The creative team known as CLAMP has produced numerous classic manga and anime throughout the years, from the comically cute romance series Chobits to the apocalyptic X/1999. One of the team's best-known titles is easily Cardcaptor Sakura, a series whose cute magical girl exterior belied a charming classic for audiences of any age group. Years later, CLAMP's Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle took audiences throughout its established multiverse, giving them a look at alternate versions of the characters from the team's different series.
In doing so, it also completely reimagined the characters and world of Cardcaptor Sakura, giving the protagonists a story that was wildly different, yet oddly familiar. As this month marks the 15th anniversary of the Tsubasa anime, let's look back on how CLAMP put a multiversal twist on their best love story.
Cardcaptor Sakura
Cardcaptor Sakura told the story of Sakura Kinomoto, an elementary school student in Japan who accidentally releases a set of magical Clow Cards into the world. Each of these cards grants different magical powers, and can only be activated by someone with inherent magical abilities. Tasked with rounding them all back up again, Sakura teams up with her magical guide Cerberus and her cousin Tomoyo. The series was known for transcending beyond its youthful target audience and genre tropes, as well as its inclusion of different kinds of romantic relationships.
The series' core romance, however, was Sakura's relationship with Syaoran Li. Syaoran is a descendant of Clow Reed, who created the Clow Cards, and begins the series by having a fierce rivalry with Sakura. This softens over time, however, with begrudging respect eventually turning into an actual friendship. By the series' climax, the two confess their love for each other, with a departing Syaoran promising to return for Sakura soon.
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle was created by CLAMP as a way to connect previous works of theirs together. In doing so, the world of the series features alternate versions of numerous divergent series', including Chobits, xxxHolic and Tokyo Babylon. The most prominent reinvention comes in the protagonists: Syaoran, also known as Tsubasa, and Sakura, princess of the Kingdom of Clow. As their names would suggest, they are alternate, older versions of the characters from Cardcaptor Sakura.
The story begins with Sakura disintegrating into feathers, which are dispersed throughout various different dimensions. The witch Yuko from xxxHolic sends Syaoran, along with the ninja Kurogane and the magician Fai D. Flowright, to traverse the multiverse in order to restore Sakura. Along the way, they also discover the actions of the evil wizard Fei-Wang, who had, unbeknownst to them, been manipulating their lives for years.
The series takes numerous twists and turns, many of which involved changing the status from recovering parts of Sakura to doing the same thing for Syaoran. Through these events, not only does Syaoran form a familial bond with those that he adventures with, but he and Sakura, despite constantly losing their memories, continually come to the realization of their love for each other. In focusing on both relationships and adventure, many CLAMP enthusiasts saw it as a more male-oriented version of Cardcaptor Sakura.
The CLAMP Connection
The connection between Cardcaptor Sakura and Tsubasa is obvious, with the protagonists literally just being different versions of each other. Beyond that, there are also other similarities and connections that thematically unite the two superficially very different stories. Minor elements include Syaoran's last name being Li, and the Kingdom of Clow being named after the sorcerer who created the cards of the same name in Cardcaptor Sakura.
Syaoran's green cloak in Tsubasa is also evocative of the flowing green Chinese clothes that he wears in Cardcaptor Sakura. The dispersing and collecting of different "body parts" (Sakura's soul feathers and Syaoran's body and soul) mirrors the setup of Cardcaptor Sakura also, wherein Sakura was hunting down the Clow Cards. These cards all bestowed a different power, similar to how the soul feathers restore bits of Sakura's memory.
At different points, both Sakura and Syaoran in Tsubasa are revealed to be merely clones of the original versions of each other in their timelines. This results in a series of plot twists that end with the villainous Fei-Wang defeated, but Syaoran stuck in a perpetual loop in which he must continue traversing the multiverse forever. His friends from the journey join him, hoping to find a way to restore the lives of the remaining clones that are now stuck as feathers.
Unfortunately, Sakura does not join him on this new adventure, seemingly bringing their strengthened relationship to a bitter end. On an optimistic note, however, the series concludes with an ending that gives a bittersweet homage to Cardcaptor Sakura's finale. Syaoran and Sakura finally admit their intense love for each other, and though the road ahead will likely keep them apart for the foreseeable future, they hope to return to each other one day.