Butter isn’t unhealthy, is it?

 Everything in moderation.

Most keto/paleo diets call for fat to replace carbohydrates, but for folks with IBS [irritable bowel syndrome], fat [from butter or bacon grease or hamburgers etc] will tend to induce some really nasty diarrhea.

OTOH, for folks without IBS, fat tends to induce constipation.

Go figure.

As a man, your two most important nutrients are protein and calcium, for strong muscles & bones. Where I'm assuming you're already getting plenty of Vit C for Scurvy and Vit D for Rickets.

The single most important factor in the obesity epidemic is simply the calories themselves: Eat too many calories [in any form] and you gain weight; eat too few and you lose weight.

There's also a ton of evidence that fasting does wonders for your longevititty, and there was even a new study recently which held that fasting could slow the onset of Alzheimer's, and maybe even reduce it after the onset.

And as much SLEEP as you can possibly squeeze into a 24 hour day

A lot to be thankful for

There's a lot to be thankful for; every day is a gift. I was deep in prayer yesterday. Actually what happened was this, I started reading that book that someone recommended, and between that, and everything going on in the world generally, I felt I needed some serious spiritual communing.

So I went out to my favourite spot. And then ran a couple of errands, including one at a little craft shop in town that I love which was playing soft Christmas music. And what deep and powerful answer I felt washing over me? That this is absolutely not a time for bitterness, there is too much of that in the world now. We have a job, to combat hatred and bitterness and injustice with Joy.

I'm thankful that every year the amusement never gets old, when I ask myself, "why are they talking about Thanksgiving, that was a month ago."

To round off an amazing year, complete with a lot of fighting, faith and lessons, I have to finish an academic article coupled with a working Artificial Intelligence project, prepare for a certification test and an upcoming decisive contest. This is what I wanted and this is what I got. Is it a lot of work? You bet. Is it necessary? Rhetoric. I wouldn't have it any other way and I'm thoroughly thankful that I get to fight the good fight.

contending with a hard atmosphere

Half the day I'm literally biting my tongue to not shake some people by the collar and speak something I'll regret, so I've settled on doing the bare minimum of socialisation needed to get my job done and go home. I've built up a reputation of being one of the best workers in my department (as told to me by one of the men who have been working here for 20+ years), and my coworkers are cool with me, so I can probably get away with having at least one "wacky" belief. I’m at the point where if anyone who asks for my opinion on any matter of controversial portent, I'm just gonna be straight honest with them and say what needs be said. Any suggestions on how to Not Live by Lies in a more savvy way? Why, it feels like straight up ZFG is the only way forward now, reputation be damned..

Did cavemen have a religion?

Available archaeological evidence seems to indicate that they believed in a life after death and that they most likely practiced a form of totemism. Burials have been found with all the goods necessary to their way of life, indicating that they believed such would be necessary. Tattoos found on many mummified Ice Age persons indicate a belief in the power of some sort of spirit to protect and guide them. And there are those "Mother Goddess" statues and figurines cluttering up the Ice Age strata in Europe. You don't make stuff like that to represent real, live human females.

Oddly enough Jean Auel (of Clan of the Cave Bear fame), by using the best available scientific evidence concerning Ice Age Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, does have the closest version to what was probably really going on in their spiritual lives.

When is it time to stop studying?

It's 10 p.m and a couple government workers prowl the streets of Seoul, South Korea.But these are not police constables hunting down unruly teenagers cutting capers. The reason they are walking their beat late at night is to find young students still engaged in scholar activities. And have them take a rest for the rest of their exhausting day. Education in South Korea is very competitive. The aim of almost every schoolchild is to get into one of the country's top universities. Only the students with the best grades get a spot. The school day starts at 8 a.m. and the students finish studying somewhere between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. at night. This is because many go to private academies called hagwon after school, the korean equivalent of cram schools. Around 74 percent of all students attend a hagwon after their regular classes finish. A year's course costs, on average, $2,600 per student. In Seoul, there are more private tutors than schoolteachers, and the most popular ones make millions of dollars a year from online and in-person classes. Most parents rely on private tutoring to get their children into a university. 

With so much time spent in the classroom, all that students in South Korean high schools do is study and sleep. Some of them are so exhausted that they cannot stay awake the next day at school. It is a common sight to see a teacher explaining the lesson while a third of the students are asleep on their desks. The teachers don't seem to mind the increasinghly common sight of flagging students bring unable to stay awake in class. There are even special pillows for sale that fit over the arms of the chairs to make sleeping in class more comfortable. Ironically, the students spend class time sleeping so that they can stay up late studying that night. The South Korean government has been aware of the faults in the system for some time, but now they have passed some reforms. For instance, schoolteachers have to meet certain standards or take additional training courses. However, the biggest challenge for the government is the hagwons. Hagwons have been banned from having classes after 10 p.m., which is why there are street patrols searching for children who are studying after that time. If they find any in class, the owner of the hagwon has to pay statutory fees and the students are sent home. It's a strange world, where some children have to be told to stop studying while others are reluctant to start.

putting lies in the limelight

People lie about themselves all the time, I guess. Especially "men" who were not able to prove to themselves who they are.

Why should going to war and serving a country that hates you be any more off limits than lying about your bench press count?

Yeah, i know the answer is that it's stolen valour, and that's the answer: other people are paying the price; and you are not. So I guess it's an ez to define, categorical difference..

Just to make clear, I haven't lied about my accomplishments, since I stopped lying about them, which I can recall was around 1995. Up until then I was just another "school's most prominent athlete".

Despite my best, most sedulous efforts, i can't get this meme ("the school athlete who is also a contender") to come back. is there a way to do it right?

Card Captor Sakura - episode 70

Why would Lee ever tell Sakura that he likes her? Such is the question that Sakura keeps reflecting on, without any exclamations. She remains bewildered by the weight of the uttered words, she isn't just unsure about what to make of it, she has no idea about her feelings for him. To set aside the cruel doubts, Sakura learns that Eli is to leave for his home country of England and, before it's too late, sets out to pay him a visit in hopes of a last opportunity to clarify some matters to her satisfaction. Once inside the powerful kid's house, Eli expounds to the visting students that a new master was needed to take care of the cards. Just handing over the cards to a new master wouldn't suffice though. There needed to be a supporting reason to justify the switch, or else the cards would run amok. This tidbit also explains the unusual occurrences: they were engineered to buttress the justification to call upon the power imbued in the cards. His identity had to be concealed to not disturb Sakura, as getting the best out of her efforts would require her to remain in the dark about, implying that it was Sakura's belief in herself and her friends which carried her through. To round this off, Ms Mackenzie steps into the scene and gleefully says that she had always known about Eli's real identity, the latter adding that he was the one who gave her her bell. Eli though reassures Sakura that everything had been planned out from the beginning, that he knew how the fateful events would unfold, except for Lee and Sakura's budding romantic affections. Lee, who had remained largely a background for most of the visit, silently plans to get back to Hong Kong. Later, he is seen getitng ready to leave, and Maddison just barely learns of his intended return before telling Sakura of his move. Crestfallen, Sakura rushes over to the airport and catches up with Lee, who gives her a teddy bear and departs, storngly hinting at the possibility that they will be eventually together.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 69

This is a strange episode about yet another shocking revelation that assails Sakura's senses: Eli just plain admits to Sakura that he is Clow Reed himself, and this time there is no memory effacing trick involved or reality-twisting manouevre to cause ambiguity. It's all plain as day, a stark revelation with the suddenness and impetus of a thrusted knife. As an added bonus, he tells the awestruck heroine that Lee is a manifestation of Clow Reed's spirit, which explains why he has always been able to summon the power of elementals. The fact that he reveals all of this cues Sakura in on the nature of his next request: turn all of the remaining Clow Cards into Star Cards or else the world as everyone knows will succumb to endless slumber and murkiness. The trying challenge at first seems to be simple enough, Sakura gets by without any major difficulties and converts all of the cards but two. The stumbling block is that she's still not in possession of enough power to get round both the Light and Dark cards. The reason for this soon comes to light: these specific cards are under Clow Reed's protection. With no clear way out, You-Wei and Kero decide to combine forces to help her out, resulting in them concentrating their magic powers onto her staff. Adding to the tense affair is that they are counting on Sakura to succeed, lest they remain trapped in the staff for good. While taking a few faltering steps forward, Sakura acquiesces to their help and does what she can, hoping for the best. Staring in quiet astonishment is Lee, but the good-natured kid pitches in as well, launching his own magic onto the staff. With a last shred of effort, Sakura brings her threatened friends back, dispels Eli's magic and brings the final two cards under her control. Eli makes to escape, while Kero and Julian follow in hot pursuit and Sakura goes over to help Lee to his feet. Being battle weary allows Lee to taper down his inhibitions, and he finally tells Sakura what he always wanted to tell her.

Card captor Sakura - episode 68

After having converted a number of the Clow Cards into Star Cards, Sakura begins to question the utimate fate that awaits her. She shuffles around at home, without a clear course of action in mind. Following the previous events, she sees in the Return Card a perfect opportunity for its use, going back chronologically to discuss matters with Clow Reed himself. She does find the sorcerer and enquires him at length regarding her doubts about the cards and her role. The conversation turns out to be fruitful in that Sakura is able to find answers to most of her queries and, content to have her qualms assuages, decides to return to the safety of her home. During her small adventure, though, she has an insight of unsettling portent: Clow Reed's abode also happens to be where Eli is now inhabiting.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 67

This episode has an number of good points on which to recommend it, every one of them evolving around Sakura's interactions with her friends after the events leading up to her realising that Tory is aware of the events surrounding Clow Reed. We are first introduced to Sakura leaving for school as usual, somehow missing Julian on the way. Soon she learns that a festival is to take place at the local shrine. This prompts an eager Sakura to ask Lee if he wants to attend it as well, to which he replies in the positive. Sakura is delighted at the prospect, but feels a swoon coming on and snoozes in the middle of the lesson, a little detail that Lee does not miss. Lee displays genuine concern for his sleepy friend's well being, waiting to see if she gets any better. On the way home, Sakura is seemingly back to normal in the company of Maddisona and Lee. Before moving on to their scheduled visit to the shrine, Sakura hands him a scarf that she had made on her own. In that typical way young lads uncomfortabe around grils are known for, he accepts the memento when they meet up with Tory, Julian and Eli, who also made it to the sacred place on Sakura's invitation. Tory and Julian split off from the main group, while the others wait. Using the opportunity to conceal himself from prying eyes, Eli uses the moment to summon a horse-like creature and soon Sakura gets down to the business of restraining it. She attempts to use the Wood Card, but the cavorting equine evades the entangling vines. In its rampaging onslaught, the creature ruptures some power cables and Lee uses the source of electricity to defeat it, again to no avail. Lee isn't out of resources yet, using his Wind Elemental magic to send the galloping ungulate into the water. It flais around for a while until Sakura finishes it off with the Thunder Card. She still manages to find another use for another card: Glow, which comes in hand as a workaround to the power outage. Lee is impressed by Sakura's resourcefulness and resolve, and contemplates telling Sakura that he likes her.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 66

Following the shooting of Ruby's movie, Sakura and gang take a strol around the high school fair, while her older sibling attempts to offer a measure to Julian as he's going through a phase in his life, coping with the reality that he isn't who thought he was. Later, Sakura and the troubled older student sally forth through the attractions, Sakura bides her time and confesses again that he likes him. The advance is effective in drawing a reaction from him, albeit not the one that Sakura expected. In his insouciant demeanour, he replies that also has feelings for her, but in a fatherly way, meaning that he wants her to be safe and help her so she always maintains her zest for life. He also reminds the young heroine that there is already someone in the picture. Sakura ponders for a moment, eventually coming to the realisation that said person may be Tory. With more Cards to be converted into Star Cards, the insightful exchange comes to an abrupt end when Sakura senses Clow Reed's magic nearby. The puzzle proves to be difficult at frst, but in a stroke of genius, Sakura hits on the idea of combining the maze and illusion cards, singling out the eerie source of power. She sees it coming from Eli's tiny body and drops to the floor due to exhaustion. Eli's true purpose is to scramble her memory to preserve his identity for now, while admitting that Sakura is just about ready to meet him, as her powers have nearly reached the required level. Meanwhile, Sakura, unable to hold it in herself, decides to tell Lee about her encounter with Julian. They talk it out for a while, with Lee holding back the urge to tell Sakura what he wants. He settles for telling her to take her time and that she will eventually find a romantic partner who she cares for.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 65

The local school is the venue of another important cultural event, this time it being the shooting of a movie. The making for the full-length motion picture calls for a whole crew in addition to actors. As expected, Tory and Julian are given starring roles in the ambitious project. The director, who  happens to be Ruby, takes a fancying to Sakura, also granting her a role in the process. The heroine is excited about her chance to perform, though her exhilaration is short-lived when she notices that Julian is losing physical presence and is vanishing. The frantic unfolding of the events proceeding from this observation culminate with Julian dropping off from a balcony. For a moment it seems that it may be curtains for Julian, but Tory appears below and breaks his fall. After a string of failed attempts to reveal to Julian to secret about his friend's alter ego, he finally does it, dressing down Ruby in the next breath when the meddlesome woman makes a failed move to butt into their conversation. Tory then makes a heroic decision to keep his friend in possession of magical faculties: he forsakes his own power to save him, which means that he must lose his power to sense when Sakura's safety is threatened. Stripped of his power, Tory wants some reassurance from You-Wei, demanding that he protect both him and Sakura from here on. Fate has it that Sakura is to overhear the exchange, realising that Tory knew everything all along. A wronged Sakura goes to demand explanation from Kero, who simply tells her that he didn't want her to be aware of it, as bearing the brunt of all the responsibility would have caused her to behave irrationally. The sight of Julian vanishing also proves to be much for Sakura to endure for a second time, so she rushes over to him and confesses her love to him, relieving her of the weight of her concealed feelings.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 64

Here is an interesting little concept: Sakura goes off to spend a few days at a ski resort while Kero has to stay home and bask in all the sugary treats he has always yearned for. As it is, Kero is in heavenm but Sakura's situation isn't so cosy. At first her main concern is to safely ski down slopes without hitting a pine tree, which does well at first. Maddison congratulates her on her skills to negotiate obstacles and maintain her balance while on the runners. Surprising how Maddison is still surprised by Sakura's prowesses, she is good at almost everything. However, the weather takes a turn for the worse and an avalanche threatens to ravage the venue. Soon a procession moves from the ski resort to the safety of the cabin. Everyone is relieved at being free from the iminent peril, though Sakura is missing. As it turns out, she and Eli were left outside and must face the oncoming snowslide. When it does happen, Sakura thinks of making use of her deck of magical cards to get them out of the predicament, but is hesitant due to Eli's nearby presence. She decides on the Time Card combined with the Fiery to counteract the onrushing snow drift, but drops from exhaustion. Eli shows some mercy and relieves her of her burden this time, personally carrying her inside. Although it's Eli who saves the day, he's overall pleased at Sakura's progress so far with the Star cards.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 63

Sakura and her gang are at a water park, suggesting to the audience that it's summer in Reedington. Except that it's not Reedington because this episode wasn't originally available as a united states or canadian dud. This means that I had to watch the alternative dub of this, which is a version closer to  the original, which comprises of several differences from the version where the characters and locales are given westernised names. Here, their local town is Tomoeda, and all of the characters, apart from Sakura and Kero, are named differently. Onward with the episode, one of Sakura's friends is having difficulties with her locomotion in a body of water. She is unable to even stay afloat, quickly sinking despite the human body having positive buoyancy.

There is one flaming point of light in her life though: Sakura. As her fellow student and friend, the main character teaches her to swim and the lesson goes without a hitch. The learnt ability turns out to be solid gold. The water of the premises start reacting to Ariel's (Eli, in this version that's how he's named) command and soon the bathers find themselves in need of vacating the pool. Sakura's friend is the last one behind, but since she's no longer helpless in the water, she eventually swims her way to safety. All is well in the end, while ruby questions Ariel/Eli about his methods of testing Sakura's spunk and problem solving skills. The leading protagonist assures her in a way that implies that he wouldn't let anyone come to harm if Sakura's timely intervention proved not to be enough, but the episode doesn't give away that card, leaving it up to the viewer to assume the goodness in the dark-clad kid.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 62

Sakura is getting ready for the New Year's festival, putting on a traditional oriental dress. Kero makes light of it, to which replies by threatening to deprive him of her father's New Year treats, which Kero eagerly anticipates wolfing down. This makes Kero suddenly get into the fold and extol his friend on her choice of attire. In the end, Sakura tells him that' enough and that he will have access to his sugary fix after all. Unusual for Sakura to manipulate someone like that, let alone Kero, but it may be on account of her growing up as a person and becoming more aware of her responsibilities. At the Shrine to celebrate New Year, Tory finds Julian lying unconscious inside a shrine while noticing that he's faintly vanishing, prompting Tory to realise that something is amiss, while Sakura and Maddison go get their fortunes at the fortune telling stand. To their surprise, Eli is in charge of the clairvoyance business, which means that another unusual occurrence will befall Sakura. Nothing comes immediately of it, only Sakura getting a cryptic message telling her that the truth will be revealed to her in her dreams.

This is one of those episodes that do a ripper of a job advancing the plot. This is probably on account of it involving the series' choice foreshadowing method, which is revelations through dreams and the prophetic figures that dominate in it. However, since Sakura has so far proved herself well worthy of the title of Master of the Clow Cards (now referred to as "Star Cards", the attempts of the unfolding visions to reveal to her who is the kingpin behind all of the unusual occurrences will not be without merit.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 61

This episode is fairly odd first of all and involves Sakura wanting to show her gratitude to the Cards as it's Christmas time. It does have a minor subplot about Sakura and Lee sensing again Clow Reed's presence near the school and they set out to investigate. One tiny detail that Sakura needs to take care of is that she had arranged iwth her brotehr Tory to meet up with him at 4 p.m ao they could go out to find a gift for their father, the man who is ever busy with his work. At least there isn't the slightest soupçon of him ever resenting it, he seems to cherish things this way, actually. But it also means that he doesn't time to get a new wallet so his offspring will give one to him. Sakura deploys the mirror card again so it can fill in for her. The familiarity fostered with Sakura's double means that Tory isn't fooled by the ruse, but his friendship with her has flourished to such a degree that he goes along with it and even gets her a present to demonstrate his appreciation for having many a day helped Sakura. Even after learning that Sakura makes use of the Mirror Card often to go on her card captoring escapades, Tory is sensible to leave well enough alone and doesn't pester her about it, although his suspicion still remains a major noticeable issue that Sakura and Kero need to work around. As for Sakura, she makes it safely home and proceeds to give a present to the cards herself, a piano song recorded on tape. Kero teases Sakura about her not being able to learn to play the piano that fast, but Sakura insists that Eli taught her well. Is there any doubt why Lee dislikes him?

Card Captor Sakura - episode 60

Sakura is busy on the school grounds bench making a painting for an assignment when Eli approaches her. The two have a lively conversation Lee stands from afar, watching. With no way of coming to grips with his feelings, he keeps looking daggers at Eli for a while, until Maddison interrupts his moody mulling. It becomes apparent that Lee isn't happy with Eli around Sakura, but he just says that he doesn't trust Eli, refusing to disclose further. His vague impressions aren't enough to fool Maddison though, who seems to know what's up. Unexpectedly, Meilin walks in, demanding to know what Lee is looking at, thus providing a transition to the story. Since she is staying for a day or two, Sakura arranges to hang out with her after school. One noticeable change in Meilin is that she has ceased from being so possessive of Lee, perhaps accepting the fact that it's best for him and Sakura to stay with each other as their magical aptitudes binds them by something common. She is still competitive though, keeping up with the motif that she can be of great help to the gang's cause. As expected, Elii engineers a situation that involves the group having the deal with an abnormal occurrance, the goal being to test Sakura's worth as the new Master of the Clow cards. The experiment in this context causes the local park toys to hurl at the characters. Meilin's help comes in the form of some well timed advice: to use the freeze card to arrest the inanimate objects' movement. Sakura does just as instructed and renders them harmless. Lee finishes off the intrusive spell's effect by summoning the element thunder by using his own magic, delivering the final blow. The whole sequence is a wholesome finish to Meilin's unfortunate short stay, but in a way that you leaves the door open for further opportunities to relive their adventures.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 59

 When the students must turn up for their physical education class, Lee and Eli immediately get into it, playing one-on-one basketball. Eli seems to have the upper hand and Lee doesn't get much of the ball in the initial moments. However, Lee adds some zip to his game and is able to catch up with his opponent, who adds a few words of encouragement as Lee aims for the hoop. Namely, the dark kid tells Lee to focus on objective, leaving him to wonder what that means. Later on, Maddison goes missing and the group is at a loss how to go about looking for. Lee warns the others that he has a magic spell that may be helpful in finding missing people, but he needs an item that belongs to said person. Sakura Has a much better idea when she remembers how the Shadow Card was captured. By switching on all the lights., she's capable of calling upon the power of the Shadow Card and set it on Maddison's trail, whose singing beckons the hooded elemental to find its way to her. Sakura and Maddison embrace at the end. Outside, Eli stands atop a belfry and is nearly sighted by Sakura, but disappears just in time to not give away his scheme.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 58

Eli obviously likes to play pranks, especially those involving pure genius and sadism to assess Sakura's constitution. Had Sakura known about his real identity, this would have done little to gain popularity with our heroine. But since what he really likes is testing Sakura to see if she measures up to her role as a card Captor, maybe he will be forgiven. In his latest practical joke, he uses a spell to prevent Kero and You-Wei from returning to their borrowed forms. I'm not sure why refers to his diminished persona as such, since he seems to enjoy himself more this way. At any rate, they try time and again to revert to their less menacing-looking forms but to no avail. As they happen to be near Sakura's home, it's collectively decided that the latter has to host them until they hit upon a solution. Nothing seemed to be going anywhere, untill Sakura receives a parcel from the mailman. She's told it's a foodstuff ietm and it should be kept stored in the fridge. Before putting it away in the cooling storage, she peeks inside on a lark and notices it's a crab. Peering at the crustacean sends Sakura's mind into a state of contemplation about the crab's shell being his main form of defence. Before long, she makes the logical connection linking this to the act of protecting, for whose role there is a Clow card just perfect. In order to offset the magic block hindering her friends' transformation, she has to use a barrier to ward off the opposing force, which is the main function of the Shield Card. Eli clarifies that the Shield Card undermined his magic because this particular card derives its power from how close the connection if its holder is towards those she wishes to protect. Although there was a hint of solemn resignation in his voice, he reassures Spinner and Ruby that the Sakura's trials will continue; he is still sizing Sakura up

Card Captor Sakura - episode 57

 The apparent feeling of failure is a difficult thing to process, lending itself to self-doubt and guilt trip. Lee engages in a little exercise self-reflection, allowing himself the displeasure of recalling the failed test from You-Ay, which Sakura passed. The contemplation affects him negatively. However, there is something else that is far more meaningful to him, and it's his feelings for Sakura, but he is unsure how to proceed. Tying this scene with another fateful occurrence is the upcoming Teddy Bear festival, which they attend. Eli bides his time and arranges it so both Lee and Sakura are trapped in the lift. This predicament causes both to further bond with each other. Eli creates more difficulties to test their mettle, but Lee and Sakura, having grown close together, succeed in overcoming them.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 56

A short introduction tell us that at Reedington School there is going to be a Bazaar exposition, and Eli in sorcerer form thinks up ways to use the event for his next move. Spinner (or Spinny) considers attending it, but is reluctant as Kero might recognise him. Eli quickly dismisses this objection and, by use of a spell, sees to it that his identity will be preserved. So it's all set for Spinner to make his appearance. The reason why Kero would certainly attend this event is that sweets is a big part of it, so there was no way he would ever miss it. It bears mentioning that Spinner is very similar looking to Kero, except that he is of a darker hue, in addition to some other minor changes. The two eventually do meet, and Kero assumes that he is a goblin. I suspect that his assumption is exclusive to this version, as in the original episode it may be something different. Anyway, Kero tries to make friends with his gloomy-looking counterpart, but the attempt doesn't seem to go anywhere. At length, Kero suggests that they should both gorge on the sugary treats that the benign Guardian Beast has stashed, and Spinner relents.What follows is something akin to what happened when Kero scoffed down too much chocolate: he becomes inebriated and inebriated and Kero has to somehow restrain his guest's unwanted behaviour. This is made much easier than it looks as Sakura conveniently happens to be nearby and calls upon the magic of the sleep card, making Kero's job a cinch.    

Card Captor Sakura - episode 55

Doing book reports for school assignments might not sound like a big deal as a grown-up, but it's tough for much younger students. . Mostly from the difficulty of finding the time and patience to sit through a whole book and objectively read in order to produce a meaningful critique. Maddison proceeds with her task with little concern, choosing War and Peace, while Sakura settles for somethjing more light-hearted, namely, Lewis carrol's magnum opus: Alice in Wonderland. Sakura isn't fazed by the prospect of reading a whole book, she's actually engrossed by the reading. That is, until Eli decides to walk by and hand her a leaf to use as bookmark. Does it mean another incoming ordeal for Sakura? Of course. She gets sucked into the book and has to relive its story, including that famous dialogue with the Cheshire Cat. Only that it's not really the Cheshire Cat, it's Eli with cat ears, but the story has to play out as intended so the characters are played by people who Sakura knows. The story being played to the hilt means that Sakura ends up taking a swig from a shrieking potion. Good thing that she is in possession of both the Big nad Small card, which come in handy to get her through another tets imposed by Clow Reed himself...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 54

This episode introduces a novelty in the series: Sakura learns that her great-grandfather wasn't keen on his grandaughter's marrying Sakura's father. This uncomfortable bit of revelation is extremely unsettling to Sakura, she sets out to mend the past wounds by making a gift of her own design. Like in another episode that also featured her father as a major contributing factor to the plot, she decides to adorn the handmade memento with with a flower arrangement. That is the perfect opportunity to use the flower card and with little ado she brandishes it and proceeds to turn it into another Star Card. A letter recounting her mother's positive impressions of her father adds the finishing touches. Since Sakura's father is involved in the story, this means that Maddison's mother must also make a meaningful appearance, so she is tasked with delivering the carefully prepared present to the older man. The reconciling process works as intended and the estranged males finally make peace with one another. In return, the elderly man gives Sakura her mother's dress. The much appreciated thank-you present had actually been worn by Sakura in their previous encounter while Sakura was holiday making and met him.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 53

 The episode begins with Sakura tending to her outdoor chores, which consists of raking the leaves and cleaning the yard. Sakura is mostly minding her own business when Eli happens along. Maybe Eli just felt like dropping to see Sakura, but he unexpectedly asks if he could help. Sakura accepts the offer and he immediately lays his eyes upon her brother's bicycle. To anyone privy to the young man's motivations, it's a foregone conclusion that he has to screw up with Tory's wheeled ride. He soon excuses himself and leaves, while Sakura remains largely indifferent. Perhaps she still doesn't sense anything unusual from Eli, but it's still early for this assumption. Before long, Sakura realises that the Clow Cards used to have a sort of connection to her but they feel cold and distant. Kero explains to her about a little undesired side effect of the cards still remaining in their Clow Form: turns out that there is a deadline for Sakura to convert the remainder of the Clow Cards into Star cards, lest they start seeking a new master and wreak havoc upon unsuspecting citizens. Sakura panics and sets out to convert a bunch of them. At the end of the performed ritual, she's worn out and collapses in her bed, while Kero admonishes her that the cards can't be converted willy nilly. She has little time to rest though, as the dash card becomes confused and, true to its namesake spell, darts off. It finds refuge in Tory's bicycle, as if lured by Eli's previously prepared sleight of hand. There seems to be no way to catch up with the runaway card, until Sakura remembers how the Loop Card makes people and creatures run in circles...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 52

The problem with Sakura having captured all of the Clow Cards and still having to prove her worth is that it hasn't yet been made clear to her what the meaning of the outlandish occurrances are and if it's really the doing of Clow Reed himself. This leads to her pondering over a slip of paper that she had found during the last strife. She thinks that it might be a clue but is unable to elaborate further on her finding. Still, it seems that she is getting to a major milestone as she confides to Kero that she believes to be seeing Clow Reed in her dreams, as if trying to tell her something. This is also when Lee informs Sakura that an unusual force is sensed at the Penguim Park, causing the group to make their way there. They wind up in front of a huge gaping hole in the ground, and Sakura goes down to investigate. Lee tries to follow suit but is balked by an invisible force field. The barrier proves to be too strong to be broken through, as even Kero, in his true form, fails to inflict the slightest damage to it, so it seems that it's by design that only Sakura was allowed in. Once inside, she comes across a herd of stuffed rams. She eventually solves the meaning behind the horned mammals by connecting them to their sleep symbology, then exits the burrow and uses the power card to relocate the emblematic Penguin slide back to its place, at the end though, she is exhausted from the effort, while elsewhere Eli, in his sorcerer form, amuses himself with the idea that Sakura may be running out of time to turn all of the cards into Star Cards.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 51

 As a chid, Eli might seem normal at first. We don't have much background information on his scholar performance, but it's easy to assume that he is the studious type, being the typical quiet and nice student. What the audience does know so far is that he puts his childlike imagination to good use coming up with creative ways to evaluate Sakura's resourcefulness and resolve. A contributing factor to Sakura's success is that she is always accompanied by allies who are considerably capable of wielding magic powers. Kero in his true form does a great job breaking falling party members' falls and putting up a protective barrier to deflect incoming attacks, while You-ay's lithe movements and speed ensure that he can get Sakura out of harm's way. Lee, who was earlier seen calling into question his own usefulness, is also a confirmed force to be reckoned with as he is a skilled swordsman, his ability to brandish his sword and power to call upon elemental attacks being a trademark of his being a direct Clow Reed descendant. Still, it's ultimately up to Sakura to deal the finishing blow to pass the imposed ordeals, this time in the form of a plain-looking teddy bear. Sakura had made it and intended to give it to Julian as a present. Of course Eli had to muck this up. This is accomplished by the same underhanded techniques that he always employs: he approaches Sakura, asks to hold whatever she is carrying if this is something that happens to have real meaning to her, imparts on it some evil energy that causes it to turn on its holder later on while sitting back and watching how Sakura will fare. Maybe Lee does have good reasons to suspect him...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 50

 Primarily this is an episode about further establishing Eli's identity as a character with an interest in assessing Sakura's worth as the new Master of the Clow Cards. He does this by putting up a friendly façade whenever he is around Sakura's usual gang at school and ther venues. Lee seems to be the only seemingly capable of peering through the front, reasoning that it may be a gossamer veneer to some sinister scheme. Eli does a good job concealing his agenda from Lee, however, and throws him off by telling him to watch his balance while the grumpy kid is sitting atop a tree branch. Eli collects the unconscious student in his arms and deposits him safely elsewhere, while he thinks of a way to put Sakura through his next test. He soon solves this problem by spotting her at a store to buy some yarn for a handmade craft. Eli sweeps his hand over the dainty threads, which soon becomes Sakura's opponent in a fight that sees her deploy the Sword Card, adding to another card becoming a Star Card. Elsewhere, we get a glimpse of Eli's group, comprised of Ruby, the girl with a penchant to stalk Tory, and Spinny, Kero's jetty counterpart, but no more is revealed.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 49

A listless Sakura is being tended to at home while Kero grows increasingly concerned with Tory nearly catching him in the act of speech after coming into his younger sibling's room. He always entertains a bit of suspicion whenever having a once over on Kero. Tory nonetheless is largely left of the usual card capturing action, even though hr has demonstrated more than once to be at least slightly aware that of the magical quest involving Sakura, but, if he is indeed aware, it seems that he prefers to relegate himself to the background and let things progress as normal. However, he does try to confide what seems like a grave secret to Julian, but he's always thwarted by Ruby, a female student at the local school with a knack for barging into conversation when the juicy tid bits are about to revealed. In another section of the same school, Sakura notices Eli playing the piano. Maddison notices the new student tickling the ivories and stops by to appreciate the welcome melody as well. Eli has a plan to test the newly appointed Clow Master though. He imbues the massive music instrument with some unknown energy and soon Sakura and Maddison are making a run for it. On the rooftop, Sakura notices that the piano charges after Maddison after the latter starts singing and figures out that using the Song Card is what it takes to slake the piano's thirst for harmonic voiced notes.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 48

After a short scene at school involving Eli courting Sakura with a flower to cheer her up on such a rainy day to provide background for how they will likely interact with each other, the episode begins in earnest. The tone is set with Eli being the nice kid, which means that there is a decent chance that Lee will resent him for it. The persistent precipitation starts to become worrisome, with even Tory remarking how it's not a normal shower. Still at Sakura's home, You-ay and Kero hold set out to turn into their original selves and hold a small discussion concerning the current matters. Eventually they manage to trace the root of the unusual downpour and soon the Clow entourage is heading for the venue of the next battle Penguim Park, with Maddison bringing up the rear. She is still concerned with filming Sakura, a habit that she hasn't let up on since they have become involved in this quest. The manifestation of the showering spirit pelts Sakura with water-based attacks, but You-Ay intervenes and shields her from the offending missiles. Next it's Kero's turn to guard Sakura from the deadly blows. However, the defensive manoeuvre has worn the two out and they are soon caught in the watery prison created by their opponent, who makes sure to not overlook everyone. With everyone at the magical opponent's mercy, Sakura tries to call upon her given gift to set her friends free. It doesn't work, as her Key of Clow refuses to draw the power from the desired Card. Sakura eventually realises that she had been using the wrong incantation and gets it right this time, resulting in a scene akin to Kwabara using Jigentou for the first time. It works its desired effect though, and everyone is safe. But Sakura collapses due to exhaustion, as she now has to convert the cards to Sakura cards, which she has just done with the Fiery card.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 47

 This is a sort of new beginning in the Card Captors Saga. With Sakura now in charge of something of immense magnitude such as the Book of Clow, whose has also changed to better reflect Sakura's emblem, now she must prove herself worthy of her gift. The way that Clow Reed has chosen Sakura has been a huge blow to Lee's self-worth and the way that he perceives himself. Having witnessed how Sakura has beaten him to becoming the Keeper of the legendary deck, he takes to brooding, at one point stating that he might as well go home as his role is over and there is nothing left for him in this adventure. His gloomy mood quickly changes though in comes another transfer student: a thin kid with a sallow complexion by the name of Eli Moon. As with some previous reactions involving other characters, Lee doesn't have a good first impression of Eli, immediately taking to suspect him of being somehow involved in the Clow Card business. There isn't much to Eli's personality yet, bar the fact that he actively seeks Sakura's companionship, while at other times he just stands outside her home, a self-contained grin of anticipation and ominous portent describing his look.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 46

 The next candidate whose worth is to be judged by You ai's standards is Sakura. The wavering girl adjusts for her awaiting trial before being scooped by an air gust and materialising in front of the judging creature. At first she's really reluctant to do anything that might harm You-ai as she still views him as Julian. After further hesitation and dodging some air-borne attacks, she at length makes a move to inflict damage on her opponent by calling upon the power of the Wood Card. This is to no avail however as her foe dismisses her attack as ineffective as Wood is one of the spells under his command as the Moon Guardian, as opposed to Kero, whose astronical body is the Sun. Sakura seems to ready to throw in the towel when a vision of her life without the timely intervention of Clow Cards. Nothing much different is noticed at first, until she catches a glimpse of a vanishing view of Julian. This is enough to get her back on her feet and carry on the struggle. At long last, with Ms Mackenzie's encouraging words, she is capable of summoning the power of the Windy Card and hits You-ai, determining the outcome of the fight. Sakura is pronounced the latest Master of The Clow Cards, with her signature staff changing shape to match her newly assigned symbol and it seems to be the end of the series. But Kero still senses that there is still more to the story,a s Sakura must now somehow muster the strength necessary to properly control the power bestowed upon by Clow Reed.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 45

 As a result of Sakura's last successful effort, Kero briefly loses conscience and lies in a state of suspected animation. He's soon involved in a pair of wings giving off magical aura. Out issues his true form, and something more closely resembling a Guardian Beast. Actually, it's just a tiger lookalike with guards and pads on his taut body. He also speaks in a serious voice to boot, with a cryptical tone and no-nonsense attitude to boot. Concommitantly with everything is Julian fainting and an angel-like man emerging from where he was standing. He introduces himself as You-Ai, and it soon comes to light that Clow Reed always meant for there to be two guardians to the Clow Card Book, one being Kero, short for Keroberus. The other is the angelic apparition who clears up on Sakura's remaining doubts and tells to get ready for the Final Judgement is about to start. Having seen for himself all the requirements met for the fateful event to unfold, You-Ai wants to immediately put to test the young duo's aptitude in the eyes of the Clow Reed. After a few more words of warning, announces that the Final Judgement is about to commence, with Kero nearby and yet unable to help his understudy for the first time ever since their first encounter. In typical anime villain form, You-Ai taunts Sakura and Lee before personally engaging them in a one-on-one skirmish. Predictably, Lee loses and it's up to Sakura to face up to him and prove herself worthy of the honour of Keroberus' trust.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 44

Clow Reed has a strange offering to Sakura through visions in her latest dreams. She is able to realise that the mysterious misty figure who constantly stands by close to the omnipresent Radio Tower is Ms Mackenzie. This doesn't do much to answer Sakura's inner queries though, as she senses another presence, only more segregated and shrouded in secrets far harder to be uncovered. Another constant message from her nightly premonition is how she is close to attaining the last Clow Card and subsequently judged by its highest emissary. In the next morning, Sakura is up on her feet again for an outing with her usual friends. They take public transportation to attend a local competition, though this time around it doesn't seem to concern them as candidates. Upon arrival, it's revealed that it's an archery tournament with Ms Mackenzie among its contestats. She's making a killing of it, but in her stands an equally skilled archer: Julian. The two eventually win their way to the final and must battle it out head-on for the honour. Sakura and co are in awe that both of them are evenly matched. However, Ms Mackenzie prickles her ears when Kero mentions You-Ai, a missing character of the Clow Cards Lore and someone whose presence is instrumental for Sakura to fulfill her mission as a Card Captor. The name-dropping causes the graceful woman to lose her zest and her last shot entirely misses its target, meaning that Julian is the winner. Everyone is enthralled with Julian's impressive win, while Lee suspects that something happened that drew Ms Mackenzie's attention away from her turn at the bow. Meanwhile, Sakura senses what portents to be the last Clow Card left form the Book, and prepares to engages her weapons. Nevertheless, she is balked by Ms Mackenzie's nearby presence and dilly dallies for a while. She eventually witnesses the adult and Kero freely having a conversation and concludes that she is also in on the Clow Card business and rushes ahead with her plan to trap the Earth Card, responsible for the ensuing earthquakes on a country already located on shifty tectonic plates. With Lee's help, she gets the last Card under her belt and an unforeseen change starts to take place with Kero...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 43

 Episodes that begin with a recap of previous events about a especific character usually mean that something drastic concerning said character is on point of happening, and it often means that it's going to have a permanent effect on the rest of the narrative. It's not only that something is required to change the story so it can advance in terms of plot development. It's the fact that the audience is quick to recognise that monumental turns in the story usually implies a major character stepping down from it. Unfortunately, they are seldom wrong. The notable absence in this context being Meilin. Lee's faithful companion receives news of her ailing grandmother and the family is told to stay close to help her make a full recovery. Sakura reaffirms her that maybe it's just a visit and that later she's going to be back, but Meilin isn't so convinced. Worst of all, she feels that she has failed her role as a assistant to Lee. The latter reinforces her negative view of herself, telling her that she usually got in the way to capture teh cards. This causes Meilin to break into sobs and storm retreat from the group, while Sakura is indignant with Lee for not being sensitive to Meilin's feelings. However, Meilin soon has a chance to redeem herself in Lee's eyes as the next Clow Card calls for her fighting expertise. In the end, Meilin has no hangers on and departs on a high note, having being instrumental in the Card Captors' quest and earning her place in the story's headcannon.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 42

This is where the events of the previous episode come to a head when the long-awaited play begins in earnest. This means that we are treated to the plot of the fairy tale sleeping beauty as it happens exactly as predicted by anyone who knows it, and it's clear that the participating actors do their best to reenact the classical story. This is a positive occurrance on two counts: first, they did away with the stereotypical young actor playing the scrub or foliage in the background, hinting at it not meant to be given a comical take on an otherwise serious story, which also amounts to the embarrassement of whoever is playing a static entity. Second, this is not a musical, meaning that it doesn't start out with songs and pretentious showmanship. To anyone doing this it may look as if they were cool, but it usually turns out to be a dreadful bore. At any rate, after the introductory dialogues to lay out the backdrop to the plot, everyone can hardly contain their feeling of anticipation to see who is playing the Princess. The curiosity is quenched on a somewhat shocking note when Lee walks in and is introduced to the audience. Kero describes his acting abilities as ham-fisted, and Lee, as if in response, casts an indignant look the fluffy animal's way. With no time for reflections, Lee carries on with his routine as usual and onto the next scene we go. In walks the Prince, and everyone is taken aback by Sakura's elegance and poise, Maddison marvelling at how great the costume suits her. It's just so the perfect fit that she muses about it being worn as her next battle costume. Unfortunaately, what happens next causes her to miss the remainder of the spectacle: the Dark Card takes centre stage, plunging all the surroundings in its trademark element, with only Sakura left to figure out the root cause of the sudden absence of light and take one step closer to fulfilling her real role as commanded by her fate...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 41

 Try imagining "The Sleeping Beauty", except that you have to add in magic-wielding protagonists and the play is organised by someone who has ulterior motives of her own. What starts out innocently enough as a simple school day to discuss how to organise the upcoming arts festival soon blossoms into another twist of fate meant to provide another link between Sakura and Lee. Ms Mackenzie is in charge of setting up the school play and, in order to give everyone a fair chance at playing their designed roles, a drawing of lots is to take place. Whether by fate's design or coincidence, the main roles for sleeping beauty land on the two young Card Captors, only that their genders are reversed in the play, meaning that Lee has to disguise his voice to sound more like a girl's while rehearsing, while Sakura doesn't bother at all to sound different (I haven't watched the more loyal version of the series, but I suspect that this part change either). Meanwhile, Kero is onto Ms Mackenzie, his growing suspicions gnawing at him to such an extent that he insists on accompanying Sakura to school to see for himself how things will unfold. In the middle of their rehearsing session, the Sand Card makes its appearance, but the resourceful duo catch it with little effort. The card lands in Sakura's hands, but, uncharacteristically, she hands it over to her male friend, telling him that he was mostly responsible for its capture. The rambunctious young man refuses at first, but eventually accepts, adding it to his sparse collection of Clow Cards. All of this is being overseen by Ms Mackenzie, who knows something that neither of them know.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 40

This episode begins with a fairly comprehensive peek into Sakura's dreaming pattern. The typical elements all makes their mandatory appearance, but this time Sakura has a grim determination to find out their true meaning. The whimsical visions end again with no exclamations and Sakura leaves home once again to start her day. She goes on an outing with her usual group of friends, unaware that Kero has concealed himself within the protection of her rucksack. They visit a number of places and attractions and come to a stop in front of the Radiko Tower. Marvelling at its magestic height, they ponder whether they should climb to the top, at which point an eager Kero pops out and joins the others. Sakura is unsettled by Kero casually moving freely around as they are all in public and the Guardian Beast isn't supposed to be at large. Kero reassures her though as there was no one around. Meanwhile, the Dream card manifests, causing Sakura to fall under its spell. Flashbacks of her past exploits are shown in succession but Sakura still can't break out of the card's territory. Outside the dream bounds, Lee takes stock of what is happening and wisely uses the Time Card, one of the few cards in his possession, to halt the unsealed card's effects. This buys Sakura enough time to make the capture in one decisive movement. Nevertheless, the fateful Clow Reed floats the newly acquired Card away into Lee's hands, and a joyful Meilin celebrates. Sakura is left wondering what all the visions actually mean since Kero had earlier told her that dreams are a view into the future.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 39

 
Huge dark clouds scudding by. Not only that, they're threatening clouds and someone is supposed to stop them from engulfing the whole city. A true classic episode, it starts off with Sakura struggling to leave bed, only for Kero to realise that she's feeling a bit under teh weather and that she needs to take it easy for the rest of the day. Not content with the idea of staying bed-ridden, Sakura insists in still making it to school, but is soon dismissed due to her being out fo sorts. A Clow Card acting up high above proves to be a compelling reason for Sakura to disregard Tory's advice t stay tucked in and soon pretty soon an engrossing battle involving the adventurous heros and their object takes place. Sakura's illness isn't a strong enough deterrant to her cause, but her friends, even Meilin, cooperate nicely to succeed. The card lands in Lee's hand, but he gives it anyway to Sakura in consideration of her ailed status. Later on, a concerned Tory comes to check on her and considers calling in a doctor, until a vision of their mother puts both at ease.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 38

 Things are looking peachy and cosy when Sakura's school project ushers in another promising day with Julian. The prospect always means a lot to our dear squirt, and what better way to spend the day with an older friendly student than to pick up strawberries for a baking project? Their effort is successful as they have gathered enough to fill a whole punnet, but Lee is clearly uncomfortable with not being Sakura's companion. He rushes in and offers her the fruits of his labour, as if to remind her of his presence. These interactions provide all the necessary background about their real objective: investigate the magical energy issuing from the warehouse next-door. The usual assembly of Card Captors soon find themselves locked in and this time they can't get through to Kero to ask for advice. Lee concludes that this is teh doing of the Lock card, which explains its inclination to trapping people inside walled enclosures, while Maddison volunteers that a key is what is needed to open a lock, but no one can think of what will work. The puzzle seems unsolvable until Sakura tries to climb out of a window and notices Ms Mackenzie peering in from a tree branch. From her perch, she gestures to Sakura's Key of Clow. From now on, everything proceeds as usual.

Be warned: there isn't a lot of action in this episode. Previous episodes where elemental cards had to be captured featured more bustling battles. A novelty in this one is the Lock Card's physical form, which isn't a personified spirit, like the rest.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 37

The action in this episode evolves around Maddison and her singing abilities. As everyone knows, her talented side resides in her singing voice and it is one thing that she won't take too kindly to losing it. Clow Reed has other plans in store for her though and decides to test her mettle by depriving her of her greatest asset. After having prepared exhaustly for the school choir as the lead vocalist, she's rendered mute by the Voice Card, temporariy putting an end to her intended performance. Her bereavement steels Sakura and Lee to do anything to return her voice. They retreat to Sakura's house and try to concoct a plan to do so, until Lee proposes using the Song Card to counter the spell of the Voice Card by replicating Maddison's voice.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 36

 This is an interesting mixture of Sakura's impending views of her veiled future and the roles of those around her. Once again, she finds herself in front of the fateful Radio Tower, contemplating the real intent of the shadowed fugure whose presence seems integral to this particular setting. Most of her doubts are connected to her role as a card captor and the things that she knows that she needs to learn. Her target this time is a card that is bringing an early snowy spell to Reedington. The usual gang's operation is hindered by the the card's magical form being resistant to its counter element: heat. Sakura, dispondent that she has lost her special wristwatch given by Julian, musters the necessary determination to use the Fiery Card, despite Kero's protestations. In spite of getting another Clow Card under her belt, she is clearly in distress, but fortunately not for long: Ms Mackenzie happens to be nearby in her Shinto priestess outfit and returns Sakura her beloved keepsake. Little is explained how she knew that it belonged to Sakura. The latter is thankful, but a suspicious Kero continues to distrust their mentor, thinking that she may have ulterior motives to be seemingly helping them

Card Captor Sakura - episode 35

 As the episode begins, Sakura is asleep, with visions of the dream world besetting her unconscious mind. In keeping with the recurrent motif of dreams foreshadowing upcoming events, Sakura finds herself facing the fateful Radio Tower, where a dark figure's presence is sensed somewhere in the vicinity, as if watching Sakura. She's confused by the ambiguity of the scene, unsure whether to deem the whole affair as a portent to her role as a card captor or as a warning. It seems that there is still something that she must learn on her own to take the next step to attaining the level of mastery that is needed. To achieve this, Sakura sets off to capture the next Clow Card, the fiery card, on her own. This means not telling Kero a thing, so as to prove him that she can handle her own on a real test. However, Kero's wisdom and power reach far beyond what Sakura had at first foreseen and he shows up for the battle in order to instruct Sakura on how to bring the Card under control when its magical form manifests and proves to be too challenging for the aspiring magical warrior. After all seems settled, Kero's powers start to partially return to him. It is akin to the Leprechaun regaining his powers the closer he is to his gold, but with a more benign twist to it. This really doesn't accomplish much, but it's enough to set Sakura's mind at ease to know that Kero is still the same tiny fluffy sweet-craving animal, as she was afraid that Kero would leave her for good once the Fiery Card was gathered. She has fond memories of Kero and him sticking around longer is reason enough to put her in a good mood.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 34

Now here is the perfect setup for a classic Card Captor episode. A school-level quiz competition is announced at Sakura's school and everyone is girding up their loins to win it. The contest involves a mix of quiz-style queries, clue searching and traipsing in the woods after all the previous requirements have been met and enough hints have been gathered to accurately conclude where the bounty has been hiding. Happening upon the "treasure" by accident doesn't result in an instant win, in case you're wondering. The curious git is supposed to leave it untouched and go back to getting the questions right and assemble the clues in the right order. Sakura, ever being the clevel and athletic that the audience will invariably be cheering for, makes her oway over to Maddison to, predictably enough, ask her to pair up with her. In an unforeseen move to break away from the typical plot device typical of this series, Julian (Yukito) deliberately steps in from the background and cuts off Maddison, offering to be Sakura's partner instead. Maddison acquiesces, and Sakura is thrilled to bits to be once accompanied by the older student. The competition provides an opporunity for Julian to show off his quick wit and whiz knowledge, ensuring them some precious time by getting most of the riddles correctly answered. Sakura does get to prove that she's not slow on the uptake either and this suffices to set them apart from the competition. Meanwhile, Kero is at home, fussing about. The full moon beacons, and Kero is certain that on this particular night it also signals a major turning point for our story...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 33

 Winter is upon us in the peaceful town of Reedington (or Tomoeda, if you happen to be watching the version which is more loyal to the original) and what better way to spend the lovely wintry days that include snow-covered fields and icy landscapes to revel in? While winter is usually a welcome season for most of the local towners, Meilin has a hard time adapting. The poor lass can't seem to wrap herself warm enough and this is turns to be a huge hurdle for her participation in the plot. To be fair, Lee doesn't fare any better when they go on a winter school trip and the major highlight of the proposed acitivties is ice skating. Much to Lee's chagrin, he finds out the hard that his range of mastered skills doesn't include deft navigation on a cold slippery surface, but his difficulties are short-lived anyway when Ms Mackenzie effortlessly glides in front of him and offers him some pointers. The suspecting boy gets to his feet, dust himself off and stumbles away. He mostly minds his own business for the rest of the episode when he notices Sakura's plight to capture the Freeze Card. Lee does a lot of the legwork to tame the freezing specter, but after some pondering he decided to hand it over to Sakura, strongly hinting at him having more than passing feelings towards his close ally.....

Card Captor Sakura - episode 32

While the idea of switching brains between bodies is nothing new in the realm of fantasy and science fiction, this episode represents an enjoyable attempt by giving the genre a new spin. Please notice that multiple attempts have been made to swap brains between humans, but few have involved a human subject and a guardian beast. This is all the doing of the change card, which is captured early on the episode. What transpires next is the stuff of nightmares: Kero is now in Lee's body, completely derailing his known personality as the serious quiet kid. Typical of his boisterous nature and unrestrained demeanour, he brags in no small amunt about his video game abilities and basking every bit on the attention lavished on him. Lee is more at a bind: he has to spend an uncomfortable amount of time in Sakura's room and the sudden proximity makes for some real awkward moments. Sakura tries to smooth over the heavy-handed situation by insiting that Lee be quiet and not make a big deal out of it. Not that it matters. Lee continues to get himself into trouble by finding Kero's wings unusually hard to put to good use and having to conceal himself from Tory's and Julian's prying eyes. Do not worry, Lee escapes unharmed. On the other hand, Kero is enjoying himself, but he'd also rather return to his former self.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 31

One of Sakura's friends' favourite pastime is reading. In fact, Nicky is so enraptured by reading that the prospect of going to her favourite book shop is enough to cheer her day with the delightful antecipation of what her next book will reveal to her. What really amazes me is that the direction that the plot takes, considering that it starts with the usual team already capturing a card that does little more than causing ordinary creatures to grow in size. The only real scare was the neighbour's cat sitting on top of Lee. The kitty then returns to its normal size and all is well. Or so it seems. Raining on the group's parade is a herd of mythical creatures wafting through the air, hovering for a few seconds in front the startled young eyes. A bit of thinking work allows Kero to remember that this might be another Clow Card at work: the Creation Card, which gives rises to any creature thought up by its holder. This particular holder is Nicky, since her newly acquired book is an open-ended novel where the reader writes its conclusion. She unwittingly cranks up creature after creature without ever suspecting that her friends are not far away having to battle them. All hell breaks loose when Sakura uses the Big Card to make herself bigger and sets off to put a stop to her friend's creative literary output.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 30

This is what Card Captors are all about, folks. I'm talking personal struggles, Lee and Sakura working together with little animosity, Meilin being agreeable to Sakura for once and the question of doing what is right despite it hurting others. The episode starts with Sakura about to capture a card whose elemental resembles a fox/cat creature which gives the heroine the slip by sprinting through the bush and ending up a someone's front yard. A young girl - Jessie- emerges from the entrance and soon a budding relationship between pet and owner begins. It's almost a shame that Sakura has to disrupt the bond by sealing the card as dictated by her fate as the Official Card Captor. The plot is simple enough to follow once the main conflict is identified and the viewer can't help wondering how Sakura will capture the card without disappointing her good-hearted acquaintance.

Maddison and Kero stand on the sidelines and mull the best possible way for Sakura to carry on her duty without anyone noticing anything. The problem is that contact with the element of the Dash card grants unusual running abilities. Jessie is signed for the school race and this is the perfect opportunity to put her skills to test. Sakura wants Jessie to succeed, but she needs to take away her running power, which will also cause her adorable pet to disappear.

This episode also showcases the fact that Sakura is very human. She is presented with a numbe rof opportunities to seal the card, but each time she falters because she cares about Jessie. Kero heads over to her and explains that the right isn't always what one wants. This causes our protagonist to ponder over what's best and she finally makes her move of bringing another Clow Card under control. A forlorn Jessie is seen looking for her missing pet, which now has just joined its family as part of the collectec Clow Cards. Sakura pulls herself together after Kero reminds her that it wouldn't be fair for Jessie to win the competition on the strength of having been helped by a Clow Card after all. Sakura still cheers her on during the race, and Jessie finds the motivation necessary to win when she has a vision of her former pet in front of her on the track

Card Captor Sakura - episode 29

 The basis for this episode, the school cake baking competition, is something easy to relate to once you are acquainted with the characters from this series. Sakura has honed her cullinary skills quite a bit thanks to the patient tutelage of her wise father. His method of explaining and calm demeanour makes learning an easy enough endeavour that it hardly feels like a lecture. It feels more like a close friend telling you how to do something by using easy to follow language that never alienates anyone. As fate would have it, the contest calls for the students to pair up for the competition, which means that Maddison has another opportunity to spend time with her favourite friend and bond with her even more. Once they get to work, their baking effort goes as planned, but by the time they have to taste their savoury output, they realise that it's too sweet. Suspecting that something out of the ordinary may have caused excess sugar to creep into the product, Sakura runs afoul of a Clow Card that causes desserts to become overly sweet! Recruiting Lee's help, she sets out after the playful tiny creature. The search seems futile and time is running out; the rest of the student body will make their way inside the culinary lab within minutes. Fortunately, Sakura hits upon a brilliant idea whne she realises that she can stop the sweet card with an element that is the opposite of sweet...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 28

Sakura's friends now have a new hobby, which involves collecting cards of a certain suspicious-looking design. Upon closer examination, Sakura and Maddison determine that the new collectible items that have suddenly grabbed everyone's attention may be connected to the Clow printed artifacts. They eventually find their way to the store that sells, which happens to be Maggies'. The adult woman informs the duo that these cards are all the rage now and she couldn't be happier with them outselling every other item on display. Using her spiritual awareness, Sakura discovers that the store did have a bona-fide Clow card but now it's missing, having been acquired by an unsuspecting customer. It was quite a relief to find out that the owner of the magical card is Meilin, so all they have to do is walk up to her and talk her round so she could renouce her treasured possession. At other times, this would have been proved easy enough, as Meilin would seldom go against Lee's word. This time though Meilin seems unusually disagreeable and is none too happy to be told what to do. Kero had warned beforehand that Meilin was in possession of the Shot card and that it would cause it to shoot energy beams if its name were said out loud. Does it happen? Of course it does. The card's spirit targets Lee as the recalcitrant girl was conversing to him upon uttering the card's name. The audience usually frowns on Lee when he rebuffs Meilin's advances, but this time one cannot help sympathising with him; the poor sod has to dodge projectiles while Sakura has to think up a way to get him out of the perillous situation and capture the card. By this point she has a whole heap of cards from previous captures, so choosing one that can reflect the offending attacks should be no problem

Card Captor Sakura - episode 27

 Not only does this episode have more Ms Mackenzie, it features the same setting. Sakura wakes up unusually early and decides to pay a visit to the shrine from her previous quest and is surprised to find Ms Mackenzie there, tending to some small affairs. Her father is the owner of the shrine estate, and she's there to help, doing work on the grounds and the like. Any contextual clue about Ms Mackenzie's activities and motivations seems to to be planned around the mystic and the spiritual, which keeps Lee suspicious, Sakura doesn't seem to mind much, as she helped them capture the maze card, which proves to be enough for Sakura's rationale that Ms Mackenzie is nothing to fret about. Making small conversation with the teaching adult helps shed some light on her backstory: she had also been Tory's teacher and left at one point to teach abroad and doesn't return until several years later. The only thing that seems out of place is that Tory doesn't seem to recognise her, a tiny detail which Sakura's father also finds odd. The mismatched memories somewhat realign later, when Sakura disappears into a tree and witnesses a dialogue between Ms Mackenzie and Tory, only that it is a conversation that takes place in the past, as indicated by a noticeably Tory addressing the woman as his teacher. Sakura is stuck in a chronological paradox, and it's up to Lee and Kero to bring her back.

Check out the impromptu partnership between Lee and Kero. They would usually get in each other's face and downplay each other's skills. But when Sakura's safety is at stake, they prove capable of setting their differences aside and join forces to see to it that our protagonists is well. Having the Time card helped of course, not to mention Kero's expertise in Clow matters when he raises the important observation that bringing the Return Card requires a great deal of spiritual energy. Lee bites the bullet, proving that he's not the selfish kid that Kerooften makes him out to be.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 26

 Sakura is taken by surprise by a new mysterious energy in town. Actually, there is nothing mysterious about it. The intriguing source of power stems from a woman who seems to be a new arrival in the surroundings. Sakura doesn't give it much thought at first, but eventually finds herself perplexed when it turns out that the curious presence also happens to be her new maths teacher. She introduces herself as Ms Mackenzie and gets down to the business of teaching her eager body of students. Sakura pushes the inquiring doubts to teh bac of her mind, but Lee isn't so at ease. You really can't blame him for mulling Ms Mackenzie's secret and hidden motives as she keeps popping by whenever the main topic of the youths' repartees is Clow Cards. She seems to have a keen sense for this particularly sensitive topic, but wisely doesn't reveal anything but might give her away as anything more than a simple docent. This comes to a head later on when she proves instrumental in helping Sakura and co. find their way out of an enchanted maze with the help of a glove-like item, commonly referred to as a magical bell. Sakura is unsure how to seal the maze card with the adult standing nearby, but the latter has enough presence of mind to recognise Sakura's waivering deportment and turn away so no secret is revealed. "I will avert my gaze", and with these words she disappears from the scene, while the regiment of Card Captors is left wondering how the elusive beauty was capable of helping them

Card Captor Sakura - episode 25

 Ever want to see an episode where Sakura, of all people, suddenly wakes up one day and decides to wreak havoc on people's personal property and wander around looking for mischief opportunities? Well here it is. Everyone in town starts noticing how Sakura has been acting strangely as of late, and her classmates confront her about it the next school day. She is bewildered by the sudden accusations, especially by Meilin, who makes no bones about driving home the point that it was certainly Sakura behind the strange little behaviours. Lee doesn't share her conclusions though, remaining in a state of deep introspection about the occurrances, despite Meilin having been with him when she saw it. Kero also believes that Sakura is innocent and teaches her how to use the collected Clow Cards in a different way, which will help them locate her mean body double, solve the mystery and assuage everyone's doubts about Sakura's deviating conduct.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 24

 Here is an unofficial team CLAMP sequel to Lewis carroll's "Alice's adventures in Wonder Land". As readers of the original book know, anything inspired by this work is prone to convoluted plots, unexpected characters and weird dialogues with the occasional good message thrown in for good measure. Sakura's take on it isn't anywhere near as twisted, but it's nonetheless a near-perfect setup for a lot of entertainment.

When Maddison drops in to pay a visit to Sakura, both sense a Clow Card at work and immediately go over to investigate. Concerned for Maddison's safety, Sakura tells her to wait in her room while she risks a look at the playful flea-like apparition. Sakura loses her balance during a brief struggle and is hit by the Card's signature move, causing her to shrink down to size. What follows is a string of perillous situations typical of anyone who has to dodge the lunges of an onrushing neighbour's cat and a vicious praying mantis. It bears mentioning that thanks to Sakura's physical capabilities, she gracefully evades the opposing living entities while deftly navigating her oversized surroundings. Still, she has no way to get back to normal and deal with the true culprit responsible for her predicament. It's not until Kero catches up with her and isntructs her on how to seal the Little card that things return to normal. Or so it seems. Maddison's strawberry shortcake is shared among the house occupants plus Julian, which means that no morsel is left for Kero. A downcast Kero descends into a pit of distress and not even Sakura can pull him out. Fortunately, he eventually comes across a life-saving idea, which involves putting the Little card to good use...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 23

 Viewers may have noticed, usually Maddison's role in Sakura's card hunting exploits is little more than that of a supporting character. That and video taping her friend in action. Her loyal camcorder comes in handy to record all of Sakura's memorable moments in film. This is due to the fact that she doesn't possess any magical powers, so she can't fight or protect Sakura. Not that it's ever necessary. Our protagonist does just fine by herself and when she does need help, Lee shows up and pitches in anyway. So, keeping that in mind, some may find surprising that this time there is a capture that relies heavily on Maddison to be successful. It turns that the singing card will only surrender in the presence of someone talented enough to sing, which happens to be Maddison's speciality. Actually, Maddison does prove herself to be quite skilled at a number of endeavours. She has a very sharp eye for fashion design and goes to great lengths to hand sew all of Sakura's "battle costumes" herself. She's also an avid reader as evidenced by the pile of books she would check out of the library and finish them on a casual weekend. Perhaps that's the reason that they didn't make her another card captor, unlike Sakura and Lee. The character is already gifted enough. Anyway, as required by Kero, she steps up and proceeds to sing the required high notes with deadly serious poise, thus appeasing the Clow Card's spirit. Everyone is happy in the end, except Meilin, who wanted to have a go at singing, but for some reason the Clow Card didn't want her to...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 22

 Don't be fooled by Sakura's seemingly never-ending search for the elusive Clow Cards. Despite being a competent card captor, the young heroine also has a soft side that is in full display in the cosy atmosphere of her family life. On this episode we get to know more of Sakura's immediate family, especially her father, Aidan Avalon. Unlike what one might expect, his personality and occupation go against the salary man's stereotype. He's an archeology professor with a deep love for his line of work. He's constantly seen reading and making notes while surrounded by books and academic material in general, enthralled by his research and always seeking to gain more knowledge and attain a higher level of proficiency in his chosen trade. Despite being so dedicated to his job and study field, he never neglects his family, always making sure to make room in his busy schedule to give the due attention that both Tory and Sakura need. But not everything is a bed of roses. Being the official Card Captor, this means that the spellbound cards usually settle on common elements that are integral to Sakura's life. This means that a Clow Card is usually found at venues frequented by her. And this time the frolicsome spirit takes to dwell in her father's research room at the university. It's up to Sakura to capture it without letting anyone notice it.


I'm at a loss to explain why Mr Avalon is such a charming character. Being the father of a brilliant girl probably has a lot to do with it. Add to that his ever-calm demeanour, his inexorable dedication to work, scholar passion, gentleman traits and we have a winner. His two children sure do have reasons to look up to him. And so do the viewers.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 21

 When the episode starts the plot is already on its feet and running so you'd better get ready to catch up. What starts off as a physical education routine consisting of doing laps around the school yard soon turns out to be the starting practice for a major upcoming event: a marathon involving the school students. The promising competition will pit everyone, including Sakura and her morose friend Lee. This means another opportunity for Meilin to prove her worth to Lee and defeat her "rival" Sakura. The antagonistic relationship is largely one-sided as Sakura has no meaning at all to slight her jealous peer. Meilin also demonstrates a persistent envious streak upon learning of Sakura's exploits at the physical education class. This fuels Meilin's desire to defeat Sakura in a real competition so she wastes little time training for the marathon. On the eventful day, everything seems to go as usual: the three new main characters are leading the race and drawing ever near the finishing line. They are about to win or it seems. They find themselves redoing the same laps and can't understand what keeps them from advancing. Turns out that the Loop Card is at work and, true to its name, has created a magical knot halfway through the race course. Sakura at first is baffled as to how she's going to cut through the Card's adjusted territory. Everything seems hopeless until Sakura comes across a solution in real Alexander the Great style. She solves the complex issue of unravelling the binding line created by the Loop Card by cutting it. Literally

Card Captor Sakura - episode 20

Lee's favourite relative has moved in to live with him and has quickly enrolled at Sakura's school. Meilin is similar to Sakura in many aspects: both are very athletic and energetic. All but one detail sets a stark difference between them: Meilin is really possessive of Lee and hates it when another member of the weaker sex so much as engages him in conversation. This really doesn't do much of anything except embarrass Sakura, because she's too kind to do anything to antagonise the school's new arrival. As it turns out, Meilin is already aware of the Clow Cards and immediately sensed that Sakura was also in on the whole Magic Card hunting business. This causes Meilin to quickly label Sakura as their rival, and she will anything she can to aid Lee, thus proving that they are the ones truly meant to succeed in this trade. Meilin's debut also serves to showcase her skills as a fighter, despite her being the same age as all the other characters. This doesn't matter much, as she proves a formidable opponent to take on the Fight Card, at one point even having the upper hand in the bout. Nonetheless She can't do much on her own, but she is still useful in wearing off the opposing spirit to facilitate Sakura's job to capture it.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 19

The Clow guardian beast Kero orders Sakura to finish up her summer assignment. Sakura isn't big into scholar homework and soon recruits Maddison to help her get through the unwanted task. Being the ever-agreeable friend that Maddison, she accepts to help without a second thought. A quiet place full of consulting and reading material seems to be in order to inspire their studious aspirations and fate would soon direct them to the school library. It's there that Sakura finally decides on what she should write her book report on: a fairy tale book titled "Earl the Hungry Pig", which is also teh thinnest book in the library accoridng to its computer database. Curiously enough, Lee also happens to have chosen the same work and soon both find themselves competing to grab ahold of it, which proves to be troublesome as it keeps moving of its accord to different locations. The chase eventually ends with Sakura losing her footing on a slippery rock surface and falls into a creek. Lee offers a stay at his house for Sakura to dry off. When he makes it home, he's informed of someone's recent arrival...

card Captor Sakura - episode 18

 The episode begins with Sakura and Maddison getting ready for a local traditional fair, complete with regional robes and garments to match the spectacle. Soon the real reason why Sakura was anxious to go is made clear: spend the evening with Julian. The entourage is complete with a few other characters. Namely, Tory and Lee. The latter aren't on the best friendly terms: Tory thinks that Lee is out to harass Sakura, while Lee just views the older teen as an annoyance. Anyway, both set off to outdo each other at ring toss, though a variety of games are apparently played between them, both males having amassed a large number of prizes from their exploits. The product of their efforts is generously givent o Sakura, revealing a measure of jealously between Lee and Tory. For Tory it should come naturally as older brother are usually protective of their younger siblings. The major surprise is Lee attempting to please Sakura, stronly hinting at the possibility of the little scamp having more than a passing feeling for her.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 17

 This episode picks up from where the last left off. In keeping up with the summer holidays motif, Sakura is at the beach. Kero is left home, and grieves his best friend's absence. To compound to his troubles, he is stuck in Sakura's room. A closed room in summer proves to be too uncomfortable a burden, causing the mythical imp to wince in distress. The involuntary manifestation of discomfort causes a commotion, and Tory and Julian happen to be within earshot range of the commotion. They briefly remark to each other about the minor disturbance and Julian dismisses it by saying that it's probably something that dropped from her desk. Tory is a little more unease though, casting a sideways glance towards his younger sibling's bedroom and spending some moments in inner introspection. Maybe he suspects something or it's some sort of hidden sense that keeps him tuned in to Sakura's secret. Nevertheless, Sakura and her friends from school are having a great deal fo fun at the seaside venue. Everything is a bed of roses but a courage test awaits Sakura. The time of the ordeal draws near and Sakura must prove her mettle, not only to herself but also to relieve her friends from the effects of the Erase Card.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 16

 Capturing cards and collecting their powers aren't the only worthy pursuits that weigh on Sakura's mind. Summer holidays are upon us, and what best way to spend them than visit an old family member? Sakura's beloved father is in the driving seat of the leisure expedition, having arranged to idle away a few days of rest at a cabin by the seaside. Sakura is left to her own devices and wonders off into the old man, who is actually her grandfather. Deviated from Clow Cards intrigue for the moment, Sakura takes the time to learn more about what made her late mother so endearing to everyone, not the least of all to her father, who mourns her loss dearly, but takes solace in the fact that she is survived by Sakura, a reminder of what are truly the most important things in reality to him: a healthy relationship with his and the peace of mind in resting assured that one has done their best to raise one's ankle biters.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 15

 Open with Sakura, Maddison and Kero in the middle of a raging storm struggling to get a toehold on an outcrop of rock leading to a Clow Card responsible for the disagreeable weather. The young heroine dithers about for a while, unsure how to proceed. Lee is more determined and steps up to deliver the decisive blow that suffices to tame the Storm Card, which lands in his hands as he flows back into the darkness. Lee's win from last night becomes a hotly debated topic between Sakura and Kero, and the inseparable duo starts blaming each other. What results is a string of bickering and insults being hurled back and forth, culminating with Kero immodestly gorging on chocolate to such an excessive degree that he attains a state akin to drunkenness and stumbles away from home. Now it's up to Sakura to bury the hatched and accept Kero back into the household, but first she has to find the missing creature...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 14

 The preparations for a local traditional festival are in full swing and everyone is busy getting ready for it. Having been granted a day with Julian is the equivalent of Sakura's dream come true. Julian is a gentleman in every possible way and treats Sakura and her companion to generous amounts of snacks. Actually, eating is a big part of Julian's personality in spite of him having a slim physique. It's one of Life's Little Mysteries, but it's also a great socialising strategy as he also offers treats to Lee, which is usually helpful in descalating any contentious situation where the lad finds himself in, either with Sakura or Tory. At any rate, Tory is getting ready for a stage play and Sakura can't miss the opportunity to see her brother play the role of Cinderella, who has to suffer through her ugly stepmother and her equally ugly step-sisters. The story unfolds exactly like everyone knows it, until a weird mist engulfs the building and causes the stage balcony to collapse, threatening all aspiring actors. Containing the mist becomes a top priority for Sakura, but she still needs to make that no one comes under harm. Just a good job that Lee happens to be with her and does quick thinking just in time to prevent Tory and his girfriend from plumetting down to the floor below. By late afternoon, Julian invites Sakura to dance like the other courting couples, much to the chagrin of Lee, who reveals a jealous streak as he stands on the sidelines and watches on.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 13

 Sakura and her friend Maddison are at the local zoo on a school outing. They and the other students are enjoying what appears to be a warm sunny day amidst the multitude of exotic animals that zoos are commonly famous for. Armed with notebooks and writing implements, the students are assigned to write up reports about the readily observable fauna, which gives Sakura and Maddison a chance to explore their surroundings before deciding on a theme to write about. The pedagogic tour is abruptly interrupted by strange observations, which Sakura and Maddison link to a missing Penguim slide from the local park that they had seen earlier. It doesn't take long for them to realise that there is a Clow Card at work, one which dislodges inanimate objects and heavy animals by use of sheer strength. Consulting Kero reveals that only the Power card would be capable of such physical feats. in order to trap the card's spirit, Sakura has to physically contend with the strong magical spirit, but she'll need help to overpower the card's outstanding strength

card Captor Sakura - episode 12

Sakura has to sit through a music test, playing the flute in harmony to the teacher's piano notes. Maddison feels at ease with the test and doesn't sweat it at all. But Sakura mkaes a mindless flub and has to retake the test again. Or so it seems. Sakura spends the remainder of her day practicing teh flute to make sure that she gets the notes right this time around. She goes about her day as usual, until Maddison asks her if she's ready for the test for the test. A baffled Sakura interjects that the test took place the previous day, but Maddison is confident that the test is about to start anyway. Elsewhere, Lee also relives the same events from the the preceding day and confides in Sakura his suspicion that there is a Clow card at work. They realise that they have been caught in a time loop and the only way to solve it is to find the source of such mysterious power. After some back and forth hunting, the plucky group of youths find their way to the proverbial clock tower that also happens to be a constant presence in Sakura's dreams. Sakura and Maddison show up first but their efforts prove fruitless against the time elemental. Lee asserts his resourcefulness this time and becomes the holder of the time card, which causes Sakura to reassess her skills and strategies to not her rival come out the winner again.

Card Captor Sakura - episode 11

 Lots of people entertain wondrous fantasies about visting a close friend's house for the first time. This is all the more true when during one's youth, where the world still holds that hint of mystery and secrecy that has many a day fueled childrens' imagination. Sakura's best friend invites her over for a delicious afternoon complete with kero's favourite cake, which is enough him to go along. Moments later, they find themselves in Maddison's residence, marvelling at the magnitude and majestic looks of her abode. A gravel path threas up to the main entrance, where Maddison greets the arriving duo. Maddison's mother is also at home and her personality is much more agreeable than her first appearance. She quickly warms up to Sakura, remarking how her beauty ressembles her late mother's. Everything seems to be going peachy until Maddison reveals why she had invited Sakura over: she suspects that a Clow Card is keeping her mother's casket permanently locked. Kero explains that it's the Shield Card that is behind this; a card whose inclination is to protect that which we hold dear. This explains why it has chosen a personal possession of the Taylor's household as Maddison is Sakura's best friend and. After some brainstorming, Sakura discovers the best means to thwart the Shield Card. By employing the usual companion weapon to a shield, everyone is able to view the precious keepsake that had been safely guarded in the jewel box...

Card Captor Sakura - episode 10

 A physical competition is taking place at Tomoeda School and the students are wamring up to it. Lee makes it a personal duty to outperform Sakura and proceeds to use all his physical prowess to get the better through the obstacle course. He and Sakura are evenly matched and the competition seems to result in a stalemate. This is where we are also given an official introduction to Maddison's mother: Samantha Taylor. She is a successful business woman, being the president of her a toy company and as a result a very busy person. Sakura remarks how her father is also equally busy and how she's pleased with the prospect of him watching her run in the competition. There is a nice scene with the kids' parents meeting up and recalling their past. Maddison's mother used to be a regular school runner, while Sakura's was the school's most prominent athlete. The executive woman sees an opportunity the right a past wrong (her not being better than him) and seizes it with without a second thought. Sakura's father assents with little fanfare and the two are off to race to the finishing line. It's not a personal one-on-one race, but the two soon stand out from the rest of the competition in a way that feels like it. Ms Taylor is none too displeased lagging behind in second place, while her former friend saunters on to the finishing line, but something is wrong. An onrushing wind carries with it an unusual number of flower petals, threatening to bury the whole school yard. It's not until they contact Kero to learn that it's Clow Card acting up that they are able to locate the source of the unpredictable flora behaviour and put it to good use to make their parents befriend each other again

Card Captor Sakura - episode 9

One of Sakura's closest friends - Rita - is facing a hard time with some of her grades and needs some help to go through it. Sakura, the ever-supporting friend that her classmates need, decides to help and enlists Maddison's (whose else) help to encourage her struggling friend. All seems to go well enough, but is it possible to sit through a study session when one of her friends suddenly finds herself under a trance and lays down on you with a real rapier sword? The basic premise is that the Sword Card's spirit was embedded wihtin a broach and Rita happens to wear the adorning item pinned on her collar. An unconscious Rita finds herself in possession of a sword and the blade soons tries to harm Sakura. The real puzzle is trying to remove the enchanted weapon from her friend's hand without incurring any harm to her. Lee pops by and gets set to launch an attack on the innocent assailant, but Sakura won't allow it. Lee teases Sakura about her not being a true card captor, but Sakura proves him wrong by finding a way to bring the card's spirit under control without any collateral damage

Card Captor Sakura - episode 8

 A mysterious robed figure features prominently in Sakura's dream. Standing aloof atop an all-too familiar tower, the shadowed individual jumps off screen and vanishes. The dream sequence is of particularly troubling portent to Sakura, because she can't make sense of it. Later at school, a new exchange student is announced. Everyone say hello to Lee Shaoran.

As some sort of meddling work from fate's hand, Lee turns out to be the object from Sakura's latest nightly vision. This creates all sorts of tensions between the two, mostly on account of them being of opposide genders and each sensing something different from the other

As a character, Lee is a guy who needs no introduction. He keeps a haughty air about himself and is usually withdrawn from social interactions, what with him being the exchange student and all. At one point, he straight out walks up to Sakura and confronts her about the Clow Cards. Sakura is taken aback for a moment and for a moment reconsiders her role as a card captor, but after a moment of instropection refuses to hand over her treasured possession, angering Lee in the process. Just as the latter is about to physically assail Sakura, Tory comes up and tells the juvenile aggressor to stop. The two have a brief stare-off, until Julian arrives and pacifies the worked up moods.

We are informed that Lee is a direct descendant of Clow Reed, the sorcerer who is the official retainer of the Clow Cards. This plunges Sakura into a pit of self-doubt and second-guessing, but Kero assures her that she is the rightful card captor assigned by the Book Of Clow itself.

A frustrating aspect if Lee antagonising Sakura about her skills as a card captor. He makes light of her not being as versed as him in the Clow lore, but Kero steps in a few times to put Lee in his place. The altercations involving Kero and Lee are fairly amusing, usually resulting in mild trash talking and insult hurling. Whenever these happen, I always barrack for the former.