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!

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.