#i also got the sakura cardcaptor mangas

[magicalgirlfr]

Guys, do you remember I wanted to read the utena book series? I'm reading it and I'm loving it :'3

#magicalgirlfr #revolutionary girl utena #i readed some spoilers aaaaa #i don't want more spoilers :c #(when I was looking in the utena tag btw) #:') #it was my fault #anyways haha #i also got the sakura cardcaptor mangas #i've been reading mangas a lot lately

[maurofonseca]

here's the logoless for Sonic The Hedgehog: Amy's 30th Anniversary, Cover B

aiming for shoujo visual cues, based a lot of this in a couple specific escaflowne promo arts

here's my thumbnails.

one's censored since it has the cast for the comic.

both aaron and me had talked before that it'd be fun to do something shoujo-based for amy. problem for me was, aaron did cover A, and already did the usual traits I'd go for, the 70s look like candy candy or attack no1 or rose of versailles- his cover already has the flowers, the watercolour, etc, all my main go-tos in what I really like on the art of shoujo manga and illustrations-

so I ended up realising I needed to switch approach- rather than manga, I had to take from anime.

Thumbnail A got picked, so off we went. For the outline inking and the shading, I looked at Cardcaptor Sakura. The eye especially was just drawn like a Sakura eye, and I'm happy it didn't get shot down.

However, Sakura while looking great has a specific stylisation that's kinda simple, and I wanted to go extra instead. Didn't want a simple cartoony wings, etc, since that was already the usual Sonic logo, right? So the BG and wings and feathers were drawn based on Escaflowne

I also looked at the highest quality transfers I could since the point wasn't to just look in the style of a 90s anime, but specifically like a cel. I failed in this aspect since I missed how the colour blocks actually look, but I'll do better next time lol happy 30th, amy rose

#ppdpplart #idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #amy rose

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 80 (FINAL): Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

CCS Faaaans!!! Welcome to our last (?) monthly appointment with the analysis, commentary and list of translation differences for THE FINAL chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!!! 🥹🥹🥹

Aaaaaah, I can't believe that after seven years and a half of serialization, we're finally here!!

I still remember the strong emotions I felt when I had seen the pages of Nakayoshi for chapter 1 in advance, back in June 2016....it seemed like a miracle, to me. Like a "mirage". And back then I still didn't know just HOW MUCH of a precious miracle this sequel would've become to me!

So it's with shaky hands and a trembling, emotional heart that I write this post to you...I hope you can excuse the length of it (maybe take a break in between?), I'll do my best to highlight the translation differences (unfortunately we definitely got some for this finale, one in particular made me quite mad) so you can spot them immediately among the sea of words and feels I will inevitably pour into my writing...

The "Beaver Moon" was big and shiny just a few days ago, and like all the full moons at the end of the month, it brought us a chapter, a very special finale for this series.

And as I usually do, I really cannot skip this silly moment that accompanied me for so many commentary posts, so here you go, my dear readers, the last Gif Of The Month!!!

I had already decided that, no matter the content of the chapter, I would've used this, because it is my intention to give my congratulations to CLAMP for reaching the end of this wonderful story and also thank them for giving me a multitude of emotions over the years. I've been happy, angry, excited, teary-eyed, frustrated, confused, hopeful, in pain, in love. I'll always be grateful to them for changing their mind and deciding to give us a sequel of this beloved series, after so many years of dreaming of it, and for making me fall in love with the new characters, none excluded!

So, off we go, under the cut for this commentary of the finale!!

The Color Page

Oh my heart 😭😭😭 I really wondered if they would go for it, if they would shoot us with feels right from the first pages and they did, they paid homage to the color page of chapter 50 of the old manga!! ❤️ We can see the same bluebirds that were featured back then, still holding in their little beaks lots of ribbons coming from the pink roses bouquet that Sakura is preciously holding... And that also made me realize that these are the same birds that were featured last month for Akiho and Kaito's color page too!!! ✨ They definitely, definitely wanted us to get the message that all of them will be truly happy from now on. ❤️I actually appreciate even more that Mokona-sensei took care in including those birds for the color page of Akiho/Kaito too.

Back in the old manga, CLAMP had given a comment for the illustration of chapter 50, saying that it was created that way to give a sense of looking forward to the future, and the absence of the Star Wand here was a precise request from Ohkawa to Mokona, because Sakura would've tried her best from now on, without necessarily relying on her magic.

Here, in chapter 80, we can somehow see the same theme but Sakura isn't proceeding "forward" towards a specific direction, it seems more like she's floating comfortably, assisted by her loyal Flight Card, embellished for the occasion (it makes it look kind of "upgraded", right?). I get a sense of Sakura feeling way more comfortable with her natural gift than she's ever been.

The blue sky, the ribbons, the bluebirds, the bouquet of pink flowers, the presence of a flying Card, Sakura's bare feet and her beautiful smile are definitely elements common to both illustrations.

Here Sakura wears a longer outfit, more elegant, which of course makes her look more grown up, as it should!

The editorial text on this last page doesn't carry words of thanks like in the color page of the final chapter of the old manga (those this time around were printed directly on the cover of Nakayoshi), but actually "My invincible spell is....'Everything is surely going to be alright' "! I think it was a very nice choice to feature the Invincible Spell in the front page of this final chapter. ✨

Between this and the absolutely divine Sakura on the cover of Nakayoshi, I can feel my heart softening and filling up with lots of hope and comfort, helping me to cope with the imminent "loss" that I'm going to experience.

BUT! It's not time to let us be caught by those mischievous feelings that want us to cry at all costs, and so we're gonna proceed for the actual chapter!!

The Books In Fujitaka's Library

The final chapter starts with Sakura chatting with Eriol and Kaho in a videocall over the phone!! The thing that immediately stands out is that Sakura is still wearing the full-winter uniform, so it's apparent right from the first panel that rather than turning back, the events are proceeding forward from where we left them, exactly as Sakura wished.

It's still winter, spring is almost here and we're almost towards the end of the 1st year of middle school for Sakura & co.

Another thing that I, as a foreigner, couldn't help but doing is calculating what time should've been for Eriol and Kaho, since they live in Europe like me! 😂😂😂 Having followers and friends all over the world, it's just normal for me. Well, if this is early morning, it should be night for the Europeans, so maybe that background at the window should be black?? 😂😆 Who knows if sensei will fix it, in the tankobon?

But enough with the silly things, let's see what Sakura is discussing with these two.

The very first thing we hear is quite shocking: Sakura slept four entire days to recuperate from the insane fatigue after the last battle!!

When I've heard that, my immediate thought was going towards all kinds of realistic, very practical issues like "did they keep her hydrated, in these four days? What about the bladder? 😱" but come on, way crazier things happened in this finale and this is the last thing we should worry about 😂

Eriol sweetly says that everyone waited impatiently for Sakura to wake up (I can imagine that!! Syaoran and Akiho must have died of anxiety). In Japanese, his sentence is somehow left trailing off, it gives me the impression that he wanted her to know that she's cared for, but in a very polite manner and avoiding to make her feel guilty for it. Sakura, as the good girl she is, tries to apologize for making them worry, apologies that Eriol doesn't need, so she ends up thanking both him and Kaho for what they did for her (and we can see Kaho peeking in the videocall! I'm glad she recovered too! As usual she's wearing nice outfits, the transparent veil over the skirt is interesting!).

Kaho, with her usual "maternal" aura, says that seeing her in good shape and hearing her cheerful voice over the phone is more than enough to her, which makes Sakura happy.

Eriol then proceeds to ask a question about the books he saw flying away at full speed after Sakura removed all the spells and the graphics from the artifact (the huge book), which then transformed into said smaller books: he wants to know where they ended up to, and lo and behold, they're nowhere other than in Fujitaka's library, in the basement of Sakura's house! 😱

So we can see a flashback depicting a scene right after Sakura woke up (she's still in her PJs), and her father shows her a pile of ancient-looking books sitting on his desk and on the floor.

Yes, those are all the magical books that Akiho had read and (unknowingly) engraved on herself, which were about to crush her soul. There's really a lot of them, so I don't have a hard time believing that she was really on the verge of losing her soul forever.

As Fujitaka tries to explain himself, it seems Sakura worked so hard and in the end those books ended up landing right at their house!

And then, in a very moving scene, we see Fujitaka being just so happy because finally, after so many years (since 4th grade) of just watching over his daughter going through several hurdles and not being able to be helpful in any concrete way (because he didn't have magical powers, and even when magic was passed onto him, he didn't know how to use it), NOW he can finally be of assistance to her.

He then tells her not to worry, because he already got several "weird" books in his collection (hell we knew, the Cthulhu books were surely a surprise 😂), and that anything goes where it's supposed to go, when its due time comes. He believes these books, too, will reach their new fated destination one day, so until then, he will take care of them. ✨

By the way, you all saw it, right?? YES, it's there again. Fay's tattoo on that book! 😂CLAMP REALLY wanted us to see it, didn't they?

Is this insistence in featuring elements coming from Tsubasa a sign of something in the future...? Or are they just messing with us....?

I bet even this book one day will find its way to Celes country, to have that tattoo used in the way we all know.

Anyway, I REALLY loved this scene because it just shows CLAMP's firm intention to involve *all* the main and side characters in this collective effort to help Sakura solving Akiho and Kaito's situation (Fujitaka was indeed the one missing from the support group!).

It's just so good to know that a tiny frustration that Fujitaka expressed in this arc (how he couldn't be of help to his own daughter) was finally put to rest too, with this new task he took upon himself.

I strongly believe that Sakura, once again guided by her infallible instinct and empathy, subconsciously wished those books into her father's library, because she just knew that her father would be the perfect person to guard them and keep them safe for the time due.

The Cards

Back to the present, Eriol comments that Sakura's father is really dependable, and she can only warmly agree!

But Sakura's got questions of her own, for Eriol. She asks what happened to the transparent cards (note: even this time, Sakura keeps calling them with the japanese term 透明, "transparent", and never calls those cards クリアカード, the English term that gives name to the arc).

Eriol gives his own explanation: the transparent Cards were probably bound into the book of the guardian Sakura met (and not "befriended" like the ENG wrote), and as such, they became magical power used to activate the "forbidden magic".

About the newly created Remind and Blank Cards, Eriol guesses that the last magic that Sakura summoned thanks to those two Cards was so "violent" (the term used 凄烈 means "violent, intense, fierce") that it ended up exhausting completely the Cards' magical power.

Sakura says "so...they're gone", confirming that yes, even those two disappeared after being used.

Eriol asks about the Cards Sakura had from before, our dear Sakura Cards, and she releases them in the room to show to Eriol their current appearance: it seems like they have taken up some elements from the transparent cards, mixing up their designs! They look really cool and empowered, like this! Eriol attempts to explain this occurence as an influence of the fact that Sakura used some of them with her new Dream Staff, hence why their new appearance!

It seems like she'll be able to use all of them with that staff from now on, so this is a first hint to something that will be referenced in a stronger way in a few pages.....

Kaho gets closer to Eriol's computer and says "Don't worry, I can see they still love you all the same, Sakura-chan, there's no problem about it!" and then she spots Flight among the deck. Sakura confirms happily that it's still here and Eriol says "it's a testament to its perseverance!".

And then, Sakura wants to talk to Eriol about Akiho and Kaito too......but we're not allowed to hear it yet, because we only see Sakura nodding and "uh-uh"-ing at the phone and then Kero warns her that she's going to be late for school, so our girl hurriedly hangs up with her friends abroad.

Her dear small glutton guardian tells her to not push herself since she barely woke up yesterday, and when Sakura goes to pick the pin she wants to use today in the jewelry box (it's the pin Yukito gave her as a present in chapter 1!), she picks up the Star Key. And here, unfortunately, I have to point out the first concrete translation difference of this chapter in a scene that many were waiting for:

ENG: "This key....I wonder if it'll leave someday, too. To go to where it should be, to the side of the person it chooses to be with"

JP: "This key, too...I wonder if one day it'll go...to the side of the person it should be with"

Now, what irritates me here is that in their usual need to embellish the translation, they added an unnecessary "the person it chooses to be with", which is something they made up because there's no mention of the verb "choosing" or anything like that in Japanese, and so it makes it seem like the key will one day just go away on its own, on its own volition.

Now, this is a VERY important scene because we all know what this is foreshadowing, the transition of the Star Wand from Sakura Kinomoto to the Reborn Sakura Clone in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle through a dream, that cameo that made us scream all over the world in 2009. That scene was accompanied by a very beautiful and mature speech by Sakura Kinomoto herself, a sign that this "handover" was totally a well pondered choice of Sakura herself, not the key's.

The translation of this scene here in Clear Card tampers with the understanding of the events we got from Tsubasa and it really makes me wonder if the translator knows of this reference at all.....

Continuing on, Sakura goes downstairs and meets Touya having breakfast (and omg Kero goes to him!!! I still can't get used to these two interacting in the open), as usual Touya teases her calling her "monster", to which Sakura stiffens, but she shakes it off to thank her brother, to which he answers "no snacks for four days"!

Sakura at that point gets angry asking why, but he diverts her attention pointing out that she's gonna be late, so the girl bolts out of the door......not hearing her brother saying "that's the amount of days you haven't woken up, you silly!" (and Kero goes along with it).

Now, the ENG translation here interpreted this as a "payback", like Touya isn't going to make her snacks for 4 more days as a "payback" for making him worry like that, and initially I interpreted it like that too. But as I checked the Spanish translation, they interpreted it differently, as if Touya wasn't talking about the snacks that he won't prepare for the next 4 days, but actually the ones Sakura didn't eat during the period in which she was sleeping, and I think they're right because Touya calls Sakura "dummy, silly" so he might be referencing the fact that she misunderstood, here! Anyway, it's not a serious difference but I wanted to report it here anyway.

Sakura finds Syaoran out of her house waiting for her, and we see him all happy and embarrassed to go pick his girl up right outside her house to go to school together 🥰Syaoran got contacted yesterday from her (I don't know why in the ENG there's "last night", it's just "yesterday"), telling him that she was ok now, but of course that wasn't enough for our worrywart prince charming, so he's here this morning to escort her to school! Sakura can't avoid commenting "aw, you were worried about me!" and Syaoran honestly but embarassedly answers "that, and I wanted to see you as soon as possible". Omg these two...flirting like crazy in front of the audience even in the finale!! 😂(well of course!!). As one of my friends reminded me, this line was already said by Syaoran before, when he was revealing the whole truth about the Sakura Cards and was explaining to Sakura that he came back to Japan earlier than scheduled also because he wanted to see her sooner.

After a good dose of blushing which is always good for the health in the early morning, Sakura thanks Syaoran not only for walking her to school, but also for all the rest that he's done. She's clearly referencing the events of 4 days ago, and Syaoran answers that if he helped her even just a little, then he's happy. This vague reference to the events of 4 days ago seems lost in the ENG, as Syaoran casually answers that he's happy if he can help her sometimes (?). 少しでも means "even just a little", not "sometimes".

On the way to school, Sakura says that she already contacted everyone to say that she woke up and to thank them, but she seems to be wanting to go thanking Yukito directly at his house later, also because Nakuru and Suppi are there! As Syaoran adds, Sakura can see Tomoyo and Akiho later at school. Sakura says "...yes" with a slightly sad face because she already knows something about one of them.....

We switch to Yukito's house for the last look at our "snow bunny", still in Nakuru's company (when are they going back to England???) and wondering what kind of sweets should he offer to Sakura today, while Nakuru is hellbent on finally having Sakura call her "Nakuru-chan" today (I told you, she's like a 5 years old girl, she sees herself as a kid like Sakura 😂).

Then, turning suddenly serious, she says to Yukito: "Don't you dare doing anything else that requires a 'payment', understood?", which immediately made me realize that Nakuru remembers about Yukito's pact with the Tsukimine Shrine!! Then, they didn't just recover the memories strictly relating to Akiho!!!

Yukito, with a big smile, says "well...I can't promise you that" which understandably triggers in Nakuru a "Yukito, you're really stubborn!!" from the bottom of her heart! 😂

But there's a kitty sleeping on a cushion (or feigning to?), our dear Suppi who thinks to himself "All of you moon-aligned types are stubborn!!" and let me tell you, this arc showed us ALL the proofs of that! 😂(Yes, Kaito, we're looking at you! 😂😂😂).

Brand New World With You

Homeroom is starting in Sakura's class and Tomoyo makes sure that Sakura will take it easy since this is her first day back at school.

The teacher comes in, and she's already got a news for everyone (and here my heart already knew what it was): Akiho Shinomoto will be transferring away in one month! (Yes! it's Shinomoto again!)

The class is shocked, as Tomoyo is, but Sakura smiles and doesn't look surprised at all...

At lunch, everyone is so sad about Akiho transferring and Chiharu expresses how much she'll miss her, but also Naoko who loses a precious advisor for her scripts and a great actress since she wanted to cast her for the next play, seeing how wonderful she was in "Alice in Clockland". Tomoyo says that the chorus club will miss her too, and Yamazaki comments that Akiho lived in Hong Kong before transferring to Japan, so he asks her if she's still going abroad, even this time around. Akiho confirms, and then remembers that she needs to go to the teacher's room. Sakura insists to accompany her even if Akiho knows the way by now (and here we have a sweet, nostalgic recall to the same scene of the first chapter Akiho appeared in, chapter 7! Even the lines are almost the same). Of course, Sakura insisted because she wants to have a private chat with her....on their way there, she says she heard from Eriol that morning that she would be transferring abroad, but she would like to ask the reason why to Akiho herself.

Akiho says that, after all that happened, that same night she talked to Eriol (she calls him "Hiiragizawa-san" ❤️) for the first time.

He told her that he would be supporting her in any choice or anything she'd want to do from now on (the "anything I would choose" is missing from the ENG translation), and support her even with Kaito's circumstances.

Akiho was told by Eriol that Kaito kept hurting himself the more he used time magic, and that he shouldn't have been in a good condition after messing even with the "forbidden magic"....but apparently, Sakura managed to work a little miracle when she used Rewind on him.

When Sakura brought Kaito back to his original appearance, the pocket watch she used was almost completely repaired and its time stopped, and thanks to that, Kaito's time is stopped too.

I had already noticed that Kaito's life seems to be strictly connected to that pocket watch, as the more damage he took on his body, the more the watch broke. Sooooo in this scene we have some important information:

1- Eriol mentions the time magic Kaito used, how he kept using it and also the effect it would have on him, so it's legit to think that even him recovered the memories of the unrewritten timeline, not only the stuff strictly concerning Akiho.

2- Kaito's life is in a halted state (reminds you of someone?) and this means that his life is not flowing like other people's: he won't age, but his physical condition won't also get worse, as Sakura infers right after. The ENG translation suggests that Kaito won't be feeling any pain at all, but that's not the case: Sakura uses the words もっと辛かったり痛かったり, "more in pain and have a rough time (than this)", so he's still going to feel not so well from time to time, but at least his condition won't get worse than this.

Akiho confirms, and explains that because of this, they're going to look for a magic that will be able to heal Kaito and, in addition to that, a magic that would be able to make his stopped time move forward again. This won't certainly take short time and it won't be easy....but Akiho smiles beautifully while saying that she's sure that there is a book that carries those spells she's looking for.

And then....with a sad smile, she says there's another reason.

And here my heart sinked because I wanted to see her so badly and I got the confirmation she wasn't with them.......😭

I'm talking about Momo, of course, and Akiho agrees with me because the other reason they'll travel around is that she wants to see her beloved Momo and even the "Alice in Clockland" book.

This indeed sounds a lot like the resolutions of the characters of Tsubasa in their own finale, but after all, we've been saying for long time that Kaito and Akiho had many situations paralleling those of the SyaoSaku in TRC.

Akiho, with the most radiant and beautiful smile she's ever had, says that she's sure she'll find so many other books she's never read, beside the ones she'll be looking for.

"Because now I can go wherever I want, whenever I want, all by my own volition. Together with Kaito-san"

Sakura points out that books are, indeed, really special and important to her.

And really, Akiho's smile on this beatiful spread was enough to heal my heart from the disappointment of knowing that Momo wasn't with them, because Akiho really looks happy to start this journey with Kaito...she feels free for the first time ever.

No more clan dictating where she should go or what she should read, at her own expense at that, but also the situation between her and her beloved Kaito found its solution, with her stating loud and clear that even if he's her most important person and he did all of that for her, she's the only one who can decide her own happiness and change her own life. Akiho is finally free from all constraints, both from evil and from love, and honestly it's so comforting to see her so confident and happy.

My True Name Is....

And talking about Kaito, we switch to the Shinomoto mansion, where we see him in bed (he's still recovering - also we see his room for the first time!) and Akiho is telling him of how her friends took the news of her transferring abroad.

She was happy to hear that they're going to miss her, I bet this was the first time that people took any interest in her, so much to get to the point of saying "I'll miss you".....which totally explains why she's glad to hear that. She finally made true friends, here in Tomoeda.

Kaito is pleased to see her happy.

Akiho says that she's going to prepare dinner (my heart got warm thinking that now it's her the one cooking for him and he doesn't protest or anything) and she's going to make the no-fry croquettes that Sakura taught her (remember??? They had dedicated a chapter to that, and they were so important because Akiho learned them precisely for Kaito).

But Kaito kind of "interrupts" her, saying the thing WE ALL were waiting for him to say:

Kaito, JP (lit.): "I'm sorry. For having thought (all that plan) on my own and decided things without your permission. Even though I know that you're someone perfectly capable of writing her own chosen future on her own blank book"

Oooooooh. The feeling of puzzle pieces going to their right place, the sense of accomplishment, the satisfaction in reading these words from him. HE FINALLY UNDERSTOOD. And it took almost k*lling himself and causing to the very person he was trying to make happy an indescribable grief, to come to this point.

What a lack of self-esteem and underlying depression can do.

But thankfully, they all managed to save things at last minute and now he's learned his lesson. So the first thing he does when he's able to, is apologizing to Akiho. But not only that.

Akiho says Kaito's name, probably wanting to answer something in return, but he interrupts her again, saying something I've been dying to hear him say (lately I expressed here and on Twitter my wish to see precisely this scene in the finale):

"That's my alias"

Akiho is shocked at hearing that, and he says, with a serious face, "Can I tell you my true name?"

At this point, I was hollering, I won't really hide it or anything.

If you're CLAMP fans, you probably know how IMPORTANT and VITAL is an information like one's true name, especially for a magician. Yuuko in Holic said that if you give someone your true name, they can take your soul.

And I'm 100% sure that even Akiho knows how important true names are in the magic world, this is something that Momo already mentioned in one of the Drama CDs but here she confirms it herself, saying hesitantly: "Are you sure I should be hearing something so important?"

With the next thing Kaito says, I was almost calling an ambulance.

Heh, I know, this is me, what can I do? Their story got me by the throat and coming to this point is such an achievement, for me. 😅

"I want you to know it"

That あなた between brackets is so powerful. "You, above all".

In that "you" there's all the things he's not saying aloud, how unique and important she is to him. How much he trusts her with the most vulnerable part of himself. How much he's willing to give his entire soul, his everything to her, but this time in the correct way, without damaging anyone.

Akiho must be noticing all of this, because Mokona doesn't allow us to see her face, only her closed hand rising up, but from her ".....okay" I'm sure here she was quite touched.

So Kaito finally proceeds to reveal this secret that everyone was wondering about ever since chapter 51:

"Cristaux. That's my true name".

Cristaux is written with the katakana クリスト (pronounced kurisuto) which has already been misunderstood by many for "Christ" 😂, but thankfully CLAMP have put in the furigana the correct spelling in romaji.

Cristaux is a french word used to indicate crystals. Yes, plural.

So our crazy magician was named after crystals at his birth.

Of course, of course. Isn't crystals the overwhelming theme of this arc, after all? CLAMP made sure to feature some in many many color illustration they've done.

Also, while talking to a friend, I realized that now we might understand a bit better why Kaito made a very pensive face, disguised as Syaoran, when Sakura pointed out in Clockland (ch. 66) that the castle of the Queen had foundations made of crystal........

As usual with CLAMP, we've had the solution to the mystery under our nose the whole time! 😂This feels like Tsubasa 2.0, for real! 😂

It is surely an inusual name, but I mean, it seems many of the names CLAMP choose for their characters aren't that common, after all.

With this reveal, Kaito decided to start anew with Akiho, this time around from a basis of honesty and trust. He's never going to put up masks with her ever again (and even though it's confirmed they still talk in keigo to one another -which is something I've always imagined-, we've seen him using his true pronoun "ore" with her in chapter 78). This is the perfect foundation for a relationship based on communication and trust. Bravo Kaito, you did your homeworks.

Akiho places a hand over her chest, as if the precious name entered her heart, and says something that made me completely melt:

"I've written it on the most important page of my book. So I can never forget it".

This line makes me particularly emotional not only because it sounds SO SWEET, on the verge of flirting, but also because it seems to me like a callback to something that was said in a sadder situation.

Back in chapter 35, when Sakura ended up trapped into Akiho's artifact, she experienced Akiho's past on her skin. The day of the magic ceremony that turned Akiho into an artifact, some people from the clan/Association said "let's engrave all the magical books we can find into this girl's body, so she can never forget them. Just like a blank book".

Back then, these horrible words were used to abuse a poor child, but that child today turned them into the power to choose for herself.

She appropriates the same "book" analogy to turn it into a way for her to choose on her own. Kaito's name is a precious information that she chooses to write on her heart so she can never forget it.

It is a way for her to cope and have a catharsis for her trauma.

I honestly keep getting such wonderful messages from the story of these two characters, and I'll never thank CLAMP enough for creating them.

Kaito smiles softly at Akiho's words.

Then we go back to Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo, the "fab 3" who are going back home together, and we get some more information: it seems Eriol called Syaoran too (man, this guy called half the world to give explanations left and right 😂) and told him that he's going to buy Akiho and Kaito's house and look after it for them.

Sakura is really glad to hear that because it means that Akiho's huge collection of books will be safe and guarded in its library.

Tomoyo asks what they're going to do about Akiho's room at the Kinomoto house: in fact, if you look at the first panel of this chapter, you'll see that the additional portion that sprouted on Kinomoto house is still there: this means that Sakura gave everyone back their memories, but that magic didn't affect the discrepancies that arised from the rewriting of their world, hence why Akiho's room is still there.

Sakura talked about it with her dad and they decided they're gonna leave it untouched, as it is, so Akiho can always go back to it at any time. Did I cry at this? Yes, a little, because this is a sign that the Kinomotos will still keep considering her one of the family even if she'll be away, even if she'll have her life with Kaito, and I couldn't ask for anything better, for my sweet Akiho. It is so important for her to keep the bonds she created over time and know that now she's also got a network of people there for her. A second family where to turn to.

Sakura's having a real hard time accepting that Akiho will go away, and her smile becomes sad, before hugging Tomoyo and crying out "But I'll still miss her so much!!" 🥹poor Sakura 🥹I know, it's always so sad when someone that important to you leaves...

You'll Be Together Forever!!

One month passes by, and we can see some sakura flowers starting to bloom, this means we're at the end of March (and so we were in February before, just like I imagined). School year must be over pretty soon.

It's the big day, the day of departure for Akiho and Kaito, and Sakura+Syaoran went to see them off. Have you spotted it, on Sakura's scarf? Yes, that's the pin shaped like a teddy bear, the same Kaho gave her as a present and that she was wearing in the OG manga during the run at the bus stop to tell her feelings to Syaoran!

Akiho thanks Sakura for coming so early in the morning, and Sakura says she absolutely wanted to be there to see them off, actually she apologizes for making them delay their departure due to this meeting. Akiho is dressed with a cute outfit that is very remiscent of the one she's wearing in the color page of chapter 79.

A little separated from them to give their privacy, we see Kaito and his big suitcase, standing next to Syaoran. OMG it's so inusual to see them like that!!

Then, Kaito says "Time magic....I can teach it to you, if you ever want to use it". Syaoran is very surprised to hear that, and Kaito says that when he was still in the dragon form, he heard him apologizing to Sakura for not being able to use that magic because he hadn't learned it yet, remember?? 🥹

And Kaito just offered himself as a teacher, surely as a way to thank him for everything he's done to save him and Akiho.

But not only that: in a very sweet panel, he says he knows Syaoran won't use it in an inappropriate way, and I can totally hear that implied "as opposed to me". Oh yes I hear it loud and clear by the way this is phrased in Japanese. 😁

Then, he happily takes out his phone and asks him to exchange contact numbers, because they can be convenient for any occurrence! I feel like that was a good idea because they're surrounded by magic matters so much, it's always good to be able to count on the experience and knowledge of other magicians.

We see Syaoran being a bit perplexed at the request, but then reluctanctly (?) takes out his phone 😂oh lord his reaction is so funny....and this is also another proof that the characters remember what happened before, because Syaoran could have this reaction only for that reason 😂😂😂

While looking at them interacting so funnily, Akiho takes the chance to get closer to Sakura and whisper a very important information to her (it came!!! it came for her too!! I KNEW IT!! It's not WHAT I imagined but I've been saying forever that this would come 😂):

Akiho, JP & ENG: "My real name...is Cosmos"

What you guys can't see if you're reading the ENG version or any other language, is the duality of Akiho's true name here.

It's actually written in Japanese kanji, but the furigana that tells how to pronounce it are katakana for "Cosmos".

So it's like this:

Japanese name: 秋桜 (pronounced Akizakura, it's how Cosmos are called in Japanese)

Furigana (reading): コスモス (Cosmos)

It's not uncommon to find the Cosmos flowers being called directly with their katakana spelling, in Japanese.

All of this makes total sense for Akiho because her favorite flower is a specific type of Cosmos, the Chocolate Cosmos! They say they really smell like chocolate! So, just like Sakura, she's got the same name of her favorite flower.

But this duality of her name also allows Akiho to say what she's about to say:

Akiho, JP: "When we met for the first time, I was happy to learn I had one same character in my name as yours!"

I'm glad to see that more or less all the foreign translations did their best to explain the trick of the kanji, adding an explanation in the bubbles (they were big enough, thankfully). The ENG for example talked about "sharing a name" but Akiho here is meaning more "sharing a character" of the japanese name.

Sakura is of course really honored and happy to hear that, and thanks her for sharing such an important detail about herself.

And now, hahaha.....comes the part where I laughed SO, so much, because while to some it might sound strange for Akiho to do something like this, to me it isn't strange at all! Cause she's like that, her personality is far stronger than most think...

Our little mischievous Akiho here reveals to Sakura, still whispering, that she isn't going to share her real name with Kaito yet, because she's still a bit upset with him!! 😂😂😂

Oh lord, Akiho....oh dear....you have all the right to still be a bit upset, make him work hard to get such an important information from you!! 😂 I can't believe right now we have Kaito basically in Akiho's hands while Akiho, the one who seemed the most in love out of the two, is actually still withholding that from him! 😂😂😂 aaaaahhh trust CLAMP to always give you something interesting....this is totally in line with how I perceived her personality. 🤭I loved it!

Kaito needs to be really, really careful from now on! She's not gonna take any crap from him! 😂

And now I have to warn you because precisely as we reach the very last line Sakura will say in this arc, there is going to be another translation mistake, which I consider far worse than the other one I pointed out. I think getting it wrong precisely at the most important emotional point ruined a job that wasn't overall so bad, with this chapter (compared to others....).

Sakura, smiling, supports Akiho's idea, saying "Sounds good!", and then, utters the very last line of the arc:

ENG: "After all, we have a long future together ahead of us!"

JP: "After all, you'll be together forever from now on!"

I think you can easily guess why this translation mistake irritated me so much. I've checked the other translations and the Spanish one, the one I trust the most, agrees with me, just like the French one.

This translation is a failure for two reasons:

it failed to convey the fact that Sakura here is using almost exactly the same words she used in the OG manga at the end of volume 12, when she ran into Syaoran's arms, saying that they would be together forever from that moment on. I think iconic lines like these should be translated in the way the readers know them from the previous work, otherwise it's useless. You don't get the reference. In Japanese, back in volume 12 of the OG manga, it was "kore kara wa zutto issho da yo!" while here it is "kore kara wa zutto issho nandakara". And there is a reason for that.

this translation inexplicably made it about all of them, when Sakura was talking specifically about Akiho and Kaito instead. That "nandakara" at the end suggests that this sentence is strictly related to the one that came right before, "sounds good", as an answer to Akiho's plan to withhold her true name from Kaito for a while. Sakura here is simply saying that Akiho's idea sounds ok to her because those two will be together forever from now on, so she'll have all the time of this world to tell him eventually her true name, when she feels ready. Also, in Sakura's words, there's a deeper meaning: it's the last wish of happiness for those two, which comes from her own lived experience. At the end of volume 12 we saw Sakura uttering those same words, in her happiest moment of reunion with Syaoran...Sakura knows that happiness, the happiness of reuniting and be able to stay all the time with the person you love the most. This is the same thing she's wishing for those two right now, with these words. To be together forever and savor that same happiness she's living herself everyday. But if the translation makes it about all four of them, or even just about Sakura and Akiho, this underlying message, this last parallel between the two pairs is completely gone. Also, what's the sense in saying "we have a long future together ahead" if Kaito and Akiho are leaving?? It doesn't make sense to me. They once again managed to remove any hint of Kaito and Akiho being destined to be together for life, and bent the phrase to include everyone, just because they could. I find that quite disrespectful in my opinion.

Anyway, if you made it this far in reading the post, you now know how that line should actually be. I feel so embittered and disappointed that this happened precisely at the end...

But this time, as opposed to the OG manga, there's one more page to bring this arc to a closure: we can see the back of the new empowered Sakura Card (on the Card there's a mix of both the Star circle and the Dream circle), and the text reads:

JP, lit.: "When all the Cards are gathered, that's the beginning that comes from an end. A beginning to move on"

You have surely recognized it , this is exactly the same page that appeared at the very beginning of this arc, it's just that back then we had a Sakura Card's back, a more unsettling background, and lots of blank cards floating. Right now we have the back of the empowered Sakura Cards, a more serene background and instead of the blank cards, we have cherry blossom petals! ❤️

But most importantly, the sentence slightly changed too, communicating to all the readers that from the end of all the tribulations that our characters went through in this Clear Card Arc, they finally managed to move onto a happier life.

I think it's very beautiful how CLAMP decided to conclude this story, with a message of hope that not all endings are necessarily something bad, but they can simply hide behind them the beginning of something new and more positive.

Lord knows how much I needed to be reminded of this, in this moment of my life.

And surely this is also true for the end of this beloved series for many people around the world: after 7 years and half it's so hard to say goodbye to such a beloved story, but CLAMP want to give us one last present before saying goodbye to it for an indefinite period!

On the right side of the Japanese last page (this was not translated in the ENG one) we find the announcement that the April issue of Nakayoshi on sale on March 1st 2024 will bring us a special chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card! Precisely one month before the release of volume 16! There's no info about how long it's gonna be, but anything is strongly welcome to say goodbye in a more gradual way...I wonder what it'll be about? This can be literally anything!! I would love for them to feature a situation in the future, rather than in the past....

Beware, because I've heard that Anime News Network translated this as a "special arc" in their news and that caused a ruckus...I've already tried to warn people on Twitter that's not correct, "tokubetsuhen" is the same term they used for the special short chapters they have published till now.

And so...it ends. We've reached the end!! Omg! I still can't register it fully....🙈

I will write some short additional comments about the chapter here but you'll have to wait for another, separate post to have my impressions and commentary on the entire Clear Card Arc.

I just want to say that this finale didn't feature everything I hoped/wanted to see, but other things were definitely granted.

It's just impossible to make everyone happy so I completely understand that.

And even though I'm truly disappointed about Momo and the choice to make her leave her two kids like that, I feel overall this disappointment doesn't stain my appreciation for this finale.

The things I wanted to see and got, the general happy and relaxed atmosphere, seeing all four of them so friendly with eachother, Sakura's final blessing with those words are enough to make me feel still quite satisfied with the finale.

Also, this feels so much more open than the OG manga. A lot more open. There are tons of elements one could grasp to in case they wanted to make a spin-off, or feature some of these plot threads as a cameo in another work. Akiho and Kaito's situation in particular, with their travels around the world, seems to be screaming "you'll see us again soon". I don't know if I'm just delusional but I've seen so many people saying the same.

And I have to say that despite my first choice was for Akiho and Kaito to stay in Tomoeda, they gave me enough good reasons to justify them departing again. I did, in fact, predict that an eventual resume of their travels could be plot related (if they had to continue escaping the Squids' radar or if they had to find a way to fix Kaito's situation).

Plus, Akiho seems so happy and free. How can I rebel against that, when they depict her so happy of her choice?

Also, nice of Eriol to step up and help those two. He's the other poweful and experienced magician who can put at their service all of his knowledge.

And then, Kaito's character development. Even here, I felt like I would've wanted him to say more, but then I remembered that Ohkawa in a Space long time ago had already said "I would want the readers, once it's over, to re-read this trying to understand 'why this character acted in this way?' " and it was clear that she was referring to Kaito. So, not exposing in detail Kaito's heart and the motivations that brought him to this point is totally intentional. She wants us to get there on our own. After all, she gave us another huge hint in this chapter, by making him reveal his true name to Akiho. I can only be grateful for that, especially for how he worded it.

Cristaux and Cosmos...while I'm really happy they have the same initials, I'm still trying to get used to those new names! 😂even though I know they'll keep using their aliases so it's not a big problem, we'll keep calling them Kaito and Akiho!

(And yes, I'm a bit disappointed that Akiho's true name isn't Alice! 😂)

It was nice to see SyaoSaku blushing and flirting in this finale, especially now that Touya gave his blessing to Syaoran, he can go pick her up for school when he wants!! 😂 I'm sure we'll get more SyaoSaku fluff in the special chapter, as this finale was mostly used to wrap up other stuff.

As I said, I adored the few panels of interaction between the two Moon Boys, Akiho's mischievous prank to Kaito....yes, I still have lots to be grateful for, in this finale.

I think this post just won the record for the longest one, so let me just take this space really quick before wrapping up to thank all of you who have read my posts, shared them, supported me, chatted with me about the story, and overall contributed with interesting discussions in this little personal corner. I would've never imagined, not even in my wildest dreams, that the existence and content of this blog one day would've reached even CLAMP, and this will stay as one of my biggest gratifications, especially cause they seemed to appreciate the effort. I just wish their story was treated better by some official translations.

I tried to do whatever I could to spread warnings about heavy translation mistakes, in addition to my interpretation of the story as I was reading it and analyzing it, since I've seen it helped many people understanding the story better and coming to terms with frustrations they had about it.

Clear Card Arc is undoubtedly more complex and requires a lot more of attention than the OG manga.

But I'm positive that re-reading everything in one go might help A LOT in that regard, maybe keeping my translation posts beside you....so I urge everyone to re-read the story when you have time, because it's worth it. Really.

That said, I'm not going anywhere for the foreseeable future: of course I'll comment the special chapter, but I also have in store the "Clear Card Trivia" series of posts, a post with the timeline of the events and a master post about my own review of the entire Clear Card Arc. And then, there's the season 2 of the anime too! You can bet I'll be here to comment on it every week!!

In the meantime, I want to thank all of you again for your patience, for reading me till now, and I also want to thank once again CLAMP-sensei for the wonderful sequel they brought to us in these past 7 years. ありがとうございます 🙏

See you soon!!

#card captor sakura #cardcaptor sakura #clear card arc #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #clamp #sakura card captor #sakura kinomoto #syaoran li #akiho shinomoto #yuna d. kaito #chapter 80 #translation differences

[loveephia]

inarizaki with a geeky girlfriend who loves magical girl animangas. (everyone in headcanons, but in the scenario, it's only atsumu.)

content: (🦷) tooth-rotting fluff, self-indulgent (i could geek out about tokyo mew mew for hours on end, bro), references to popular magical girl animangas.

⚠ warning/s: none.

note: i thought of the concept a while back, and i wanted to amplify my headcanons because i, myself, am a big fan of magical girl animangas. also m'pushing my spoiling-bf!atsumu agenda, hehe. ;p

HEADCANONS

inarizaki with a girlfriend who has shelves full of magical girl mangas.

inarizaki with a girlfriend that has glasses due to how late she stays up reading the said mangas.

inarizaki with a girlfriend who would explain the story in EXCRUCIATING detail, and they'd still love you for it. (kita and suna are probably listening intently, kita because he's just a good listener in general, and suna because he's only a tiny bit interested in the plot).

inarizaki with a girlfriend who owns a ton of merch from the franchise. (from sailor moon luna plushies to cardcaptor sakura's staff, you have it all).

inarizaki with a girlfriend who likes to sing along to the openings/endings of her favorite magical girl animes.

inarizaki spoiling their girlfriend with limited/hard-to-get items on her birthday. (very atsumu.)

SCENARIO

"atsumu miya, you did not." you gaped in mere disbelief, holding up the signed tokyo mew mew poster in front of you. atsumu shrugged, a small smirk forming on his face at the satisfied reaction he got out of you. "tugged a few strings and got that for ya since i remembered how much you liked the show." he said, "ain't i the best boyfriend ever?"

you smiled at him, "the best."

"oh, and," atsumu pulls out a holographic SSR madoka magica goddess card from his pocket, "this is for you too."

your eyes widened, setting the poster aside on your desk before examining the shiny card to confirm its autheticity. no creases, no rips, it was in mint condition. "t- this is expensive, 'tsumu! how'd you even get one of these?!" you exclaimed.

"like i said, tugged a few strings." atsumu reminded.

© lowercase intended | loveephia

#haikyuu fluff #haikyuu!! #hq x reader #hq x y/n #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x y/n #hq hcs #tooth rotting fluff #hq #haikyu x reader #haikyū!! #haikyuu atsumu #hq atsumu #atsumu miya #atsumu x reader #atsumu x you #atsumu x y/n #inarizaki #atsumu miya x y/n #atsumu miya x reader #atsumu miya x you #atsumu miya x female reader #atsumu scenarios #kita shinsuke #shinsuke kita #suna rintarō #suna rintarou #osamu miya

[randomlonelymusician]

Hi......If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hmm, let's see! I'm quite bad a ranking things, so here's a tentative list of my current faves:

10. MILGRAM Project

This one is a little more recent for me, as my sister got me into it. MILGRAM is an interactive music video project, and while I'm not the biggest fan of DECO*27's music, I love the idea that this project presents. You're able to vote if a character is forgiven or unforgiven based off of the information given through a music video. I quite like some of the representation it has, especially with it having a character with DID.

9. Monster (Naoki Urasawa)

It's just a manga (and anime!) I like a lot due to it's compelling storytelling and antagonist. It was also cool being able to point out actual locations from the series in Germany.

8. To Your Eternity

While I fell of a little bit from the manga, this series still holds a place in my heart. (The Previous Era, at least.) The manga especially is so heartfelt, emotional, and spiritual, with it's exploration of humanity as a concept. And it contains best boy Kahaku,

7. Cardcaptor Sakura

It may be the nostalgia talking, but I love this series so much. It's so sweet and adorable, and some very sweet LGBT representation. Anyways, Sakura is my icon.

6. Lacey Games Series

Lacey Games, being an indie horror series by creator Ghosttundra, holds a special place in my heart. Though short and still incomplete, it's exploration of abuse and trauma through a horror format is beautiful and compelling.

5. Bocchi the Rock!

I feel so represented by Bocchi. Never before has anything conveyed what it feels like to have social anxiety while being so hilarious and fun.

4. Monogatari Series

I have an insanely complicated relationship with this series. On one hand, it's problematic and has elements that I find horrific. But on the other hand, it contains so many stories of young women overcoming trauma and adversity, creating a very powerful narrative about the struggles of growing up. Also I love Senjougahara.

3. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Evangelion is dear to me because of when I watched it. Without going into details, it really swooped in at one of the worst points in my life, and allowed me to feel. It's a capsule of loneliness.

2. Revolutionary Girl Utena

It's the ultimate queer girl revolution. Besides it's strange and unconventionalness that I love, Utena tells a story of escaping the cycle of abuse, and all the details that perpetuate it.

1. Oyasumi Punpun

I have no words besides it's the best thing I have ever read, and that I will never read again. Nothing will describe the feelings that it gives.

#asks #milgram #monster anime #to your eternity #cardcaptor sakura #lacey games #bocchi the rock! #monogatari #neon genesis evangelion #revolutionary girl utena #oyasumi punpun

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 1C, MATCH 9 OUT OF 16!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Touya:

His performance as Cinderella in his school play is played for laughs, but the thing I really appreciate is that the comedy comes from how ill-fitting his personality is for the character, not his gender. The episode was funny, sure, but it was also surprisingly progressive for a children's anime from the 90's (then again, so was the rest of the show haha). Also he's the only Cinderella who gets sent to the ball by a talking can of mackerel.

Saki:

Psychic goth girl who was cast as Cinderella in a school play. The play was so poorly cast overall that the entire script had to be rewritten, thus “Cinderella-ish” was born. Hanajima played a Cinderella dressed in all black, and when confronted by the fairy godmother, she simply wished for meat.

idk if this is what you meant by 'acting' as Cinderella but in-universe she got cast as Cinderella in the school play, and the characters ended up re-writing the entire play to work around her because she was too Goth and disinterested to play a classic Cinderella character.

She plays the best version of Cinderella. All she cared about was going to the ball for the barbecue. The episode she's in is a really good one as well.

Overall Saki is not a Cinderella character, but you did say we could submit them if they were Cinderella in an in-universe play, and that she was! In Season 2 Episode 23 "It's Cinderella-ish", her class puts on a production of Cinderella and she ends up getting cast as the titular role, which a lot of other characters think is crazy because she's this straight-faced, emotionally-repressed, exclusively-wears-black kinda girl. Also her best friend Tohru (the anime's protagonist) gets cast as an evil stepsister, and she's one of the sweetest people ever and has so much trouble being mean to Saki even fakely and vice versa. Of course, Saki has no problems being rude to the Prince Charming character in the play, played by Kyo, a guy who's sweet deep down (but only to Tohru and his adoptive father) but is other wise a hot head who's always getting into fights. So between Saki as Cinderella having a genuine love for her stepsister and a general animosity with the prince, in addition to the fact that when she goes to the ball, all she wants to do is eat, not mingle, she makes for a very interesting Cinderella.

so this shoujo series has a storyline where the class puts on a Cinderella play but instead of the heroine playing Cinderella, shenanigans happen that lead to the heroine's goth best friend, Saki Hanajima, aka Hana-chan, aka Demon Queen, playing the lead role. Hana-chan's Cinderella dresses in all black against the wishes of the play's director, does not give 2 shits about the prince, and is just a general menace to society. I know she's probably not gonna win but I just wanted to share her with all of you bc I love her and the Cinderella-ish arc is to this day some of the funniest shit I've seen in a manga

their high school class decided to randomize who played which characters in their production of Cinderella & the creepy goth girl got cast as Cinderella & her painfully kind-hearted bestie got cast as the evil stepsister (among other mismatched roles) so they rewrote the play into "Sorta Cinderella" & Cinderella became a deadpan, lazy girl who only wants the best for her darling step-sister & who only went to the ball for the food.  in the end, instead of marrying the prince she takes his money & opens a restaurant with her sister & I love that for them <3

#cinderpoll #round 1 #round 1c #touya kinomoto #toya kinomoto #cardcaptor sakura #saki hanajima #fruits basket #cinderella-ish #cinderellaish #cinderella #fairytale #poll tournament #poll bracket #character polls #polls

[volleypearlfan]

I love Fruits Basket and all, and it’s even entered my top 10 anime of all time, but there were so many missed opportunities to have LGBTQ representation, especially since they forced many of the characters into straight relationships. Yeah you could make the argument that “it was a different time” when the manga was first made, but Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura, two other 90s shojo manga, had openly queer characters, so that argument doesn’t hold much water.

If I were in charge of Fruits Basket, here’s how I could incorporate queer representation

Arisa and Saki become girlfriends. It is extremely obvious that they like each other (and Tohru), and I felt as if Arisa and Kureno's relationship didn’t get much development (not to mention the age gap)

Ritsu is transfem. The fact that they made her (yes I use she/her for Ritsu) stop dressing like a woman made me so angry, since Ritsu was legitimately happy presenting as feminine. You could at least make Ritsu still be GNC.

Speaking of GNC, I’m also annoyed that they made Momiji stop being feminine when he grew up. In my universe, Momiji would still be feminine when he got a growth spurt.

I would put Yuki with Kakeru. I personally liked their dynamic much better than that of Yuki and Machi.

That’s about it

#fruits basket #furuba #fruba #arisa uotani #saki hanajima #ritsu sohma #momiji sohma #yuki sohma #kakeru manabe #lgbtq #queer

[mahou-furbies]

Closing thoughts on Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card

To my surprise this had already ended, and over a year ago too. Apparently CCS isn't big enough in my circle for it to have been bigger news.

First things first, the worst sin this manga commits is that there aren't nearly enough magical girl outfits! CCS is known for Tomoyo crafting a new one for every event, but this time most of the Card Catching happens so spontaneously that there's no time for a costume change. Which I suppose technically makes sense in-story, but I still reject this and would instead prefer any kind of excuse to get Sakura into a cute new fantasy outfit every chapter, no matter how nonsensical it might be.

Then for the actual content. In general I can see why CCS is such a beloved classic, but personally I've never been too big on it. Which makes it a little difficult to judge the sequel, like is it actually meh, or am I just being a hater again? I just can't get into these characters, I can like a good wholesome story like Yotsuba& where everyone is super nice, but in CCS the cast is just so saccharine that they barely feel human, so it's hard to get invested. It's like Sakura is rather meant to be someone's ideal daughter instead of her own person, like she's eternally pure, ever so helpful and well behaved, never has a nasty thougth in her mind, and so on.

Another issue I remember from the original manga that still persists here is how almost every character hides important information from Sakura. You can "well actually" most of it, like a lot of the time there is a decent reason, but there's just so much of it that to me it feels kind of patronising, or frustrating when the main character is always several steps behind. Some of the secrecy doesn't even lead to anything interesting story-wise, like eventually the information gets out and Sakura is a little upset for one panel, and then everything is forgiven. I don't know how much of a fair criticism this is, but the "keep secrets from the main character to protect them" trope is one of my pet peeves (unless you lean into the broken trust aspect, then it's good) and I feel it strongly here. Also in general it's a good thing that the side cast has their own thing going on so that the main character is not the only one who gets anything done, but here Sakura sometimes gets lost in everyone else's planning.

The new girl Akiho is at least cute, I got no complaints on her. I'm also always a sucker for any kind of twin/clone/otherwise similar and paired characters, so my favourite thing about the manga was how she kept being compared to Sakura. As for the story otherwise… Eh. Feels a lot like a retread of the original manga, Sakura's Cards disappear and she must get new ones one by one. The character relationships are pretty static and I don't think I really learned anything new about Sakura. There are a lot of Alice in Wonderland references, which for the most part felt superfluous. Towards the end Sakura's class puts up a play that's a pastiche of Alice in Wonderland, and then Sakura gets sucked into the world of the play, and the story gets pretty confusing when the characters are both acting their roles and doing the actual plot.

Also if you're into Tomoyo/Sakura or Toya/Yukito you don't need to bother with this because you'll be scrambling for crumbs, there is little else in terms of shipping besides Sakura/Syaoran. Which is like the most vanilla ship ever, sure it's wholesome but man I just can't get anything out of them.

#cardcaptor sakura #review I guess

[xbuster]

i actually havent read any shoujo other than sailor moon and would love to! do you have any recommendations for where to start? i love a good romance

I’d love to give a concise answer, but shoujo is such a broad genre that you’re going to have to give me more details about what you’re looking for! I’m also still pretty new to shoujo myself so most of what I've read so far is mahou shoujo (Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, Tokyo Mew Mew, Himitsu no Akko-chan, and Nurse Angel Ririka SOS in particular), but I can at least tell you some classics I've read a little of so far or am planning on reading.

Fruits Basket is of course a must-read if you're looking for romance. Aim for the Ace is the shoujo sports manga for me and laid the foundation for girl rivalries with yuri subtext. And as far as the classics are concerned, The Rose of Versailles is there at the top of romance and drama. Akatsuki no Yona is one I really want to read because it's been compared to Arslan Senki, a novel series that I really love and I'd love to see how that premise could be sold to a shoujo demographic (Arslan Senki itself had a shoujo manga adaptation that I want to read sooooo bad but nobody cared to translate it). Kare Kano was one of Gainax's finest anime, so I feel confident in recommending the manga too as it's a really fun romcom. You also can't really go wrong with anything written by CLAMP.

And, of course, Lovely Complex itself is a really well-beloved shoujo romance manga that even got a live action film adaptation. I'm also a sucker for tall girl/ short guy romances (The Kabocha Wine <3333).

@boymagicalgirl Could probably give even better recommendations as a real shoujo manga connoisseur.

[leoruby-draws]

I just found your Training Wheels au and I absolutely love your art style. It's like 90s manga meets Sunday funnies, it's great and 100% fits the au as well.

Thank you, I love both those things!! Used to love reading Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura. And also had a Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes phase too! So I guess its not surprising it rubbed off in my drawing. Tho I also take inspiration from Tezuka's works (like Astro Boy) and from the Donald Duck comics a bit. And other stuff here and there.

I noticed today I got a whole bunch of notes and I feel kinda bad I've having been posting in a while. I've been working two jobs the past couple months, so I've felt a little distracted. Not from the drawing itself, I've actually been drawing a ton! Like a drawing (inked!) a day or two.

Its just really hard to post them because I have a hard time typing out the words, trying to give out as much info on my drawings so people don't lose context on what I'm drawing. I suck at writing, kinda hate it. Sometimes I wish I did wordless comics because the dialogue is a chore to figure out too.

But I'm gonna try to post more of my drawings as soon as I can, honestly you guys you've only seen a fraction of my drawings lol. I've been 'introducing' more characters in the Training Wheels au, and want to show you guys!

But for now I'll show you some doodles here, hope you enjoy!

#ask

[aquamine-amarine]

It's time for Part 2 of "I hate the fucking anime adaption so fucking much". Part 1 is here.

I've known about this since the start of the month since Nakayoshi posted a black and white ad in the January 2024 Issue talking about it, it just took a while for Marukuji to actually post about it in color. And it still doesn't make it any better.

That looks NOTHING like Amu. Holy shit is it bad. I had to do a double take when I first saw a cropped version of the ad on Twitter because that didn't look like Amu at all. It's horrible. Ikuto looks so fucking awful too. Why the hell is he wearing purple too? It looks way too similar to Utau. It's all so bad and out of character, and it's worse than usual because it's also a lottery. Yeah no, fuck this, I ain't buying it. Last year when they made that new anime art I refused to buy anything with the new art on it and I only bought the ribbons, purses, and mirrors. I hated it that fucking much.

Why do people think this is good? Why? I'm seeing so many people on here and in the Japanese fandom fawn over this and I don't understand why. There's so many yes men in these fandoms I swear, like you're all too afraid to say something is shit when it's shit. And this is shit. It leaves such a bad fucking taste in my mouth that they got the old anime character designer to do another set of merchandise. I really wanted that crap from last year to be a one time thing, and then this happened. Really makes me sick thinking about a reboot potentially bringing that old character designer back… God no. This is terrible. The art is so bad.

I know Rozen Maiden is doing the same thing lately, with the 2013 anime character designer making new art for merchandise and lotteries, the difference is that the 2013 Rozen Maiden anime art is actually good. It was a massive improvement over the horrid Nomad art. They never ever use the Nomad art anymore, and God I wish they would treat SC! the same way. Make a reboot, make merchandise using that new anime art, and please pretend the old anime art doesn't exist anymore.

I'm still convinced they will reboot it, with all the money they're hoarding from the constant new merchandise. Here's hoping we get some nice news after the sequel manga starts. Unfortunately right now they're going to focus on the Vampire Dormitory anime adaption. Shoujo anime adaptions are making a comeback, and they choose to give this trashy manga an anime adaption... sigh. And we still don't have a start date for the Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc anime sequel either. I guess they just don't want it competing with these two anime at the moment, so they're waiting.

I need some eye bleach, I can't stand looking at this fucking art anymore.

#Shugo Chara! #Shugo Chara #Peach Pit #Amu Hinamori #Ikuto Tsukiyomi #Tadase Hotori #Utau Hoshina

[nebulasaurus]

You have fine taste with Kyo being on your list 😺

Kyo Sohma is absolutely my all time favorite anime/manga character, ever. EVER.

When I was 14 in (2003) I was coerced into joining an anime club by my senior. At the time, I had read Marmalade Boy and Cardcaptor Sakura. I hadn't even slipped my toes into anything else yet. My first anime club session they were watching the first episode of Fruits Basket where Kyo comes smashing through the ceiling, all dumb and stuff.

(I know the gif is from the 2019 anime but still)

As soon as I saw him I was Engrossed. I wanted to see more, read more, and know all about him. After that day I begged my mother to let me get the first few manga available from TokyoPop. Then I followed the manga obsessively. When I got Internet access I followed scanlations of the chapters and eventually had them all by the time the 23rd volume released in 2007.

Fruits Basket introduced me to the world of angst, drama, and romance, and holds a very special place in my heart. I loved Kyo so much as a kid that my friends teased me saying I would marry a ginger one day.

(which, unrelatedly, I did. Which is hilarious.)

Me and my husband also got matching Fruits Basket tattoos, because he loves it too (although he only saw the 2019 version.)

I still own the original TokyoPop release of the manga, and I keep it stored in a air tight bin away from the grubby hands of my children, at least until I can display it properly.

I recommend Fruits Basket to everyone to read or watch, because it's so special to me and I will talk about it for days if you let me.

#nebs whines #fruits basket #fruits basket 2019 #fruits basket manga #natsuki takaya #kyo sohma #kyo x tohru #kyo souma #furuba #fruba #fruba 2019 #tohru honda

[meimi-haneoka]

Report of CLAMP’s Twitter Space ~ May 5th, 2023 (part concerning Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card)

On May 5th, CLAMP opened two Twitter Spaces, one as a late celebration of Ohkawa's birthday and one as an "afterparty", dedicating this second one both to the Holic stage play and Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card. Actually, the mentions of Sakura-related stuff started already in the first Space, so I'm going to write the report starting from that one!

The first mention of anything CCS related is past halfway the first Space, when a question from a fan prompted CLAMP to talk about their current favorite Sakura costumes! (It seems one of them - I think it was Mokona - was about to speak about a certain costume and Ohkawa interrupted her, laughing: "That's too soon!! That's a spoiler! 😂" what a tease!) For Satsuki, her favorite costume is the classic cat one with the apron, from Clow Card Arc (side note, it seems she still had a strained back and that's also the reason why they couldn't celebrate with a Space on the actual day of Ohkawa's birthday), while for Nekoi it's the costume with shorts and diamond shapes all over it from the Clow Card Arc (when she had to sneak into a museum). For Mokona it's the bat-themed coat she had designed for the manga chapter (Sakura Card Arc) when Sakura went out with a fever, and she wore over her pajama this coat Tomoyo made her to keep her warm. Lastly, for Ohkawa it's the costume from volume 3 / the Clear Card anime OP, even though she knows it's one of the most complex ones (but she loves that it mixes both cuteness and a more mature vibe)! If she had to choose a simpler one, then it would be the classic Clow Card anime OP! Mokona also mentioned the fan favorite frog costume from Clear Card Arc, which it seems got a very slight criticism by Ohkawa because it looked too "childish", but Mokona was glad that in the end they used it anyway. Ohkawa actually explained that what she meant was more how it looked too "simple" and more reminiscing of a raincoat than a proper costume. And this is when the first interesting info comes!

A fan indicated the costume of chapter 36/37 of Clear Card as one of their favorite, and Ohkawa confirmed that they got a lot of praises for that....and then...

Ohkawa: This will become slightly spoilerish, but there is actually a reason why Sakura didn't wear (officially) this costume yet! 😉 Please stay tuned!

A few minutes later, a fan asked Ohkawa about what is usually “the driving force” that pushes her forward when she’s writing her stories. Ohkawa replied: “The end. The end is what’s most important to me. Even in Clear Card Arc’s case, the only reason why I’m doing it is because of the finale, that I decided right away and came to me like a spark. When that doesn’t happen, I get bored halfway through. To be honest, with Clear Card Arc it’s not even exactly the finale. There’s a certain event I wanted to write for it at all costs. If it wasn’t for that, I would’ve never given the OK to restart ‘CCSakura’ once again.” Nekoi: “So for the sake of the end, the story spun on itself and started once again.”

Another fan asked right after if there was any highlight they are looking forward to for the sequel of the Clear Card anime, and here CLAMP confirmed that the cast of voice actors will of course be the same! So they said that’s certainly a highlight. They also mentioned how the peak of the story will come all in the part that’s going to be portrayed in the anime from now on, so all of that is another highlight in itself. Ohkawa looks forward to hear Sakura Tange as Sakura once again. Then, talking about the source material for a moment: Ohkawa: “It took a long time, and we’ve been told that the story is kinda boring, but please trust me. They tell me I take long time to reveal all the “tricks” beneath the story but there’s a reason for that. Just wait a little more~ 😊”

Mokona mentioned that she personally looks forward to see how the director (Asaka, I guess) will portray the world inside the book where the kids go to halfway though the play (She’s talking about Clockland, of course 😊). They also wondered how they will portray the Mirror Card and the important role she will have in the later part of the story, Ohkawa in particular said Mirror has always been a very special Card (it’s one of the only 3 who can speak).

This is the content for the first Space! Only a few minutes later, CLAMP opened one more Space to focus on the Holic stage play and to talk about Sakura. Skipping to the Sakura content, a fan asked if Meiling is going to appear in the sequel of the Clear Card anime, since they liked her relationship with Syaoran, particularly the scene where they fought together. Ohkawa: “She won’t probably join a battle, but of course she’s going to appear!” (everyone clapped their hands) Mokona: “The funny thing is, when we started working on the Clear Card manga, I was wondering why Meiling didn’t appear...and then I remembered she was an anime-only character!!😂I had my memories messed up!”

Following that, Ohkawa announced something we were all hoping for as if it were nothing of importance 😂 Ohkawa: “This is something no one cares about, and I know they haven’t announced it for the new anime adaptation yet, but the script writer will be me, Nanase Ohkawa” (everyone clapped) Ohkawa: “It’s really nothing important” Mokona: “It is, instead! Thank you very much!” Mokona: “You’ll be working again with that director…” Ohkawa: “Yep, it’s real. I said I would’ve never written any more anime scripts, all on my own…” Mokona: “But since we’re rooting for you…! 😂” Ohkawa: “I’m saying this just to laugh a bit, but when I write the anime scripts, I enter my ‘nursing care mode’, I just can’t do anything else, I’ll be causing lots of trouble to the other CLAMP members who will have to take care of me...I’ll have to do this job alone, it’s a solo trip! 😅” Mokona: “The Costume design…” Ohkawa: “That’s going to be yours, who else? (to the audience) Mokona-san is going to be in charge of that.”

SO we got three important confirmations (+ the seiyuu cast one in the first Space) for the new anime sequel in the matter of a few minutes!! 😂And all of them are “spoilers”, meaning that none of this has been announced through official channels 😂But they were pretty expected...Ohkawa later in the Space said that she’s perfectly aware that Kodansha will probably get mad at her later for doing that! She said “They’re going to kick my as* right after Golden Week….but it’s okay!” 😆

After this, CLAMP were kind enough to read my message of deep appreciation for the story (Mokona said she wants to go to Italy! I wish conventions planners in Italy could take the hint…! 😂), and Ohkawa made me laugh as usual with her comments about Kaito:

Ohkawa: “This person...doesn’t think something like ‘come on, grow a pair and do the right thing!!’ towards Kaito?” Mokona: “Ah, I think it’s because she actually loves him a lot, at least that’s what it looks like! 😁” Ohkawa: “I see, I’m really grateful then 😁” Mokona: “Kaito-san should really stop messing around, though 😆”

Mokona then remembered that back when the old Sakura anime was airing, they had 2 manga serializations + the anime series to work on at the same time, and her blunt comment was “it was hell, back then”. Ohkawa: “I’m sure there are people out there who would’ve wanted somebody else as scriptwriter...sorry about that, but it’s going to be me! 😅 Actually, I haven’t even asked permission to anyone to announce these things, after all, isn’t it taken for granted at this point? Only me can do it” Mokona: “You’ve been doing this since the beginning, after all”

Ohkawa explained that there are several not-so-small differences between the anime and manga storylines, so the fact that she’s the only one writing the scripts makes everything simpler. She brought up a thing that many fans are interested in, the fact that Nadeshiko’s pendant watch from the manga is actually a key in the anime. If somebody else were to take over at this point, they wouldn’t know how to deal with that difference, because they wouldn’t know why the change was made in the first place. But since Ohkawa is taking care of it, it’s all right! Mokona said that she’s really curious to know what’s going on with Nadeshiko’s key in the anime, and what would be the developments from that. Ohkawa: “You have to trust Sakura-chan for that, not me!” Mokona: “But I believe in your storytelling skills! 😆”

Mokona then said that since the anime and manga storylines end up mixing up in her head, she’s refraining from watching the anime till everything is over. She brought up the example of Meiling of earlier on, and Ohkawa took the chance to express how wonderful the anime adaptation is and how much Meiling is loved by the fans, despite not being present in the manga.

Surprisingly enough, they also mentioned how fastly the season changed in the latest part of the story, jumping suddenly to winter. Satsuki pointed out that for most of the story the season didn’t change at all, and that the seasons actually reflect the situation of the story. When Satsuki said that, I realized it’s really true. And thanks to this comment, I think I might have understood even better why there’s a swallow coming to little wintery Kaito in the color page of chapter 62. Swallows announce the spring, after all… A fan asked a question about the handwritten text that appears in Cardcaptor Sakura, whether it’s Mokona’s real handwriting or it was created that way specifically for the manga (particularly, some kana have a little swirl that makes them cuter). Mokona confirmed that it was created specifically for the manga: in the old series she used to make it more round and cuter, but for Clear Card Arc she realized that a text like that impaired the readability, so she used more straight lines (though in the comedy parts she still tried to make it more rounded, but she admitted that there aren’t that many comedy parts in Clear Card 😅). Another fan sent a message saying they really love Lilie and would like to live with a person like her and Ohkawa was really curious to know what kind of person they thought she is, and what it is they like about her. Mokona: “Maybe she likes her assertiveness, which is very reminiscing of Akiho.”

That was for CLAMP an opportunity to talk about magicians in CLAMP world and how strong magic can distort their personality quite a bit! Mokona wondered if even Lilie is affected by this peculiarity in CLAMP world, since it is a thing (she remembered Momo talked about it in the manga), and in the end they decided to not reveal clearly whether her personality is distorted or not to not spoil the volume-only readers, because it became clear only in the chapter published last month, but invited them to guess the correct answer with a hint: “She became Nadeshiko’s friend, after all”. 😁 They also said that Lilie’s “pushy” nature is an interesting and nice trait of her. That lead CLAMP to make a list of their characters who are considered magicians:

Clow Reed – Yuuko – Fay – Syaoran (CCS) – Yuna D. Kaito – Sakura Kinomoto – Watanuki

and those who haven’t their personality “messed up” are Sakura, Syaoran, Watanuki (they say he’s on the edge, though 😆) and Ohkawa was surprised to find out that it’s almost half of them! Mokona also mentioned King Ashura from Celes country, but Ohkawa reminded her that his powers had severely messed up his personality. Then someone reminded them of Fei Wang, and of course he’s one whose personality was distorted greatly by magic, Mokona commented that the distortion went as far as it could go with him 😅

Ohkawa went further with the topic, telling a fun trivia about powerful magicians with distorted personality. She established that all people with very strong magic powers bear a burden on themselves. Supposed someone were to ask them to act properly in a situation without messing around, they’re people who don’t understand how to do that. They end up thinking 'what a bother, though'. Some of them, among that confusion, make up their own rules and become people like Clow Reed. Others just keep thinking 'it’s a bother, just a bother' and eventually end up thinking 'I don’t give a damn about it': those are the people like Fay or Yuna D. Kaito. 😆

Ohkawa: “Those two had a completely different life, though. Because Kaito had Akiho. So I guess for him it’s a bit different. But if someone were to tell him ‘You, sit down there’ he’d be like ‘Damn, I don’t want to sit down, I want to go back home’. Kaito wouldn’t just ‘sit down’. 😆Fay neither!” Mokona: “Those two are really similar” Ohkawa: “Yet they’ve lead a completely different life. My bad, but in my story Kaito became all ‘what a bore this, what a bore that’ 😅” Mokona: “I guess that can’t be helped for him, because he was severely abused and faced very rough life situations” Ohkawa: “Yeah, that’s right” Mokona: “Fay had Sakura-hime with him, so I wish those parts of him could be tamed for what it’s possible, much like it happened for Kaito with Akiho” Ohkawa: “That would be good, although I don’t know if those parts can ever settle down 😅” Mokona: “Yeah, after all, no one knows what goes through the minds of those magicians 😆”

A fan pointed out that Seishirou could be also included in the list of magicians, but Ohkawa explained he’s more of a shaman than an actual magician and those two shouldn’t be mixed up. It seems the kind of magic they summon is different.

The Space was supposed to end, but then Ohkawa had the sudden idea to ask her colleagues what’s the Card (from any arc) they would want to use the most! For Mokona it’s Fly or Flight (because she’d like to fly like a drone to somewhere, at least once 😆), for Ohkawa it’s Mirror from Clow Card Arc (because she always wanted to have a twin!! No one realized that, sensei), for Satsuki is Create and for Nekoi it’s Lucid (because she’d want to hide in uncomfortable moments 😆).

CLAMP also ended up mentioning, in their chat about the Cards, that it’s sad the Flight Card disappeared, due to its closeness to Sakura and the fact that it’s almost as if this Card had feelings of its own, even more than the old Fly Card.

Ohkawa, throughout the Space, reiterated her request to the fans to keep reading Clear Card’s story till the very end, even if right now they’re thinking ‘I would’ve wanted it to be more like this, instead’ or ‘This isn’t the kind of story I like’. She said in an earlier part of the Space that she’s aware there might be some parts difficult to understand, but that this is at the very core Sakura’s story. For her, as Cardcaptor Sakura’s writer, what makes Sakura the protagonist of this story is the fact that she’s the one deciding what to do within the story. That’s what a main character is for her, even when the “camera” of the storytelling is aiming at someone who’s not the protagonist. She talked to the volume-only readers, saying “If you keep reading and see what Sakura has decided in the next volume, I think you’ll realize just how much she’s grown up”. Mokona agreed, saying that Sakura has always chosen for herself, even in the past arcs.

Ohkawa: “In Cardcaptor Sakura’s story, Sakura always chooses how to take action, so I think it’s ok for me to variate a little bit what kind of main character she’s going to be. My partners Mokona, Nekoi and Sacchan are drawing this story with lots of care, so I’d like for you to keep reading it. Right now volume 14 is out, and when you’ll read it, I’m sure many of you will think ‘Kaito, you…!!! 💢’ 😂” Mokona: “They’re going to feel the same way Momo is feeling 😂”

And here sensei switched to another very important topic.

Ohkawa: “Apparently, the translation abroad is completely different” Mokona: “I guess it’s very difficult to convey the right meaning of some complex words” Ohkawa: “I’ve been told once ‘I just can’t translate it like this’ by the person who’s in charge of the translation. I think it’s great that they still want to try their best with a script like this one.” Ohkawa: “It’s just, you know...I can’t ask people who don’t understand Japanese to read it in our language. Therefore, I’m really grateful that they’re uploading those versions on Youtube, despite the translation being different. Especially with CCSakura right now, if the translation is different, it will end up conveying a different meaning (to the story) 😅(note: her tone right now suggests she’s uncomfortable about this) But still, I’m grateful they’re delivering the chapters to the whole world.” “I’m aware there’s someone (else) who’s writing blog posts about the translation because they feel uncomfortable about those differences, and if you can just look at those, I think it’s already enough. For example, something that really surprised me is how the word わからずや (wakarazuya) cannot be translated properly. (note: she’s referring to the ‘insult’ Momo yells after Kaito before he’s engulfed by the book at the end of chapter 70, and that Lilie mutters in chapter 72). It seems like there isn’t a word to express it. This is really a subtlety, though… There seem to be many words that aren’t perfectly translatable into English. Like 頑張れ！(ganbare!)” Satsuki: “よろしく (yoroshiku) too.” Ohkawa: “That’s right. Or 仕事 (shigoto).” Mokona: “Since the culture is different too, they have to look for a word that’s got the closest meaning to that one.” Ohkawa: “I think the people in charge are really doing their best, but when I’ve heard of (how they translated that word), I didn’t really feel good about it.” (Mokona: “yes, it’s true”). Mokona: “Even the official translation can be wrong! It’s totally understandable” Ohkawa: “I know. I guess translating わからずや is really difficult, but I think you’ll still able to understand it if you consider the feelings of that character in that moment.” Nekoi: “It's more like ‘blockhead’ ” Ohkawa: “When re-translating the word they chose back (in our language), I felt like it got translated into something closer to 馬鹿 (baka).” (note: the ENG used "dolt" which indeed got more of a "stupid" nuance) Mokona: “Ah, that’s not what she meant…” Ohkawa: “And to us, 馬鹿 means something completely different”. (Mokona agrees)

Ohkawa: “Even so, I think it’s still worth uploading the chapters officially on Youtube, so please keep checking them out. At the same time, I’m really grateful to those who point out where (the translation) got it wrong.” Mokona: “There’s really a language barrier!” Ohkawa continued saying that she’s often told by translators that it’s difficult to understand what’s the subject (of a sentence) in her writing. She brought as an example how, to this day, Yue still doesn’t have a personal pronoun he uses to refer to himself, so that makes difficult to establish the subject when he talks. Mokona wondered how the translations abroad are dealing with translating how non-human characters are referring to themselves, when in Japanese they don’t use pronouns such as “ore” or “watashi”. Ohkawa guessed that probably in foreign languages it doesn’t really matter. Despite being really grateful to all the people who are translating her work with care, she expressed lots of interest on this topic and would also like to talk to them freely about this matter, because it’s true that there are parts that are translated differently (note: or wrong, the word used can indicate both).

She extended her gratitude also to people who give their comments and impressions about every single chapter, reading them on Nakayoshi or Youtube, even when those comments are really harsh towards them and their work. Ohkawa: “I’m also very grateful to those who tackle the translation differences every month, saying things like ‘This is not right’ or ‘This is not what they’re actually saying!’” Mokona: “We could call it ‘collective knowledge’, or rather, we could really say this world is built by what everyone is saying, in a collective effort” Ohkawa: “It’s my fault, but since Momo’s wording is a bit difficult to translate, she might have been misunderstood (abroad).”

Changing topic slightly, but always staying in the CCSakura area, Ohkawa reiterated how this is Sakura’s story, and she would like us to read it till the end to witness how Sakura figured out what she can do for someone she’s just met (like Akiho), coming from a position of someone who’s always been protected and guarded by other people till now. She wants us to see how much she’s grown up going through that process. Ohkawa: “Mokona praised a lot the conversation between Sakura and Akiho in the script I’ve written for the latest chapter, which hasn’t been published into volume format yet, so I can’t say much about it…. All four of us are taking good care of portraying properly how both Sakura and Akiho will do what they can, each in their own way, so I really want you to see it.”

While repeating the fact that Ohkawa will be the one writing the scripts for the sequel of the anime, Mokona commented that she really doesn’t think anyone but her can do it. Ohkawa said “I know this myself, but if you’ll end up saying 'This is not ‘Sakura’!' because of the direction it’ll take in the future, well...sorry about that”. She saw some fans commenting in the hashtag that they were happy and relieved that she’s at the script writing again, and Mokona said the same. She was very grateful.

Ohkawa: “Sakura-chan will always be the same Sakura-chan (you’ve known till now). Cardcaptor Sakura is the story of the main character Sakura who will choose for herself what to do within the story.” Mokona: “Please watch carefully Sakura’s choice ❤️”. Ohkawa: “Really...Someone might end up telling Kaito 'Ugh, Kaito, sit down there!' (in reference to the magicians discussion earlier on) 😂” Mokona: “I really think that will happen! 😂 I think so too about him” Ohkawa: “And Syaoran...Syaoran will still have a little role! He really did his best, till now.” Mokona: “It’ll be good if he can get to have a say in this” Ohkawa: “I think he will. Really, everyone is doing their best, so...I really hope you’ll stick around to see it.” In response to a fan comment, saying how they like Sakura’s character because she is who she is, they said “We have no intention to betray that. That’s what makes her the main character and betraying the main character is not okay”. Satsuki mused that Sakura-chan was still an elementary schooler till the other day, she’s worked hard and she’s grown up so much now.

At this point they finally started wrapping the Space up with one last birthday wish for Ohkawa from each CLAMP member, while she jokingly (?) asked everyone to write again “Happy Birthday” in the hashtag. 😂 Mokona wished her the best with the imminent work on the anime scripts (judging by her words, she’ll start as soon as the scripts for the manga will be over), which she could already predict it’ll be a difficult job, even more so than the first time around. Satsuki also wished her to take care of her health since she’ll be very busy from now on, and that she hopes to be able to drink some delicious drinks with her soon. Nekoi expressed her love for her “boss” telling her that she still keeps a hat she got from Ohkawa when they weren’t professional mangaka yet ❤️ Ohkawa: “Do you love me?” Nekoi: “I do, a lot ❤️” Ohkawa: “Thank youuuu! 😂” The last message of course was from the boss herself. She mentioned the end of Clear Card which is imminent, and again invited everyone to watch the story unfolding till the end. She was talking with Nekoi earlier about how even Eriol and Syaoran were really hated while the old arcs were still ongoing: apparently back then, dozens of fans told Kumai-san (Syaoran’s VA) that they hated her because her character was being mean to Sakura! 😂Mokona sounded really apologetic towards Kumai-san and how hard it was on her back then, but she was grateful that she could endure and shake all of that off with a smile😅 Ohkawa said that the same thing happened to Eriol, both for the anime and manga versions, for how he caused trouble (to Sakura) 😆And it’s not over! Ohkawa continued saying that even Nakuru received her good share of hate because she was standing between Touya and Yukito 😂 Mokona yelled her “indignation”, because ‘Nakuru is such a good kid!!’ 😂 and expressed her wish to see more affectionate scenes between her and Yukito, since now they get along as good friends. All things considered, Ohkawa expressed her hope everyone can wait for the end to see things change. Of course, she’s well conscious there’s no 100% guarantee that people won’t hate Clear Card even after it’ll be over, and she’s ok with that. She defined herself a “selfish writer”. 😆 Mokona asked everyone to have a little bit more of patience (implying it’ll be worth it).

“Whether you laugh or cry, whether you want it or not, soon it’ll be over, so please read it till the end” ❤️

#cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #clear card arc #ccsakura #clamp #clamp space report #sakura kinomoto

[shima-draws]

Ayo! Sooooo I got a question for you if u don’t mind me asking. Or well, I got two I want to ask! ^^; u ever watched magical girls in anime genre? Do u have any particular favorite in mind? Mine would be Shoujo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl to be precise)!

Oh my god YEAH of course;; I actually grew up watching/reading a lot of magical girl anime/manga, that was my bread and butter as a kid haha. The very first one I got into was Kamichama Karin which I still hold very near and dear to my heart. I was also super into Tokyo Mew Mew, Pretear and Cardcaptor Sakura as a kid (and later down the line, Madoka Magica)!

Favorite would still have to be KK...the manga is REALLY good and since it was one of the first manga series I ever read it has a huge nostalgia value for me too. I wouldn't really recommend the anime as much as I love it (despite the uhh. VERY cursed art style lmao) bc while it's a decent adaptation you really can't get better than the source material.

Anyway read the manga if you ever plan on getting into it ;) Idk if there's copies of the official Tokyopop translation anywhere but goshhh if you can find that version that's what I'd go with. The translation is definitely made to be more suited with like, American lingo so while it's not 100% accurate to the original Japanese it just works SO well. Maybe that's the nostalgia talking LMAO but Karin saying stuff like 'OKIE DOKIE DOO!! It's PROTECTION time!!' and 'Cripes!!' REALLY hits different than her more polite tone in the fan-translated versions. She is literally me. The silly girl of all time.

SORRY for the ramble lol but TLDR yes I love mahou shoujo send tweet

#Shima answers questions #Kamichama Karin

[spookyauthorspopmusictrash]

Following up from my first post abt DCA movie nights and @phoenix-manga 's idea of briar liking spy x family and cerule and perrine liking pokemon and collecting cards it made me wonder which anime they would like twt

Evonie: Hmm idk why i think of violet evergarden, Kill la Kill and Black Clover for some reason

Ella: Nana!! Or My dress up darling or Urahara She'd love the fashion!

Allison: She strikes me as either a hunter x hunter or assasination classroom fan, she cld also be a OHSHC fan

Vidya: I can definately picture Revolutionary Girl Utena (I love this anime), maybe demon slayer or Claymore

Rozeline: Fullmetal Alchemist, Princess Tutu and Black Butler, no I shall not elaborate.

Jinlong: Miss kobayashi's-LMAO JUST KIDDING💀, Fire force would be ironic af, but she cld like Fairytail just bc (dragon ball z is also ironic)

Elu: I think maybe she would enjoy Studio Ghibli (not sure if it counts as anime but) My neighbour totoro or Ponyo??

My hcs for my Oc's

Kore: She would like anime like glitter force and cardcaptor sakura or that time i got reincarnated as a slime

Holly: She's all for sports so maybe anime like haikyuu, fruits basket, blue lock

Noelle: Frieren. No question. Maybe the snow queen too.

Since Kore likes to cosplay she would totally love to dress up in magical girl outfits oof-

#disney twst #twst oc #twst #diamond crown academy

[cinnbar-bun]

Ur so girlypop ✨ 👀 what are your fave animes/mangas besides one piece and jojo yk

Omg yay 🥹🥹 I’m girlypop!!!

So I mostly read/watched a lot of shoujo/josei manga and anime.

My first anime was Ojamajo Doremi (we had it in 4Kidz as Magical DoReMi), and my local library didn’t have much manga at that time, but it had MY BELOVED CHOCOMIMI AND HAPPY HAPPY CLOVER… my loves…

I didn’t really consider myself an anime fan at that time since I was just a little girl vibing, but as I got older I got more into the CLAMP works like Cardcaptor Sakura and Magic Knight Rayearth, Sailor Moon, Pretty Cure, Vampire Knight (I love you Zero), Kamisama Kiss, OHSHC, Yumeiro Patisserie, Black Butler (I even have a Yana’s artworks), and Ai Yazawa’s works.

ALSO I DONT SEE MANY TALK ABOUT THESE BUT LIKE THERE WERE THESE TWO MANGAS THAT LIVED IN MY HEAD ALL THE TIME AND I THOUGHT I HALLUCINATED THEM UNTIL I FOUND OUT THEY WERE REAL 😭😭 Godchild and Angel Sanctuary boom- both by Kaori Yuki what a shock.

I don’t watch much shounen/seinen so I never watched DBZ/Naruto and stuff like many others. I did read and watch a lot of Sengoku Basara and Soul Eater, though.

If you want my actually favorite anime ever it’s Jojo, though. I don’t think anything can top its art, concept, characters, or story to me. Even if I’m focusing on other things I will pretty much always consider it peak fiction to me.

#rambles