If you’re a 90s kid, you’re probably familiar with Clamp’s hit anime series “Cardcaptor Sakura.” This show has been my top procrastination option whenever I feel the need to time travel to the easier, care-free years of my youth.
The series captures the adventures of a 10-year-old Japanese heroine who has been designated as the keeper and protector of the Clow Cards—a magical deck of powerful elemental cards. In the anime, the Clow Cards have escaped to the real world, causing strange and supernatural phenomena to happen.
And isn’t that exactly what the past five months have felt like? A string of strange and unfortunate events that go beyond our control and understanding?
So when Juris Go, the guy behind Janjan Comics, introduced a set of artworks called “Clow Cards for the Pandemic,” something just clicked. The artist’s designs represented the essentials of the new normal—each one outlined and called for action plans that would benefit the majority, ultimately having Filipinos feel safer and secured.
He has five cards up on his sleeve (for now): The Mass Testing, The Contact Tracing, The Ayuda, The Transportation, and The Barrier. It not only covers the basics of what we desperately need during quarantine, these have been the same demands Filipinos have been waiting on the government to take a more inclusive, proactive, strategic, and scientific-based approach on.
Juris designed this series initially to support the frontliners who have called for a two-week time out. The artist listed down recommendations he hoped the government would pursue—like the use of swab tests versus highly inaccurate rapid tests, accessible and affordable transportation for all, distribution of more relief packs, and a faster, more aggressive take on contact tracing.
“I felt like our frontliners’ call for strategic action wasn’t being heard enough. We’re also not seeing a lot of effective ways from the government to stop the spread of the pandemic. I made these Clow Cards because I wanted to integrate an element of fun amidst the frustration,” Juris shared.
“The Clow Cards are intended to be cards that we want to have right now, right at this moment. Whenever we talk about these things, I notice it’s always in the form of anger and I just wanted this series to be a palate cleanser. I chose to draw these cards because they are the most essential in my opinion,” the Filipino artist said.
“I also wanted to make a ‘Hope’ Clow Card, but seeing the general sentiment, hope is not a plan. I did make a motorcycle barrier card because it’s just silly—and I’m a silly artist,” he added.
It’s been five months and the country is still waiting for clear-cut, definitive plans and the transparency in the COVID-19 fund breakdown, but instead President Rodrigo Duterte has chosen to riddle his countrymen with mind games, guilt trips and pathetic rage during his past-midnight ranting sessions.
Despite the number of new infections rising and a recently confirmed mutated coronavirus strain in the country, the President and local government authorities still placed Mega Manila, Cebu City, Iloilo City, and the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Quezon under general community quarantine. By doing so, more lives are at risk and people are exposed to so much we don’t know about.
The Philippines was named the country with the longest quarantine in the world as early as July. From that period until today, the government shared it only targeted to test 2 percent of the entire population (and have continued to fail in meeting their daily quota), while our contact tracing ratio has not improved in the past two weeks.
This is the reality we have been forced to face these past five months. A reality we escape momentarily when we’re presented with humorous and entertaining visuals on our daily feed scroll.
It’s silly, but these Clow Card artworks really make me wish we can just call on COVID-19 to return to its true form. For it to reduce itself to a figure contained inside a magical card—taking with it all the pain, problems, uncertainty, and anxiety it has caused.
“This was my first time working on graphics that were heavy in illustration and it required a lot of learning. It was all about finding the right colors. My favorite part was making The Ayuda Clow Card,” the artist shared.
I don’t know about you, but I’m taking this as a cue to rewatch my favorite anime of all time. Juris really took the time to replicate the style of the tarot-like cards (and ultimate collectible) of our childhood. You can see his references to The Sword/The Shield’s designs and the Clow Cards’ iconic celestial and personified elemental illustrations.
His “Clow Cards for the Pandemic” make me miss the outside world and the past’s normalcy, just thinking of the day when we’ll all stop coping with sweet pastries (we’re all basically Kero-chan at this point) and start wearing cute outfits every chance we get (like Sakura).
“I think everyone who watched ‘Cardcaptor Sakura’ as a kid or even as an adult would appreciate the magical moments, costumes, and creative thought put into it. It’s just fun,” Juris added.
See the “Clow Cards for the Pandemic” designs below:
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