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lilover131 · 1 year

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Chapter 67 Analysis

Sorry for the delay everyone!! My birthday was this week, and as a result, I was busier than usual making the rounds with various family members. Hahaha! But one of the best gifts of all was this chapter!!! Wow, what a good one!

I don’t have a gif this month, but please enjoy the ridiculous image I have put together for you all to summarize this chapter. Hahaha.

The cover image is beautiful as always! It is lovely seeing the two Mirror’s together in one image. It’s fun to kinda pick out their differences, and I think the crystal in the middle has some meaning. I am not entirely sure, but it seems crystal imagery has been used quite a bit in the Clear Card arc. In an image from an earlier chapter that had both Sakura and Akiho, it seemed like they were switching places, one with crystals, and one with stars, so I think this definitely carries importance.

The chapter starts off with Syaoran waking up (thank god) with Mirror by his side. They are still in a magical void, which means he hasn’t yet been kicked out of the world. Mirror confirms this by letting him know that he recognized what was going on before he was driven out. This makes sense as he was aware that if he lost his focus, he would be ejected from the magically created world, however because he noticed before it was too late that he had not grabbed Sakura’s hand, this managed to keep him from being driven out. I’m sure this was Kaito’s plan from the start to try and trick him. He likely had hoped that he would be kicked out and not be able to interfere with his plans. However, thanks to the spell his mother had put on him for a while now, he was able to recognize the situation more quickly and remain in the world.

Shortly after this realization, he also realizes that he and Mirror are being supported by Flight. Mirror explains that because she looks so similar to the Clear Card version of Mirror that had been used to copy Flight before, it ‘recognized’ her and helped her. Additionally, Flight did so because it loves Sakura and Syaoran both. <3

It just really warms my heart hearing that the cards adore Syaoran and want to help him. It seems implied each time it comes up that they feel this way about him because they understand how he feels about Sakura and how much he wants to protect her, which is a shared feeling with them. However, I like to think that they also genuinely like him as a person and know that he will never use them for his own gain. Syaoran pets Flight and thanks it for its help, which is so cute that I can’t stand it!!! Flight is by far the most expressive of the Clear Cards, and it’s amazing how much personality CLAMP has given a giant bow.

Mirror apologizes again to Syaoran for allowing Kaito to use her to deceive him, but he is quick to forgive and dismiss this. It’s obviously not Mirror’s fault that this occurred, but Syaoran takes some responsibility as well by stating that he has a lot to learn still, implying that if he had been able to tell her apart from Sakura sooner, that this would never have been an issue to begin with. My opinion is he really shouldn’t be bearing any responsibility either due to the fact that Kaito was the one who arranged this all, but it just shows his growth as a person and his recognition that he is far from being done in learning magic.

Syaoran reaches for the Sakura cards but is shocked to see they are not with him. Mirror states that she was the only one allowed into this world but that the Clear Cards created by Sakura are there. However, it is rather worrisome when she also mentions how they may not answer to Sakura (likely because she doesn’t recognize her own self right now, but I have a feeling the Clear Card mirror might fix that). Syaoran assumes that he may have difficulties using any of his own magic here either, but that he has to keep moving on to find Sakura. Mirror pleads for him to bring her with him, and Flight seems insistent on tagging along as well. Syaoran doesn’t deny them and seems determined to find Sakura along with their help. I love seeing Syaoran work together with the cards, and I’m glad to see he’s got some more support now. Flight will definitely be helpful, but we’ll see how Mirror comes in handy.

The scene changes to Sakura meeting the “Red Queen” (aka Akiho). She starts to say her name at first, but stops short of saying it as her head seems to experience pain and the memories she nearly found are swiftly shut back inside of her. “Mr. Cat” approaches and addresses her as Alice, pulling her back into the created world. She looks back at him while he maintains his serious cold expression, and Sakura’s face seems to imply she has fallen back into the spell she is under where she believes she is Alice again. If Akiho can set off this kind of reaction on her, I can only imagine what would happen if she was approached by the real Syaoran, and this just seems to support even further how much Kaito would want to keep Syaoran away from this.

Sakura looks to the two who look like Fujitaka and Touya standing on the suspended half arches, and when asked they are, Mr. Cat responds by stating that the Fujitaka is “the one who brings comfort” and the Touya is “the one who decides”. It’s unclear yet what their actual roles are, but they will undoubtedly play a big part in this, particularly for Akiho it seems. The reason I think this is because when Sakura asks if they are for “her majesty”, Mr. Cat has a bit of a solemn expression and does not answer.

Akiho extends her hand to Sakura and the Transfer card appears beneath her. She tells her she will be her guide and beckons her to take her hand. She does so, and the two of them are teleported away to a different location. They arrive in a beautiful greenhouse garden with plants that appear to be made of crystals. Again, I have to compliment CLAMP’s world design. They never disappoint with creating locations that are just so beautiful to look at. I would absolutely love to walk through a place like this! Akiho explains that this garden is a special place, and when asked why, she replies that it stores memories. She seems unable to say with confidence exactly whose memories they are initially but confirms that her own are within them. It seems the garden contains the memories of many, and even Sakura seems to feel like there is something familiar about the place. She sees an image in one of the crystals and says that she feels she has been there before with someone special to her and that she met someone dear to her and someone that was very dear to them. I hadn’t noticed at all in my initial read through, but @meimi-haneoka was very observant to notice that it was actually the botanical garden! The memory appears to be referring to how Sakura and Syaoran ran into Kaito and Akiho at the garden!

The two teleport away again, but Mr. Cat remains close by, perched on top of one of the crystals. A voice starts to talk to him, stating that he can try to manipulate the situation as much as he wants, but it won’t do him any good. It’s revealed quickly that this voice is Momo’s when she claims this world was “created by the memories of the one who named her Momo (Akiho)” and “the memories of the lost girl” (Sakura). Additionally, it seems that this world also contains the memories of “the sorcerer who set this book’s magic in motion (Kaito)”. All I can say is I KNEW IT!!! I knew Kaito’s memories were somehow involved with this world, particularly because of the prominence of the gazebo. This place meant more to Kaito than it did to Akiho, so I could not help but feel like this world was also influenced by him. I definitely felt thrown off at first because it seemed like it was important to multiple people, but that was because it actually is! Knowing this, everything should be easier to digest now.

THEN….

In the next page, it is revealed what we all believed to be true! It has been Kaito all along pretending to be Syaoran (-cue Dio face picture-)! I can’t say this surprises me at all, but I’m glad to have some confirmation now! Kaito mentions how he was lucky the role of the cat called for a calm, emotionless demeanor, and I honestly find this hilarious. He’s basically saying he can finally just be himself for once, which is ironic as he is currently pretending to be someone else. Lmao. Dammit Kaito, maybe you should be yourself in your own freaking body. Haha!!

Momo wastes no time teasing him and claiming she wishes she would have seen him playing a much different role that required a sillier personality. Kaito just responds by saying he would’ve tried his very best, but I imagine he would’ve had a difficult time for sure, which as we all know fuels Momo. Lol. Can I also just say for a moment how much I love the page revealing Kaito? I can’t help but imagine Kaito and Syaoran sitting together as friends with an image like this, but I know it is not so. Haha.

Momo continues to confront him by calling out how he may have used both of the Mirror cards for his own gain (confirming he is responsible for the disappearance of the Clear Card version as well), but that he will not be able to hide. The smile on the fake Syaoran’s face is so very much a Kaito smile, and I can look at that and instantly imagine Kaito’s body for sure with that expression. CLAMP did such a good job here showing Kaito’s personality through a totally different body, and I’m living for it.

Kaito asks if it is “his wickedness” (this was translated differently in the English version from the Japanese, but I prefer the Japanese translation here) people will see through in his disguise, which implies that he believes himself to be a bad person, which is honestly really really sad. A troll, yes, but wicked? I don’t believe that at all. I agree with Cinzia in this, but when Momo says “No, your true self”, it is stating that he is the opposite and is not a wicked person. However, no one can hide their true selves forever, so what Momo is actually saying here is that people will eventually realize who he really is because you cannot hide your true self, who Kaito himself won’t even bother to recognize. She is trying to get him to look inward again, but he simply won’t do this. It’s been well established so far that he refuses to look at his own heart and personal desires, but Momo will never stop fighting to get him to do this.

Momo goes on to state that he is limited right now in this form and that using the smallest amount of magic would ruin his disguise, but Kaito is quick to shut her down and get back to the task at hand. He has a one track mind for sure (gee, that reminds me of someone else we know -stares at Syaoran-), and mentions how it is important for the cat to be by Alice’s side and that this world lies within the pages of the book of Alice in Clockland. We all were pretty easily able to figure this part out, but it’s nice to have it officially confirmed that this is where they are. Momo finishes by adding on that the story has begun and is heading towards “the beginning of the end”. CLAMP mentioned in their recent Twitter Space (which was wonderfully translated by Cinzia) that we would notice callbacks to the first chapter, and I think this is what they meant. The very first bits of text in the Clear Card arc mentioned “the beginning of the end”, so it seems CLAMP is trying to show us this is what they were referring to.

Meanwhile in the real world, Yukito’s barrier around the school seems to be breaking, and he is clearly exhausted and running out of energy. Yue speaks to him in his head and asserts that he is going to take over and can keep his spell alive. This seems to bring two very important thing to the table in this one page. The first thing is that this is officially the first time we’ve seem them communicate directly with one another!! Prior to this moment, we had only ever seen them communicate through written messages to each other, so what a treat!! The second detail is that it seems confirmed that Yukito and Yue have their own separate magical sources, so they can swap at will with fresh magic power. This is incredibly convenient for the situation, and I’m happy to see that Yue has not been made entirely obsolete. I’m also happy to see that Yukito got his moment to actually help this time.

Yue comes out, and this surprises everyone since they could not hear the conversation between the two and were not expecting him to make an appearance. Yue wastes no time though and asks for Ruby Moon’s help, referring to her as a ‘battery’ again, which I’m sure amuses her so much. Haha. But Ruby Moon is happy to help and be of use. This is the first time we’ve seen the two of them work together, and I’m just so happy with all the firsts going on here! And the firsts don’t stop there either! In the last page of the chapter, Yue mutters that if “you (Syaoran) don’t make it through, I’ll punch you next time, kid”. This calls back to the chapter where Yue pretended he was going to punch him, but then instead touched his face. This gives me serious Kurogane vibes but it also shows how worried Yue is about Syaoran. The thing that probably surprises me the most in this chapter though is the very end where Touya actually calls Syaoran by name!!! This is the first time he has ever referred to Syaoran as something other than “kid” or “brat”. It seems Touya is also worried about him, but he believes in him and his ability to bring Sakura back in one piece.

The chapter ends there, but wow what a great one!! I imagine things will escalate quite a bit in the next chapter and will amp up the excitement. Syaoran is certainly going to fight hard to get to Sakura, and I bet Kaito is going to do what he can to make it difficult for him while things play out. We still have no idea exactly what Kaito is trying to accomplish, and I find that wild considering we only have a few chapters left. But I’m sure we will find out very very soon. I’m looking forward to it!

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