Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle
Episode #4
The Innocent Vagabond
It's funny rewatching this episode. When it first aired it seemed to be hated by everyone, myself included. It seemed to be too focused on Sakura (a fault the series as a whole still has but to a lesser degree in later episodes) and was taking far too long at weekly episodes to get to the exciting stuff in the Hanshin story arc which most people had read in the manga beforehand. I would gladly say that it was almost the worst episode of season 1 but now for some reason now that season 1 has finished and I'm watching the episodes one after the other, sometimes within the same afternoon, I'm finding myself really warming up to Episode 4 and enjoying it quite a bit!.
The episode begins with an image unique to the anime portrayal of Tsubasa, that of an eggtimer spinning around in the sky in the middle of an oasis. We can assume that it's set in a surreal version of The Land of Clow as the same eggtimer can be seen at the end of the first season ending credits, Loop where it appears broken at the end of the song after Sakura and Syaoran have found each other and she has reclaimed her feathers (even though one lies next to the broken timer).
I always get the feeling of time running out when I see the image in the series, but here, Sakura voices a little monologue about new memories being made as time goes on even though someone may have forgotten their old memories. It's a lovely image but, for me anyway, really doesn't work well with what they're going for with the scene.
Anyway, after the title screen, we see Syaoran saying goodbye to the now sleeping Sakura and Arashi (who has given the sleeping Sakura some hand-me-down pjs). Meanwhile, that evil guy and his female assistant are watching them through their magic mirror and comment that Sakura shows signs of life.
Later that day, while everyone is out, Sakura wakes up and sees two birds outside the window. She's really out of it due to her weakened state and appears to want to follow the birds. Before she leaves though she goes through Arashi's clothes and partakes in her very first fashion montage/blatant fan service. When Arashi returns home, she finds Sakura missing! She quickly tracks down Syaoran, Kurogane, Fay and Mokona (who are eating takoyaki) and explains the situation. They panic and set off looking for her.
Sakura, meanwhile has found a real bird's feather and seems rather content. She is soon approached by that large gang leader from the other day who decides to kidnap Sakura to get back at Syaoran and Kurogane. They approach her very politely and Sakura, still being out of it, goes along with them to eat Okonomiyaki and then to their headquarters which is in a warehouse on the harbour. When they arrive however they find that the gang has disbanded and left the boss and his friend all alone! The gang leader starts crying and Sakura, being completely oblivious to the fact that they had kidnapped her, comforts him.
Back out on the streets, Masayoshi has joined in the search and has started to use his Kudan, which has tracking abilities, to find Sakura. It senses her and they all sset off in her direction. Meanwhile, the gang leader has summoned Shougo to announce that he will no longer be in a gang. Shougo doesn't understand why and before he can ask, the gang leader's friend screams out that Sakura had wandered into a high platform in to be with some birds! Shougo summons his flying water Kudan and flies up to talk to her.
Suddenly, Sakura hears the bell sound she heard in Episode 1, goes into a trance, starts to glow pink and flies off of the platform. I found this scene really annoying when I first saw it but now I simply love it as everything about it is so beautiful. The music, the dialogue, the animation, everything. We get a final glimpse of Sakura's power before it vanishes forever and a tragic tear suggesting that she's aware of what's happened before it's removed from her memory as her powers fade and she falls to the ground to be caught by Syaoran.
Later that night they all relax back at Sorata and Arashi's house while an English version of the song, Tsubasa plays in the background with horrid pronunciation. I honestly can't understand it in places. Thankfully a new English version was recorded for the first cd soundtrack.
As the song fades, so does the image of Sakura lying asleep in her bed again, but having caught her first feather.
My Original Impression
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Those opening credits with the song, Blaze are really growing on me! Especially love the music and animation when Tomoyo stands up.
Anyway, I really loved this epiosode! It did detour from the manga (moreso than last week) but I think what it achieved was worth it. i.e. some characterisation for Sakura and the supporting characters. For example, Arashi's (from X1999) role is extended to reveal a more sensitive side, Okonomiyaki was revisited and Takoyaki was introduced (maybe a reference to the Kero short from the second Cardcaptor Sakura movie?) and the two kudan rivals get some more screentime to better show their relationship and their own individual personalities.
That new vocal song (which was in last week's episode but I forgot to mention), perhaps called "Love Melody" returns with incomprehensible English. Thank God for fansubs, hey? It has an alright tune (accoustic version this week), but I would have prefered Loop. ;)
Speaking of the music, I can't wait for the soundtrack! The BGM (background music) is starting to rival that of Noir and .hack//SIGN!
Storywise, I have a feeling this show will run better in marathons (like .hack//SIGN). Not much happens individually but when you through a few episodes together it makes for a much more enjoyable watch. Maybe that's why I liked this episode so much... it really stands along. The upcoming (assuming they animate it) episode with the lake and the glowing fish should be great.
Something worth pondering (on another topic) was the idea introduced in this episode that every person in different dimensions has a similar heart or soul, mentioned in the same conversation as Yuko's theory that they will encounter the same person and they may be different every time. It'll be interesting if the anime will explore more of this kind of conversations in upcoming filler episodes that may seperate it from the manga and make it worth watching for another reason other to see if "they got it right". This episode gives me hope.
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