[meta] Making Sense of TRC

Reposting from my old LJ -- I think this has some interesting things to chew on. :)


Although I have discussed my problems with the B-Train anime of TRC before, I don't pretend that the manga is perfect. Parts of it, particularly  the ending, are as confusing as hell. (See my handy-dandy Space-Timeline chronicling the events of TRC!) They're confusing partly because the events themselves are confusing -- there's clones, and time travel, and world-swapping -- but they're also confusing because let's be honest, the storytelling pretty much falls apart towards the end. There are a lot of things that are never explained, or explained in a way that makes no sense, or explained in a way that is ultimately unsatisfying.

I won't address all the loose ends and plot holes of the TRC manga here, partly because it would be way too long for a single post. Instead, I'm going to address a couple of the more confusing issues surrounding Sakura and Syaoran's family tree, time loops, and recursive paternity, and present my thoughts on what was really going on to make that sequence of events make sense.

Please don't comment to tell me my interpretation of events is wrong. You can debate and speculate, but I'm not interested in getting into an argument. These are the explanations that helped me make sense of the ending of TRC in a satisfying way; perhaps they can help you make sense of it too.

Notes: For the purpose of this essay, Sakura and Syaoran refers to the 'clone' versions of those characters, and male-Tsubasa and female-Tsubasa refer to the 'real' versions of those characters.

( 1) The nature of Sakura and Syaoran's sacrifice )

( 2) Sakura and Syaoran left their bodies behind )

( 3) Syaoran is not actually his own grandfather )