Happy Valentine's Day: "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" AMV

Everybody knows how much I like Broadway. Hazuki Goldair from the Yahoo Group posted up her rendition of Kristin Chenoweth's "Taylor the Latte Boy" aka "Syaoran the Waiter Boy," lyrics written, sung and recorded by herself. First off, I've loved Kristin Chenoweth since Wicked, and I love cabaret-style songs. Kristin Chenoweth oozes awesomeness, and I just love her versatile voice and sense of humor. Hazuki Goldair's rendition of "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" is brilliant as well; the lyrics are witty and hilarious, yet sweet because it's Sakura's POV, a perfect parody of "Taylor the Latte Boy," and it's amazing how well the lyrics fit in with New Trials (I especially love the reference to Chapter 49.5: The Words We Couldn't Say with the white chiffon cake. And I can't shower enough praises on how well Hazuki Goldair sang the song; her voice is beautiful with enough nuance of humor as well for the song. I like it better than the original version, though I guess I'm Syaoran-biased. Sorry Taylor!

After finishing Chapter 67, I had been working on a New Trials Valentine's Day Special Chapter because I realized that I haven't done a Valentine's Day special yet (not a good reason, I know.) Either way, "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" fit in so perfectly with Chapter 67 and the not yet completed Special, and I was inspired to make an AMV out of it, with the permission of our singing math whiz Hazuki Goldair. I swear there are so many talented people on the Yahoo New Trials Group. The lyrics, courtesy Hazuki Goldair, are below. Coincidentally, her birthday is also on Valentine's Day. Happy Birthday!

"Syaoran the Waiter Boy"
Lyrics and song by: Hazuki Goldair from the Yahoo New Trials Group
http://mathgeeksanonymous.blogspot.com/ 

Inspired from Kristin Chenoweth's: "Taylor the Latte Boy"
Composed by: Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich

"Syaoran the Waiter Boy" Lyrics

There’s a boy who works at La Seine
Who is very inspirational
He is very inspirational because of many things.

I come in at 4:11, and he smiles and says, “How are you?”
When he smiles and says, “How are you?”
I could swear my heart grows wings!

So today at 4:11
I decided I should meet him
I decided I should meet him
In a proper formal way.

So today at 4:11 when he smiled and said, “How are you?”
I said, “Fine, and my name’s Sakura.”
And he softly answered, “Hey.”
And I said, “My name is Sakura, and thank you for the extra soy…”

And he said his name was Syaoran,
Which provides the inspiration for this poem.

Syaoran, the waiter boy
Bring me stir-fry, bring me joy
Syaoran, the waiter boy
I love him, I love him, I love him…

So I’d like to get my nerve up
To recite my poem musical.
He would like the fact it’s musical
Cuz he plays violin.
So today at 4:11, Syaoran told me he was playing
Tokyo’s symphonic orchestra; he could probably sneak me in.

And he brought out something extra, saying, “Compliments of your chef.”
But I knew he’d made it for me, and he didn’t think I knew.
But I saw him decorate it with pink spun sugar blossoms
And I knew that white chiffon cake meant that Syaoran loved me too!
I said, “What time are you playing? And thank you for this tasty cake…”
He said, “8 PM tomorrow,” and I saw him blush before he ran away.

Syaoran, the waiter boy
Bring me stir-fry, bring me joy
Oh Syaoran, the waiter boy
I love him, I love him, I love him…

I used to be the kind of girl who’d run when love rushed toward her.
But suddenly a voice whispered, “Love can be yours if you sit down at the table and order!”

Syaoran, the waiter boy
Bring me stir-fry, bring me joy
Syaoran, the waiter boy
I love him, I love him, I love him…

So many years my heart has waited,
Who’d have thought that love could be so complicated?
Syaoran, the waiter boy
I love him, I love him, I love him.
I love him, I love him, I love him.

I had fun making this AMV; it's much easier to make a narrative AMV, because I knew pretty much which clips I wanted to use. "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" has been stuck in my head ever since I first heard it, and I'm sure all of you will find it very addicting. Originally, I intended on just using original art, but knowing BOTH CCS and TRC had "waiter" theme episodes, I couldn't resist using them. I wanted to make a story within a story within a story. Well, three parallel existences of Sakura x Syaoran FTW.

I also had fun drawing the Valentine's Day fanart for the ending theme to the AMV to the Card Captor Sakura Season 3 ending theme, "Fruits Candy" sung by Kojima Megumi. I always thought "Fruits Candy" was a very catchy song, and it fit the theme du jour quite well. I never saw the lyrics translation before, and hey, it fit perfectly with the waiter theme! Bad news is, I didn't finish writing the Valentine's Day Special. I didn't expect myself to, because two weeks to write even a short chapter was too ambitious for even me. Maybe by White Day...

Check out the original version of Kristin Chenoweth's "Taylor the Latte Boy." The Rebuttal Song is also hilarious as well. Thanks to Ellie (lunalove101) from the Yahoo Group for pointing it out!

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle AMV: Yuzurenai Negai

Happy Halloween! I unfortunately was not able to complete Chapter 67 of New Trials, but here is just a little something to pass time. Edit; I reuploaded the video for higher quality (Youtube butchers video quality these days) and added translation annotations to the AMV.

AMV: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle - Syaoran's Unyielding Wish

Medium: Sony Vegas Pro 8

Song: 「ゆずれない願い」 "Yuzurenai Negai" - "Unyielding Wish" (Magic Knight Rayearth Opening Theme 1)

Singer: 田村 直美 Masaaki Endoh (Jam Project) 

Album: Enson2 ~ Cover Songs Collection Vol. 2

Composer/ Original Singer: 田村 直美, Naomi Tamura

Romaji: Takayama Miyuki at animelyrics.com

English Translation: Takayama Miyuki, Wish-chan. I wanted to create the "best translation" though I don't know if this is that. The original translations by Takayama Miyuki from animelyrics.com were very good, and I referenced that heavily, but there were some lines that I cross-referred to Korean translations for. 

tomaranai   mirai wo   mezashite

yuzurenai   negai wo   dakishimete

Aiming for the unstoppable future

and embracing the unyielding wish

umi no iro ga akaku somatte-yuku

mujuuryoku joutai

kono mama kaze ni sarawaretai

The color of the sea is being dyed crimson

In a state of free-fall... [No gravity condition]

I want to be swept away by the wind like this.

itsumo tobenai HA-DORU wo

makenai kimochi de

KURIAshite-kita kedo

dashikirenai jitsuryoku wa

dare no sei?

I've always cleared impossible hurdles

by this feeling of not wanting to lose, but

whose fault is it if it's still not the best I can do?

tomaranai   mirai wo   mezashite

yuzurenai   negai wo   dakishimete

iroasenai   kokoro no chizu

hikari ni kazasou

Aiming for the unstoppable future

and embracing the unyielding wish,

I'll hold the unfading map of my heart up to the light.

dore dake nakeba asa ni deaeru no?

kodoku na yoru

hajimete genkai wo kanjita hi

How long do I have to cry before we meet in the morning?

The lonely night...

The day I first felt my limitations.

kitto, koi ni ochiru no wa

mabataki mitai na

isshun no jounetsu dakedo

ai ni tsudzuku sakamichi de

tsuyosa oboetai

Surely, falling in love

is a momentary passion like a blink of an eye, but

on the uphill path that leads to love,

I want to remember my strength.

tomaranai   mirai wo    yume mite

kuchi wo tozashi   hitomi wo   hikarasete-kita keredo

motto ooki na

yasashisa ga mieta

Dreaming of an unstoppable future,

My mouth was shut and light shone in my eyes, but

I was able to see an even greater kindness.

tobenai HA-DORU wo

makenai kimochi de

KURIAshite-kita kedo

SUTA-TO RAIN ni tatsu tabi ni

obiete-ita

I've always cleared impossible hurdles

by this feeling of not wanting to lose, but

whenever I stood at the start-line

I got scared.

tomaranai   mirai wo   egaite

ude wo nobashi   kokoro wo   hiraite

Sketching out the unstoppable future,

stretching my arms out and opening my heart

tomaranai   mirai wo   mezashite

yuzurenai   negai wo   dakishimete

iroasenai   kokoro no chizu

hikari ni kazasou

Aiming for the unstoppable future

and embracing the unyielding wish,

I'll hold the unfading map of my heart up to the light.

I worked on this AMV on and off for the past month as it's been about a year since I made my last TRC AMV, Saga~This is My Raod. I initially was making another AMV, but somehow I ended up with this one instead. "Yuzurenai Negai" or "Unyielding Wish" aka "A Wish that Cannot be Yielded," was the opening theme song of the first CLAMP anime I ever saw, Magic Knight Rayearth, and till this day probably remains in my top 5 favorite opening themes of all time. I first saw this anime back in 1996; Magic Knight Rayearth was one of this anime that I knew immediately, simply from watching a 10-second trailer, from the first notes of the opening theme song, that I knew I was going to love. Fantasy, drama, romance, mecha, pretty girls, a bishounen male cast, beautiful music; this anime packaged everything I loved. Sometimes, the theme song completely represents the anime, and "Yuzurenai Negai" is a song that does that.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle initially seemed to follow the format of Magic Knight Rayearth, three individuals (well, plus an unconscious Sakura) journey to different dimensions for a mission, especially when the three mashin from Rayearth are used as Syaoran, Fai and Kuragone's kudan. I like this version of "Yuzurenai Negai" by Masaaki Endoh even better because his voice really compliments the guitar riffs and captures the exhilarating vigor of the song, whereas Naomi Tamura's original version captures more of the wistful tone (check out the acapella version; it's very beautiful as well). I thought the lyrics really suited Syaoran. Masaaki Endoh is from the Jam Project, a group of talented musicians who often participate in anime projects. Part 2 of the video is a trailer with Yoko Kanno's "Prologue F," my favorite bgm from Macross F. I was going for a "movie trailer" effect, or TRC (what everyone thought it would be) in 1 minute. And of course, I couldn't resist putting the orchestrated version of "Yuzurenai Negai" for the credits. A sign that a theme song is a good theme song is when the orchestrated version is even more beautiful. I remember hearing the "Yuzurenai Negai" strings version on one of the latter episodes of MKR Season 1, at an age when I wasn't really aware of the function of background music, and that tune to me was the most poignant thing about the whole anime. I was thrilled to find the MKR OST years later. I think I sometimes enjoy making the credits sequence more than the actual AMV. 


The most difficult part was gathering all the different episodes sub-free or cutting out the subtitles (the process took up much memory on my hard drive). But besides that part, making AMVs is very enjoyable process to me and I usually end up being much more appreciate of the production and thought that went into creating each frame of an anime, and I end up picking up a lot more details than I would just passively watching that episode. For example, I didn't really notice how much emphasis was put on "holding hands" in the anime. Having somewhat of a hand fetish, it was interesting compiling all these clips. When I make an AMV, I try to tell a story rather than just paste together a random assortment of clips to music. The last TRC AMV I made, Saga, was intended to relay sort of the epic nature of TRC, which is why I focused more on the OVAs which is post-Clone!Syaoran revelation. I wanted to make another AMV which focused more on the prototypical adventure-theme aspect of  TRC, which represents the earlier half of TRC, back when everything was jovial, spirited and happy, aka before the Record Arc. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is a manga which I think really has two parts and the atmosphere and tone of the manga drastically changes from the Tokyo arc onwards. I bet I wasn't the only one who felt cheated upon learning that the "Syaoran" that we all grew fond of through the course of the manga and anime was a "clone." It's been a year since the manga ended, and I am still grappling to really understand the totality of the manga and waiting for xxxHolic to perhaps tie up some more loose ends. Somewhere along the way, TRC switched from the typical shounen adventure to a twisted Jungian philosophical study of character archetypes where are hero pulls a Jekyll and Hyde. I still hold my belief that though CLAMP tricks us in the end of the TRC manga with a pseudo-happy ending for "real" Sakura and Syaoran," aka the Tsubasas, it doesn't change the fact that Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is the chronicles of "Clone!Syaoran" or to me, the original Syaoran, the hero (or anti-hero) of this story. Anyhow, I hope this AMV helps recall happier times.

I also included the English lyric translations on my other TRC AMV, Saga~This is My Road. The two AMVs are meant to be viewed together, "Yuzurenai Negai" as Part 1, "Saga" as Part 2, as they sort of counterbalance each other and represent the two faces of TRC for me.

The New Trials of Card Captor Sakura Season 4 ED Theme

One of the most common comments I receive in email is "I wish New Trials was made into an anime," which I feel very flattered about and yet rueful. It is fun imagining what New Trials would look like as an anime, because unlike when I write original stories, when I write this fanfiction, I am often envisioning scenes in animation and transcribing them into words. Hence, it has been fun coming up with songs to associate with New Trials "soundtrack," if it were indeed an anime. Since we have moved into the middle of Arc 4 of New Trials, it was fun making an ending theme for the "last season" of New Trials and culminating everything that New Trials is into a couple minutes.



Song: 紅茶 - Koucha/ Kōcha "Black Tea"
Singer: 坂本真綾, Maaya Sakamoto
Album: Lucy (2001), Everywhere (2010)
Composer: Yoko Kanno
Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto

The clock-tower that tolls the end of love is waiting for the next hour
Can't stop this moment

The cherry-blossoms at the subway entrance will bloom again this year
So I guess we’ll grow older by another year
Spring has drawn near

As a sign of eternity,
The two of us at that time waited for a night when the meteors would come and made a wish

Embracing each other, saying things will never change
I was thinking I had obtained everything
What remains in these hands is but one thing
You were my first boyfriend

It felt like we could go anywhere we wanted by bicycle
I even remember the taste of the black tea I drank by the street-side on a cold day

It’s not that I’m lonely
This is supposed to be a choice I made myself
Yet there are times I want to do nothing but cry

What is there in the future beyond here?
How many more heartbreaking goodbyes will there be?
The clock-tower that tolls the end of love is waiting for the next hour
Can't stop this moment

Embracing each other, saying don't go anywhere,
I was thinking I had obtained everything
What remains in these hands is but one thing
You were my first boyfriend.

Lyrics referenced from Miyuki Mouse and Korean translations.

Maaya Sakamoto's 2001 album "Lucy" is probably here strongest collaboration album as a whole with Yoko Kanno (though she has had many other stronger individual songs). She wrote most of the lyrics on the album, including the lyrics for "Koucha," and if you pay attention to the lyrics, the album sort of unfolds like a love story. "Strobe no Sora" is the third song on the album and can be described as vibrant, upbeat and hopeful, which is why I chose it as the ending theme for Arc 2 of New Trials. In contrast, "Koucha" has a twinge of bittersweet nostalgia. (Ironically, the last song on the album is titled "I Throw a Vase from Atop the Hill." Koucha is one of my favorite of Maaya's non-anime songs because it has such a haunting yet lovely tone. I was glad to see the song included in Maaya's new 15th anniversary compilation album "Everywhere" because I think it deserves more recognition.

Because I envisioned this as the ending theme to arc 4 of New Trials, I felt obligated to include symbolism and whatnot in the video. I actually had two main themes going on. Because of the refrain in the chorus, "Everything is fading with the bell, ringing to me it's time to go," I had to use Cinderella theme. This is not the first Cinderella reference linked to Maaya and CCS; the B-side to Card Captor Sakura opening 3 single, "Purachina" (Platinum) is "24" (both Yoko Kanno songs), which is a homage to Cinderella. It's an adorable song, with lyrics in English. And of course, you can't forget the hilarious CCS episode where Touya and Yukito participate in their class production of Cinderella for the cultural fair. Cinderella is a good old happily-ever fairytale but really is an allegory of the persistence of time, as the spell breaks after 12'o'clock. What happens when the clock-tower strikes midnight?

The other theme was the rain scene, which I don't know if you recognize from the end of Chapter 59: Thundercloud. I mentioned that I get inspiration from many different things when writing New Trials, and I think this is a situation where I drew the scene before writing the scene. The idea probably started with me wanting to draw Sakura and Syaoran sharing a green umbrella in the summer rain. Most of the key S+S artwork in this AMV is from over a year ago, because I conceptualized this video before my first ending theme for New Trials to Maaya Sakamoto's "Strobe no Sora" and then didn't have time to work on it. My first New Trials AMV was the Arc 3 season finale trailer. I never studied film or animation or anything of the sorts, so it's been a fun process figuring out how to do things. The first New Trials trailer was painstakingly made frame by frame in Windows Movie Maker on my old laptop which really didn't have enough RAM capacity to render videos, so working with Sony Vegas makes editing so much easier. I still dream of having a large screen monitor and all the proper equipment for digital art and video editing, which is sort of out there for me because I am far from the art field and in the meantime have to work with the small screen of a widescreen laptop which seems to stretch out everything I draw.

I probably had the most fun making the 10 second preview for the "Next Episode of New Trials," Episode 62: Sakura and Syaoran and the Fashion Show (aka Chapter 62: Designs in Crime), same as how I had most fun making the preview for Episode 1: Sakura and Syaoran and the New Beginning (named after the fashion all CCS anime episodes are named--it's all Sakura + something something). I love how Irino Miyu's voice has matured, and it's a pity I can't bring Makino Yui and Irino Miyu and make them act out S+S scenes. My next goal is making an opening theme to New Trials with Utada Hikaru's "Sakura Drops," which I think I have wanted to make since 2001, but back then, I didn't have any video editing skills whatsoever. Most of the main characters of New Trials make an appearance in the ending theme. Can you identify them all?

Music Spotlight: Yiruma, Chibi Syaoran and Sakura Fanart

Chibi Sakura x Syaoran Bunnies by ~wishluv on deviantART

This fanart is in reference to the newest chapter of New Trials, Chapter 65: Cohabitation, Part Deux. The outfit is totally courtesy of Tomoyo (they come in all pastel colors with matching mitts and a cat version as well). I want a bunny hoodie too. There is something about Syao-chan here that I just want to pinch him and bother him. I actually wanted to draw Touya even more though. It is sort of Easter themed. Happy Birthday to our beloved Card Captor Sakura! CLAMP really likes April's Fool Day, I think.

Today, I wanted to feature Yiruma, a word-wide renowned South Korean pianist and composer. He spent six years in Osaka and studied in King's College London. His pianos pieces can be heard in numerous Korean show programs, dramas and on the radio. His most famous piece is probably River Flows in You, which became popularly mistaken as Bella's Lullaby before the Twilight movie was made. It is a simple yet resonant melody which I think can touch your soul, hence why it has such universal appeal.



I recently discovered that there was a vocal version to this every-so-popular song. In the past several years, Yiruma decided to write lyrics to River Flows in You and sometimes performed it live in his concerts. He mentioned ever so humbly that his original dream was to become a singer-songwriter, but early on, he realized that his vocal skills were lacking, hence concentrated on just composing. His voice is really good though, and he was just being modest. I really like the different vocal versions of River Flows in You, and the lyrics are simple yet poignant and match the piano so well, and I love the added strings. Much of the poetic syntax is lost in translation, unfortunately. The following version is from Yiruma's newest mini-album Movement on a Theme and is sung by Ruvin.



Yiruma - River Flows in You - 너의 마음속엔 강이 흐른다 (vocal ver.)

If there is one road that is just for you
Then it is in you right now
If you can endure through it
Then put your trust in that place.

Holding you, holding you, it's in you, river flows in you
Slowly, more slowly, there is a river flowing in my heart
Holding you, holding you, It's in you, river flows in you
Waiting, at the end of the waiting, will I be there?

I want to throw my heart towards you
So that I can always feel you
If you can just endure it through
Then try putting all your trust in this place.

Holding you, holding you, it's in you, river flows in you
Slowly, more slowly, there is a river flowing in my heart
Holding you, holding you, It's in you, river flows in you
Waiting, at the end of the waiting, will I be there?

Holding you, holding you, it's in you, river flows in you
Slowly, more slowly, there is a river flowing in my heart
Holding you, holding you, It's in you, river flows in you
Waiting, at the end of the waiting, will I be there?


Happy Easter!

Edit: Kirei Blossom reminded me that lunyareli made a New Trials AMV for my birthday 2008 using Yiruma's River Flows Through. Yiruma was looped on my playlist while writing Chapter 65, and I was constantly wondering why River Flows Through matches my mood when writing New Trials so much. Kudos to Kirei for solving that mystery as well and thank you again to lunayreli for making such a lovely AMV which you can view below. Ah, I am sad that my memory is getting so bad while am amazed at the subconscious mind's consciousness.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles Epilogue and AMV: This is my Road

CLAMP's Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles manga has finally come to an end. Unlike the final chapter, the epilogue is very much in line with the kind of ending I had envisaged for TRC, along the lines of "and the journey will continue on." I have a feeling we'll be seeing Syaoran/Tsubasa and crew again in the future.

My favorite part of the epilogue was seeing Nadeshiko and Fujitaka again, happy and loving. At least in the Clow universe, they are alive and together (though pretty much everybody else seems to be suffering, except Touya and Yukito who are always the same, what ever world they're in). I also liked the idea of Syaoran and Watanuki's sacrifice, Syaoran to keep moving on, whereas Watanuki to stay in one place for ever. I like the simple equilibrium created. Unfortunately, something about the ending reminded me of Pirates of the Carribbean 3: At the World's End, where Will is bound to sail The Flying Dutchman as captain, which can surface only every ten years, hence he can see Elizabeth only every ten years. It's one of those cases where we already had a good ending, like the first movie which was the best of the bunch, and then everything just became messed up because of sequels. Lol. No, but I really appreciate the ending of TRC because while the previous chapter ended with a sense of bittersweet nostalgia, the epilogue at least gave us a forward-looking sense of anticipation. Almost to the point where I feel like there could sucessfully be a whole new series on the adventures of Syaoran finding Clone!Syaoran.

We finally learn Sakura and Syaoran's real names. Surprise, they have identical names as if we already do not have enough clones and Freudian warpedness running amock. But I like the thought that the name "Tsubasa" connects the two individuals and furthermore, brings new meaning to the title. I am curious what Sakura saw in her dream that makes her decide to stay in Clow (that could be any worse than anything that has already happened), but I hope it's something related to a means of getting Yuuko back. Because R!Sakura and R!Syaoran's given names are something else, somehow, I have even stronger a feeling that to me, the Clones were actually the "real" Sakura and Syaoran, especially because reincarnated C!Syaoran was alternate-universe Hong Kong Li Syaoran. Yes, it is confusing. I am going to save further analysis on the series until xxxHolic unveils some lingering questions.

Meanwhile, to celebrate (mourn?) TRC coming to an end, I have made an AMV with one my favorite new songs from the ending of the anime Guin Saga. (Many thanks to Tragrendd for introducing me!) The first time I heard the song "Saga~This is My Road," I immediately thought it fit with TRC. Hence, this came about.

The AMV is made with Sony Vega 8.0 Pro and Adobe Photoshop CS3. I didn't realize how much less painful it was editing videos with a faster processor speed. It makes me cry thinking about how long everything used to take and how many times the program crashed on my old computer and how long everything took to render. Some AMVs make good use of putting random clips together to music, but for me, I like AMVs that tell a story. I put lots of effort into the "epilogue" of the video, which are actually scenes from TRC chapter 222 and 232, one of the most beautiful chapters of the series, IMO. The lyrics of this song and the ambiance, I thought, fits TRC very well. Kanon is a very talented singer/songwriter, and this song is absolutely beautiful and haunting. There are two versions of Saga~This is My Road, Japanese and English. I prefer the Japanese version because it is more fluid and Kanon's voice really soars in that version. But I had to add in a verse from the English version because the lyrics were so resonant with TRC, especially if you read to the ending. You can find Japanese lyrics at this blog. Check out this blog for English lyrics. Because I could not find raw videos, I had a hard time clipping all the subtitles out of the episodes of TRC, Tokyo Revelations and Tsubasa Shunraiki, but I really didn't want subtitles flying about this AMV. My favorite part of the video is probably the last clip after credits, just because I like how it turned out. I colored the manga picture and animated the text, and I thought it came out nicely, and I will keep hoping that the later volumes get OVAs or TRC season 3 or something.

On a side note, I saw the premier episode of Kobato. Isn't Kobato just cute or, what? It reminds me of a good, old-school shoujo anime with a CLAMP flavor.

Card Captor Sakura: The New Trials Anime Ending Theme

ストロボの空 - Sutorobo no Sora - A Sky of Strobes
Singer: Maaya Sakamoto
Album: Lucy
Composer: 菅野よう子 , - Yoko Kanno
Lyrics: 坂本真綾 - Maaya Sakamoto

It’s like the brightness that hits you right after coming through a long and narrow tunnel
For a while it’s nothing but a world of pure white
No one’ll wait for you to prepare yourself emotionally
When I noticed it had already begun, a tale with no end

I know
I know, the weakness I crushed in my hands
What was that sound that I heard at such a time?

Where is it coming from?
Who is calling me to stop?
That’s the sound of life that spilled out from the body, pulsating with certainty

Those who make dreams come true
Those who are loved
are fighting while accepting with all their being
Joys and equal pains

It’s like the brightness that hits you right after coming through a long and narrow tunnel
From between the clouds, the path of a new wind

What was that sound that unexpectedly knocked at my heart?

It’s okay to rely on someone
It’s okay to have more faith
The sound of life that continuously rings out as if to so whisper in my ear

The fact that rainbows disappear
The fact that there is moist ground
The miracles that I had always overlooked
were shining more beautifully than anything else

I felt like I had been forgiven for being born

Those who make dreams come true
Those who are loved
Are fighting while accepting with all their being
Joys and equal pains

It’s like the brightness that hits you right after coming through a long and narrow tunnel
For a while it’s nothing but a world of pure white

Lyrics from http://www.animelyrics.com/jpop/sakamoto/strobonosora.htm translation by Miyuki Mouse and Korean translation.


Over the years, I have received so many emails stating "I wish New Trials really is an anime or the Fourth Season of Card Captor Sakura," which made me very happy. I've always mentioned that if New Trials was an anime, I would use Utada Hikaru's "Sakura Drops" as the opening and Maaya Sakamoto's "Strobe no Sora" as the ending theme.

The first time I ever heard "Sutorobo no Sora" I immediately knew it was perfect for Card Captor Sakura because the song gives such an uplifting, refreshing feeling. First off, we already have the Maaya Sakamoto and Yoko Kanno tie-in, since the pair also did the CCS third season ending "Platinum." The song is from their collaboration album, "Lucy," which is one of my favorite albums. I mentioned before that "Koucha" from that album would be perfect as the New Trials Fourth Arc ending (if it were an anime). The album is beautiful because if you listen to the lyrics (or read the translations in my case), the songs unfold like a story of a girl's process of falling in love and heartbreak. Secondly, the lyrics of this song are truly beautiful, and I think everything about it simply embodies "Kinomoto Sakura," as you can read below.

I made this video because I got distracted while I was making the ending for Arc Four ending "Koucha," which is a bit bittersweet. I drew a ton of artwork for that video, but I had more fun making this video because it's sort a flashback to all of my favorite S+S moments. I am rather pleased with how the flashback sequence turned out. The video itself is inspired from Second Season ending "Honey" by Chihiro with Sakura watching the rain out the window. And the last frame from "Fruits Candy." Lol... This actually took longer to make than I anticipated because my computer is so slow. But it's my first time using Sony Vegas 9.0, a big improvement from the always crashing Windows Media Player. The scene itself probably happens in Arc 2 when you-know-who lives with you-know-who. Yes, it's Syaoran's house if you can't tell by the green curtains. keke... I also recreated a typical CCS preview using voice clips from Irino Miyu and Makino Yui which were very annoying to extract. I love Irino Miyu as a teenage Syaoran in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. ^_^ hanyaan... Next will be Arc Four ending theme "Koucha." Anyhow, making this video was a trip down the memory lane for me and just proves the durability and longevity of our beloved Card Captor Sakura even after a decade (with a comeback in BluRay).

Full version of song: