Tsubasa Chronicle – 21

Short Summary:
All is not well in Outo country as the Oni have started to attack non-slayers in the night. The news spreads quickly, though Fye and Sakura decide to concentrate on making dinner rather than worrying about it. Meanwhile, Kurogane continues Syaoran’s training by instructing him to blindfold himself and then find his way back home. Syaoran heightens his senses, making his way to the cafe, but is ambushed by an Oni. Seeing Syaoran in danger, Ryuuoh takes off his blindfold, and Syaoran proceeds to defeat the demon. As evening sets in, the two talk about their goals of getting stronger. At the Clover lounge, Kurogane and Fye arrive to hear Oruha singing. They question her afterwards about the new Oni, and she reveals that it has a human form and has power over the other Oni. At the city plaza, a cloaked figure uses one of Sakura’s feathers to control the Oni that he summons. Feeling the draw of the feather, Sakura wanders toward it in a half-daze. Syaoran and Ryuuoh happen to be in the area and manage to stop her. They enter the plaza to find some very strong Oni and the cloaked figure watching over them. Syaoran is shocked when he identifies the now not-hooded face as Seishirou-san.

Tsubasa Chronicle delivers another good episode this week. The story is proceeding at a decent pace, but the music really made this episode good for me. I rather enjoy the BGM at the beginning of the episode when Fye and Sakura are in town, and it is an added plus that we get to hear Oruha’s song again. I also like the scenes where Syaoran has a blindfold on; they feel much more vibrant than they did in the manga.
I was worried last week about the pacing of the series, but this episode is handled pretty well in that respect. Though we only cover one chapter, 41, it never feels like the episode is being unnecessarily drawn out. Aside from finally having Fye and Kurogane visit Oruha, the only major change is the addition of Sakura moving towards the plaza after Seishirou uses her feather. So while the manga tends to focus a lot on Syaoran, I’ve noticed that the anime is trying to involve Sakura more into the story, which is for the better.
Next episode should cover Syaoran’s memories and Kurogane and Syaoran’s expedition in the tower. Heck, if Kotoko and Sumomo are going to be in it, then that means they’ll get all the way to chapter 44.
Closing Thought: Aww, Seishirou’s eye doesn’t sparkle like it does in the manga (tipping you off that there’s something strange about it).