Merry Christmas 2017!

Syaoran puts his coat on Sakura by wishluv on DeviantArt

This is the longest period of time I have gone without drawing anything--it's not just that I haven't been posting artwork on devianart, but I haven't been drawing straight out. I'm not sure why. My fingers hurt from using my tablet drawing this picture--I guess my finger muscles haven't been used in a long time. I'd forgotten that both Sakura and Syaoran's hairstyles are a pain to draw and color. But I drew young Sakura and Syaoran for the first time in a long time to celebrate Card Captor Sakura Clear Card Arc anime airing on Jan. 7 2018--which is next week! I've actually held off on watching all of the previews and the later manga chapters, but I might give in and watch the previews next week. I don't know how I feel about this fanart, actually. I actually haven't come to terms with the time warp in Clear Card Arc, where Sakura and Syaoran are younger than when we left off with them at the end of the original CCS manga. I know it's clearly for merchandising/brand issues, since a younger Sakura is iconic and adorable, and I'm okay with that, but in my head, sometimes I can't help just think of Clear Card Arc as another alternate reality where Syaoran returns to Japan in just one year (as opposed to the original ending in the manga, where Syaoran appears to be around 14 years old, which I deduced from their designs being comparable to the Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles counterparts). I'm fine either way though, I'll take more CCS in any form I can get it. I actually like the new character design for Touya an Yukito better, but I prefer Syaoran's original design where he was less shouta-fied and more angular. Which is why my fanart is a hodgepodge of designs and something seems off in my mind. 

I was actually planning on releasing Chapter 73.5 Part A for Christmas, but all of you know, my self-imposed deadlines are just my fanciful thinking. I guess the good news is, Chapter 73.5 Part A is nearly done? All of you guys know by now that a chapter being done to the chapter getting edited and released can face delay, but I've feeling back in the New Trials groove these days. Darn it, I was supposed to have finished New Trials before Clear Card Arc anime aired, so I could just focus on watching it undisturbed. Knowing CLAMP, they'll probably spend another five years finishing the manga and the anime probably will get rebooted in another 10 years! I really wish I can finish New Trials in 2018 (even if I do finish it, there are a whole bunch of side stories that I would like to complete as well, such as Kaitou Magician origins and the Legacy of the Five Forces.)

I feel like I'm always a date late but nonetheless, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

I've shared this song before, but there is quite no song like "Itsuka no Merry Christmas" by B'z, my favorite J-Rock band ever, during this time of the year.