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erinej · 1 year

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 68: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Hello hello everyone!! Here we are again, one month later, for the third chapter of the future volume 14, chapter 68!! Maaaan I gotta say I got pretty excited with this chapter, at some point I’ve started screaming while I was reading it (thank god I was alone) and I believe it’s been quite some time since that last happened 😂 This chapter is heavily focused on my four favorite characters, which I had predicted they’d be the focus of the “final confrontation”, so I guess that’s only normal. God, I love them all so much and I notice that even more with chapters like these. I also found myself to wish even more desperately for season 2 of the anime, because maaan, the scenery of this chapter is particularly breathtaking. I dunno, it might be because I imagined all of that animated, and my breath caught in my throat, but it would really be so wonderful to see all of that moving with pretty lights and sounds someday. I can definitely, definitely feel we came to the crunch of this story with this chapter.

Curious to know why? Follow me under the cut, but not before taking a look at the gif of the month! 😂

The Color page

Ladies & gentlemen, the third SyaoSaku color page in the span of 6 chapters 😂Is somebody trying to make up for something? 😂 Aww, I have to admit that when I saw this color page for the first time some hours before the chapter release, it made my heart all warm and fuzzy 🥰it’s really nice CLAMP decided to revive that beautiful scene of chapter 23 in a color page, it’s such a sweet and important memory for these two. It was a very happy moment, and here CLAMP decided to bring this one step forward by allowing Sakura and Syaoran to hold hands in a lover’s hold, with their fingers intertwined. 🥰 But this was also the scene where we’ve heard for the first time how unwavering Syaoran was in his resolution to not let Sakura feel any sorrow. Yes, sorrow, 不幸. A word that would become so crucial and important later on, and which is recalled even in this chapter through Momo’s words. This color page is also connected to what happened in last chapter, when Mirror was explaining why Flight decided to help them, and recalled precisely this scene. Lastly, I think this color page illustrates perfectly the strong bond that connects Sakura and Syaoran together, which gets once more reiterated in this chapter. It’s interesting to note how the color palette of the outfits they are wearing here is different from the one used in the anime! I find both versions charming, to be honest! Pink is my favorite color but I appreciate the anime’s attempt at making Sakura wear something that’s not pink 😁 The JP text here says “Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun’s date in the sky….with Mirror and Flight!”.

What is happiness to you?

The chapter starts with Sakura, seemingly asleep in the void, hearing a voice asking her what is happiness to her and why she’s always been able to say that “everything will surely be alright”.

By now, we already know whose voice it is. Reminds you of something? Of course it does! Not only it is the "mirror" of how Chapter 65 started, kicking off this “story” inside Clockland (that time it asked about sorrow, this time about happiness), but it is also a recall to how Momo introduced Sakura to her “hint” back in chapter 50. Everything keeps reconnecting and going full circle, folks.

Turns out, Alice briefly fell asleep and wakes up, finding herself on a gondola, together with the Red Queen. As she opens her eyes, we’re made partakers of the beautiful scenery that unfolds before her: on both banks of the river they’re navigating, there are huge shelves full of books, and the wood of the shelves morphs into tall trees. Little black & white roses, seemingly the Queen’s crest, are nestled into small lamps, illuminating the way. Alice wonders about the voice she believes she just heard, and although she’s sure to have heard it before, she can’t quite recall who it is.

First translation difference here:

ENG: “I don’t know. But...I can’t shake the feeling I’ve heard it before” JP: “I don’t know. But...I have the feeling I’ve been asked the same thing before”

The difference here is given by the word 聞かれた. It is true that the verb 聞く means both “to listen” or “to ask”, but when used in this way, it definitely means “been asked”. After all, Momo was indeed asking her something. I found this part a bit confusing because all Alice was talking about in the ENG was “hearing a voice”, not that it spoke to her. So the Queen asking her if it was important felt a bit weird. What’s important, the voice? No, she’s indeed asking about what the voice asked to her.

And here I ask you to pay particular attention to the font of the Japanese version, as I predicted in my last post. Because here, for a moment, we see a “magic effect” around Sakura, and then she replies “Yes. Something very important.” WITH A REGULAR FONT. This means Sakura is talking as her real self here!! Again, triggered by important matters, she regained conscience of her true self. But unfortunately that lasts shortly, as she looks up to the Cat, standing on a bridge between shelves, looking down on her in a very…..pissed off way.

I mean, look at his clenched fists here! 😂 That unfortunately sends Sakura back to her Alice role. As the two girls continue navigating the river, Kaito talks to Momo, who keeps appearing only as a voice and not physically. I want to point out that not only here, but throughout the chapter, the ENG translation put a lot of “filler words” that skew the perception of the tone of certain characters. Of course, if you’ve been following this blog for a while, I don’t even need to point out who these changes affect the most.

ENG: “Perhaps I can convince you not to give Alice here any hints? Here I thought the guardian of the book wasn’t to assist the players”

JP: “I would like you to refrain from giving any hint to Alice. I thought the guardian of the Book couldn’t help any of the characters?”

In the ENG version, with that “I can convince you”, Kaito sounds vaguely threatening. Like “if you don’t do as I say, I’ll convince you by force”. In the JP version, there’s none of that. Kaito still speaks with his usual polite tone to Momo, while still being clearly annoyed at her. Annoyed doesn’t mean he has to suddenly become an as*hole to her. And even when Momo replies, explaining that her line was said merely as a “facilitator” (this very same English word is included in the furigana of the 進行役 word) of the Book, she doesn’t use neither “boy” nor the overly salty tone she’s got in the ENG version. Yes, sure, I was highly amused by the way these two bickered in the ENG translation, but I have to be impartial and say when things aren’t really as they are presented. STILL, the scene is so hilarious because Kaito is beyond pissed 😂(for his standards) and he replies “I beg to differ” but decides to prioritize following the girls, as he can’t lose sight of them.

Books are "Our Story"

Alice looks at the immense library that stretches along the banks of the river, and notices how many books are there. The Queen says that books are very important in this country, and Alice asks her if she likes books too. I would like to think Alice was instinctively brought to pose this question because Sakura’s subconscious knows this is Akiho. Of course the Queen answers she does, because books were always by her side. Just like the real Akiho. Meanwhile, the gondola enters a part of the river where the trees above are interwoven more and more, until it looks as if the girls are entering some kind of “tunnel” or “cavern”. I found that eerily beautiful too (I need to see this animated!!!!!). While the two girls get off the gondola and reach a shelf, the Queen explains that books are people’s “memories”. And they serve as a “record” too. Seeing as “record” (記録) is indicated between brackets, I can’t help but think about the relative Record Card. But what these books “record” in them? The Queen says: “Somebody’s feelings. Their hopes. And the magic they’ve weaved. Many [stories] are recorded in them”. Alice utters the word “record”, probably as if it reminded her of something…. Then she asks the Queen if the book she’s holding is her favorite one. Try to zoom in and pay attention to the magic circle depicted on the cover of this book. Looks familiar? Yes, because you have seen it before.

The version on the cover of this book seems slightly more elaborated, but there’s no doubt it’s the magic circle belonging to the members of the most ancient magical clan of Europe, collectively called by me as the “Squid Clan”. It is kinda surprising the Queen grabbed specifically this book, and with some friends I was musing on which underlying meaning this library could have. Does it store the records, the stories of all the people who tried to use Momo’s book? After all, we’ve been told that her book records the life of the owner. If that’s true, then maybe we could infer someone from Akiho’s clan tried to use it, at some point? Regardless, the Queen replies that this is not her favorite book. Her favorite book is Alice in Clockland. And here pay attention, dear readers, because as she utters the name of the book, the font in the Queen’s speech bubble is back to normal!!

This is not the Queen anymore, AKIHO is regaining control of her consciousness! With nonchalance she lets go of the book she was holding, which goes back to its place in the shelf. Alice points out:

ENG: “That’s my name…” “Perhaps. But it is the title of your story” JP: “That’s my name...and yet, it’s the title of a book you have”

As you can see, the ENG translation completely misunderstood who was talking in the second bubble of this panel. It is not Akiho, despite the bubble being close to her (there’s no tail pointing at her, indeed), but actually still Alice. Alice is confused because a book belonging to the Queen is titled with her name. So this brings Alice to question her own identity. And the true identity of the Red Queen in front of her. Akiho replies that she doesn’t know, because she’s forgotten her previous name when she entered Clockland. But there’s one thing she remembers. It’s the one thing no magic could ever make her forget. Before entering Clockland, she had a [special person]. Here it is again. That 特別なひと I fussed so much about during last chapter. It seemed such a trivial thing and yet I knew it wasn’t, because this is a specific term with which the story is indicating the person someone loves. That’s why it was important to me, I think this is going to be very important to understand the story, and fortunately this time around they translated it correctly. Akiho, talking with a regular font and all, seems to regain a hold of herself more and more. Thanks to a mutual on Twitter I even realized that her pronoun changes from 私 (watashi, in kanji) to わたし (watashi, in hiragana), which is the usual way her pronoun is written when she speaks as Akiho. THERE IS a difference there!! She remembers about the girl she’s got in front of her, too. She tells her that she had a name more befitting of who she is, actually, Akiho says that she’s just the embodiment of the thing she was named after. (This part was translated in ENG as merely “it was your name” and I don’t think they really got the beautiful praise she was giving to Sakura). “Just like a flower that blooms in spring”

Catfight part 2?

A shriek echoes in the library, it’s our Syaoran, the REAL Syaoran, yelling Sakura’s name!!!

He cut through the fake environment created by the book with his own sword, but Kaito wastes no time in appearing in front of him, out of nowhere, praising him for managing to stay inside the book, but affirming that having two Cats is really inconvenient for him (taken literally from the JP text, as opposed to the more arrogant way the ENG decided to translate it with). Kaito tries to grab Syaoran, but as he does so, we find out it was the Mirror Card who had taken Syaoran’s appearance, and it’s now back in the hands of the real one!! Sakura FINALLY recognizes her Syaoran, regaining her own identity once and for all, thanks to her beloved one. As some of my japanese mutuals have pointed out in their own reviews of the chapter, it’s really beautiful that the trigger for both girls waking up from the role they were playing is the person they’re in love with. Syaoran apologizes for being late, and Sakura can’t contain the tears, realizing she couldn’t remember who she was, but she was able to free herself of the spell when he called her name! Syaoran says something really important and poignant, and Mokona sensei gives the entire page to Syaoran to indicate how fundamental this is:

JP: “The only Sakura there'll ever be for me is [Kinomoto Sakura]”

Kinomoto Sakura, with her full name in kanji and all (he usually calls her in hiragana, but here the moment is solemn, you know!). He might have been put under stress and been tested with the whole Mirror thing, but Syaoran will always find his way back to his Sakura. No matter what. Sakura is so very comforted by that. But someone else is just not as comforted…. Syaoran regained control of the Mirror Sakura Card (again with that “Mirror Clow Card” in the ENG translation!! THE CLOW CARDS DON’T EXIST ANYMORE, FFFFF--!!) and even dispelled the Mirror new card, effectively undoing Kaito’s disguise, who goes back to his real self. At this point, we should have all four protagonists of this story with their true selves, no one is playing a role anymore. But Akiho is suspiciously quiet and unresponsive to all of this mess, and Mokona sensei avoided drawing any expression on her, covered by the veil. What is going on with her? I hope everything is fine, but I have the feeling something….might be going on with her….something related to the Squid Clan. Kaito notices that Syaoran managed to bring a sword in this place, storing it inside of his body, and it is likely a skill he acquired during his time back in Hong Kong (not, as the ENG translated, “You’ve grown during your time back in Hong Kong”, that could refer to his physical growth but this is not what Kaito is talking about here). He wonders if it was thanks to his mother’s gift, the divination, or if it was just his own good fortune. Of course Syaoran has to wonder how Kaito knows about all of that. He replies that Syaoran is...quite famous in the circles he runs in (that “young man” was merely added to fill in that bubble, Kaito isn’t being arrogant with Syaoran here. None of the condescending “boy” or “young man” you ever see in this chapter in English is truly said by the characters in Japanese). He says that “the most ancient European magicians” are particularly interested in the Li Clan’s movements. After all, the Li Clan’s got family lineage in common with that of Clow Reed, and indeed that European Clan is particularly spiteful towards them. So, if we ever needed it, we got confirmation that the Squid clan is particularly spiteful towards the Li Clan due to their connections to Clow Reed. When I’ve read this confirmation spelled out like this, I couldn’t avoid going back to think about my theory that the Squid Clan is actually the Reed family (noticed how they never reveal the Clan’s name?), the other branch of Clow’s family on his father’s side. It would kinda make sense if you consider the natural competition there might be between the two families, which have such a famous magician in common in their lineage. It’s still a theory at this stage, but I admit I did let out a shriek or two 😂.

Kaito’s watch suddenly cracks some more, and as he witnesses that, he says he really needs to make Syaoran leave, because he’s got no more time. Again, the ENG translation made Kaito sound condescending and arrogant with his “I have no time for this, you see”, when actually he was merely hinting that his life span is almost over. This is also why you see Syaoran startled by his affirmation, cause it seems he might be having a hunch about it. Syaoran realizes that Kaito is about to start something, so he summons Mirror and uses it on Flight (which was there with them on its own) to prepare “doubles” of it to give to both Sakura and Akiho. Apparently the interaction of Mirror with Flight gave also Syaoran a pair of beautiful crystal wings that just looks like the ones on Mirror’s back.

Syaoran sternly affirms that “I will take them back with me” (again, the ENG unnecessarily specified that he would bring Sakura with him, but the truth is that there’s no subject in the JP text and Syaoran gave a copy of Flight to Akiho too, so he’s very intent on bringing her outside along with Sakura. Therefore, why infering that he’s only focused on his girlfriend and doesn’t care about what happens to Akiho? Excuse me, but that’s not our Syaoran. He would never discard an innocent girl like that, and it makes sense because he doesn’t know about Kaito’s real intentions yet). Kaito confidently replies “I won’t allow it” (the ENG here made him say the more arrogant “No, boy. I’m afraid you aren’t”).

And with this huuuuuuge cliffhanger, chapter 68 ends here, in anticipation for the confrontation we were all expecting! I don’t think it will last for long, if they ever manage to start it, that is, cause Akiho’s behavior is kinda sketchy and I’m afraid a certain clan will soon “enter the chat” in their own way.

This chapter was really exciting for me, I enjoyed it from the first to the last page, and I feel it really reiterated how “identity” is a HUGE thematic in Clear Card. It’s very important to not lose sight of who you truly are, and our loved ones can help us remembering that at all times. In fact, both Akiho and Sakura “wake up” from their roles thanks to the memories of their loved ones. I applaude both girls for escaping the influence of this powerful spell, it must have not been easy. Particularly, I commend Sakura because despite being under the influence of it, she never stopped making questions. THAT was the indication that her real essence, her soul, was fighting tooth and nails to regain control of her own reality. She wasn't merely accepting and taking in everything that was in front of her. And I congratulate Akiho too, because she got herself freed from the spell without having any magical powers, only with the strength of her feelings and memories. The physical and metaphorical lifting of the veil was a super powerful image to me. I found it absolutely beautiful and it spoke to me more than a million words. Bravo Mokona sensei. Under that veil that kept her "in her role", there wasn't the somber Queen anymore, but the sweet and warm Akiho we always knew.

Syaoran was super cool and I think CLAMP delivered what they promised in their Space of some months ago. I’m sure his role isn’t over yet and we’ll see more of him. Please remember that, under his fired up appearance, Syaoran is a very loving and caring child too. He knows what compassion is and I’m sure he’ll give an evidence of it in the last chapters of this arc. While being of course annoyed at Kaito’s behavior, I reaaaally can’t bring myself to be mad at him, seeing how tired and desperate he looks (and sounds) in this chapter. The pocket watch, at this point a symbol of what he’s got left to live, breaks even further and that must have cornered him even more. I once said “Kaito looks like a wounded animal to me”, and wounded animals tend to become really aggressive when they feel under threat. This is what scares me a little bit about him. It’s evident that “failure” is not an option for him, so he has to complete his mission before he dies.

At this point, the only one who can truly stop him is Akiho, and I’m praying that she eventually can gain control of the situation before it’s too late. Sakura can help, of course, but I’m sure the only one who can weaken Kaito is Akiho. The one he’s doing all of this for.

Of course, there’s Momo too. Although she’s clearly got her hands tied, she’s resorting to any kind of tricks to steer this in the direction that will avoid a tragedy from happening. At this point she’s doing it in Kaito’s face too (and he’s not stupid, he notices that but doesn’t want to argue about it right now) and I find that so hilarious, among the seriousness of the situation. She really seemed to me like a mother who was trying to hide spinach in her son’s meatballs, denying that she’s put any of it in them. 😂 All of these characters are so lovable and they’re doing their best for someone else, just like CLAMP said in their latest Spaces.

Another small thing I want to point out is that we still have no “last chapter in 2 issues!” or anything like that announced on the color page. Maybe they want to wait for the very second-to-last chapter before announcing it? We’ll see.

Well, this post is already quite late by my standards so I will leave you here for now, and as usual I await your asks in my inbox to talk about this or that aspect in particular! As usual, a quick reminder of the dates for the next chapter, chapter 69: December 25th, on Bookwalker and Azuki(digital, ENG) December 26th, on Clamp-fans (digital, JP and other languages) December 28th, on Nakayoshi (paper and digital, JP) January 1st 2023, on Comic Days (digital, JP) <- if they don't modify this I'll probably be late again with my chapter post 😭

Let’s hope we’ll get an extraordinary chapter as a Christmas present!! See you on Christmas day!! 🌸

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erinej · 1 year

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Report of CLAMP's Twitter Space ~ November 8th, 2022 (part concerning Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card)

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erinej · 1 year

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@animangacreators challenge 03 — alphabet ↳ D is for Daidouji Tomoyo (CardCaptor Sakura)

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erinej · 1 year

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card: Chapter 67

Spoiler: The moon guardians joining forces together along with Touya. Doing their best for Sakura and Syaoran. I love the team work.

#cardcaptor sakura #clear card arc #sakura kinomoto #syaoran li #clamp #clamp anime #yue #ruby moon #nakuru akizuki #yukito tsukishiro #touya kinomoto #kero chan #spinel

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erinej · 1 year

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 67: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

CCS fans!! Welcome back for another episode of “CLAMP are messing with my brain and I don’t like it”, aka Clear Card Arc! 😂We’ve reached Chapter 67, can you believe… For those who still don’t know, here’s a small reminder of the most important info we found out since last chapter: At the beginning of October (formalized on October 13th) we’ve got the confirmation that Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc will end with volume 14. In a Twitter Space of last week, CLAMP revealed that volume 14 will be a bit bigger (therefore, with more pages) than volume 13, which is already bigger than the standard. They haven’t announced exactly what will be the last chapter, so all we have left to do is enjoying these last chapters of the Clear Card saga, where we’ll find all the answers we’re looking for, as Ohkawa and Nekoi themselves reassured us in the same Space. In this chapter, for example, we start getting some answers about the current situation (I’m glad to see I was right on most things 😁)

Without further ado, let’s start this analysis/translation comparison thread, cause I feel there’ll be a lot to point out.

Gif of the month! 😂

The Color Page

Chapter 67 sees on the cover the spirits of two Cards that turned out to be absolutely crucial in this climax: Sakura Card Mirror and Clear Card Mirror, in a very “ying and yang” representation. The Japanese text over it quotes the words of the Card True or False back some chapters ago:

“You’ll have to ascertain… Is it a Lie (dream)? Or the Truth (reality)?

It’s interesting to note how Clear Mirror keeps the typical hair color that’s always been associated with Mirror, while the Sakura Card Mirror got this pinkish-purpleish tint to it. Was it always like this? We are used to the colors the anime canon sets as “official”, but as the manga canon sometimes switches things around (and this is seemingly the first time we have the spirit of a Card appearing on a color page), it might be a change done to distinguish the two Cards better.

The Cards Love Syaoran

We open the chapter with Syaoran waking up to the sound of someone calling him. It’s the Sakura Card Mirror, who confirms to him they’re at the edge of the world they’re currently all in. And lol, my readers, I already have to point out a translation mistake, since it’s important to understand why Syaoran is still inside this world…

ENG: You came to...just before you were driven out.

JP: You managed to stay here without being knocked off this world because [you realized] (the deceit).

So apparently, the fact Syaoran realized the deceit behind Mirror’s disguise (thanks to the absence of the shock, courtesy of Yelan) is what allowed him to stay here. It seems clear by now that if he kept believing the one he grabbed was Sakura, he would’ve been sent flying off this world and bye bye any remote chance to bring the real Sakura back. So again, a reiteration that Yelan’s spell ended up saving her son, one way or another. I think it was particularly brilliant because, even in the chance Kaito might have noticed the spell on him, he would’ve paid no mind, as apparently it was a spell with a “negative” connotation to the kids (and so, hard for Kaito to realize it would’ve actually helped Syaoran in this way). Syaoran realizes the spell is finally broken, and therefore he realizes it was his mother’s doing all along (for those wondering how, well, I can only imagine her son knows her and her methods that much). So we also got the confirmation that there’s no more “no-touch spell” and next time Sakura and Syaoran will be able to touch without any danger!

But the surprises are not over, as Syaoran realizes he’s got Flight on his back helping him staying “afloat” in the void.

And here we go again clarifying a part that’s pretty confusing in the ENG version in my opinion, it doesn’t explain exactly what Flight did here, beside mentioning something that is incorrect canon-wise.

ENG: I am Clow’s Mirror… Even if I look just like Sakura’s. The other Mirror copied the power of the Flight Card...so it remembered me. It saved me.

JP: I, Mirror (鏡), and (the other)Mirror (鏡像) have the same appearance. (The other) Mirror (鏡像) has copied Flight’s power before, so Flight remembered it and decided to help us out.

Sooooo. First of all. I get quite irked whenever the “old” Cards still get called “Clow Cards”, since the Clow Cards don’t exist anymore. It is factually wrong to call them as such because Sakura spent the entirety of the Sakura Card Arc making them be reborn under her name. The old incantation recited “Discard your old appearance and be reborn under your new Master’s name, Sakura”, after all. The Cards have all discarded their existence as Clow Cards and became Sakura Cards so long ago. Calling Mirror “Clow’s” here adds only confusion over confusion (before understanding what was happening, I really thought some shenanigan happened that nullified Sakura’s work on the Cards and somehow a Clow Card was able to come back!! WTF). If their intent was to distinguish Mirror (old) from Mirror (new), since they have the same name and we can’t use the kanji like the Japanese readers can do, they could’ve used any other trick. Call it “the other Mirror”, call it “the new Mirror” if you can’t use “Clear Card” because basically anyone has yet to call those cards “Clear Cards”, in the story. But if you say “I look like Sakura’s Card”, I will immediately think about all the Sakura Cards that are with Syaoran now, not the Clear Cards that Sakura is creating.

After this premise to point out that confusing mistake, this is what happened as I understood it: Flight and (Sakura)Mirror are from 2 different decks, so in theory they shouldn’t know eachother. But Sakura used the Mirror from the Clear deck on Flight before, so it is acquaintaned with that Card. Flight, seeing (Sakura)Mirror in that World, recognized her as having the same appearance as the Mirror from its own deck, made 2+2 (“this must be the Card our Master created Mirror from, since we’re all coming from her past experiences”) and decided to help her by preventing Syaoran to fall after passing out.

As we have all seen extensively throughout the series, Mirror confirms Flight loves Sakura very much, and apparently it loves Syaoran too, since Sakura means so much to him. Flight was also part of that special moment in the sky back in chapter 23, so it’s only normal it has come to know what’s really in Syaoran’s heart. Syaoran is very moved by all this trust in him and pats Flight in a very sweet way. I found this as a “convoluted” but probably necessary explanation as to why Flight would collaborate with Mirror to save Syaoran, despite supposedly not being acquainted with eachother. And then, Mirror apologizes profusely for deceiving Syaoran like that. If you pay attention, we reached a panel with Kaito, so do you think we escaped a translation mistake? Of course not, in fact: (yessir, I’ll call this ‘mistake’ because I’m tired to see him called as what NO one has ever called him in the series, perpetrating this misconception)

ENG: I let that man use me...to deceive you. JP: I let someone else use me to deceive you…

Yes, I am beyond done with the use of “that man” in relation to Kaito. Mirror here uses “someone else”. Besides, the ひと (hito) in 別のひと is written in hiragana. You might have heard me say this before, but apparently the use of hiragana instead of the kanji version for “hito” 人 represents warmth, a lack of animosity toward the person you’re talking about. When Syaoran talks about Kaito, he uses the same pattern. It’s not exclusive to them, as Kaito himself has used two different “ano hito” in relation to other people: with kanji (cold and detached) when talking about the Squids, and in hiragana (warm) when talking about Lilie. I saw my Japanese mutuals discussing about it more than once before, and I noticed it is a thing inside the story. So that “that man” that gives away so much bitterness is not only incorrect on a translation level, but also on an interpretation level. But, alas, we always have to make Kaito look worse than he is, right?(and I don’t think this chapter needed it, as he’s already behaving in the way he’s behaving. It’s like adding fuel to the fire).

Rant aside (it’s not over as there’ll be another instance shortly ahead), Syaoran reassured Mirror it’s not her fault, but rather his responsability for still being inexperienced. He goes to check for the Sakura Cards and….they’re not there in his pocket! Alas, Mirror confirms that the only Sakura Card allowed into this world is her, because Kaito brought her in. Again, we have the ENG translation using “that man”, but here in JP Mirror uses “the magician” instead (another name the people on Sakura’s team use very often to refer to Kaito). Mirror says that the new Cards that Sakura has been making are in this World too, but not all of them might move in Sakura’s interest like Flight did (“moving for her” rather than “answer to her”, as the ENG decided to translate it). We see an example of Shade, which has indeed moved in Kaito’s interest by destroying the scene with Tomoyo/Repair and bringing him and Sakura to the Red Queen, just like I had pointed out last time. Syaoran at this point doesn’t even know if his magic will work at all in this world, but he decides he has to carry on anyway, and Mirror pleads him to take her with him. Flight is absolutely wanting to be a part of this too, and Syaoran officially starts the “let’s go to Sakura” rescue operation!

All My Memories are Here

Right, where did we leave our “Sakura” last time? Alice is in the presence of the Red Queen, and as soon as she sees her, she’s about to shout her real name! It seems Sakura was about to recognize Akiho, but a strong headache messes with her head and she loses that glimpse of memory she was about to regain. The Cat, with a stern expression behind her, reminds her that she’s Alice, and so she introduces herself once again to the Red Queen. Again, Alice starts asking questions upon seeing the two people on the sides of the room. The Cat explains they are “The one who loves with kindness” and “The one who decides”. Interesting the choice in the ENG version where they translated 慈しむ者 with “the one who brings comforts”, as the verb 慈しむ expresses a very tender kind of love and affection (typical of parents for children). That same kanji is also present in the kanji name of the Kindness Card, so I would’ve appreciated the effort to include that nuance more. Alice, as she’s always been doing ever since she stepped foot into this World (guys, Sakura’s intuition is just that crazy good), asks the Cat: “For the Red Queen?” The Cat doesn’t answer (as usual), but his expression is once again very pensive. All these pressuring questions about the Queen...are pricking him where it’s needed to? We’ll see. The Red Queen welcomes Alice and, using the Transfer Card, teleports to Sakura, offering to be her guide throughout the castle. Another translation mistake: The Queen doesn’t say “take my hand” (do you actually see Alice taking the Queen’s hand, afterwards? Nope, indeed), but actually “touch it”, referring to Transfer’s target symbol. I want to remind you that Transfer was the one Card that Kaito commented “A pity. We were almost there” on. Transfer went very close, maybe even closer than the much more famous Rewind, to the Card Kaito wanted. We western fans don’t have much knowledge of it because the ENG translation back then translated his comment as just “oh well”. Back to us, Alice and the Red Queen get transported outside the Castle, to a place we have seen before….hehehe. Yes, this is the infamous botanical garden (would have it k1lled them to actually spell ‘botanical garden’ so it was clearer to everyone? We haven’t seen much of it back then so it might not be immediately recognizable to everyone)

The spread, of course, is absolutely stunning, as Mokona sensei got us accustomed to in this climax. The flowers are made of glass, and the Red Queen comments, while elegantly descending the stairs, that this place is very important, because it’s where all the memories are stored. Whose memories?, asks Alice, and the Queen cryptically answers “Someone’s”. Alice asks her if her memories are here too, to which the Queen replies affirmatively. Hence, I have to infer, the first person she was referring to wasn’t herself. Reflected in the big crystals, in the meantime, we see glimpses of the botanical garden we saw back in chapter 53.

Alice got the feeling she already knows this place.

ENG: Something tells me I’ve been here before...with someone very special to me. And I met someone very dear to me...and someone very dear to them. JP: I have the feeling I already know this “botanical garden”. I went there together with someone very special to me. Once there, I met someone very dear to me...along with that someone’s special person.

Cinzia, why being so nitpicky? Isn’t the meaning the same? No, it isn’t. Ohkawa tried to do something very clear here, and the way they translated it buried it under the sand. I just hope it’s carelessness and not a deliberate attempt at muddling something in the light of the finale. Basically, when Sakura was speaking, she made very clear the level of feelings between the two pairs, by using 2 distinctive adjectives: 特別なひと ("special person") to indicate the person Sakura is in love with

大切なひと ("important person") to indicate the feelings of someone being very dear to her

Sakura used "special person" to indicate Syaoran, but she used it ALSO when talking about Akiho's special person, Kaito. When talking about Akiho, instead, she used "important person". It was very very clear Ohkawa's intent here. "Kaito is to Akiho what Syaoran is to Sakura". Parallelism and such. So using “important person” in this context threw that subtle but important parallelism out of the window and watered down Akiho’s feelings as just the same level of friendship there is between her and Sakura. You should know by now that I wouldn’t tolerate that. 😂

Moving on (phew, so long), the two girls change location again. But we immediately realize the Cat was watching them from a distanced location and didn’t follow them suit. A voice starts talking…..and with absolute joy (from me) we realize it’s actually MOMO!! We only hear her voice and we don’t actually see her, but she tells him “Move them around, interfere with them, it’s all useless. This world, after all, is made by all the memories of Akiho, the one who calls me Momo and named this book ‘Alice in Clockland’...the memories of the girl who’s lost right now...and YOURS too, the one who activated the magic using this book” Basically here Momo is reprimanding Kaito because these little places made of memories that will “trigger” Sakura’s own memories will keep popping up, no matter how much he interferes, tries to steer Sakura’s attention or drags her away. So here we find out that not only Kaito’s subconscious is intertwined with this world, but Sakura’s and Akiho’s memories too. In that regard, we could say the rose garden appearing in last chapter might have been coming also from Akiho’s memories, in addition to Kaito’s. One curious thing I have to point out regarding the botanical garden is that, in theory, the two girls aren’t supposed to remember about it. Cause Kaito rewound the events of the botanical garden. While we might argue that Sakura, due to her powers, might have traces of these memories hidden down her subconscious, I still wonder if once again the place popped up from Kaito’s memories. After all, he’s the only one with clear memories of it and this was the place where Akiho went out of her way to invite him to. It must mean something to him too.

And here we basically get the confirmation of the thing I’ve been quite sure about since a couple of chapters ago, that is…..behind the Cat, there’s actually Kaito in disguise!!😂😂This rascal!! 😂 I mean, last chapter with some reactions of his he really let himself be caught, though 😝 Kaito answers to Momo that he’s been lucky the role of the Cat called for a calm and detached demeanor, and here Momo’s answers made me crack up big time!! 😂 “It would’ve been so much funnier if you had to play a spoiled brat….or a silly role” Kaito answers, with his usual demeanor between defiance and deference “I would’ve made an effort as far as possible” 😂😂😂NOW I want to see spoiled brat Kaito...no, wait...he already is one 😂

We find out from Momo that he used the Clear Mirror Card (note: Momo doesn’t say he stole that too, only that he used it…) to take the appearance of the next head of the Li family, but… Momo: “You can’t hide” Kaito: “What, my wickedness?” ( the JP didn’t use exactly “cruelty”) Momo: “No, your true nature” (I think the use of ‘nature’ here is important. It implies it’s the very opposite of “wicked”).

This is, I believe, a remark that pricked Kaito where he’s most vulnerable, as he gets up and he doesn’t even let Momo finish what she’s saying (something about even a little spell possibly doing damages to him, in the state he’s in right now?), stating he must be back to Alice’s side, as his role requires. We get the last confirmation that we’re currently inside Momo’s book, under the effect of a spell, and that the story is inexorably going towards “the beginning of the end”.

Back to the “outside world”, to Yukito & company, we see his barrier starting to deteriorate. Yukito is very tired and so is Touya. To avoid the spell from breaking, Yue talks to his “other self” and tells him:

JP: “Let’s swap. You and me are the same being, so I can keep this spell alive” "Ah, that's right. There's still my other's self power left" I've put the JP version here because that “traces” used by the ENG version might trick some people into getting a wrong interpretation, that is, that Yue was supposedly gone but there were actually still traces of him inside Yukito. None of this is really suggested in the JP version and the Spanish translation actually suggest Yukito was simply forgetting he could count on Yue as well. And so, Yue takes over and asks Nakuru to turn into Ruby Moon and act as a “battery”, to boost Yukito’s magic spell together...I found this a beautiful moment of collaboration and friendship beyween the two guardians!! They’ve come such a long way!! 🥲

The chapter ends with a BOOM: Yue threatens Syaoran to punch him if he doesn’t make it unscathed, and Touya agrees, saying “Hurry up and come back along with her...SYAORAN LI”.

GUYS GUYS TOUYA KINOMOTO CALLED SYAORAN WITH HIS FULL NAME 😂😂😂 Can you hear the wedding bells in the distance??? 😂This is like the “Big Brother” approval mark 😂

In this general climate of putting aside the differences, the animosity, to embrace others, I can’t help but yearning to see this climate extended to all the characters of Clear Card. I know this is what CCS is about, so I’ll just keep having faith and wait for that moment. It'll be a beautiful moment, I'm sure.

I have to run to bed but I wanted to get this thing out as soon as possible due to all the confusing things, so for now I'll just leave it here and as usual I'm available for more comments and theories in asks or comments! A quick reminder of the dates for the next chapter, chapter 68 (we're so close!!): November 28th, on Bookwalker/Azuki (digital, ENG) November 29th, on Clamp-fans (digital, JP and other languages) December 1st, on Comic-days (digital, JP ) and Nakayoshi (paper and digital, JP)

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erinej · 1 year

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 65: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

End of the month, time for another chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc!

This month we have chapter 65, the first chapter of the future volume 14, which might or might not be the last one of this arc (personally, I have a hard time believing everything can be wrapped up within the 14th, especially seeing how they took this entire chapter to introduce the world of Clockland).

And let me tell you, it was a very oneiric chapter, exactly what I’ve been expecting from the world where our Sakura/Alice was bound to be thrown into sooner or later: I’ve been anticipating a strange world, where nothing really made sense and where the reader is left to use their brain big time to understand what’s going on. And beautiful drawings, of course. Which CLAMP totally delivered in this chapter.

So before diving into this literal rabbit’s hole that is chapter 65, I’d like to reveal the gif of the month, which I find particularly fitting this time around 😂:

Sit down, relax and get stoned let’s analyze together this chapter 65!

The Color Page

ALL HAIL THE RED QUEEN AKIHO!!!

The last time our lovely Akiho was featured alone on a color page was back in chapter 23. 42 chapters ago. Sure, she’s been featured other times, but always in combination with Sakura, which honestly contributed to exacerbate the annoying opinion that’s recurring in the fandom, “she’s just Sakura’s carbon copy”. Akiho is a unique character with her unique characteristics and quirks, who deserves to see that uniqueness being recognized more.

In this color page we finally find out the colors of her play outfit: contrarily to what I imagined in my own fanart, CLAMP decided to take the emo/darker route and paint the bodice and upper layer of her dress all black, with red lining. But if you look hard enough, you can actually recognize they’re simply keeping everything in theme: the illustration itself got the same background of the one with Sakura and Syaoran from last month, same clocks, same gears. Akiho’s dress is mostly black with a smaller white part, while Sakura’s outfit is mainly white with black accessories. I kinda knew it would’ve ended up being black for Akiho, but since she’s the Red Queen, I hoped the red would be more prominent. 😅 In this way it really gives off the “mourning bride” vibe I was complaining about last month, but since some followers on Twitter have suggested to me a brighter way to interpret that, I won’t be particularly bothered by the choice of colors. And then, and then….Akiho looks really GORGEOUS in them 😁

As I said often lately, the darker vibe suits her. Because of her past, and what she went through. Darkness is, willing or not, part of her too.

All things considered, we’re definitely entering a “sub-arc” (the play) and so it’s fitting they would develop a “theme” to be portrayed on the color pages. Besides that, I also realized that the 3 kids are dressing in a way that is matching Momo, who’s got her own outfit equally divided in black and white, with golden accents. That makes sense, since they’re likely inside of Alice in Clockland, and so Momo’s book. Now we're only missing Kaito on the color page, so we can see the color combination of his outfit too (I will guess white with black decorations, at this point).

And now, let’s proceed unto the actual chapter itself!

Take me to Wonderland

The chapter opens with Sakura sleeping in fetal position in an unspecified environment. A voice asks her “Alice. Tell me, Alice. What is sorrow to you?”. You remember this line, right?

Momo asked this to her back in chapter 50.

The decoration in the upper left corner of the page signals to us that we’re witnessing the story coming from the Alice in Clockland book.

The style of the clock hands is precisely the same on the cover of that book, while the gear is arranged a bit differently. From now on, the chapter will be completely dialogue-less for 9 pages.

Sakura/Alice wakes up and finds herself in front of a scenery that we know very well….but she seems to not recognize. We’re in the maze created by the Labyrinth Clear Card!

A giant bird flies over Sakura/Alice’s head. (Mirage) She starts to run, seemingly after the bird, climbing the endless stairs of that maze (Reflect and Snooze). Chasing after Snooze’s fluff ball, she finds a creature between a fish and a bird (Gale). Following the creature and climbing more stairs, she witnesses two other creatures, one made of water and the other made of fire, battling eachother (Aqua and Blaze). A gust of wind lifts her up in the air as if her weight is nothing, and a giant spiral opens up above her (Spiral). The spiral engulfes her, removing her from that environment.

Meanwhile, in another corner of that world, Syaoran is still climbing on some stairs, that now are starting to crumble, looking for Sakura. With his proverbial agility, he’s able to jump from a piece of debris to another and latch onto a safe part of the stairs, while thinking to himself that there’s a very powerful spell at work, so much that it could create this “world” they’re in now. Syaoran tries to motivate himself to stay focused, or the minimum wavering of his conscience will cause him to be literally yeeted from that world. After all, he’s only got this one chance to bring Sakura back.

And indeed, we go back to our Sakura/Alice, who emerges in another part of that world.

Her surroundings are just like those of a picture book. But a bird that was only painted onto the background starts to move by surprise, startling Sakura/Alice. To Sakura/Alice’s surprised exclamation, a creature sitting on a flower with the appearance of Rika (Appear) tells her that the bird moved because she wished for it.

To Sakura/Alice’s surprised answer, “Rika” explains that this whole [world] manifested its appearance because she wished for it.

Sakura/Alice is still unconvinced, and replies back that since this is “Clockland”, there must be a Queen here. Her interlocutors change immediately though, as she finds herself in front of creatures bearing the appearances of Naoko, Chiharu and Yamazaki (True or False, Synchronize). It is to be noted that Sakura doesn’t seem to recognize or get surprised to see any of them. This is the major indication that Sakura might not be aware to be Sakura, but actually believing to really be Alice.

“Chiharu” and “Yamazaki” confirm that indeed the Red Queen is present in this world.

Sakura/Alice reiterates that this land is something that should be governed by its Queen, and so the [world] too must be governed by her.

Pay close attention to this affirmation. Sakura here is affirming that they're in Clockland, and the Red Queen (Akiho) must be the one governing (so taking decisions for) this world. But Sakura is apparently the one doing it instead. Even though this isn’t the natural order of things. What does happen when Sakura points this out (with a very serious expression)?

“Chiharu” and “Yamazaki” ignore her rightful objection and offer her tea. God.

Let’s take a step back, getting out of the story layer of the play for a moment, and let’s analyze this scene.

When Sakura asks “Why isn’t Akiho deciding for this?”, the other characters change topic.

Considering who’s likely involved with this strange world (you’ll see more hints later), it doesn’t surprise me in the least that this rightful question gets ignored. And if this is really what CLAMP want to tell us through this scene, I can only applaude them.

Back to our story, Sakura/Alice accepts the tea, and “Naoko” speaks. She reiterates, just like explained by the Cat, that everything will be decided by her, and what she will decide will shape the [world].

But, “Chiharu” and “Yamazaki” interject, somebody’s dream is intertwined with this world. Dreams are wishes too. And those two call to eachother, making each other stronger as a result. (to be really honest, this part is a bit confusing no matter the language, so we'll just leave it here for now)

We reach the first part where I think the ENG translation went a bit too far, imposing an interpretation that (as usual) is left very vague in the Japanese version, and it’s supposed to feel that way (just look at what kind of world we’re in! IT IS supposed to sound confusing!)

Naoko, ENG: “You have to look within yourself...and decide whether you desire dreams..or the truth”

Naoko, JP: “You’ll have to ascertain... Is it a Dream (False), or is it Reality (True)?”

As you can see we have once again the play on words that was featured back in chapter 58 (kaji says something, while furigana says a different word), right after the capture of True or False, and that one got lost in translation too. It’s nice to point out these small details lost along the way because they’re proof that everything is coming together and many things that happen now and will happen later will recall something that was said/happened earlier in the story. Even “Rika”’s scene of a couple of pages ago is strongly reminiscing of the encounter Sakura had with the talking flowers (which told her the same things) back in chapter 39, one of the creepiest chapters of the whole story.

The characters tell Sakura/Alice to go forward, following what she decided to do. Again, a very strong CLAMP thematic, “choices”, is echoing loud and clear in this scene.

Sakura/Alice proceeds forward, and holy moly, what do we have here?? A creature looking like Tomoyo (Repair) is sitting under a gazebo sewing with love a piece of fabric.

Hold on a second.

We have already seen that gazebo.

Yeah.

It is exactly the same gazebo Lilie and little Kaito were sitting under, in the flashback of chapter 60, while Kaito was dreaming of his past. It happened shortly ago so maybe it’s still in the memories of many fans.

Before moving forward, I’d like to take this detail to point out that this might be a major hint of whose dream is intertwined with this world. I think it’s Kaito’s, since earlier on they were talking about someone’s dream with a strong wish. If there’s anything we know in this Clear Card Arc, is that Kaito is conjuring up a major mess in order to fulfill a wish he’s got. We still don’t know exactly what that wish is, but in this moment there’s probably no one with a stronger wish than him in the story.

And if this is the case, then having Lilie’s gazebo here makes sense. As it’s his dream too, parts of his subconscious might appear here and there along the way. Who knows what else will appear later on. It’ll be interesting to see.

Sakura/Alice asks “Tomoyo” what she’s sewing (again, no sign that she recognizes her and to be fair no sign from Tomoyo too), and she replies “a dress for someone important”.

Sakura, once again, asks if the dress is for the Red Queen (she still feels the Queen should actually be the protagonist in this strange world), and “Tomoyo” says that yes, she did sew one for the Queen too, but this one she’s sewing now is a dress for her most important person.

Now, I’ll just point out a pet peeve of mine that is not technically an error in the ENG translation, but I wished they kept truer to the original.

In the JP version, there’s no clear indication of “girl” from Tomoyo (indeed, I could already feel from the reading of the ENG version that it was so damn direct for someone like Tomoyo, so I already kinda knew I would find something different in the JP version). Tomoyo uses the word 方 (kata, “person”) which is genderless and even got a more polite tone (as Tomoyo always uses).

So a translation truer to the original would be “It’s for my most important person”.

Now, we all know who Tomoyo loves, so making her say “girl” isn’t really saying anything incorrect, but as I believe CLAMP characters are strenuous supporters of the “love regardless of gender” and fall in love with someone else for what they represent to them, not for what gender they are, I feel like the choice of kata should’ve been preserved in the translation too, to reflect more accurately CLAMP’s view. But it’s not a big deal.

And after this little side note, we continue with Sakura/Alice asking her where this person is now, to which “Tomoyo” replies “Somewhere” (not exactly “elsewhere” like in the ENG, because that would imply Tomoyo has got at least an idea of where this person is, while “somewhere” is a lot more vague), and here we have another slight translation difference:

Tomoyo, ENG: “But I know in my heart that she’ll come back someday...to wear the dress I made for her”

Tomoyo, JP: “but I firmly believe she’ll come back to me, wearing my dress (the dress I made for her)”

Why am I pointing this slight translation difference out? Because this is a recall to, lo and behold, none other than The Sealed Card movie, when Tomoyo told Sakura that it’s important that she always wears one of her dresses because that’s her prayer that Sakura will come back to her safe and sound, together with that dress. And this is what “Tomoyo” is saying here, too.

So, coming back to her wearing the dress, not to wear the dress.

“Tomoyo”, while saying so, takes Sakura/Alice’s hand and seemingly sews something unto the fabric of her costume, and we see some wind surrounding our Alice. Is some kind of magic at work?

Hard not to wonder about that, since we have, hehe, another recall to a scene we’ve already seen in chapter 61:

What does this mean? Did “Tomoyo” sew some kind of protection onto Sakura’s costume? Or did she simply put a spell that will change Sakura’s dress when that time will come (the meeting with MCF)?

We don’t know, as a giant kind of black bird (Shade) appears out of nowhere, and “Tomoyo” utters the last words she’ll tell to our Sakura/Alice:

Tomoyo, ENG: "Never forget...what matters the most"

Tomoyo, JP (literal): "Don't forget...the one thing you must absolutely not forget"

Why did I put this translation difference here? Because I think these two have a slight different meaning. The first one is pretty generic, while the second one seems to be hinting at something very specific. And here words are very important. You see, this Sakura doesn’t seem to know she’s Sakura at all. I believe she’s convinced she’s Alice. And so, I can easily infer the “something” Tomoyo is talking about is her identity. Never forget who you are. You are you, there’s only one of you, you’re unique, with your own story and baggage of experiences. Irreplaceable.

How many times I’ve been mentioning this as one of the major themes of Clear Card? I think we’re finally heading in the direction of making this message loud and clear for everyone.

Before moving onto the next scene, I just want to comment on how damn sweet this part with Tomoyo is.

The way she holds that piece of fabric? It melted my heart!!! It’s still unclear exactly what these Clear Cards featured here represent, if they’re maneuvered by someone else or they’re truly manifestation of the Cards, but it’s just amazing to see how Tomoyo’s strong feelings for Sakura translate perfectly onto this “version” of herself, born from Sakura’s power meddled with her memories and feelings for her.

Tomoyo’s love is so pure and sweet and unconditional, it’s a kind of higher love that I believe not everyone can feel. Since I know Tomoyo was missed for long time in the fandom, I find this scene a very important puzzle piece of the climax (she’s the one telling Sakura the most important truth!).

Moving forward, there’s a black mass engulfing and destroying everything in this world (why does this black mass reminds me of the black mass that springs from Akiho everytime she goes “berserk”…) and it’s in the middle of this mess of debris and black mass that Syaoran and Sakura get a glimpse of eachother…

Sakura/Alice calls him “Neko-san” (Mr. Cat - another proof she isn't herself) and, as Syaoran is about to approach Sakura, the ground under her cracks and she falls into the void, with Syaoran yelling her name, in a scene (hehe, once again, this is a reference-fest) that reminds us a lot about the one that happened in volume 6 of the old manga, when Sakura fell down a cliff and Syaoran yelled her name for the first time.

Luckily, Syaoran is quick enough to catch her hand, and.....what? Her hand? And he isn't being fried alive??? What is going on?

I'm telling you what is going on....

Here. I feel like if I put it like this, exactly the same way you can read it on Comic Days, you have a better idea of what's going on.

This is not THE SAME scene, but actually TWO scenes happening at the same time.

In the one on the left, Real Syaoran catches a fake Sakura that is revealed to actually be our poor, distraught Mirror (Sakura) Card, whom, with tears in her eyes, apologizes to Syaoran. On the right, we see Real Sakura being caught by what we can safely say is a “fake Syaoran”, since the real one is dealing with Mirror right now.

So probably, what happened here is that when Sakura and Syaoran "saw" eachother in that mess of black stuff, Syaoran actually saw a fake Sakura (and ran to her) while Sakura saw a fake Syaoran (and he "saved her"). The real Syaoran and Sakura never actually saw eachother.

A black mass engulfes Syaoran, the real one, and we do not know what happens to him afterwards. Was he taken somewhere else? Was he kicked out of this world? Hard to believe, with someone like Syaoran. If Kaito is behind this.....did he take him where he is? Will they talk? I have to say it's one of the scenes I look forward to in this finale.

Meanwhile, Sakura/Alice thanks the Cat, and he looks at her with a very intense stare. A black bird (once again, Shade) originates under them, and this "fake" Syaoran urges them to go, riding on this bird.

And this is how chapter 65 ends, leaving us with...how many? How many question marks on our heads?? 😂 Certainly it was a dream-like, oneiric chapter.

Among the comments I've read around, of course there's been a lot of "wow I didn't understand a damn thing" 😂, but also lots of comments about Tsubasa flashbacks (and so the consequent anxiety that ensues whenever TRC is involved).

But personally, I found this chapter a very endearing tribute to all that is Cardcaptor Sakura. The world Sakura is in right now not only serves someone's purpose, but will also turn out into an opportunity for our brave girl to learn something very important about herself. And I'm sure other characters will learn important, vital lessons too. And then all the references, allusions, hints, recalls of events already happened in all the 3 Arcs, but especially in this one....just like a puzzle of which you've seen the pieces separately before, and now the puzzle is coming together right in front of your eyes. I feel like this chapter is better grasped if you don't insist in reading it literally, but actually taking a step back from what we're seeing and trying to interpret what each scene might be referring to on an allegorical level. It's something I really like in stories and so I was excited while reading this chapter. Maybe in 10 days, re-reading it, I will realize a new key to interpreting things that I didn't see before. Or a new reference. I'm sure many of you will point out things I didn't notice, and I think that's the beauty of this chapter.

As this is tangled with someone else's dream, we have to remember how dreams "behave". Not everything is linear and not everything makes sense immediately. And so, I believe the characters appearing in this chapter are in some moments acting in Sakura's interest, and in some others are influenced by the owner of the dream. The distinction between the two behaviors isn't clear at all, as it should be. I have the theory that Momo might be pulling the strings of many events that are happening in this chapter, softly trying to steer everything in the direction she wants, without tipping Kaito off too much.

On another note, I hope all those who were racking their brains in search for a purpose for the latest Clear Cards, which didn't seem clear at all (no pun intended 😂), are now satisfied. As I've been telling often: the Clear Cards of this Arc do not have the same function the Clow/Sakura Cards had before. You need to detach yourself from that concept to enjoy it fully. They started as the manifestation of Sakura's rampant powers out of control, they were created by accident by Sakura herself, they weren't created with a project in mind like Clow did. And in fact, along the serialization, their shape changed, starting to feature Sakura's loved ones and representing more and more abstract concepts: their purpose is more conceptual than to really help Sakura with a particular skill like flying or moving objects. They're there to remind Sakura who she is. And as it often happens, our loved ones are the ones who can remind us of who we are, when we need it. This is exactly what the human Cards featured in this chapter did. They're trying to guide Sakura so she doesn't lose herself into this Wonderland that is so fantastical, but can also become her prison. Since the Cards representing Sakura's family and Syaoran didn't appear yet, I think we'll be in for more intimate, emotional moments where Sakura will remember who she is precisely thanks to them.

But this story is made up of Two Alice, and so I have to wonder where is Akiho right now, what is she seeing? Probably.....a nice town called Tomoeda, where she's got lots of friends and a family that loves her dearly....? Yeah, the perfect life Kaito wanted to give her. But fear not. As I believe the Two Alice will have to wake up from their dreams together, I'm absolutely positive Akiho will miss Kaito's and Momo's (and Sakura's too!) presence regardless of how happy she might be in the dream she's living now. Because our loved ones are unique and no one can replace them. And when we're talking about our most important person....all the more. Just imagine Kaito's face, doing all of this for Akiho's sake, when she'll destroy it to go back to him. I am anticipating that moment so much.

Well, this month we didn't have major translation mistakes (thankfully, as half the chapter is without dialogues!) and I hope we can continue on this path. The climax is important and as you can see, it can get pretty confusing even without translation mistakes.

I have to unfortunately announce that Clear Card will take a break from next issue of Nakayoshi (contrarily to what I initially announced on my Twitter, but I swear Comic Days still says next chapter is on August 31st), so chapter 66 will come back on these dates:

September 30th, on Bookwalker (digital, ENG) October 1st, on Clamp-fans and Comic-days (digital, JP and other languages) October 3rd, on Nakayoshi (paper and digital, JP)

I know, it'll be hard to wait for next chapter when we've reached such an important part of the story 😭, but every summer CLAMP take their deserved vacation, so it was kinda expected (I was so surprised to see from Comic Days that there wasn't a break, I should've known). It might actually be the last break we'll have for this series.

Let me know what you think about this chapter and if you noticed something I didn't see before!! See you at the end of September!!

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