Fujitaka Kinomoto

Fujitaka Kinomoto (木之本 藤隆, Kinomoto Fujitaka^?) is a fictional character in Clamp's manga and anime series Cardcaptor Sakura. He is known as Aiden Avalon in the English adaptation, Cardcaptors. He is voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka in the Japanese version and Brian Drummond in the English version. Fujitaka is also a fictional character in Clamp's manga series Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.

Character and Role

Fujitaka is the father of Sakura Kinomoto (Sakura Avalon in Cardcaptors) and Toya Kinomoto (Tori Avalon). He is a very busy college professor of archaeology at Towa University who still finds time for his children. He is very kind and caring, and he loves his family deeply, especially his late wife, Nadeshiko (Natasha). In the second volume of the manga, Toya stated that Fujitaka was very athletic, a possible reason why both Sakura and Toya are good at sports. One of the major differences between his characterization in the manga and the anime is that in the manga, he is explicitly stated as half of the reincarnation of Clow Reed's soul, however holding no magical abilities himself. In the anime, this connection is erased altogether and never mentioned, as he is shown as one of the people affected by Eriol Hiiragizawa's (Eli Moon) sleep spell at the end of the series (the spell is not supposed to affect those with strong magical ability). In the manga, as he is half of Clow's reincarnation, he is unaffected by his spell and even shows up after Sakura manages to transform The Light and The Dark, passing Eriol's last trial. Fujitaka receives half of Eriol's magic as part of Eriol's final task of reducing his magical ability, leaving Sakura the strongest magician alive. With the infusion of magic, Fujitaka is able to see Nadeshiko's spirit and be reunited with her once again. Fujitaka is mostly disliked by Sonomi Daidōji (Samantha), who strongly believes that he stole Nadeshiko from her in high school. At the time, Sonomi and Nadeshiko were high school students, and Fujitaka was starting his first year as a teacher there. One day, Nadeshiko had climbed a tree to tend to some birds in their nest, but she accidentally fell. Luckily, Fujitaka broke her fall, and after seeing Nadeshiko on top of him, he commented, "It appears that an angel has fallen from the sky." This sparked the relationship that would lead to their marrying when Nadeshiko is sixteen. In Episode 11, Sonomi recounts in a rant about how they would arrive at school together with matching packed lunches, husband and wife. Sonomi is upset, because she herself had feelings toward Nadeshiko, but Fujitaka took all her attention away. Sonomi also believes they married too young, and Nadeshiko's unfortunate death just five years after her second child may have been related to this. Sonomi does not harbor absolute hatred for Fujitaka, however, as his consistent optimism and kindness make it clear to her why Nadeshiko liked him so much. Ironically, however, the inability to hate him makes her hate him more. In the anime, Nadeshiko and Sonomi's grandfather and caretaker, Masaaki Amamiya, also used to disapprove of Fujitaka, especially because they both helped to raise Nadeshiko. Sakura meets her great-grandfather for the first time when on summer vacation, though she is unaware of his relationship to her. Sakura later discovers that her great-grandfather disapproved of Fujitaka as Fujitaka mentions it in their conversation about Masaaki, so on the day of Masaaki's birthday, she sends him a present though Sonomi. Masaaki, wanting to repay that act of kindness, asks Fujitaka for a meeting and, along with giving him presents for Toya and Sakura, in an act of forgiveness and regret, apologizes for the resentment and estrangement after the latter's marriage.

Fujitaka in Tsubasa

Fujitaka is mentioned in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle as an archaeologist who came to Clow country to study the ruins there. He also adopted Syaoran, and later dies while working on the mysterious ruins that lead to the breaking of Sakura's memories. In Tsubasa, Fujitaka has no relation to Sakura nor Toya, though Sakura and Toya remain siblings in the series (they are the children of the king, Clow Reed). Fujitaka makes an appearance in Episode 31 as a mechanic on a ship, but as a young boy about the same age that Syaoran was when Fujitaka first adopted him.