe it's already the 15th anniversary since I began writing New Trials of Card Captor Sakura. It makes me feel ancient, a bit nostalgic, bittersweet, but mostly grateful to the fans that kept this little fanfic alive all these years. But I think we all share the love for CLAMP and CCS, and sharing with this community has been a great journey. My present is a fanart of Tomoyo, with Leiyun and his Anti-Alliance crew. And young Syaoran of course. It took a lot of restraint not to add Sakura into the picture, but I wanted to do something a little unconventional for me.

I've been especially appreciating all the awesome new fanart that has been springing up both on Facebook and Devianart leading to the the September 1, 2014, anniversary which are all documented at the Fan Projects site. Great musical talent as well if you want a guitar cover of Maroon 5's Payphone over at the Yahoo Group.

I mean, how awesome is this fanart of Meilin and Kai by Dreamfollower?

So, have you guys read the new sequel/ continuation serialization of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle? First off, I loved the way Mokona-sensei colored Syaoran's eyes for the magazine cover--it's sort of a newish way of coloring. And he's carrying Li Syaoran's "Five Force" Sword as I like to call it. Good to see Mokona-chan again too.

Tsubasa World Chronicle: Nirai Kanai-hen or "Ideal Village" Chapter 1 seems to be a direct continuation off of xxxHolic Rei, and it's good to see Syaoran and Watanuki still interacting, and clearing up some loose ends from Rei. Mokona crying might be the cutest thing in this chapter. And nope, the story doesn't seem to have gotten any clearer or less complicated. But the general ambiance is lighter, sort of like the earlier TRC chapters, albeit, no Sakura (darn) and the main trio is more somber, as they have been since the Tokyo arc. It was nice to see Fai and Kurogane's usual banter, as well as familiar faces such as Masayoshi. It seems like we will see more of Gate 7 characters (I haven't really caught up to the manga yet), and perhaps some more loose ends will get tied up through TWC. I'm pretty sure we will at least get to see some sort of Sakura and Syaoran reunion by its ends. Or maybe it's my hopeful thinking. 

The song of the day is The Script's "Breakeven" which I rediscovered recently. Not very original, but I had the chorus stuck in my head for a week--you know those annoying moments where you remember one phrase and can't remember the title of the song? So, I apparently never heard of The Script before, though I know many of their songs--just never knew the artist. I love me my Irish musicians. And I for some reason thought the song was called "Falling to Pieces." And then, I don't know if you have moments where you remember you had a stuck in your head but can't even remember the tune. Luckily, or eerily, The Script popped up on my Youtube recommendation list. Youtube freaks me out some time. I really like the line,"Cuz I got time, while she got freedom." It reminded me of Tsubasa Syaoran and Sakura for some reason. " And of course the punch line that had been stuck in my head: " What am I suppose to do when the best part of me was always you?"