Episode 35.5: "Card Captor Sakura: The Movie" or "Cardcaptors: The Movie"
Introduction to the Experiment
Episode 35
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie (Card Captor Sakura) or Cardcaptors: The Movie (Cardcaptors)
The movie opens with Sakura battling the Arrow Card at school. With some help from Li, she manages to defeat and capture it, much to Meilin's chagrin. Later that night, the Book of Clow glows and Sakura has a strange dream. She is in a building with water all around her and there are two strips of fabric floating up toward her. The fabric grabs her and pulls her into the water. Sakura finds that she can breathe and eventually she hears a man's voice saying, "Water is something that must flow" or "Water is ever flowing". She wakes up. The next day, it's time to get their report cards. Li seems very nervous about getting his report card. Eventually it comes out that he has to show it to his mother and this is apparently a bad thing for Li. Luckily for Li, his grades seem acceptable because once he sees them, he relaxes. The English version actually specifies that there was only one B- so that's why he's okay. And that's it for school because it's now winter/spring break (Japanese/English). Sakura and Tomoyo go shopping and Sakura is invited to participate in the town drawing. The grand prize is a trip to Hong Kong. Sakura puts her hand in and the audience can see that the balls are magically arranging themselves to let one ball float up to her hand. It's a golden ball and this ball makes Sakura win the grand prize. At home, Sakura is excited about her impeding trip to Hong Kong. Kero is pleased as well as he's been there and he promises to show her all the sights. Unfortunately, Kero also reminds her that Sakura's dad is supposed to go on a business trip that week. Luckily for Sakura, her father says that as long as Toya comes along, he's fine with her going. Toya agrees to come and their father suggests inviting Yukito. With Tomoyo as well, that makes four. And the next scene is Sakura, Toya, Yukito, and Tomoyo (and Kero, in Sakura's purse) heading to the plane. They end up in a hotel near Hong Kong island and take in the luxury. Sakura accidentally forgets about Kero being in her purse and this angers him briefly before he decides to forgive her since he's back in Hong Kong. Kero looks out the window to find Hong Kong to be completely different than he remembered (Japanese Kero seems dismayed while English Kero seems pleasantly surprised). After a boat ride to Hong Kong island, Sakura and Tomoyo talk to Kero about Hong Kong being different. Kero acknowledges that a lot is different but its spiritual essence is the same (as well as the food). But Kero points out that it seems highly unlikely that Sakura just so happened to win the grand prize to Hong Kong: there are no such things as coincidences so something must have called her here. On the other hand, Kero admits in the Japanese version, it may just be Hong Kong getting to him. Meanwhile, two birds are watching them. Later that night, Sakura is having her water dream. She sees the two birds from earlier (which she didn't see earlier even though the audience did) and a strangely dressed woman. The white fabric is coming from the woman and Sakura reaches out to grab it but she wakes up. Soon after, they have some Chinese dim sum for breakfast and after some "Let's Play The Shell Game With Kero" mischief, they head to Bird Street. As the name implies, it's where birds are sold. Apparently, birds are popular pets in Hong Kong (I have no idea whether this is true or not but this is what the movie says so I'll go with that). After Kero relates that Bird Street hasn't changed a bit, the audience sees the two white birds watching the gang. Sakura and Kero sense something. Sakura wonders if it's a Clow Card but Kero says that the feeling is more evil. Finally, Sakura notices the two birds and gives chase. Tomoyo and Kero follow Sakura but quickly lose her. After an extended chase sequence, Sakura ends up in an abandoned lot with an old-fashioned Chinese well. At first, the well appears to be shallow but then glows and appears bottomless. Slowly, white fabric and eventually the woman is floating up toward Sakura, who is now in a trance. Just before she falls in, Li appears and commands her to wake up. This snaps her out of it but not before she falls into the now-normal water. Meanwhile, Tomoyo and Kero literally bump into Meilin, who is looking for Li, who ran off after some spiritual essence. Eventually, both Sakura and Li show up as Toya and Yukito arrive. Sakura doesn't really explain herself very well but Toya takes this in stride. Because Sakura is wet, they all head to Li's family mansion to get a change of clothes. Both Sakura and Tomoyo get some Chinese outfits which delight a gaggle of four girls in the house to no end. Toya and Yukito also get some Chinese outfits and the girls coo and fawn over them as well. As it turns out, all four girls are Li's older sisters. Eventually, a cool, mysterious woman appears, causing Li to leap out of the sofa and stand at pertified attention. This woman is Li's mother. Sakura begins to thank her for her hospitality but she grabs Sakura's face and comments that she senses great power and that she must have the Clow Cards, glancing in the direction of Sakura's bag (with Kero inside). Since Li's sisters are distracting Yukito and Toya, Sakura nods. Li's mother tells her that strong power attracts strong adversity. Eventually, she stands up and invites them to stay the night. Li gasps in alarm which causes Li's mother to give his A Look that throws him back to his stiff stance. Li's mother then asks to see Li's report card, much to his dismay. Later that night, Tomoyo, Sakura, and Kero discuss Li's mother being so beautiful and powerful. Kero then explains that it makes sense, given it's Clow Reed's descendants. The English version has Kero add that all of Li's relatives are direct descendants of Clow Reed and that Li's mother must be powerful if she could sense both Kero and the Clow Cards. Both versions have Kero discuss how Clow Reed was powerful as well but being so powerful made him have enemies. While the Japanese version has this followed by Tomoyo wanting to video tape Sakura wearing some outfits she brought the next day, the English version has Madison wonder if Sakura is worried about what Li's mother said about strong power attracting adversity and then assure her that everything will be fine. After falling asleep to the sound of Li's mother's voice in her head repeating her warning about strong power and adversity, Sakura has her water dream. This time, she manages to grab hold of the white fabric. Unfortunately, that causes the woman to go on psycho killer and wrap the fabric around Sakura to pull her up. She says that she has been waiting a long time while the English version adds that she has been waiting that length of time to be "released". Sakura wakes up screaming and finds her wrist marked in the pattern of the fabric. At this moment, Li's mother comes into the room. Li's mother takes her outside and does a spell with her fan to create a Lasin Board on a platform. Somehow this reveals to Li's mother that Sakura was summoned to Hong Kong by the woman in her dreams. The versions differ on how exactly Li's mother tells her that having a lot power kind of stinks for her but all that's important to the plot is that she tells her that her dreams will help her out with this. The next morning, it's time for the tourists to leave the Li mansion. Sakura thanks Li's mother for her help and Li's mother either kisses her or perhaps whispers in her ear (the English version has her whisper but maybe she was kissing her too). Either way, she warns her to be careful of water. After this, Meilin and Li play tour guides as Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero (or just Sakura in the English version) voice over about how seriously bad the situation's gotten. After this, Meilin complains to Li about having to follow the tourists around all day. Li explains that his mother told him to because it seems that something's going to happen to Sakura. Meanwhile, Sakura is admiring a hairpin and then realizes that the woman in her dream had one as well. Yukito sees her admiring it and buys it for her. This makes Li very jealous but then he senses something. Sakura senses it too. It's those white birds again and Sakura gives chase. Li follows with Toya and Yukito but they lose her once she uses Fly. Kero and Sakura eventually come upon an old shop as the birds dart inside. Left with no other options, they go inside. Sakura finds a dusty old book that has a woman under a structure on the cover. Soon enough, the book starts talking to her, telling her to "come to me". This sets Sakura into a trance and she attempts to open the book. Kero tries to pry her fingers off but it's no use. Eventually, everyone else bursts into the store, Toya demanding what's going on. Sakura, still in her trance, opens the book. Water comes out, submerging everyone. Sakura comes to her senses and wonders aloud to Kero if she's in the dream. She sees the two birds that fly over to the woman and turn into the white fabric. In the Japanese version, the woman explains that this world was created with her magic and then demands why Sakura, a little girl, is there. In the English version, she explains that "you" built the place and then in angry that Sakura and Kero are there and demands to know how they got there. In any case, she starts attacking Sakura with the water. When Sakura uses Fly, the woman is aghast that Sakura has a Clow Card and demands to know how she got one. After getting attacked by water a few more times, the Freeze Card is used by Li, who is apparently alive. Li confirms that everyone got submerged as well but has no idea where they are now. The woman shows them that the others are trapped, asleep, in floating globes. In the Japanese version, the woman then explains that she summoned Clow Reed so where is he? In the English version, the woman simply demands to know where Clow Reed is. Kero seems to almost remember this woman before Li suggests splitting up: he'll distract her and Sakura will save everyone. Li uses Storm on the woman as Sakura uses Sword to break Tomoyo out of her globe. Li tries to use his sword to break Meilin's globe but it's no use. As she carries her to a safer place, Tomoyo wakes up. Unfortunately, Storm can only contain the woman for so long and she breaks out of the cyclone and dumps a whole bunch of water on Li. Sakura flies out to him but he tells her to escape. She refuses. Li, his energy clearly spent, tells her that the woman's power is weakest at the top so if she flies upward, she can escape. The woman gets mad that Li is revealing her secret weakness and traps him in a globe as well. At this point, Kero tells Sakura that if she doesn't escape, they'll all get captured so, despite herself, Sakura escapes with Kero and Tomoyo through a hole in the ceiling. They find themselves back in the shop. Sakura is ashamed: it's her fault that everyone else got kidnapped. Kero assures her that it's not, that it was that book. Sakura and Kero then realize that the book isn't on the table like before. Sakura goes to look for it as Tomoyo asks what kind of book it was. Kero begins to explain but then realizes that its aura is gone. Sakura confirms that the book is gone. At this point, Kero suddenly remembers who this woman is. The noise alerts the shopkeeper and they run away. Back at the hotel, it's story time. In the Japanese version, Kero explains that the woman was a fortune teller who used water to make her fortunes. Although Clow Reed was not a fortune teller by trade, his predictions always came true, which hurt her business. After a while, no matter how much he protested, she challenged him to battle. Tomoyo brings up the fact that shouldn't this woman be long dead? Kero explains that it's a spell. When she died, she put her desires into the book. This type of spell is really difficult and especially hard to make it last for decades like this one. Kero reflects that she must have really hated Clow Reed and probably doesn't understand that she's dead. Kero guesses that the purpose of the spell is to trap Clow Reed in the book. Because she has the Clow Cards, Sakura was called instead. In the English version, the woman (whose name is Su Yung) was a fortune teller who used the surface of water to ply her trade. Apparently, Clow Reed and Su Yung met one day and fall in love instantly. As they grew closer, he taught her magic. But she began to use her magic for evil and Clow Reed was the only one who could stop her. When he found out that she planned to destroy him, he created another dimension and sealed her inside. Madison brings up the fact that since this was so long ago, shouldn't she be dead? Kero explains it's her spirit. The dimension is different than theirs so when she died, her spirit must have become trapped. She might not even realize that she's dead. Kero then adds that the spell is very complicated so Clow Reed must have thought that she could have escaped a mortal prison using her magic. So what's the book for? The book was created to lure Clow Reed to the dimension so she could escape. Because Sakura has the Clow Cards, she was lured instead. In any case, Sakura has to get back to that dimension but how can she when the book is gone? In the Japanese version, Kero admits that there is usually an opening but the presence and the book are gone while in the English version, Kero admits that there are usually multiple openings but that doesn't change the fact that the presence and the book are gone. In any case, Sakura finally realizes that she has seen the structure on the cover before: it's the well. So, with a new battle costume, it's off to the well. Unfortunately, there's a barrier. Luckily, Li's mother comes with her fan. She very calmly explains that she sensed an interruption of Li's life force. Sakura tries to explain that it's her fault but Li's mother brushes it off: Li isn't strong enough to stand up to the woman but Sakura is. Using her fan, she cuts a hole in the barrier. Sakura decides to go in alone with Kero. She enters the well and wonders where she is. Kero explains that it's a pathway to many dimensions so she has to be careful to enter the right one. She can do that by focusing on where she wants to go. She focuses and appears in a Chinese plaza. She thinks she's messed up until Kero notices the presence and she notices the birds. She follows, going through weird versions of Hong Kong streets (the English version felt the need to add a song to this scene), until reaching a door that opens to reveal water. In she goes and the woman is there. Sakura demands her friends back. The woman demands Clow Reed to be brought to her. Kero tries to explain that Clow Reed is dead but the woman cuts him off. In the Japanese version, she explains that she has been waiting for him to come. In the English version, she explains that she has been waiting for Clow Reed to set her free. In any case, she absorbs the globes and starts to build up her power. She again demands to see Clow Reed. In the Japanese version, Kero explains that Clow Reed isn't there while in the English version, Kero actually gets to say he's dead. In any case, the woman tells Sakura that she's going to die now. Meanwhile, up top, Tomoyo and Li's mother watch as the water glows red, the well blows up, and light and the woman shoot out of it. The woman is confused by the appearance of modern day Hong Kong. Sakura takes out her Key and uses Fly to pursue her. This starts off an aerial water fight until Sakura is separated from Kero and held fast by the woman's fabric. She again demands to know where Clow Reed is. Sakura tells her that Clow Reed is dead and has been for a long time. The woman can't believe this and so takes water from the ocean to submerge Sakura. Once she's done that, the woman mopes about how long she had waited for Clow Reed to show up. She cries a single tear that falls into the water. Under water, Sakura struggles but it's no use. The fallen tear glows in the water and this causes Sakura to have a vision of the past. In the Japanese version, she finds out that Clow Reed gave her that hair ornament she wears. She concludes that they were in love, or at least, the woman loved him. In the English version, Sakura gets to hear Clow Reed tell Su Yung that he's disappointed in her. She says that she's learned all she knows from him and that they can rule together. Clow Reed tells that magic must be used for good and that he has no choice but end the path she has chosen. Sakura concludes that the hair ornament is the third entrance. In any case, after struggling some more, she hears the male voice again, telling her about the flowing water. In the English version, she concludes that it's Clow Reed's voice. Finally, she has the answer. She uses the Arrow Card to shoot arrows at the fabric to free her and the water. In the Japanese version, Sakura guesses correctly that the woman really liked Clow Reed. She then begins to cry as she relates how hard it is to have someone who love taken away. The woman asks if Clow Reed is really dead. Sakura nods. She begins to dissolve and relates how she waited so long to see him and tell him some things. All that is left is the hair ornament. Sakura again hears the message about the water and guesses that the voice had been Clow Reed. In the English version, Sakura guesses correctly that Su Yung felt betrayed. She also guesses that Clow Reed never met to seal her forever but he's gone now. She then begs Su Yung to let her friends go. Su Yung asks if Clow Reed is truly dead. Sakura nods. Su Yung says that she waited so long to be set free and all she wanted was revenge. She begins to dissolve and realizes that Clow Reed is gone and therefore, she should go too. As she disappears, she says that she never meant to hurt Sakura or her friends. All that is left is the hair ornament and Sakura thinks that all Su Yung wanted was to be set free and now her spirit can finally move on. In any case, the hair ornament dissolves in her hands and her friends reappear, unharmed but asleep. The next day, it's back on the boat as they relate that they have to go home the next day. In the Japanese version, Toya and Yukito are calmly discussing souvenirs while in the English version, Tori and Julian are wondering what exactly they did yesterday because neither can remember (which Kero finds a fortunate thing because how would they explain it?). In the Japanese version, Sakura relates how the woman simply had something she wanted to say to Clow Reed and she hopes that one day, she'll be able to say her true feelings too, while giving Yukito a meaningful look. In the English version, Sakura predicts that they will return to Hong Kong someday and explains that Su Yung wasn't evil, she just wanted her spirit to be free. She also thinks that she's glad her friends are okay. In any case, Tomoyo hopes that she'll get to come back to Hong Kong too with Sakura. Sakura agrees.
Wanna see it for yourself?
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 1/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6p-26mJptc
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 2/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUZXurdyrvw
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 3/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX0usQhYVZQ
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 4/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIgJ203A1hM
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 5/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo2hg4pmzyQ
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 6/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIMcYBd9aLU
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 7/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmXU-7xNSaY
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 8/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79UqwWy8284
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 9/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_dZzOWMSrE
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 1/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 2/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 3/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 4/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 5/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 6/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 7/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 8/8
Man, I never realized how much time these evaluations take until I'm faced with a movie. The movie is only about an hour and a half but I had to watch it twice and then write up a summary, which took far longer than it should have. It's already taken me two days! Anyway, I really liked this movie. It's a bit darker than the actual show, almost spooky at times. But it's still loads of fun, even though I had to watch it twice in two days.
Card Tally
Sakura: Windy, Fly, Shadow, Watery, Rain, Wood, Jump, Illusion, Silence, Thunder, Sword, Flower, Shield, Power, Mist, Float, Erase, Glow, Move, Fight, Loop, Sleep, Song, Little, Mirror, Maze, Shot, Sweet, Big, Create, Change, Firey, Arrow
Current number: 33
Li: Time, Storm, Return, Dash, Freeze
Current number: 5
Well, the titles are identical so I can't compared but couldn't either of them come up with a title for this movie? The second movie gets a title, why not this one?
Guess what? As far as I can remember, there isn't any scene that is cut. Cultural sight gags are still there, Tomoyo and Li looking gay are still there, scenes that show lots of Japanese writing is still there, everything is still there. Now, content may have changed but shot for shot, these movies are identical. They don't even use the Cardcaptors logo for the opening! And they still have the Japanese credits! Although that might be the fault of the youtuber but still!
Well, perhaps there is one cut. According to rumor, "Tomoyo's Video Diary" is an extra that comes with this movie in the Japanese version. However, I'm not sure if it's an extra that was shown in theaters, only on the Japanese DVD, or added by fansubbers. Since there doesn't seem to be an English version (and rightly so since it's making fun of the Japanese opening sequence), there can be no comparison. There are many videos of this on youtube, simply searching "Tomoyo's Video Diary 1" will bring it up, so if you want to see it, you can search.
Oh, all right, fine. Here:
If it's part of the offical release, it's all right that there isn't an English version. It makes absolutely no sense if you haven't seen the original opening. Of course, it is hilariously funny. What's weird is that I saw this video years ago and didn't find it very funny but this time, I found it hysterical. Perhaps actually watching the show instead of just the movies helps?
Besides the change in the woman's backstory, nothing major is changed, content-wise. Cardcaptors even admits that Li and Meilin are from Hong Kong! And that the movie is set in Hong Kong! Before watching this, I imagined all sorts of horrific scenarios where they would try to vaguely refer to the locale as "abroad". But they didn't! I was so pleased! Most content changes were either to slightly change jokes or tone down Tomoyo and Li's homosexuality. And these changes were usually acceptable. I can't think of any example that stood out as particularly bad or out of place.
The only thing that was distracting was Rhys Huber. His voice broke again and stayed put for the entire movie. Good for him but bad for Li, who sounded way too... I can't believe I'm typing this... nerdy? I mean, when Li sounds like a little kid, of course he sounds like you could steal his lunch money because he's a kid. But you can imagine that one day he will grow up and be a badass and beat you up. But once he starts sounding like a high-pitched teenager instead of a high-pitched kid, the illusion of future badassery is shaken.
YES! I KNOW! Criticizing a voice actor for making a ten-year-old character in an anime about a little girl capturing magical cards sound too dorky is the epitome of extremely lame! I AM AWARE OF MY HYPOCRISY! I AM ALREADY EMBARASSED ENOUGH!
But the point had to be made so I made it. To be more serious, I think the problem is that he's having problems pulling off a convincing ten-year-old boy at this point. It's unfortunate that the English dub doesn't have the luxury of incorporating it into the plot (like apparently they did in Kodomo no Omocha when the eleven-year-old playing Akito Hayama in the Japanese version had his voice break during the show's run) because Li is at the prime age but they don't. So they have to have their not-quite-a-child-anymore actor try to sound like himself, pre-puberty. But he can't so he just sounds like a high-pitched teenager. He might already be in the upper range to begin with but making him try to go higher to sound younger isn't working out too well.
This is not to say that Rhys Huber is not doing a good job at the actual acting and conveying emotions and stuff. He's doing the important acting stuff but his voice is just letting him down, which is murder for a dub, because there aren't many ways to cover it up.
Ah, well. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I don't know, I just found it very distracting this time around. This may be the reason that this is the last use of Rhys Huber since, according to wikipedia, Jordan Kilik takes over for the second and third season.
All right, now on to the major change: The reason behind the woman being in that book.
When I started to watch the English version, I was pretty upset. "Oh come on! The lovers thing was supposed to be the (kind of obvious) twist! And why would Clow Reed seal her?! There was nothing wrong with the original reason!" Until I started to think about it: her original reason doesn't make much sense either.
I mean, if she loved him so much, then why challenge him to a battle? Why be such a psycho killer toward Sakura and the others? And the twist was kind of obvious so why not just be upfront about it?
And it's not like the English reason doesn't produce a good story. As I've said, besides this change, the movie is practically untouched. And it does give a better reason as to why Su Yung (who actually gets a name while we're on this topic) is such a psycho killer. She was already turning to evil so that makes sense.
So, at the end of the movie, both backstories are perfectly fine. Neither is any more logical than the other and it really comes down to a preference. In my case, I can't really decide. Both are pretty good and have their upsides and downsides.
The upside of the original backstory is that the woman is just her desires. It's not like her soul was actually trapped in there for decades (or even centuries) like in the English version. That makes it slightly less creepy.
The upside of the new backstory is that Sakura got a better begging speech at the end and had a better empathy moment where she realizes that she wasn't evil at all, she just wanted to be free. I especially liked the English speech because I disliked how Sakura is so passive-aggressive in the Japanese version; just say you understand but you still want your friends back! Also, Sakura actually was empathetic about the poor woman without it all being about her like she was in the Japanese version.
So, there you go. The change to the backstory wasn't superior but it wasn't inferior either.
I liked how Tori and Julian discuss how they don't remember what happened. The Japanese version doesn't make that very clear so I spent about a minute going, "Um, guys, aren't you a bit concerned about what happened yesterday?! Like, at all?!" The English version just hand waves it with "they don't remember". Cool, thanks.
I wonder why the English version had Sakura predict that she would return to Hong Kong. As far as I know, she never does in the anime. She never goes anywhere outside of Japan in the manga. Could this be a nod to the fact that Sakura and Li end up together at the end? Maybe hypothesizing that the future wedding would take place in Hong Kong? After the changes made last episode, I wouldn't put it past them.
Speaking of Sakura and Li's future honeymoon plans, I could not stop snickering every time Li's mother got all mysterious and mystical at Sakura. I just kept imagining her going, "So, Sakura, I know you're a bit young yet but it's clear now that you're going to have those Clow Cards and I can't let those leave the family so what do you think about marrying my boy Syaoran? Sure, he's young and inexperienced and he's pretty much useless in every facet but, when the time comes, you will bear him many sons and I think that would work toward everyone's interest."
"Mrs. Li, I'm, like, ten years old. That's really gross."
"Honey, why do you think I look so young? It's because I am young. By the time I was your age, I had already had Syaoran."
"But-but-but that's biologically impossible!"
"Sakura, we're a family of sorcerers. Nothing is impossible."
Speaking of freaky marriage rituals, did the English script writers proof read? Because Kero says that "all" of Li's relatives are "direct descendants" of Clow Reed. All? Like everyone? As in including both his parents?
EEEEEWWWWW! Li's mother is Li's aunt too! No wonder he's so useless, with his family all inbred like that! The horrific genetic diseases that must run rampant in the Li clan! Maybe it's a good thing that Sakura is the Chosen Cardcaptor. Anything to stop this genetic deadend they've created over the centuries. If the Cards must stay in the family, then at least the family tree will have one more branch in the future.
I kid, of course. But they really should have thought that one through. I can't be the only one who thought of it like that.
Of course, it didn't help either that Li's mother is macking on Sakura right in front of Li's face. That's a psychoanalysis session I'd want to sit in on because from the look on Li's face, that image will be burned into his brain for the rest of his sexually mature, adult life.
Never mind that Li's mother and Li's relationship with her is kind of disturbing. Why is he so goddamn terrified of her? Seriously, that one bit where she invites Sakura and Tomoyo and Li objects and she gives him The Look, his reaction is so weird. Is she going to beat him now or something? And when he's trapped in a globe thing, she's just like "Oh, Syaoran, my only son and carrier of our family name who will be in charge of honoring our ancestors when I die, is in trouble. I will just calmly wait about an hour before just wandering over to the well and then calmly break the barrier for Sakura." Um, could you act just a little frantic about the fate of your youngest child, your only son?
Although I guess I know how they are able to know stuff while Li has the Lasin Board. Seriously, Li's mother making the Lasin Board on the platform was the best scene in the whole movie. That was totally sweet.
Alright, plot holes.
1. If the woman has been calling all this time, then why does it affect Sakura now? Did getting Arrow push her power over the edge or something?
2. Wouldn't it been easier to have Kero stay crouched in the empty dim sum basket and hand over the basket on top? Kero was in the bottom one, not the top one.
3. Why is it such a shock that Li's mother knows that Sakura has the Clow Cards? If Li hasn't told her, then Meilin would have.
4. Since the Li clan are kind of Clow Card obsessed, why does Kero hide from them? Kero hides from everyone else because they can't know about the Clow Cards but the Li clan are kind of up to speed on that score so what gives?
5. If Sakura and her friends have to get from their hotel to Hong Kong island by boat, then I assume they have to get back that way. Does that mean they seriously went all the way back to the dock and then took the boat back to the hotel to have story time? Aren't the others in danger? Can't you have this talk on the actual island?
6. While I'm glad that the movie acknowledged that an aerial water battle would attract some attention in a busy city, that doesn't excuse how Hong Kong is supposed to deal with all that water damage. Sure, it rains a lot there but the women seriously destroyed a building with sea water. No one cares?
In conclusion, despite the change in a major plot point, these movies were virutally identical so I judge these movies to be...
Equal!
Episode 36
Episode 35
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie (Card Captor Sakura) or Cardcaptors: The Movie (Cardcaptors)
The movie opens with Sakura battling the Arrow Card at school. With some help from Li, she manages to defeat and capture it, much to Meilin's chagrin. Later that night, the Book of Clow glows and Sakura has a strange dream. She is in a building with water all around her and there are two strips of fabric floating up toward her. The fabric grabs her and pulls her into the water. Sakura finds that she can breathe and eventually she hears a man's voice saying, "Water is something that must flow" or "Water is ever flowing". She wakes up. The next day, it's time to get their report cards. Li seems very nervous about getting his report card. Eventually it comes out that he has to show it to his mother and this is apparently a bad thing for Li. Luckily for Li, his grades seem acceptable because once he sees them, he relaxes. The English version actually specifies that there was only one B- so that's why he's okay. And that's it for school because it's now winter/spring break (Japanese/English). Sakura and Tomoyo go shopping and Sakura is invited to participate in the town drawing. The grand prize is a trip to Hong Kong. Sakura puts her hand in and the audience can see that the balls are magically arranging themselves to let one ball float up to her hand. It's a golden ball and this ball makes Sakura win the grand prize. At home, Sakura is excited about her impeding trip to Hong Kong. Kero is pleased as well as he's been there and he promises to show her all the sights. Unfortunately, Kero also reminds her that Sakura's dad is supposed to go on a business trip that week. Luckily for Sakura, her father says that as long as Toya comes along, he's fine with her going. Toya agrees to come and their father suggests inviting Yukito. With Tomoyo as well, that makes four. And the next scene is Sakura, Toya, Yukito, and Tomoyo (and Kero, in Sakura's purse) heading to the plane. They end up in a hotel near Hong Kong island and take in the luxury. Sakura accidentally forgets about Kero being in her purse and this angers him briefly before he decides to forgive her since he's back in Hong Kong. Kero looks out the window to find Hong Kong to be completely different than he remembered (Japanese Kero seems dismayed while English Kero seems pleasantly surprised). After a boat ride to Hong Kong island, Sakura and Tomoyo talk to Kero about Hong Kong being different. Kero acknowledges that a lot is different but its spiritual essence is the same (as well as the food). But Kero points out that it seems highly unlikely that Sakura just so happened to win the grand prize to Hong Kong: there are no such things as coincidences so something must have called her here. On the other hand, Kero admits in the Japanese version, it may just be Hong Kong getting to him. Meanwhile, two birds are watching them. Later that night, Sakura is having her water dream. She sees the two birds from earlier (which she didn't see earlier even though the audience did) and a strangely dressed woman. The white fabric is coming from the woman and Sakura reaches out to grab it but she wakes up. Soon after, they have some Chinese dim sum for breakfast and after some "Let's Play The Shell Game With Kero" mischief, they head to Bird Street. As the name implies, it's where birds are sold. Apparently, birds are popular pets in Hong Kong (I have no idea whether this is true or not but this is what the movie says so I'll go with that). After Kero relates that Bird Street hasn't changed a bit, the audience sees the two white birds watching the gang. Sakura and Kero sense something. Sakura wonders if it's a Clow Card but Kero says that the feeling is more evil. Finally, Sakura notices the two birds and gives chase. Tomoyo and Kero follow Sakura but quickly lose her. After an extended chase sequence, Sakura ends up in an abandoned lot with an old-fashioned Chinese well. At first, the well appears to be shallow but then glows and appears bottomless. Slowly, white fabric and eventually the woman is floating up toward Sakura, who is now in a trance. Just before she falls in, Li appears and commands her to wake up. This snaps her out of it but not before she falls into the now-normal water. Meanwhile, Tomoyo and Kero literally bump into Meilin, who is looking for Li, who ran off after some spiritual essence. Eventually, both Sakura and Li show up as Toya and Yukito arrive. Sakura doesn't really explain herself very well but Toya takes this in stride. Because Sakura is wet, they all head to Li's family mansion to get a change of clothes. Both Sakura and Tomoyo get some Chinese outfits which delight a gaggle of four girls in the house to no end. Toya and Yukito also get some Chinese outfits and the girls coo and fawn over them as well. As it turns out, all four girls are Li's older sisters. Eventually, a cool, mysterious woman appears, causing Li to leap out of the sofa and stand at pertified attention. This woman is Li's mother. Sakura begins to thank her for her hospitality but she grabs Sakura's face and comments that she senses great power and that she must have the Clow Cards, glancing in the direction of Sakura's bag (with Kero inside). Since Li's sisters are distracting Yukito and Toya, Sakura nods. Li's mother tells her that strong power attracts strong adversity. Eventually, she stands up and invites them to stay the night. Li gasps in alarm which causes Li's mother to give his A Look that throws him back to his stiff stance. Li's mother then asks to see Li's report card, much to his dismay. Later that night, Tomoyo, Sakura, and Kero discuss Li's mother being so beautiful and powerful. Kero then explains that it makes sense, given it's Clow Reed's descendants. The English version has Kero add that all of Li's relatives are direct descendants of Clow Reed and that Li's mother must be powerful if she could sense both Kero and the Clow Cards. Both versions have Kero discuss how Clow Reed was powerful as well but being so powerful made him have enemies. While the Japanese version has this followed by Tomoyo wanting to video tape Sakura wearing some outfits she brought the next day, the English version has Madison wonder if Sakura is worried about what Li's mother said about strong power attracting adversity and then assure her that everything will be fine. After falling asleep to the sound of Li's mother's voice in her head repeating her warning about strong power and adversity, Sakura has her water dream. This time, she manages to grab hold of the white fabric. Unfortunately, that causes the woman to go on psycho killer and wrap the fabric around Sakura to pull her up. She says that she has been waiting a long time while the English version adds that she has been waiting that length of time to be "released". Sakura wakes up screaming and finds her wrist marked in the pattern of the fabric. At this moment, Li's mother comes into the room. Li's mother takes her outside and does a spell with her fan to create a Lasin Board on a platform. Somehow this reveals to Li's mother that Sakura was summoned to Hong Kong by the woman in her dreams. The versions differ on how exactly Li's mother tells her that having a lot power kind of stinks for her but all that's important to the plot is that she tells her that her dreams will help her out with this. The next morning, it's time for the tourists to leave the Li mansion. Sakura thanks Li's mother for her help and Li's mother either kisses her or perhaps whispers in her ear (the English version has her whisper but maybe she was kissing her too). Either way, she warns her to be careful of water. After this, Meilin and Li play tour guides as Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero (or just Sakura in the English version) voice over about how seriously bad the situation's gotten. After this, Meilin complains to Li about having to follow the tourists around all day. Li explains that his mother told him to because it seems that something's going to happen to Sakura. Meanwhile, Sakura is admiring a hairpin and then realizes that the woman in her dream had one as well. Yukito sees her admiring it and buys it for her. This makes Li very jealous but then he senses something. Sakura senses it too. It's those white birds again and Sakura gives chase. Li follows with Toya and Yukito but they lose her once she uses Fly. Kero and Sakura eventually come upon an old shop as the birds dart inside. Left with no other options, they go inside. Sakura finds a dusty old book that has a woman under a structure on the cover. Soon enough, the book starts talking to her, telling her to "come to me". This sets Sakura into a trance and she attempts to open the book. Kero tries to pry her fingers off but it's no use. Eventually, everyone else bursts into the store, Toya demanding what's going on. Sakura, still in her trance, opens the book. Water comes out, submerging everyone. Sakura comes to her senses and wonders aloud to Kero if she's in the dream. She sees the two birds that fly over to the woman and turn into the white fabric. In the Japanese version, the woman explains that this world was created with her magic and then demands why Sakura, a little girl, is there. In the English version, she explains that "you" built the place and then in angry that Sakura and Kero are there and demands to know how they got there. In any case, she starts attacking Sakura with the water. When Sakura uses Fly, the woman is aghast that Sakura has a Clow Card and demands to know how she got one. After getting attacked by water a few more times, the Freeze Card is used by Li, who is apparently alive. Li confirms that everyone got submerged as well but has no idea where they are now. The woman shows them that the others are trapped, asleep, in floating globes. In the Japanese version, the woman then explains that she summoned Clow Reed so where is he? In the English version, the woman simply demands to know where Clow Reed is. Kero seems to almost remember this woman before Li suggests splitting up: he'll distract her and Sakura will save everyone. Li uses Storm on the woman as Sakura uses Sword to break Tomoyo out of her globe. Li tries to use his sword to break Meilin's globe but it's no use. As she carries her to a safer place, Tomoyo wakes up. Unfortunately, Storm can only contain the woman for so long and she breaks out of the cyclone and dumps a whole bunch of water on Li. Sakura flies out to him but he tells her to escape. She refuses. Li, his energy clearly spent, tells her that the woman's power is weakest at the top so if she flies upward, she can escape. The woman gets mad that Li is revealing her secret weakness and traps him in a globe as well. At this point, Kero tells Sakura that if she doesn't escape, they'll all get captured so, despite herself, Sakura escapes with Kero and Tomoyo through a hole in the ceiling. They find themselves back in the shop. Sakura is ashamed: it's her fault that everyone else got kidnapped. Kero assures her that it's not, that it was that book. Sakura and Kero then realize that the book isn't on the table like before. Sakura goes to look for it as Tomoyo asks what kind of book it was. Kero begins to explain but then realizes that its aura is gone. Sakura confirms that the book is gone. At this point, Kero suddenly remembers who this woman is. The noise alerts the shopkeeper and they run away. Back at the hotel, it's story time. In the Japanese version, Kero explains that the woman was a fortune teller who used water to make her fortunes. Although Clow Reed was not a fortune teller by trade, his predictions always came true, which hurt her business. After a while, no matter how much he protested, she challenged him to battle. Tomoyo brings up the fact that shouldn't this woman be long dead? Kero explains that it's a spell. When she died, she put her desires into the book. This type of spell is really difficult and especially hard to make it last for decades like this one. Kero reflects that she must have really hated Clow Reed and probably doesn't understand that she's dead. Kero guesses that the purpose of the spell is to trap Clow Reed in the book. Because she has the Clow Cards, Sakura was called instead. In the English version, the woman (whose name is Su Yung) was a fortune teller who used the surface of water to ply her trade. Apparently, Clow Reed and Su Yung met one day and fall in love instantly. As they grew closer, he taught her magic. But she began to use her magic for evil and Clow Reed was the only one who could stop her. When he found out that she planned to destroy him, he created another dimension and sealed her inside. Madison brings up the fact that since this was so long ago, shouldn't she be dead? Kero explains it's her spirit. The dimension is different than theirs so when she died, her spirit must have become trapped. She might not even realize that she's dead. Kero then adds that the spell is very complicated so Clow Reed must have thought that she could have escaped a mortal prison using her magic. So what's the book for? The book was created to lure Clow Reed to the dimension so she could escape. Because Sakura has the Clow Cards, she was lured instead. In any case, Sakura has to get back to that dimension but how can she when the book is gone? In the Japanese version, Kero admits that there is usually an opening but the presence and the book are gone while in the English version, Kero admits that there are usually multiple openings but that doesn't change the fact that the presence and the book are gone. In any case, Sakura finally realizes that she has seen the structure on the cover before: it's the well. So, with a new battle costume, it's off to the well. Unfortunately, there's a barrier. Luckily, Li's mother comes with her fan. She very calmly explains that she sensed an interruption of Li's life force. Sakura tries to explain that it's her fault but Li's mother brushes it off: Li isn't strong enough to stand up to the woman but Sakura is. Using her fan, she cuts a hole in the barrier. Sakura decides to go in alone with Kero. She enters the well and wonders where she is. Kero explains that it's a pathway to many dimensions so she has to be careful to enter the right one. She can do that by focusing on where she wants to go. She focuses and appears in a Chinese plaza. She thinks she's messed up until Kero notices the presence and she notices the birds. She follows, going through weird versions of Hong Kong streets (the English version felt the need to add a song to this scene), until reaching a door that opens to reveal water. In she goes and the woman is there. Sakura demands her friends back. The woman demands Clow Reed to be brought to her. Kero tries to explain that Clow Reed is dead but the woman cuts him off. In the Japanese version, she explains that she has been waiting for him to come. In the English version, she explains that she has been waiting for Clow Reed to set her free. In any case, she absorbs the globes and starts to build up her power. She again demands to see Clow Reed. In the Japanese version, Kero explains that Clow Reed isn't there while in the English version, Kero actually gets to say he's dead. In any case, the woman tells Sakura that she's going to die now. Meanwhile, up top, Tomoyo and Li's mother watch as the water glows red, the well blows up, and light and the woman shoot out of it. The woman is confused by the appearance of modern day Hong Kong. Sakura takes out her Key and uses Fly to pursue her. This starts off an aerial water fight until Sakura is separated from Kero and held fast by the woman's fabric. She again demands to know where Clow Reed is. Sakura tells her that Clow Reed is dead and has been for a long time. The woman can't believe this and so takes water from the ocean to submerge Sakura. Once she's done that, the woman mopes about how long she had waited for Clow Reed to show up. She cries a single tear that falls into the water. Under water, Sakura struggles but it's no use. The fallen tear glows in the water and this causes Sakura to have a vision of the past. In the Japanese version, she finds out that Clow Reed gave her that hair ornament she wears. She concludes that they were in love, or at least, the woman loved him. In the English version, Sakura gets to hear Clow Reed tell Su Yung that he's disappointed in her. She says that she's learned all she knows from him and that they can rule together. Clow Reed tells that magic must be used for good and that he has no choice but end the path she has chosen. Sakura concludes that the hair ornament is the third entrance. In any case, after struggling some more, she hears the male voice again, telling her about the flowing water. In the English version, she concludes that it's Clow Reed's voice. Finally, she has the answer. She uses the Arrow Card to shoot arrows at the fabric to free her and the water. In the Japanese version, Sakura guesses correctly that the woman really liked Clow Reed. She then begins to cry as she relates how hard it is to have someone who love taken away. The woman asks if Clow Reed is really dead. Sakura nods. She begins to dissolve and relates how she waited so long to see him and tell him some things. All that is left is the hair ornament. Sakura again hears the message about the water and guesses that the voice had been Clow Reed. In the English version, Sakura guesses correctly that Su Yung felt betrayed. She also guesses that Clow Reed never met to seal her forever but he's gone now. She then begs Su Yung to let her friends go. Su Yung asks if Clow Reed is truly dead. Sakura nods. Su Yung says that she waited so long to be set free and all she wanted was revenge. She begins to dissolve and realizes that Clow Reed is gone and therefore, she should go too. As she disappears, she says that she never meant to hurt Sakura or her friends. All that is left is the hair ornament and Sakura thinks that all Su Yung wanted was to be set free and now her spirit can finally move on. In any case, the hair ornament dissolves in her hands and her friends reappear, unharmed but asleep. The next day, it's back on the boat as they relate that they have to go home the next day. In the Japanese version, Toya and Yukito are calmly discussing souvenirs while in the English version, Tori and Julian are wondering what exactly they did yesterday because neither can remember (which Kero finds a fortunate thing because how would they explain it?). In the Japanese version, Sakura relates how the woman simply had something she wanted to say to Clow Reed and she hopes that one day, she'll be able to say her true feelings too, while giving Yukito a meaningful look. In the English version, Sakura predicts that they will return to Hong Kong someday and explains that Su Yung wasn't evil, she just wanted her spirit to be free. She also thinks that she's glad her friends are okay. In any case, Tomoyo hopes that she'll get to come back to Hong Kong too with Sakura. Sakura agrees.
Wanna see it for yourself?
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 1/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6p-26mJptc
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 2/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUZXurdyrvw
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 3/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX0usQhYVZQ
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 4/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIgJ203A1hM
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 5/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo2hg4pmzyQ
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 6/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIMcYBd9aLU
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 7/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmXU-7xNSaY
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 8/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79UqwWy8284
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie: Part 9/9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_dZzOWMSrE
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 1/8
Click to viewCardcaptors: The Movie: Part 2/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 3/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 4/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 5/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 6/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 7/8
Cardcaptors: The Movie: Part 8/8
Man, I never realized how much time these evaluations take until I'm faced with a movie. The movie is only about an hour and a half but I had to watch it twice and then write up a summary, which took far longer than it should have. It's already taken me two days! Anyway, I really liked this movie. It's a bit darker than the actual show, almost spooky at times. But it's still loads of fun, even though I had to watch it twice in two days.
Card Tally
Sakura: Windy, Fly, Shadow, Watery, Rain, Wood, Jump, Illusion, Silence, Thunder, Sword, Flower, Shield, Power, Mist, Float, Erase, Glow, Move, Fight, Loop, Sleep, Song, Little, Mirror, Maze, Shot, Sweet, Big, Create, Change, Firey, Arrow
Current number: 33
Li: Time, Storm, Return, Dash, Freeze
Current number: 5
Well, the titles are identical so I can't compared but couldn't either of them come up with a title for this movie? The second movie gets a title, why not this one?
Guess what? As far as I can remember, there isn't any scene that is cut. Cultural sight gags are still there, Tomoyo and Li looking gay are still there, scenes that show lots of Japanese writing is still there, everything is still there. Now, content may have changed but shot for shot, these movies are identical. They don't even use the Cardcaptors logo for the opening! And they still have the Japanese credits! Although that might be the fault of the youtuber but still!
Well, perhaps there is one cut. According to rumor, "Tomoyo's Video Diary" is an extra that comes with this movie in the Japanese version. However, I'm not sure if it's an extra that was shown in theaters, only on the Japanese DVD, or added by fansubbers. Since there doesn't seem to be an English version (and rightly so since it's making fun of the Japanese opening sequence), there can be no comparison. There are many videos of this on youtube, simply searching "Tomoyo's Video Diary 1" will bring it up, so if you want to see it, you can search.
Oh, all right, fine. Here:
If it's part of the offical release, it's all right that there isn't an English version. It makes absolutely no sense if you haven't seen the original opening. Of course, it is hilariously funny. What's weird is that I saw this video years ago and didn't find it very funny but this time, I found it hysterical. Perhaps actually watching the show instead of just the movies helps?
Besides the change in the woman's backstory, nothing major is changed, content-wise. Cardcaptors even admits that Li and Meilin are from Hong Kong! And that the movie is set in Hong Kong! Before watching this, I imagined all sorts of horrific scenarios where they would try to vaguely refer to the locale as "abroad". But they didn't! I was so pleased! Most content changes were either to slightly change jokes or tone down Tomoyo and Li's homosexuality. And these changes were usually acceptable. I can't think of any example that stood out as particularly bad or out of place.
The only thing that was distracting was Rhys Huber. His voice broke again and stayed put for the entire movie. Good for him but bad for Li, who sounded way too... I can't believe I'm typing this... nerdy? I mean, when Li sounds like a little kid, of course he sounds like you could steal his lunch money because he's a kid. But you can imagine that one day he will grow up and be a badass and beat you up. But once he starts sounding like a high-pitched teenager instead of a high-pitched kid, the illusion of future badassery is shaken.
YES! I KNOW! Criticizing a voice actor for making a ten-year-old character in an anime about a little girl capturing magical cards sound too dorky is the epitome of extremely lame! I AM AWARE OF MY HYPOCRISY! I AM ALREADY EMBARASSED ENOUGH!
But the point had to be made so I made it. To be more serious, I think the problem is that he's having problems pulling off a convincing ten-year-old boy at this point. It's unfortunate that the English dub doesn't have the luxury of incorporating it into the plot (like apparently they did in Kodomo no Omocha when the eleven-year-old playing Akito Hayama in the Japanese version had his voice break during the show's run) because Li is at the prime age but they don't. So they have to have their not-quite-a-child-anymore actor try to sound like himself, pre-puberty. But he can't so he just sounds like a high-pitched teenager. He might already be in the upper range to begin with but making him try to go higher to sound younger isn't working out too well.
This is not to say that Rhys Huber is not doing a good job at the actual acting and conveying emotions and stuff. He's doing the important acting stuff but his voice is just letting him down, which is murder for a dub, because there aren't many ways to cover it up.
Ah, well. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I don't know, I just found it very distracting this time around. This may be the reason that this is the last use of Rhys Huber since, according to wikipedia, Jordan Kilik takes over for the second and third season.
All right, now on to the major change: The reason behind the woman being in that book.
When I started to watch the English version, I was pretty upset. "Oh come on! The lovers thing was supposed to be the (kind of obvious) twist! And why would Clow Reed seal her?! There was nothing wrong with the original reason!" Until I started to think about it: her original reason doesn't make much sense either.
I mean, if she loved him so much, then why challenge him to a battle? Why be such a psycho killer toward Sakura and the others? And the twist was kind of obvious so why not just be upfront about it?
And it's not like the English reason doesn't produce a good story. As I've said, besides this change, the movie is practically untouched. And it does give a better reason as to why Su Yung (who actually gets a name while we're on this topic) is such a psycho killer. She was already turning to evil so that makes sense.
So, at the end of the movie, both backstories are perfectly fine. Neither is any more logical than the other and it really comes down to a preference. In my case, I can't really decide. Both are pretty good and have their upsides and downsides.
The upside of the original backstory is that the woman is just her desires. It's not like her soul was actually trapped in there for decades (or even centuries) like in the English version. That makes it slightly less creepy.
The upside of the new backstory is that Sakura got a better begging speech at the end and had a better empathy moment where she realizes that she wasn't evil at all, she just wanted to be free. I especially liked the English speech because I disliked how Sakura is so passive-aggressive in the Japanese version; just say you understand but you still want your friends back! Also, Sakura actually was empathetic about the poor woman without it all being about her like she was in the Japanese version.
So, there you go. The change to the backstory wasn't superior but it wasn't inferior either.
I liked how Tori and Julian discuss how they don't remember what happened. The Japanese version doesn't make that very clear so I spent about a minute going, "Um, guys, aren't you a bit concerned about what happened yesterday?! Like, at all?!" The English version just hand waves it with "they don't remember". Cool, thanks.
I wonder why the English version had Sakura predict that she would return to Hong Kong. As far as I know, she never does in the anime. She never goes anywhere outside of Japan in the manga. Could this be a nod to the fact that Sakura and Li end up together at the end? Maybe hypothesizing that the future wedding would take place in Hong Kong? After the changes made last episode, I wouldn't put it past them.
Speaking of Sakura and Li's future honeymoon plans, I could not stop snickering every time Li's mother got all mysterious and mystical at Sakura. I just kept imagining her going, "So, Sakura, I know you're a bit young yet but it's clear now that you're going to have those Clow Cards and I can't let those leave the family so what do you think about marrying my boy Syaoran? Sure, he's young and inexperienced and he's pretty much useless in every facet but, when the time comes, you will bear him many sons and I think that would work toward everyone's interest."
"Mrs. Li, I'm, like, ten years old. That's really gross."
"Honey, why do you think I look so young? It's because I am young. By the time I was your age, I had already had Syaoran."
"But-but-but that's biologically impossible!"
"Sakura, we're a family of sorcerers. Nothing is impossible."
Speaking of freaky marriage rituals, did the English script writers proof read? Because Kero says that "all" of Li's relatives are "direct descendants" of Clow Reed. All? Like everyone? As in including both his parents?
EEEEEWWWWW! Li's mother is Li's aunt too! No wonder he's so useless, with his family all inbred like that! The horrific genetic diseases that must run rampant in the Li clan! Maybe it's a good thing that Sakura is the Chosen Cardcaptor. Anything to stop this genetic deadend they've created over the centuries. If the Cards must stay in the family, then at least the family tree will have one more branch in the future.
I kid, of course. But they really should have thought that one through. I can't be the only one who thought of it like that.
Of course, it didn't help either that Li's mother is macking on Sakura right in front of Li's face. That's a psychoanalysis session I'd want to sit in on because from the look on Li's face, that image will be burned into his brain for the rest of his sexually mature, adult life.
Never mind that Li's mother and Li's relationship with her is kind of disturbing. Why is he so goddamn terrified of her? Seriously, that one bit where she invites Sakura and Tomoyo and Li objects and she gives him The Look, his reaction is so weird. Is she going to beat him now or something? And when he's trapped in a globe thing, she's just like "Oh, Syaoran, my only son and carrier of our family name who will be in charge of honoring our ancestors when I die, is in trouble. I will just calmly wait about an hour before just wandering over to the well and then calmly break the barrier for Sakura." Um, could you act just a little frantic about the fate of your youngest child, your only son?
Although I guess I know how they are able to know stuff while Li has the Lasin Board. Seriously, Li's mother making the Lasin Board on the platform was the best scene in the whole movie. That was totally sweet.
Alright, plot holes.
1. If the woman has been calling all this time, then why does it affect Sakura now? Did getting Arrow push her power over the edge or something?
2. Wouldn't it been easier to have Kero stay crouched in the empty dim sum basket and hand over the basket on top? Kero was in the bottom one, not the top one.
3. Why is it such a shock that Li's mother knows that Sakura has the Clow Cards? If Li hasn't told her, then Meilin would have.
4. Since the Li clan are kind of Clow Card obsessed, why does Kero hide from them? Kero hides from everyone else because they can't know about the Clow Cards but the Li clan are kind of up to speed on that score so what gives?
5. If Sakura and her friends have to get from their hotel to Hong Kong island by boat, then I assume they have to get back that way. Does that mean they seriously went all the way back to the dock and then took the boat back to the hotel to have story time? Aren't the others in danger? Can't you have this talk on the actual island?
6. While I'm glad that the movie acknowledged that an aerial water battle would attract some attention in a busy city, that doesn't excuse how Hong Kong is supposed to deal with all that water damage. Sure, it rains a lot there but the women seriously destroyed a building with sea water. No one cares?
In conclusion, despite the change in a major plot point, these movies were virutally identical so I judge these movies to be...
Equal!
Episode 36