Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc 09
カードキャプターさくら クリアカード編 chapter 09

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Sakura-chan is on her way to buy groceries for dinner and remembering the hanami where she and her friends spent time looking at the sakura blossoms. Kero-chan laments not being able to attend, but appreciates transfer student Akiho for providing sweets that Sakura gave to Kero. Sakura recounts how Tomoyo sang and got Akiho to join her, after hearing her hum along. Sakura wishes she’d used her cellphone to record the singing session, which Sakura found to be wonderful.

They encounter Akiho on the street, so Kero-chan adopts his stuffed animal mode. Since Akiho is out to buy groceries for dinner, so Sakura offers to assist. Sakura asks about the bento that Akiho brought to the hanami. Akiho says her caretaker made it. Although Akiho is not related to this person, she and this person have been together for a long time and this person is very important to Akiho.

Sakura notices the bunny stuffed animal in one of Akiho’s small bags. Sakura encourages Akiho to bring the bunny, named Momo, to school since it is so important to Akiho. During the process, Sakura mentions Kero-chan and decides to bring him to school as well.

Sakura comes home with the groceries and makes dinner. Akito comes with Touya for dinner. However, Sakura’s dad (Fujitaka) isn’t with them, having quickly ate and returned to the university for work. Sakura notes that Yukito isn’t eating a ton as he did when is magical power was low. As such, Sakura wonders if the new Cards are negatively affecting Yue or Kero.

Sakura finds herself in an alternate space with the mystery figure standing on top of a giant gear. The figure does not answer Sakura. Sakura then notices a clock.

Thoughts/Review:

And so we have another chapter that is seemingly full of fluff. However, I suspect the table is just being set for possible fun to come.

Akiho – Another Magic Girl?

As I read Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc 09, a thought occurred to me. What if Akiho is another magic girl? There are some signs that this may be the case.

For starters, although Cardcaptor Sakura didn’t have other magic girls, there were other magic folks. That aside, it isn’t uncommon for the lead magic girl in a mahou shoujo series to end up with a rival magic girl that turns out to be the shy, cute, sweet girl at school. Further, it is common for the MC magic girl and the rival magic girl to be best of friends, not knowing the truth about the other.

I get that vibe from Sakura’s relationship with Akiho. Akiho is cute, shy, clumsy, sweet, and liked by everyone. So I can see her being the mysterious figure that Sakura keeps encountering.

The other element at work here is Momo-chan. I suspect that Momo-chan isn’t a rabbit stuffed animal, but is akin to Kero-chan or Suppie. I figure it is Momo-chan who is Akiho’s caretaker. Further, I think Momo-chan is the one who made the bento. We’ll see if that’s correct or not. However, I think Kero-chan will be the one to discover Momo’s secret since he’s going to be brought to school now.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

There’s not a great deal else to discuss, so I’ll wrap this up.

• I liked seeing Sakura back on skates.
• I wonder why Fujitaka looked so concerned when Sakura gave her usual, cheerful greeting to the photo of her mother.
• CLAMP made a point of mentioning that Yukito isn’t eating a ton to compensate for a lack of magical power. I wonder what kind of point they are establishing here, if any.
• What does the clock that Sakura sees in the alternate space represent? And why is the mystery figure not saying anything?

In the end, Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc 09 is an OK chapter. There’s nothing bad about it, but it just doesn’t jazz me with a ton of interest even though I believe the table is being set for future events.