Cardcaptor Sakura Exhibition - Magical Art Museum Review - Happy New Year 2019!

First off, belated Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I apologize for disappearing off the radar in all CCS/New Trials communities for the past two months or so. Work and life sort of took precedent, not that I ever forgot all of you guys. 

Despite how hectic work was, I was able to squeeze in a few vacation days last week to visit Tokyo, which is also why I wasn’t able to update anything on Christmas. One of the reasons I did want to visit Tokyo was because ever since I heard that the Cardcaptor Sakura Exhibition - Magical Art Museum was taking place at the Mori Arts Center at the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower months ago, I knew I must visit it when I had a chance. The trip nearly did not happen because of work and whatnot, but in the end it worked out, and I did get to visit the Cardcaptor Sakura Exhibition. I thought I might share a little bit of my experience. 

Roppongi Hills is one of my favorite places in Tokyo, and I try to visit every time I do go there. This is actually the first time I’ve actually seen an exhibition at the Mori Arts Center, which has a fantastic view of the Tokyo skyline as well since it is located on the 52^nd floor of Mori Tower. If you do visit Roppongi Hills, do take a look at the fantastic view of Tokyo Tower. And if you visit during Christmastime, enjoy the annual Christmas Market and the illumination on the streets.  

First off, because it was Christmas season, the exhibition was really crowded. I heard from my friend though who also visited Mori Arts Center this summer for the 50th Anniversary Commemoration Weekly Shonen Jump Exhibition: The 2000s that it was even more crowded then, rightfully so since there were so many series being covered there, whereas this exhibition covered not even CLAMP’s artwork but specifically one series.

The CCS Exhibition kicked off on October 26, 2018, so I was visiting near the end—as it runs to January 3, 2019. Anyone in Tokyo, do go see it before it closes! I would best describe this as a Card Captor Sakura “experience” more than simply just an exhibition, accommodating both to longtime fans and newcomers. The friend I went with while familiar with a lot of CLAMP’s works never read/watched CCS but she seems to have enjoyed the experience, albeit probably nobody as much as me. I was going to say I thought there could be nobody who enjoyed the exhibition more than me, that there is no greater CCS fan than me, but then again, some fans I saw that day may have proved me wrong. I was so thrilled to see how much love CCS is still getting after over two decades. 

You first enter a general “Library” area which introduces the series and photography is allowed here. The best part was the giant Clow Book. This part was international visitor friendly with English captions as well including a section kindly explaining, “Why is Cardcaptor Being Rediscoverd Now.” Except, yours truly never left the CCS fandom, hence it’s not a “rediscovery.” I just realized my smartphone took really good quality photos, so if anyone is interested in reading the text from this part of the exhibition and wants me to share the HQ photos, you can probably make it out. There was also a peephole where you can see original artwork of Sakura and Syaoran’s date.

Next, you enter a room where you see a screening of short clip of Kero-chan explaining that Sakura has released a bunch of cards, thus introducing the theme of the museum, I believe. He was speaking in Japanese, and it’s not like I really understood but Kero-chan did get me all hyped up! 

Then, you enter the “Flower” room, which might singly be one of my favorite rooms because I believe it started out as a white room, but visitors are allowed to pick a flower sticker from a booklet and stick in anywhere on the wall. The exhibition had been going on for two months already, so you can imagine the room was completely filled. There were also paintings of pretty flowers there.

The next room is Tomoyo’s studio, or the “Siege” room, and you get to see a couple of Sakura’s battle costumes brought to life! There were six costumes designed by Mokona. They are very meticulously done, and I’m sure Tomoyo approved. 

Unfortunately, you couldn’t take photos in the main exhibition section, showcasing select colored artwork from the 1990s the latest pieces, as well as original manga artwork. I especially enjoyed seeing the original black-and-white manga artwork by CLAMP, where you can actually see the indentations from the pressure from the pen, as well as white-outed spots where Mokono-sensei corrected her artwork and even the texture and cut-out outline of screentones layered on! There were lots of people reading carefully each manga panel—awesome seeing the pages large-scale—but I couldn’t read Japanese so I only marveled at the original drafts of the artwork. 

It was also nice seeing CLAMP’s artwork evolve from the original CCS series, especially in the early volumes, to the 2000s and then to the current Clear Card artwork. The currently artwork has rounder lineart, perhaps less intricate and detailed linework than the 1990s. The Clear Card artwork is more modern and CCS doesn’t look much aged currently. I can’t really say if I prefer one style or another—I appreciate both aesthetics. I went with a manga artist friend, so she told me that the artwork has clearly evolved, but then again, I have nostalgia for the old art. You also see an evolution in the colored art work. The 1990s CCS artwork is more watercolor-like, if that makes any sense, while the Clear Card artwork feels a bit more vibrant. CLAMP seems to enjoy using gold in their latest colored artwork which is so much more awesome to see in real life than in print. The perks of going with a mangaka friend was she told me about how a certain background was comprised of one entire sheet of screentone popular with manga artists (CLAMP getting a tad bit lazy), or what sort of gold paints are used for such artwork. It was really amazing seeing some of my favorite artwork in real life, as well as some of the iconic CCS manga scenes in print. Some of the most recent Clear Card manga pages were also displayed. 

After you emerge from the main exhibition section, the “Maze” room, you enter the “Cosplay” section with the gigantic Kero-chan plushy which you might have seen a lot of pictures of. There is an opportunity to even to cosplay as Sakura. There are two options, Battle Costume mode (with the iconic Clear Card pink cape and beret), or the Tomoeda Middle School uniform top. And a Clear Card mini staff as well. I actually wanted to wear the Tomoeda Middle School uniform blazer, but then I went with the cape and beret in the end because why not go all out. The uniform blazer looks like something that would have come out of my closet anyway. 

This room is connected with the Card Room, where the 52 or however many Clow Cards are lined up on one wall and the Sakura Cards on the other. Then, the Clear Cards are also displayed at the far end of the room. Truthfully, I wish I could have spent more time pouring over each artwork, but my friend and I had a dinner reservation, and also, it was really crowded so I was a bit drained by this point. 

The next battlefield was of course the exhibition store aka the grab everything you can find even if you don’t know what it is section. I think I will do another blog post if you are interested in the merchandise I did end up getting. Actually, it might be a special surprise for me as well, since that whole experience was a haze and I haven’t really opened up my shopping bag to see what I got then. There were a lot of interesting never-seen before goodies at the store, and I wish I had more time to pour over them. 

I didn’t get to visit the Cardcaptor Sakura café, located next to the entrance of the exhibition, but did take a peek in. I took a picture of the menu. Overall, there was a lot of lining up. I noticed that there was really a diverse blend of Japanese and international visitors, as well as a wide range of ages, from children to adults. The ticket cost was 1,800 yen, or around $18, which I think was pretty reasonable consider how thoughtfully put together the exhibition was, catering to fans, making the whole experience very interactive, including a chance to cosplay. I didn’t rent out the audio guide, which I believe would have been Yue’s voice since December. It was Kero-chan’s voice previously, before the switchover. You even get an exclusive special gift drawn by CLAMP at the end—a clear Sakura Card, the “Happiness Card.” 

The whole experience was sort of a penultimate moment in my some 20 years of Card Captor Sakura fandom and likely is going to give me some much-needed morale boosting in writing the finale of the New Trial of Card Captor Sakura fanfiction. It also seems a bit like my life has come to a full circle with CCS, because the series was introduced to me during perhaps my most impressionable years, and it has resonated with me for the past two decades, helped me grow as a writer, given me some direction on the meaning of life, and most importantly become a bridge to me and all of you, the readers of New Trials, and also just fans of CCS in general. The series will always be precious to me, and this exhibition at Mori Art Center—a contemporary art museum which has featured numerous famous artists--located in one of the poshest areas of Tokyo, is a testament to how CLAMP’s Card Captor Sakura has resonated with the entire world.  

Happy New Year and much good tidings for 2019!

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card-hen: Episode 22 Review! (Season Finale)

Episode 22: “Sakura’s Clear Cards”

aka "The Forbidden Trials of the Small Wolf and the Nefarious Thief of the Night"

aka "Stop Callin' Cuz I'm Kinda Busy"

So, I hope what we have is a season finale of CCS Clear Card, and that we may have another season perhaps by 2019, giving time for the manga to advance. We’re pretty much caught up with the manga at this point, though I was surprised that this episode slightly diverged from the most recent manga Chapter 24, especially the ending and the cloaked figure reveal, which I’m kind of disappointed in. But I think because it is the end of a season, the animators probably wanted to end on a more positive note, rather than a major cliffhanger. I didn’t really feel much like summarizing this episode, maybe because it’s the last one. So, I’ll just do it the way I do best. 

Rock, paper, scissors shoot!

Paper!

Akiho: Darnit, I lost again.

Kaito: "There are dreams that are contrary to reality."

Momo: "Masayume" by Spitz, dreams that come true!

Sakura and Akiho shares same dreams of a man’s voice saying “You can never return,” Akiho tell her dream to Kaito, he tells her there are dreams contrary to reality, Momo later points out that there are also dreams that become reality, and Kaito says he will never let that happen. Makes you wonder what the tabooed magic he wants to activate is. I always get paranoid that tabooed magic is bringing back someone to life. I have watched too much Fullmetal Alchemist, perhaps, but that was also a theme in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.   

Sakura: I hope Syaoran notices my new hairstyle today.

Kero-chan's best line of the episode: "I'm still hungry because I'm a growing boy!"

Yue: Growing sideways.

Mr. Mike Kant the English teacher teaches nonsense English that will never be applicable to real life to the students, and Sakura shows off her nonexistent English skills, brought to you by the Hope Card, the group has picnic lunch per usual, Yamazaki-kun explains ciao, chow, chau, Kero-chan raves he got Osaka-ben wrong, and Syaoran is tardy again, failing to connect to Eriol, and doesn’t notice Sakura’s new hairstyle again. By the way, Naoko was right in saying, “Maybe it was a bad time for him.” Tokyo and England has an eight hour difference, and since the gang is eating lunch, it should be around noon in Japan, hence a little past 4 a.m. in England. Oh Syaoran.

Mike Kant: "Dream On," feat. Aerosmith.

Cardcaptor Sakura, an English education program sponsored by CLAMP, the College Language Aptitude Mastery Program.

Yamazaki: Chowx3!

Syaoran the tardy boy: Guys, Eriol won't answer my phone call!

Naoko: It's freakin' 4 a.m. in England! Give it a rest!

Sakura: Syaoran, don't you notice anything different about my hair today?

Syaoran: The antennas are blowing eastward, a storm is coming!

Sakura and Chiharu have cheerleading practice while Akiho looks on from the music room like a stalker. Final Boss Tomoyo gets Akiho to practically fess up she’s the cloaked figure, or at that she has weird dreams about Sakura, aka Alice in Clockland. 

Sakura: It took me an hour to dutch braid my hair, baka-Syaoran!

Yandere-Tomoyo: You may think you are the enemy of this season, Minion.

Tomoyo: But never forget, I am Final Boss.

Akiho: Tomoyo-san, I always wondered, are you Kaito-san's long lost evil daughter?

Sakura: Tomoyo doesn't look like Great-Grandfather Masaki, nor Aunt Sonomi. I wonder who she takes after.

 
At home, Fujitaka is making delish hamburger steaks, Sakura finishes washing up and come out with a cute towel cap, and Touya can’t resist and ruffles up her head, telling her to go to bed before 8:00 p.m. Protective much? It's actually my favorite scene of this episode though. On a second watch, I realized that he washed his hands after making the beef patties and was wiping his wet hands on her towel cap!

Touya: Mario Kart Mushroom???

Beef patty no justsu!

Touya: Meathead complete.

Kaijuu-Sakura: GAOOO!!!

Syaoran tries to call Eriol again in the evening but the call does go through. Syaoran thinks Eriol’s blocking the call with magic, but I don’t think he’s heard of Caller ID block features. He stares at his reflection in the balcony window in the evening, rasinban out and glowing, and swears he will certainly protect her, meaning Sakura, I guess. From what I heard, I think he said “kanarazu mamoru,” meaning he will certainly protect, without a pronoun. He could be meaning Eriol for all we know. Last time we saw Eriol, he was being attacked long-distance by Kaito, after all.

"Telephone" by Lady Gaga, ft. Beyoncé.

Eriol: Hello, hello, baby, you called?
I can't hear a thing
I have got no service

Eriol: Stop callin', Stop callin'
I don't wanna talk anymore
I left my head and my heart on the dance floor

House Elf Kero-chan blow-dries Sakura’s hair, Sakura reminisces about seasons 1-3 of the CCS anime, the cloaked figure appears on a telephone pole against a full moon, Kero-chan transforms into Cerberus but is trapped in the bedroom, and Sakura and the cloaked figure have magical showdown with balls of fire and jets of water. 

 

Kero-Dobby's product placement of the week: I'll blow-dry master's hair!

Sakura: Tomoyo's going to freak out that I'm going to fight my season finale battle in my pajamas!

 As If Tomoyo would allow the final episode of Clear Card to end with me in pajamas. I guess it's a sign that we will have another season.

Sakura: Was I supposed to call Syaoran when a new card appeared? Whatever. He only calls Eriol.

Cerberus: Tomoyo's going to freak when she finds out I have no video footage of the season finale batle!

Sakura: You're right, what are we going to do, Kero-chan?

Sakura: Thank goodness you aren't Syaoran.

The cloaked figure tries to take away the Clear Cards, Sakura sees Akiho’s face behind the cloak, Kaito appears with Momo and freezes time. He eventually decides to rewind time pointing out that the number of Clear Cards at the moment is not enough to activate the tabooed magic. The process of turning back time, in order to make Sakura and Akiho forget their encounter, does take a bit of a toll on Kaito, just like Syaoran always got drained when he used the Time Card. Sakura declares she is not alone and states her signature “zettai daijobou,” everything’s going to be all right, and the ending credits kick in. We wail in despair before the extra scene kicks in with Sakura leaving for school, her father seeing her off. Syaoran is waiting for her at the end of the road. She calls out, “Syaoran-kun!”

Kaito: Seriously, Sakura? You thought it's okay to enter the season finale in pajamas?

Sakura: Let's rewind time so that this all never happened--Tomoyo's going to go berserk if she finds out she missed the season finale!

Kaito: But we've got to wait another whole year for a supermoon this big.

Question of the year: Who are Tina-chan, Rie-chan, and Triax-chan?

Yandere-Kaito: Fools, I'm the Final Boss!

And I would like to see, “Kero-chan’s Eat Till You Drop" show anytime! Kind of bummed they didn’t have a “See you next season” sort of message at the end of the episode though.  

Sakura: I really want to get Syaroan a mirror for his birthday next month. I catch him looking at his reflection in windows all the time, poor thing!

Kaito: Heavy, heavy, heavy!

Momo: It's all the sweets you make her.

Sakura: Diet is a taboo topic in CCS! Remember what happened to Syaoran last time!

Sakura: Syaoran! Guess what I bought you for your birthday one month from now?

Syaoran: Oh gosh, I know it's a mirror. Thank goodness we're going off air after this episode.

Syaoran: And who knows, I may be Final Boss yet.

Eriol: Not that I don't like you, I'm just at a party
And I am sick and tired of my phone r-r-ringing!

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