Episode 46: "Sakura and the Final Judgement" or "The Final Judgement"
Introduction to the Experiment
Episode 45
Episode 46: Sakura and the Final Judgement (Card Captor Sakura) or The Final Judgement (Cardcaptors)
This episode starts with this kind of trippy sequence of Sakura floating through a white void, flashbacking to Julian turning into Yueh. Eventually, Sakura ends up on her building. Meanwhile, on the ground, Madison asks if Julian knew Sakura was capturing Cards. Kero explains that he did not because Yueh and Julian are completely separate entities. Li points out a logical plothole: Kero was awakened when Sakura broke the seal but Julian moved to Reddington ages ago. Ms. Mackenzie explains that there are no coincidences in the world, only inevitability. Anyway, back to the Judgement. Yueh announces the Final Judgement again. He shoots a light at Sakura and reveals all of her Cards. Yueh tells her that she must defeat him using the Cards. Sakura refuses to do it. Too bad. Yueh makes her use Jump to come closer to him. Once she's come back to her senses, Sakura again refuses to hurt Yueh because Yueh is still Julian. Yueh rewards her good will by attacking her. Sakura uses her Cards to run away but Yueh points out that running away will not help her defeat him. Yueh beats Sakura up some more. Eventually, Li can't take it anymore and nearly casts a spell but Keroberos stops him: If he assists her, Sakura loses. Keroberos explains that he believes in Sakura. Back to Sakura and Yueh. Yueh says that if Sakura isn't going to fight, the Judgement is already over. Sakura tries to think of a way to use a Card that will defeat Yueh but not hurt him. Sakura uses Woody, much to Keroberos' horror. Unbeknownst to Sakura, Woody is one of the Cards controlled by the moon so he simply reflects it back on her and Sakura gets wrapped up in branchs. After pointing out that Sakura should have known that Woody was under his jurisdiction, Yueh says that it's over. Sakura has lost. So, the question is now what happens next? First, the Seal will be broken once more. In the English version, Sakura begs to be allowed to try again. Yueh says that's impossible: it is forbidden for a candidate to undergo the Final Judgement twice. To prevent this from happening, Clow Reed decree that if the candidate failed, everyone connected to the Clow Cards would forget this chapter in their lives forever. In the Japanese version, Sakura asks if the catastrophe will happen now and what the catastrophe is. Yueh explains that if the candidate fails the test, everyone connected to the Clow Cards in any way will forget their feelings of love toward the one person they care about most. In any case, down on the ground, Li asks what that means. In the English version, he clarifies that everyone, including the Clow Cards themselves, will forget everything that had happened since the day the Seal was broken. Clow Reed didn't want anyone to suffer so because the bonds they have all made would be too painful to lose and because the Clow Cards care most about the one who sealed them, it will be as if none of that had ever existed for anyone involved. In the Japanese version, Keroberos explains that the Clow Cards care the most about the one who sealed them so to make it not be so tough on the Clow Cards, they forget about the person they care about most. In any case, Sakura digests this information and realizes that she can't let that happen so she tries to free herself of the branches. It doesn't work but Yueh is impressed that she tried. Impressed but not moved to save her so, after pointing out how Clow Reed is better than her, completely encases her in the branches. As this is happening, Li lets loose a primal scream of frustration and Sakura either begs for Julian's help and then realizes that everyone will forget or realizes that everyone will forget who they love without asking for help (English/Japanese). The screen goes dark and then Sakura's alarm goes off. Apparently, it was all a dream. Or was it? Because Sakura goes down to breakfast and thinks something is missing from the table (Answer: no more picture of Sakura's mother). Sakura heads to school and nearly sees Julian with his bike but he fades away. Sakura gets to school and sees Madison, who is friendly but distant. In the Japanese version, Yamazaki addresses Chiharu by her last name. Sakura asks if Yamazaki asks if he's always done that. Chiharu points that they're not that close. Mr. Terada also pops in to ask Rika, in a very neutral tone, to give some papers to her homeroom teacher. She politely agrees. In any case, Li then comes in and greets Sakura politely. Sakura stares at him, which prompts him to ask what's wrong. Sakura says she's fine. Sakura looks sad as she looks over at Madison in class, which has a new teacher and in the Japanese version, she doodles a picture of Kero. In gym class, Sakura woefully looks at Li being perfectly normal, playing soccer with some male classmates as Sakura and her female classmates are playing dodgeball. In the Japanese version, there is a lunch scene where Sakura picks at her food as her girl classmates are all having a good time. In any case, Sakura then is down during cheerleading practice. After that, Sakura meets Madison who is simply polite as she goes home by herself. In the Japanese version, this is followed by Toya waiting for Sakura outside of school and saying something which apparently upsets her, causing her to run away. In any case, she runs to what is clearly Julian's house but it is empty and rundown. Sakura goes inside but finds no one there. In the English version, Sakura mutters that she thought someone would be there as she starts to cry. Then she starts hearing her name being called by her friends: Madison, Li, Ms. Mackenzie, and Keroberos. Then Ms. Mackenzie lifts up her bell, which Sakura hears. Sakura then realizes that she hears the voices and that she now remembers. In the Japanese version, after entering Julian's house, she mutters that no one is there as she starts to cry. She then hears the voices of people. Unfortunately, it's not clear to me who these voices belong to but one is definitely Tomoyo. Then the Song Card appears and starts to sing. Sakura then begins spinning around and the silhouettes of first Tomoyo and Li, then her classmates, then finally Toya, Yukito, and Kero as the Song's song gets additional voices to harmonize with it. Eventually, Sakura is alone surrounded by cherry blossom trees and see Yukito in the distance. Sakura seems confused as to who he is. Ms. Mizuki then lifts up her bell. Hearing the bell, Sakura remembers and runs toward him: this is the person she has the most feelings for. In any case, Sakura is freed from her branch cocoon (although in the Japanese version, Yueh gets to remark that she actually reflected his magic) and sees Ms. Mackenzie with her bell. Sakura remarks that she has her bell. Ms. Mackenzie explains that the bell was left by Clow Reed to give her another chance. The bell dissolves and she adds that it has dissolved because it has served its purpose. So, no more second chances for Sakura. Sakura gets serious. In the English version, Sakura exclaims that the Clow Cards brought them together and so Sakura won't let Yueh take them away. In the Japanese version, Sakura exclaims that a world where people don't remember the one they love most is too sad. In the English version, Sakura asks for the Staff of Clow to guide her actions. In the Japanese version, Sakura affirms that everything will be all right. In any case, the Staff begins to shine a bright light and a magic circle appears. Ms. Mackenzie tells her to raise the Seal. Sakura raises the Staff and all these shooting lights fly through the sky. In the English version, Yueh exclaims that the Cards are returning to her. Ms. Mackenzie explains that the Cards have chosen Sakura. In the Japanese version, Yueh just has no idea what's going on. Ms. Mizuki explains that it's a new power. In any case, Sakura shouts "Release" and her staff transforms, now having a star at its head rather than a bird head thing. Keroberos is stunned by this new development. Sakura then uses Windy on Yueh. Yueh expresses doubt that Windy would even work but, sure enough, it traps him into a windy globe and sets him down. In the English version, Sakura explains that she couldn't give up, that she would miss everyone, even Yueh. She goes on to say that her father says that you can always keep someone close to your heart forever as long as you remember, that's why she couldn't let Yueh make them forget. She knows that she is no Clow Reed but she does know how important friends are. She also promises to give it her best shot. In the Japanese version, Sakura explains she is sure that Yueh loved Clow Reed very much so he should understand that forgetting about that person would be very sad. She knows that she's still a child and that she can't use magic like Clow Reed could but she'll try her best. In any case, Sakura says that she doesn't want to be Yueh's master, she wants to be his friend. At this point, Yueh stands up and tells Sakura to close her eyes. She does so. He declares the Final Judgement over: Sakura is now their master. Sakura then floats up into the sky. She ends up in the nightsky, with a man with dark robes. In the English version, Clow Reed acknowledges that they are finally meeting. Clow Reed has been watching her. He says that Clow Cards need a strong master but they also need someone with a brave heart. Her heart is where Sakura's strength lies. Clow Reed says that Keroberos and Yueh have chosen well. Sakura realizes that this is Clow Reed and then asks him if he gave her new staff. Clow Reed says he did not: Sakura made that staff herself. Her staff is not ruled by the moon or the sun but by her very own star. He advises her to take care of her powers because although her light is small now, it burns bright and will always light her way. In the Japanese version, Clow Reed informs her that he had placed necessities around her disguised as coincidences. She had noticed every single one and was able to have a happy ending. He thanks her. She asks if he's Clow Reed and then asks if he made her wand. Clow Reed says he did not: Sakura made that staff herself. Her staff is not ruled by the moon or the sun but by her very own stars. Even though it is small now, it will continue to shine on its own. He then advises her to take care of her power. In any case, she floats back down to the ground. Madison and Li run up to her and she tells them that she passed. The kids are all very pleased by this turn of events. In the Japanese version, it is revealed that Toya was there the whole time, watching. He is also aware that Yukito isn't a real person. In any case, Yueh and Keroberos discuss how Sakura is their master now. However, she is not quite ready for full responsibilities so they are going to stay in their disguised forms for the time being. In the English version, Yueh points out that if he goes back to Julian, he won't remember anything. Keroberos promises to fill him in. In the Japanese version, this is followed by a montage of various moments in the show. In any case, Kero meets up with Sakura again and Julian is back to normal. Sakura is very happy.
Wanna see it?
Cardcaptors Episode 46: Part 1/3
Cardcaptors Episode 46: Part 2/3
Cardcaptors Episode 46: Part 3/3
Card Captor Sakura Episode 46: Part 1/3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMNZ3ZIxRa4
Card Captor Sakura Episode 46: Part 2/3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3h0VspLfI4
Card Captor Sakura Episode 46: Part 3/3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-X_SGvWTd8
Sakura is a dirty cheater. I hated how she won in the manga and I hate it here too. I'll get into it during my plot hole portion but argh, I hate how she is allowed to cheat during the Final Judgement. Anyway, this is the last episode of the second season. I started the second season in June and now I'm done in August. So, pretty much it took my entire summer vacation to do the second season. My goal was to finish before I started classes again and I succeeded. Yay! Also, we're nearly at the year mark from when I started doing the experiment in the first place. What I found interesting is that the episode changed what Clow Reed said in the manga. In the manga, Clow Reed's last words are that he will cause problems for Sakura in the future. Did it get temporarily cancelled? Because both versions have the "End" caption at the bottom. I mean, this is a good place to stop but Clamp didn't stop here. No, the second season ends with the sixth volume of the manga. The third season, if I'm understanding it correctly, covers the last six volumes. Hopefully that means less filler.
RESULTS
Sakura: Declared Master of the Cards
Card Total: 52 Clow Cards
Li: Gets nothing
Card Toal: 0 Clow Cards
That's right, people, Li gets absolutely nothing for his trouble. Remember how these Clow Cards are super important to his family? Yeah, he just lost them to some girl who didn't even know they existed until a year ago. All of his family's hard work over the generations, all of their hopes and dreams, torn asunder because Li got his clock cleaned within five minutes of his Final Judgement. I really hope Li can find a good way to explain to his mother back home because I really doubt she's going to take this well.
Of course, she may have already realized and planned for this possibility. There is only one thing left: it's matchmaking time!
The titles are nearly the same but I think the English one is punchier so it wins.
For the first half, nothing much is changed. It only starts changing once Sakura has lost for the first time.
1. First to change is the nature of the punishment. I will admit that I had problems with Japanese version's punishment in the original manga. It doesn't make much sense and would be extremely hard to implement. It assumes that everyone has only one person that they love most of all. This simply isn't true for a lot of people. I mean, just look at Fujitaka. Does he love his dead wife more than his own children? I find that hard to believe. I just don't see how the punishment fits the crime. And in the anime, they do give a rationale but that makes even less sense. Let me get this straight: the reason everyone has to forget their love is because the Clow Cards will be sad if they don't get the Master they want. Then why not just have the curse apply to the Cards and the candidate, why the overkill with having everyone who so much as breathed the same air as these things suffer? I mean, I know it's supposed to be a catastrophe but it just makes Clow Reed look like a huge ass just to protect his Cards' feelings. For these reasons, I prefer the English punishment. It fits the crime, it's easy to implement, and it's not, at face value, hideously cruel. It makes sense that everyone would simply forget about the Cards and the time period related to them. That is an appropriate punishment for the crime and the English version also adds a nice touch by saying that Clow Reed saying he didn't want people to suffer. At face value, it would allow people to not suffer unless you buy into the whole "but then we wouldn't be friends and that's too sad" argument (which part of me doesn't). I'll get into why both of these have their own plot holes later but the short version of what I just said is that I prefer the English punishment.
2. I thought it was interesting that Sakura calls out for Julian's help in the English version. Considering that English Sakura isn't nearly as obsessed with Julian as Japanese Sakura is with Yukito, I found that rather odd, considering that Japanese Sakura doesn't call out to Yukito. Of course, she got her moment with Yukito in the dream thing but I digress.
3. They cut the Yamazaki/Chiharu scene and the Rika/Terada scene in the English version. This makes sense because their lives would not be majorly affected by the loss of their memories of the past year. They also cut the moment where Toya talks to Sakura which somehow upsets her. I just found this scene confusing. Was it because he wasn't with Yukito?
4. The most major change is the Song Card scene. When I was watching the Japanese version, I was thinking, "You know, maybe these episodes are equal. I mean, they changed the nature of the punishment and I'll have to have a think about whether I prefer one over the other but nothing too maj -- what the hell is this?!" No, seriously, what is this scene doing? Why the Song Card? Why the silhouettes? Why the spinning? Why the lameass scene with Sakura realizing she loves Yukito and running to him? WHY?! Why have this scene? I couldn't stop laughing because of how unbelievably bad it was. What were the Japanese producers thinking? Just, argh, why did they kill the mood so badly? The English production team made a good call by cutting this moment because it made it more about all of Sakura's friends, which frankly I care more about than Sakura's puppy love crush on Yukito!
5. They also changed the way Sakura gets her Staff to glow. In the English version, she asks the Staff for show her the way while the Japanese version has Sakura do her "spell": everything will be all right. I've said before that I always felt that Sakura's "spell" was lame but I disliked how the English version ignored the Dream Card prophecy stuff. So, I'm torn: I hate the "I will be fine" spell but I hate ignoring the prophecy of using "Trust myself".
6. I did like the lights being the Clow Cards rushing back to Sakura. I know they're supposed to be Sakura's stars and all but I just found it more emotionally satisfying that the Cards loved her so much that they were willing to ignore Yueh's decree. Come on, it was cool.
7. I also preferred Clow Reed's talk with Sakura in the English version. I really dislike the massive cheating Clow Reed does when it comes to Sakura and, I'm sorry, what coincidences did Sakura notice? She seemed pretty oblivious to them so I don't know what Clow Reed is going on about in the Japanese version. I much preferred Clow Reed saying that Sakura has a brave heart and Yueh and Kero made the right choice. Aw. I like the warm fuzzy feelings rather than "I'm a Chessmaster, did you notice?" vibe.
8. Man, that song was obnoxious at the end of the Japanese version. It was really loud compared to everyone else too. I'm really glad that the English version left out the song in their ending.
9. One change I didn't like was cutting Toya's scene at the end. I felt that would have been a nice moment for the English audience to see. I don't really see why it was cut unless it was for time.
10. I'm really hoping that Keroberos' claim that he would "fill in" Julian was a joke. Because Julian is not supposed to know about all this stuff.
Two odd things that both version had: First, the English version had the Japanese credits. Could they not use footage without it? Were they using a previously subtitled version? What was up with that? Second, both had "End" at the end. There's another season. Why do that?
Okay, time for plot holes.
1. Why did Yueh take out Sakura's Cards? He didn't do that for Li. What gives?
2. Okay, it's nice to know that there are no such thing as a coincidence but Ms. Mizuki didn't really answer Li's question: Why was Julian around before the breaking of the Seal? It's never really explained. Unless that is what Clow Reed meant by putting necessities in her path. But Yueh is always supposed to be around the candidate so why make Julian come so early? I know, because Clow Reed knew it would be Sakura, but that's some serious advanced planning, Oh Great Chess Master.
3. Okay, why couldn't Kero tell Sakura about the particulars of the catastrophe? I can understand not telling her about the Final Judgement, I could understand not telling her about Yueh, but is it seriously violating the rules if he told her, "Well, if you don't succeed, everyone forgets their feelings of love the one person they love most". That would have been helpful to know before Sakura got her butt kicked.
4. Why is Woody under Yueh? Don't trees get more from sunlight? You know, like Keroberos' symbol, the Sun? I just don't get this classification. What was Clow Reed on?
5. Let's examine the plot holes dealing with the Japanese punishment. I've already mentioned the whole "not everyone loves just one person best" thing but let's suppose that it's possible. For the most part, this would cause massive social problems because you could have parents potentially neglecting their children. Clow Reed doesn't care about the welfare of toddlers, just his stupid Cards' feelings. Furthermore, was I the only one to notice that for a lot of people, their lives were better? Let's start with Fujitaka. Although I'm not pleased that Fujitaka no longer loves his wife, one could argue that this could allow him to move on with his life and find love again. How about Tomoyo? Sure, she no longer loves Sakura but I really didn't see any evidence of her suffering from it. She seemed to have a better relationship with her other classmates and it might give her the opportunity to fall in love with someone who might actually return her feelings instead of mooning over Sakura. How about Li? I'm not exactly sure why not loving Sakura made him a normal kid but it did (ironically the English punishment makes his behavior make more sense. If he forgot about the Clow Cards, then he could only care about normal kid stuff). Look at him happily playing soccer like a normal eleven-year-old boy! Li is clearly not suffering! In fact, he seems to be thriving. Oh, wait, shouldn't he love Julian? I guess he likes Sakura better. Anyway, moving on. Okay, Yamazaki and Chiharu not being close any more kind of stinks but they don't seem to be suffering either. As for Rika and Mr. Terada, do I even need to spell this out? I guess so. Rika gets to be a normal girl who is not being molested by her teacher and Mr. Terada gets a chance to have a normal relationship with a woman his own age. And neither of them appear to be suffering any ill effects. As for Toya, again, kind of stinks he doesn't have Yukito but he doesn't seem to be suffering either. In fact, he actually has more time for his little sister, coming to pick her up from practice! The only one who is suffering is Sakura and it didn't escape my notice that one of the main reasons is because Tomoyo and Li are no longer fawning over her. So, basically, Sakura is just selfish. But, to sum it up, no one appeared to be sad, despite Sakura's claim that this would make everyone sad. The only people who would sad are the people who were loved, like Sakura, but the people doing the loving seem to be just fine. And it wasn't like Tomoyo and Li were nasty to Sakura, they were nice and polite. I mean, it stinks that they weren't buddies anymore but it only seemed to stink for Sakura. And it would stink for all those toddlers out there whose parents would no longer love them.
As an aside, I'd like to point out that Clamp loves this punishment. The second movie utilizes it and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle has it actually come true and takes delight in watching Syaoran angst about it. Seriously, Clamp, you guys are kind of obsessed with people forgetting their one true love when magic goes awry.
6. As for the English punishment, it has plot holes of its own. Again, Sakura claims that forgetting about the Clow Cards would kill the bonds they have and that would be awful. But like the previous example, no one seems to be suffering any ill effects as a result. In fact, the less involved a character was with a Clow Card, the less ill effects they would suffer. To illustrate, Sakura and Li became friends because they captured Clow Cards together but Zachary and Chelsea would still be cousins regardless of whether the Clow Cards existed or not. But to get back to Sakura's problem, to be honest, let's think about this logically. If their memories are erased forever, then they wouldn't remember being friends. Therefore, they could not feel sad about not being friends because they wouldn't remember. This actually seems pretty merciful compared to the Japanese punishment. To illustrate, Sakura wouldn't even notice that Li was treating her differently because she wouldn't remember them being friends in the first place. So she wouldn't feel sad because she wouldn't know what she would be sad about. This is one of those "magical punishment" cliches that I always don't get: it wouldn't cause you any suffering to not remember something because you wouldn't remember it. It would hurt the people who do remember the original way but you would not feel any pain. Unfortunately, changing the original caused a minor plot hole with Madison: Madison and Sakura were good friends before the Seal was broken (made her a doll a week before, in fact) so there's no reason she would suddenly be distant.
Edit: 7. Speaking of the Cards' feelings, they say in both versions that the Cards care most for the one who sealed them and wrote their names on the Cards. So wouldn't that mean that all of Li's Cards love him more than Sakura? What about their feelings, huh? They have to go with Sakura whether they like it or not!
Edit: 8. And how come the catastrophe didn't happen when Li lost? Well, I guess because he wasn't chosen by Keroberos but still. On the other hand, what would have happened if Li had won the fight? Would Sakura lose by default or would Yueh battle her as well? What if they both won? Would they share? Fight each other? Flip a coin?
9. All right, time to talk about Sakura's blatant cheating. It is said again and again that no one can help the candidate during the Final Judgement. And yet, Ms. Mizuki can use her stupid bell to push the reset button and then advise Sakura what to do next. I hated this in the manga because this should have not gone through so I hated it here too. I don't care if it's Clow Reed's bell, Ms. Mizuki interfered with the Final Judgement and Sakura should have lost by default. Clow Reed let Sakura cheat, pretty much. It's even worse in the Japanese version because Clow Reed admits he put necessities in her path. So he helped her along the entire time! Sakura is a dirty cheater! There's no other way to describe it: Clow Reed let Sakura cheat because destiny said so. Argh! Sakura is the biggest cheater ever and no one seems to care or even question this, not even Yueh!
10. Speaking of Ms. Mizuki, how the hell did she get up to Sakura's level? She was miles away and on the ground. And wasn't there a barrier preventing such interference? I guess Ms. Mizuki could do it because she had Clow Reed's bell and apparently that makes cheating a-okay?
11. Why did nobody in the entire city of Tokyo notice this battle going on? That is some serious distraction magic at work!
In conclusion, because of very unnecessary scene in one version and a more logical punishment in the other, I judge these episodes to be...
Different, with the English Cardcaptors being the superior!
Episode 47
Episode 45
Episode 46: Sakura and the Final Judgement (Card Captor Sakura) or The Final Judgement (Cardcaptors)
This episode starts with this kind of trippy sequence of Sakura floating through a white void, flashbacking to Julian turning into Yueh. Eventually, Sakura ends up on her building. Meanwhile, on the ground, Madison asks if Julian knew Sakura was capturing Cards. Kero explains that he did not because Yueh and Julian are completely separate entities. Li points out a logical plothole: Kero was awakened when Sakura broke the seal but Julian moved to Reddington ages ago. Ms. Mackenzie explains that there are no coincidences in the world, only inevitability. Anyway, back to the Judgement. Yueh announces the Final Judgement again. He shoots a light at Sakura and reveals all of her Cards. Yueh tells her that she must defeat him using the Cards. Sakura refuses to do it. Too bad. Yueh makes her use Jump to come closer to him. Once she's come back to her senses, Sakura again refuses to hurt Yueh because Yueh is still Julian. Yueh rewards her good will by attacking her. Sakura uses her Cards to run away but Yueh points out that running away will not help her defeat him. Yueh beats Sakura up some more. Eventually, Li can't take it anymore and nearly casts a spell but Keroberos stops him: If he assists her, Sakura loses. Keroberos explains that he believes in Sakura. Back to Sakura and Yueh. Yueh says that if Sakura isn't going to fight, the Judgement is already over. Sakura tries to think of a way to use a Card that will defeat Yueh but not hurt him. Sakura uses Woody, much to Keroberos' horror. Unbeknownst to Sakura, Woody is one of the Cards controlled by the moon so he simply reflects it back on her and Sakura gets wrapped up in branchs. After pointing out that Sakura should have known that Woody was under his jurisdiction, Yueh says that it's over. Sakura has lost. So, the question is now what happens next? First, the Seal will be broken once more. In the English version, Sakura begs to be allowed to try again. Yueh says that's impossible: it is forbidden for a candidate to undergo the Final Judgement twice. To prevent this from happening, Clow Reed decree that if the candidate failed, everyone connected to the Clow Cards would forget this chapter in their lives forever. In the Japanese version, Sakura asks if the catastrophe will happen now and what the catastrophe is. Yueh explains that if the candidate fails the test, everyone connected to the Clow Cards in any way will forget their feelings of love toward the one person they care about most. In any case, down on the ground, Li asks what that means. In the English version, he clarifies that everyone, including the Clow Cards themselves, will forget everything that had happened since the day the Seal was broken. Clow Reed didn't want anyone to suffer so because the bonds they have all made would be too painful to lose and because the Clow Cards care most about the one who sealed them, it will be as if none of that had ever existed for anyone involved. In the Japanese version, Keroberos explains that the Clow Cards care the most about the one who sealed them so to make it not be so tough on the Clow Cards, they forget about the person they care about most. In any case, Sakura digests this information and realizes that she can't let that happen so she tries to free herself of the branches. It doesn't work but Yueh is impressed that she tried. Impressed but not moved to save her so, after pointing out how Clow Reed is better than her, completely encases her in the branches. As this is happening, Li lets loose a primal scream of frustration and Sakura either begs for Julian's help and then realizes that everyone will forget or realizes that everyone will forget who they love without asking for help (English/Japanese). The screen goes dark and then Sakura's alarm goes off. Apparently, it was all a dream. Or was it? Because Sakura goes down to breakfast and thinks something is missing from the table (Answer: no more picture of Sakura's mother). Sakura heads to school and nearly sees Julian with his bike but he fades away. Sakura gets to school and sees Madison, who is friendly but distant. In the Japanese version, Yamazaki addresses Chiharu by her last name. Sakura asks if Yamazaki asks if he's always done that. Chiharu points that they're not that close. Mr. Terada also pops in to ask Rika, in a very neutral tone, to give some papers to her homeroom teacher. She politely agrees. In any case, Li then comes in and greets Sakura politely. Sakura stares at him, which prompts him to ask what's wrong. Sakura says she's fine. Sakura looks sad as she looks over at Madison in class, which has a new teacher and in the Japanese version, she doodles a picture of Kero. In gym class, Sakura woefully looks at Li being perfectly normal, playing soccer with some male classmates as Sakura and her female classmates are playing dodgeball. In the Japanese version, there is a lunch scene where Sakura picks at her food as her girl classmates are all having a good time. In any case, Sakura then is down during cheerleading practice. After that, Sakura meets Madison who is simply polite as she goes home by herself. In the Japanese version, this is followed by Toya waiting for Sakura outside of school and saying something which apparently upsets her, causing her to run away. In any case, she runs to what is clearly Julian's house but it is empty and rundown. Sakura goes inside but finds no one there. In the English version, Sakura mutters that she thought someone would be there as she starts to cry. Then she starts hearing her name being called by her friends: Madison, Li, Ms. Mackenzie, and Keroberos. Then Ms. Mackenzie lifts up her bell, which Sakura hears. Sakura then realizes that she hears the voices and that she now remembers. In the Japanese version, after entering Julian's house, she mutters that no one is there as she starts to cry. She then hears the voices of people. Unfortunately, it's not clear to me who these voices belong to but one is definitely Tomoyo. Then the Song Card appears and starts to sing. Sakura then begins spinning around and the silhouettes of first Tomoyo and Li, then her classmates, then finally Toya, Yukito, and Kero as the Song's song gets additional voices to harmonize with it. Eventually, Sakura is alone surrounded by cherry blossom trees and see Yukito in the distance. Sakura seems confused as to who he is. Ms. Mizuki then lifts up her bell. Hearing the bell, Sakura remembers and runs toward him: this is the person she has the most feelings for. In any case, Sakura is freed from her branch cocoon (although in the Japanese version, Yueh gets to remark that she actually reflected his magic) and sees Ms. Mackenzie with her bell. Sakura remarks that she has her bell. Ms. Mackenzie explains that the bell was left by Clow Reed to give her another chance. The bell dissolves and she adds that it has dissolved because it has served its purpose. So, no more second chances for Sakura. Sakura gets serious. In the English version, Sakura exclaims that the Clow Cards brought them together and so Sakura won't let Yueh take them away. In the Japanese version, Sakura exclaims that a world where people don't remember the one they love most is too sad. In the English version, Sakura asks for the Staff of Clow to guide her actions. In the Japanese version, Sakura affirms that everything will be all right. In any case, the Staff begins to shine a bright light and a magic circle appears. Ms. Mackenzie tells her to raise the Seal. Sakura raises the Staff and all these shooting lights fly through the sky. In the English version, Yueh exclaims that the Cards are returning to her. Ms. Mackenzie explains that the Cards have chosen Sakura. In the Japanese version, Yueh just has no idea what's going on. Ms. Mizuki explains that it's a new power. In any case, Sakura shouts "Release" and her staff transforms, now having a star at its head rather than a bird head thing. Keroberos is stunned by this new development. Sakura then uses Windy on Yueh. Yueh expresses doubt that Windy would even work but, sure enough, it traps him into a windy globe and sets him down. In the English version, Sakura explains that she couldn't give up, that she would miss everyone, even Yueh. She goes on to say that her father says that you can always keep someone close to your heart forever as long as you remember, that's why she couldn't let Yueh make them forget. She knows that she is no Clow Reed but she does know how important friends are. She also promises to give it her best shot. In the Japanese version, Sakura explains she is sure that Yueh loved Clow Reed very much so he should understand that forgetting about that person would be very sad. She knows that she's still a child and that she can't use magic like Clow Reed could but she'll try her best. In any case, Sakura says that she doesn't want to be Yueh's master, she wants to be his friend. At this point, Yueh stands up and tells Sakura to close her eyes. She does so. He declares the Final Judgement over: Sakura is now their master. Sakura then floats up into the sky. She ends up in the nightsky, with a man with dark robes. In the English version, Clow Reed acknowledges that they are finally meeting. Clow Reed has been watching her. He says that Clow Cards need a strong master but they also need someone with a brave heart. Her heart is where Sakura's strength lies. Clow Reed says that Keroberos and Yueh have chosen well. Sakura realizes that this is Clow Reed and then asks him if he gave her new staff. Clow Reed says he did not: Sakura made that staff herself. Her staff is not ruled by the moon or the sun but by her very own star. He advises her to take care of her powers because although her light is small now, it burns bright and will always light her way. In the Japanese version, Clow Reed informs her that he had placed necessities around her disguised as coincidences. She had noticed every single one and was able to have a happy ending. He thanks her. She asks if he's Clow Reed and then asks if he made her wand. Clow Reed says he did not: Sakura made that staff herself. Her staff is not ruled by the moon or the sun but by her very own stars. Even though it is small now, it will continue to shine on its own. He then advises her to take care of her power. In any case, she floats back down to the ground. Madison and Li run up to her and she tells them that she passed. The kids are all very pleased by this turn of events. In the Japanese version, it is revealed that Toya was there the whole time, watching. He is also aware that Yukito isn't a real person. In any case, Yueh and Keroberos discuss how Sakura is their master now. However, she is not quite ready for full responsibilities so they are going to stay in their disguised forms for the time being. In the English version, Yueh points out that if he goes back to Julian, he won't remember anything. Keroberos promises to fill him in. In the Japanese version, this is followed by a montage of various moments in the show. In any case, Kero meets up with Sakura again and Julian is back to normal. Sakura is very happy.
Wanna see it?
Cardcaptors Episode 46: Part 1/3
Click to viewCardcaptors Episode 46: Part 2/3
Cardcaptors Episode 46: Part 3/3
Card Captor Sakura Episode 46: Part 1/3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMNZ3ZIxRa4
Card Captor Sakura Episode 46: Part 2/3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3h0VspLfI4
Card Captor Sakura Episode 46: Part 3/3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-X_SGvWTd8
Sakura is a dirty cheater. I hated how she won in the manga and I hate it here too. I'll get into it during my plot hole portion but argh, I hate how she is allowed to cheat during the Final Judgement. Anyway, this is the last episode of the second season. I started the second season in June and now I'm done in August. So, pretty much it took my entire summer vacation to do the second season. My goal was to finish before I started classes again and I succeeded. Yay! Also, we're nearly at the year mark from when I started doing the experiment in the first place. What I found interesting is that the episode changed what Clow Reed said in the manga. In the manga, Clow Reed's last words are that he will cause problems for Sakura in the future. Did it get temporarily cancelled? Because both versions have the "End" caption at the bottom. I mean, this is a good place to stop but Clamp didn't stop here. No, the second season ends with the sixth volume of the manga. The third season, if I'm understanding it correctly, covers the last six volumes. Hopefully that means less filler.
RESULTS
Sakura: Declared Master of the Cards
Card Total: 52 Clow Cards
Li: Gets nothing
Card Toal: 0 Clow Cards
That's right, people, Li gets absolutely nothing for his trouble. Remember how these Clow Cards are super important to his family? Yeah, he just lost them to some girl who didn't even know they existed until a year ago. All of his family's hard work over the generations, all of their hopes and dreams, torn asunder because Li got his clock cleaned within five minutes of his Final Judgement. I really hope Li can find a good way to explain to his mother back home because I really doubt she's going to take this well.
Of course, she may have already realized and planned for this possibility. There is only one thing left: it's matchmaking time!
The titles are nearly the same but I think the English one is punchier so it wins.
For the first half, nothing much is changed. It only starts changing once Sakura has lost for the first time.
1. First to change is the nature of the punishment. I will admit that I had problems with Japanese version's punishment in the original manga. It doesn't make much sense and would be extremely hard to implement. It assumes that everyone has only one person that they love most of all. This simply isn't true for a lot of people. I mean, just look at Fujitaka. Does he love his dead wife more than his own children? I find that hard to believe. I just don't see how the punishment fits the crime. And in the anime, they do give a rationale but that makes even less sense. Let me get this straight: the reason everyone has to forget their love is because the Clow Cards will be sad if they don't get the Master they want. Then why not just have the curse apply to the Cards and the candidate, why the overkill with having everyone who so much as breathed the same air as these things suffer? I mean, I know it's supposed to be a catastrophe but it just makes Clow Reed look like a huge ass just to protect his Cards' feelings. For these reasons, I prefer the English punishment. It fits the crime, it's easy to implement, and it's not, at face value, hideously cruel. It makes sense that everyone would simply forget about the Cards and the time period related to them. That is an appropriate punishment for the crime and the English version also adds a nice touch by saying that Clow Reed saying he didn't want people to suffer. At face value, it would allow people to not suffer unless you buy into the whole "but then we wouldn't be friends and that's too sad" argument (which part of me doesn't). I'll get into why both of these have their own plot holes later but the short version of what I just said is that I prefer the English punishment.
2. I thought it was interesting that Sakura calls out for Julian's help in the English version. Considering that English Sakura isn't nearly as obsessed with Julian as Japanese Sakura is with Yukito, I found that rather odd, considering that Japanese Sakura doesn't call out to Yukito. Of course, she got her moment with Yukito in the dream thing but I digress.
3. They cut the Yamazaki/Chiharu scene and the Rika/Terada scene in the English version. This makes sense because their lives would not be majorly affected by the loss of their memories of the past year. They also cut the moment where Toya talks to Sakura which somehow upsets her. I just found this scene confusing. Was it because he wasn't with Yukito?
4. The most major change is the Song Card scene. When I was watching the Japanese version, I was thinking, "You know, maybe these episodes are equal. I mean, they changed the nature of the punishment and I'll have to have a think about whether I prefer one over the other but nothing too maj -- what the hell is this?!" No, seriously, what is this scene doing? Why the Song Card? Why the silhouettes? Why the spinning? Why the lameass scene with Sakura realizing she loves Yukito and running to him? WHY?! Why have this scene? I couldn't stop laughing because of how unbelievably bad it was. What were the Japanese producers thinking? Just, argh, why did they kill the mood so badly? The English production team made a good call by cutting this moment because it made it more about all of Sakura's friends, which frankly I care more about than Sakura's puppy love crush on Yukito!
5. They also changed the way Sakura gets her Staff to glow. In the English version, she asks the Staff for show her the way while the Japanese version has Sakura do her "spell": everything will be all right. I've said before that I always felt that Sakura's "spell" was lame but I disliked how the English version ignored the Dream Card prophecy stuff. So, I'm torn: I hate the "I will be fine" spell but I hate ignoring the prophecy of using "Trust myself".
6. I did like the lights being the Clow Cards rushing back to Sakura. I know they're supposed to be Sakura's stars and all but I just found it more emotionally satisfying that the Cards loved her so much that they were willing to ignore Yueh's decree. Come on, it was cool.
7. I also preferred Clow Reed's talk with Sakura in the English version. I really dislike the massive cheating Clow Reed does when it comes to Sakura and, I'm sorry, what coincidences did Sakura notice? She seemed pretty oblivious to them so I don't know what Clow Reed is going on about in the Japanese version. I much preferred Clow Reed saying that Sakura has a brave heart and Yueh and Kero made the right choice. Aw. I like the warm fuzzy feelings rather than "I'm a Chessmaster, did you notice?" vibe.
8. Man, that song was obnoxious at the end of the Japanese version. It was really loud compared to everyone else too. I'm really glad that the English version left out the song in their ending.
9. One change I didn't like was cutting Toya's scene at the end. I felt that would have been a nice moment for the English audience to see. I don't really see why it was cut unless it was for time.
10. I'm really hoping that Keroberos' claim that he would "fill in" Julian was a joke. Because Julian is not supposed to know about all this stuff.
Two odd things that both version had: First, the English version had the Japanese credits. Could they not use footage without it? Were they using a previously subtitled version? What was up with that? Second, both had "End" at the end. There's another season. Why do that?
Okay, time for plot holes.
1. Why did Yueh take out Sakura's Cards? He didn't do that for Li. What gives?
2. Okay, it's nice to know that there are no such thing as a coincidence but Ms. Mizuki didn't really answer Li's question: Why was Julian around before the breaking of the Seal? It's never really explained. Unless that is what Clow Reed meant by putting necessities in her path. But Yueh is always supposed to be around the candidate so why make Julian come so early? I know, because Clow Reed knew it would be Sakura, but that's some serious advanced planning, Oh Great Chess Master.
3. Okay, why couldn't Kero tell Sakura about the particulars of the catastrophe? I can understand not telling her about the Final Judgement, I could understand not telling her about Yueh, but is it seriously violating the rules if he told her, "Well, if you don't succeed, everyone forgets their feelings of love the one person they love most". That would have been helpful to know before Sakura got her butt kicked.
4. Why is Woody under Yueh? Don't trees get more from sunlight? You know, like Keroberos' symbol, the Sun? I just don't get this classification. What was Clow Reed on?
5. Let's examine the plot holes dealing with the Japanese punishment. I've already mentioned the whole "not everyone loves just one person best" thing but let's suppose that it's possible. For the most part, this would cause massive social problems because you could have parents potentially neglecting their children. Clow Reed doesn't care about the welfare of toddlers, just his stupid Cards' feelings. Furthermore, was I the only one to notice that for a lot of people, their lives were better? Let's start with Fujitaka. Although I'm not pleased that Fujitaka no longer loves his wife, one could argue that this could allow him to move on with his life and find love again. How about Tomoyo? Sure, she no longer loves Sakura but I really didn't see any evidence of her suffering from it. She seemed to have a better relationship with her other classmates and it might give her the opportunity to fall in love with someone who might actually return her feelings instead of mooning over Sakura. How about Li? I'm not exactly sure why not loving Sakura made him a normal kid but it did (ironically the English punishment makes his behavior make more sense. If he forgot about the Clow Cards, then he could only care about normal kid stuff). Look at him happily playing soccer like a normal eleven-year-old boy! Li is clearly not suffering! In fact, he seems to be thriving. Oh, wait, shouldn't he love Julian? I guess he likes Sakura better. Anyway, moving on. Okay, Yamazaki and Chiharu not being close any more kind of stinks but they don't seem to be suffering either. As for Rika and Mr. Terada, do I even need to spell this out? I guess so. Rika gets to be a normal girl who is not being molested by her teacher and Mr. Terada gets a chance to have a normal relationship with a woman his own age. And neither of them appear to be suffering any ill effects. As for Toya, again, kind of stinks he doesn't have Yukito but he doesn't seem to be suffering either. In fact, he actually has more time for his little sister, coming to pick her up from practice! The only one who is suffering is Sakura and it didn't escape my notice that one of the main reasons is because Tomoyo and Li are no longer fawning over her. So, basically, Sakura is just selfish. But, to sum it up, no one appeared to be sad, despite Sakura's claim that this would make everyone sad. The only people who would sad are the people who were loved, like Sakura, but the people doing the loving seem to be just fine. And it wasn't like Tomoyo and Li were nasty to Sakura, they were nice and polite. I mean, it stinks that they weren't buddies anymore but it only seemed to stink for Sakura. And it would stink for all those toddlers out there whose parents would no longer love them.
As an aside, I'd like to point out that Clamp loves this punishment. The second movie utilizes it and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle has it actually come true and takes delight in watching Syaoran angst about it. Seriously, Clamp, you guys are kind of obsessed with people forgetting their one true love when magic goes awry.
6. As for the English punishment, it has plot holes of its own. Again, Sakura claims that forgetting about the Clow Cards would kill the bonds they have and that would be awful. But like the previous example, no one seems to be suffering any ill effects as a result. In fact, the less involved a character was with a Clow Card, the less ill effects they would suffer. To illustrate, Sakura and Li became friends because they captured Clow Cards together but Zachary and Chelsea would still be cousins regardless of whether the Clow Cards existed or not. But to get back to Sakura's problem, to be honest, let's think about this logically. If their memories are erased forever, then they wouldn't remember being friends. Therefore, they could not feel sad about not being friends because they wouldn't remember. This actually seems pretty merciful compared to the Japanese punishment. To illustrate, Sakura wouldn't even notice that Li was treating her differently because she wouldn't remember them being friends in the first place. So she wouldn't feel sad because she wouldn't know what she would be sad about. This is one of those "magical punishment" cliches that I always don't get: it wouldn't cause you any suffering to not remember something because you wouldn't remember it. It would hurt the people who do remember the original way but you would not feel any pain. Unfortunately, changing the original caused a minor plot hole with Madison: Madison and Sakura were good friends before the Seal was broken (made her a doll a week before, in fact) so there's no reason she would suddenly be distant.
Edit: 7. Speaking of the Cards' feelings, they say in both versions that the Cards care most for the one who sealed them and wrote their names on the Cards. So wouldn't that mean that all of Li's Cards love him more than Sakura? What about their feelings, huh? They have to go with Sakura whether they like it or not!
Edit: 8. And how come the catastrophe didn't happen when Li lost? Well, I guess because he wasn't chosen by Keroberos but still. On the other hand, what would have happened if Li had won the fight? Would Sakura lose by default or would Yueh battle her as well? What if they both won? Would they share? Fight each other? Flip a coin?
9. All right, time to talk about Sakura's blatant cheating. It is said again and again that no one can help the candidate during the Final Judgement. And yet, Ms. Mizuki can use her stupid bell to push the reset button and then advise Sakura what to do next. I hated this in the manga because this should have not gone through so I hated it here too. I don't care if it's Clow Reed's bell, Ms. Mizuki interfered with the Final Judgement and Sakura should have lost by default. Clow Reed let Sakura cheat, pretty much. It's even worse in the Japanese version because Clow Reed admits he put necessities in her path. So he helped her along the entire time! Sakura is a dirty cheater! There's no other way to describe it: Clow Reed let Sakura cheat because destiny said so. Argh! Sakura is the biggest cheater ever and no one seems to care or even question this, not even Yueh!
10. Speaking of Ms. Mizuki, how the hell did she get up to Sakura's level? She was miles away and on the ground. And wasn't there a barrier preventing such interference? I guess Ms. Mizuki could do it because she had Clow Reed's bell and apparently that makes cheating a-okay?
11. Why did nobody in the entire city of Tokyo notice this battle going on? That is some serious distraction magic at work!
In conclusion, because of very unnecessary scene in one version and a more logical punishment in the other, I judge these episodes to be...
Different, with the English Cardcaptors being the superior!
Episode 47