Release date: November 9th, 2001
Word count: 14,654
Thoughts: In this chapter, Eron confesses his desire to date Sakura to Erika. To think we all thought that this would never happen!
Oh my gosh, I wrote a Ch 36 missing moment fanfic about Sakura's insomnia from Tomoyo being under The Phantom where she sneaks into Syaoran's room to sleep next to him, but I did not remember her actually breaking in while he was sleeping for other things!!
Seeing Kero-chan and Kai as video game buddies is so endearing.
Syaoran gets serious with Kai and asked him if it was hard to hold back so many secrets. So did he know Kai's true identity?
This chapter marks one year in the NT timeline with Syaoran thinking back about how he dropped everything to return to Japan. There's some prologue recap as well as the revelation that Syaoran was under strict orders not to get involved with Sakura or else he would be forced to return to Hong Kong. It really hurt to have his POV of the "I have no special feelings" conversation last winter.
Syaoran is the first to find Eriol and he's polite enough. I haven't let CCS:CC influence my NT thoughts, but after whatever secret relationship is going on in the anime, it's currently hard to think of them as any other way.
Eriol's plan of making a surprise entrance but it falls apart is one of my favourite funny moments. Sakura jumping out the window gets me every time!
There's a fire at the theatre and Miho completely shuts down. Kai takes care of her in that instant and he's more gentle than ever. It's interesting to see characters being triggered long before "triggering" was fandom vernacular.
I should have kept a tally of how many times S&S try to admit their true feelings. Syaoran tries to tell Sakura what he was thinking about for four hours but she cuts him off.
Syaoran and Kai discussing the retail values of the crystallized objects was funny.
Sakura used Sugary to lure out The Crystal's true form. This is the kind of problem solving that's lacking from a lot of CCS:CC episodes.
Syaoran activating Sakura's staff with the power of the moon and wielding it with the power of the moon was such an exciting moment!! I'm so glad there's a fanart.
Kai vs The Crystal is one of those scenes that I would love to see animated.
I completely forgot about the way that Sakura used The Mirror and The Twin to multiply Kai's Mirror of Truth to capture The Phantom! Once again, another capture that's a lot more interesting than what we've been seeing in CC.
Fun fact -- though the first CCS movie was released in August 1999, Wish-chan only watched it now!
Fanart spotlight: I thought that it was convenient to use a fanart that was inspired by a direct quote. Tomoyo Thinking of Phantom by Selenity gives us a side of Tomoyo that we rarely see.
I enjoy how your latest reviews are bringing in elements of Clear Card Arc as well--so multidimensional at this point. I don't think I mention enough how much I appreciate you are doing this. Back in the days, I was a huge fan of the Babysitters Club series, and I think some years ago, I discovered there were blogs dedicated to rereads and found those more fun than the actual series. This is all a trip down the memory lane for me, especially how you've salvaged old artwork that I'd forgotten about and even added new illustrations for those that are missing. One day, I promise I will unlock my fault of old sketches that can make this collection truly complete! Meanwhile, priorities on finishing writing. ^^
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my blog, Wish-chan! I already knew that you were a regular visiter, but reading your comment makes everything official. I'm so impressed with how complimentary the CC episodes are with the NT chapters that I'm reading (Meilin returns in Arc 3 = Meilin visits in CC, Star-Cross = Nadeshiko Festival play) that I can't help but mention them. And because you've spoiled us with so many amazing captures, it's kind of disappointing to see some of these new cards in CC being captured without much of a fight.
DeleteI used to love BSC too and I've actually been reliving the series through a podcast and a blog! I'll send you the links via FB.
Looking forward to those sketches! And I'm happy that you appreciate my contributions even if that does mean a delay in posting.
Oh, silly me, I forgot why I started writing my comment. The Crystal Card I think is one of my favorite sealing moments too! I actually keep confusing the Clear Cards as the Crystal Cards in my mind because of the Crystal formation before they get sealed (and have to remember the cards are literally clear, hence Clear Cards). Clear and Clow sound similar, I wonder if that was the aim. But I like the idea that they are named after specific people ie. Clow or Sakura. I like pensive Tomoyo. Same as how I sometimes like a bit of dark Tomoyo, which is in her.
ReplyDeleteThe crystal formation trips me up every time even though we've seen this sequence over a dozen times now. I think it's cool that we get to see a darker Tomoyo. It really adds depth to her character and makes you think twice before crossing her!
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