Meiling Li
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| Meilin Li | |
|---|---|
| Cardcaptor Sakura character | |
 Meilin Li (Meilin Rae) and Syaoran Li (Li Showron) |
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| First appearance | Episode 19 (Jpn CCS) |
| Last appearance | Cardcaptor Sakura The Movie 2: The Sealed Card |
| Created by | Clamp |
| Voiced by | Yukana Nogami (Jpn CCS) Nicole Oliver (Eng Cardcaptors) Julie Maddalena (Eng 2nd CCS Movie) |
| Profile | |
| Aliases | Meilin Rae (Eng Cardcaptors) |
| Gender | Female |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Known relatives | Syaoran Li (Cousin & ex-fiancé in CCS anime) Clow Reed Yelan Li (Aunt) Fanren, Fuutie, Feimei, Shiefa Li (Cousins) Wang Wei (Guardian in CCS anime) "Syaoran" (Cousin once removed, Tsubasa) |
- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Li.
Meilin Li (李 苺鈴 Ri Mairin?, Chinese Pinyin: Lǐ Méilín) is a fictional character in Clamp's anime series Cardcaptor Sakura. She is known as Meilin Rae in the English adaptation Cardcaptors. In the Japanese anime, she is voiced by Yukana Nogami. In Cardcaptors, she is voiced by Nicole Oliver. In the second movie, she is voiced by Julie Maddalena.
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[edit] Name
Meilin's name in Chinese characters translates, to "strawberry bell."
Like Syaoran, Meilin has many alternate spellings to her name, which are used in DVD releases, and some publications. Some spellings include Meirin, Meiling, and Mei-Ling.
[edit] Character and role
Voiced by Yukana Nogami, Meilin is Syaoran Li's cousin and fiancée in the anime. She does not appear at all in the manga, suggesting that her character was created in the anime for filler purposes or to make the anime more dynamic. However, Meilin has established herself as a significant character in the series with her interaction with the main cast and plot. She also balances the main cast by being more expressive and outspoken about her emotions than the other characters.
Meilin debuts at the end of Episode 19 ("Sakura and the Summer Holiday Homework") with both a cheery Chinese greeting and a hot temper. Her self-proclaimed engagement to Syaoran is something she values and protects highly. Her first impression of Sakura Kinomoto is anything but positive, as she sees Sakura wearing a shirt that she had given to her beloved Syaoran. Meilin accompanies Syaoran in his then-rivalry against Sakura, though she often does so more at school than when capturing Clow Cards.
She has no magical abilities but believes that her physical talents will compensate. Carrying such pride, Meilin vows to help Syaoran capture the Clow Cards using her martial arts skills. However, much to Syaoran's displeasure, she tends to get in the way of his card capturing more often than she helps.
One instance of her hindering a Clow Card capture occurs when Meilin challenges The Fight to a battle in Episode 20. Although she did well at first, The Fight's supernatural strength and endurance proved to be too much for her, and she was soundly defeated. Had Syaoran not intervened at the last moment, catching The Fight by surprise and kicking it out of Meilin's way, she would have been seriously injured.
Meilin is not always a bother in battle, for when Sakura is too dazed to seal The Cloud, Meilin takes hold of her arms and guides her motion for the sealing of the Clow Card. She is immensely helpful during the capture of The Twin in Episode 43. Weakening the card required a synchronous attack from two people, and Meilin was the perfect resource: Sakura and Syaoran fail to adequately sync their attacks, but Meilin and Syaoran had memorized several martial arts forms together in the past. They perform them, smiling at one another, to defeat the card. She then returns to Hong Kong at her mother's request.
Meilin is well-meaning despite her immaturity, and devoted despite her brash attitude. Her view of Sakura changes from rival to valued friend as the series progresses. In Episode 60, when she briefly returns to Tomoeda, she acknowledges Sakura as the person Syaoran loves. She smiles at Syaoran, tears in her eyes as she concedes that the engagement is called off, then leaves the apartment as he attempts to go after her. Meilin spends the night at Tomoyo Daidōji's house to release all of her sadness through much screaming and tears without burdening Syaoran. This moment shows not only how much Meilin has matured, but also how much she cares for him, as she gives up what she has held dear for most of her life in order for him to be happy. Although Meilin is heartbroken, she supports and helps to progress Sakura and Syaoran's kindling relationship, out of love for both of her dear friends.
It is in this same episode that Meilin's true fighting skill is shown. She trains heavily in martial arts upon her return to Hong Kong--magic is out of reach for her--to aide herself and others. When Eriol enchants the stone mini-penguins at Penguin Park, Meilin fights her way through each and every one of them, proving to be physically stronger than even Syaoran's God of Lightning scrolls which only detained the mini-penguins for a few seconds, and even cracks several, sending them flying towards Syaoran. She also comes up with the idea to use The Freeze to immobilize the penguins.
In the second movie, Meilin becomes Tomoyo's ally in a scheme to give Sakura the opportunity to confess her unrevealed feelings to Syaoran. She is unaware of the events surrounding the release of the sealed card, The Nothing.
[edit] Engagement with Syaoran
Shown in Episode 43, Meilin's fascination with Syaoran began when she was about five, when they were both living in China. Even at such early ages, they both trained daily in martial arts. While Meilin seemed the typical young girl, playing and talking with her friends, Syaoran would keep to himself, usually reading a book. For that reason it was difficult for Meilin to really associate with him at first.
One night, one of Meilin's bird escaped from its cage, leaving her in tears. Syaoran, after witnessing the situation, simply said "Don't cry," and ran into the woods to find the lost bird. It began raining while he was away, and after what felt like hours he finally returned, successful. Meilin was not only happy that he found the bird but also quite touched that he would do such a thing for her. She embraced Syaoran, crying again (though out of relief), though it only left him confused, asking if she had suddenly hurt herself somewhere.
Since then Meilin has watched over Syaoran and been by his side. Not too long after the bird rescue, Meilin confesses her feelings to Syaoran. This appeared to be a random outburst, as Syaoran had been quietly reading opposite her on the patio table. Meilin continued to declare that she liked him more than anyone else, and she argued that Syaoran liked nobody else more than he liked her. Syaoran stuttered in agreement (though it was probably only true because he had never yet thought of liking girls, which placed Meilin as first out of a group of one), which further led Meilin to declare herself engaged to him. The promise was that she would give him up if he ever found somebody he liked more than her; until then, she would be his bride. The promise itself took some persuasion, as Meilin leaped onto the table, nearly shrieking "All right?!" in his face until he finally accepted ("Do as you like.").
This engagement is what is seen at the beginning of the series with Meilin's appearance. Syaoran is her fiancé, and she is extremely protective of him, whether or not Syaoran acknowledges or (sometimes) cares. The "Do as you like" agreement still obviously holds, as Meilin is consistently seen glomping Syaoran at nearly every possible moment, especially in front of Sakura and much to Syaoran's exasperation (but he lets it happen anyway). It is speculated that Meilin knew that Sakura would be the person that Syaoran liked more than her as early as the day she and Sakura first met. Regarding Syaoran, Meilin can be very perceptive, as she will have predicted this event before either Syaoran or Sakura even realize they could like each other. This partial jealousy would be additional fuel to her rivalry against Sakura, in addition to her initially being a rival against Syaoran in capturing the Clow Cards.
However, Meilin does not dislike Sakura forever, as by the time she leaves Tomoeda to return to Hong Kong in Episode 43, she has become friends with Sakura (though still viewing her as a possible threat for Syaoran's affection), accepting a sleepover invitation at her house. Meilin's brief return in Episode 60 also finds her and Sakura on good terms.
In that episode, Syaoran has decided to tell Meilin finally that he has found someone else, as promised. But before Syaoran can continue further after telling Meilin that much, she correctly guesses that the person is Sakura. This surprises Syaoran, but Meilin explains that Sakura is the only other girl besides her (and his sisters) that he addresses by first name. She then calls off the engagement, as promised, and leaves for Tomoyo's home before Syaoran could say anything further.
Tomoyo, in her greater perception, had told Meilin earlier that day that she was welcome at her home if she ever needed company. After ending the engagement, Meilin needs someone to talk to who is not Syaoran, and especially not Sakura. Tomoyo provides the sympathetic ear and quietly listens as Meilin sobs into Tomoyo's lap and lets out all of her thoughts. What frustrates Meilin most is that she cannot hate Sakura. Meilin likes her, too. She understands that Sakura is a really good girl and that she cannot help it that Syaoran has fallen in love with her, but she also declares that "crying is completely different." In her grief, Meilin exclaims that she will cry herself to death so that she will never want to cry about Syaoran ever again.
Meilin still loves Syaoran as family. Over time her romantic feelings for him fade and she moves on. In the second movie, her next appearance in the series, Meilin explains to Sakura that she wants a boyfriend who would love her only. This would imply that, since Syaoran loves Sakura, Meilin would not be romantically interested in him anymore.
[edit] Trivia
- When Sakura's class performs Sleeping Beauty, the role of the witch is played by Meiling in the anime, while it is played by Takashi Yamazaki in the manga.
- Because Meilin's character was created for the anime only, she has only two "manga styled" pictures.
- Meilin wears her hair in the Odango Style, similar to Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon and Mint Aizawa from Tokyo Mew Mew, while her fighting outfit bears a likeness to one worn by Devil Hunter Yohko.
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