Final Impressions / First Impressions / OVA/Movie / Tsubasa Chronicle

Summary:

Having just been told that the real Syaoran is wearing the crest of the person who murdered his mother, Kurogane’s anger flares up, but a message from Yuuko via Mokona stops him. Yuuko explains that the person who actually killed Kurogane’s mother also captured the real Syaoran and that this Syaoran doesn’t know where that person is. Kurogane wants to hear more, but for now, attending to his wounded friends is more important. The most injured is Fay due to the loss of his left eye, however when Mokona pleas for Yuuko’s help, Fay himself claims not to want to be saved because he knows that staying alive means that the magic Syaoran got from him will continue to exist. Hearing Fay say this pisses Kurogane off, and after Fay loses consciousness, he asks Yuuko if there’s a way to keep Fay from dying. Yuuko confirms that there is, but she feels that the cost is too high, and before she can go into it, the others come into the room to report that the underground water has nearly all disappeared.

Syaoran blames this on his own appearance, but Subaru explains that it’s actually his fault. Back when he and Kamui first arrived in this world, Subaru had been pulled into the water, and he now blames himself for the fact that everything that happened earlier was in the basement. To make up for it, he asks Yuuko to fill the underground reservoir with water. The deal that Yuuko comes up with involves Kurogane requesting the water, and in exchange for this wish being asked by someone else, Subaru will save Fay with his vampire blood. However, since it’s Kurogane who doesn’t want Fay to die, Yuuko stipulates that Kurogane has to allow Fay to drink his blood at the same time that Fay drinks Subaru’s blood. This has the double effect of making it so that Fay doesn’t drink anyone’s blood other than Kurogane’s and so that Kurogane is now responsible for both their lives. Fay tries to speak up against this idea, but Kurogane shuts him up by saying that he’ll kill Fay if Fay wants to die so much. Until then, he urges Fay to live.

In the end, it is Kamui who gives Fay the vampire blood instead of Subaru, and the subsequent transformation is visibly painful. While this is going on, Kamui and Yuuko discuss how Fay’s stolen eye won’t be regenerated because it happened before he became a vampire. Once the transformation is complete and Fay loses consciousness again, they decide to let him rest and head downstairs towards the basement so that they can fill it with water. However, before they can do that, they get alerted to the fact that Fuuma and his group are approaching the building. Fuuma is carrying with him one of Sakura’s feathers, and he’s interested in making a deal: he’ll hand over the feather to replace the one that Sakura absorbed, but in exchange, all of the Tower people will migrate to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Fuuma thinks this will work out because the people of the Tower are in need of water, and the people here need a feather to protect the building. The main problem, as Mokona points out, is that Sakura needs the feathers since they’re what she’s been journeying for, but this is resolved when Sakura decides to leave the feather here for now.

Everyone then goes to the basement where they refill the reservoir using some magic water containers sent by Yuuko. Afterwards, she warns them that they have to correct the structure of their world before this water runs out again. Their attention then turns to the feather container that Fuuma is holding, and Kamui observes that it’s not from this country. Fuuma reveals that it’s actually something he brought from another dimension four years ago, and he also admits to being a hunter like his brother Seishirou, though he claims that they’re searching for different things. In any case, Fuuma just wants to finish their business here in Tokyo before his brother arrives here, so Yuuko changes the subject to the price for the water. Sakura insists on doing it, and after Yuuko tells her what it involves, she sets out alone. While Sakura is gone, Subaru speaks with Fuuma about Seishirou, and Fuuma claims that Seishirou had wanted to see Subaru again. Kamui, however, refuses to let Seishirou catch up to them.

Nearby, Mokona is talking to Syaoran about being lonely while imprisoned, and Syaoran explains that he watched everything that has happened so far. Mokona feels that Syaoran missed out on experiencing all the fun that they had and thinks that this Syaoran wanted to travel with the rest of them. Fay also wakes up during this time, and to Kurogane’s surprise, he uses Kurogane’s full name to greet him. Talking with Yuuko a little later via Mokona, Fay explains that he can’t forgive how Kurogane chose to have him live. Yuuko takes this chance to warn Fay that his pain is Syaoran and Sakura’s pain as well. Sakura meanwhile maneuvers her hover-bike through a sea of giant worms until a huge four-legged creature rises from the ground and throws her into a building. Her foot gets caught under the wreckage of her hover-bike, and so when the creature corners her, she has no choice but to pull out her gun and shoot it. Though shocked and saddened, she’s nevertheless continues forward on foot. Her next obstacle is a steep mountain she has to climb, and she slips and falls several times in her attempts. At one point, her leg even gets punctured by a piece of wood sticking out from a rock.

Sakura eventually reaches the top and finds an egg nestled in a special structure. Before she can get to it though, a two-headed giant snake appears and uses its tail to slap her into the nearby wall. Fortunately, she lands next to her gun and uses all the bullets she has left to kill the snake. In the aftermath, Sakura walks through some acidic waters and is finally able to retrieve the egg. As she holds it, she acknowledges that she’ll be punished for selfishly hurting others and taking things, but even so, she wants to recover the heart that Syaoran lost. However, her compass is now broken, and with all her injuries, she struggles to get back. She tries to retrace her path by following the footprints and bloodstains she left, but when she reaches the site where her hover-bike crashed, she loses that trail. To her surprise, a young girl suddenly appears and motions for her to follow. Back at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Fay has learned of where Sakura went and wants to go after her. Syaoran, however, makes Fay realize that going to save her and getting hurt in the process will hurt Sakura more. This causes Fay to comment on how Syaoran and his clone really are similar.

Fortunately, Mokona then spots Sakura approaching in the distance, and the first thing she does when she reaches them is to apologize to Fay because she thinks he’s suffering more than she is. She’s also glad that he’s alive, and hearing this causes Fay to hug her and cry. Sakura eventually gives the egg to Yuuko via Mokona, and Yuuko decides to reveal that Fei Wong Reed was the one who took Sakura’s memories. Fei Wong’s true objective was to scatter those memories because, in order for him to get his own wish, he needs two things: one is the ruins in Clow Country and the other is for Sakura to visit a lot of different worlds to look for those memories. This way, Sakura would accumulate the memories of various dimensions and worlds in her body that acts like a vessel. To accomplish all this, Fei Wong scattered the feathers and did things such as create another Syaoran and kill Kurogane’s mother in order to bring the group together so that they could protect Sakura on her journey.

Although all of them meeting and journeying together was planned by Fei Wong Reed, Yuuko explains that everything after that was chosen by their own free will. Everything from now on is thus also up to them. Sakura insists on continuing the journey because she wants to look for Syaoran, even after Yuuko warns that she would be doing what Fei Wong expects. Fay decides to go with her because he thinks that Syaoran having his left eye will be useful in their search – they now share the same source of magic and would be drawn to each other. When Sakura questions if these are his true feelings, Fay claims that they are and kisses her hand. With Mokona and Kurogane willing to continue on the journey too, Syaoran agrees to go as well because there’s something he wants to take back. The group doesn’t leave until Sakura’s injuries have healed though, and before they go, Sakura drops the feather that Fuuma had into the water under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. As Mokona starts the dimension crossing process, Sakura remembers the young girl she saw earlier and wonders who that was.

 
 
 

I touched on this in my write-up for the second episode, but I’m really glad that this Tokyo arc was done in OVA format because a lot of the bloodier aspects of all this, particularly the stuff in this episode, wouldn’t have made it into a normal television broadcast on NHK. This episode didn’t even show some of the worst stuff (like Sakura’s head sliding bloodily down the side of a wall), but they had all of Sakura’s gun usage and blowing the brains out of the various monsters, so I really can’t complain.

I’m also impressed again by how much material they stuck in this because they covered the majority of eleven chapters in just short of thirty minutes. From what I saw, there were only two major changes made from the manga. The first was that Yuuko never told Kurogane about how if Fay’s eye was returned, then Fay wouldn’t need the vampire blood anymore. I assume that’s just an edit they made for the sake of time. The other change was a much more curious one: they replaced the shadowy spirits that Sakura saw on her journey back after getting the egg with CCS Sakura. That was definitely an eyebrow-raising kind of moment for me. In the manga, those spirits were supposed to represent the people who had passed away, but in this OVA, I’m not entirely sure what the symbolism was or if it was just a form of fanservice. It makes sense most in the context of the episode title (“The Dream that the Princess Saw”) because Sakura questions at the end of the episode if it was a dream or illusion, and perhaps we’re supposed to infer that it was something the feather did to save her.

In any case, I still really enjoyed watching this, and all the great work that Production I.G has done on this series makes me also want to see the new xxxHolic series that is coming in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the production team that worked on these OVAs will work on that too, and it doesn’t help either that xxxHolic will be airing on Thursdays, a day when there are going to be a lot of new shows. More importantly than that, I’m just hoping that Production I.G will make some more Tsubasa OVAs.

79 Comments

  6. theres no season 3 anymore.. nah i forgot the reason… just there only 3 0va… this ova is one of theme… there 2 more ova… i will w8 for now… the truth there a season 3..but they stop the realising the anime…there some problem about the anime…nah.. i forg0t…. this all i remember…

    Nozila
    Reply

  11. @Maiku
    NO, it was just fanservice. CCS has NOTHING to do with trc. NOTHING.

    Damn, thats why I hate this “homage”, since now every one, who’s short of thinking powers, will ASSume that ccs has something to do with trc….

    geez, fandom “theories” are soo creative…

    Unknown Voice
    Reply

  16. EVERYONE WHO GOES ON ABOUT CARDCAPTORS

    NO SHE IS NOT RELATED TO THE PLOT FFS. SHE WAS THERE AS HOMAGE and TO MILK MONEY. NO CCS WON’T EVER HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH TSUBASA.

    Unknown Voice
    Reply

  18. Dear people who are complaining about CCS Sakura.
    I like that they included her here, I know she wasn’t in the original but CLAMP still had a lot to do with making these OVAs and no doubt approved it.
    It gives me the sense that CCSakura knows what’s going on with FWR, TRC Sakura etc and is helping out where she can, while TRC Sakura isn’t particually powerful, at least in any usable sense, CCS finishes with Sakura being the most magically powerful person in her world as well as having the power of foresight. I don’t think it’s untrue to the story if she knows what’s going on and helps out in a small way.

    Senefen
    Reply

  19. That’s it! I’ve worked out EXACTLY what’s going on from screencaps alone! From the 3rd picture, 4th row from the bottom:

    Picture 1: Sakura, I’m sorry but I’m gay!
    Picture 2: With him!
    Picture 3: NOOOOOO!
    Picture 4: But you can join our orgy!
    Picture 5: Can Syao-kun join?
    Picture 6: Let’s all join!
    Picture 7: All hail gem of the orgy!
    Picture 8: We’re off to bed now!
    Picture 9: The loli can’t come
    Picture 10: The end! (Gem of the orgy)

    A brilliant ending for a brilliant OVA

    Blue
    Reply

  21. I agree. CCS Sakura is the most powerful person in the world by the end of the CCS manga which means she’s more powerful than Yuko. It’s completely plausible that she sent a vision of herself to Tokyo to help TRC Sakura.

    Another possibility is that this one is the ghost of the Sakura that was killed in Tokyo by the acid rain or mutants. Both are entirely possible though, especially when you consider the souls helping her in the manga, the second theory is most likely the case.

    Brad
    Reply

  22. @Brad

    I certainly hope its second >.>

    Since she replaced the people who got killed by this rain. It would only be logical if she was one of them.

    Overall I am pissed that they had to cut out the Fai’s flashback -_____-

    Unknown Voice
    Reply

  25. So… what are they planing to do ?
    Just left Tsubasa and keep going other anime?
    Duh! I just want to know something else will take place after this one.
    I.G production are AnimeGod !
    Animation are top quality and they fallow the story 🙂
    Hope we’ll see other thing that are in the manga XD
    Anyway, Just watch it and it’s awesome!!!
    TsubasaXCCS ROCKS!

    silverwolf1492
    Reply

  26. @Shanna

    IF it had to do something with PLOT, it would have been in manga.

    Manga = Canon
    OVA = half-canon
    anime = bshit

    Till I see her in manga, I will say taht its just a way to make more money from ccs fangirls 😛

    Unknown Voice
    Reply

  38. after seen the 3 episodes, now im really confused… i readed somewhere that this ovas take place betwen episodes 42 and 43 when fey uses his own magic to transported them, but now again its supposed that after they leave they will go to next world and start traveling again with the New Shaoran, but in the later episodes, the cloned shaorans apears again with the eyes back and fey has his eye back too and the real shaoran is back in the water capsule, SO WHAT GOING ON???

    Trejon
    Reply

  39. @Trejon

    episodes 43-52 WON’T EVER HAPPEN NOW

    After Tokyo , there’s other worlds, you never did see in anime, hence why everyone hopes for more OVA’s for other worlds (that being Infinity, Celes, Nihon and Clow)

    Unknown Voice
    Reply

  47. well this really was one of the most amazing anime ovas i have ever seen…i am so glad that they made this bloody, cause it always bugged me the way that people would get seriously hurt in the anime tv series and there was like never any blood. but this really was an awesome ep — im glad they focused a lot on fai, cause he usually seems to be the character that is shunted the most. (is shunted even a word?) however, i am a bit disapointed at how open ended this ended. i haven’t read the manga so i can only assume that the ova left off at where the manga is currently, so like rc said, i can only hope that there will be another ova that continues this series — cause it really is awesome, with a great storyline and great characters…there are so many things that still need to be answered too — i was a bit surprised i have to admidt at the fai/vampire thing, cause i mean i didn’t think that kamui was a vampire — in xtv he certainly wasn’t, and that other guy…fumo i think…he was a lot different from the series, and the groups that followed them were totally different from the series, so i think … the series got reversed? like kamui is the dragon of earth instead of heaven in the ova? just a guess tho…

    anyway, ill stop blabbing on now…good lord i should just blog my own sight..lol…

    Whatchamini
    Reply

  48. @Whatchamini
    OVA left off where manga was a hear and half ago 😛
    They have completed three more worlds already(with even better amazing, shocking and depressing stuff) and manga seems to be nearing its end.

    And Kamui and Fuuma…in a sense they have the same characters as in X/1999, but differently messed up. This kamui did not loose his mother but instead is on the run with his brother. Fuuma is not affected by “gemini star” stuff at all and etc. THey are all same personalities, but they were leading different lifes than their x/1999 counterparts, thus their characters were affected differently.

    And yea, Kamui was leading the people who were “dragons of earth” in X and fuuma was leading the people who were “dragons of heaven” in x.

    Unknown Voice
    Reply

  49. I take that seeing CCS’s Sakura was because the Tokyo in this episode is the future of Tokyo now and thats were CCS’s Sakura once lived and being the powerful wisard that CCS’s Sakura is, she created that image to lead her “other self” to safety.

    Tsubasa Ryu
    Reply

  53. I thought it was hinting at how Acid Tokyo is a Tokyo in the future.. and that was that world’s Sakura, as a dead spirit, helping out.

    Also, “The Dream the Princess Saw” may refer to Show Spoiler ▼

    Aeri
    Reply

  57. I’d still go with the dead-Sakura-from-that-world theory.
    It’s true that the normal CCS-Sakura would actually be from the xxxHOLiC world, but that doesn’t imply that this Tokyo couldn’t have a Sakura of it’s own that looked exactly like the CCS one (besides, no staff-pendant in sight xD)
    I think that not only is it a reference to the dead spirits in the manga, it’s also a kind of farewell to the more innocent, passive-role TRC-Sakura, a symbolic nod to her development as a character during these events.

    Mini Kuroneko
    Reply

  58. i dont’ like the ending, it just blew people off a bit, i mean i thought the end would be finding the fake syaoran and than so big action might happend but instead and more different journey. i already know this but still i got to say they should continue this.

    pt
    Reply

  59. i know this suggestion of the CCSakura eing in it might be wierd but…maybe its her ghost!it culd hav been her country n somethin happened n blabla n they renamed that place.(no offence its just a thought that came up while i was thinkin how in the world she got there)

    Myself
    Reply

  60. i know this suggestion of the CCSakura being in it might be wierd but…maybe its her ghost!it culd hav been her country n somethin happened n blabla n they renamed that place.(no offence its just a thought that came up while i was thinkin how in the world she got there)

    Myself
    Reply

  63. but…its not finaly out!!! I have see dat , and syaoran de clow is gone.But…wher is hi.And the realy syaoran….mmmm thats rare but its sooooow cooooll !!! Love tsubasa

    Karin
    Reply

  64. WTF…
    The reason why CCS! Sakura was there, is because CLAMP wanted to hint that she has really something to do with the story, and far in the manga is revealed that CCS!Sakura and CCS!Syaoran are parents of R!Syaoran!!!!!! AMAZING, HUH?? And when he travels to Clow, Princess Sakura is in the ruins for purification and Nadeshiko ask them two for dinner at the castle were Syaoran is introduced to King Fujitaka.

    geoffedro
    Reply

  67. yup!!! see what happilyinsane13 have to say… its true… whoever thinks that CCS sakura hav nothing to do with trc… think again….. one of the latest chapter have shown proof lol…

    ikai
    Reply

  68. Here’s why CCS Sakura appeared – she’s Syaoran’s mother, and Syaoran Li is his father. I really am not lying. Go read Chaptire 189 if you haven’t and if you don’t believe me.

    ggctuk
    Reply

  69. i dropped TRC coz the anime was shit and the manga storyline at the start wasn’t going anywhere….but this OVA got me hooked on TRC again! ITS AWESOME!!!
    i liked how they included CCS sakura in there…she’s cute…brings back nostalgic memories of CCS sigh~
    oh and syaoran is sooooooooooooo HOT~! ^-^

    kehli
    Reply

  71. Just a question, well I’m about to read the manga so I guess it’ll be answered soon. Are Syaoran and Sakura ever going to end up in like a Relationship? By the looks of it something horrible will happen and they’ll never end up together which would be sad.

    Flaming_Dogs
    Reply

  77. TSUBASA SHUNRAIKI XXXHOLiC SHUNMUKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Lia
    Reply

  79. Is it okay if I cried when CCS Sakura came on screen? Cause I cried like a baby with joy. I swear, first anime to force me into reading the manga. :/ I HATE YOU PRODUCTION I.G, how could you make something so incredibly amazing. They just farted in Bee Trains face.

    lHyDrAl
    Reply

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