Tag: Cardcaptor Sakura

[SakuTomo] Look at the Sky / You, and Only For You

Author’s Notes: 

  • This one-shot will be published temporarily here. It will be moved to AO3 when I finally received my email invitation.
  • It’s been a long time since I published fanfiction. I hope you like this one. I enjoyed writing this.
  • This one-shot has two titles and I am having trouble which one to pick so I placed them together. Look at the Sky is actually based on the upcoming song by Porter Robinson (he released a preview on his previous Secret Sky session here.)
  • The cover art and the story are actually inspired by a Sakura and Tomoyo doodle done by kai_teru_ last year.
  • There is another one-shot I’m working on after this that is kind of like a continuation for this oneshot. It should on AO3 by then.

It was sunny in Tomoeda. Sakura and Tomoyo were, as usual, went home together after a very tiring day. Tomoyo prepared for a big choral competition, while Sakura had to recover after days of continuous cheerleading practices. They usually tag along with their other friends going out the campus—but today was slightly different.

“Competition is tomorrow, right?” Sakura asked as both she and Tomoyo walked going to Penguin Park.

“Yeah,” Tomoyo smiled, “I’m honestly nervous since the song was something that we never used in the previous competitions.”

“Wait, it’s a new song?” Sakura paused,

“Umm… yes,” Tomoyo blushed, “It’s… actually an original song.” She then shook her head and continued, “It… it took me a while to get it right. I hope I don’t mess it up.”

“Why would you mess it up?” Sakura wondered, looking at Tomoyo with a confused face. It was the first time she has heard something like this from her. It honestly wasn’t like her. “I mean, you always sing perfectly, Tomoyo-chan.”

Tomoyo couldn’t give a reply to Sakura’s question anymore as they both arrived at the park. It was perfect. No one was around yet, and the Cherry Blossoms were slowly blooming.

However, Sakura was honestly worried for Tomoyo. It puzzled her as to why, of all people—why would Tomoyo be nervous over something she’s good at? She has witnessed her best friend nailed every song she performs. Not once she heard anything from her that she felt pressured and anxious over singing before. These thoughts clouded her mind that she almost forgot about why they were at Penguin Park.

Spring is here. That afternoon was perfect. They wanted to unwind before the park is filled with people who would drop by to witness the blooming Cherry Blossom trees in the area.

Sakura immediately zapped back to reality when Tomoyo held her hand and pulled her onwards to one of their favorite grassy spots in the park area.

They both rested there enjoying the calm afternoon. Both of them never spoke a word. However, Sakura felt that she had to open up something to Tomoyo.

“Tomoyo-chan.” She began, looking at the sky as she laid down on the grass, “I received a letter from Syaoran-kun yesterday.”

As she was about to lay down on the grass beside her, Tomoyo paused with a bit of concern. It has been a couple of months since Li left for Hong Kong, and she noticed that he hasn’t been sending letters to Sakura like usual.

“There’s no definite date of when Syaoran-kun will come back,” Sakura continued, “…and honestly, I don’t know if waiting this long is worth it anymore.”

Hearing that broke Tomoyo a bit. If there is one thing that she doesn’t want to hear or witness, it’s seeing her best friend sad and giving up on what she has been hanging on to.

In the first few weeks since Li left, there was never a day that Sakura would miss opening a conversation related to him. But as days go by, the anticipation for his next letter to Sakura became less frequent. According to Sakura, the reason was because of the many family obligations he had to deal with.

There was a bit of relief in Tomoyo that Sakura no longer opened up about him anymore. To her, it was for the best. She is willing to do anything to keep Sakura’s smile—even if it has to do with keeping her hidden feelings to herself.

Tomoyo then knelt on the grass, her purple eyes still focused on Sakura. She then dropped it: “But, you still love him…right?”

Before she could utter a reply, Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was true—she seemed to have lost hope of seeing Li again. She was confused if she felt stupid in holding on to these feelings for him or if she is just selfish that she had to let go. The past few months were emotionally stressful for her.

Her thoughts went running about.

Should I hang on? Should I just give up? Should I let go? What happens if it doesn’t work? What would happen to me? What would happen to Syaoran-kun? What would happen if I—

She then opened her eyes. Instead of the sky, she saw something that was even more breathtaking.

Innocent lavender eyes locked to hers. It was the first time seeing Tomoyo’s face up close in this view. The long pause for an answer might have worried her, so she had to lean closer to check if Sakura was alright.

Sakura froze. She felt her heart beating loudly. Her hands were rested on the grass, but it felt like they were getting warmer. She held her breath as she looked at Tomoyo’s face. She was beautiful. Those eyes were warm, peaceful, and lovely. She wanted this moment to stay longer. All her worries, the stress, the disordered thoughts of unsure feelings were all forgotten for a while. Those eyes. It was like Sakura was staring at Tomoyo’s soul.

Sakura knew. She knew what Tomoyo yearned for. It was more than just friendship. She knew that her best friend has been keeping such feelings for so long.

Her thoughts then went running again.

Why is she still hanging on after all these years? Why is she still here with me? Why is she not willing to let go of those feelings? What happens if she doesn’t feel the same way anymore? What would happen to our friendship? What would happen if I—

“Sakura?” Tomoyo called, trying her best not to blush a lot in front of her.

When she heard her name, Sakura went back to her senses. Today wasn’t the day to think about these things. This isn’t the right time to know what these feelings are.

I just wanted to be with her today. That’s why. She thought.

Sakura finally let out a warm smile. “I’m sorry. It’s not the right time to talk about these things.”

“I…I see..” Tomoyo stuttered.

“Today, I just want to hear you and only you, Tomoyo-chan.”

“Sakura-chan…” Tomoyo’s eyes grew wide. She then laid down beside Sakura, still looking at her. She then held Sakura’s warm hand as they enjoyed the calm breeze on that beautiful afternoon.

The world was too overwhelming for them at the moment. Figuring out those feelings can be left for another day to tackle. Right now, they have each other. The warmth of each other’s hand was enough to forget about the world for a while, and Sakura only wished to hear only one person’s voice alone.

“So… can you sing that new song for me now?” Sakura requested as she smiled at Tomoyo,

Tomoyo then replied, still looking at the face of her most precious person in the world. “Of course. You know that I will only sing for you, and only for you, Sakura-chan.”

END.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts here and on Facebook. I’m also on Twitter just in case you’re interested.

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ABS-CBN Aired ‘Card Captor Sakura’ and Shaped my Childhood—Thank you, Kapamilya

July 10. I will never forget this date.

I rarely talk about Tagalog dubs here or even anime that’s been aired on Philippine television during my childhood. But I guess it’s about time I share what I feel about this whole situation, and what it means to me.

Aside from Sailor Moon, my second favorite anime is Card Captor Sakura. Anyone who has met and knew me personally would know this too well.

The first time I have heard and seen this anime was around the early 2000s. It was aired every Saturday morning in ABS-CBN, one of the Philippines’ largest TV and media networks.

As I continue writing about this piece, my heart aches for this network. On July 10, Friday, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises has denied its application for renewal. The past couple of months were tough for the network. It appeared that our public officials gave more importance of shutting down ABS-CBN rather than dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic. There are so many things to enumerate and just really drop the mic in this piece, but I don’t want this to be a very lengthy piece.

ABS-CBN aired Card Captor Sakura, and in a way, shaped not only my childhood but also as a fan of this significant subculture. I owe it all to the Kapamilya Network.

I watched the show every Saturday morning. I was trying my best never to miss an episode. I remember getting pissed off as a kid when I never got to watch it because the local branch of ABS-CBN decides to overlap it with another show. The dub was in Tagalog, our country’s primary language. Although I had absolutely no idea what Sakura, Tomoyo, Keroberos, Syaoran, and the rest of the gang are saying, I enjoyed it. I loved it to bits.

My love for the series also motivated me to research more about it on the Internet. This was during the period where Angelfire and Geocities sites dominated the anime fandom world. My curiosity has also lead me into the pit of the Sakura and Tomoyo ship, which has fueled and sparked my love for Yuri.

The more I got into the anime, the more I was introduced to the other series under the CLAMP umbrella: Magic Knight Rayearth, Angelic Layer, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, CLAMP School Detective, Chobits, and so on.

The timing of everything, though. I just got back into the hype of the series due to having a marathon of the Clear Card anime. This hits so deep.

The government pulled the plug off a network that housed over 11,000 people composed of celebrities, journalists, writers, tech crew, and so on. This is not just in their main headquarters—but also to their other satellite stations across the country. I just wished that at least for a moment, at least for only one moment, these people would think about the thousands that would be losing jobs because of this.

REMEMBER THIS DAY. DO NOT FORGET THIS DATE EVER.

I am forever thankful for the Kapamilya Network, for it is one of the biggest factors that got me to the world of television, media, and anime. I might have been a different kind of fan—or perhaps a different person.

As always, and like many of the people who believed that what is currently happening to the network is just unfair, I only hope and pray for the best. It is an undeniable fact that the network has been a part of the history of millions of Filipinos—just seeing it crumble like this is just too much.

As what Sakura Kinomoto would always say “絶対大丈夫だよ”

Everything Will Be Alright. I hope and pray that this network will continue to bring more tears, laughs, action, and joy to every Filipino here and around the world.

ABS-CBN, thank you for introducing me to this incredible franchise. Before everything seems too late, Laban Pa Rin Kapamilya.

The Sakura and Tomoyo Relationship: Revisited

Well, hey! I am back (again), from the grave! For good reason, too. As a way to celebrate Pride Month, I went back into writing something I love the most.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I finally was able to fully marathon Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card anime without the fan noise and after so long of avoiding some key spoilers. Due to the immense hype and the return of an “O.G. magical girl series,” I knew that people would be talking about it for a long time. So I avoided it and waited. The wait was worth it. I enjoyed it to its full glory, and I wanted more.

Now also, as of this writing, the first Card Captor Sakura anime is now available for streaming on Netflix. Honestly, this write-up isn’t entirely a review about the anime series (I’ll probably make a separate one for this). This review, however, will be focused on two particular characters—the two specific people that got me into this beautiful genre of loving and shipping two-dimensional girls: Sakura Kinomoto and Tomoyo Daidouji.

Previously, I made a feature of Sakura and Tomoyo. I decided to go back into talking about them here because, God, I just love these two very much!

While watching Clear Card, I am just wholly hands down to how very loyal and caring Tomoyo is to Sakura. Although her comedic moments were a bit too cheesy for me (I guess CLAMP wanted her to make part of the comedic relief aside from Keroberos), I am happy to know that we got to see more of Tomoyo being ahead and doing whatever it takes to help Sakura. Not missing an opportunity to get footage on all her heroic acts (though some of them didn’t go well as planned.)

Every time Sakura and Tomoyo had a “moment,” it always makes me want to fangirl and giggle. These two were just completely cute together. Also, let’s give props to Tomoyo y’all—she was there for Sakura all the way when Syaoran wasn’t around for a while. Imagine if Sakura didn’t have Tomoyo, and she had to deal with the pain of not having her date because he left for Hong Kong. She was there for Sakura when no one never did.

Also, it amazes me that because of wanting to capture almost all of Sakura’s heroic moments, Tomoyo upped her game. She let her mother (the President of Daidouji Toys, mind you) create better gadgets so she could get better footage of Sakura. Imagine that dedication. Never have you seen someone from anime go into this level just for the person they care about the most.

Aside from watching Clear Card, I also took the time to do a small rewatch of Card Captor Sakura the Movie. Oh, Lord! How I loved this movie—in fact, watching both the CCS movies have become a tradition of sorts for me every New Year’s Eve.

In the first movie, Sakura and the gang won a trip to Hong Kong and encountered a mysterious person calling for Sakura. When Sakura finally got to meet the said person (which appeared to someone from Clow Reed’s past), this person took all of Sakura’s friends, and our heroine Cardcaptor would have to defeat her if she wants them back. Sakura wasn’t able to rescue everyone with the magic she had (and time was ticking), but she was able to successfully rescue Tomoyo. This scene is probably one of my favorites as it shows how Sakura really cared for Tomoyo.

Okay, now we go back to Clear Card. Same as the first anime, Clear Card Tomoyo still plays the best friend-sidekick role. There was no hint of borderline romantic moves from her because, well, Sakura had Syaoran already. A lot of people would revolt if ever there was a hint that Tomoyo DID make a move on her.

As much as how I wish there was a hint of more romance between the two girls, but I think we would just end up having the CLAMP-flavored subtext that we have always gotten over the years. Regardless, I will always be proud enough to say that I got to love this genre (and writing Yuri-related stuff) because of the Tomoyo and Sakura ship. I would probably not stop talking about them anytime soon. In fact, I even talked about it a recent podcast with Jay Agonoy (keepsakes.).

I still look forward to what’s to come with the Card Captor Sakura franchise. Although the franchise itself isn’t really yuri, the subtext and the characters were my gateways into getting into this beautiful genre.

This is definitely one great comeback into writing Yuri-related stuff again after almost a month of no updates whatsoever here on the site. Hey, there’s definitely more to come. As always, Sakura and Tomoyo will always be one of my favorite Yuri ships of all time.  

Now, to formally end this post, I would like to share one of my recent favorite Sakura and Tomoyo fan art created by @neko_cer on Twitter. Still can’t get enough of this, really. Come on, CLAMP! Give Tomoyo some love, please?

Tomoyo and Sakura fanart by neko_cer

 

Cardcaptor Sakura is Heading to Netflix Next Month!

The popular and one of the OG magical girl series Cardcaptor Sakura will be streaming on Netflix next month! Netflix users in the US and Canada will be able to start streaming the series beginning June 1.

There is still no word if the anime will be available for streaming in other regions and if the platform will be releasing the whole 70 episodes at one time. There is still no word as well if Netflix will be releasing the sequel anime Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card.

Cardcaptor Sakura is based on the popular manga series of the same name created by the all-girls manga group CLAMP. The story is centered on the life of Sakura Kinomoto as her normal school girl life changed forever when she accidentally released the Clow Cards after finding a magical book from her dad’s library. Together with the winged guardian Keroberos and her loyal best friend Tomoyo, Sakura captures the Clow Cards one by one before they wreak havoc into their peaceful town of Tomoeda.

Source: NXonNetflix (Twitter)