SAKURA CARD CAPTOR CLEAR CARD SERIES
With the Clear Card arc events supposedly taking place right after Sakura graduates from elementary school, the jump from dated flip phones to full-screen mobile devices is a nice indicator of the series being refreshed to keep up with the times. While the time period of the original Cardcaptor Sakura series was never explicitly made clear, fans assumed that it took place during the 90’s because that’s when it was aired. The technology has also grown together with the series, as seen from the use of modern smartphones with near bezel-less screens. Yue still resides in Yukito’s body to serve as her mentor, and Sakura doesn’t hesitate to reach out to Eriol and Mizuki for advice once she has her ominous dream as well. Sakura herself has clearly matured as a character – which you’d expect, after all the shit that goes down in the first series – and it’s heartening to see her actively seek out her friends for help because she knows they’ve got her back. Now that Syaoran’s back in Tomoeda for good, the interactions between the two characters feel more delicate. As we’ve seen in the original series, the dynamics between Sakura and Syaoran have changed since their romantic exchange at the airport. The introduction of the clear cards feels like an excuse to get Sakura started on a new hunt for cards all over again.ĭespite all the familiarity, there is enough in this episode to make the Clear Card arc feel like the continuation of a great story rather than a rehash. Especially when you consider that Sakura’s already spent 70 episodes hunting down all the Clow Cards, turning them into Sakura Cards, and finally coming into her own with her magical powers. This is probably the episode’s weakest part overall as the setup for the new story feels like it’s just retreading a lot of old ground. Sakura is gifted a new staff, too, which she’s then able to use to capture her first clear card of the episode, The Gale.
In typical Cardcaptor Sakura fashion, our favorite magical girl has a mysterious dream one night of a hooded figure who somehow manages to turn all of her captured Clow Cards into clear ones, stripping them of their magical power. That trend of continuity extends into Clear Card’s main plot as well. I suppose CLAMP didn’t want to have to deal with that little story in the new series. Clear Card makes no mention of Terada-sensei, and Rika has enrolled at a different middle school from the rest of her peers. As a hilarious side note, though, it looks like the mini teacher-student romance plot has been discarded. Sakura’s brother Toya still teases her ceaselessly, Sakura still lovingly says bye to the photograph of her deceased mom before leaving for school, best friend Tomoyo is still crushing hard on her, and Sakura’s still pretty bad at any subject that isn’t Phys Ed. But not before Kero hijacks the show with a virtually useless and unhelpful (though still humorous) recap of the story so far, accompanied with a special appearance by Suppi.Ĭlear Card’s debut hits all the right beats you’d expect of your typical Cardcaptor Sakura episode. For longtime fans of the series, the brand new Clear Card arc actually picks up right after the events of the original story, and the episode opens with Sakura getting ready for her first day at middle school. Even after 18 years since the final episode of the original anime series was aired, returning to Tomoeda and the Kinomoto household feels refreshing and blissfully nostalgic at the same time. There are few things in this world as pure and earnest as the universe of CLAMP’s beloved anime and manga series, Cardcaptor Sakura.
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