俺の「すべて」 / All of me

Last update April 13th, 2026

Hello and welcome to my main blog, my little home where I share my love for Cardcaptor Sakura and CLAMP works to the world! ✨

I'm Cinzia, she/her, Italian. Aged in a barrel of hyperfixations and daydreams. You might wonder, why this blog url if this is mainly a CCS blog? Well, when I opened this blog more than 10 years ago I was heavily focused on Kaitou Saint Tail, but when I started posting more and more about CCS, at some point I realized it was too late to change url or all the links to the posts I had shared around would become broken.

Regardless! I have closely followed the serialization of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card ever since it began and my monthly commentary became something more when I realized the official English translation wasn't doing justice (to use an euphemism) to the original Japanese version. My friends and other fans in general were left confused and misguided by the countless translation mistakes (some to the point of changing the plot), so I started pointing them out in my monthly posts.

I also post other kind of stuff, like reports of CLAMP Spaces when they talk about CCS, or long time ago I posted summaries of interviews with the staff of the Clear Card anime. I plan to eventually translate those fully, considering my skills with Japanese language improved since then. But please remember that "English is not my first language" etc etc., so if some sentences sound weird, you already know why. Now that the manga is over, I post with irregular schedule some in-depth analysis and trivia about the story, examining one topic at a time. Despite being a CLAMP fan and loving other stories as well, I chose to focus on and dedicate myself to CCS in particular, due to time and limited mental resources. Thinking about following me? That's great, thank you! ✨ But if there's an idiom I love, it's "good fences make good neighbours", so please make sure to understand what kind of blog you're about to follow. I consider this my fandom home so additionally to those posts I mentioned above, I also unapologetically post about the ships I love. I love to analyze, I like to theorize. I don't disguise, I don't tiptoe.

I am a CCS fan born in SyaoSaku, and reborn with YunaAki, with currently a preference for the latter ones. If you're curious to know what my POV on this pairing is, you can get a very clear idea looking at my #yunaaki and #cosmos & crystals hashtags . If for any reason that's not ok with you, you're absolutely free to unfollow or even block me. In fact, I encourage you to do so. I'm here on this site to enjoy what I like, not to make anyone miserable. Unkind asks will be ignored; attempts to "lecture me" about what is acceptable and what not, what I can like and what not will probably be laughed at (I'm old for this stuff, it doesn't work with me). On the contrary, if you like YunaAki too, you'll be more than welcome here! Send me a message to share our headcanons! ✨

Now that we've cleared that up, here you can find the real reason why I wanted to make this new introductory pinned post: a convenient list with links to all my relevant posts, organized by category! I will update this list as I add new posts, so always check the date at the top for new additions! 👍

...in fact, the sticker that was given out at the CLAMP Exhibition (an event that saw CLAMP deeply involved in every aspect) with her memorable phrase reports her as only "Lilie", whereas any other character is indicated with their first and last name. If they had any intention to call her that way, they would have done so right here ☝️.

Broadcasting on TV Asahi every Wednesday at 11:45 pm from October 7th!

After looking at this beautiful new key visual and new scenes with additional characters from the new PV, let's give a look at the list of additional cast and staff published on the official website/social media after the panel that was held in Anime Expo 2026 yesterday:

Additional Voice Actors

Clef: Yuki Kaji

Presea: Emiri Kato

Ferio: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Staff

Director: Yui Miura (also known as Yui Umemoto, worked on Jujutsu Kaisen, Natsume's book of Friends, Durara and Banana Fish)

Assistant Director: Takayuki Sano (Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen)

Series Composition: Shigeru Murakoshi (Zombie Land Saga, Dororo, The Seven Deadly Sins)

Designer and mechanic director for the mashin: Hiroki Mutaguchi (several tv series of Gundam, Nanoha, Super Robot Wars OG)

Art director: Kazumaru Ando (Digimon Adventure Beyond, Mushoku Tensei, Kageki Shoujo!!)

Color design: Chiho Nakamura (Banana Fish, 7th Time Loop, Super Robot Wars OG, Welcome to the NHK, Your Lie in April)

3D Supervisor: Tomohiko Suga

Photography director: Hitoshi Tamura (Natsume's Book of Friends, Blue Lock, Black Butler Book of the Atlantic, Citrus, Durarara!!)

Editing: Keisuke Yanagi, ACE (Jujutsu Kaisen, Ranma new anime, Tokyo Ghoul, Itakiss)

Sound director: Shuhei Abe (Jewelpet, The Duke's Son Claims He Won't Love Me Yet Showers Me with Adoration)

Creative producer: Sunghoo Park (director of Jujutsu Kaisen, animation director of Fairy Tail, Yuri on Ice, Zombie Land Saga)

Hello and thank you for your ask, anon! 😁

You see, this is a really interesting question because it's a matter I have thought more than once about. I might start by saying that "YunaAki" isn't necessarily my preferred ship name per se, but it's actually the ship name the Japanese CCS fans have a consesus on!

Years ago, when the search tool on Twitter still worked decently, I even made a research about the "origin" of the ship name, and turns out that the earliest mention of that name was by one of my japanese mutuals, no less, whom decided on it because "it sounded better". 😁 There's no deep meaning, just that. From that moment on, all japanese fans somehow have "adopted" that ship name. You can find sparingly some fans who use "KaiAki", I've seen it, but it's usually people who don't dabble in the fandom. And I'll tell you more, there are actually fans who use "AkiYuna" too, especially when referring to scenes or discussions where Akiho is clearly the more "proactive" part of the ship.

Then there's also the fact that we don't know what exactly Kaito's first name is: in all merchandise he's called simply as "Kaito", the characters call him Kaito; the only ones who call him otherwise are the members of the Association, who call him "Yuna D.".

You're right in making reference to how Fujimoto is almost always called by his last name (and the ship name is indeed "FujiBato", at least that's what I've seen the most around - and yes I absolutely love them!!), but I think with Kaito it's a bit different.

Because he's a foreigner but he uses a very clearly japanese name with kanji and all, it's a bit difficult to tell what we should consider as the "first name", and if we consider that it isn't even his true name and it's actually an alias, it doesn't seem like there are set rules for it. In fact, Momo only ever calls him with his full name, "Yuna D. Kaito", as if it were a "codename". I'm pretty certain CLAMP absolutely enjoy this kind of ambiguity - after all, they remained mysterious about his age too.

I've seen this peculiar thing where the Latin American fandom tends to call him "Yuna", while more or less the rest of the international fandom calls him "Kaito". Japanese fans have this habit of calling him "Yuna D." when they're either mad at him or referring to the "darker" side of his character (usually in reference to him being a magician).

Hello Aubretia, what a pleasure to hear from you again!! 🥰 I'm glad to know you have found a nice supervisor, I imagine that must be *crucial* to do your work at best!! Keep doing your best but also make sure to always take care of yourself. 🌸 I'm fine, thanks, just trying to withstand the heat wave that's over Europe right now!

Eeehhh yeah, I suppose you're referring to the post of Hamada-san I made the other day (more like, some weeks ago). I've been following him for quite some time and yea, I did see him complaining about work stuff lately, he's always been a pretty blunt person with very little qualms, but I didn't imagine the situation was that bad. Yes, Madhouse's name lately was reinstated thanks to Frieren, but it did undergo some rough times in recent years, particularly a scandal about very poor working conditions for the animators. I'm afraid that problem is far from being solved.

Additional cast announced today for the Magic Knight Rayearth remake anime! ✨🥳

Saori Hayami for Emeraude

Yuki Ono for Zagato

Mika Kikuchi returning for Mokona!!!

I am absolutely DELIGHTED to see Saori Hayami (Yor from Spy Family among others) for Emeraude!!

Not only I think her voice is perfect for her, but she's also my fancast for Lilie (when the eventual S2 of Clear Card will come....) so having her finally voicing a CLAMP anime makes me really happy! ☺️🫶

The serialization started on June 3rd 2016 and ended with the 16th volume released on April 1st 2024. Happy 10th anniversary to the series that brought Sakura back after 20 years 🌸💖

Kunihiko Hamada, veteran animator at Madhouse for 35 years, announced that he left the animation company at the end of March.

Hamada is famous for giving life to several successful anime adaptations in combination with director Morio Asaka: among them, Nana, Chihayafuru, My Love Story with Yamada-kun at lv999, Ore Monogatari and yes, our beloved (and unlucky) Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card too.

Specifically, Hamada was the character designer for season 1 of Clear Card Arc, and also the Chief Animation Director (the one who's in charge of supervising the compliance with his settei and the eventual corrections). He worked also on the OG Cardcaptor Sakura anime in 1998-2000 as animation director of some episodes.

The story is sad and concerning for several reasons. First, going by Hamada-san's words, Madhouse didn't try to convince him to stay, and they didn't give him any severance pay either. After 35 years of (very good) service, it sounds absurd. Severance/retirement pay is a sum that Japanese companies pay when an employee leaves, whether it is for simple departure from the company or because of retirement. Apparently, as otrageous as it sounds, contracts that do not provide a severance/retirement pay are legit in Japan. Basically, in order to give a bit more money to the employee when they start a contract, they do not offer a severance pay but do pay the equivalent amount in the regular check every month. It's like they get that money "in advance" with their regular pay, and not later when they leave. It kind of makes sense like that, but still, after 35 years and such good results, it's grim to think they couldn't even give him a bonus, especially considering the infamous low pay in the animation industry.

He said "they didn't try to make me stay", and considering the bitter posts he made on Twitter lately about the working environment, I can imagine he went to ask for better conditions or he'd leave. Evidently the company just said "farewell". Thankfully, he said he already started anew in a new company.

And now comes the bitter pill for us CLAMP and Cardcaptor Sakura fans. After 3 years of silence since the first announcement (with sporadic mentions from insiders that stopped in 2024), losing the character designer throws an ever darker shadow on this production.

To a fan who mentioned Clear Card S2 in the quotes, and wondered "will the season 2 of Clear Card be okay if Hamada-san leaves, with the production announced 3 years ago?", Hamada himself replied "probably not 😂". I understand he's bitter right now, but this answer does not do anything good to sedate the fandom worries.

If they had already started to work on the sequel of the anime (which is meant to portray the story till the end), this will surely mess things up and cause more delays (and judging by his reply, it seems to be the case). Knowing the production of Clear Card S2 was on the way, it seems even more absurd they didn't try to make him stay to keep the animation team intact. Ironically, things might be easier if they never started to work on it till now.

But also, this brings in all kinds of new concerns about the quality of the work from now on. Director Asaka and Hamada were called a "golden duo", they worked really well together and gave life to several successful anime adaptations. Hamada knew Cardcaptor Sakura and its production well ever since the old anime, he understood fully the spirit of the series. He represented stability. With half of that duo gone, the equilibrium and reassurance that we'd get a good work becomes precarious. I don't want to say that whomever will fill his shoes won't do a good job, but it does leave me worried until we find out more reassuring news.

Hi anon! 😁 Thank you so much for reading my CCS posts 🥰 it always makes me so happy to know that people actually read and enjoy them!! 🌸

Oooh, let's see...I should probably start by saying I haven't read all of CLAMP's stories, for a variety of reasons, but I promised myself that this year, in a period where my CCS brainrot isn't festering all of my braincells, I will gradually fill my gaps 😉However, I do know more or less what every story talks about.

Contrarily to what people might think, my very first CLAMP manga wasn't CCS, but actually Magic Knight Rayearth! I was so little when I first came across the ad on the back on one of the italian Sailor Moon issues, I didn't even know exactly what 'manga' was, it was an era when it all counted as "cartoons" or "comics"...I thought they were more Sailor Scouts, LOL When I actually got into the manga, I remember I loved it very much. The three girls started appearing among my daily Sailor Moon drawings (drawings that I'm trying to desperately retrieve) and the (heavily censored in Italy) anime consolidated my love for it. But I need to re-read it before the new anime comes out because I remember just the basic things (and that I hated the way things ended for Hikaru, lol, my 12 year old self thought she was being irritatingly indecisive with her love interest hahah).

Shortly after MKR, Cardcaptor Sakura started appearing in the italian manga/anime scene and I remember when I first saw the mention in an article I was a bit unfazed (typical me, I'm always a bit skeptical about new things), but when I started it (I don't remember exactly if I started by the anime that was airing on TV or the manga, they were ongoing at the same time) it was a powerful love that lasts even today, almost 30 years later. 🥰

As for X, I have a conflicting relationship with it, hahah. My best friend at the time was collecting the volumes and lending them to me (we used to do this with lots of manga to save money), but I remember I had to interrupt the reading because the story, the gore just wasn't for me. I was probably too young to read it and understand it properly. The fact is that all these years, for some reason, I never had the "urge" or enough interest to pick it up again. I want to, of course, I have all the volumes in my bookcase (they're my husband's!), I just have to reach out and try to see if I'll reconcile with this story. There are external factors that "ruined" a bit the perception I have of it, but we'll see.

In the last years I picked up and finished Chobits, which I hadn't read at the time of its publication in Italy (right after Cardcaptor Sakura) because I got mad at CLAMP for selling themselves to the ecchi genre, HAHAAHA! 😂 As a matter of fact, along the years I learned from online friends that it was so much more than that, so lately I overcame my reluctance and tried it. I have to admit it was a bit difficult for me to look at some more "risqué" parts (I am an aspec person, after all), and some things in the finale didn't sit right with me, but all in all I can say I enjoyed the ride (and funnily enough, lots of the things that were said in this manga resonated with me as a woman on the asexual spectrum, so it's very dear to me).

As for Tsubasa and Holic, they were the very first manga I could follow the serialization of, in real time! It was revolutionary for me, being so used to read stories volume by volume only after they were published in italian...and back then it wasn't like today at all, the CLAMP community of that era owes it all to the heroes who bought and scanned week after week the big Shonen Magazine/Young Magazine issues, and to the dedicated translators (my level of Japanese wasn't anywhere good to read comfortably, yet). Long story short, I absolutely loved Tsubasa. I was super happy when I found out that CLAMP was releasing a manga with Sakura and Syaoran again (I realized around chapter 20, I think?), even if it wasn't CCS, and I have to say that I held tight onto the story even after the shocking plot twist halfway through (I didn't expect it to become so...so...grim). Holic, on the other hand - and I know I'm gonna be an heretic for some - never really got me interested to those levels. I'm not a fan of paranormal, or that kind of vibe, so I mostly held onto it for Watanuki's story and the way it intertwined with Tsubasa, but I'm very "lukewarm" about it. Even now, I'm following Rei every two weeks, but 80% of the reason is because Momo is in it, I'm not ashamed to admit it. If she weren't, I would've probably waited for some volumes to be out before reading them in bulk (as I said, I don't dislike it, I do like it, but that's about it).

Last (but not least), Kobato!! Oh, I absolutely LOVED Kobato, both the anime and the manga. It's the CLAMP manga, aside from CCS and Tsubasa, that I've re-read the most. It made me cry so fucking much towards the end!! Maybe because the protagonists were "older", but I found that CLAMP pushed on the romantic aspect even more than CCS. Also, the characters seem more "raw" and unbridled with their emotions, so maybe that's why it had such an emotional impact on me.

All the other CLAMP manga are part of the "gaps" I need for fill 😂 I have bought Angelic Layer and Clover recently (the latter, in Japanese, to savor the peculiar paneling in the way it was conceived) so I just need to sit down and start them. The rest will come along the way.

If I had to choose a favorite one aside from CCS, well, I'd say it's a tough battle between Tsubasa and Kobato. Yes, Tsubasa is CLAMP's masterpiece, it's "huge" in its ambitious goal of reuniting most of the characters CLAMP created, giving them a new epic story, but I'd lie to myself if I tried to deny how emotional Kobato made me. And to me, that's very important in a story. Yes, Tsubasa made me emotional too, and everytime I've re-read it I discovered something new, but Kobato gets very close, and it's an appreciation I built over time - when it was serializing I wasn't so "in love" with it like now, probably because (like with many other CLAMP manga), you need to re-read it from top to bottom when it's over to let the narrative unleash its true emotional power.

And that's pretty much it!