Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card - Episodes 13 - 17 (Review)

By: EyeSpyeAlexAfter a brief hiatus, I'm back watching CardCaptor Sakura: Clear Card. Need to catch up? Check out my previous review with Rae here!

Summary

Meiling is back in the show! In an effort to surprise Sakura, Meiling shows up unannounced to visit. With Meiling staying at Sakura’s house, the two have ample time to catch up. At one point Sakura sees Meiling with cat ears and a tail, but chalks it up to being tired. The next day Sakura takes Meiling to meet up with their friends at a local shrine. As they discuss going to a zoo, Sakura notices that all of her friends now have animal features, but she is the only one who can see them.All of the sudden, Sakura and the others are transported to a strange place and her friends become even more animal-like. Before anything else can happen Syaoran stops time and burst through the illusion to protect Sakura. Syaoran asks Sakura what she wants and Sakura transports everybody home, then breaks the illusion and captures the “Mirage” card.If you thought Meiling could have a normal visit with Sakura, you’d be wrong. When the pair and Akiho head to Tomoyo’s house to watch old videos it seems like they’ll have a relaxing day. Everything changes when the earthquake starts. Using “Snooze”, Sakura puts Akiho and Tomoyo’s mother and bodyguards asleep, before using “Flight” and “Siege” to capture the “Swing” card. On their way home from Tomoyo’s, Meiling and Sakura are attacked by another card. The pair team up and successfully capture the “Struggle” card. This bonding moment allows the two to grow closer together, and they decide to start calling each other their names without using honorifics.Akiho also has an interesting walk home from Tomoyo’s. She bumps into Kaito, who mentions that he was coming to pick her up. While walking, Akiho tells Kaito about spending time with Sakura and Kaito mentions Sakura’s father’s profession. When Akiho asks if she talked to Kaito about Sakura’s father before, he suddenly stops and takes out his pocket watch. He then uses a surprising power to rewind time to the moment before he mentioned Sakura’s father, all of which Akiho is unaware of.This isn’t the only shocking information we learn about Kaito. Later on we see him mending the scarf for Akiho’s rabbit, Momo. Suddenly Momo begins talking and moving, making it extremely likely she is actually a magical guardian. After Akiho arrives home from school with a roll cake for Kaito and a story about how the first one went missing (due to card magic), Kaito puts her to sleep, allowing Momo to resume movement. He mentions to Momo that the time when they’ll need the cards Sakura is collecting is nearing.

The Review

It seemed like Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card was going to be stuck in a slice of life rut. Then they turned up the weird factor on Kaito. We’ve only seen a little bit of his power, but there is definitely more to his character than we’ve seen so far. How is he in possession of such a powerful watch? How does he know about the cards? Is Momo his guardian? Hopefully we find out the answers soon.Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card continues to impress with its beautiful animation as well. The characters and backgrounds have rich colors and extreme detail. The Cards are also incredibly unique and beautiful. The only downside to the latest episodes is that we haven’t gotten any new Sakura card-capturing outfits.While Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card has amazing art and an interesting story, it lacks in developing its characters. Yes, Meiling and Sakura are now referring to each other more casually, but that wasn’t a source of conflict or struggle. Where Sakura and Syaoran stand in terms of a relationship is still unknown, and no progress has been made towards it. It is growing increasingly more frustrating to watch the two dance around the subject. Hopefully they figure it out soon.New episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card air Sundays on Crunchyroll and VRV platforms.