This has been coming for a while but it's necessary to address a common problem with Clamp.
A year after the events of the first series along with 20 years worth of technology as well, Sakura starts Junior High School, however a new dream of a mysterious cloaked individual haunts her regularly which triggers a host of events beginning with the clow cards losing power and Sakura's key upgrading to capture new cards known as the Clear Cards in what is basically deja vu as she seems to retread the same scenarios she used to capture the Clow Cards.
Now I really do like Card Captor Sakura but when the old series ended, it ended on the right notes, it didn't require a follow up, especially not like this.
The issue comes from the heavy build up to a big reveal which never happens, we know from watching that Sakura's new friend is involved and that said friend's butler is not as he seems but after 22 episodes were left with just pure speculation and this is after retreading the same plot the first series had, it's very poor writing which brings me to my big pet peeve with Clamp.
Clamp keep trying to fix what isn't broken, it's a common problem shared among all four artists in the group, it's more notable failures are season 2 of Rayearth and Sakura's role in Tsubasa, I also didn't care much for Chobits after a while and there's a plot point in the Angelic Layer manga that had me pissed off, I haven't even got to the train wreck of X but that maybe coming soon as a review, my point is that the stuff they do well shouldn't need anymore done to it but Clamp insist on undoing their own franchises by trying to push for poor sequels that weren't needed and their universal laws are hard enough to work out as it is knowing that much of their key characters easily cross stories.
I never did like Card Captor's dub so I'm glad not to view one, even if the cast is changed assuming there is a dub.
Final Verdict: It's a retread of the first season essentially, with better art but more frustrating story.
This should be a fairly straightforward review.
It feels like a normal episode as Sakura captures the arrow card but things start getting strange when Sakura wins a trip to Hong Kong.
During her trip, she keeps getting dreams of being hypnotized into being killed.
Warned of this dangerous premonition by Syaoran's mother, Sakura has to be guarded only for her to get hypnotized and drawn into another dimension by the sorceress Madoushi who mistakes her power for Clow Reeds.
Madoushi blames Clow Reed for ruining her life and demands he come in exchange for Sakura's friends not aware that he died, so the remainder of the film is Sakura and co surviving Madoushi's onslaught.
This is just an extended episode and not a very good one, Madoushi can be menacing but ultimately one dimensional, it relies way too much on premonitions which were always the weakest parts of the franchise and the English dub messed up the narrative to try and give Madoushi sympathy which doesn't work.
Overall it's not worth the extra run time of a standard episode.
Final Verdict: It's a weak extended Cardcaptors episode made worst by the dub which I usually find bad anyway, Madoushi isn't a strong enough written villain to be in the franchise.
