As I mentioned in my last review, it’s been a REALLY long time since I’ve watched anything Cardcaptor Sakura (CCS)-related, so during this second episode I found myself asking myself questions like, ‘Is the card always shoehorned in like this? Was half the episode always slice of life and the rest related to the card capture?’ XD
So, roughly the first two-thirds of the episode focuses on Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo’s day at school. Sakura shows her friends her new clear card, Gale, and explains how she’s just trying to live her life normally without worrying about her cards too much. Makes sense right? For her part, Tomoyo is disappointed that she missed Sakura’s first capture but is relieved that her best friend is ok.
In class Sakura’s friend Chiharu gives her cheesecake recipe to the girls, as they had said earlier that they wanted to try making it. This class is also when their 
teacher makes the announcement about everyone needing to pick a school club. Tomoyo wants to join the Chorus Club, while Sakura wants to continue with cheerleading.
During lunch Sakura, Syaoran, and their friends all eat their food together outside. They discuss which clubs they’re all planning to join, and Syaoran shares that he’s not joining one yet because he still has a lot of paperwork related to his move and transfer to finish up; however he might join one afterwards. What caught my attention the most during this conversation is that Syaoran was really vague with many of his answers. He doesn’t specify what kind of paperwork he still needs to complete, nor does he explain in detail why he missed the same festival that Meiling went to. Could something be going on? Hmmm…
After lunch is Art Class, and then Home Ec. Sakura and Tomoyo make Chiharu’s cheesecake recipe, and it turns out beautifully. Sakura brings it home after school, where it is a bit hit with both Tomoyo and Kero. Sakura’s older brother and Yukito arrive home, forcing Kero to pretend he’s a stuffed animal again.
Speaking of which, there were lots of hints in this scene towards Toya being aware of Kero’s true form (ie not a plushie), and I honestly wish that Kero would just cave and reveal himself to Toya. I went and wiki’d a bunch of stuff that I won’t include here in case it’s manga-only content, and will just say that as an adult watching CCS, I think Sakura’s situation would be a lot less frustrating if everyone was on the same page so to speak. Like why hide it at this point?
Anyways, after dinner Sakura, Kero and Tomoyo head up to Sakura’s room for an outfit sizing courtesy of Tomoyo, and this is where the next card catches them off guard. The trio are encased in a square rubber room that has no door. Eventually they get the idea that perhaps they could pop the room like a balloon, and what do you know, Tomoyo just happens to have her pincushion on her wrist. Perfect! Sakura transforms and as Tomoyo pops the room, Sakura captures the unknown card. I thought the card might be something like “Rubber” or “Balloon” (which I know sounds dumb, but what else could a bouncy room be?), but it turns out to be “Seige”.
Over in England, Eriol still hasn’t returned Sakura’s message. He tells Spinel Sun that he can’t right now – he must wait until the time is right. Whatever that is supposed to mean. Hopefully Sakura won’t think he’s ignoring her and will clue in that there must be some secret reason why he hasn’t contacted her yet.
That night Sakura has another nightmare about the dragon flying over Tomoeda, and the mysterious robed stranger who appears to be trying to take Sakura’s Clow key. When she wakes up she checks her cards in their book, and they’re still there. Still clear. Sakura resolves to do her best to figure out the mystery behind these new cards, so she can one day see all of her cards returned to her.
Everyone’s inability to sense the power behind these new clear cards and Sakura’s new Clow key is a nifty little plot device that has already allowed for some dangerous situations, and I’m sure more will occur throughout the series. Not only does it mean that the cards can surprise Sakura when she least expects it, but the magic signature behind the cards also can’t be detected. Indeed whenever someone like Syaoran or Kero tries to pick up on the magical signature, they can only sense Sakura’s magic in the cards. I suspect that the robed individual in Sakura’s dreams will be someone who is the least expected to be a baddie.
It’s interesting for me to watch CCS as an adult compared to when I watched the original series as a young thing. xD For example Sakura’s card-capturing outfit in this episode was cute, but I noticed that the long ribbons hanging off the back of the outfit are impractical and could be borderline dangerous in certain situations. And while I know Tomoyo’s behaviour towards Syaoran and Sakura, or Sakura’s cardcapturing, is meant to be cute and provide some comic relief, it’s actually a little annoying. Like girl put down your goddamn camcorder and just watch. Just enjoy. And if your friend is with her new boyfriend, for the love of god just leave them alone and give them some privacy. =_= #tooadultforanime
As for the ratio of slice of life vs cardcapturing, I’m hoping that will balance out more as the series progresses. We’re only two episodes in and I realize that certain characters and events need to be set up in order for everything to progress as planned, so I hope later episodes will focus more on Sakura capturing cards. Like an episode where it takes almost the entire episode to capture the card? I think something like that every once in awhile would be refreshing.
But overall I’m extremely happy with the series. The music is great, the animation is so beautiful, and I’m really enjoying this title so far. :3
Oh! As of this episode, there was a very quick segment introduced at the end titled “Leave It To Kero-chan!” Kero looked at the differences and similarities between the Tomoeda elementary and middle school uniforms. Kero said that this segment will air every week, so I think that’s a neat little bonus to look forward to. Actually I wish it were longer, honestly – I love behind the scenes trivia!
See you guys next week!
P.S – Anyone going to try making Chiharu’s cheesecake recipe in real life? Is it even possible or was it perhaps shortened for the sake of including it in the show?
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