Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Chapter 232: The end of a series and my sanity.


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Once upon a time I changed the world....

I am almost speechless. In between the tears and the rage I almost don’t know what to say.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles is over.

True there is supposed to be an epilogue chapter but unless that said chapter is 30 pages long and 100% more happy…yeah. Just….yeah. Click the link. Spoilers, sadness, and anger await you. And a river of tears.





This series has had a lot of ups and downs for our characters. And since this is CLAMP we are dealing with a happy ending was expecting too much. So I knew that Fai and Kurogane weren’t going to REALLY get together but I was hoping that they would look at each other with a meaningful glance when asked by …err Watanuki where they want to live. The clones would “die” and somehow this would make the world(s) go back to normal and the real Syaoran and real Sakura would cry that the clones had to die to fix real Syaoran’s mistake. But in the end clone Syaoran and clone Sakura were given a third chance at life due to some awesome loop hole and all the sacrifices made throughout the series and they end up living with Fai and Kurogane.

Okay so reading that all over makes it sound like a happy ending. Perhaps the clones don’t end up living with Fai and Kurogane and they assume the clones are dead but somewhere in another universe the clones are reborn with no past memories and we see them passing each other on the street, giving us a glimmer of hope. That isn’t a straight out happy ending and much more open ended which CLAMP likes to do.

Do we get that people? After how many years and volumes and sleepless fan fiction nights do we get that kind of ending? Of course not and you would think by now we would have learned our lesson. This is CLAMP.

First of all we didn’t get an extra long chapter. People on the internet are holding out hope that the last, final NO MORE epilogue will actually explain more and we all can put down our pitch forks. But for now…this was not enough. We had like 5 chapters of shiny battles and Fei Wong Reed saying really cryptic stuff and they tried to end a series that last for YEARS in 24 pages? Yeah it didn’t work.

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I want to both cry and scream when I see this feather...

The dialogue in this chapter is either really, really off or meant to be confusing. Me thinks a few things got rushed because we crazy fans wanted this chapter out so bad so right off the bat we get page one…and this.

But despite the Engrishness of this page it is clear what is being said. Everything that is dear to the clones is their memory of the other. That is what this entire series has been about. Clone Syaoran going to Yuko to get clone Sakura’s feathers back. This chapter opener is a bit sad as it reminds the readers the hardships clone Syaoran had right out of the gate. To save clone Sakura he had to sacrifice his relationship with clone Sakura meaning she would never get back that feather memory. For me this picture is that memory that she could never get was what Yuko used to create her (the second time). So maybe Yuko isn’t the crazy bitch everyone thinks she is and she had a reason for every tiny decision in XXXholics.

And silly me I thought this picture was also reminding the viewer that it’s okay that clone Sakura never got her memories back. While her childhood memories of clone Syaoran were very important she created all new ones with him during their adventure and their married life in some alternate crazy time loop. That their past (anyone’s past) doesn’t matter as much as the present or the future. BUT CLAMP HATES YOU AND ME SO THIS IS NOT TRUE!

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I think CLAMP likes messing with my mind.

Oh look a misleading art picture that makes you think everything will be okay. Then you remember this is CLAMP and since there hasn’t been any beheadings or cute character death’s yet NOW IS THE TIME. But I still want this in a poster because I am a sucker. Moving on now.

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Yes this is fair. Fairest thing ever.

So despite the fact that clone Syaoran just died to create a crack in the random darkness Watanuki and real Syaoran can’t leave. Fei Wong Reed’s voice from the beyond says they both must pay a price to leave. I for one am getting sick and tired of a price for everything! I understand that is the law of the universe and the reason that our heroes are in this mess. Still….these people have suffered SO MUCH!

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If you want to be like Yuko you need to learn what people desire most...and crush them with it!

Can’t they just have one magical miracle that doesn’t require them losing a limb, memory, or person? No? Okay Watanuki explain it to real Syaoran that they can’t give up something too big or that would be just as bad.

I am unclear on what real Syaoran wanted to give up before Watanuki’s explanation. He is clutching the feather but knowing real Syaoran he was thinking about giving up his life. Either way the existence of clone Syaoran or real Syaoran would be too much of a price to pay.

But it doesn’t matter what real Syaoran meant to give up as his price. Because now it is time for Watanuki and Syaoran to make absolutely no sense at all! Watanuki thinks about Yuko and how she would be able to tell them what the price would be. At this point I am not sure what these two guys have left to give but I am sure they will think of something (we already know Watanuki’s but still). But then they talk about how the prices have to correspond after they leave the area? Isn’t the point of the price to get out of the area? Or is their wish something bigger than they are letting the reader know? Or am I totally going to crazy town and trying to think too hard about CLAMP’s motives? In any event…what is going on?!

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And we are getting this...NOW?!

Then real Syaoran makes the most sense out of everyone in the entire series. How are you supposed to give up something precious to you? If it was that precious you wouldn’t be able to live without it. But we are not told real Syaoran’s price as both boys take hold of the feather and it shines for a random reason.

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Thanks for letting us in on the price people. Way to go.

Can I just give up on trying to understand what is going on? I love how Watanuki acknowledges this is a suck ass price and he is probably wrong but he will wait for Yuko anyway. Even after he was told the sad tale of Yuko being stopped in time due the barely wish of Clow. Watanuki fails to see that was a warning to him. And with real Syaoran…well who knows what any of that means. Let’s just move on the sadness okay?

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So why are you all doom and gloom in XXXholic?!

The feather glows and Watanuki tells real Syaoran that he is happy that he was born. Even though he said “Thank you for giving birth to me” what Watanuki really is saying “I forgive you for forcing your decisions on to other people and creating me to live a miserable life”. Okay that was a bit harsh. But Watanuki has been struggling with his identity the entire XXXholic series and has questioned his very existence. After being told the truth and learning that real Syaoran is actually him, that he was never meant to exist and only was here because Fei Wong Reed wanted to bring Yuko back to life….Watanuki is able to not have anger in his heart and accept what has happened. That he really believes now that he is a worthwhile being and that he can’t let himself disappear. Or he doesn’t want real Syaoran to feel any guiltier about his wish and that he is okay existing even if that meant the destruction of space and time.

The point is Watanuki is okay with existing and being a part of real Syaoran. This scene makes me think that Watanuki and real Syaoran will never meet again which totally ruins the hurry and save this series/make a happy ending theory in my head. To me this reads as a sad, bittersweet goodbye.

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Woot! Your life still sucks! Cue the parade.

So real Syaoran leaves the darkness he is greeted with a beaten and worn Fai, a beaten and worn Kurogane, and a teary eyed real Sakura. She is clutching clone Sakura who has turned into her own feather. Meaning clone Sakura’s feather. I know that the Sakuras were more alike than the Syaorans but it was still clone Sakura’s feather and that feather was probably her memory of Syaoran. It might boggle the mind if you think about the fact that all of clone Sakura’s feathers were scattered from her body when her body is actually a feather itself….but again with the over thinking. And apparently there is no time for over thinking. On to the tears.

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Stop messing with my over theorized mind!

Seriously people?! What does any of this mean? Are these really the translations and CLAMP wants me to poke my eyes out trying to understand this stuff? “I knew it would turn out like this but since you would absolutely come home Syaoran…”. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!

It can mean two things. One that real Sakura knew all this crap would happen (which makes me roll my eyes as she was asleep for the entire series but anyway) but since in the end she and real Syaoran would be together in the end it was worth it and they can bear all this sadness and pain together. Which would make her evil to not care that the clones died twice for them.

That leads me to reason number two. She knew that the clones would die. But since real Syaoran came back instead of sacrificing himself in the darkness they have a chance to make this right. Meaning that they can bring back the clones and they will be the ones to die this time.

Either choice is bad. It seems that the clones and the reals can’t live together at the same time or this will all happen again. So I am not getting a happy ending and one pair will die. Thanks CLAMP love you too.

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This is me 5 feet from crazy town.

Real Sakura says that as long as she and real Syaoran have their memories it’s not the end. Now why would she say that? They are the living pair. They have their memories of the event and the chance to keep making memories while they live their lives. This can only mean one thing!!!!

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When someone figures out what is going on feel free to leave a comment and tell me. I would greatly appreciate it.

Real Sakura and real Syaoran look surprised as the feathers of the clones sparkle and enter them. Now my whole this can only mean one thing would be a little more AHA if the reals had a more serene look on their faces, like they wanted this to happen and accepted the fact that they are about to die.

Well not DIE. But allow the clones to be the ones “alive” and inherit the reals memories. That is what I think real Sakura meant by our memories. If she had meant the clones memories she would have said “their”. But she said our. Of course they would have their own memories. What they don’t have are the clones. But if the clones had the reals memories that would make the “our memories” make sense. Are you following me still because I think I have lost myself a bit. What I am saying is that the reals know they will live on as long as the clones still hold their memories. That a part of them will always exist and this is not the end.

Of course this could be taken in the complete opposite way and that the clones will live on through the reals by the reals inheriting the clones’ memories. But given the fact that the clones died twice for the reals and that the reals were never meant to be together I think they are going to give the clones life.

Yes I know that the clones actually had much fuller lives that the reals when you think about it. But real Sakura and real Syaoran lost the chance to be together the moment Fei Wong Reed cursed real Sakura. It was cruel and we all hate Fei Wong Reed (whatever his real reason may be) but real Sakura was meant to die. Real Syaoran created a situation where the entire world was completely messed up just to stop an event that was meant to happen. I wish he could have saved his Sakura but he couldn’t. His decision created clone Sakura and clone Syaoran. They never had a choice in any of this so I think it is only fair that they are the ones allowed to live at the end of the day. They earned that right.

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Sensing this two are going to have resolution...

Kurogane and Fai (hi remember us?!) catch Syaoran and Sakura before they hit the water. I say only Syaoran and Sakura because it is unclear who they are. In my heart I want and think they are the clones. But even if I am right they will still have the memories of the reals which would make them the same person. Or perhaps they have gone back to being the person they were always meant to be. Sakura has tears in her eyes and Fai…well Fai has been through so much I am not sure how he can even function at this point.

So what does Kurogane do? Confuse everything again. I love that he did his typical punch on the head means I love you thing. I love that despite everything that has happened and the fact that it turns out to be real Syaoran’s fault he still loves the kid in either form. Kurogane will always be Kurogane and that fact he has stayed the same loving rough guy the entire series has kept my sanity.

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Bad Kurogane and Fai! Don't confuse me more than I already am!

HOWEVER!!! Which he is Kurogane referring to? The clone or the real? Both left without saying anything to Kurogane. Then Fai says both of them are sleeping. He is not referring to Syaoran as he is looking up at Kurogane. No he is referring to Sakura. Or maybe Mokona said they were both sleeping. Either way now Fai is making them sound like a merged being instead of just one being in charge. RARW!

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Fai...you is trying my patience!

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! Fai! I love you but seriously?! We’ll start from there? Could you have said something that made slightly less sense? No I don’t think so. Thank you Fai for that completely crazy sentence and putting MOG thoughts in my head. If that sentence had said we’ll start from here meaning that this is a new beginning now and we will all make the best of all this crap I would be a little bit okay. But it says THERE. Where is there?! When is there?! Is Fai talking about going back to a time? Is he planning on fixing things and they are going to start THERE to fix it?

After posting this I am holding out hope that maybe Fai is referring to their story. That Fai is going to tell this Sakura about their tale and he will start from that point. That the entire Tsubasa series is Fai telling Sakura what has gone on as she might have lost her memories. I might be grasping on straws but I am trying to make sense of what Fai said. It is late and I am slightly crazy.

Syaoran is not much help either with his thank you. Sure he is cuddled up on Kurogane and that makes me want to squeal but…what is going on? I just hope that they aren’t planning on restarting their adventure. That somehow they are going to go back from there and make things right. That they have somehow ended the loop and now they can fix the past. Because it can’t work like that and I am still not sure how the loop was ended. I know it would be way too much to expect someone to explain it right out but if there was a panel that showed a different ending than what we just witnessed I could see what was done differently. For all I know this is how it ended last time and nothing was changed from the last time. You can’t say there was a loop and not show me how it was broken. It can’t be the reals giving the clones life again as the clones were the one who had to break the loop.

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Say it ain't so!!!

AND THEN IT IS OVER!! Can you read that?! The dream’s end?! Some dream! Rage fills my soul!!!!

Putting aside the fact I have no idea who is left alive and what Fai meant by his final words there are so many unanswered questions. Where are Fai and Kurogane going to live? Where are Syaoran and Sakura going to live (depending on who they are)? Who were real Syaoran’s real parents? What was real Syaoran’s price to pay to get out of the darkness? On a forum someone questions what real Syaoran and Sakura’s real names are (even though I really thought it was Syaoran and Sakura). What was Fei Wong Reed’s real goal? What did his final words mean? Does CCS Sakura have anything to do with this hot mess IE the real mother of real Syaoran? Where are Fai and Kurogane going to live together? Which XXXholic boy is Fei Wong Reed?

Given that XXXholic is not set to end this month we still can hold out hope for answers. And by hold out hope I mean wait for the pigs, the horses, the cows, and the sheeps to come flying by your window. XXXholics has gone off into the future by four years. In crazy messed up Tsubasa time that might not mean anything. But I fear it might mean that Tsubasa is done crossing over with XXXholic and this is the ending we are supposed to get with Tsubasa. I can pretend the special visitor Watanuki is going to get will be clone Syaoran trying to bring back the reals but that would be really too much. Besides they have enough to cover with the egg issue and Watanuki waiting forever for someone who is dead.

There is going to be an epilogue chapter. I will pin my dreams to that chapter and pray it is not some goofing little story that has nothing to do with the Tsubasa storyline. It will in fact have Fai and Kurogane under a tree with clone Sakura and clone Syaoran. Princess Tomoyo will look on and think of Yuko and all the sacrifices she went through to make this all happen. The series will end with real Sakura telling Yuko in a dream that she doesn’t want to end up like her, that she rather “die” than be forced into living passed her time. Her price for this wish will be her own time frozen in the reservoir until the day she can move on peacefully with her real Syaoran. And that is where the real story begins.

And if it doesn’t happen exactly like this heads will roll.

But seriously…if this is the ending they give us…I might just hate CLAMP for a while. I will make a more coherent last thoughts post when it truly is the last chapter. Until then everyone channel hope that everything…or something ANYTHING will be explained in the bonus chapter. I will even give up my subtle Fai and Kurogane ending if I can get confirmation on which pairing is alive. The suspense will probably kill me but I will try to endure. Until then…just…seriously?! WHY CLAMP?!




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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Scrapbooking an Anime Convention

Today's post was supposed to be about me marathoning some of CANAAN and how I love the series and MOG I am catching up with things. Yet this is my life and that is not how things work.

I lost my wedding ring for three days. Today I tore the entire house apart looking for said ring and didn't have time to watch any anime. The ring was eventually found and there was rejoicing in the street. Of course it was found after I picked apart the cat liter and nearly had a nervous breakdown at the thought of it being in my cat's stomach but that is besides the point. But sadly no anime was watched and no manga was read.

But there was still a bit of anime in my day. While tearing my house apart I took the time to clean and reorganize stuff that has been piling up since AWA. In between crying over the fact that my cat might have swallowed my ring and moving around every piece of furniture in my house I went through my extras from AWA and AFO and made some scrape booking pages. While my husband doesn't think it counts as cleaning it does in my mind. XD Fun cleaning that gets the stuff off the table and somewhere more product.

So enjoy my special pictures of my beautiful scrapbook pages!


Since I have started scrapbooking I have gotten into the habit of picking up stuff that seems useless to the average person but to me it can become something. Or maybe I am naturally a pack rat and now I can actually use stuff in useful ways.

But when it comes to scrapbooking anime you have to make your own special embellishments. There are no racks of cute anime girls in the Joelle section. They have baby's first tooth and Girl Scout but the closest thing they have to paper is Hello Kitty. So if you want to scrapbook anime conventions everything is do it yourself. XD

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Pick up everything that is free. You may be able to use it later.

Making your own paper is really easy. What I do is use a hard stock piece of paper to glue anime related stuff to. I use paper that came in a stack that I am not particular fond of instead of buying new paper. I use harder paper as you are gluing more stuff than usually to the paper and it needs to hold up. Also some of the freebies at conventions are made of thicker and heavier paper so the background paper needs to hold up.

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Also get two convention guides: One to cut up and one to keep as a souvenir.

The biggest freebie that you need is your convention guide. Usually the cover has a cute picture on the front as well as the name of the event you are attending. I usually don't have a problem with getting multiple copies of convention guides as I attend conventions with my husband. One can usually get a leftover convention guide on Sunday (or the last day of the convention). But I wait until Sunday because I don't want to take a guide when someone really needs one for its actual purpose.

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Ransack promotional booths!

Another great source of freebies are promotional and industry booths. These booths usually bring tons of postcard or bookmark sized pictures of up and coming animes that are free to everyone! I know most people go for the posters but these little babies are what I am looking for. Sure you might feel like a greedy pig walking up to a table and taking every single piece of paper on the table...but I tell myself that at least these papers will be put to good use unlike the majority of them that will end up in the garbage can.

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Event schedules are very useful...to cut up and use as background!

You might be looking at my pages and wondering why I would create pages full of pretty pages that are going to be covered up by my own personal pictures. While that does happen I try to position the pictures in a way that I can cover up the background and still maintain the cuteness of the freebies that I used to make the page.

Sometimes I pick things that will be good background but I know I will cover up the majority of that section and it won't hide any cuteness. Case in point event schedules. Nothing cute is covered and what is leftover after the picture is put in placed will still be relevant and show convention related stuff. Also it is good to have some section of the page not covered in anime so it doesn't take away from my personal pictures.

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Use club promotions and business cards.

At most conventions there will be a table or section where clubs and other conventions will promote their specific event. Again these are freebies that people want you to take. I never go overboard and take 46907 of any one item. I usually take one of each if I see potential cuteness in the freebie. Also business cards make great space fillers when working with odd shaped promotional stuff. Most dealers are happy to hand you over a business card or slip one in your bag when you make a purchase anyway.

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Using the "trash" from your purchases.

I tend to keep a lot of useless junk if it has something even remotely cute on it. So usually when you buy a Japanese plushie it comes with a super cute tag on it. Instead of tossing out that useless piece of paper you can use it as scrapbooking material! When I bought my Lego people they usually came with a tiny piece of paper that had more Lego people on it. So instead of throwing away cuteness you can use it to enhance you page, especially if you plan on scrapbooking your swag anyway. Use what you have people!

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Sometimes the Artist Alley can help with your scrapbooking.

The Artist Alley is a great place to pick up stickers that you can use once you place your personal pictures on the page. I don't typically use other people's art as background on pages but at AWA I found stuff that would be perfect for scrapbooking. This artist had a tiny bucket of random Sailor Moon pictures but they were too tiny to frame or otherwise display in a room. But before I walked away I released that they would make cute accent pieces for scrapbooking. So while I don't think one should go in the Art Alley with the sole purpose of cutting and possibly covering up someone's work you have to look out for potential treasures that you can use in a respectful way.

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Tenchi does not promote the cutting up of manga!...Normally.

Yes I cut up manga. It felt really weird to do so. I am sorry Card Captor Sakura and CLAMP. But this manga was accidentally purchased when I already owned that particular volume. It is an older manga and in the middle of the series so I would have little success in selling that manga anyway. But CCS is so super cute and makes such cute background paper. I tried to position all the cuteness towards the edges so they wouldn't be covered up. Again do not go out and buy lovely manga with the sole purpose of cutting it up. But use what you have or if it is a great deal. XD

So all and all these pages cost about 3 dollars to make. I have tons of manga pages left and I used minimum amounts of glue. I know some people spend tons of money on the extras and backgrounds of scrapbooking but I don't have tons of extra monies to be spending on expensive stickers (that don't exist). I am busy spending that cash on anime merchandise!

So here is how you can scrapbook you anime conventions with spending little to no money. I am not sure how many anime fans out there scrapbook but here is how I do it. Personally if I was a cosplayer or attended tons of anime conventions a year I would want to document my adventures in a creative way. Here is a way to do so and make it anime related at the same time. Hope you enjoyed my pictures and tips. XD





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Monday, September 28, 2009

Pandora Hearts Episode 25 FINAL EPISODE

…*sniffle* Pandora Hearts is over. It seems that when you are watching a weekly series it is sadder when you come to the last episode than if you had marathoned the entire series. Perhaps that is because you looked forward to the weekly series and had more time invested in the characters and storyline.

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We're over? Say what?

Whatever the case is I am a sad little Tenchi. No more 07-Ghost and no more Pandora Hearts. But there is a small silver lining as both shows have to have a season two so maybe my tears will only last for 6 months. XD I can dream of course.

But for now I shall be sad that the series is currently over and many things are left unresolved. Onward to the final write up and how I think things should play out for the next season.





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Home is not where his heart is...

Uncle Oscar has decided that Oz should go back to his home. I guess since Pandora knows that Oz is alive that it is safe for him to return back to his household. I think he should return home as well but it was said in a way that made it seem like a passing thought and not something that hadn't being discussed before. Random thought I guess. But since I have random thoughts a lot it’s fine.

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Uncalled for comment is completely uncalled for.

Alice….I wanted to slap you hard. I am sure everyone in that room knows why Oz doesn’t want to return home. It is hard to only blame Alice for her rude comments given that Alice says rude stuff all the time. Why was she told of Oz’s relationship with his father? Oz would have told her eventually and it is his business to tell. And telling Alice something is like broadcasting it on the internet BAD IDEA. So Alice…please be learning some tact in the future. Or maybe people can just stop telling you anything.

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Thanks for telling us that now Oscar. Heaven forbid you save Oz from any pain.

So after Uncle Oscar announces they are returning home and Alice made her rude comment it is revealed that Oz has nothing to worry about anyway. Daddy Bezarius isn’t there. In fact Daddy Bezarius hasn’t been seen since before the coming of age ceremony. So essential Oz is coming home to a family less house as his sister is at school, mom is apparently dead, and Daddy Bezarius is off hating Oz is some faraway place. Perhaps telling Oz this information first and then telling him they should go home would have gone better. But we need over dramatic moments ya’ll.

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Someone looks guilty.........

So now it is time to travel home. And for Oz to ask Gilbert why he hid the fact that Daddy Bezarius was where to be found. We all know the reason why Daddy Bezarius isn’t around and so does Gilbert. So now would be a perfect chance to break down and tell Oz the truth right?! Right?! The season is almost over and we can’t have this secret spill over into season two! But no Uncle Oscar saves Gilbert from answering the question and avoiding the crises. BOOOOOO! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Of course Oz is a little bit smarter than most people give him credit for and he isn’t buying all this. Good job Oz.

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Thanks again Captain Obvious.

Back at her home Sharon and Break talk about the obvious things that have been happening in the series. Like how Oz could be the reincarnation of Jack and that since the Will of the Abyss has a strong feeling towards Jack that could explain why she didn’t kill Oz when she had the chance. Or that Oz is the key to all of this but we still don’t know why. And also how the Basketcase people don’t want Oz to help them as they tried to throw him in the Abyss before and that typically isn’t a place you keep your secret superduper important weapon. Or maybe it is knowing this crew. Yay for Break and Sharon for keeping all the crazy theories alive.

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I can't hate Alice for long when she is this cute!

Oz finally returns home to a huge welcome home party. Or maybe just that old teacher of his who seems to lost some of her edge. Alice deems this house awesome since they serve meat. Alice is good at feeling out situations. Oz has a moment where he relives his father calling him filthy. It feels out of place and overdramatic but meh. It is time to have a nice meat dinner and for Oz to get back to his normal life at his own home.

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Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Or or Uncle Oscar can tell Oz he has to become head of the house now that Daddy Bezarius is gone. Even though that might not be possible since Daddy Bezarius has the house Chain. When Oz asks what exactly the house chain is Gilbert makes a big show of trying to cover up the wall. The wall that has a 20 foot painting of the Chain in question. The Chain that dragged Oz into the Abyss in episode 1. Gilbert I love you…..but there was no way Oz was going to miss that “tiny” picture on the wall. Bonus points for Uncle Oscar for going the Alice route and not having any tact.

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Gilbert could have hid that painting if he really tried.

But I guess I should be happy. I did say I wanted Oz to find out his father was a Basketcase person before the end of this season and I got my wish. YAY FOR WISHES! Too bad that Oz is deeply hurt and knows that Gilbert has been hiding this from the start and that his own father hates him so much that he threw him in the Abyss and that everyone should know how evil his father is based on his Chain and no one seems to care. But errr….at least I am happy?

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My poor Oz. :(

Oz decides he is going to take a well deserved emo break in his room while Break, Gilbert, and Alice discuss what should happen now. Waiting has never been a strong point for Alice and she decides that since Gilbert is her servant she should take care of the situation. Gilbert runs after her to stop her since he wants Oz to have a cry and get it all out. In the end they both end up coming through Oz’s bedroom door to see him acting very emo. Oz talks about his one sided love towards his father and how he understands what his sin is now. But not really. All he says is that he knows he is related to the Tragedy of Sabrie. I think everyone knows that by now. I want something a little bit more people! What exactly is Oz and what is his connection/sin? Not that I am buying the whole sin thing but in his mind….

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be right back stabbing Alice.

So Oz goes back and forth with his crazy thoughts. His dad hates him and he is Jack. But he doesn’t care his dad hates him and he is really Oz. He sounds a little manic with his questions and it is a little concerning. But Alice decides this is all about her and her memories. She gets really snotty and decides she is going to search for answers on her own and leave Oz behind. Oz is clearly having a rough day and Alice is going to be rude again? Alice what is going on with you? Stop being such a brat!

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Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?!

The next day Oz is back to being his normal self (well maybe on the outside). But he asks Break to find the Basketcase people. Because Break is a GPS unit. Also this plan is made of fail. I don’t ever see the point of marching into enemy territory and demanding answers but then again I like to make sense. Magically Break and Gilbert agree to this fail plan and find the Basketcase’s location. But instead of sending all of Pandora to bomb the bad guys, our heroes (Alice has decided she loves Oz…err he is her manservant so she had to go) set off to their location which is….Sabrie. I am shocked and amazed people. Those people at Pandora are such detectives!

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Oz needs a new poem book and dark corner.

For most of the journey Oz continues to be down on himself. Break comments that Oz has lost all of his self confidence after finding out his father’s betrayal and he is well within his rights to be all emoish. I don’t like that Oz thinks that all the decisions he has made in the series were dumb and he only seems himself as a worthless loser. But I know that this is actually had a kid would react to this situation. He will never be good enough for his father and in his mind he is a loser. I can’t really say this moment is really over dramatic as I find it really accurate and sad.

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Hello. Now you die.

So our group makes it to Sabrie. Or what is left of the town. I was expecting a crater like hole in the ground but there is still a bit of the town left unharmed. The three main Basketcase people arrive to announce that their leader will be attacking them shortly. How kind and pointless of them.

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Attack of the purpleness!

And attack he does. His Chain comes out of nowhere and binds all of our heroes. And it appears it is going to drag them into the Abyss. Oz manages to find it in himself to release Alice’s power on his own instead of having Gilbert draw them out for him. Then when Alice’s powers aren’t enough Oz manages to power her up just because he can. Daddy Bezarius’s Chain is squished in one blow and everyone is freed from their chains. No explanation is given on why Oz is so awesome. He just is. He has the power to control the Abyss and other things because that is how he is.

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Here it comes!

So now that Oz has traveled to Sabrie and confronted the Chain that dragged him into the Abyss it is time for the faceoff with his father. This should be good!

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And it's over.....

Or we never see Daddy Bezarius’ face. :( And all Oz tells him is that it doesn’t matter who he is, why he exists, or what people expect for him. He is going to continue being himself…and that is it. Oz walks away and Daddy Bezarius disappears. Anti climatic is this moment. Especially given the fact that Oz spent most of this episode saying what a loser he is and the like. I hope he just meant those words…but I don’t think those words were worth almost dying for.

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No. You are a bad guy. That is it.

As Daddy Bezarius leaves he tells the viewers that Oz CANNOT be in this world. So I am sure it will turn out in season two that Oz’s dad is just trying to protect the world and it pains him to hurt his son but he has too. Rarw I hate it when the bad guy turns out to have good motives. BOOOO!

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Aw too cute. THE END!! :(

Oz decides to end this season by comparing his life to a twisted fairy tale and that together with Alice he will solve all the riddles. It is a sweet moment….then it pans back to the grave with the pocket watch on it. That better just be a reflection of episode 1. Oz better still have that pocket watch in his pocket! I think if it had ended with them all standing in front of the grave it would have been better but meh. I think Oz acknowledging this was a story and so unreal it had to be a fairy tale was a pretty decent ending. Or really a lead up into season two.

And that is it. :( I am happy that Oz knows that his father is head of the Basketcase clan. That will give more fuel to season two with Oz having to discover the truth while knowing he has to fight his father eventually. I am sad that Oz didn’t grow much as a person but I would be pretty devastated that not only does my father hate me but he tried to kill me too. So maybe Oz can grow more next season and not have so many emo attacks. And Alice can stop saying such stupid things. And Gilbert can stop feeling guilty over things that aren’t his fault.

You were interesting Pandora Hearts. You have a lot to explain still and I look forward to getting all the answers one day. For now Pandora Hearts is no more and sadness fills my heart. But thanks for the good series and hopefully my posts will encourage someone to watch Pandora Hearts and fall in love with it too. See ya next season!





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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Chapter 230-231

As you can see it is not Thursday. I had been planning on making one HUGE Tsubasa post but the final chapter is not translated yet (or out yet...something in any case) so I will just do the next two chapters and will make a final post with me whining about how the ending will be crappy and not give enough Fai and Kurogane closure.

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It is time to face our future.

It's so hard to believe Tsubasa is ending so soon. It seems like yesterday I picked up volume one from Suncoast ( I MISS YOU SUNCOAST!) and it is now at chapter 231. Not many mangas make it this far and most people give up after 100 chapters. I am much too dedicated to do that so here I am...almost crying my eyes out.

Prepare for spoilers and major wtfness! You have been warned.




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Let's not forget about Fai and Kurogane now!

Both Sakuras manage to break the tube thingy that was holding them and Syaoran. Fei Wong Reed is a bit shocked about all of this and is momentarily distracted. Fai powers up Kurogane so Kurogane can attack Fei Wong Reed without being destroyed himself. It's nice to see that battle look clearer and not just some random magic lines. Fai and Kurogane have been doing most of the fighting so far but the kids aren't to blame. They are mommy and daddy after all.

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No more curses woot!

So Kurogane.....squishes Fei Wong Reed. Rejoice the masses as he had it coming to him for about 27 volumes. Kurogane couldn't do it alone as Fai was there to help him during the battle. But Kurogane is the one who usually takes on the responsibility of these battles. He deserves more hugs. Only Fai hugs though.

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Are you seriously going to do this to me?!

So what does Fei Wong Reed do before he dies? Utters something totally important and relevant and it makes me mad. There are only two chapters left (or one really huge one) and you are going to pull this crap on me?! Seriously....

It looks like Fei Wong Reed is a clone as he is not dying in a bloody way but breaking up into tiny pieces way. His existence is to bring back Yuko which makes me believe he is one of the XXXholic boys, possibly their "dark" side. But what is up with the "I must tell..." IT IS KILLING ME! And since XXXHolics has a few more chapters under its belt it still might get explained...but knowing the time verses reality issues who knows how long I might have to wait. RARW!

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Let the suffering continue!

Both sets of Syaorans and Sakuras reach out for each other as Fei Wong Reed sprinkles into little pieces. He says that Syaoran has to pay for his sins just like he has to. This does not bode well for our heroes. I would also like to say that I think Syaoran has suffered so much already (both of them) so what is this sin business still? Dear lord talk about over killing in redemption.

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If that is the definition of normal....

As Syaoran is told he has to pay for his sins Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona watch as a black blob whooshes around the room. This apparently is the world turning back to normal. I will have to take their word on that...

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We don't need to tell anyone apart anyway!

Mokona decides to be useful and point out that only the Sakuras have returned from the glass tube and not Syaorans. Surely this will not be a good thing. The bad guy is "dead" and they are still in danger. X_X

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Welcome to the nothingness.

So where are Syaoran and clone Syaoran? In nothingness. No people, no stuff, no nothing. It isn't a dream world but a void in space time. Yay for things getting that much worse.

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Gasping faces for all.

Both Syaorans decide that they don't want to be in the nothingness so they will use their powers and magically zap themselves out of it. Because when you have magical powers you can do whatever you want ya'll. But then they can't and I found the translation a little funny. But I am a mean person.

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Good thing this issue hasn't been discussed before.

Clone Syaoran still has it in his head that he should be the one in here. Or at least I think it was clone Syaoran. At this point both Syaorans have a "sin": Real Syaoran for wanting to bring back dead real Sakura and clone Syaoran for killing people when he lost his heart. Either way the other Syaoran tells that Syaoran they are both Syaoran and thus share this "punishment". And if you can follow all that you sir deserve a cookie.

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That question mark is massive.

So who else shows up to this party? Watanuki. Which is only fitting because he is the OTHER part of Syaoran. I just think it is funny that both Syaorans are so shock to see Watanuki after all that has gone down. Anything is possible okay?!

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Thank you captain obvious.

Watanuki is not freaking out for once. I guess seeing Yuko die killed off all the spazziness left in Watanuki. This scene looks like the scene from XXXholics where Domeki sees through Watanuki's eye the two Syaorans handing Watanuki his glasses. That scene does not happen in Tsubasa but we are given a scene cut with going back to the battle so it could have occurred then.

But good job Watanuki figuring out some of what is going on on your own. I don't think I could have jumped to the conclusion I was a placement filler. Now he asks the Syaorans what is going on and why this all happened.

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WTF?! Are you disappearing again?!

Back outside in the real world clone Sakura starts to disappear. This makes me angry. I understand this is CLAMP and that I should expect a bitter sweet ending. But the clones have gone through so much I want them to live over the originals. :( But maybe CLAMP can save all the Sakuras and Syaorans in the end and have Fai and Kurogane become a real couple all in one huge chapter. I WANT TO BELIEVE!

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....And when did she tell you that?

Watanuki is told the truth about how he was "born" and he seems to accept it. He has been around Yuko enough to know that it doesn't matter how you come into this world but what you do once you are there. He seems at peace with himself so yay for Watanuki. All the different versions of Syaoran decide they want to leave this space (don't know why that has to be announced...) when clone Syaoran starts to disappear too.

The thing is clone Syaoran actually KNEW. Maybe clone Sakura knows too but still. Why the heck did they go through the loop in become real Syaoran's parents and living in that tube to come back and DIE? They originally wanted to be the ones restuck in the tube and save the reals from being separated. So that means no matter what they accepted the fact that they wouldn't exist for very long and would die to protect the reals. I thought we had reached a point where the clones valued their own existence but apparently that was a lie! They knew that they were going to die once Fei Wong Reed went splat on screen.

And seriously. In CCS, CCS Sakura was about to take over ownership over Kero and Yue. I don't see why the same couldn't happen for the clones (which might happen but I am just saying). Just more magical rules that are made up on the fly?

Just bleh. They were reborn to stop Fei Wong Reed and doing so would kill them. It hurts to think about it.

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Can their lives suck anymore?

Why is clone Syaoran smiling? I mean I am glad that Watanuki isn't going to die too (not that he is going to have much of a life) but don't smile! Don't accept your fate, don't be happy that your "death" will create a way for Watanuki and real Syaoran to leave the void, and don't die. :( Stop making me so sad CLAMP.

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I give up trying to make sense of this.

Real Syaoran isn't really happy with this turn of events and reaches out for clone Syaoran...who turns into a feather. Seriously a feather people?.....Does that mean clone Sakura was a feather too while using her feather power? I am going to stop thinking about this...

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My father is a feather....NOOOOO!

So after real Syaoran and Watanuki are done grieving for two minutes it is time to go. I find it interesting that real Syaoran is still holding Watanuki's glasses but that is just a small issue and we don't have time for small issues.

There is a LOT to be covered in the last chapter of Tsubasa. The only way this can possibly end well is if the reals and Fai and Kurogane become customers of Watanuki and we can get the clones back and things actually get resolved. I hope I am not wishing on a star when I say that. :( So...we will see how this ends really soon. I shall be here waiting impatiently as always. Don't let me down CLAMP!








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