#precious akiho

[aliceinclockland]

(cardcaptor high school au drabble)

akiho & kaito's first day in crystal high would be their scary (and kinda awkward) introductions to section cosmos— reasons being:

1. they transferred in the middle of the school year (the school rarely allows those type of transfers), and

2. they had not-so-good experiences with the previous schools they were enrolled in.

but at the end they went home happy :)

kaito actually attended school 3 days after because he wasn't sure if they'll be accepted by their classmates or they'll be the "odd ones" again, just like the past schools.

on akiho's first day, he really didn't want her to go, but akiho assured him that she can handle herself, and added that if he's really worried, he can go with her anytime (after all, lilie enrolled BOTH of them and it's supposedly his first day too). in the end, he denied the offer and chose to anxiously wait for her to be home.

after hearing akiho telling lots of stories after her first day, he became curious. it was rare to see akiho telling school stories while smiling, so he wanted to see the section for himself.

he went with her on the third day. it was a wednesday. new students typically get introduced at the beginning of the week, but there he was, standing by the board. silently waiting for their teacher's cue for him to introduce himself to the class.

"good day, everyone. my name is kaito." he says as he looks for akiho's face in the crowd.

his face remains emotionless as the class looks at him curiously.

"i just transferred here, and i live with akiho's family. that is all." he says as he looked over to where akiho is seated and saw two girls talking to her. from what he remembers from her first day stories, these two must be the students named sakura and tomoyo.

the teacher assigned the seat behind akiho, but before he sat there he wanted to introduce himself to the girls who made akiho happy on her first day.

tomoyo was intrigued by his mannerisms while sakura tells him it's alright to be informal with them. kaito told them they both learned how to speak their language in a formal manner so it's hard to change it. tomoyo joked that she finally have "formal-speaking buddies".

during lunch break, the three girls invited him to eat lunch with the entire group, where he met the rest of them.

naoko and chiharu shared some gossip they've heard about kaito— mainly how "mysterious" he is and how many girls are interested in him. he was worried that he might've done something bad to be within the radar of any student here. the two assures him that what they've heard about him has been mostly positive.

kaito and akiho then opened their lunch box, and everyone marveled at how cute every dish looks. akiho proudly commented that kaito made all of it himself. kaito swore that he could see sparkles in everyone's eyes when they looked at him, probably out of curiosity.

not used to all this attention, he blurted out that he learned how to cook at a very young age. rika, who just arrived (she had to run some errands for a teacher), said that she had to do the same thing too.

that's when they got reminded that everyone haven't introduced themselves properly to kaito yet, so they did.

rika volunteered to be first, since she talked last in the most recent conversation, then yamazaki followed suit. he was about to give a random trivia before chiharu cuts him out with her introduction. naoko followed after, and then syaoran was next.

last to introduce themselves were sakura and tomoyo. after they introduced, kaito honestly confessed that he has heard a lot about the group, and he thanked all of them for taking care of akiho on her first two days.

sakura then told him that akiho is their friend, and that she and kaito can join the group anytime.

the rest of the day was a breeze, and kaito was more than happy that they both ended up in section cosmos.

it's almost as if fate decided that him and akiho will meet sakura's friend group because it knows that they'll be warmly welcomed by them.

for the first time, he looks forward in going to school with akiho.

=====

and cut!

my brain is having too much thoughts rn so this might not be as coherent but the plot outline in my head is:

kaito and akiho's first day. akiho went to school first, kaito went on their 3rd day, was welcomed by everyone despite his fear of them being treated like they're different taking over, and he's never been happier to go to school with akiho after he met sakura's group.

still remained a man of few words, though.

I'd like to believe that him and syaoran actually became close bc they share some similarities 😁

i think that's it? good night 😴

[meimi-haneoka]

Akiho & Kaito

[cure-mango]

Mom Fight : Round TWO

[ecargmura]

Delicious Party ♥️ Precure Episode 1 Review - Food Is Smiles

Since I finished two animes, I think there’s room for me to squeeze in a new anime review of an older show before the influx of Fall 2023 anime reviews come by. Right now, I’m enjoying Delicious Party Precure; I like watching it when I’m eating. It’s a different experience from watching Hirogaru Sky! Precure weekly. People say that this particular Precure season is hated, so I’ll sit down and see for myself if it’s as bad as people say it is. Also, I am a Precure noob, so please go easy on me with my review of this show!

The first episode is just like Hirogaru Sky—fast and straightforward. The fantasy land Cookingdom is in trouble as the Recipe Bon has been stolen by the Bundoru Gang. It’s up to Rosemary to track it down with the help of three Energy fairies. He goes to a place called Oishina Town where he meets Yui Nagomi after Kome-Kome brings her to him. Cookingdom harbors food fairies called Recipeppis that take the shape of food. When the Omurice Recipeppi gets captured by the Bundoru Gang’s minion, Gentlu, it’s up to Rosemary to stop them, but Yui steps in to help him by using Kome-Kome’s power to become a Precure.

It seems that asking Earthlings for help and them becoming Precures is the formula for Precure. I think what Precure does best from the two shows I’ve seen is that the first episodes are always fast and to the point, which is a good thing; no unnecessary dragging and details. The story introduces the conflict, the MC, what she’s like, helps out the source of the Precure powers, and then becomes a Precure and then rinse and repeat until the finale. Since this is a popular show, I can see why this formula works and why the franchise keeps on going til this day.

I like how different this Precure show is compared to its successor Hirogaru Sky. While Hirogaru Sky mainly focuses on isekai elements, Delicious Party Precure’s main focus is about food. Oishina Town is a melting pot of foods. I can see why I get so hungry from watching this show. I love eating food too! The main formula seems to be a Recipeppi getting kidnapped by the Bundoru Gang and then possessing a kitchen utensil to make an Ubauzo. 

Yui Nagomi is a cute girl! Her biggest defining trait is that she loves eating. She’s obsessed with rice balls and is teased to be a glutton by her childhood friend Takumi Shinada. It seems that her love for rice balls, or eating in general, is stemmed from a memory of her seeing a “rice ball fairy” after her grandmother gave her a rice ball to calm her down after she cried. Overall, I do like how she has a good upbringing. She has a family who loves her, friends who care about her, and a kind heart.

Rosemary, or Mary, seems to be the deuteragonist of this story as he’s the one who brought the Energy Fairies to Oishina Town. I like how much personality he brings to the episode. He’s flamboyant, fruity, and kind; I love the different funny faces he makes throughout the episode. I can see him being an older brother figure for Yui. It seems that his stone necklace is able to give him many different powers like making energy whips and making a Delicious Field. I didn’t like the fact that his stone breaks so quickly. Like, I know it’s for plot purposes, but it feels contrived. How will Mary contribute to the Precures in the future?

Takumi is an interesting case as he seems to be Yui’s possible love interest. He does have a crush on her, but seems to be a tsundere. The masked boy in the opening with the nice hat is definitely him. So, will he be a Precure or is he the Tuxedo Mask of this show?

The villains are the Bundoru Gang. I think the group name is a pun on the word “bundle”. Anyways, for now, they seem one note. Gentle does have an interesting design. I do wonder why they stole the Recipe Bon. Why are they capturing Recipeppis? I just hope that the villains of this show will be more fleshed out as Hirogaru’s villains aren’t that developed.

The transformation scene was amazing! While Hirogaru Sky had some amazing transformations, Cure Precious’s transformation looks aesthetically better animation wise; I think that any transformation looks better than Cure Prism’s at this point. I love the top to bottom focus the transformation has compared to Hirogaru where they focus on head, feet, body and then accessories. Though, the only thing that confuses me is that her name is Cure Precious and not Cure Delicious. Why Precious? Is it because of how food is precious? The music that accompanies the transformation scene is super addictive! I love the usage of guitar towards the middle of the sequence!

The voice acting is superb. Yui’s voice acting is done by a rookie, and I really like her voice. Mary is voiced by Tomoaki Maeno; I usually associate Maeno with cool, stern characters so for him to voice comic relief and effeminate Rosemary is definitely a treat to hear. Yuma Uchida voices Takumi. I know for a fact that he will play a bigger role in the future because they wouldn’t hire a popular VA like him if he was just a minor character in a big name franchise like this. Ai Kayano voices Gentlu and I just get reminded of Dominique from The Case Study of Vanitas. However, since she is voiced by Kayano, I do believe that this villain will be important later on.

Right now, I like what I am seeing. I just hope that it doesn’t fall off later on because longer shows do have a tendency to do that at times. Also, I apologize if I keep comparing Delicious Party with Hirogaru Sky. Like I said, I’m not too familiar with Precure, so the comparisons are inevitable since I’m more familiar with the latter.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Bonus:

[merryfortune]

biscuits for a day of remembrance

Written for Ficwip Discord’s August 100 Words Event

Title: biscuits for a day of remembrance

Ship: Takumi/Yui

Fandom: Delicious Party Pretty Cure

Word Count: 1,000

Rating: T

Warning: Canonical Character Death

Tags: Grief, Mourning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, Food as a Metaphor for Love

   Takumi woke up for the day, he was struck by dread. The birds didn’t sing outside, the frost lingered, and the skies were grey. The whole town, it seemed, knew exactly what made this Sunday so out of the ordinary and so utterly tragic.

   Time all but stood still in remembrance to a certain woman whose reputation was known far and wide in this town. Today marked exactly one year since the passing of Nagomi Yone.

   In the kitchen, Takumi stood like a zombie. He wasn’t hungry, he just wanted to pay his morning dues. In a similar fugue state, his Mother gave him an apologetic look. She knew, too, and had already made plans and arrangements to give Akiho and Hikaru the day off. That meant he was tasked with occupying Yui.

   His stomach clenched at the thought of his best friend. Poor Yui. She had been closer than anyone to her grandmother, absorbing all her wisdom and clinging onto her dress the way only a granddaughter could. 

   It wasn’t the same but he could relate to the gaping hole left by a precious person’s absence. Just look at his Father, even on a day like this, he was still far away and on that boat in a different part of the world. It was tough. But at least for Takumi, who still had all four of his grandparents, it was temporary.

   Takumi got changed and it was eleven by the time he went next door. With the diner closed, the front of the house was eerily quiet. The lights were off and the gloomy weather hung like a ghost. He came around the side and into the main part of the house. Where it was a home. Or should have been. It was so cold today. Felt lifeless and lonely yet when Takumi saw Yui, he was relieved.

   There she was. In the kitchen, humming a little tune to herself. She had her hair done up in a bun today. That was uncharacteristic but understandable on a day like today as it was just like her nan’s favourite hairstyle.

   When she noticed him, she turned around with a bittersweet smile.

   “Ah. Hey Takumi. Mum said you would be around soon.” Yui said, her voice cracking. “I-It’s nice that our parents are friends, they’ve gone to have lunch somewhere. Or, uh, maybe brunch since it’s not noon yet.” She laughed awkwardly.

   Takumi came closer, leaned against the entryway to the kitchen, where tatami met tiling underfoot. He could smell something  crispy and somewhat sweet in the air when he poked his head in.

   “How’re you holding up?” Takumi asked.

   “Y-Yeah, fine.” Yui clearly lied. She was honest to a fault as she pawed at her eyes. They were shiny and rimmed red. “Um, I’ve had a, uh, cry or two already this morning but…”

   “You're working out your feelings the way you know best.” Takumi said and he gestured to the workspace in the kitchen.

   The mess that Yui made seemed reflective of her headspace. Nothing was neat and clean, there was flour and desiccated coconut sprinkled on the benchtop. Her wooden spoon perched precariously on the sink’s edge was still slathered in batter.

   Yui nodded. 

   “Whatcha making?” Takumi asked.

   “Army biscuits.” Yui replied. “You're just in time, they’re almost done.”

   “What’re army biscuits?” Takumi asked.

   “They’re from Australia and given to folks who you aren’t going to see in a while. They don’t spoil easily so they’re good for long journeys.” Yui said, her pacing off-kilter.

   She brushed herself down, skirt flapping, and started to walk into the den, so Takumi joined her. They sat down together. It was obvious that Yui was feeling fragile but at the same time, talkative so it was better to continue cross-legged versus standing up.

   “D-Did you know?” Yui asked. “My Grandmother, she did some travelling in her youth. Including Australia which is where she learned this recipe. It's made with coconut, oats, and golden syrup. They’re hard and crunchy but so yummy.”

   “I look forward to trying one then.” Takumi replied.

   “They’ll be ready soon.” Yui said then got flustered. She had already said that. She fidgeted atop the table as she got upset with herself. Takumi reached out and stroked her hands, running his fingers over her knuckles.

   “When you're ready.” Takumi told her again.

   “Thanks.” Yui breathed a sigh of relief. “I-I thought they would be a good choice for today. Grandmother said these biscuits are baked around times of remembrance, so, um, I thought it was fitting.”

   “I see.” Takumi murmured.

   Neither had anything to say to that so it turned into a mutual minute silence for Yone. It was a heavy silence which had Yui shuddering as she tried not to cry but she was boiling over like a kettle on the stove. Takumi was a non-judgemental presence but ever an awkward teenage boy, he didn’t know what to say.

   Luckily, he didn’t have to say anything. Yui’s timer went off and she went flying to the kitchen in response. Anything to flee her feelings as she opened the oven, was blasted by the heat inside and drew out the cookies on the tray over the rack.

   Takumi could smell them from here. They had a wholesome, hearty smell to them decadent with caramelised golden syrup. Yui impatiently plated them, singing her fingers by accident. 

   “They’re ready.” Yui said. “And be careful, they’re hot.”

   Takumi nodded and let Yui place them in the middle of the low table but waited for her first. She got onto her knees and took a deep breath, then spoke.

   “Thank you for this recipe, Grandmother.” she said.

   “Thank you.” Takumi echoed.

   Yui reached for the top biscuit piled upon the plate. She breathed, shuddering, and they were still too hot to handle and that made her tear up, or maybe she was already tearing up because of her grandmother then ate, with gusto, and let her tears stream down her face.

[haro-hawayu]

CCS: Clear Card Ch. 73

Already another month!! I saw that Touya was trending on Twitter but made sure not to spoil myself... wonder what that’s about OuO! Latest chapter can be found on CLAMP-net’s YouTube Channel. As always, do check out @meimi-haneoka's post on the latest chapter for any EN-JPN translation differences. There’s a big one!!

Links for previous chapter reactions can be found here.

Reactions

LILIE IS SO GORGEOUS AHHHHHH

Kero and Suppi are so cute, especially Suppi XD

But also... the mentioning of but NO appearance of Touya... seems suspicious still... like has he noticed anything??

Even though their rooms are laid out the same, just look at all those books in Akiho’s room.

Yes! Both girls are unique in their own way and each precious!!

IT’S KAITO’S POCKET WATCH!! IT’S HERE! It’s damaged TuT

Even though Akiho doesn’t know why, she feels the need to fix the watch, and she instinctively knows this watch is very important!! YES THOSE ARE YOUR BODY’S MEMORIES (or your re-written/suppressed memories... whatever the word is) SPEAKING!!

I think the state of the watch might relate to the state of Kaito in whatever limbo space he’s in right now... no worries, Akiho is working hard!

Wah! Sakura already dropping the bomb?? 

Omgsh... I just... love that Akiho’s so open-minded here and even happy/content that they’re different. Like there’s no sadness or feelings of jealousy or regret or whatever over what Sakura has and she doesn’t have. Will expand on this more later~

Wah~ and it looks like Akiho’s words are triggering some memories for Sakura!!

OMGSH RECORD!!!

MOMO!

Ahhhhh TUT Sakura crying for Akiho here!!

Thoughts:

Okay so I forgot that because of the “rewrite” that Sakura would have no knowledge of the Clear Cards that she had created since uhh this series started lol. This makes a lot of sense now. 

Oh yeah, so to expand more about the two girls and how there’s a huge emphasis on each individual’s uniqueness. I love that so much. I love that so much for both of them. For a while, I thought Kaito’s plan was to swap their lives or something, when in fact, that was not the case. I think that probably caused a lot mixed feeling amongst fans and readers about Kaito and Akiho. But with the recent chapters, we find out that Kaito fooled all of us (including Momo), and he only wanted to right the wrongs that he had caused--at his own expense and not others! So it’s not like he wished for Akiho to have Sakura’s life, but he just wishes for her to be in a place where she can be safe, happy, and experience love (thinking that his own, which he denies the existence of, is not enough). Even though they are “twins” in this rewritten timeline, I love that the girls are so supportive of each other, and even after Sakura revealed the whole thing about magic to Akiho, Akiho only felt excitement rather than any regret or sadness. Their love and admiration for each other is still just as genuine as it was prior to this timeline, and I love that it still shows. 

And that part where Sakura was getting her memories back of the previous timeline and shedding tears. Like, those are definitely for Akiho’s “loss” that Akiho doesn’t realize yet--and Sakura just feels so so much for her. I hope Akiho can also remember these things soon. I know for sure that she will definitely be a major key to reaching wherever Kaito is (hi pocket watch that needs fixing), and Sakura will be there to help in her own way (like how Akiho said earlier that there are things that only Sakura can/can’t do despite having magic AND there are things that only Akiho herself can/can’t do despite not having magic).

Note: The whole thing that Momo explains in the end is apparently... translated differently in different versions?? So please be sure to check out @meimi-haneoka​‘s post on the latest chapter for further clarifications!!

That being said... I wonder why Touya was trending on Twitter... is it a different Touya?? Was his absence that big of a deal that he was trending?? Huh????

[lilover131]

Clear Card Chapter 71 Analysis

I’m back! Happy March everyone! I apologize for the delay in posting this analysis! I’ve had some personal stuff going on that has kept me quite distracted, but I finally buckled down and got this done! I sincerely appreciate the patience of anyone who was waiting!

 This chapter definitely has a much warmer vibe (although bittersweet) than last month’s, so here is my gif of the month for this chapter.

Without further ado, let’s talk about it!

The color page this month is relatively simple and shows Sakura standing while surrounded by the many different outfits related to the Two Alices play or “Alice in Clockland” depending I guess on which timeline it is. It’s nice to see all of them in full color now (which certainly helps with fanart. Haha), however something about this image definitely gives me the vibe that there is more to come in regards to this. I don’t think they’re done with the original timeline just yet.

 The chapter begins with a typical Sakura morning as she runs around frantically getting dressed due to oversleeping. A friend very quickly pointed out that the house actually has an entirely new section added to it that wasn’t there before, and this is very likely Akiho’s room.

I find it really comical that Suppi mentions how Sakura absentmindedly turned off both her alarms and went back to sleep. If you saw it happen Suppi, then WHY DIDN’T YOU WAKE HER UUUPPPPP? Lol. I am somewhat surprised though to see Suppi there (though I guess I shouldn’t since they were seen to be there for the end of the play), because the original reason he and Nakuru showed up was because things were happening in Japan. I wonder what the reason is for their arrival in this particular timeline? Is it just a visit, perhaps to see the play or meet Sakura’s twin? In that case, I wonder if Eriol and Kaho are there as well, since they couldn’t travel before due to the risk of Kaito bringing the plane down.

 Can I pause for a moment too to talk about how cute Sakura’s new uniform is? I love the all black look (even the ends of the sleeves are black now instead of white), and the addition of the leggings is just so freaking adorable!

Sakura comes down to see Akiho cooking breakfast, and it warms my heart to see her actually cooking. That was something she wanted to learn before to cook for Kaito (they’re croqueetteeesss toooooo), so to see her doing it independently makes me think of what could’ve been had she continued to learn in the other timeline. I think over time, she would’ve turned out to be a great cook, so this new timeline pretty much proves that. The narration from Sakura explains next that Akiho had bad health since she was little and that she spent a lot of time living with their great grandfather for treatment before recently moving back in with them. I’m not entirely sure why it was necessary for her to move for treatment, but I doubt CLAMP will go into any detail about that because that would probably introduce more plot holes or headaches for them to try and cover up. Hahahaha. I suppose it really isn’t important anyways, but I actually am really happy for Masaki, their great grandfather. He was devastated losing Nadeshiko, so I bet having Akiho around probably made him really really happy. Maybe this also means that Fujitaka and him had a better relationship to start, but I’m not entirely sure what the implications of that is.

 Speaking of Fujitaka, in the next page, he arrives downstairs and greets the both of them. He eats alone with the girls since Touya had an early morning shift and one after class too (jeez this boy never stops working), but Fujitaka is eager to try what Akiho cooked. He tries it and immediately loves it, and the way Akiho just lights up after being praised for her cooking is just so precious.

 It’s explained how Akiho transferred to her school that year and was in the same class (just like in the original timeline), and despite having been separated most of their lives, Sakura is looking forward to making a bunch of happy memories with her to make up for the time lost. This reminds me a bit of how Syaoran was turned into a toddler after Sakura wished they would have met sooner. But Syaoran reminded her that they had a whole future to build happy memories together. 

 The two of them start walking to school, and as it starts to snow, Sakura becomes and overly protective older sister and starts wrapping her scarf around Akiho (who already has a scarf) to keep her nice and warm. Hahaha. Akiho asks if Sakura will be cold now without her scarf, but she insists that she’ll be okay and that she doesn’t want Akiho to get a fever. Honestly, I love seeing protective Sakura. Normally, it’s everyone else around her protecting her, but seeing her on the other side is just so freaking cute.

 Tomoyo naturally appears shortly after and commends Sakura for being such a good big sister, and Akiho mentions how she’s been feeling better than usual and not feeling any pain (oh lord, she’s been feeling pain? Poor thing…). Sakura and Tomoyo both say they will look out for her if anything changes, but Sakura adds on that Akiho is very precious to her. Tomoyo comments that maybe a sister complex runs in the family, and that one honestly made me laugh pretty good.

 When Sakura arrives to school, Syaoran is there waiting for her and the two talk about how cold it got overnight. After being asked if she was under the weather at all, Sakura answers that she is doing just fine as well as the cards. She mentions talking to the Mirror card the night before, and this seems to confirm that the Sakura cards are back with her, though in this timeline, I’m not sure that Syaoran would have ever taken them away. This does call into question though whether the Clear cards still exist or not. Somehow I have a feeling they do but are floating in some place cut off from time (maybe in the book where Kaito likely is?).

 Syaoran asks her why she wanted to talk to the Mirror card, and she tells him that she has been pondering on the thought of telling Akiho about everything that happened while they were apart, including her magical adventures. Syaoran thinks this would be shocking for her (though doesn’t seem to imply in any way that this is a bad idea), but Sakura thinks that even if she was shocked by it, that Akiho would likely believe her (I mean, it wouldn’t take much to convince her since you could literally show her). Syaoran seems somewhat saddened by the thought that she can’t use magic, but Sakura focuses on how Akiho is a kind and very strong person (girl, you have no idea). She’s asked if she trusts her, and Sakura answers that she does, to which Syaoran comments would make sense since she’s her twin. But Sakura states that even if she wasn’t her sister, she would trust her, and that time together isn’t always needed to help know how one feels.

 Syaoran smiles at her in understanding, and Sakura blushes (naturally) before mentioning that she would also want to tell her about him, such as the day they met and how he always came to her rescue. She finishes by saying she wants to tell her about the “most important person in her life”, and lord I can’t help but swoon a bit at this. And just when I thought my heart was already bursting at this cuteness, they knock it up another notch by holding hands and touching their foreheads together, and OMG I CAN’T DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL.

It's so nice seeing them be able to touch again, but I just absolutely adore the way these two show their love to each other. It’s just so pure and warm and *clutches heart again*

 Sakura talks about how she hopes too that Akiho can tell her all about her most important person, and it’s at this point that the pain comes back. Lol. Kaito’s absence really does hit hard with these words, but there isn’t much time to ponder on it before Sakura is suddenly thrust into the dream world and sees…the cloaked figure.

 Admittedly, I was not at all expecting this whatsoever, especially in the middle of such a sweet scene, but omg the hyyyyyype. I feel hyped because it feels like it’s one step closer to things ramping up again. But I gotta say…when the hood came down, my jaw pretty much dropped. Hahaha. It’s LILLIE!!! She’s younger in appearance it seems, and she claims that she is there to meet Sakura in a dream. I am so so so curious to see what all of this is about and what it all means. Why is Lillie younger? Is this a dream from Lillie’s past (dreams after all bend the rules of time)? Or has she been reborn in a new life and is now the same age as Sakura and Akiho? I really want to know the implications of this timeline on Lillie’s existence, but obviously I’m just dying to hear what it is she has to say. My hope is she has a way to save Kaito, but I suppose we’ll just have to wait to find out.

There are definitely lots of questions to be answered, and I hope CLAMP starts doing so in the next month. Until next time everyone!

[tsubasaclones]

Glad to see I’m not the only one disliking Clear Card’s ending…

I don’t like Kaito either (large age gap ships in media have always made uncomfortable) but tbh I like Akiho even less. Please don’t take this as a hate message because it’s not, I know some people like her a lot, but for me, from very early on the way Clamp wrote her came off as if they were telling us readers “look, we know you love Sakura, so we created this character and made her SUPER similar to Sakura. And she’ll be like a co-protagonist alongside Sakura. You HAVE to love her” I don’t know. I always felt like they were trying so hard for us to like her as much or nearly as much as we like Sakura. They were throwing in so many similarities/parallels throughout the whole manga that, at least in my case, it made me feel really pressured to like Akiho, and as a result I ended up disliking her and resenting her. Because I don’t like being pushed to like or not like things. Which is sad because I think if they had written her differently I would’ve loved her. She’s sweet, and kind, and shy, and a bookworm. She could’ve been a really precious character to me if they had handled her and her story differently. If they had made her more of her own character, instead of trying to make another Sakura with just a few differences from the original Sakura (such as Sakura enjoying sports vs Akiho enjoying reading) I would’ve liked her. If Akiho and Kaito entering the story hadn’t meant OG characters getting much less focus (especially Tomoyo, who was a secondary yet major character before, but even Syaoran got less focus than before and he’s dating Sakura now and finally reunited with her) I would’ve liked her. And if they had given Akiho a love interest that was around the same age as her, that would’ve been the cherry on top for me. I know some people say Kaito is a teen, but to me he just looks like… a young adult. And Akiho looks her age. Which inevitably makes me think of pairs like Rika/Terada or any of Kaho’s canon ships right away. So for my own peace of mind I try to not think about their implied future relationship at all, or to just interpret it as a one-sided crush on Akiho’s side.

Idk. Sorry for the rant. I should probably point out that, even if I don’t like the characters or the ship, I still respect that other fans love them and I don’t want this message to come off as me attacking anyone or trying to ruin anything for anyone. This is more just me trying to get some things off my chest in what I hope is a safe space. I have mostly found fans who like them and ship them and who seem to be totally okay with the things Clamp have done in the sequel, and it was a relief to find someone who didn’t seem to think that way. CCS is really precious to me, I’ve been a fan for about 20 years and… I don’t know. I was expecting more from this sequel. And I hope that if anyone who likes Kaito, Akiho, their ship or just everything in Clear Card reads this, they’ll be able to respect my feelings as well.

it's okay anon i understand not liking akiho. it's super annoying how clamp is like LOOK SHE'S JUST LIKE SAKURA when, ironically, the things i like most about her are the things about her that aren't like sakura.

that being said though i cannot say the same about respecting the ship. i do not respect shipping kaito and akiho in any capacity.

[grac3nocturne]

I finally catched up on card captor sakura clear card today and i love these childs so much, i am crying they are so precious, please protect them!!!!

the story of Akiho and Kaito, i love them, my precious.

[science-fantasy-superheroes]

PE AU: Scene 28

Scene 28:

The VKs sit at a lunch table, Doug sits next to Evie, and all of them are in a bad mood.

Taylor, Akiho, and Amir see them and head over.

Taylor: “Hey, Jay, we’re sorry about what happened. Chad was totally in the wrong.”

Akiho and Amir nod in agreement.

Jay’s eyes never leave the table.

Jay: “You guys should go before you get hurt.” He mumbles.

They glance at Mal– her cold glare boring into them the whole time– back at Jay– still refusing to look at them– then, with great reluctance, they walk away.

Ben takes his chance to approach.

Ben: “I’m so sorry, you all. I…” He shakes his head, changing his mind against what he was going to say. “I don’t have any excuses for what happened. It was terrible and nothing less. But I will do everything I can to make it up to you.”

Mal: “Then you can start by leaving us alone.” She growls.

Evie: “Mal…” Evie half-heartedly scolds.

Mal: “Just be glad I haven’t made Doug leave. And that’s only because he’s quiet.”

Though hurt that she was implying threatening Doug, Evie gives her a piteous look.

Jane: “Ah! Chad!”

In the near distance, Chad is holding Jane’s hat over her head, revealing the sliced-up mess on her head.

Chad: “Ew!” He laughs.

Audrey: “Aw, Jane, what happened to your precious haircut from your precious Mal? Did it fall apart after you chose to side with evil?” She mocks her.

Jane shrinks into herself, but making eye contact with Carlos instills a bit of confidence in her.

Jane: “They’re not evil! You’re evil for doing this to me!”

Audrey: “Spreading lies, too?” Her eyes flare. “It’s your own fault your looks match your actions.”

Mal glowers until she’s had enough and searches for a spell.

Mal: “Beware, forswear, undo Jane’s hair.”

Carlos looks to Mal with horror, but, fortunately, the spell only returns Jane to her original haircut. (It still makes Lonnie touch her long hair in fear of losing it next.) It’s not the one she wanted, but it looks nice.

Mal stands up to face the group, a warning gleam in her eyes.

Mal: “There’s a lot more where that came from.”

Audrey: “Excuse me, who do you think you are?”

Mal: “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

Lonnie starts slowly backing away, but Audrey– and thus her entourage– remains defiantly in place. So, Mal starts flipping through her spellbook, scaring them into running off.

Jane glances at Carlos, who nods, signaling for her to go too. Taylor, Akiho, and Amir come up beside her in support so she feels safe and not alone.

Evie: “Maybe it’s best you and Ben go.”

Doug gives her an “Are you sure?” look and she nods. He hesitates, but he gets up and takes Ben, who tries to protest a bit but ultimately concedes, with him.

With them gone, Mal turns back to her friends with a malicious smile.

Mal: “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.” But she can’t even make that smile last. “Let’s grab that wand and blow this popsicle stand.” She says darkly as she walks away.

Her friends follow, not really having an appetite for lunch.

[I understand that this and the previous scene were meant to set up why the VKs didn’t give up on their plan, but it sure didn’t leave any reasons for them ultimately not to. It basically turned the conflict from “Can the VKs be good?” to “The Auradonians don’t seem to be good, so do they deserve to be overthrown?” And with how canon went down, I’m inclined to say yes.

Especially with Mal’s speech to her friends at the end not really countering my point. If the villains overthrew Auradon: Evie would still be smart, Jay could make a team, play sports, and have victory pizza with The Isle teens (after they settled into not living in scarcity), and Carlos could potentially keep Dude if he hid him or convinced Cruella that Dude was “his”. Even Mal could still go to school (after everyone settled into not living in scarcity), and potentially keep Ben alive by claiming he’s under a love spell (and with the way he acts, he’d probably still be in love with her, so she’d also get that).

My solution for this AU was to make the themes about second chances (to tie in with the 3rd movie too) and “What does it mean to be good?”. For the first theme, the VKs need to believe the Auradonians aren’t going to waste it (which includes freeing the other VKs), and for the second theme, they need to have more examples than Ben and Remedial Goodness 101. So, I gave them Ben, Doug, Jane, Taylor, Akiho, and Amir. (Taylor is named and has a one-word voice clip during the tourney tryouts; Akiho and Amir [mistakenly referred to as, “Come here!” in the Wiki transcript] are named during the tourney game.)

(Carlos cares about Dude as much as he cares about all his friends, but Dude can’t argue with him about bringing the villains to Auradon, nor can he back him up if he argues with his best friends, so his mind finds it easier to convince him that he can keep Dude safe and not let his best friends down. But Jane would argue with him, and she could back him up… if he could tell her… His mind is all too aware of the danger she’ll be in if he goes through with the plan.)

(Ideally, Taylor’s line would go to whoever of Taylor, Akiho, and Amir is the best actor, but Taylor already had a line– technically– so he gets to be the placeholder.)

Mal doesn’t restore Jane’s long hair because she knows Jane would likely get attacked again.]

Masterlist

[meimi-haneoka]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Color Page

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Books In Fujitaka's Library

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Cards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brand New World With You

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My True Name Is....

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

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

Kaito is pleased to see her happy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"That's my alias"

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I want you to know it"

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

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

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

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

"Cristaux. That's my true name".

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kaito smiles softly at Akiho's words.

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

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

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

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

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

You'll Be Together Forever!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So it's like this:

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

Furigana (reading): コスモス (Cosmos)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This translation is a failure for two reasons:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you soon!!

[cure-mango]

Mom Fight : Round ONE

[ecargmura]

Delicious Party Precure Episode 2 Review - Officially Teaming Up

I feel bad for Rosemary. Imagine being stuck in a foreign planet with no way back and on top of that, you have to rely on a child in middle school to help you defeat the enemies and search for the Recipe Bon and Recipeppis. It’s understandable that he is trying to be a reasonable adult and not get a child like her into danger because of him. He gets stressed out and behaves a bit out of his usual character because of this. This reminds me a lot of how Cure Sky didn’t want Cure Prism to be in fights because she was afraid she’d get hurt before realizing that they need to work together to make things work. That was pretty much this episode in a nutshell. Though,  Rosemary looks like a fit adult, why can’t he just punch or kick Ubauzo or Gentlu if he lost his abilities to use his powers? Throwing hands is much better than not doing anything at all.

I like learning a lot about the Cookingdom. The CooKing is a bit eccentric while the CooQueen is calmer and the info dump of the two. I think they work well together as they both know the ins and outs of the gadgets and lore from their kingdom. Sometimes, in animes, rulers turn out to be some of the most incompetent people and out right useless. Fortunately, these two don’t seem to be the case. Rosemary possesses a Delicious Stone, which is what CooKingdom’s knights possess; he is seemingly a knight of that kingdom and a high-ranking one at that too.

Regarding the Bundoru Gang, I think the boss seems to be someone from the CooKingdom as it seems that people from that world are the only ones aware of what Precures are. I have two guesses on who the boss might be: either that Fennel guy introduced or the master Rosemary briefly mentioned. I have no idea who this master is, but hopefully he’ll be introduced later on. Why I think Fennel might be the Bundoru boss is that his voice is deep. If you touch a deep voiced person’s voice, it’ll become even deeper…right? Anyways, what I’ve learned from Persona 4 is that the culprit is always the person you least expect to be the killer, but it makes sense; they have to not be the main character too.

In terms of the other characters that are not Rosemary, Yui’s a nice girl who decides to help Rosemary out with his quest to search for the Recipe Bon and save the Recipeppis. I do feel like she sort of accepted it thoughtlessly, but given how she’s someone who loves helping others, as shown by the flashback of her with the stray cat she once helped, it makes sense why she’d do this. She loves food and helping others, so it’s a double win for her.  I feel bad for Takumi who got left behind after the whole Ubauzo incident in the first episode and then got forgotten by Yui who suddenly remembered him after realizing she left him behind; on top of that, Yui then pleads him to take in this strange man she just met into his family’s guest house. Like, girl, do you not have any sense of stranger danger? Though, I do wonder about Rosemary asking if he had met Takumi somewhere. Given that Takumi is definitely the caped guy in the intro, there might be a connection there? The Bundoru Gang is just the Bundoru Gang.

I think the stand out character for this episode is Akiho Nagomi, Yui’s mother. I think she’s really sweet. I can tell Yui grew up as a loving girl because her mother trusts and respects her. I can see that she trusts her when Yui asks if she could take care of Kome-Kome. While most Asian moms would freak out if their child had brought in a strange animal, Akiho is calm and composed despite wondering if Kome-Kome is a dog or a cat. I love the fact that she knows how capable Yui is as she says “I believe you can do it.” I think the fact that she’s the only character interested in Rosemary’s beauty tips was both cute and funny.

I also really like the comedy. I feel bad for the brown haired girl. She’s been in comedic moments when it came to food. She got knocked over while on a ramen delivery and was in the Omurice shop during Gentlu’s attack in the previous episode and this episode, she was just eating karaage and then Gentlu attacks. I think my favorite comedic moment was Rosemary’s expression when Yui just casually shows up in the Delicious Field after the Heart Cure Watch guided her to his location. CooKingdom’s technology sure is advanced.

Anyways, now that Yui and Rosemary have decided to cooperate, where will this story head off? How long will it take for the other Precures to join Yui? From the preview, it seems that the girl who will become the blue Precure will be formally introduced next episode after her small appearances in the previous and this episodes. What are your thoughts on this episode?

[muthaz-rapapa]

Losing not one but two children she's known for years.

Losing that young boy she contracted with not because he went crazy for power but because he did everything out of love for an innocent girl who was abused to the point that she was almost beyond saving.

It's too hard knowing how hopeless Momo must've felt about this plan, how much she must've hated its outcome yet couldn't do anything to go against it because one, if she actually did have control over the book she guarded, she would've been too powerful. That's why limiters have been put in place to prevent her from breaking the rules lest she wrecked the world for the sake of her own bias. Otherwise, Akiho and Kaito never would've gone through all that suffering in the first place because Momo wouldn't have allowed it to happen.

And two, because in the end, she had no choice to but to agree with Kaito that they were always going to put Akiho's safety before anything else. Akiho didn't have anything to defend herself from that artifact planted inside her. So the only method they could grab that was within their reach was to switch Akiho out and have someone take her place, eventually losing Kaito.

Then, Akiho wakes up with a whole new history inserted into her head, absolutely no clue about what they both did to preserve her life and enjoying a superficial "happy ending".

Akiho doesn't remember the precious bunny who's been with her since she was just a baby. She doesn't even remember there used to be a person she loved very much, more than anything in the world.

It's no wonder why Momo is not shown by Akiho's side despite there being nothing to stop her from doing so. She likely chose to stay by Kaito, not just to protect him while he's probably in a coma but also because she can't bear to look at Akiho who is only half her true self.

This is not her Akiho. This is not the Akiho that Momo knows. The Akiho who despite all the unfair treatment she received, still found the strength to overcome her pain and keep her pure heart and compassion.

This Akiho is just her surface personality but her real substance is hidden somewhere until the spell of this "happy ending" wears off.

So Momo has to wait, has to wait for all the fail-safes they put in place to activate. The ones that can finally lead Akiho to remember her true past, her love and the only person who can ever make her feel that way.

But there was no telling when that might happen. By the looks of it, weeks have already passed since the Exchange was carried out. Maybe even one or two months by the time Record played this message Momo left in that room. So there's a possibility it could've taken even longer if they weren't so lucky that Sakura managed to talk with Lilie in a dream and sensed the remains of the leftover card shortly afterwards.

Still, this is the only time Momo is shown post-Exchange and it isn't even her real self. It's a recording of her and she still doesn't show up after its playback is done.

She is still patiently, loyally, waiting by Kaito''s side somewhere. She will not go to Akiho, she's waiting for Akiho to come to them. No matter how long it takes or how painful it is to wait for that day to come, Momo chose to believe in Akiho. That Akiho will eventually go to reclaim her true self.

Honestly, it goes without saying that this "happy ending" was never going to last either. The clues (including Kaito's pocket watch) that got left behind and the discrepancies (like the pain in Akiho's heart when she felt like there was something missing, that essentially being her muscle memory that wasn't affected by the rewrite) would have triggered its undoing.

It's been proven before that spells can be broken (Kaito's silencing spell, the two "Alice"s remembering who they really are in Clockland) so this is just another case of that.

Moreover, narratively, this "ending" is very incomplete and leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Because even though everybody and their dog can attest with confidence that Akiho will never be mistreated in the Kinomoto household, the care she's receiving is based more on principle than anything. A principle that is based on the rewrite of their actual memories.

It's akin to showing warm hospitality to a guest and less like true familial love that runs deeper.

Akiho deserves that. Not this façade where she's constantly being viewed as part of a twin set with another person. She deserves to be acknowledged as her own separate individual.

After all she's been through, she should be with people who not only know and accept her entire past but truly comprehend from a similar place how hard it was for her to survive it. People who will know the right words to say specifically to her, who understand how hard it's always going to be for her to remember...but something she's never going to forget because those scars are a part of her. Her sorrow, loneliness, all those darker sides that also make her who she is today.

Nobody else but Kaito and Momo know that Akiho.

And that's why she can never be happy with just "being happy", just being safe with half herself.

No one can be complete by denying the less than perfect aspects of themselves.

You must embrace every part of you to know how whole you really are.

That said, I can understand why Kaito went as far as he did.

With what few ways there were available for him to make use in his situation, too.

It would've been enough to switch his watch for the artifact and then put Akiho in a non-magical family. It didn't have to be the Kinomoto family. He didn't have to alter everyone's memories to make them believe Akiho was born as Sakura's twin.

Another kind family would've been just a good as long as they could provide Akiho with a normal life.

But as spells can break under any circumstances, he wasn't willing to risk that chance of Akiho being in danger again, especially when he wasn't going to be there to protect her.

Should the rewrite become undone somehow, Akiho's clan and the Association will remember who it really was they planted the artifact in and come after Akiho to reclaim her. Possibly even retry the experiment again on her since they failed the first time because Kaito foiled their plans.

That's why he installed her in the Kinomoto house where there would be sufficient protection should that occur. Where there was at least one person (Sakura) who was capable and willing to defend Akiho no matter what.

Nothing about his plan was ever impulsive. Impulsive does not include forethought. Impulsive is acting on the spur of the moment, on reckless behavior or emotions that overtake logical thinking.

Everything he did, he did it meticulously so that there would be no weak spots where Akiho's safety was concerned.

Nobody else could've accomplished this task but him.

Taking Akiho under his protection to escape from a society that sees them as nothing more than tools. Needing to constantly fend off attacks from those magicians, always having guns aimed at his back while on the run. Having to hide all these terrible truths from Akiho for years so that she could grow up in comfort and security and learn to smile without worrying.

Throwing a giant net and luring a young and powerful yet dangerously untrained magician into his trap despite being outnumbered by her group, despite his health rapidly failing him the more he used time magic, and STILL managing to outsmart every single one of them and succeed in his goal.

All for the sake of saving Akiho who means more to him than anything, including his very own existence.

Nobody loves her more than he does so nobody would've been able to go as far as he did for her either. Nobody could've given their everything for her like he did.

That is why only Kaito could ever save Akiho.

[gabbylyons]

Kero saying that Sakura also has a sister complex lmaooo nobody messes with her twin

But for real, Sakura's love for akiho was always one of the most precious things about clear card, and the fact that she can't wait to share everything with her is the proof of the bond that they share