Yukito Tsukishiro

Yukito Tsukishiro (月城 雪兎, Tsukishiro Yukito^?) is a fictional character in Clamp's anime and manga series Cardcaptor Sakura. He is known as Julian Star in the English adaptation Cardcaptors. Yukito is also a character in Clamp's series Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. He is voiced by Megumi Ogata in Cardcaptor Sakura and by Kouki Miyata in Tsubasa. In Cardcaptors, he is voiced by Sam Vincent, Steve Staley in the 2nd Movie, and Robert McCollum in Tsubasa Chronicle.

Name

The characters in Yukito's given name (雪兎) mean snow rabbit. The characters in his surname (月城) mean Moon Castle. Chinese folklore tells of a Rabbit in the Moon and his alter-ego Yue is associated with the moon. In reference to his surname, this could also be a reference to the fact that Yukito is Yue's false form; essentially, a "castle".

Character

Yukito is the classmate and best friend of Toya Kinomoto (Tori Avalon in Cardcaptors) and Sakura Kinomoto's (Sakura Avalon) object of affection. Syaoran Li, too, harbours a crush on him for a while, which is based in his subconscious attraction to Yue's magic. Yukito's nearly omnipresent smile is evidence of his kind and gentle nature. Yukito also loves food and has an enormous appetite. Yukito is actually the false form of the Moon Guardian Yue. Although Yue knows everything about Yukito, Yukito is initially unaware of Yue's presence. Once Yukito learns of his alter-ego's existence, the two are able to communicate mentally. It is suggested that Yue is the reason for Yukito's large appetite, as he is in a sense "eating for two."

Actions and Role

From the moment Yukito is introduced, it is clear that Sakura has an enormous crush on him. She continually marvels that he can be friends with her "barbaric brother." Everyone involved, including Yukito himself, believes that his meeting Toya in junior high school three years ago had been coincidence. However, Yukito's nature as the false form of Yue also means that many of the things he thought he knew about himself are false. He lives in an elaborate house with his grandparents (the house is real, but the grandparents do not exist). In fact, it is unclear whether or not Yukito himself existed at all before his meeting with Toya and introduction to Sakura. Yukito is peripherally involved in many of Sakura's adventures as the Cardcaptor, mainly because of Sakura's crush on him and his close proximity to the Kinomoto family. In the process, Yukito becomes the object of another juvenile crush; this one held by Syaoran Li (Li Showron). However, it is discovered later that Syaoran was just attracted to the magical energies of the moon residing within Yukito, as Syaoran draws his magical power from the moon. In Cardcaptors, all overt references to Yukito's homosexual relationship with Toya were removed, and Syaoran's 'crush' on him was played down. Sakura's crush was still present however. Not until the last Clow Card is collected does Yukito's true form, Yue, emerge and challenge Sakura's right to the cards. Afterwards, the Yukito and Yue personalities coexist, with Yukito unaware of Yue's presence. Unfortunately, the strain on Yue's energies becomes so great that even Yukito's massive consumption of food can no longer support it. Yukito begins to fall ill, becoming drowsy, falling asleep at the slightest opportunity, and eventually beginning to fade away altogether. The only thing that can save him is a massive infusion of magical energy, which Yue finally receives from Toya (whose earlier efforts to warn Yukito of his plight were continually interrupted by the aggressive Nakuru Akizuki, also known as Eriol Hiiragizawa's Moon Guardian, Ruby Moon). Soon afterwards, Yukito listens to and very gently declines Sakura's confession. He has always been aware of Sakura's feelings but tells her that he believes they are more platonic (as Yukito resembles Sakura's father) than romantic. Sakura immediately realizes that "the one (Yukito) likes best" is in fact Toya. Earlier that day, Yukito had told Toya how alarmed he was that he had suddenly learned about the existence of the Yue identity and the falsehood of most of his memories, but Toya replies that it doesn't matter to him since the moments they have shared together are real. After Yukito rejects Sakura the two of them seem to adopt a brother-sister type of relationship. In the manga, Yukito is last seen in the Kinomoto kitchen with Toya, helping to prepare breakfast. There's a similar scene in the anime series, where they're preparing lunch. This somewhat implies that Toya has come to fully understand Yukito's feelings for him and reciprocates them.

Yukito in Tsubasa

Yukito makes multiple appearances in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. He is first shown in the Kingdom of Clow, where he is the High Priest and the best friend and confidante of Toya, the King of Clow. It is Yukito who uses his magical knowledge to send Syaoran and the stricken Princess Sakura to Tokyo to meet with Yūko Ichihara (in xxxHolic), whom he refers to as "The Dimensional Witch." Like his counterpart in Cardcaptor Sakura, Yukito's powers relate to the moon; he possesses the ability to send others across dimensions and also the ability to see the future and spirits of the dead. The magic circle he uses to send Syaoran and Sakura to Yuuko Ichihara is almost identical to the one used by Clow Reed in Cardcaptor Sakura. Another version of Yukito appears as a waiter in the restaurant with Toya in the Hanshin Republic, the first world Syaoran and his companions visit. His appearance, along with Toya, illustrates the concept that Syaoran will encounter people he already knows, but are the not same person in the sense that he knows them. In the anime series, he appears in Outo Country along with Toya as patrons in the cafe run by Sakura and her travelling companions as well as in two filler episodes.