Episode 57: "Sakura, Xiaolang, and the Elevator" or "Li's Calling"
Introduction to the Experiment
Episode 56
Episode 57: Sakura, Xiaolang, and the Elevator (Card Captor Sakura) or Li's Calling (Cardcaptors)
Baseline Version: English Cardcaptors
These are pretty much two completely different episodes so two summaries await your eyes.
English version: Li comes home from school, mentally wondering what is TV, especially since there is nothing to do now that the Final Judgement is over. Li angsts about how he "blew it" and this prompts a flashback to Yueh announcing Sakura as the Master of the Clow Cards. Li starts practicing with his sword and wonders why he is even practicing. This prompts another flashback about Sakura's new staff and Sakura asking Li about whether his family is happy that the Cards have all been captured and Li's response at the time. Li complains that it should have been him who is the Master of the Clow Cards, being the descendant of Clow Reed and everything. He flops on to his bed, stating aloud that he failed the test and wondering how he is going to tell his mother. Cue another flashback about Yueh kicking Li's butt during his part of the Final Judgement. Li says that he "can't believe [he] let [his] whole family down."
The next day at school, after the standard greetings, Sakura asks Rita if she's coming to the museum exhibit tomorrow. She can't. Madison states it will be just her and Sakura then. But then Eli enters the conversation - the museum sounds like fun! Li enters the classroom. Sakura is explaining to Eli that they want to check out the Egyptian mummy exhibit. Eli essentially invites himself along. Li is super pissed and stomps his way to his seat. Meanwhile, Sakura is telling Eli when and where they'll meet up. When he arrives at his seat, he clears his throat. Sakura asks if he's okay and Li says he's fine (but in a no-I'm-not-and-you-should-be-able-to-tell-why way). Sakura actually invites Li to come with them to the museum exhibit (as an editorial side note: Sakura does not once actually invite Eli to come with them. Eli is the ultimate creeper, I swear). As Li looks at the flier, Sakura gets all up in his face, urging him to come and pointing out that they talked Eli into coming along (editorial side note: except they totally didn't! I can't let this go, I'm sorry!). Li eventually agrees (reluctantly? It's not clear from the delivery). Sakura is super pumped.
Later, Li is sitting by himself at a little pond, sighing. He overhears Sakura asking Madison if she thinks Li has been acting strange lately. Li ducks to the ground, clearly to eavesdrop. Madison agrees - she points out that Li doesn't seem to like Eli either. Madison wonders why since Eli is so nice. Sakura suggests that they just need to get to know each other better - that's why she invited Li along to the museum. Madison states that they'll make them into friends and Sakura agrees.
Eli comes up behind Li, pointedly asking if he's missing anything. Li gets up and stammers that he wasn't spying on them, no sir! Besides, Eli shouldn't sneak up on people! And with that, Li gathers his stuff and runs off. When Li is gone, Eli states that he just gave him an idea.
As Li runs, he concludes that he should go back home. Yueh floats down into his path with the teddy bear. Yueh explains that, now that all of the Cards have been captured, Li feels that his "place in the Clow dynasty is in question". Li remarks that Sakura is the Master of the Cards now. Yueh agrees but says that his role in this whole business is still important. Li asks what he can do since she has the Cards. Yueh explains that the fate of many people are in Sakura's hands but she'll need his help more than ever. He changes back to Julian. Julian is puzzled how he got there but... wait a minute, did I just copy and paste my part of the summary from the episode where this exact same exchange happens, shot for shot, line for line? Yes, yes, I did. Because that's what they did so why shouldn't I? Anyway, Julian asks if Li has any food.
At Casa d'Eli, Eli is remarking to Spinner that everything is going as planned - he had not expected to win Sakura's trust so easily. Spinner points out that the whole "pretend to be a student in her school" plan was genius since he can use Sakura's friendship with him to his advantage. But what about that meddling kid Li? Eli acknowledges that Li is pretty nosy when it comes to him and has made it his personal mission to keep an eye on Eli. Spinner asks if that is slowing his plans down and then suggests that Ruby and Spinner could put a spell on him. No, that won't be necessary. Eli then stares into the flames in the fireplace and remarks that Li could be useful to him.
Later that night, Li gets home. He checks his messages on his cell phone. He has two: the first one is from his mother. His reaction to hearing her voice is negative, to say the least. She got his letter and remarks that she is glad that the Clow Cards are sealed. She suggests that it may be time to start thinking about returning home. She signs off with a "love you and call me soon". The second one is from Sakura. She meant to talk to him after school but, in any case, he needs to bring money for lunch and she's glad that he and Eli are both coming. She finishes with logistics of where they'll meet and tells him that Kero said "hi". Li thinks to himself that Sakura and him made a good team. Cue flashbacks of the Move Card and the Loop Card (with an intermission for Li to flop down on his bed again). He wonders that maybe Yueh is right - maybe he is still needed because of Eli. Cue a flashback of Eli knocking Li unconscious when he was sitting in tree. He hopes that his mother will let him stay because he really doesn't trust Eli.
It's the next day and after some establishment shots, the kids are having tea in the museum. The kids have been enjoying themselves. Madison points that she got all of the footage she needed for her project on the mummification of pharaohs. Sakura sighs - she hasn't even come up with a topic and it's due Monday. She suggests "strange weather patterns". This reminds Eli to ask Li if he's seen anything strange lately. Li asks what he means. Oh, you know, any strange occurrences. Madison points out that Li hasn't seen anything strange. Sakura stands up and declares that Li hasn't seen anything strange and neither has she! Li is kind of weirded out by this discussion.
Sakura suggests seeing another exhibit but Li declines: he has to get home. He walks away but Sakura follows, begging him not to go. Eli looks on, menacingly.
At the elevator, Li sighs and remarks to himself that there is just something about Eli. Sakura comes around the corner and asks what the big hurry is. Madison and Eli are trailing far behind. Li and Sakura enter the elevator and Li pushes whatever button they need. Sakura urges Eli and Madison to hurry up. The viewer can clearly see Eli cursing something. The elevator starts going crazy and eventually the doors close, trapping Sakura and Li inside. Eli offers to get help and runs off, thinking "have a nice ride, you two!" as he does so.
Li and Sakura have tried the elevator phone and Sakura's cell phone, respectively, with no luck. Nothing to do except wait.
Time passes. Sakura looks around, thinking something is happening but nope, nothing. Her body starts to shake as if she is sniffling. Suddenly, Li lights one of his ofuda. The viewer can see tears at the corner of Sakura's eyes. Li assures her that help is on the way. Sakura remarks that it could be worse - they could be in the dark. Cue the fire going out.
Meanwhile, Eli is doing some sort of magic with his staff and magic circle. The lights begin to flash in the elevator. The elevator is moving but eventually it starts to tilt sideways, throwing Sakura toward the other side of the elevator. The wall is dissolving as Sakura falls toward it. Li goes after her but he's not fast enough. She falls down, down, down the dark shaft.
Li kneels there in stunned silence for six seconds before screaming out Sakura's name. At this, a purple light appears and Sakura comes floating up. She changed the Float Card so she's fine. Li is still looking at the floor so she points out that she's fine, much to Li's surprise. She points out that he showed her "how to use it in the snow once". Li hugs her and tells her that he remembers.
Eli puts his magic stuff away and the elevator is fixed. The door opens (Li has broken the hug by the time Madison sees them). Sakura tells Madison that she transformed another Star Card while Li and Eli look on.
Li comes home. His cell phone rings. It's his mother. She asks if something has happened. Li tells her that something has and he needs to stay there. She says that she had sensed that Sakura and he were facing a powerful force and, whatever it is, Sakura will need him and his powers. She also wanted to tell him that she's proud of him. While Sakura is the Master of the Clow Cards, she couldn't have done it without his help. Li asks if she knows that he failed the test. She knows - he did exactly what he was destined to do. She wants him to be careful. He promises.
Meanwhile, Ruby is remarking to Eli that she knew that Yueh had gotten to Li and convinced him to stay. Spinner gripes that Li is going to do everything he can to protect the Clow Cards. Eli snits that they should focus on what they're supposed to be doing and let him take care of Li. He points out that he's magical, sure, but he's a kid. Besides, Sakura will need his help.
Japanese version: Li comes home from school. He notices the bear he made on his desk. Cue a flashback about Yukito asking if he's going to give it to someone. Li begins practicing with his sword but notices the bear again. He starts imagining Sakura all-romantic-like. He is frustrated because it's definitely not for her. He flops down on the bed and wonders what's wrong with him. Cue flashback of Yueh telling him to search his heart to discover who he cares for.
The next morning, after the standard greetings, Risa shows Sakura a flier for a teddy bear exhibit. Sakura is super pumped and suggests that they all go. Risa, Chiharu, and Naoko can't. Tomoyo's free though. Eriol butts into the conversation.
Li enters and hears Sakura giggling. Apparently, Eriol just knows everything ohmigoduguys. Li is super hella pissed, which amuses Tomoyo greatly. Li stomps over to his desk. Sakura invites Eriol to join them to the exhibit. Li clears his throat. Sakura greets Li and invites him to go to the exhibit too. Sakura gets all up in Li's face, causing him to blush. Eventually, he agrees. Sakura is super happy about this.
The next part is this long montage of Li noticing Sakura throughout the schoolday. There is no dialogue - it's just shots of Li noticing Sakura and being either gobsmacked or flustered or both. It lasts nearly a whole minute.
Later, Li sits at a pond and sighs. He overhears Sakura still going on about that teddy bear exhibit. Li drops to the ground to eavesdrop. Sakura points out that they're giving away souvenir bears. The two girls are very excited about tomorrow. Li looks on, blushing.
Eriol comes up behind him, pointing out that Sakura is very cute. Li does his whole "lady doth protest too much" routine and runs off. Eriol looks on and says that Li is a very honest person.
As he runs, he wonders what is wrong with him. He runs into Yukito. They walk together. Yukito asks if something happened at school as Li is not his usual self. Li denies it. Yukito asks if he's hungry but then points out that, no, it's just him whose hungry. Yukito takes him along shopping. Sakura invited Yukito over for dinner, as often happens. Since he gets free food there so much, he wanted to make cookies to thank the family. Yukito asks Li to pick out something (they're in a baking supply store for context here). Li notices a bear cookie cutter. Yukito sees he's picked a bear and remarks that Sakura likes those. Li stammers a bit until Yukito holds up a giant set of crescent moon and star cookie cutters (or, judging from their sizes, they're cake molds, not cookie cutters). Yukito wonders if his are too big (that's what she said)but Li assures him that it's fine because Sakura will eat anything and she's so happy when she's eating and so she'll gladly "fill her belly with anything [he] make[s]" (that's what she said - I just made this scene much creepier now). Yukito asks if he really likes Sakura that much. Li denies it and runs off.
Li sits on one of the little penguins around the Penguin slide and wonders if he likes her as wind dramatically blows leaves across him and the scene freezes into a stylistic painting.
Li comes home and listens to his messages. He has two: they're both from Sakura. His reaction to hearing her voice is negative. The first message is Sakura pointing out that he left before they had picked a time to meet so the other three had decided on a time. The message is cut off when Sakura screams and something crashes. The second message is a continuation of the first: Sakura had tripped over Kero's games. Kero and Sakura then squabble a bit. Back to business: Sakura gives the meeting time and place and she signs off.
Li is pretty pleased but then notices the bear staring into his soul. He picks it up and then chucks it away from him so it falls very slowly on to the floor. He flops down on the bed and listens to the voicemail again.
This next part is a very long music video of the kids at the teddy bear exhibit. The singer is clearly supposed to be singing from Li's point of view. It's all about feelings and that girl is so mysterious but she trips and crushes are hard, yo. It is 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
The kids are enjoying tea. They're having a pretty great day. Sakura then remarks that she wishes the teddy bear exhibit had been sooner because maybe then her teddy bear would have been better. That reminds Eriol to ask Li if he ever finished his teddy bear. Li freaks out a bit. Tomoyo points out that he did buy one of those kits after all. Sakura is surprised and asks if he has given his bear to anyone yet. Li is blushing and clearly unsettled by this conversation. He suggests that they all go home before the sun sets.
Li walks off with Sakura following, while Eriol looks on, menacingly. Li wonders what exactly he's doing when Sakura gripes that Li walks too fat as she turns the corner. Tomoyo and Eriol are trailing far behind. Li and Sakura get on the elevator and Sakura urges the other two to hurry up. The viewer can see Eriol clearly cursing something and the elevator starts going crazy.
Eventually, the doors shut, trapping Li and Sakura inside. Eriol offers to go get help and runs off.
Meanwhile, Li and Sakura try the elevator phone and her cell phone, respectively, but they don't work. There's nothing to do but wait.
Time passes. Sakura begins to sniffle loudly. Li lights a fire with one of his ofuda, telling her that help is on the way so she mustn't cry. Sakura takes out a handkerchief and suggests they sit down. Li is shocked but bends his knees to sit where he is. Sakura tells him that his pants will get dirty if he sits on the floor so he should sit with her (presumably on the handkerchief but I don't know how she expects both of them to sit together on that).
Anyway, they sit together (Li is noticeably uncomfortable and blushing). Sakura takes a tiny teddy bear cookie. So, apparently Yukito made this giant batch of teddy bear cookies but Kero ate all but one of them. Sakura suggests Li have it. Li declines - Yukito gave it to her so she should have it. Sakura suggests that they share instead, which they do.
Eventually, Li's ofuda fire goes out. Meanwhile, Eriol is doing some magic with his staff and the magic circle. The elevator lights flash and it begins to move. But then it tilts to the side, throwing Sakura toward the wall, which beings to dissolve. Li goes after her but is too slow so she falls down, down, down the dark shaft.
Li kneels there in stunned silence for 12 seconds before screaming Sakura's name. A purple light appears and up floats Sakura. Sakura points out that she used the Float Card. Li hugs her and remarks that he's glad.
Eriol puts his magic stuff away and the elevator is restored and the door opens. Li jumps away as the door opens and Sakura and Tomoyo reconnect while Li and Eriol look on. Eriol remarks that he is "happy for you" (I'm not sure if he means "you" as one person or two people).
Li comes home and he gets a phone call. It's Sakura. She wanted to thank him for the day and she was glad when he cried out her name and showed his concern. She states that she feels that they have become good friends and asks if he feels the same. He says if she feels that way. Sakura then addresses Li as Syaoran (yeah, yeah, yeah, the subtitles say "Xiaolang" but I'm used to him being "Syaoran" that typing Xiaolang at this point would be odd). Sakura signs off.
The episode ends with Li looking out his window in that stylistic way from before.
I was looking forward to this one - sometimes I glance down at the comments for the Cardcaptors episodes and I noticed that the top comment that day was someone complaining about "why do they have to change it? This was the episode where Li first realizes his feelings!" or something like that.
I want to start with re-confirming what I'm actually analyzing with this experiment. I'm NOT judging Cardcaptors on its "accuracy" - whether it changes something or doesn't. Cardcaptors changes a lot, I'll be the first person to admit that.
What I am doing is judging Card Captor Sakura AND Cardcaptors based whether I enjoy it. Am I having a good time or am I watching the clock? Do I laugh at the jokes or tap my finger from impatience? Am I invested in the story or am I rolling my eyes? Do I want to know what happens next or am I dreading plowing through this plotline? Are the actors giving a good performance within the context of what I surmise to be the director's vision or are the actors phoning their performance in?
So, when I say one version is "better" than the other, what I am saying is, "as a viewer, I enjoyed this version more than the other". That's why I sometimes conclude they're equal - as a viewer, I enjoy both interpretations. Salted caramel ice cream is very different than lemon sorbet but I like both.
Which is why I was looking forward to this episode - I knew from that comment that I was going to watch two very different episodes and I would have to judge them on their own merits. The only question is: Am I entertained?
Alright, titles. Man, the Japanese title is so lazy. Why do they just list nouns?! I prefer the English title.
If you skip my summaries, then I'll let you know that the two versions are almost completely different. However, both versions are consistent with the storyline so far: the English version is continuing the subplot of Li being unsure what his role is now and the Japanese version is continuing the subplot of Li falling deeper and deeper in love with Sakura.
They both work. They're both good plots. It really comes down to which plot you like better. Personally, I'll admit that I'm digging the English version's premise with Li's character. It really should have been addressed more in the manga so I like what they're trying to do here.
This is not to say that the English version is perfect. There is a lot of flashback abuse here. I was especially disappointed with the reuse with no change whatsoever of the talk between Yueh and Li. In fact, I thought it was a flashback at first until the final line change. This could have been handled better, especially since the source material gave them a good scene they could have played around with:
In the Japanese version, Li bumps into Yukito after he runs away from the spying incident. I'll admit I'm being a Monday Morning Quarter Back here but I think they could have tweaked this scene instead of reusing the Yueh one. For example, Julian could have noticed something was up (as he did in the original) and, I don't know, maybe he could have asked Li if he was homesick or something. And then Julian could have talked about how "well, it's good that you've got friends here that care about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I've noticed that Sakura hangs out with you a lot - you two seem like a great team."
End scene.
Or...
Julian could have started with the homesick thing and then Li could sort of confess it's because he was supposed to do something for his family but he failed and now he doesn't know what to do.
"Because you think they are going to hate you now or something?"
"Yeah... it was really important to them."
"I'm sure you're really important to them, too."
"You think so? No, no! You... you wouldn't get it!" (runs away).
Another change that I'm waffling on is the last phone call. On one hand, having Sakura be the last caller would have made sense. It would have been nice for Sakura to call and confirm that Li is a valuable member of the Cardcaptor team and that she was glad he was there. In other words, closing the loop on the practical "is Li in Sakura's way?" dilemma (the answer is no).
On the other hand, I did like that Li's mother acts like a real human being and seems to like her child. It is also worked story-telling-wise: the first phone call from Li's mother is her being very brusque with him. I don't know if this was on purpose but I personally liked the insincere-sounding, automatic "love you" sign-off. Notice it's not "I love you", just "love you", followed by an order. (I'll admit that people saying "I love you"/"Love you" as a standard sign-off for phone calls is a personal pet peeve of mine. I had someone tell me that her family does it in case anything were to happen to them - in that case, the last words they would have heard from them was "I love you". Nice thought, but when I hear most people do it, it sounds so robotic and insincere that I'd rather have a heartfelt "Okay, bye!" be the last thing I heard from a loved one instead of the monotone "love you".). Considering how uncomfortable Li is with his mother in general, the first phone call seems like this is how she always talks to him and so it makes sense that he feels ashamed of failing the Final Judgement and thinks he has let his family down. Having Li's mother call him at the end and reassure him not just of his role in Sakura's life (she'll need his help) but also of the love and respect of his family (she is proud of him and wants him to be safe) closes the loop on his emotional "what is Li's place in the Clow Reed dynasty?" dilemma (the answer is he is still needed and loved by those he cares about).
Maybe the English version went with the mother at the end because they wanted to redeem another parent in this series. First Madison's mother is a better parent than the original, now Li's mother is a better parent than the original, what other parent will prove to actually care about their children next?
On the other hand, if I had never seen the source material, would I be thinking these things? Probably not. I did notice the "repeat the Yueh scene" (and I'm still disappointed about it - shame on you, Nelvana) but the rest of the inserted flashbacks made some sense and worked with the story being told. At the time, I didn't notice the insertion of the phone calls from Li's mother and I really liked the plot arc shown in those two phone calls. Another bonus of adding the mother into the story is showing Li as his own independent character with his own problems and his own life outside of the Sakura, which I like.
However, the one major misstep this episode made in the English version is completely forgetting that Li already told the family about the Final Judgement. They even flashbacked to the scene where Li and Sakura talk about it! Why is Li fretting over his mother knowing? She already knows (and then the phone call has her mentioned it being in Li's "letter" - so Li did already tell her in a sense) so why he is acting like he needs to break the news to her? It kind of hurt this episode for me to be honest.
The English version also inserted some scenes with Eli and his crew. These continue to delight. I really like that Eli is played much more menacingly than Eriol is. Eli is an actual antagonist; Eriol is... a creepy old man trying to hook two kids up, it looks like to me.
Speaking of Eli, it did crack me up that Eli just butts into their conversation and invites himself to the museum. The English version of this scene makes it look like the girls had previously decided to go together and were just confirming plans. Not once does Sakura invite Eli to come on screen (she does ask Li, it should be noted). Dude, girls' day out, you're not invited, shut up. The cynical part of me wonders if Sakura invited Li just because she didn't want her and Madison to go with just Creeper!Eli.
In a sudden twist, someone on the Nelvana staff finally remembered (or their new intern finally pointed out, who knows?) that they have the power of Photoshop. Every blushing moment from Li has the red airbrushed out. There are a few shots here and there where I could still see faint lines but I'm watching this on my computer sitting on my chair, not lounging on my couch like I would if I was watching this on TV so I'm not sure if a normal viewer at the time would have noticed it.
So, with all of these flashbacks and new Eli scenes but still a 19 minute run time, what was the English version trying to get rid of?
P-A-D-D-I-N-G! With the exception of the Li bumps into Yukito scene, most of the other scenes that are cut (not altered, just cut entirely) are long montages of Li looking at Sakura. The "Li notices Sakura" montage that lasts nearly a minute? It felt like two minutes. There is no dialogue - it's just these little moments where Li and Sakura are in the same room and Li notices Sakura somehow, that's it.
The worst offender is what I called the "music video" in the summary. It is 3 minutes and 25 seconds of just the kids at the exhibit while a J-Pop song plays. It's not a very good song either. It is literally just shots of Li and Sakura framed by leaf cut-offs and Sakura prancing around and OH MY GOD END! It goes on so long that I can't blame the English version for finding the need to invent scenes with Eli because I just can't take this!
Have I mentioned that the Sakura Card arc (which we are in) is only 6 volumes long? This is why there are scenes like this - there just isn't enough material here to go with.
Of course, the English version has to cut these scenes not just because they are not useful but they have zero to do with their plot line... which left them with 4 1/2 minutes to kill. So flashback abuse.
In defense of the Japanese version, these scenes work with their plot line of Li's crush. I'm just not a fan of these dialogue-less montages. We get it, Li is crushing on Sakura and she's super cute, move on with the story.
The Japanese version, because of its relatively light-hearted premise, is a goofier episode. Li has steam coming out of him during the classroom while the English Li (with a more somber episode premise) does not. It made me think of a scene in World's Greatest First Love where the two manga editors review a manga-ka's latest storyboard. The newer editor points out that the manga-ka has this serious scene happening and then ruins it with a stupid gag. The veteran editor agrees and tell him to remove that particular gag but to be careful not to remove every mood-interrupting gag he sees since he should still let the author have their fun (as a side note, I'm hyper aware of this tendency now when reading shojo manga/watching shojo anime - it happens more than you'd think so it makes me wonder how many other gags the editor had to cut to get down to the gags I still see). The Japanese version of this episode has a lot more gags and fluff to it than the English version does.
A funny moment that I'm sure was not supposed to be funny was the scene in the park that the Japanese version has, with the wind blowing the leaves past Li as he sits. It is so melodramatic and narmish that I burst out laughing at what I am sure was supposed to be dramatic turning point for Li's character. I also don't get why they inserted the weird artwork there and at the end. It's never been used before, it doesn't really add anything, so why?
However, except for the padding scenes, this episode is pretty good. The plot line with Li continuing to come to terms with his feelings (by the way, YouTube commenter on the English version: this isn't really the first episode that he realizes his feelings. This has been happening for awhile and I didn't see much progress than before) is engaging and fun. I can tell that it's just a continuation of this plotline and we haven't seen the end of it yet (which is going to create problems for the English version, which I felt concluded their parallel plotline in this episode).
Not really any plotholes per say, just a thought: Li runs every time something upsets him. In this episode in particular, he ran away a lot and it looks like he ran pretty far each time. He must have some crazy endurance!
Oh, and a minor nitpick: Unless Yukito picked a different cookie cutter or seriously stinks at baking, the cookie that Sakura had was much too small for the cookie cutter Li had. His cookie cutter was nearly the size of his hand. Her cookie looked like a Teddy Graham (maybe it was and Yukito just lied).
So, to circle back to my introduction for this entry, yes, this was the episode where Li became more aware of his growing romantic feelings for Sakura. But it was also the episode where Li got some clarity of what his role is right now in terms of the Master of the Clow Cards. Both episodes told the story their canons were building up to. But which one entertained me?
While the English version had a better story, it had a weaker execution of that story because of jarring continuity errors. While the Japanese version had a lot of padding and repetition, Li's actress' delivery was stronger and there were little to no continuity errors. So I am torn: I liked the English version's story better but I preferred the Japanese version's execution of its story. Because of this, I conclude that these episodes are...
Equal!
Episode 57
Episode 56
Episode 57: Sakura, Xiaolang, and the Elevator (Card Captor Sakura) or Li's Calling (Cardcaptors)
Baseline Version: English Cardcaptors
These are pretty much two completely different episodes so two summaries await your eyes.
English version: Li comes home from school, mentally wondering what is TV, especially since there is nothing to do now that the Final Judgement is over. Li angsts about how he "blew it" and this prompts a flashback to Yueh announcing Sakura as the Master of the Clow Cards. Li starts practicing with his sword and wonders why he is even practicing. This prompts another flashback about Sakura's new staff and Sakura asking Li about whether his family is happy that the Cards have all been captured and Li's response at the time. Li complains that it should have been him who is the Master of the Clow Cards, being the descendant of Clow Reed and everything. He flops on to his bed, stating aloud that he failed the test and wondering how he is going to tell his mother. Cue another flashback about Yueh kicking Li's butt during his part of the Final Judgement. Li says that he "can't believe [he] let [his] whole family down."
The next day at school, after the standard greetings, Sakura asks Rita if she's coming to the museum exhibit tomorrow. She can't. Madison states it will be just her and Sakura then. But then Eli enters the conversation - the museum sounds like fun! Li enters the classroom. Sakura is explaining to Eli that they want to check out the Egyptian mummy exhibit. Eli essentially invites himself along. Li is super pissed and stomps his way to his seat. Meanwhile, Sakura is telling Eli when and where they'll meet up. When he arrives at his seat, he clears his throat. Sakura asks if he's okay and Li says he's fine (but in a no-I'm-not-and-you-should-be-able-to-tell-why way). Sakura actually invites Li to come with them to the museum exhibit (as an editorial side note: Sakura does not once actually invite Eli to come with them. Eli is the ultimate creeper, I swear). As Li looks at the flier, Sakura gets all up in his face, urging him to come and pointing out that they talked Eli into coming along (editorial side note: except they totally didn't! I can't let this go, I'm sorry!). Li eventually agrees (reluctantly? It's not clear from the delivery). Sakura is super pumped.
Later, Li is sitting by himself at a little pond, sighing. He overhears Sakura asking Madison if she thinks Li has been acting strange lately. Li ducks to the ground, clearly to eavesdrop. Madison agrees - she points out that Li doesn't seem to like Eli either. Madison wonders why since Eli is so nice. Sakura suggests that they just need to get to know each other better - that's why she invited Li along to the museum. Madison states that they'll make them into friends and Sakura agrees.
Eli comes up behind Li, pointedly asking if he's missing anything. Li gets up and stammers that he wasn't spying on them, no sir! Besides, Eli shouldn't sneak up on people! And with that, Li gathers his stuff and runs off. When Li is gone, Eli states that he just gave him an idea.
As Li runs, he concludes that he should go back home. Yueh floats down into his path with the teddy bear. Yueh explains that, now that all of the Cards have been captured, Li feels that his "place in the Clow dynasty is in question". Li remarks that Sakura is the Master of the Cards now. Yueh agrees but says that his role in this whole business is still important. Li asks what he can do since she has the Cards. Yueh explains that the fate of many people are in Sakura's hands but she'll need his help more than ever. He changes back to Julian. Julian is puzzled how he got there but... wait a minute, did I just copy and paste my part of the summary from the episode where this exact same exchange happens, shot for shot, line for line? Yes, yes, I did. Because that's what they did so why shouldn't I? Anyway, Julian asks if Li has any food.
At Casa d'Eli, Eli is remarking to Spinner that everything is going as planned - he had not expected to win Sakura's trust so easily. Spinner points out that the whole "pretend to be a student in her school" plan was genius since he can use Sakura's friendship with him to his advantage. But what about that meddling kid Li? Eli acknowledges that Li is pretty nosy when it comes to him and has made it his personal mission to keep an eye on Eli. Spinner asks if that is slowing his plans down and then suggests that Ruby and Spinner could put a spell on him. No, that won't be necessary. Eli then stares into the flames in the fireplace and remarks that Li could be useful to him.
Later that night, Li gets home. He checks his messages on his cell phone. He has two: the first one is from his mother. His reaction to hearing her voice is negative, to say the least. She got his letter and remarks that she is glad that the Clow Cards are sealed. She suggests that it may be time to start thinking about returning home. She signs off with a "love you and call me soon". The second one is from Sakura. She meant to talk to him after school but, in any case, he needs to bring money for lunch and she's glad that he and Eli are both coming. She finishes with logistics of where they'll meet and tells him that Kero said "hi". Li thinks to himself that Sakura and him made a good team. Cue flashbacks of the Move Card and the Loop Card (with an intermission for Li to flop down on his bed again). He wonders that maybe Yueh is right - maybe he is still needed because of Eli. Cue a flashback of Eli knocking Li unconscious when he was sitting in tree. He hopes that his mother will let him stay because he really doesn't trust Eli.
It's the next day and after some establishment shots, the kids are having tea in the museum. The kids have been enjoying themselves. Madison points that she got all of the footage she needed for her project on the mummification of pharaohs. Sakura sighs - she hasn't even come up with a topic and it's due Monday. She suggests "strange weather patterns". This reminds Eli to ask Li if he's seen anything strange lately. Li asks what he means. Oh, you know, any strange occurrences. Madison points out that Li hasn't seen anything strange. Sakura stands up and declares that Li hasn't seen anything strange and neither has she! Li is kind of weirded out by this discussion.
Sakura suggests seeing another exhibit but Li declines: he has to get home. He walks away but Sakura follows, begging him not to go. Eli looks on, menacingly.
At the elevator, Li sighs and remarks to himself that there is just something about Eli. Sakura comes around the corner and asks what the big hurry is. Madison and Eli are trailing far behind. Li and Sakura enter the elevator and Li pushes whatever button they need. Sakura urges Eli and Madison to hurry up. The viewer can clearly see Eli cursing something. The elevator starts going crazy and eventually the doors close, trapping Sakura and Li inside. Eli offers to get help and runs off, thinking "have a nice ride, you two!" as he does so.
Li and Sakura have tried the elevator phone and Sakura's cell phone, respectively, with no luck. Nothing to do except wait.
Time passes. Sakura looks around, thinking something is happening but nope, nothing. Her body starts to shake as if she is sniffling. Suddenly, Li lights one of his ofuda. The viewer can see tears at the corner of Sakura's eyes. Li assures her that help is on the way. Sakura remarks that it could be worse - they could be in the dark. Cue the fire going out.
Meanwhile, Eli is doing some sort of magic with his staff and magic circle. The lights begin to flash in the elevator. The elevator is moving but eventually it starts to tilt sideways, throwing Sakura toward the other side of the elevator. The wall is dissolving as Sakura falls toward it. Li goes after her but he's not fast enough. She falls down, down, down the dark shaft.
Li kneels there in stunned silence for six seconds before screaming out Sakura's name. At this, a purple light appears and Sakura comes floating up. She changed the Float Card so she's fine. Li is still looking at the floor so she points out that she's fine, much to Li's surprise. She points out that he showed her "how to use it in the snow once". Li hugs her and tells her that he remembers.
Eli puts his magic stuff away and the elevator is fixed. The door opens (Li has broken the hug by the time Madison sees them). Sakura tells Madison that she transformed another Star Card while Li and Eli look on.
Li comes home. His cell phone rings. It's his mother. She asks if something has happened. Li tells her that something has and he needs to stay there. She says that she had sensed that Sakura and he were facing a powerful force and, whatever it is, Sakura will need him and his powers. She also wanted to tell him that she's proud of him. While Sakura is the Master of the Clow Cards, she couldn't have done it without his help. Li asks if she knows that he failed the test. She knows - he did exactly what he was destined to do. She wants him to be careful. He promises.
Meanwhile, Ruby is remarking to Eli that she knew that Yueh had gotten to Li and convinced him to stay. Spinner gripes that Li is going to do everything he can to protect the Clow Cards. Eli snits that they should focus on what they're supposed to be doing and let him take care of Li. He points out that he's magical, sure, but he's a kid. Besides, Sakura will need his help.
Japanese version: Li comes home from school. He notices the bear he made on his desk. Cue a flashback about Yukito asking if he's going to give it to someone. Li begins practicing with his sword but notices the bear again. He starts imagining Sakura all-romantic-like. He is frustrated because it's definitely not for her. He flops down on the bed and wonders what's wrong with him. Cue flashback of Yueh telling him to search his heart to discover who he cares for.
The next morning, after the standard greetings, Risa shows Sakura a flier for a teddy bear exhibit. Sakura is super pumped and suggests that they all go. Risa, Chiharu, and Naoko can't. Tomoyo's free though. Eriol butts into the conversation.
Li enters and hears Sakura giggling. Apparently, Eriol just knows everything ohmigoduguys. Li is super hella pissed, which amuses Tomoyo greatly. Li stomps over to his desk. Sakura invites Eriol to join them to the exhibit. Li clears his throat. Sakura greets Li and invites him to go to the exhibit too. Sakura gets all up in Li's face, causing him to blush. Eventually, he agrees. Sakura is super happy about this.
The next part is this long montage of Li noticing Sakura throughout the schoolday. There is no dialogue - it's just shots of Li noticing Sakura and being either gobsmacked or flustered or both. It lasts nearly a whole minute.
Later, Li sits at a pond and sighs. He overhears Sakura still going on about that teddy bear exhibit. Li drops to the ground to eavesdrop. Sakura points out that they're giving away souvenir bears. The two girls are very excited about tomorrow. Li looks on, blushing.
Eriol comes up behind him, pointing out that Sakura is very cute. Li does his whole "lady doth protest too much" routine and runs off. Eriol looks on and says that Li is a very honest person.
As he runs, he wonders what is wrong with him. He runs into Yukito. They walk together. Yukito asks if something happened at school as Li is not his usual self. Li denies it. Yukito asks if he's hungry but then points out that, no, it's just him whose hungry. Yukito takes him along shopping. Sakura invited Yukito over for dinner, as often happens. Since he gets free food there so much, he wanted to make cookies to thank the family. Yukito asks Li to pick out something (they're in a baking supply store for context here). Li notices a bear cookie cutter. Yukito sees he's picked a bear and remarks that Sakura likes those. Li stammers a bit until Yukito holds up a giant set of crescent moon and star cookie cutters (or, judging from their sizes, they're cake molds, not cookie cutters). Yukito wonders if his are too big (that's what she said)but Li assures him that it's fine because Sakura will eat anything and she's so happy when she's eating and so she'll gladly "fill her belly with anything [he] make[s]" (that's what she said - I just made this scene much creepier now). Yukito asks if he really likes Sakura that much. Li denies it and runs off.
Li sits on one of the little penguins around the Penguin slide and wonders if he likes her as wind dramatically blows leaves across him and the scene freezes into a stylistic painting.
Li comes home and listens to his messages. He has two: they're both from Sakura. His reaction to hearing her voice is negative. The first message is Sakura pointing out that he left before they had picked a time to meet so the other three had decided on a time. The message is cut off when Sakura screams and something crashes. The second message is a continuation of the first: Sakura had tripped over Kero's games. Kero and Sakura then squabble a bit. Back to business: Sakura gives the meeting time and place and she signs off.
Li is pretty pleased but then notices the bear staring into his soul. He picks it up and then chucks it away from him so it falls very slowly on to the floor. He flops down on the bed and listens to the voicemail again.
This next part is a very long music video of the kids at the teddy bear exhibit. The singer is clearly supposed to be singing from Li's point of view. It's all about feelings and that girl is so mysterious but she trips and crushes are hard, yo. It is 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
The kids are enjoying tea. They're having a pretty great day. Sakura then remarks that she wishes the teddy bear exhibit had been sooner because maybe then her teddy bear would have been better. That reminds Eriol to ask Li if he ever finished his teddy bear. Li freaks out a bit. Tomoyo points out that he did buy one of those kits after all. Sakura is surprised and asks if he has given his bear to anyone yet. Li is blushing and clearly unsettled by this conversation. He suggests that they all go home before the sun sets.
Li walks off with Sakura following, while Eriol looks on, menacingly. Li wonders what exactly he's doing when Sakura gripes that Li walks too fat as she turns the corner. Tomoyo and Eriol are trailing far behind. Li and Sakura get on the elevator and Sakura urges the other two to hurry up. The viewer can see Eriol clearly cursing something and the elevator starts going crazy.
Eventually, the doors shut, trapping Li and Sakura inside. Eriol offers to go get help and runs off.
Meanwhile, Li and Sakura try the elevator phone and her cell phone, respectively, but they don't work. There's nothing to do but wait.
Time passes. Sakura begins to sniffle loudly. Li lights a fire with one of his ofuda, telling her that help is on the way so she mustn't cry. Sakura takes out a handkerchief and suggests they sit down. Li is shocked but bends his knees to sit where he is. Sakura tells him that his pants will get dirty if he sits on the floor so he should sit with her (presumably on the handkerchief but I don't know how she expects both of them to sit together on that).
Anyway, they sit together (Li is noticeably uncomfortable and blushing). Sakura takes a tiny teddy bear cookie. So, apparently Yukito made this giant batch of teddy bear cookies but Kero ate all but one of them. Sakura suggests Li have it. Li declines - Yukito gave it to her so she should have it. Sakura suggests that they share instead, which they do.
Eventually, Li's ofuda fire goes out. Meanwhile, Eriol is doing some magic with his staff and the magic circle. The elevator lights flash and it begins to move. But then it tilts to the side, throwing Sakura toward the wall, which beings to dissolve. Li goes after her but is too slow so she falls down, down, down the dark shaft.
Li kneels there in stunned silence for 12 seconds before screaming Sakura's name. A purple light appears and up floats Sakura. Sakura points out that she used the Float Card. Li hugs her and remarks that he's glad.
Eriol puts his magic stuff away and the elevator is restored and the door opens. Li jumps away as the door opens and Sakura and Tomoyo reconnect while Li and Eriol look on. Eriol remarks that he is "happy for you" (I'm not sure if he means "you" as one person or two people).
Li comes home and he gets a phone call. It's Sakura. She wanted to thank him for the day and she was glad when he cried out her name and showed his concern. She states that she feels that they have become good friends and asks if he feels the same. He says if she feels that way. Sakura then addresses Li as Syaoran (yeah, yeah, yeah, the subtitles say "Xiaolang" but I'm used to him being "Syaoran" that typing Xiaolang at this point would be odd). Sakura signs off.
The episode ends with Li looking out his window in that stylistic way from before.
I was looking forward to this one - sometimes I glance down at the comments for the Cardcaptors episodes and I noticed that the top comment that day was someone complaining about "why do they have to change it? This was the episode where Li first realizes his feelings!" or something like that.
I want to start with re-confirming what I'm actually analyzing with this experiment. I'm NOT judging Cardcaptors on its "accuracy" - whether it changes something or doesn't. Cardcaptors changes a lot, I'll be the first person to admit that.
What I am doing is judging Card Captor Sakura AND Cardcaptors based whether I enjoy it. Am I having a good time or am I watching the clock? Do I laugh at the jokes or tap my finger from impatience? Am I invested in the story or am I rolling my eyes? Do I want to know what happens next or am I dreading plowing through this plotline? Are the actors giving a good performance within the context of what I surmise to be the director's vision or are the actors phoning their performance in?
So, when I say one version is "better" than the other, what I am saying is, "as a viewer, I enjoyed this version more than the other". That's why I sometimes conclude they're equal - as a viewer, I enjoy both interpretations. Salted caramel ice cream is very different than lemon sorbet but I like both.
Which is why I was looking forward to this episode - I knew from that comment that I was going to watch two very different episodes and I would have to judge them on their own merits. The only question is: Am I entertained?
Alright, titles. Man, the Japanese title is so lazy. Why do they just list nouns?! I prefer the English title.
If you skip my summaries, then I'll let you know that the two versions are almost completely different. However, both versions are consistent with the storyline so far: the English version is continuing the subplot of Li being unsure what his role is now and the Japanese version is continuing the subplot of Li falling deeper and deeper in love with Sakura.
They both work. They're both good plots. It really comes down to which plot you like better. Personally, I'll admit that I'm digging the English version's premise with Li's character. It really should have been addressed more in the manga so I like what they're trying to do here.
This is not to say that the English version is perfect. There is a lot of flashback abuse here. I was especially disappointed with the reuse with no change whatsoever of the talk between Yueh and Li. In fact, I thought it was a flashback at first until the final line change. This could have been handled better, especially since the source material gave them a good scene they could have played around with:
In the Japanese version, Li bumps into Yukito after he runs away from the spying incident. I'll admit I'm being a Monday Morning Quarter Back here but I think they could have tweaked this scene instead of reusing the Yueh one. For example, Julian could have noticed something was up (as he did in the original) and, I don't know, maybe he could have asked Li if he was homesick or something. And then Julian could have talked about how "well, it's good that you've got friends here that care about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I've noticed that Sakura hangs out with you a lot - you two seem like a great team."
End scene.
Or...
Julian could have started with the homesick thing and then Li could sort of confess it's because he was supposed to do something for his family but he failed and now he doesn't know what to do.
"Because you think they are going to hate you now or something?"
"Yeah... it was really important to them."
"I'm sure you're really important to them, too."
"You think so? No, no! You... you wouldn't get it!" (runs away).
Another change that I'm waffling on is the last phone call. On one hand, having Sakura be the last caller would have made sense. It would have been nice for Sakura to call and confirm that Li is a valuable member of the Cardcaptor team and that she was glad he was there. In other words, closing the loop on the practical "is Li in Sakura's way?" dilemma (the answer is no).
On the other hand, I did like that Li's mother acts like a real human being and seems to like her child. It is also worked story-telling-wise: the first phone call from Li's mother is her being very brusque with him. I don't know if this was on purpose but I personally liked the insincere-sounding, automatic "love you" sign-off. Notice it's not "I love you", just "love you", followed by an order. (I'll admit that people saying "I love you"/"Love you" as a standard sign-off for phone calls is a personal pet peeve of mine. I had someone tell me that her family does it in case anything were to happen to them - in that case, the last words they would have heard from them was "I love you". Nice thought, but when I hear most people do it, it sounds so robotic and insincere that I'd rather have a heartfelt "Okay, bye!" be the last thing I heard from a loved one instead of the monotone "love you".). Considering how uncomfortable Li is with his mother in general, the first phone call seems like this is how she always talks to him and so it makes sense that he feels ashamed of failing the Final Judgement and thinks he has let his family down. Having Li's mother call him at the end and reassure him not just of his role in Sakura's life (she'll need his help) but also of the love and respect of his family (she is proud of him and wants him to be safe) closes the loop on his emotional "what is Li's place in the Clow Reed dynasty?" dilemma (the answer is he is still needed and loved by those he cares about).
Maybe the English version went with the mother at the end because they wanted to redeem another parent in this series. First Madison's mother is a better parent than the original, now Li's mother is a better parent than the original, what other parent will prove to actually care about their children next?
On the other hand, if I had never seen the source material, would I be thinking these things? Probably not. I did notice the "repeat the Yueh scene" (and I'm still disappointed about it - shame on you, Nelvana) but the rest of the inserted flashbacks made some sense and worked with the story being told. At the time, I didn't notice the insertion of the phone calls from Li's mother and I really liked the plot arc shown in those two phone calls. Another bonus of adding the mother into the story is showing Li as his own independent character with his own problems and his own life outside of the Sakura, which I like.
However, the one major misstep this episode made in the English version is completely forgetting that Li already told the family about the Final Judgement. They even flashbacked to the scene where Li and Sakura talk about it! Why is Li fretting over his mother knowing? She already knows (and then the phone call has her mentioned it being in Li's "letter" - so Li did already tell her in a sense) so why he is acting like he needs to break the news to her? It kind of hurt this episode for me to be honest.
The English version also inserted some scenes with Eli and his crew. These continue to delight. I really like that Eli is played much more menacingly than Eriol is. Eli is an actual antagonist; Eriol is... a creepy old man trying to hook two kids up, it looks like to me.
Speaking of Eli, it did crack me up that Eli just butts into their conversation and invites himself to the museum. The English version of this scene makes it look like the girls had previously decided to go together and were just confirming plans. Not once does Sakura invite Eli to come on screen (she does ask Li, it should be noted). Dude, girls' day out, you're not invited, shut up. The cynical part of me wonders if Sakura invited Li just because she didn't want her and Madison to go with just Creeper!Eli.
In a sudden twist, someone on the Nelvana staff finally remembered (or their new intern finally pointed out, who knows?) that they have the power of Photoshop. Every blushing moment from Li has the red airbrushed out. There are a few shots here and there where I could still see faint lines but I'm watching this on my computer sitting on my chair, not lounging on my couch like I would if I was watching this on TV so I'm not sure if a normal viewer at the time would have noticed it.
So, with all of these flashbacks and new Eli scenes but still a 19 minute run time, what was the English version trying to get rid of?
P-A-D-D-I-N-G! With the exception of the Li bumps into Yukito scene, most of the other scenes that are cut (not altered, just cut entirely) are long montages of Li looking at Sakura. The "Li notices Sakura" montage that lasts nearly a minute? It felt like two minutes. There is no dialogue - it's just these little moments where Li and Sakura are in the same room and Li notices Sakura somehow, that's it.
The worst offender is what I called the "music video" in the summary. It is 3 minutes and 25 seconds of just the kids at the exhibit while a J-Pop song plays. It's not a very good song either. It is literally just shots of Li and Sakura framed by leaf cut-offs and Sakura prancing around and OH MY GOD END! It goes on so long that I can't blame the English version for finding the need to invent scenes with Eli because I just can't take this!
Have I mentioned that the Sakura Card arc (which we are in) is only 6 volumes long? This is why there are scenes like this - there just isn't enough material here to go with.
Of course, the English version has to cut these scenes not just because they are not useful but they have zero to do with their plot line... which left them with 4 1/2 minutes to kill. So flashback abuse.
In defense of the Japanese version, these scenes work with their plot line of Li's crush. I'm just not a fan of these dialogue-less montages. We get it, Li is crushing on Sakura and she's super cute, move on with the story.
The Japanese version, because of its relatively light-hearted premise, is a goofier episode. Li has steam coming out of him during the classroom while the English Li (with a more somber episode premise) does not. It made me think of a scene in World's Greatest First Love where the two manga editors review a manga-ka's latest storyboard. The newer editor points out that the manga-ka has this serious scene happening and then ruins it with a stupid gag. The veteran editor agrees and tell him to remove that particular gag but to be careful not to remove every mood-interrupting gag he sees since he should still let the author have their fun (as a side note, I'm hyper aware of this tendency now when reading shojo manga/watching shojo anime - it happens more than you'd think so it makes me wonder how many other gags the editor had to cut to get down to the gags I still see). The Japanese version of this episode has a lot more gags and fluff to it than the English version does.
A funny moment that I'm sure was not supposed to be funny was the scene in the park that the Japanese version has, with the wind blowing the leaves past Li as he sits. It is so melodramatic and narmish that I burst out laughing at what I am sure was supposed to be dramatic turning point for Li's character. I also don't get why they inserted the weird artwork there and at the end. It's never been used before, it doesn't really add anything, so why?
However, except for the padding scenes, this episode is pretty good. The plot line with Li continuing to come to terms with his feelings (by the way, YouTube commenter on the English version: this isn't really the first episode that he realizes his feelings. This has been happening for awhile and I didn't see much progress than before) is engaging and fun. I can tell that it's just a continuation of this plotline and we haven't seen the end of it yet (which is going to create problems for the English version, which I felt concluded their parallel plotline in this episode).
Not really any plotholes per say, just a thought: Li runs every time something upsets him. In this episode in particular, he ran away a lot and it looks like he ran pretty far each time. He must have some crazy endurance!
Oh, and a minor nitpick: Unless Yukito picked a different cookie cutter or seriously stinks at baking, the cookie that Sakura had was much too small for the cookie cutter Li had. His cookie cutter was nearly the size of his hand. Her cookie looked like a Teddy Graham (maybe it was and Yukito just lied).
So, to circle back to my introduction for this entry, yes, this was the episode where Li became more aware of his growing romantic feelings for Sakura. But it was also the episode where Li got some clarity of what his role is right now in terms of the Master of the Clow Cards. Both episodes told the story their canons were building up to. But which one entertained me?
While the English version had a better story, it had a weaker execution of that story because of jarring continuity errors. While the Japanese version had a lot of padding and repetition, Li's actress' delivery was stronger and there were little to no continuity errors. So I am torn: I liked the English version's story better but I preferred the Japanese version's execution of its story. Because of this, I conclude that these episodes are...
Equal!
Episode 57