Tsubasa Chronicle 8

  
  

Continuing in the vein of the original episode in Hanshin, we have an original episode this time once again showing Sakura's latent magical powers. There's a hijutsu surrounding the Ryoushu's castle, and no one has been able to pentrate it. Chun Hyang takes Shaoran and Sakura to a place where members of a secret resistance movement against the rule of the Ryoushu gather. Among them: Sorata and Arashi, a different Sorata and Arashi than were in Hanshin, but also the same. Seems they lead an attack to try to remove the Ryoushu from power but were unsuccessful due to the hijutsu. Some of their fighters were even sucked into a dimensional gate at the castle gate and never seen again... Chun Hyang's mother met the same fate... but Sakura has to go.

Like previously, she radiates a light, and floats into the dimensional gate at the castle, and Shaoran follows her into it. Inside the other dimensional space, things go as Ryoushu wishes, as he throws fire and stone down at Shaoran and Sakura. But something else is there, too. Monsters... Sakura approaches one of them and lays a hand on it. She can understand them. They're the people from the village who were sucked into the gate, who then eventually turned into monsters. If they can break the hijutsu and get rid of the Ryoushu then they'll be able to return back to normal. A voice speaks to Sakura, calling her a child of god's favor, then returning both her and Shaoran back outside the gate...

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As with the previous original episode, this one was enjoyable for me as well. I suppose that's mostly because it's something new, but also because they're exploring those latent magical powers that Sakura has (that "power to change the world") that haven't really been explained in the Tsubasa manga. Now, if they could get the episodes based on the manga to move along a bit more smoothly that'd make things that much better ;) Looks like we're back on line with the manga next time as Shaoran and co. invade the castle. Hopefully the action (if they get to it) will last a bit longer than it has previously.