Cardcaptor Sakura – 48 – The Rain Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Time was, Sakura could solve pretty much any weird problem that arose in her life by releasing her wand and sealing a Clow Card. But now an unceasing rain pummels Tomoeda Town, and her wand won’t release. Kero needs to confer with Yue, so Sakura asks her brother if Yukito will be over.

To paraphrase Touya, if you cook a tasty dinner, Yukito will come. Meanwhile Eriol, who if I’m honest is looking a lot like the new big bad in disguise, tries to cheer Sakura up with flowers from his home garden and later invites her to his house. Syaoran is understandably concerned, as Eriol is still very much an unknown element.

That pretty much describes Akizuki Nakuru, who while cute, spunky, and flirty with Touya, treats Yukito like an oblivious rival, declaring she’ll just go ahead and “take” Touya, thank you very much. Like Eriol, Nakuru is hiding something…something big.

That night, Yukito is indeed lured to the Kinomoto residence by the promise of a good meal, and when Touya has to go off to a night job and Kero is alone with Yukito, the latter transforms into Yue. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any answers for Sakura or Kero; all he knows is that the rain is being caused by someone with immense magical power.

Yue and Kero accompany Sakura (and Tomoyo) back to Penguin Park, where a whirlpool of rain forms above them that shoots out tendrils of water. The Guardians, apparently outmatched, are paralyzed, and everyone is sucked up into water spouts. I’m not gonna lie, it’s a super-perilous situation, and I was expecting Syaoran to show up with his magic sword. Alas, he’s nowhere to be found.

No, it’s up to Sakura, for whom letting Tomoyo, Kero and Yue drown is not an option. When she remembers what Clow said about stars being the source of her power, Sakura modifies her incantation and successfully summons a new star-topped wand.

Despite this, when she tries to use a Clow Card, nothing happens. This requires her to command the card to change its form into a Sakura Card, at which time she can draw upon its power with her want.

The first Clow Card to be converted to a Sakura Card is Fiery, which Sakura deploys in order to turn the water spouts into steam and free the others—though practically speaking I’m wondering how nobody got singed or scalded!

With a new wand and new card, Sakura is finally able to end the endless rain over Tomoeda. But as a result of her exertions, she suddenly falls asleep, her magical power apparently depleted. Not far away, three ominous figures float in the sky, having observed the battle. The one in the center is impressed with Sakura’s skills so far. That probably means his next “test” for her won’t be so easy!

Cardcaptor Sakura – 47 – The Popsicle Has Been Taken Away

Summer vacation is ending and school is about to start back up, but as Sakura and Kero-chan work overtime to finish all her homework, strange and powerful magical people and beings arrive in Tomoeda Town, no doubt drawn there by her own power and status as master of the Clow Cards.

Syaoran is preparing to return to Hong Kong to give a detailed report on the Clow Cards, and in all his interactions with Sakura you can sense an apprehension about that impending separation.

He’s heartened when Sakura is cheered up by the knowledge they’ll see each other again. But move over Syaoran, there’s a new transfer student in town: Hiiragizawa Eriol, from England.

In Clear Card I know Eriol as one of Sakura’s far-flung allies, but it’s clear from the sound of his aura (as heard by Sakura) that he’s bound to play a far more antagonistic role here, and is clearly intrigued by the power Sakura gives off.

The two of them both get the feeling they’ve met before. Sensing the time isn’t right to leave Sakura, Syaoran decides (likely on the spot) to remain in Japan after all for the forseeable future, and proceeds to blush at Sakura’s genuine expression of relief.

Just as Syaoran possibly has a new rival for Sakura’s heart, so too does Yukito for Touya’s: one Akizuki Nakuru, a cute transfer student in their class who immediately pounces on Touya’s back and steals his popsicle (which he himself stole from Sakura!)

Akizuki makes an immediate impression with her hyperactive playfulness and just a tinge of malice in her glare at Yukito, suggesting she knows who and what he really is.

That night, as a heavy rainstorm very narrowly localized over Tomoeda rages outside, the drawer containing the Clow Card book starts to glow. Sakura is temporarily transported to what I’ll call “Clow space”, the starry expanse where they met at the end of last season.

There Clow’s voice apologizes for the “trouble” Sakura is about to go through, but he knows she’ll be able to endure it. When she returns to regular space, she finds the book’s cover no longer reads Clow…it reads Sakura.

Before she knows it, Sakura is in a new, presumably waterproof battle costume and in front of the camcorder of a very excited (and costume/footage starved) Tomoyo. We catch a glimpse of Eriol in the area, and then the rain starts to form rings and attack Sakura and Tomoyo.

Kero transforms into his giant lion form to protect Tomoyo while Sakura prepares to release her wand…only it won’t release. It doesn’t respond at all. Sakura has lost her powers! That, and the mysterious duo of Eriol and Akizuki, combine for quite an enticing hook for the third season.

Cardcaptor Sakura – 46 – Love Not Lest Ye Be Loved

Yue is in no mood for delays; he’s going to judge Sakura right here and now: she’ll either subdue him with her mastery of the cards, or she’ll lose and catastrophe will be unleashed. There’s just one problem: Sakura has no intention of fighting someone who just a few minutes ago was Yukito, a boy she deeply cares for. We learn Yukito never had any knowledge that he was really Yue, which only adds to Sakura’s reluctance to fight.

The thing is, Yue doesn’t care if Sakura cared about Yukito. If she won’t fight, then he’ll mop the floor with her, just like he did Syaoran. And holy crap does Sakura ever receive by far the worst beating of the entire series, getting tossed around like a ragdoll before being ensnared in the vines of the Wood card she herself summoned. The fact she doesn’t even know that Wood is controlled by the Moon (i.e. Yue) irritates him even more as he passes his final judgment: Sakura loses.

The catastrophe that shall occur due to her failure? Everyone in the world will forget about the person they love or care about most. Kero-chan was right: it isn’t a “world-ending” kind of apocalypse. After she’s completely enveloped in vines, Sakura wakes up in bed, and there’s even the Cardcaptor Sakura doll on her headboard.

She has her normal morning routine, but Yukito vanishes when she spots him, while Tomoyo and Syaoran are no longer warm or friendly, but mere acquaintances. Same with Chiharu and Yamazaki…and Rika doesn’t even like that teacher she likes!

Having had adequate time to take in this horrifying bad future (or at least the equivalent of such from her perspective), Sakura runs to Yukito’s gran’s house, only to find it abandoned and in poor repair. She breaks down in tears in the bamboo forest, but then something happens: she starts hearing the voices of everyone she loves, first calling her name, then singing the song Tomoyo sang (and which Song copied).

Then she hears Mizuki’s bell clang, and she bursts out of the vine prison, waking from her helldream and returning to Tokyo Tower. Turns out the bell was also furnished by Clow Reed and used by Mizuki to give the Cardcaptor one—and only one—last chance against Yue.

This time, Sakura uses her own magical power to draw not from the Sun or the Moon, but her own personal stars, and a new wand is forged that allows her to summon Windy—the first Clow Card she ever captured—and restrain Yue without him being able to counter.

Sakura tells Yue what he never thought he’d hear, that she understands now how much Clow Reed meant to him, and why he never wanted another master after Reed died. However, Sakura isn’t offering to become Yue’s master or a replacement for Reed; she wants them to be friends, plain and simple, making the world better together.

Yue thus judges Sakura to be the winner of their little duel, and she has a brief stop up in the stars to meet with Clow Reed, who is grateful Sakura was able to locate and follow the path of “necessities disguised as coincidences” he had set out—her own way.

After that, Sakura returns to the shrine grounds and is reunited with Tomoyo and Syaoran, taking both of a surprised Syaoran’s hands and dancing with him in pure unadulterated joy.

Kero and Yue acknowledge that due to her youth, Sakura isn’t quite ready for their true forms full-time, so they agree to return to their disguises for the time being. That means Kero-chan is back to being a pint-sized plushie, while Yue returns to the form of Tsukishiro Yukito.

Sakura’s adorable dance with Syaoran, paired with her far more understated reaction to Yukito’s return seems to signal the start of a transition from her feelings for Yukito/Yue—whom she knows will always love Clow above all—to Syaoran, who is, well, an actual human being.

And that does it for the grand Clow Card arc and the second season of Cardcaptor Sakura! My stars, has this show been a balm in these times. While this finale wasn’t my absolute favorite of the series (that might be “Sakura’s Dizzy Fever Day”) it definitely makes the top five, merely by dint of its vital story, cinematic scope and utterly gorgeous animation. On to season three!

Cardcaptor Sakura – 45 – Here Comes the Judge

In a further departure from the usual formula, there’s no set up this week, we jump right back into the action. It figures that the last Clow Card to be captured is the most ornery: Earthy. Huge fissures and massive stone towers threaten to destroy the city, and it’s all Sakura can do to weave and dodge.

After an unsuccessful use of Watery, Kero gives her the hint that offensive magic won’t work. Then Sakura notices that while lots of roads and buildings are being ruined, the trees aren’t being touched. So she summons Wood to hold the Leviathan-like Earthy’s main body in place.

Sakura seals the card, and the biggest, most pulse-poundingly impressive battle yet comes to close. To Sakura’s shock, the receipt of the final card has another effect: it restores Kerberos’ true form. Sakura doesn’t recognize him at first until he responds with his trademark dialect, only in a lower register, and she can’t help but remark that he’s looking “rather cool.” He certainly is!

To celebrate the capturing of all the Clow Cards, Tomoyo summons her costume van and dresses Sakura up, and even gets Syaoran into his ceremonial robes. Sakura’s costume is notably the one in her dreams. Then Sakura learns from Syaoran that Yue is one of the two guardians along with Kero who Clow Reed created to protect the cards. And just when it seemed Mizuki would transform into Yue…Yukito does instead!

While I knew Yukito was Yue’s vessel from the much later Clear Card, Mizuki had been so effective a red herring I came to wonder whether she’d be revealed as Yue’s vessel prior to Yukito. Instead she’s just a particularly powerful moon-oriented magic user, which combined with Yue concealing his magic within Yukito meant he was right under their noses the whole time.

While Kero serves as the selector of the one to command the cards, Yue is the final arbiter of the Cardcaptor’s worthiness. The trial is simple: use the Clow Cards to defeat him. Since Syaoran captured a handful of cards, he is the first to undergo “final judgment”—and Yue proceeds to mop the floor with him.

He’s sent back to the others dazed but more or less fine, and Sakura is transported to that now iconic spot of her dreams, with Tokyo Tower looming in the near distance and Yue standing on its red steel beams. Sakura realizes this is exactly like the dream, that it was a prophetic dream, and that THIS IS IT.

Either Sakura can defeat Yue with the Clow Cards she’s collected—Yue confiscated all of Syaoran’s—or the “Catastrophe” Kero warned about will occur. Even if I didn’t know everything would work out, all my money would be on Sakura. Poised on the biggest, highest-pressure stage in her eleven years life, she won’t shrink from the task before her.

Cardcaptor Sakura – 44 – Feeling the Moon

Something new has shown up in Sakura’s dream: someone with long, silvery hair and black wings. When Sakura wakes up, Kero-chan takes note of the Sakura doll by her bed. Tomoyo made it before she became a Cardcaptor, and yet the doll is wearing an outfit very similar to the one Sakura is wearing in her dream—which has already been established as foretelling. We’re getting into some trippy territory here, and I like it!

Sakura is up early on a weekend in order to travel to Tokyo, watch Yukito’s traditional archery competition, and provide him with three or four bento boxes for lunch. Tomoyo and Syaoran tag along, with the former always up for hanging with Sakura, while Syaoran says “being around her is useful for capturing Clow Cards”, to which she innocently replies “that’s true”.

Kero-chan tags along as well, not just for the chance to eat some of the lunches Sakura made, but because the description of her dream points to Yue being near, and Kero doesn’t want to be unnecessarily separated from the Cardcaptor. While on the train to the competition, the Tokyo Tower comes into view and Sakura spaces out…but both she and Syaoran space out upon seeing Yukito in traditional Japanese archer’s dress!

Everyone is also surprised to find Mizuki-sensei not only participating in the competition, but making it to the final round along with Yukito. The two exhibit grace, elegance, and strength as all their arrows impact on or near bullseye…that is until something distracts Mizuki and she misses her shot. Even so, she’s gracious in defeat and congratulates Yukito.

While he has lunch with Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo, Kero sneaks out of Sakura’s bag to meet and chat with Mizuki. Throughout the day he’d been “feeling the moon”, or rather the power of the moon, which Mizuki admits she draws upon for her magic. She also seems to know about Yue, who we learn is Kero’s guardian counterpart. Finally, Touya reveals himself as working as a balloon-peddling mascot at the shrine.

Both Touya and Mizuki both forebodingly declare that there’s no such thing as “coincidence”, only “inevitability.” Sure enough, a Clow Card makes its appearance on the shrine grounds, and judging from the fissures and mountains it creates, it looks to be an earth-element card—and a tough one to boot! In a break from most CCS outings, the credits roll before the card is captured…lending it special significance.

Cardcaptor Sakura – 43 – Meiling Out

While in the middle of another disastrous attempt to bake an edible cake for Syaoran (has she never heard of a timer?) Meiling gets a call from her mother: she’s to return to Hong Kong in a week. When Mizuki-sensei announces she’ll be transferring out the class is shocked, but it’s Syaoran’s tepid reaction that hurts her the most.

Say what you will about Meiling’s possessiveness and clinginess since arriving; Syaoran has almost always been a cold jerk to her, making her feel like she’s only in the way. They seem poised to part ways on not so great terms when Cardcaptor Sakura decides to try her hand at fence-mending, inviting Meiling to sleep over at her house for the first time.

After a delicious meal courtesy of Sakura’s dad, Sakura and Meiling get to have a nice chat over tea and later while curled up in their beds. Sakura tries to reassure Meiling that Syaoran does indeed care for her. During the sleepover, a Clow Card in the form of twins starts to cause mischief in town by doubling things, starting with a mailbox.

While Sakura admits it was love at first sight vis-a-vis Yukito, Meiling reveals her falling for Syaoran wasn’t immediate, due to how stoic and indifferent he acted around her while they trained together. It wasn’t until he saw her crying over losing her pet bird that he comforted her, went out in the rain, and retrieved the bird. It’s a sweet story unfortunately interrupted by Sakura sensing the TWIN card, and suiting up in a cool new battle costume as Tomoyo meets her at her house.

It’s at Syaoran’s suddenly twinned house (complete with twin Weis) that Sakura attempts to subdue and seal the twins, but when she only manages to immobilize one of the two, she’s not able to seal the card. She and Syaoran decide to try launching twin lightning attacks, but the fact they have to signal each other causes a lag that allows the card to escape.

Even though Meiling was ready to stay behind lest she “get in the way”, Sakura took her hand and had her join the party, because, as she says, there are things only Meiling can do sometimes. In this case, that’s stay in perfect rhythm with Syaoran as the two deliver a twin beatdown to the twins, restraining them long enough for Sakura to seal the card. It flies into Syaoran’s hand, but it’s just as much Meiling’s card.

With that, Syaoran and Meiling make up, and at the airport before departing, she asks him if he remembers their promise. Soon after he found her bird Meiling confesses to Syaoran, and badgers him into agreeing to make her his fiancee…until he finds someone he likes more. Whether she’s noticed Syaoran’s attitude towards Sakura softening/warming, and that’s the reason she’s not fighting her summons home, who can say. All I know is, I’ll miss the adorable, clingy, goodhearted little brat!

Cardcaptor Sakura – 42 – A Light in Dark Places

It’s the big day of the performance, and Tomoyo pulls a double all-nighter to make the perfect Prince and Princess costumes for Sakura and Syaoran. I have to admit Tomoyo really outdid herself—Sakura looks outstanding—but for gosh sakes, get some SLEEP, girl! The play commences without a hitch, with the sleep-deprived but resolute Tomoyo providing narration.

Meiling steals the show as the villainous witch, despite the fact she didn’t want to play the villain! The crowd has a great reaction to Syaoran as the princess, but his performance suffers once he spots Yukito in the audience. Sakura, less so, since she mostly relies on her athletic ability in the fight scenes.

After defeating the witch and being told by the three faeries (played by Sakura’s three girlfriends) she can wake the princess with a kiss, Sakura gets right down to it. Her lips draw so close to Syaoran’s, neither he nor Touya in the audience can bear it. Syaoran pushes Sakura away, and just then a great inky blackness swallows everything whole…leaving the two of them in a void.

Syaoran soon vanishes too, leaving Sakura all alone. Not knowing what’s going on, she starts to cry, then realizes this could be the DARK Clow Card, in which case she can do something. When her magic doesn’t work she again despairs, but soon realizes that despite being surrounded by darkness, she continues to glow. Sure enough, the LIGHT Clow Card has resided in her heart since the first time she opened Clow’s book.

Because LIGHT and DARK are two sides of the same coin, they are portrayed as either sisters or lovers—I lean toward the latter. LIGHT mentions the name Yue to Sakura before she seals them both for a twofer, leaving Sakura to wonder who Yue is. The show seems to be indicating that Yue is Mizuki Kaho—or that Mizuki is Yue’s vessel. With four episodes remaining in this 11-episode second season, Sakura is sure to find out soon!

Cardcaptor Sakura – 41 – Dress Rehearsal

The Arts Festival is upon us, and Sakura’s class will be performing a play; specifically, Sleeping Beauty. Mizuki-sensei employs amidakuji in order to determine who plays what role. As a result of this method, Sakura ends up getting the role of the Prince, while Syaoran will be the Princess. AS IT SHOULD BE.

Sakura and Syaoran, being hardworking determined youths, take their roles very seriously; Sakura is heartened to find Syaoran practicing his lines in a tree, and even hopes that he’ll regale her with a song from one of his Hong Kong school arts festival plays. They’re both further motivated by the knowledge that Yukito will be in the audience.

Syaoran may still have a crush on Yukito, but there’s nothing saying he can’t have a crush on two people at once. He and Sakura agree to meet at school early to rehearse, and to Sakura’s surprise, Touya is up when she is, and even made her pancakes!

Bringing up when she had the fever (and used Mirror to make a double of herself that didn’t fool her big bro), he urges her not to act recklessly. If he knows about her cardcapturing, does he also know Kaho is somehow involved as well?

Sakura shows up to school early (even though she does pause outside the shrine where Mizuki lives), but Syaoran is even earlier, and they practice their lines, culminating in their first almost-kiss. But just when things are starting to heat up, a circle of sand appears arond them and threatens to swallow them up!

Syaoran grabs hold of Sakura and uses his sword to summon wind to dodge the sand. Then Sakura uses Fly to continue dodging the sand, but it eventually slams into them, and the two are separated. Syaroan suggests Sakura use Watery to make the sand wet, which works much better than she thought, then Syaoran uses Freeze to, uh, freeze the wet sand.

Sakura seals the card, which then hovers between the two, and they both grab it at once, their hands touching. Syaoran draws back, but Sakura gives it to him, both because he came up with the plan to seal it, and as thanks for giving her Cloud when she was sick.

While they may technically be rivals for the Clow Cards, it’s clear these two have come a long way in their friendship, and the Sleeping Beauty play can only bring them closer together. As for Mizuki, she’s not coy about whatever is about to go down happening very soon. I hope it doesn’t end up being as simplistic as her being the Bad Guy—but something more satisfyingly nuanced.

Cardcaptor Sakura – 40 – Tower of Dreams

Sakura, Tomoyo, Syaoran and Meiling go on a shopping and sightseeing trip to Tokyo…on their own. Wait, aren’t these eleven-year-old kids who require supervision during such a trip? Apparently not! I guess all that cardcapturing has forced them to grow up fast. In any case, I was definitely vicariously living through them as they did ordinary city things now made far more difficult during the Covid ordeal.

As the quartet darts around the metropolis, they are shadowed by a glowing blue butterfly that is most definitely a Clow Card that starts having an effect on them one by one. First there’s Tomoyo, who is happily recording their day when all of a sudden an entire squadron of Sakuras in battle costumes surround her. As you would expect, Tomoyo enjoys this hallucination immensely.

When the group catches a movie and it gets to a romantic scene with a seaside sunset, Syaoran shows himself out of the theater to grab some drinks as Sakura and Meiling both swoon. Unfortunately, upon reaching the theater door he finds himself within the movie as its protagonist and Sakura as his love interest, flustering him even more than if he’d just kept his seat.

From there, the group heads to the Tokyo Tower to get some birds-eye views of the city. Despite having never been there in person before, as we know Sakura has been dreaming of the tower on-and-off ever since Syaoran showed up, with the dreams increasing in frequency when Mizuki-sensei arrived. Upon entering the tower’s base, Sakura feels…off? Then she encounters both Touya and Yukito working up in the observation deck, even though they’re supposed to be playing soccer.

Night falls, and Sakura watches her dream unfold from a different viewpoint, and it’s confirmed beyond doubt that Mizuki is the woman perched on the tower. Sakura starts to wig out, not sure what to do, but “Dream” Sakura approaches Sakura and tells her everything will be alright and work out in the end. From there, Sakura wakes up to find she never left the tower’s lobby, with Syaoran supporting her with one hand while pinning the Dream card with the Time card.

Sakura manages to seal Dream, which flies into Syaoran’s hand as the one who subdued it, and the four continue their trip without the threat of slipping into any more dreams. Then we cut back to one more wide shot of the tower and there is Mizuki-sensei, in broad daylight, magic bell in hand, smiling her inscrutable smile. Kero warns Sakura that the dreams she’s experiencing foretell events that will come to pass in the real, waking world. But the nagging question remains…What the heck is Mizuki up to?

Cardcaptor Sakura – 39 – A Kind Hand

Good Lord, what a unfathomably beautiful, heartrending episode is “Sakura’s Dizzy Fever Day”, which asks the question: “What if the Cardcaptor was out of commission?” Every episode Sakura seems to spring out of bed, kaiju-stomp down the stairs, and burst out the front door in her rollerblades, ready to conquer the day. But she’s still human, which means inevitably the day would come when she wakes up feeling like shit. It happens to us all!

Today is that day, and it’s also a dark, cloudy day; the kind of day almost nobody likes or can feel comfortable enduring. Even though there’s a bright clear sky above the clouds, the fact we lowly humans are trapped below them can feel claustrophobic and depressing. Sakura is literally and figuratively “under the weather.”

Because she’s Sakura, she tries her darndest to power through it, even convincing Touya to let her go to school despite his misgivings and the warmth of her forehead. She’s also worried her dad will skip out on an important archaeological trip, so makes him promise not to tell him she’s under the weather.

Sakura also has posters to make for school, and doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone by being absent. She doesn’t want to do anything that will cause trouble, overlooking the fact that the people who love her, from Touya and her dad to Tomoyo, will be far more troubled if her fever worsens.

When Mizuki-sensei feels Sakura’s head, she has Tomoyo escort her to the nurse’s office, where Syaoran and Meiling assure her that they will be fine with the poster work without her, and the only think Sakura needs to worry about is going home, resting, and getting better.

Due to his possessing a certain degree of magical power, Touya can “sense” a message from his former squeeze Kaho, who informs him that Sakura is indeed suffering from a fever. Before carrying Sakura home on his back (what a good big brother!) he asks Kaho why she “came back”; she simply tells him there’s something she has to do.

As Sakura’s head swims with fever, the clouds in the sky become increasingly thick and cyclonic, and Sakura senses a Clow Card, which Kero-chan identifies as Cloud. Despite being in no condition to go outside, let alone fly through the air in her jammies, Sakura answers the call of the Cardcaptor, and Kero can’t keep her from her duty.

Despite her abject disregard for her own health, it’s hard to argue with Sakura here: Syaoran’s delusions aside, only she possesses the power to actually seal Clow Reed’s cards, and if left unchecked, Cloud will cover the entire town and become virtually un-sealable.

While she’s out on her mission, Sakura uses Mirror to create a double of herself to interact with Touya in her stead. But things quickly go pear-shaped as Cloud’s stiff gusts knock Sakura out of the air. Thankfully, she’s saved by a wind cushion summoned by Syaoran, who also sensed the card and came with Meiling in tow.

Both Syaoran and Meiling mostly put aside their rivalry with the Cardcaptor to exhibit concern for her well-being, and scold her for being so reckless. Certainly Syaoran (who is harboring a crush on Sakura) and Meiling don’t want Sakura to get sicker.

Back home, Touya pretty much instantly knows that the Sakura in bed is not the real Sakura, and tells the double as much. He also tells her he has “a vague idea” what Sakura is up to, but asks that the double not tell Sakura that he knows, since she’s (poorly) trying to keep it a secret.

Syaoran manages to use fire to shrink the cloud down to a manageable size, but the feverish Sakura can barely stand as she attempts to seal the card. That’s when, in one of the many extremely poignant moments in this episode, Meiling serves as Sakura’s support, allowing her to seal Cloud. And while it flies into Syaoran’s hand, he gives it to her, acknowledging how much it took for her just to leave her bed.

Sakura returns to her room, and her double tucks her in before reverting to her card state. Touya returns to take her temperature, which has risen due to her overexertion, but then the ghost of their mom Nadeshiko arrives, placing the same “kind hand” Sakura dreamed about at the beginning of the episode.

Sakura and Touya’s dad comes home early, having also sensed something was amiss with Sakura, but Touya tells him about Nadeshiko and that there’s no cause for concern.

The next morning, Sakura is her usual chipper self. When she wonders why her dad is back, he tells her he forgot something. The Kinomotos may be a family with a lot of supernatural stuff going on, but what truly endears me to each and every one of them is their basic decency, humanity, and unconditional love for one another, especially when one of them is in trouble or pain.

Like Touya, Tomoyo, Syaoran, her parents, and everyone else who loves her, I felt so bad for Sakura and worried for her, even though I knew she’d eventually recover. Considering how kind and brave and filled with love Sakura herself is, it was unbearable to watch her suffer even for just one dark, cloudy day.

I didn’t just feel for Sakura. Her dizzy fever day reminded me of similar days of my own when I felt like shit and didn’t want to stay home, but had to. We’ve all had those days. So it filled me with pure unfiltered joy to see her feeling so much better the next morning, after the clouds had parted.

Cardcaptor Sakura – 38 – Strawberry Field Trips Forever

Sakura’s class is off to a Strawberry farm and education center, something Sakura is super pumped about because part of the trip involves learning how to make various desserts with strawberries that she’d then be able to feed her beloved Yukito—he of the bottomless stomach. Sakura and Syaoran almost fall for more of Yamazaki’s lies before he’s carried away by Chiharu.

Turns out Yukito is at the farm, working part-time with Touya, who always seems to be working wherever Sakura happens to end up, and more often than not Yuki is by his side. After Yuki helps her pick the best berries, Sakura’s class breaks for lunch, and Meiling shows off the lavish multi-tier bento she prepared for herself and Syaoran, belting out her signature haughty laugh when Sakura has a taste and is impressed.

The Clow Card-of-the-Week involves Lock, a card that feels similar to Shield, which Sakura has already sealed. It ends up locking a “materials room” that also serves as a theater for educational videos, and for some reason has a heavy-duty steel door that the card locks and traps Sakura, Tomoyo, Syaoran and Meiling inside.

The four search for the card, but while looking out a window Sakura notices Mizuki-sensei sitting in a tree. Sakura determines Mizuki was trying to tell her to try using the key from which she releases her staff, and Lock shows itself. Syaoran uses one of his talismans to keep the card from fleeing, and Sakura manages to seal it. The room ends up a complete mess, but the four of them, along with Touya, Yuki and Mizuki, soon clean it up.

From there the field trip unfolds as planned, and Sakura gets to make a tart for Yukito for which he praises her. Unfortunately for Kero-chan, Yuki ate all of Sakura’s dessert, leaving nothing for Kero (and leading him to blow his stack and chase Sakura around her room!).

While a pleasant, serviceable episode with its share of fun character moments, it also felt pretty filler-y, with mere reiteration and no advancement on any of the ongoing plotlines and a card that feels like a rehash of one Sakura already sealed. With a series that spans 70 episodes, occasional outings like this that are “just okay” are inevitable.

Cardcaptor Sakura – 37 – The Voice

We begin this episode with the demonstration of a new Daidouji Brand prototype portable karaoke mic, perfect for picnics like the one Sakura and her friends are having. While ostensibly there to view the cherry blossoms, Syaoran is viewing Sakura the human girl, and when she looks back he can’t help but blush and turn away. Every episode it seems there’s a little reminder that his feelings for her are slowly but surely growing.

The star of the karaoke demonstration is the daughter of the woman whose company made the mic, but when Tomoyo is practicing for a chorus recital, a Clow Card overhears her and steals her voice! Suddenly the school’s best singer can’t even talk, and Sakura blames herself for not finding and sealing the card before it could cause trouble.

Tomoyo goes home and ends up taking a sick day, and her mom Sonomi also takes the next day off to spend time with her daughter. Tomoyo puts a brave face on this incident but she’s no doubt frightened of never being able to speak or sing again, and her mom knows the power of simply being there for a hug. Back at school, Sakura is down in the dumps and wondering what to do, and Syaoran is worried about her, and volunteers to help her search for the Voice card.

They go to Tomoyo’s house, but his compass doesn’t turn anything up; once Voice has a voice it likes, it goes into hiding. Hours pass without progress, and Sakura voices her frustration and guilt, seeing as how this is the second time Tomoyo has fallen victim to a Clow Card; the first being when Song copied her voice.

That gives Syaoran an idea: lure Voice out with Song, who still has that copy. Sure enough, Voice can’t resist Song’s Tomoyo-like singing. Syaoran traps it inside with magical talismans, and Sakura returns it into its rightful guise.

Tomoyo’s voice is restored, and Sakura embraces her, tearful with relief. All that’s left is to sit back and listen to Tomoyo’s delicately gorgeous voice at the recital as she knocks her performance out of the park.

While there are many friends in Sakura’s orbit she holds dear, there’s no one more important to her than Tomoyo, who in turn loves Sakua so much even without a voice she was urging her to cheer up. When Sakura is happy, Tomoyo is happy, and vice versa.

Cardcaptor Sakura – 36 – White April

Welcome to April 1999 and to the second season of the iconic Cardcaptor Sakura! We get a new OP and ED, and are quickly and efficiently re-introduced to Sakura by watching her morning routine. She’s still having the dream about Tokyo Tower and a figure she believes to be Mizuki-senpai, but doesn’t know what it all means quite yet.

As the sakura petals fall Sakura glides to school on her rollerblades, escorted by Yukito, who is now in the twelfth grade with Touya. To celebrate Sakura’s eleventh birthday and start of fifth grade, he gives her a gift, which sends her into “dreamy mode”, a state she also enters upon learning Mizuki-sensei will be their new full-time teacher.

Yukito’s gift is a cute watch with a wing motif that matches many of Sakura’s outfits and accessories. But the Clow Card of the week isn’t time-related, but weather related. Despite being April snow starts to fall, and by the time Sakura has finished a pot of stew for dinner, there’s forty inches on the ground and Touya comes in soaked.

Sakura uses Fly to pick Tomoyo up to investigate, and she’s ready with a new pink snow bunny battle costume as well as her camcorder. They encounter Syaoran and Meiling in Penguin Park, who keep from sinking into the deep snow thanks to Syaoran’s magic; Sakura eventually does the same with Float.

Things take a turn when the Clow Card starts enveloping Sakura and Syaoran in a blizzardy vortex. Syaoran reluctantly rides with Sakura on her Fly staff to lure the storm away from their non-magical friends, but running isn’t enough to stop Snow. After Syaoran’s fire sword has some effect, Sakura realizes she lost her watch in all the hub-bub. She unleashes Fiery, which seems to feed on her anger as it sweeps all of the amassed snow in the town away.

After sealing Snow, Sakura breaks down in tears, but Syaoran tenderly comforts her, saying he’ll help her search for it until it’s found, however long it takes. Such a gentleman! Unfortunately, Mizuki-sensei steals his thunder by producing the watch, having had a “hunch” it was Sakura’s.

Like Shinomoto Akiho in Clear Card nineteen years later, Mizuki Kaho is an enigma who is seemingly perfect in normal life but hiding no small share of secrets when appearing in Sakura’s dreams (if it is indeed Mizuki—it sure looks like her). In the meantime, between Sakura’s reactions to her gift and the winter landscapes, the second season is off to a beautiful and touching start.