English Dub Review: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card “Sakura, Rainbows, and Grandpa”

With all that has been developing with Sakura, her mother Nadeshiko might be part of it all.

Overview (Spoilers)

A bit of a refresher on Sakura’s family. Sakura’s mother was Nadeshiko Kinomoto, whose cousin is Sonomi Daidouji, mother of Tomoyo. The two women share a grandfather in Masaki Amamiya, a moneybags in his own right and likely an early investor in Daidouji Toys. Masaki is due to leave Japan for a while, and before he does, he wants to see Sakura to give her something. She’s due to go on a date with Syaoran, but they decide to transition that date into “meet my great-grandpa”. After a meal and tea, Masaki manages to get a moment alone with Syaoran.

He talks at length with the boy about Nadeshiko, her radiant joy, and gentle spirit. His greatest regret, however, was not attending her wedding. He also draws a parallel between Syaoran and Nadeshiko’s husband Fujitaka. Both girls chose warm men that Masaki couldn’t bear to hate, no matter how much he doesn’t approve of them.

Sakura, however, has to hunt down a servant to get more tea. There’s nobody to be seen! She wanders the halls of the mansion, and comes to a room with a vaguely familiar feel. It’s her mother’s old room! She steps inside and uses Record to peer back in time, looking at the past in the room. She watches as her own mother grows up, a mother she never really knew. At one point, she sees Nadeshiko out on the veranda, and decides to join her. She reaches out to touch her mother, but the memory itself begins to speak to her.

“That’s enough. You need to stop, or you won’t be able to go back.”

The memory shatters, leaving Sakura in the disturbing vision with the clocks. Simultaneously, Akiho slips into the vision as well. When they snap out of it, Akiho reveals what she saw… She’s been seeing it from Sakura’s perspective the whole time! The mysterious figure’s robes are the same as the ceremonial robes of Shinomoto family. As she rests, Momo and Kaito discuss the vision. It’s evidence that she is synchronizing with “creator of the card”, and shows that things are progressing faster than they had expected.

Elsewhere, Kero, Yue, and Eriol meet through astral projection. They agree. Sakura’s magic is growing at an alarming rate, and the worst may be on the horizon.

Our Take

Before I get into all my theorizing, let’s talk about this episode’s quality. There wasn’t much to the animation, as it was primarily just talking. However, the dialogue dusted the script with the subtle story and contextual reinforcement. We learn more about Nadeshiko and her past, but only in inference from her grandfather. I never expected her character to show up as a part of things in this series, and it’s an interesting development. The voice acting was a bit basic. Masaki’s voice feels like it’s just a scratchy voice a younger man is putting on and lacks the depth of character I’d associate with someone of actual age.

The best part was the transition from Nadeshiko’s memory to the vision. It had the creep factor and sudden shock that I’d associate with horror games and drew my attention immediately. This sudden spook puts you in the mode for things to happen, which is why the sudden revelations feel more hectic. Good stuff.

My Therories

Aaaaaand this episode confirms the theorizing I did from the last episode. Thank you very much! It confirms that these Clear Cards are not a transformation of the Sakura Cards, but a new force created by Sakura’s power directly. we also have a confirmation that it is driven by her dream powers. This explains why Lucid has named what it is. It makes dreams reality.

Akiho’s role is becoming slightly clearer. She isn’t stealing Sakura’s power but is synching up with it. As she does so, she becomes able to read more and more of her magical book. The purposes behind it are still unclear. Perhaps the psychic is intended to siphon some of Sakura’s powers for some purpose.

But, beyond the confirmed theories, what have we learned from this episode? Nadeshiko may have had the magic of her own. It may be cheating, but the episode preview at the end showed the item Masaki intended for Sakura: An ornate key. This may have been Nadeshiko’s key, maybe even her wand. This would explain why Sakura’s magic has been blowing up exponentially. Using the Clow Cards awoke and magnified Sakura’s intrinsic magic. With only four episodes left, we may be on track to the end of this mystery.