Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations OVA 02
Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- Tokyo Revelations Ep. 02
ツバサ TOKYO REVELATIONS Episode 02

SPOILER Summary:

As Sakura hears the voice telling her to awaken, the other Syaoran arrives at Yuuko-san’s place to make a wish to be sent to where his other eye is. Yuuko-san hears the message about ending the dream from Xing Huo and seems to understand. Since Syaoran has paid for his wish with the time he spent as a captive in Fei Wong’s place, Yuuko-san grants the wish as this is within the bounds of acceptable interference.

Back at Acid Tokyo, Kamui is under his group’s HQ building (Tokyo Government Office) at the water reservoir and sees a huge glow within. He jumps into the water to find the glow coming from a giant encasement, which is attached to the various walls. Inside is Sakura and a feather is entering the encasement (and Sakura?) which causes the barrier protecting the building to disappear. Kamui tries to puncture the encasement and Syaoran arrives in the water to protect Sakura. A fight ensues with Syaoran taking damage and Kamui telling him telepathically that he is “esa” or “prey.” Syaoran is at a disadvantage because of the water but even still, he fights and his fighting style is recognized by Kamui.

Kamui causes a bad wound to Syaoran, who begins to bleed. Kamui feels that if “Subaru” drinks the blood, he will awaken finally. Syaoran remembers his tutor Seishirou was hunting some vampire twins and realizes that Kamui and this “Subaru” are those vampires. Reading Syaoran’s mind, Kamui realizes that Syaoran knew Seishirou as well and so will kill him. He lands another slash on Syaoran to get more blood for Subaru, but suddenly Syaoran has changed and is another personality altogether. A new fight breaks out as Fay enters the water. Kamui wonders if Fay is the master of the soulless creation “Syaoran.” Fay denies it, his purpose is to try to preserve the human part of this “Syaoran.”

Elsewhere, both Yuuko and Fei Wong note the releasing of the seal on the clone (the one fighting Kamui) as we are shown that Fei Wong had captured the real Syaoran and made a clone of him for the purposes of getting Sakura’s feather’s once they’d been scattered. However, before the real Syaoran could be fully sealed, he took his right eye and gave it to the clone, thus half of his “heart” was given to the clone to keep it from being a mindless slave. Fei Wong initially tried to remove it, but saw that doing this would destroy the clone and creating a 2nd clone would result in a weaker one. So, providing Clone Syaoran did his part and collected the feathers, Fei Wong decided that it having a personality wouldn’t matter and the clone was then deposited in child form on Clow World.

The real Syaoran was sealed within a liquid-filled capsule with sealing tattoos placed on his body and a magic seal surrounding the capsule itself. Over time, the original Syaoran’s powers grew until he was able to break free, which then broke the seal on the clone’s eye, allowing its true personality (cold, heartless, relentless, killing machine) to come through. Fei Wong asks Xing Huo if she sent Syaoran to the witch, but she cannot answer as she’s dead, stabbed by Fei Wong’s sword. He calls her a failed creation.

Back in Acid Tokyo, Kamui and Fay discuss Clone Syaoran. Apparently, Fay knew this Syaoran wasn’t a true human. A portal is opening and Fay knows the real Syaoran is coming. However, he doesn’t want the clone to lose the heart given and attempts to prevent the magic from the right eye from leaving. He fails and is attacks by Clone Syaoran as soon as the magic is removed. Sensing that Fay has powerful magic, Clone Syaoran decides to obtain this to continue his mission of regaining all of Sakura’s feathers and removing all those who would stand in the way.

Meanwhile, Kurogane carries Sakura down to where the water is, accompanied by one of Kamui’s people. He’s instructed to leave his sword outside the water room and after doing so, he tries to get Sakura down there, only to have her disappear, apparently returning to where the rest of her was. The water in the reservoir emerges as large drops everywhere, revealing the intricate supporting structure with the encasement in the center. On one of those supports is Clone Syaoran, who’s consuming one of Fay’s eyes. Kurogane manages to keep him from taking Fay’s other eye. Sakura awakens within the encasement as the real Syaoran arrives. He picks up the ying-yang element that had been discarded by Clone Syaoran and absorbs it, returning to full power.

The two battle with Kurogane asking for Mokona to give up a sword for him to use. However, Clone Syaoran takes it and uses it to continue his fight with Syaoran, using flame attacks. Syaoran manages to summon his own sword and counters with lightning magic. Syaoran has the advantage is is about to slay Clone Syaoran when a cry pleading for the life of Clone Syaoran comes from the encased Sakura. Using that hesitation, Clone Syaoran gets away and stabs Syaoran in the leg. He then slashes open the encasement, freeing Sakura and giving her a feather he retrieved from a nearby cocoon. Upon seeing this, Fei Wong opens a portal to allow Clone Syaoran to leave despite Sakura’s pleas.

From the cocoon emerges Subaru to Kamui’s relief. Kamui wants to leave immediately, but Subaru refuses to do so, despite the danger. Kurogane sees the emblem on Syaoran’s shirt and inquires about it. Syaoran confirms it is the emblem of those who slew Kurogane’s mother.

Thoughts:

I had forgotten some things from the manga, and so when I went back to check it, I was again amazed at the brilliant job of adaptation that Production I.G has done. To have brought such an intense story arc to life as they have done is exactly how I wish all anime adaptations were done. It is unfortunate that too many adaptation producers feel the need to put their own creative stamp on what was a good work and kill it. Heck, even Production I.G is guilty of that with their adaptation of xxxHOLiC (though I excuse them a small amount on their not linking the series to Tsubasa Chronicle because Bee Train had that). But here, Production I.G proves they can do a series right, at least in the OVA format. With only one more episode, I do wonder how they are going to get the rest of the manga story in, but maybe they’ll go beyond 30-minutes to do that.

As to the story itself, CLAMP did a great job with the plot twist, that in reality isn’t so much of a plot twist. I know most of us, including the Bee Train writers, thought that the Syaoran in Fei Wong’s place was going to be another villainous force to face, but to find out that he’s the real Syaoran and the one that we’d been following was the fake, well that just took the cake. I found it interesting that this Syaoran used the same kind of magic that the Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura used, even down to the sword. I wonder if in the end, he will be that character.