The Clear Card Saga has thus far been a very self-conscious retread of the original Cardcaptor Sakura anime, and this episode is making sure that you know it. The episode takes pains to point out that quite a few of the new cards Sakura has captured are variations on the Clow Cards that she had captured back during the original series. In case you somehow hadn’t pieced that one together yourself by now.
Repeated Plots
Even the plot beats have been relatively similar, with episode nine being a remake of the Watery episode from season one of the original Cardcaptor Sakura. This episode involves a mischievous new card flipping over the king penguin in Penguin Park. Sakura and Kero have to capture the card and try to undo the damage before people notice and it becomes a major local news story. Again.
The problem is that Sakura can’t get close without the new card trying to drop her on her head. It feels a little weird that Kero is the one to suggest the solution to Sakura. Even back when she was inexperienced, Sakura’s biggest strength was coming up with new and imaginative ways to apply her limited stable of cards to the problem at hand.
I trust that CLAMP has a very good reason for repeating card concepts and plot beats from the original series. Although their writing sometimes contains very questionable decisions, they are usually good at telling complete stories that make sense. If we ignore Tsubasa, anyway.
Overarching Plot Hints
This show appears to be setting something up with the new characters as well. Eriol believes that the butler is a member of some shady magical organization, and there still seems to be more to the new transfer student than meets the eye. We don’t know anything about her stuffed animal or her mysterious book, which are pretty clearly magical in some way.
Unfortunately, this show seems to be paced like the original series was and not like a faster paced modern anime. We might not learn what’s going on there for a very long time yet. Still, this anime has proven to be refreshing and enjoyable, and I am more than happy to enjoy the leisurely journey to these answers.
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Sakura and the Upside-Down Penguin
