Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card-hen – Episode 04: Sakura and the Invasion of the Ents

Card Captor Sakura and the worst CG-ed Ents of Middle-earth!

I feel like this was the most absurd episode thus far, mainly because of the walking trees aka Ents who left Fangorn Forest. I’m sure I mentioned several times before that I am a big fan of Lord of the Rings, and if I wasn’t writing a Card Captor Sakura fanfiction, I might have written a LOTR fanfiction instead. (Correction, LOTR is the only franchise I’ve written a fanfic for besides CCS, though I haven’t posted it up online). 

Eat your broccoli, Sakura!

My favorite part of this episode again was Touya and Sakura’s breakfast interaction, Sakura worrying if her father is taking care of himself, and Touya replying, “Then don’t make him feel worried.” I enjoyed watching Touya flipping the pancakes one-handed, teasing Sakura that she sleeps with her belly uncovered, and even feeding Sakura all his broccoli. Their interactions are always so cute, entertaining, yet sweet in a heartbreaking way. I also appreciated a different Nadeshiko in a yellow dress photo in the kitchen. Sakura tattle-telling to her friends about her meanie brother, and Chiharu finding Touya amusing is a testament why Yamazaki-kun is her boyfriend.

Syaoran: Should I glare at the new kid or not? Nah, too troublesome, those two are in the way again.

My favorite line this episode is Chiharu to Yamazaki Takashi: “Your lies have gotten kind of lazy, lately.” 

Kinomoto Sakura to Shinomoto Akiho: We are mirror images! Akiho: I'm Nova, out to get you! (Check out Magic Knight Rayearth.)

Also, that was the least anti-climatic introduction of a new character in CCS to date. I think Syaoran matured a little bit in that he only gave Shinomoto Akiho a knowing stare, and actually was very civil to her, but refrained from his death glare. I’m not used to Akiho’s voice yet—her voice sounds a bit husky to my ears but I suppose her voice actress, Minori Suzuki, will grow on me eventually. 

Meilin-inspired battle costume!

Sakura’s battle outfit was my favorite one thus far because it’s quite original, compared to her previous outfits, and Chinese-inspired. I think this one’s the one Tomoyo used Meilin’s festival outfit as an inspiration from. Loved Sakura’s hair accessory too. I think Tomoyo made Sakura change into her battle costume underneath the stairwell this time! Worst is, you can’t tell from the screenshot, but this particular stairwell connects out to the school courtyard!  Also, I think the Li Group is on Tomoeda Middle School’s board of trustees and had the school renovated in shades of green. Their classroom walls are all painted light green too.

Sakura and the invasion of the Tomoyo-clones!

The walking trees were one of weirdest, or most grotesque, things I’ve seen in CCS to date—and I’m probably one to speak with some of the weird dark forces I introduced in New Trials Arc 1. I'm not used to visually unpleasing objects in CCS, especially ugly CG-ed walking trees. Worst is the sound they make when they are walking! And how did nobody look outside their classroom windows and notice? I know Syaoran probably was watching somewhere like the stalker he is, but in CCS, usually somebody set up a makeshift barrier or they came to seal the cards at nighttime! Also, of course Tomoyo is on the health committee! Figures why she is hanging out with Leiyun all the time in New Trials.

Moses-Sakura battling the invasion of the Ents. Go away, Treebeard!

The actually sealing of the Action Card itself was pretty cool, with the parting waters and crystal shard explosion, as is the card design, with the mechanical gears. I guess it’s equivalent to the Move Card of the Clow Cards. Or the Animate Card in New Trials. Clear Card Arc being animated in 2018 is making good use of CG for the card capturing scenes, overall, especially with the Aqua. But the whole time Sakura was capturing the card, I was thinking, oh no Tomoyo can’t film anything! And sure enough, Tomoyo was heartbroken once again she failed at videotaping though she was so fully prepared this time!

If Clow Reed had his own way. But thank goodness for Syaoran and Touya that Clow, despite being near omnipotent, fails as a matchmaker.

I also enjoyed Yue’s conversation with Sakura. The screenshot of the two above was the prettiest image in my opinion this episode, and I was annoyed with Kero-chan for popping up in the middle and ruining a perfectly symmetrical shot of the wand’s wings between Sakura and Yue. Yue aka Dr. Jekyll and Hyde transforming back abruptly as usual was typical as well.

Syaoran redecorated his room and there is no green!

It was nice seeing a shot of Syaoran in his room again, making a phone call to Sakura and then his secret lover/master Eriol. Sakura asking Syaoran if she could make him lunch was of course the sweetest scene, and then her asking “Can I call you even if nothing is going on,” is the cutest line this episode.
  

Yes, I think this episode confirms that Syaoran and Eriol are secretly seeing each other behind Sakura’s back. On a more serious note, I feel so bad for Syaoran for having to follow the orders of his mortal enemy Eriol. I don’t like the idea of someone as prideful as Syaoran having to do the bidding of Eriol as his faithful minion, deceiving Sakura. Eriol’s probably been brainwashing Syaoran over the past year, trying to drive a wedge between Sakura and Syaoran. It’s sad that Sakura’s all like a girl in love for the first time, while Syaoran reports everything back to Eriol. I like how Eriol’s reading Tarot cards at the end though. (Kara Reed also reads Tarot Cards in New Trials.) I've had gotten my fortune read by a Tarot Card reader several times--not because I wanted to but because my friends forced me to.

Syaoran, your future with Sakura is doomed unless you listen to what I say.

Some notes on Syaoran’s room décor—why does he have maroon curtains and sheets now? To match Eriol’s taste? Did we see a return of Syaoran’s infamous pink shirt this early on? And do you guys see that mirror on Syaoran bureau, next to Evil Syaoran-bear. I couldn’t help thinking, I’ve seen that mirror before! And yes, I think it’s think it’s Sakura’s birthday present to Syaoran! 

Sakura's birthday present this year sure bombed.

Today, for the first time, I realized there was a screencapture function on my video player program. Face-palm. I’ve been doing it manually via Photoshop till now. But then again, I do like to crop my images sometimes. Sorry I post the most random screenshots, but there are plenty other blogs that capture all the pretty, shiny shots! Also, with all the detailed cooking scenes, I think CLAMP is planning to release a CCS cooking book. I called it here first!  

Tomoyo: Sakura, change into my outfit over there underneath the stairwell. Sakura: Hoe no! What if people come by? Tomoyo: Don't worry, Syaoran's on watch.

 

New Trials Update: Kaitou Magician Origins Chapter Six

Kaitou Magician Origins Leon Reed Character Sketch by wishluv on DeviantArt

I posted over on the New Trials Yahoo Group that Kaitou Magician Origins Chapter Six: Leon Reed would be updated, and for the first time I actually kept my promise! Truthfully speaking, this chapter was mostly written out and nearly ready to release when I wrote Chapter Five: Mizuki Mayura, but I only held it back for possible spoiler reasons in the main New Trials of Card Captor Sakura storyline. 

Chapter Six marks the second half of Kaitou Magician Origins, Thief of the Night, where Mizuki Kai officially begins his training as a thief and also may be marked by a darker tone than the first half, Prince of Light. I'm definitely excited that Leon Reed finally gets introduced in the KMO storyline because he probably is the character most full of intrigue in the Nadeshiko generation. I find KMO Part Two more interesting than Part One, so hope you guys can enjoy as well, while waiting for New Trials of CCS to get finished up!

You can find Kaitou Magician Origins Chapter Six newly updated on my New Trials website's Kaitou Magician Origins page: http://wishluv.com/kaitoumagicianspecial.htm.

KMO Chapter Six is also up over at: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4670496/1/New-Trials-Special-Kaitou-Magician-Origins.


I don't do it often, but I posted on devianart a rough character study sketch of Leon, because I did that for Kara Reed years before she was introduced in the New Trials story line at the end of Arc 3. You guys probably saw a roughly half-colored version of it in my WIP collage posted a couple years back.  

I also corrected some typos in New Trials Chapters 1 to 3 which had a few Kero-chan-chans because of my careless editing attempt some years ago, which Amethyst Beloved kindly pointed out to me. If you guys spot weird typos like that, or broken links, do let me know! 

And don't worry, I've been working on the New Trials final arc as well.  

Music Spotlight: X Japan - "Rain"



I am pretty sure I must have featured X Japan before, though I can't remember clearly. The main reason I chose X Japan today was because there is a scene in New Trials Chapter 73 where Kai is listening to the band in the classroom during the cultural festival, and he probably was listening to this song. The reason he listens to X Japan was because it was one of Leon Reed's favorite bands, though it probably isn't his own taste in music. 

X Japan probably bears no explanation since they are that famous, even if Japanese heavy metal is not your usual genre. "Rain" composed by Yoshiki is probably X Japan's most emotional ballad, as it was written about the death of his father. Check out the lyrics here. I think it rather fits Kai and Leon's relationship as well. X Japan has its links to Clamp because of the X anime. I've probably listened to X Japan while writing New Trials since Arc 1, because it is one of the first Japanese bands I have known, since I was introduced to them through "Rusty Nail." I also love "Crucify My Love" equally as much as "Rain." It's too much to listen to frequently, but every once in a while, I do go back to their hits.

I was asking the Yahoo Group for music recommendations because I've really hit a stump with my current playlist and would also welcome any suggestions here as well! Similarly, I asked the Yahoo Group if anybody has any trouble when searching for New Trials on Google. My wishluv.com domain didn't seem to show up for me right for a while, (and rather the wishluv.revolutionhosting.net site did) but it seems to be okay now. Still, just wanted to make sure because I'm never sure how the Google algorithm works.

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card-hen - Episode 03 Review!

I enjoyed CCS Clear Card Arc Episode 3 as much as I did the previous episodes. I kind of wish I reread the manga so I can differentiate which areas diverge from the manga. But I like watching the anime with a fresh perspective, so I guess it’s fine as is. The animation quality is slightly subpar the previous one, just in some parts, but not noticeably. And I was glad to see Sakura finally had a different hairstyle, even though it was just two yellow barrettes.  Hope her twintails make a return!

Clockwise from top left: Syaoran's elaborate lunch; Tomoeda Middle School Cafeteria aka Hogwarts dining hall; Tomoyo's Norwegian wild salmon; Chiharu pelting Takashi: Don't you feel bad, seeing those gullible two?

My favorite scene this episode is the lunchtime scene again, where all the students are eating in their super posh cafeteria (more like a dining hall) because it’s pouring outside. Did you see the fancy chandelier lighting and the round buffet table? What kind of middle school has a cafeteria like that (didn’t they just eat lunch in their classrooms in elementary school)? I guess my deduction last week that Tomoeda Middle School is a very elite or well-financed school is probably correct. Despite their fancy cafeteria food, our main characters all packed their lunches, and Syaoran has a crazy elaborate lunch that would put any mother to shame, shown in the top left screen capture. It’s “leftovers” from his dinner last night. No wonder he has no time to help Sakura capture the new cards, when he’s cooking a five-course meal. I don’t even remember how canon it was that Syaoran was good at cooking anymore (sometimes my memory blurs with the character building in New Trials). Tomoyo also eats the most luxurious-looking cut of salmon ever, it made my mouth water. She must be following a high-protein, low carb diet. Favorite line of the week is from Naoko to Syaoran: “So, you’re a boy who can cook!” No kidding. 

I like how the crew also continues their talk about clubs—Yamazaki Takashi ended up joining the Lacrosse Club instead of the Performing Arts Club! What kind of Japanese middle school has a lacrosse club—they’re not some New England boarding school or Manhattan Upper-East Side prep school! I loved how Tomoyo recalled the Sleeping Beauty production in elementary school with Sakura as the Prince and Syaoran as the Princess—it’s one of the conversations I feel like could have been taken straight out of a chapter of New Trials, so it kind of satiated my desire of thinking, “if New Trials were animated, what would it have been like.” Even Yamazaki-kun enjoying the idea of acting again—and Chiharu’s sarcastic side commentaries are hilarious. 

Another adorable scene is Naoko’s sketches in Sakura’s science textbook, with a chibi Sakura and Syaoran doodle. I totally related because that’s something I would have done in school as well (doodling on friends’ notebooks, not textbooks). So, Naoko, on top of everything, can draw pro-mangaka quality sketches! We might find out later she’s a mangaka in training (maybe an avatar for Mokona). I missed Sakura's "hoes" in the middle of class as well! Their science teacher is a cutie as well! Also, in the Aqua sealing scene, I was worried that Tomoyo made Sakura change into a battle costume out in the open, although it was raining hard and they were under a pagoda. But luckily, Kero-chan’s battle costume explanation at the end shows the frog costume is more like a raincoat, worn over her uniform skirt. But then I realized it’s still sleeveless. Oh evil Tomoyo.  

Of course the first thing Sakura is worried about is if Tomoyo’s camcorder is wet after sealing a card. So, I guess Daidouji Toy Company’s link with Piffle Princess is canon now since the company’s development team’s mascot seems to be the Piffle Princess mascot? Yay! I always liked the idea of Tomoyo helming Piffle World in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. The center developer even looks like Icchan (Mihara Ichiro, president of Piffle Company from Angelic Layer). 

The flirty interaction between Touya and the clueless Yukito in the locker room was really cute. I’m glad they’re still doing part-time jobs together. But does Touya have the worst sense of fashion, ever? He’s wearing a denim blue jacket with yellow trousers and a green bag! What is he, a kindergartner? He should take some fashion pointers from Syaoran! Touya’s being all mysterious too, saying he discovered something else he could do to support Yue and Sakura and not elaborating, mumbling, “You’ll find out when the time comes.” Another aspect in which he’s similar to Syaoran. I’m glad Touya’s as sharp as ever, though, and him observing Yukito and Sakura both wear their hearts on their sleeves was rather sweet. I’m not sure if this scene was in the manga. 

Worst-Dressed Award goes to Touya!

And the scene I was looking forward to most, Syaoran taking off his uniform jacket and placing it over Sakura’s shoulders after she gets soaked was finally animated! It was sweet, how serious Syaoran looked as he unbuttoned his blazer and that glowing look Sakura gave Syaoran, clearly a girl in love. But I liked the scene slightly better in the manga—because manga art was so detailed and pretty!

Other random notes. Kero-chan is completely useless, isn’t he? And a complete mooch too! A considerable amount of grocery fees must go straight to Kero-chan’s stomach. And all he does is play video games all day—isn’t electricity fees expensive in Japan? Has anybody ever seen Sakura play video games? She must have a console simply for Kero-chan. And I’m not sure Kero-chan should be taking baths with Sakura? 

Cloaked Eriol 2.0 appeared at the end in a dream, and I guess Akiho is appearing next episode! It’s kind of confusing because so many Clear Card-hen character’s names slightly overlap with New Trials. Ah, synchronicity. 

I mentioned this over at the Yahoo New Trials Group, but I didn't really appreciate the similarities in premise between New Trials and the Clear Card Arc until watching this anime episode. It was a combination of watching a battle scene take place on the soccer field, and also taking care of two cards in one episode, I think. Creating new "cards" is not an original idea by all means, but I payed attention to Sakura's new incantation for the first time today: "Force without master, heed the call of my Staff of Dreams and become my power!"

The premise is similar, compared to the the New Trials incantation: "Spirit of the dark forces. I, Sakura command you. Return to a new shape under contract. Sakura Card!"  The main difference is in the Clear Card universe, she is creating new cards because the Sakura Cards are "gone." Spirit of the dark forces = to force without master. And in the New Trials universe, she is using her "name" to create a contract with the forces, whereas in the Clear Card-verse, her new staff is the proxy (hence she does not sign the new cards). 

And go over here for high-quality screencaps of the episodes on Tumblr by Jiri-chan! 

Card Captor Sakura Clear Card-hen - Episode 02 Review

CCS Clear Card Arc Episode 2 kept up with the quality of the first episode. As I mentioned, I probably won’t review every episode, but I was anticipating this episode all week long, so I thought, why not.

My memory of the manga is hazy, so I’m not always sure which dialogue was included in the manga script and which ones were added to flesh out the anime. First off, I’ve always enjoyed “filler” episodes in the original CCS anime—some filler episodes actually ended up becoming some of my favorite ones, such as the “Dream Card” episode, Meilin’s childhood flashback episode and the elevator episode. I’m too lazy to look up the episode numbers, but I’m sure fans will know which episodes I am referring to anyway.

Some of my favorite parts of CCS were where the crew were idly sitting around and chatting and just being their adorable selves, in between all the battling cards. So I especially loved the lunchtime picnic scene this episode. How do they all keep that kneeling posture throughout the meal though? They are such proper kids. I am very glad to here the crew mention both Wei and Meilin—I think it’s a good sign that Meilin might make at least a one-episode return this season. I thought it odd that they included a flashback image of Wei, but not of Meilin, especially since they mentioned her matsuri photo. And there was something fishy about Syaoran saying “You guys know better about news about Meilin than me.” It was sad he didn’t get to go to the festival with Meilin, and the fanfic writer in me couldn’t help going—evil Li Clan Elders, keeping Syaoran so busy! 

I really enjoyed the art class scene, because the drawing of the woman playing violin kind of pulled my heartstrings a bit, because it reminded me of Nadeshiko. I liked reference to Tomoyo’s design roots, sketching of the designs like a pro, and also a glimpse of her pattern book. The other thing that pulled my heartstrings both last episode and this one is how much happier Syaoran looks compared to when he first came to Tomoeda. I think the Dash Card episode was the first one we saw him half-smile in in the original series. Now, he’s smiling so often, gets along with his friends, even eats lunch with them, and can carry normal conversations with people other than Sakura and Tomoyo. The other point is, even though he has Sakura and is back in Japan, how he still manages to looks so lonely in between shots. I loved the crew’s conversation about clubs—as predicted, Sakura and Chiharu’s in cheerleading, Tomoyo in chorus, and Naoko is befittingly in the drama club. Syaoran is busy so he’s not joining in any clubs—but we see him happily playing soccer again in Episode 2—could I ask for anything more? Syaoran making a goal (I presume because it was off screen) and happily being glomped by his teammates, jumping up and down like a proper middle schooler, with Sakura watching on from the art classroom. And Yamazaki-kun is tall so he got scouted to the basketball club. I love how Tomoyo slyly points out that if Syaoran joins an athletic club, Sakura would be able to cheer for him. I also like how they did so much to flesh out Naoko’s character in the past two episodes, since she was pushed to the side often in the original series, and I’ve also taken a renewed interest in her these days. 

I’m glad Tomoyo came to the rescue with the Siege Card with her clothespins, and that Sakura is wearing battle costumes again. I found the last bit with Mizuki Kaho taking care of Nakuru at the end rather endearing, considering I’m not feeling too kindly to Eriol for being so mysterious again. But Eriol does have great interior décor taste. Why does Ruby Moon want to return right away—I wouldn’t mind more fleshing out of her character as well. She’s a lot cuter away from nagging Touya all the time to keep him apart from Yukito. 

I don’t know why but I can’t help enjoy Touya and Sakura’s sibling bickering so much—their encounters are some of my favorite parts of each episode. If I had a little sister as cute as Sakura, I’d bully her all the time too. No Fujitaka this episode. I don’t know why but it sounded like Touya was being a bit jealous of Sakura over Yukito too this episode though. And Kero-chan is a glutton, and of course Touya cooks okonomiyaki. 

And how glad I am to see Kero-chan introduce outfits of the week again at the end of the episode.

Random remark, but last week, one of our designer interns had a pink Card Captor Sakura mouse pad in the office (it was one of her magic circle), and I couldn’t help pointing and exclaiming, “Card Captor Sakura!” so excitedly.  I felt an immediate bond with the new intern. I said, “My favorite anime of my youth!” I’m not sure if I ever uttered that sentence out in public before, let alone work. She was like, “A new season of CCS started,” and I was like “I know!” The other two designers were like, “I don’t know what that is,” and we went, “How can you not know?”  

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card-hen – Episode 01 Review!!!

I can’t even with the amount of sweetness overload and nostalgia in this episode, in case anybody needs some healing after the debacle that was Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (which I enjoyed in its own right). In order to savor the experience more, I didn’t watch any of the trailers for Card Captor Sakura Clear Card Arc, and watched this episode completely “fresh.” First off, the Opening Theme didn’t disappoint with Maaya Sakamoto’s “Clear” though no OP song will ever beat “Purachina.” I didn’t watch the trailers so it was my first time hearing it. Based on the title, I thought it would be more of an upbeat sort of song, but it was rather more mellow, and the whole opening sequence was a clear homage to “Purachina,” which was nostalgic, and I am glad that the animators have stayed very faithful to the original series. I despise series sequels that seem to forget the original source material but with the original director, Morio Asaka, with CLAMP’s Ohkawa-sensei in charge of the script and series composition and produced by Madhouse, we are in good hands. At the same time, I wouldn’t have minded a fresh take for the opening sequence either, which is why I really appreciated the Ending Theme Saori Hayami’s “Jewelry” with the slightly sketchier animation, with Sakura and Syaoran trying to go on a date with Stalker-Tomoyo lurking in the background. It was also wonderful having all the original seiyuus reprise their roles and they sound pretty much the same or even better (maybe higher audio quality compared to the early 2000s). 

I won’t do a customary summary of the episode, since you can find that in lots of other places, and most of you probably read the manga already, anyway. I don’t really think my review contains anything spoiler-worthy, either. Unexpectedly, the person I was the happiest to see was Kinomoto Touya!  I always had a soft spot for his voice actor, Tomokazu Seki, as well, and I missed his playful banter with Sakura. The other part that made me go “hanyaan” is Syaoran’s return scene—never thought I would get to see it animated 15 years later. The part that made me squeal is the use of the “Purachina” instrumental version “Honto no Ichiban” from CCS OST 4. Different from the original manga is that Syaoran appears wearing a green vest over a white button-down shirt and brown slacks in the most Syaoran-like outfit ever, instead of the Tomoeda Middle School uniform. I think I drew a dozen fanart of Syaoran in an almost identical vest outfit back in the days.

They’re all midgets still, but their height seems to be Yamazaki > Syaoran > Sakura >Tomoyo. It was strange seeing Tomoyo slightly shorter than Sakura! My third favorite part was Yamazaki-kun and Naoko-chan ganging up on their new 1-3 classmate Syaoran and taking advantage of how gullible he was! Yamazaki-kun telling Syaoran, “Never change, Li-kun,” would be my favorite quote in this episode, with Naoko nodding knowingly in the background.  

Other random observations might be, is it safe to assume that Sasaki Rika transferred to the same junior high school as Hououji Fuu from Magic Knight Rayearth? More like, is Rika actually Fuu? They have the same hairstyle! All she has to do is don the glasses (which Fuu ditches in Cephiro anyway.) Maybe Terada-sensei broke her heart so she ends up in Cephiro, and hooks up with Ferio.

Another note on the Ending Theme is that Syaoran is amazingly as fashionable as ever, wearing a mustard shirt with red tie and plaid pants, and oxblood loafers! I think Sakura trying to take a photo of Syaoran, getting him to make a “V” with his hands is about the most adorable thing ever (but was Tomoyo always this stalkerish in canon too?) Sakura and Tomoyo swinging their hands walking along King Penguin Park is adorable too. I didn’t mention how awesome seeing and hearing Tomoyo in action again was, because that’s just a given. 

There was some heated debate over at the New Trial Facebook group on “What color is Syaoran’s eyes?” Which turned into the existential question of what color is amber? What is color? Is golden, red-brown, and red-brown, golden? Based on a viewing of this episode—his eye color constantly changes! Also, I hope Meilin makes a comeback at some point in the animated series! I repent for thoroughly hating her when she first debuted in CCS. I know I mentioned I was debating whether to watch CCS: Clear Card Arc as it airs or marathon it after the season ended--who was I kidding? 

Belated Happy New Year everybody!