♥Syaoran being Sakura’s backbone once again♥. Guiding her and making sure she stays calm to find a solution to the problem warmed my heart. Even more so now, because he’s just so gentle with her.

meimi-haneoka:

the-wingless-small-wolf:

meimi-haneoka:

Do we want to make a recap right now, Backbone!Anon? Do we? YES WE DO
*takes anon arm in arm*

So it started with them “casually” hugging because of the situation, Sakura needed to hold him up because he couldn’t even stand up anymore, drained magically and physically as he was. And seeing him like that surely didn’t do good to her mental state.

Syaoran is totally leaning on her, and this reminded me of another scene in which he looked for support from her:

Syaoran starts prompting Sakura to find any clue to understand where this might have originated from (my theory is that he already knows it, he’s just trying to make her realize it)

But then, it happens. Sakura starts to panic, because she doesn’t see the way out. Syaoran understands first that if she panics they’re all fucked, and then he really feels pissed off for all this shitty situation that is making her suffer.

So he does it. No need for magic, no need for big words. Throws the sword to the ground because he wants to make sure she feels secure enough by his tight embrace.

Sakura is surprised at first, and if possible her mental state goes even more in agitation because of that, but when he says “It’s alright. I’m here”, it’s like the message passed loud and clear. “Calm down, you are not alone”.
And it’s just beautiful how they (the staff) didn’t transform this into a cheesy scene, but kept all the seriousness of the moment, Syaoran focusing on calming her down, cradling her head and basically cuddling her, Sakura relaxing by the second in his arms. He asks if she’s still scared, and she shakes her head first, and then settles herself better in this embrace. That seriously shook me because it felt so natural? None of them felt embarrassed or anything. When he asks her “can you take a deep breath” (I said this everywhere but I loved it) I thought it was such a perfect thing to say in that moment. And when she does take that deep breath, you can hear Sakura Tange’s voice trembling. BTW I had goosebumps the whole time, for the two VAs performance. And the minimum details, like Sakura blinking in certain moments or focusing her stare.

The resolution of the situation is obtained with Syaoran making her reflect and find the way out of that hallucination, then passing out, leaving her “alone” to take the last step to solve the situation. A bit like in the Sakura Card Arc of the manga, when confronting Eriol.
Sakura is the heroine of this show and she’ll get all the strength she can take from Syaoran, but ultimately she will solve her battles alone.
That’s why, I said often in these last two days, this felt more like a last episode, or at least a climax one, instead of an episode “14 out of 22″.
What should we expect for the finale?

Thanks for staying with me for this recap!! *bows with anon*

This is the most thorough analysis of THE MOMENT I’ve read so far. And it’s a fantastic thing that you bring up the second when Sakura takes that deep breath. That, and Sakura settling deeper in Syaoran’s embrace where the best of it all for me. But that shaky exhale from Tange-san gave the phase ‘bringing life to a character’ a whole new meaning! Like you manetioned; it really gave goosebumps to hear it.

Now, I know she mentioned in an interview it’s been very hard for her as she’s been put under a lot of pressure into voicing Sakura this time around. Well, this particular performance from her certainly is part of the payoff from all that strict directing. All I harbor for this lady is nothing but gratitud because despite how taxing it may be for her at the end of the day, it’s for the love for Sakura and apreciation for the people that love the series that she gives her 120%

Kumai-san also falls into this category. Their acting was superb! What else can one give to these talented women but a ‘THANK YOU’ from the bottom of the heart?

I loved so much your reply that I felt the need to reblog it!! Especially for the part mentioning how taxing the recordings are for Sakura Tange, and how she’s giving her 120% for this.

I, too, feel grateful for the effort both she and Kumai are putting into this Clear Card Arc.