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Post by Kyoki on Sept 2, 2005 8:46:48 GMT -5
Sakura Kinomoto is the main character of the anime we all know and love, Card Captor Sakura! Cheerful, optimistic, cute, and full of spark, Sakura is a character who is always very much liked by all the people around her. Though at first glance she might not stand out in a crowd of people, her amiable personality is the reason that she is very popular. Very kind-hearted and caring, she hates for her family and friends to get hurt. Sakura was a normal 4th grader going to school with her best friend and living with her father and brother; Little did she know that she would soon be on a very dangerous mission to collect all the Clow Cards. Sakura is a very popular girl at her school. She makes friends very easily and is not the kind of person to make enemies with others. She is especially good at gymnastics and sports, her favorite subject being P.E. Since she doesn't have a mother, Sakura is also very good with the chores around the house and very responsible for someone her age. She and her brother Touya always split up the chores, since her father is a college professor and doesn't have too much time on his hands. Sakura knows how to cook very well, since most of the time the cooking is also left to her, and she always finishes her chores and duties on time. If something happens with the Clow Cards and she isn't able to do her assignments, then she always makes a deal with Touya, asking him to do her chores this time around, and she pays him back by doing something else for him. Sakura also never pretends to be innocent when she's the one to blame in certain situations. For example, Sakura and Tomoyo were visiting her father, Fujitaka-sensei at the college he worked to bring him a boxed lunch. He was preparing for a very important talk, so he never really had the time to sleep, make food, or eat well, for that matter. So Sakura and Tomoyo decided to help him out a little bit. Unfortunately, about a day before his deadline, the Sleep card struck at the college that Fujitaka-sensei was working at and put everyone to sleep. Sakura finally caught the card after chasing it, but while she was trying to catch the card, she messed up her father's whole study and broke his computer, erasing all of his work. It wasn't really her fault, since the cards made the mess, but she felt really bad and took the blame herself and did as much as she possibly could to help her father after that. As you can see, Sakura's quite a responsible fourth grader. When Sakura first found out about the Clow Cards and saw Kero-chan, she wasn't too shocked about the whole situation. In fact, she took things rather smoothly. Even Kero-chan said that she was cool, and that she didn't faint or something like he was expecting her to do. Instead of running away or fainting, Sakura grabbed Kero-chan and said, "What's with this talking and moving stuffed animal?! Where are the batteries?!" and after Kero-chan told her about the Clow Cards, Sakura refused to be a Card Captor. After much prompting, and a little sneaky trick from Kero-chan, he got her to make the contract with the Sealing Wand, making Sakura a Card Captor. Card Captor Sakura's first job was very soon after Sakura made the contract with the Sealing Wand. A huge gust of wind blew out from Sakura's window, and Kero-chan identified the wind as the Fly card. It was in the shape of a giant white bird, and it was flying through Tokyo, making huge gusts of wind that were messing up the city. Sakura and Kero-chan rushed outside, Sakura wearing her roller blades, and Kero-chan told her to release the Sealing Wand just like he showed her. Sakura then got the key that she was wearing around her neck, chanted, "Key which hides the powers of darkness... Show your true power before me. Under the contract, Sakura commands you. Release!!" and the key grew and turned into the Sealing Wand. Unlike other magical girls, Sakura is anything but ditzy and whiny. Instead of whining or crying about the Clow Card situation, Sakura immediately tried to think of a plan to catch the Fly card. She didn't have much time to think, since the bird kept flying back and forth over Sakura and Kero-chan until it started to come down towards them. Sakura and Kero-chan started running away down the road, with the huge bird following them. Kero-chan yelled at Sakura to do something, and the situation seemed bleak for the two, but then Sakura got an idea. She skated up sideways on the wall right next to the road and jumped up on top of the bird, hanging on to its back. After Sakura managed to secure her position by holding on to the bird's feathers, the bird started to fly back into the sky. Sakura threw the Windy card in front of her, said, "Wind, become the chains that bind, Windy!" and hit the Windy card with the Sealing Wand. A magic circle glowed underneath Sakura and the Windy emerged, surrounding and tying the bird up. Sakura jumped off of the bird, skated out behind it, and said, "Return to your rightful form. Clow Card!!" She swung the Sealing Wand down, and the bird was sucked into its rightful form. Sakura is very quick to act on her feet, and the fact that she's really good at sports helps her out even more in her quest to find the Clow Cards. Sakura, however, is rather sensitive and very trusting, so she can be hurt very easily. When Shaolan came into the picture in Episode 8 ("Sakura's Rival Appears!") he insulted Sakura and made her self-confidence drop dramatically. He commented that she barely knew anything about the Clow Cards, called Kero-chan a "stuffed animal," told Sakura that she was not good enough to be a Card Captor, and declared that he would get all of the Clow Cards himself. Sakura was very hurt by his words, and it was obvious because she became really quiet and her cheerful nature dissipated for a while. Sakura is not afraid of the Clow Cards, but that does not make her completely fearless. She's only fearless of the Clow Cards because she "knows what they are." If there's one thing that can freak Sakura out completely, it's the unknown. Sakura is scared to death by ghosts. When she was little, Touya always told her that he could see ghosts. This probably scared her out of her mind, and left this current phobia behind. She once told Kero-chan that she's afraid of ghosts because she doesn't know their intentions or what they are. She's not afraid of the Clow Cards because she knows what they're up to and can figure out what each Clow Card is. Always together, Sakura's best friend is Tomoyo. Tomoyo thinks Sakura is the cutest thing since sliced bread. While Sakura enjoys Tomoyo's company very much. Tomoyo is constantly taping everything that Sakura does and it sometimes seems as if she likes Sakura more than a friend. Tomoyo's mother (Sonomi) is also Sakura's mother Nadeshiko's cousin, and Sonomi also loved Nadeshiko very much. She made Tomoyo grow her hair out long so it could look like Nadeshiko's hair, and whenever she sees Sakura, she is always reminded of Nadeshiko. Sakura lives with her father and her extremely over-protective brother Touya. Yukito says that Touya has a "sister-complex" because he is always watching over Sakura and protecting her no matter what. Touya also is able to see spirits and ghosts, and when he and Sakura were both young, he would often tell Sakura of all the spirits that he saw. Touya and Sakura are both constantly bickering, with Touya calling Sakura "monster," and Sakura always stomping on Touya or kicking him because of his comments. However, they both care for each other very much and are both always looking after each other in their own ways. It's more obvious with Touya, though, but that's because Touya is extremely over-protective of Sakura. Sakura also has saved Touya a couple of times. Once she saved him from the Mirror card. Sakura's target of affection at the beginning of the series is Yukito, Touya's best friend. Sakura says that she can't believe that such a "kind person" can ever be friends with the "barbarous brother" of hers. Sakura is always happy when she sees Yukito and gets huge hearts in her eyes. She tries her hardest to be very nice to Yukito and Yukito is also very nice to her in return. However, it's obvious that Yukito is just a bit too old for Sakura, as Yukito probably sees Sakura as nothing more but a smaller sibling that he cares for in a big brother kind of way. Sakura is a very cute and loveable lead character. She could qualify as one of my favorite anime characters. I adore her seiyuu (Sakura Tange). I also like how Sakura is very quick to act while catching the cards, yet she's realistic and isn't unrealistically smart. She has her weaknesses and her strengths. Her character is that of a very realistic and believable young girl, and I can't help but love her. Got info from: sakura.prettysenshi.com/info/cast/sakura.html
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Post by Kyoki on Sept 2, 2005 8:48:04 GMT -5
Tomoyo is Sakura's best friend, and they have been best friends for a long time. Tomoyo loves Sakura to pieces. It almost seems that she loves Sakura more than a friend, but does a good job of keeping that a mystery. She is constantly taping Sakura, and every single thing that Sakura says, or every little thing that Sakura does, Tomoyo goes on about how cute Sakura was when she looked like that, and how she wished that she had her video camera along with her to tape the moment. This leads to many funny scenes in which Tomoyo gasps and says, "Oh no!" And everyone panics and looks at her and says, "What's wrong?!" Then Tomoyo says, "I forgot my video camera." And everyone falls over. Tomoyo and Sakura's friendship started when Tomoyo was new in class, and she lost her eraser. Sakura offered to give Tomoyo her own eraser, and that's how it all began. Tomoyo treasures that eraser very dearly and keeps it locked up in a case with Nadeshiko's (Sakura's mother's) bouquet of flowers from her wedding with Fujisawa (Sakura's father). After Sakura became a Card Captor, the next day at school, she was at school early for cleaning duty, when Tomoyo came early also and told Sakura that she had something she wanted to show her. "Last night I filmed something very interesting," Tomoyo said; It was a taping of Sakura and Kero-chan flying beside the moon with the Fly card! Of course, Sakura cried out in shock and surprise when she saw the tape, which caused Kero-chan to jump out of Sakura's backpack, yelling, "What's wrong, Sakura?! Is it a Clow Card? Where? I'll fight you so come on!!" Kero-chan wasn't supposed to have gone to school with Sakura, but he had snuck in and hid in Sakura's lunch box. Now they were found out by Tomoyo, and they were in quite a troublesome situation. What to do now? Unlike what they were expecting, Tomoyo didn't seem surprised at all. Sakura introduced Kero-chan to Tomoyo, and then Kero-chan explained to her how Sakura became a Card Captor. Tomoyo clapped and said, "How wonderful! The Card Captor protecting the city from the chaos of the Clow Cards! How cool!" Sakura said that there was no way she could do such a thing, but Tomoyo held her hand excitedly and said, "No. Sakura-chan can do it. Can I please see you use magic?" So, as nobody else was watching, Sakura did the spell to release the Sealing Wand. Tomoyo was very excited with the whole idea, and she asked Sakura, "Do you have a special pose? A special pose and magical phrases are the key to a magical girl!" So, that was how Tomoyo joined Sakura and Kero-chan in catching the Clow Cards. Tomoyo and Kero-chan immediately became very good friends from the first time they both met. This is because of Tomoyo's extremely amiable personality, and the fact that both Tomoyo and Kero-chan are very excited about Sakura being a Card Captor. Whenever Sakura refuses to do a certain assignment because she is scared, Tomoyo and Kero-chan both outnumber her two to one because they both want her to do it. So Sakura ends up going through with the plan anyways. Tomoyo always goes with Sakura and Kero-chan to tape her, and she always makes costumes for Sakura to fight with. Since Tomoyo's mother is conveniently the president of a big company, her family has a lot of money, and therefore she always has all the materials that she needs to make the costumes. Tomoyo also makes a matching outfit for Kero-chan also, usually consisting of a bow or a hat or something like that. Besides making costumes and outfits for Sakura and Kero-chan to wear while battling the Clow Cards, Tomoyo's other hobby is dedicated to the video camera. She is always taping everything, and her favorite subject to tape is Sakura and her heroism with the Clow Cards. She never lets herself live it down if she forgets her camera and misses the chance to tape Sakura. Tomoyo also has an AV room set up in her house for her to watch and edit all of the stuff she taped of Sakura. But that's not all that she's good for; Tomoyo also has an amazing voice, possibly the best in the school. When the Song card was in the school, it copied the most beautiful voice and mimicked it, singing it at night when nobody else was around. Many people thought that it was a ghost, but then Sakura noticed that it sounded a lot like Tomoyo's voice. The Song card had copied Tomoyo's voice because it was the most beautiful. Tomoyo can also cook very well. So even though Tomoyo isn't very good in sports and energetic activities like that, she still has many talents. Though Tomoyo doesn't have any magical power, she is still very helpful to Sakura and Kero-chan in catching the Clow Cards. First of all, she makes the costumes. If it weren't for the costumes, the Clow Cards would win against Sakura with their spirit. Also, Tomoyo makes each costume collaborate with the Clow Card that is on the loose. For example, when Sakura was fighting the Thunder card, Tomoyo made a costume out of rubber so it would repel the lightening and electricity. In the CCS movie, when Sakura went into a place with lots of water, Tomoyo made a water proof costume that was very easy to move around in. But making costumes isn't the only thing that Tomoyo does to help Sakura. Tomoyo is always cheering Sakura on and supporting her whenever she needs it. When Kero-chan is almost found talking and moving by other people, Tomoyo also does a very good acting job of covering it up. Kero-chan once told her that she could win the Oscar for her performances. Since Tomoyo's mother is the president of a very big company, Tomoyo's family is very important. It isn't every day when you see an elementary school girl being accompanied with four bodyguards. Sakura, never knowing that Tomoyo had bodyguards, was very surprised when Tomoyo was escorted by them to school when they were cathing the Shadow card. Other than the four bodyguards, Tomoyo is an only child who lives with her mother and servants in their humongous mansion. Tomoyo's mother Sonomi Daidouji is a very busy lady, so she doesn't have a lot of time to spend with Tomoyo. However, she does try to be with Tomoyo as much as possible. We don't hear much about Tomoyo's father. Tomoyo's best friend ever since she came to Tomoeda Elementary is Sakura. They are always together, and Tomoyo loves Sakura to pieces. Sometimes one might wonder if it is friendship love, or perhaps a bit more than that. But we can never be sure. Sonomi (Tomoyo's mother) is Nadeshiko's (Sakura's mother's) cousin. So, Sakura and Tomoyo are both related in some way, even though it's not a very close relation. They're like second cousins. Speaking of Tomoyo's love life, she doesn't really have a crush on somebody like Sakura does. Other than maybe having feelings towards Sakura, Tomoyo really doesn't have any other romantic interest in the anime. In the manga, however, she does blush around Touya, but that really doesn't develop into a huge crush like Sakura has on Yukito. The fans love to match her up with Eriol. Tomoyo is a very kind-hearted and sweet girl. She is always ready to support Sakura in any way possible, and vice versa. Tomoyo is very aware of Sakura's crush towards Yukito-san, and even if Tomoyo might have more than a friendship love towards Sakura, she still encourages Sakura to be brave and approach Yukito. Tomoyo understands Sakura's feelings more than Sakura does sometimes, and they have a very nice friendship. It's not one of those friendships when the two characters constantly beat each other up, which I must admit I find more amusing, but after a while, you really see how much these two girls care for each other. I think that everyone should have a friend like Tomoyo. She is extremely loyal, kind, caring, funny, supportive, and everything else that one would want in a good friend. Got this info from: sakura.prettysenshi.com/info/cast/tomoyo.html
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Post by Kyoki on Sept 2, 2005 8:48:48 GMT -5
A stuffed animal, you say? Or maybe a clone of Pokota from Hime-chan no Ribbon! Wrong, my friend! Kero-chan is Kereberus, the guardian of the Clow Cards. He was created by Clow Reed to make sure that the cards' seal never gets broken. However, he fell asleep for 30 years, and his snoring was what caused Sakura to go down into her father's study on that fateful day when she released the Clow Cards.
We first meet Kero-chan after Sakura calls out the Windy card and releases all of the Clow Cards. Kero-chan emerges from the book, and Sakura jumps back. Then, he pops his head up and says, "Konninichiwaaaaaa!!" in an Osaka accent. Sakura is stunned and after a while of looking at Kero-chan, she grabs him and examines him, "A talking stuffed animal? Where are the batteries? How is it working?" Kero-chan frees himself from her grip and declares that he is anything but a stuffed animal, and he is the great beast of the seal, Kereberus! He explains that it's his duty to protect the Clow Cards from escaping -- then notices that the Clow Cards are all gone. Sakura explains that she called the Windy card and they all flew away.
Kero-chan tells Sakura about the Clow Cards, and manages to do a little sneaky trick to have her make the contract with the sealing wand. After that, they both go on their first adventure to catch the Fly card, much to Sakura's dismay. Kero-chan and Sakura often get into petty fights about little things, such as the Clow Cards, such as when Sakura is scared about catching a Clow Card, etc. Kero-chan is very stubborn, so he hates to lose arguments, and Sakura doesn't give in either. So whenever they have a fight, it's usually a pretty big one. However, they both care about each other a lot, and this shows through whenever they're in tight situations.
Kero-chan is loud-mouthed, vain, and rude. He isn't afraid to tell people exactly what he thinks, and if he ever starts a relationship on the wrong foot with someone, he holds a grudge against them for a long time. Shaolan and Meiling are both good examples. When Shaolan first met Kero-chan, he called him a "stuffed doll" and "idiot" and other various derogatory terms. Afterwards, whenever Shaolan pisses Kero-chan off, Kero bites his finger. Kero-chan is also always teasing Shaolan in every way possible, calling him "brat." The same goes with Meiling, though Kero-chan never really bites her like Shaolan, he always insults her by calling her a "little girl" and pointing out the fact that Meiling doesn't have any magical power. It's better for one to get on Kero-chan's good side when one first meets him.
Kero-chan's actual appearance is not that of a stuffed animal. His real appearance is supposedly "super cool." The reason he is in that appearance is because his magic is dwindling. Kero-chan is under the Sun sign, so he needs the Fire and the Earthy cards to turn into his complete original form. In episode 35, Sakura catches the Fire card and Kero-chan gets a little bit of his real power back. With the Fire card, he's able to shoot fire out of his hands, and do some other tricks, such as light up the night sky with little sparks for Sakura when she was with Yukito at a carnival.
Kero-chan is not what you would expect from a magical girl stuffed animal type mascot. The felines in Sailormoon are all focused on the mission, Pokota in Hime-chan no Ribbon is really supportive of Hime-chan and is always by her side, and Finn and Access of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne both are always nagging Marron and Chiaki to do their work. Kero-chan is exactly the opposite of all these other anime mascots. A lot of the time he is left at home while Sakura goes to school, playing video games. If there ever is a time where a Clow Card is discovered at school or when Kero-chan is not around, Sakura and Tomoyo always call him with a little cell phone that he gave them. That's their main method of communication, and as Kero-chan plays his video games all day long, the cell phone is always sitting beside him.
Sometimes it almost seems as if Kero-chan cares more about other petty stuff instead of catching the Clow Cards. For example, when the Time card kept playing the same day over and over again, Kero-chan was devastated because all his data in his video game would be lost (since time went backwards) and he was getting sick of beating the same boss over and over again. Other times, Kero-chan mainly cares about food. He adores food. If Sakura goes somewhere like a carnival or sweets shop, she always buys something for him, because he always gets really mad if she doesn't get him a cake or something. She also takes up pieces of her meals and desserts up to him too, so he doesn't feel left out. Kero-chan actually doesn't need food to survive, but he loves it nonetheless... especially sweet stuff.
Kero-chan is a bit self-absorbed. He has a section at the end of each episode which is called Kero-chan Check! There, he goes through the outfits that were shown in the episode, pointing out the specialties in Sakura's battle outfit. Sometimes he also explains Shaolan and Meiling's battle outfits, or Tomoeda elementary school's uniform or swimming suits. Whenever Kero-chan talks about Shaolan or Meiling's outfits, he always says, "Oh, aren't I such a nice person? I don't like them but I still save some room for them in this section of the show. I'm just so kind, wonderful, and generous." At the end of episode 35, however, Kero-chan Check is no more.
Because of Kero-chan's laziness, Sakura gets more responsibility put on her. Yet she still manages to be a good student and good friend at the same time that she is a card captor. Since Kero-chan is also not with her in some instances where she has to catch a card, Sakura ends up thinking up strategies on her own (she's got brains, unlike many other magical girls). Kero-chan really gives her a lot of independence and responsibility and doesn't always nag her to do her work like many other mascots do. He doesn't completely ignore her, though. He teaches her a lot of stuff about being a card captor... how to manage her magic, decipher her dreams, read the cards as Tarot Cards, and how to sense the presence of a Clow Card. He also knows all of the characteristics of all the cards, so he knows what their weaknesses and strengths are, what to use against them and what won't work against them.
Kero-chan and Sakura are a perfect team. They are almost the exact opposites. Sakura is kind and never rude, and she never would keep grudges against people. Kero-chan is loud mouthed and very rude, and has a notorious shitlist. Kero-chan is a bit lazy while Sakura is more of a hard worker and a very responsible girl. He's a little bit more childish than her in some ways.
I sometimes wonder what it would be like if Sakura was a completely air-headed, whiny, and childish girl instead of the smart and quick thinking Sakura we all know. Kero-chan would definitely not get along with her if she was like that. They both would be lazy and none of them really would get anything done. That's why I have to say that these two have the best magical girl + mascot relationships in any series I've seen so far. They're funny, they argue, yet they're really good friends and always stick up with each other when the going gets tough. They also care about each other very much, and this also shows when they're in tight situations. Kero-chan never has to nag Sakura to be the Card Captor, and Sakura doesn't really mind him being a bit lazy. She never complains about it, anyways. Maybe it's because she's just such a nice person.
Got from...you guessed it:http://sakura.prettysenshi.com/info/cast/kerochan.htm
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Post by Kyoki on Sept 2, 2005 8:49:27 GMT -5
Meiling is Shaolan's fiancée from Hong Kong. They are actually cousins, but their families had arranged their marriage for them already. Not that Meiling really minds, that is. She loves Shaolan to pieces, and is always hanging onto him wherever they go. There is a lot of angst against Meiling with the fans. It seems that no one really likes her, especially the Sakura + Shaolan lovers. Everyone always makes her out to be a lot meaner and evil than she really is. I personally think Meiling is cute. Sure, she might not be very likeable in the first few episodes, but later on, she becomes friends with Sakura and co. and shows her much kinder and vulnerable side. Meiling appears in episode 20 ("Sakura and the Fighting Exchange Student") and she doesn't get off on the right foot with Sakura, or the fans for that matter. Well, the first time she appears is actually in episode 19, where Sakura and Tomoyo are over at Shaolan's house because Sakura and Shaolan both fell into a river and got soaked. Shaolan was letting Sakura borrow some clothes, when all of a sudden, Meiling bursts into the apartment and hugs Shaolan, asking him if he missed her. She then notices Sakura and Tomoyo, and has a fit because Shaolan was letting Sakura borrow the shirt that Meiling once gave him as a gift. Meiling felt that Sakura threatened the relationship between her and Shaolan from the very beginning. In the first few episodes that Meiling appears in, she is constantly trying to be better than Sakura at everything she does. Whether it's grades, gymnastics, catching Clow Cards, whatever. She makes everything out to be a kind of competition, but Sakura really doesn't get it, of course. ^^ She doesn't understand why Meiling keeps giving her deadly glances out of the corner of her eye, nor does she understand why Meiling seems so obsessed with being better than her. Unfortunately, even though Meiling tries her most hardest to be better than Sakura, Sakura always seems to beat her. She doesn't beat her on purpose... she's just better than Meiling at gymnastics and stuff like that. Besides, she's got a lot of friends and people who support her, and she's extremely kind to top it all off. People just adore Sakura. This causes Meiling to be even more jealous. Keep in mind that Meiling does not possess any magical powers. She cannot catch the Clow Cards. This is really odd, because she is a direct descendant from Clow himself, just like Shaolan is. She's probably one of the only ones in her family that does not have some level of magical power. This causes Meiling to have even more fits of jealousy, because she can't help Shaolan by catching the Clow Cards for him, and Sakura has a lot of magical power. Not to mention Kero-chan is always teasing her about it. Meiling and Kero-chan didn't really start their relationship on the right foot either, just like Shaolan. Kero-chan is always teasing Meiling mercilessly, calling her a brat and a little girl, and pointing out the fact that she has no magical power. However, even though Meiling doesn't have any magical power, she can still hold her own with fighting. She is an amazing martial arts fighter, and once she beat up the Fight card with her fighting ability when no one else was able to do it. Meiling is hot headed, short tempered, possessive, and very insecure. She usually jumps into situations without thinking, and sometimes ends up getting herself into trouble. She gets angered very easily and turns a lot of situations into competitions. Meiling and Kero-chan get into a lot of petty fights concerning the Clow Cards; Meiling always backing up Shaolan, while Kero-chan always defending Sakura. Meiling is a rival in everything for Sakura, from Catching Clow cards to love. Now, when it comes to love, there is only one person for Meiling... or so she says. That person is, of course, Shaolan. Meiling is very insecure and possessive, as I mentioned earlier, and these two qualities really show through when it comes to Shaolan. Meiling always needs proof that Shaolan cares about her, and she is always worried that Shaolan likes another girl, or that he doesn't love her, or that he thinks she's just an annoyance. In one episode, Meiling bought a love charm so she could make sure that Shaolan loved her. Actually, she is always looking for some kind of charm to make sure that Shaolan loves her. ^^;; She is so worried that he might not like her that she gets angry whenever there's a hint of him having interest in another person. She flaunts the fact that Shaolan is her fiancé, probably to steer away competition. However, she would never ever let anyone know that she is insecure of this. When she was buying the love charm, Sakura and Tomoyo ran into her. Meiling immediately got nervous and hid the love charm, pretending like she wasn't doing anything (Meiling's not a very good actress. ). She tried to make herself look confident, and laughed loudly, saying, "Ah hah hah hah! This is not what you think it is! It's just that I don't need a love charm because I *know* that Shaolan's and my love is true! Oh ho ho ho ho!" and she fled the area at the speed of light, leaving Sakura and Tomoyo behind, befuddled. Again, one other time, when the girls in Sakura's class were talking about the love charms, Meiling looked really interested for a second, and when everyone noticed how interested she was in the love charms, she immediately put on the act that she didn't care about them, laughed confidently ("Oh ho ho ho ho!") and said that because her and Shaolan's love was "pure and true," she had no need for love charms. Of course, we all know that she's just faking it, because she is actually very insecure when it comes to love and friendship. As the series goes on, and especially in the second season, Meiling starts to become great friends with Sakura and Tomoyo. The four are almost inseparable, and even though Meiling still keeps up her competitions, they all enjoy each other's company. They go shopping together, eat lunch together, and in the first CCS movie, when Sakura and Tomoyo go to Hong Kong, Meiling and Shaolan tour them around and let them stay at their huge mansion. Meiling and Sakura especially become really good friends. One scene that I really like between Meiling and Sakura is during the second season... the four are going sight-seeing again, as usual, and Sakura and Tomoyo are going to show the Tokyo Tower to Meiling and Shaolan. However, on the way there, Kero-chan notices some arcade games... one of them is a game where you stand in a round circle kind of thing and little creatures pop out of the ground, and you try to smack them with a giant mallet. Kero-chan really really wants to play the game, but he can't because somebody would see him. So Kero-chan asks Sakura to play for him, just so he could watch. Sakura isn't doing too well, as she is missing a lot of the little creatures, when Meiling decides to help. She jumps on the circle, grabs another mallet, and helps Sakura bop all the creatures. I just *love* this scene so much, because they all are having so much fun, with Tomoyo video taping the scene, Shaolan and Kero-chan watching, and Sakura and Meiling being a great team together. It's one of those scenes where you know that they all are really good friends, and they're just interacting so well with each other. I think that it's one of the first times that Meiling actually feels like she has good friends, and she feels accepted, because she isn't being insecure at all. I think that the reason Meiling is so insecure a lot of the time (especially when it comes to love and friendship) is because she's never really had any good friends, and while they were growing up, it's almost as if Shaolan was her only really good friend, and that's why she's afraid of losing him. When they were little kids, Meiling declared that she loved Shaolan, and asked him to promise that he will marry her. Meiling said that unless he loves another girl more than her, he will keep his promise to marry her when they grow up. But if he feels like he loves another girl more, then she will give him up. Shaolan, not wanting to hurt her feelings, and practically being forced into it, complied with her offer. So even though a lot of fans of CCS may say that Meiling is really self-centered and egotistic, it's not true. Meiling is actually rather self-sacrificial, in a different, Meiling kind of way. For example, Meiling didn't make Shaolan promise himself to her forever. She only asked him to marry her if he doesn't like any other girls more than her. So, if he decides that he likes someone else, she said that she would give him up. Think about it... she's got a lot of guts to say that... first off, asking him to marry her, and then setting herself up so that if Shaolan doesn't want to marry her, he can reject her anytime he wants, takes a lot of guts. Not to mention... Meiling is always doing stuff for Shaolan's sake. She wants to catch the Clow Cards for him, she wants to make lunch for him, she wants to be able to cook well for him... she wants to make the best cake for him. She is always doing her best for Shaolan, not for herself. However, Shaolan never really sees her as anything more than a really good friend, perhaps a little sister. In the second season of CCS, Meiling's aunt calls her back to Hong Kong, and she is no longer able to stay in Tokyo with everyone else. Shaolan knows that he can't do anything about it, and Meiling is disappointed because he's not showing a lot of care of her departure. Sakura asks Meiling to spend the night with her, so they could get closer and be better friends, and so that she can comfort Meiling. Meiling then gets the idea that perhaps all this time, she has been nothing but an annoyance for Shaolan, and has always gotten in his way. That idea is dismissed from her head after she and Shaolan work together to catch the Twin card, and Meiling goes home in high spirits. I don't know if she comes back later in the series, because I haven't seen that far, however, it is true that Meiling never existed in the manga. Meiling is not an original creation of CLAMP, but she was just added in the anime. I'm glad that Meiling was made into the anime, though. She's really cute, and I just love her reactions when she gets insecure, because she's just so funny. Got from: sakura.prettysenshi.com/info/cast/meiling.html
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Post by Kyoki on Sept 2, 2005 8:50:09 GMT -5
Shaolan Li is the quiet and serious rival of Sakura's that appears in episode 9 ("Sakura's Rival Appears!"). Sakura and Shaolan's first meeting wasn't one that started off on the right foot, to say the least. Shaolan knew that Sakura had the Clow Cards because he could feel their power from her, and since he wanted to capture the Clow Cards himself, he wasn't all that nice to her. The first time we see Shaolan is in Sakura's dream. She is having the same dream that she had in the first episode before she released the Clow Cards. Except instead of herself being on the edge of a building looking at Tokyo tower, it was a boy in a strange Chinese costume. Kero-chan told Sakura that since she has a lot of magical power, the dream could be an omen; she might meet the boy with the Chinese costume sometime soon. That day in class, sensei introduced a new student. Tomoyo mentioned that it's really unusual to get a new transfer student at that time of year. The new transfer student stepped into the classroom, as all of the other students looked at him and whispered among themselves. Sakura looked at the boy, looking kind of bored, until she noticed that he was glaring right at her. She sweatdropped and blinked as the boy didn't break off the stare. After sensei wrote Shaolan's name on the board, he introduced him. "His name is Li Shaolan, from Hong Kong. Everybody be nice to him. As for the seat, let me see, there's an empty seat behind Kinomoto." So, much to Sakura's dismay, Shaolan was given the seat right behind Sakura at the very back of the classroom. As Shaolan walked over to the seat, he gave Sakura a deadly stare. There was a very uncomfortable silence as Sakura wasn't sure what to do, until Tomoyo smiled and showed Shaolan to his seat. Shaolan threw his backpack and hat onto his desk, sat down, and then stared at the back of Sakura's head, narrowing his eyes. Sakura still looked forward, "I feel a bad atmosphere here." she thought to herself. Later that day, he still stared at Sakura as they were having class, and Sakura felt his eyes on the back of her head, making her extremely uncomfortable. "This is the first time I've seen him, but why? Why? Why?" She sweatdropped as she felt his eyes fixed on her. Finally, once the bell for break rang, Sakura walked down the stairs of the school to go outside. She stopped and leaned against the railing, holding her head. "I feel so tired..." she said. Suddenly, a hand came down on her shoulder from behind her. Sakura paused. It was Shaolan, "Do you have a moment?" he said, and Sakura froze as her hair all stood on end. So Sakura and Shaolan met outside together in the courtyard, next to the outer fence of the school. Shaolan had a strange board with him, and he started chanting "Gold, Saturn, Water, Fire... etc." The board started to spin and characters appeared around it. Suddenly, a dome of light appeared in the middle of the board, and the light shot out at Sakura. Shaolan broke off the light and jumped back. "I knew it!" he said, "You have a Clow Card with you!" Sakura was shocked. Shaolan held out the board, "This Lashin Board is made to look for Clow Cards." He held out his hand, "Give them to me," he demanded Sakura. She refused, telling Shaolan that she promised Kero-chan she would collect all of the cards. Shaolan was shocked at Sakura mentioning Kero, and said, "If Kereberus is here, how come he lets a young kid like her keep the cards?" (Conveniently forgetting that he's the same age as her.) Sakura mentioned that Kero-chan's power had dwindled. After telling Shaolan that she was searching for about two months now, he said, "You have been looking for two months and you still haven't found the Fire and Earth cards?" Further lowering Sakura's self-esteem about things. Shaolan demanded that Sakura give him the Clow Cards again. Sakura refused once more and held onto her skirt pocket, as if protecting them. This gave it away for Shaolan and he tried to take the cards from Sakura by force. Just then, Tomoyo came around the corner of the school, looking for Sakura, and she saw her struggling against Shaolan. Right then, Touya came and jumped over the school fence. "Stop! What are you doing to my sister?!" He demanded. Shaolan took a fighting stance. Touya also took a fighting stance as Tomoyo ran over to Sakura. She asked if she was alright, and Sakura said, "I'm fine, but more importantly..." she turned to Touya and Shaolan. "I haven't seen this style before. It must be Chinese Kung Fu." Touya said. Right as Touya and Shaolan were about to fight, Yukito ran over to them and jumped over the fence. "Hey! They have it! Meat buns! I have five exactly." He then searched through his bag and pulled out a meat bun for everyone to eat, while they all sweatdropped. He had one extra meat bun, so he offered it to Shaolan. Shaolan then started blushing like crazy, turned around, and ran away, tripping on a rock during his flee. This first appearance is very important because many new sub-plots pop up, and we see a lot of Shaolan's characteristics. First of all, he is quiet and very serious. Determined to catch the Clow Cards himself, he isn't going to let anyone in his way; especially Sakura. Of course, he underestimates Sakura at the beginning, and later on, after he sees her in action, he gives her more respect. And that's respect that Sakura deserves, because she is very quick to act and make up strategies to catch the Clow Cards. After a while Shaolan starts to work together with Sakura instead of against her, and they become good friends. Even though they both like Yukito, they still manage to put aside their rivalry in love and in catching the Clow Cards, and they become close. They once had a talk about how they both like Yukito, but somehow it seemed like Shaolan didn't have nearly as big of a crush on him as he did before. Though Sakura and Shaolan became good friends, Kero-chan was not so quick in accepting him and respecting him. If you think Sakura and Shaolan started off on the wrong foot, you should see Shaolan and Kero-chan. After Shaolan called Kero-chan "idiot" and a stuffed animal, he was quite insulted. He bites Shaolan's finger many times whenever Shaolan says something rude, and he called Shaolan "bozo" which means "kid" or "brat." Another person that Shaolan really didn't get started on the right relationship with is Touya. Touya is always suspicious of Shaolan, especially because of that first encounter with him when he was trying to steal the Clow Cards from Sakura. Whenever Touya sees Shaolan, they both glare at each other silently. Touya hates to see Shaolan around Sakura because the only person who can give Sakura a hard time is himself, naturally And of course, since Touya is extremely over-protective of Sakura, he doesn't want to see her hurt by anyone. And Shaolan didn't really prove himself very trustworthy in his first meeting with Touya. As you can see from the picture to the right, Shaolan is very shy. He's very non-emotional, and doesn't know how to really express his feelings, so whenever he is around someone he likes, he immediately gets as red as a tomato. Whenever he sees Yukito, he promptly blushes insanely and flees the area at the speed of light. Later in the series, he starts blushing around Sakura as they become closer. Once, when he saved her from the Return card, she glomped him and thanked him. Smoke just about blew out of Shaolan's ears and his face turned completely red. It seemed by then that his affections were kind of swaying away from Yukito to Sakura. However, Shaolan has a fiancée. His family already set up his marriage for him, and his fiancée is Meiling Li- his cousin. Meiling is very different from Sakura in that she has no trouble telling the person she loves how much she loves and adores them. She is often found with Shaolan, adoring him and nearly worshipping the ground he walks on. This kind of girl isn't really good for Shaolan because he's so shy, and he isn't really comfortable with the constant affection that Meiling shows him. Shaolan uses his Lashin board to find Clow Cards. It's a very helpful tool that comes in handy many times throughout the series to find the Clow Cards and what not. He also has a sword and other magical attacks and powers that he chants and fires. Shaolan is most often the one who finds the Clow Cards and sometimes makes them weaker by attacking them, while Sakura is the one who seals them into their card shape with the Sealing Wand. They make a very good team, because they both are smart and strategic, so whenever they get together to catch the Clow Cards, they can always think of a good strategy and help each other. Neither Sakura nor Shaolan is always saving the other one, but they are both always taking care of each other and their friends. Shaolan doesn't trust people very easily, but he is extremely gullible, which is kind of a strange combination. The only people he doesn't trust easily are people who he can feel a strange aura or presence from. When Mizuki-sensei appeared, Shaolan didn't trust her because she had a strange aura about her. He also didn't trust Eriol, and he is always warning Sakura about these people and telling her to be careful around them. However, Sakura is too nice and naive and doesn't feel like they threaten her, so she makes friends with them, which both kind of frustrates and worries Shaolan, though he doesn't show it. If people are normal, however, Shaolan trusts them very easily and is also very naive about them. He never stops to ask questions, and he is often tricked by Yamazaki's fibs and outrageous stories. But if he ever feels a strange presence around a certain person, he is always watching out for them. Once Shaolan trusts somebody and becomes friends with them, he is extremely loyal. He is one of those people who would never turn against their friends and would always protect them from danger. He is not very emotional, so he doesn't show his care all that much, but he is a very loyal, caring, and noble friend. He's almost like Touya in a way because he is always watching over his loved ones but isn't emotional about it and doesn't show it. Overall, he is a nice, caring, extremely cute, and loveable character. Got from: sakura.prettysenshi.com/info/cast/shaolan.html
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Post by Kyoki on Sept 2, 2005 8:51:04 GMT -5
Touya is Sakura's brother, and a very overprotective one too, though he'd never admit it. He is extremely popular with the girls, and has a 6th sense which lets him sense spirits and the like. In fact, though Sakura thinks that he doesn't know anything about her and the Clow Cards, he knows a lot more than it seems. Touya is always teasing Sakura, in a very older brother like way. Every morning when Sakura comes downstairs to eat breakfast, Touya comments on how much she sounds like a monster ("kaijuu"). In fact, kaijuu is the main insult that Touya has for Sakura, as he applies that everything she does is very monster-like. It drives her up the walls, and is usually successful in getting quite a rise out of her. Most of the time she stomps on his foot or brings down some other violent punishment. However, Touya always expects her reactions. In fact, whenever she's so much in a daze so that she doesn't even react, he gets suspicious and wonders what's on her mind. Though Touya is always teasing Sakura, he cares a lot for her. So much that he is really overprotective of her, though not in a gushing kind of way. He's overprotective of her in more of a subtle way, but is always ready to protect her whenever the time calls for it, especially from other guys. He is always on alert when it comes to people who could ever hurt Sakura, or for guys who try to approach her. This is very evident with Shaolan, who did not prove himself trustworthy on their first meeting. When Shaolan first appeared, he was trying to force Sakura to give him the Clow Cards, and at that moment, Touya appeared. So, obviously, he does not trust Shaolan one bit, and always gives him the glare of doom™ whenever needed. However, as the series progresses, and as Shaolan starts to fall for Sakura, Touya notices. Shaolan always helps Sakura whenever she needs it, and is always protecting her, almost taking Touya's place. Towards the end of the series, Touya says that he has to always watch out for Shaolan, and Sakura tells him that Shaolan is very trustworthy and is always helping her out. Touya mumbles that that's exactly the reason he needs to watch out for Shaolan. He realizes that Sakura is growing up, and soon will be very independent from him, not needing his protection, and being protected by someone else who loves her. That thought bothers Touya, as he has always been the one to protect her, and cares a great deal for her. As Yukito says, Touya has a "sister complex." Touya's care for Sakura are almost like a father's, in that he is sad to see that she won't be dependent on him anymore. In fact, though I'm sure neither Touya nor Shaolan would ever admit it, the two are a great deal like each other. First offl, they both have the dark hair and dark eyes, they both know martial arts, they're both extremely protective when it comes to the people that they love, they are extremely loyal, and they both glare. ¬¬ Not to mention, both have played a female role in a school play. Touya played as Cinderella, and Shaolan played the princess in Sleeping Beauty. Whenever I'm watching the series, I can't help but laugh at how alike the two are, and yet how much they are always glaring at each other and are watching out for each other. One thing about Touya is that he has many, many part time jobs. In fact, they are almost endless, and he seems to show up almost everywhere that Sakura goes. Perhaps he plans it so that he can watch out for her even more? Who knows. Some of his part time jobs have varied from working in an aquarium, an ice cream parlor, as a giant teddy bear at a festival who passes out balloons, and endless restaurants/ cafes. Sometimes his part time jobs are random and strange, such as the time he dressed up as a giant bear, made odd noises, and attacked Sakura by ruffling her hair. I don't really understand why he has all the part time jobs, because I don't believe that he particularly needs the money, but who knows. Touya has many girls in his grade after him, as he is definitely an eye catcher. However, he never pays attention to any of them, as he already has someone very important to him. That person is, of course, Yukito. They are always together, and though their relationship is much more subtle towards the beginning of the series, by the end their relationship is focused on a lot more, and it's obvious how much the two care for each other. They're terribly right for each other. Touya is definitely the more masculine one in the relationship while Yukito has a certain femininity and frailness about him. The two are always together, and sometimes Yukito helps out with Touya's part time jobs. Touya also always gives Yuki his lunch whenever Yuki is still hungry, though he finished his own lunch already. As we all know, Yukito has an amazing appetite which could probably feed a small country. But Touya doesn't mind giving his lunch away, as long as Yukito is happy. One thing about Touya is that he is very afraid of losing the people that he loves. This is most likely because his mother Nadeshiko passed away when he was around the age of 10, and he probably misses her very much. He is very afraid of losing other people that are close to him because of that. It's obvious with Sakura... he is always protecting her, and he isn't really ready to give her up to another person. He has always protected her ever since she was a baby, and most doesn't want to have someone else take his place as she grows up. However, he knows that eventually it will happen and he will have to step back. He is extremely protective of the people he loves, and this is also evident with Yukito, one person he is especially afraid of losing. Before Touya met Yuki, he had met Kaho, and they had fallen in love. However, Kaho had to leave for England, and as she left, she told him that by the time she returned, he would have found someone else that he loves. This broke his heart very much, but just as Kaho said, by the time they had met again, he had found someone else. Touya is very afraid of losing Yuki, and he fears it even more as the plot progresses. This connects to his 6th sense, in that he can sense a lot of things that a lot of people can't. He can sense many things about Yukito that no one else knows, and also knows a lot more about Sakura and the Clow Cards than Sakura thinks. Whenever Touya sees Kero-chan, he always glares at him. Kero-chan is forced to pretend to be a stuffed toy, and as Touya glares even longer at him, beads of sweat form and start to cover Kero-chan's head completely. Kero-chan always suspected that Touya perhaps knew something himself, but never really thought too much about it. He should have, though, because Touya knew everything that was happening, due to his 6th sense. He was able to realize that the Mirror card was not really Sakura herself, but kind of a hollow shell, or another spirit. Whenever Sakura uses the Mirror card to take her place (while she goes out to battle with the Clow Cards), Touya talks to the Mirror card and tells her that he knows she is not really Sakura. In fact, the Mirror card has somewhat of a crush on Touya, which is absolutely adorable, in my opinion anyways. As Touya is connected to spirits with his 6th sense, he is also connected to music. He used to play the piano together with his mother while she was still alive. Unlike Sakura, Touya was close to his mother because he was ten years old when she died. Sakura was still only a little kid and doesn't remember her much. Nadeshiko wrote Touya's birthday (which is on February 29th; another quirk of his, it only shows up on leap year) on her calendar and filled it in for him, because it only appeared on normal calendars every four years. Touya is definitely one of my favorite characters. He has many sides to him, and his relationships with the rest of the cast are always interesting, because he's got such an interesting personality. Got from:http://sakura.prettysenshi.com/info/cast/touya.html
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