Eriol Hiiragizawa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eriol Hiiragizawa (柊沢 エリオル Hiiragizawa Erioru?) is a fictional character in CLAMP's anime and manga series Cardcaptor Sakura. He is known as Eli Moon in the English adaptation Cardcaptors. Voiced by Bill Switzer (series), Johnny Yong Bosch (2nd movie) and Sasaki Nozomu (in Japanese).
Eriol is the principal antagonist in the second arc (or Sakura Card arc) of the series.
Contents |
[edit] Character
Eriol is one of the two reincarnations of Clow Reed, carrying Clow's magical powers and memories. While he initially appears antagonistic (given his role), he is actually very supportive of Sakura. He is, in many ways, more elegant and refined than others of his age, not only due to possessing some of Clow's memories but also because he is actually much older than he appears. He stops himself from aging so that he could get near Sakura as a student in the second arc of the series and has been waiting for that right moment. It is unknown, however, if he can use magic to return his body to its correct age after meeting Sakura.
[edit] Phrases
- Eriol's incantation:
Key which hides the powers of the dark, surrender your true form before me. I, Eriol, command you under our contract. Release! (Cardcaptor Sakura)
I call upon the power of the day and the night. Sun and darkness, unleash your might. Release! (Cardcaptors)
[edit] Role
Eriol transfers to Tomoeda Elementary from England soon after Sakura Kinomoto (Sakura Avalon in Cardcaptors) defeats Yue in the "Last Judgment" and becomes Master (Mistress) of the Clow Cards. He rapidly befriends Sakura, a feat which persuades Syaoran Li (Li Showron) to postpone his return to Hong Kong (Syaoran was uncomfortable with the aura Eriol exuded, which reminded him of Kaho Mizuki (Layla McKenzie), and Eriol's behavior also made him jealous). At the same time, a series of magical disasters force Sakura to gradually convert the Clow Cards into "Sakura Cards," which draw from her own magical energy rather than the dwindling amount of magic left in them by Clow.
What Sakura does not know (until the series' end) is that Eriol himself creates these situations. During each battle or event, he is seen from afar just observing the action, often accompanied by his guardians, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon. All three of them live in a house that was formerly occupied by Clow Reed himself.
Eventually Eriol confronts Sakura and reveals himself to be the reincarnation of Clow Reed, creator of the Cards. He challenges Sakura to defeat him by converting the final Cards, The Light and The Dark, which would prevent Tomoeda from being permanently plunged into darkness. With his guardians occupying the attention of Sakura's own guardians, Yue and Cerberus (Keroberos), Eriol uses his magic to hamper Sakura. But eventually she manages to convert Light and Dark with the help of Cerberus and Yue, who together fused with Sakura's wand to make it more powerful, and Syaoran, who provided both magical and moral support.
Eriol escapes the scene after his defeat, and on the next day he informs Tomeda Elementary that he would be returning to England. However before his leave, he invites Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo Daidouji (Madison Taylor) to his home, where he calmly treats them to tea and explains that his motivations and challenges were to aid Sakura in reaching her potential. He then introduces Kaho as his overseas aide. After the tea party, he has a non-violent confrontation with Yue, who is still upset that a new master was named for him when Clow Reed still exists. Eriol clarifies that he is not Clow Reed and just has his memories. Clow Reed will never return, but Eriol offers to talk about the memories he has if Yue ever wishes.
Afterwards, Eriol, Kaho, Spinel Sun, and Ruby Moon return to England together. Eriol and company appear again in the second movie, calling Sakura from England and warning her about the new Clow Card, The Nothing. However his phone call is cut short before he could finish his explanation and warning.
There have been hints to a romantic relationship between Eriol and Kaho. This is verified at the end of the manga, but only hinted at in the second movie, where Kaho is seen in Eriol's room when he calls Sakura about the sealed card.
[edit] Differences in Anime and Manga
In the anime, his sole purpose is to help Sakura in transforming all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, but he is portrayed as somewhat more self-serving in the manga. In the manga, his true objective is to make Sakura a more powerful magician than him, so she could split his magic equally between himself and the other half of Clow's reincarnation, something he was unable to accomplish himself. With this, he is finally rid of his ability to foresee the future and finally able to leave his little boy form and actually grow.
The other reincarnation of Clow Reed is Sakura's father, Fujitaka Kinomoto. This is apparently only a manga fact, as no such split reincarnation is mentioned in the anime. There, Eriol is assumed to be a complete reincarnation of Clow Reed.
In the second movie, Eriol's house in Tomoeda is torn down after he leaves, resulting in the release of the sealed Clow Card, The Nothing. Since the second movie is not part of the manga continuity, it can be assumed that Clow Reed's Japanese home is still standing in the manga, and Eriol can return to it whenever he chooses.
Although Eriol appears to be eleven years old when he enters the series, his actual age is unclear. In the manga, it is implied that he has appeared as an eleven-year-old boy for quite some time, while he may in fact be the same age as Fujitaka. In both continuities he possesses all the knowledge and experiences of Clow Reed, and it is impossible to guess how long he has existed in his current physical form.
[edit] Statistics and trivia
- Birthday: 15 June
- Blood type: AB
- Favorite class: None
- Least favorite class: None
- Favorite color: Black
- Favorite flower: Cherry blossom
- Favorite food: Sweet things
- Least favorite food: None
- Best recipe: Cakes
- Eriol's nickname for Syaoran is his "darling relative" or "my cute little descendant".
- In CLAMP's Angelic Layer, he has a school named after him: Eriol Academy.
- Eriol resembles some characters in other CLAMP works, including the younger version of Kimihiro Watanuki from ×××HOLiC and Minoru Kokubunji of Chobits.
Information
|
Characters
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Clow Cards
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Episode Guide: Clow Card Arc: 1-18, 19-35, 36-46 | Sakura Card Arc: 47-59, 60-70 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
