Syaoran is a young archeologist who is in love with Sakura, his childhood friend and the princess from the Kingdom of Clow. When Sakura's memories are scattered throughout parallel dimensions, Syaoran goes on a quest to recover them, giving all of Sakura's memories involving him as a payment to travel. Revealed to be a clone of Syaoran created by Fei Won Reed, and becomes obsessed with regaining the feathers. Killed by the real Syaoran, but reincarnated by Yuuko and Clow Reed in the past as the real Syaoran's father.Crossover character from Cardcaptor Sakura.
Handicapped Badass: Having one blind eye doesn't falter his fighting ability one bit.
Back from the Dead: Except not really, since he was a clone so he couldn't die, he only disappeared, or in this case, reincarnated before disappearing completely, and then disappeared for real from the entire space-time continuum of the multiverse.
Spell My Name with an S: The issue is should we follow the furigana (Syaoran), apply the pinyin pronunciation of the kanji (Xiaolang), or use Cantonese (Siulong) due to his heritage?
Sakura
Sakura is a princess from the Kingdom of Clow who has her memories separated from her body to parallel dimensions in the form of feathers. All of her memories of Syaoran are completely erased to enable him to travel across the worlds to find her feathers. Revealed to be a clone created by Fei Wong Reed. Killed by the clone Syaoran, but reincarnated as the original Syaoran's mother.Crossover character from Cardcaptor Sakura.
Action Girl: During the second half of the Tokyo Arc.
Born Lucky: Played straight and lampshaded when Fai uses her luck to ensure they have money by entering Sakura in gambling games in Spirit. Sakura's luck is later used as part of a price paid to Yuuko for a wish.
Can Not Spit It Out: A unique take on an older trope. The Dimension Witch's price for helping Sakura and Syaoran was their past relationship. Any time Sakura realizes her past feelings for Syaoran and tries to tell him, her memory of that is instantly removed, resulting in several UnConfessions.
Took a Level in Badass: After the latter parts of the Tokyo arc, but the result is that while she is more capable, it has rather heartbreaking Broken Bird connotations.
Uptown Girl: Sakura is princess and Syaoran is middle class.
Kurogane Yōō
Kurogane is a rough-mannered ninja from the world of Japan, who is sent away from his world by Princess Tomoyo in order to have him discover his true strength. He gives up his sword Ginryū as payment to Yuuko in exchange for traveling through dimensions and get back home.
Artificial Limbs Ends up getting one after sacrificing his left arm to save Fai in Celes. In a subversion of the usual pattern, it is NOT a perfect replacement and causes him pain.
Badass: As a fanfiction puts it, anyone who hacks off his own arm without batting an eye is fucking hardcore.
Badass Cape: Wears one of these in his default ninja outfit.
Handicapped Badass: Cuts off his own arm to save Fai's life, and drags the mage out of a collapsing dimension one-handed while blood pours down his side. Loss of a limb in no way diminishes the badassedness of the moment.
Bash Brothers: With Fai, starting around the Kiishimu battle.
Berserker Rage: There's a reason Tomoyo-hime worried about Kurogane becoming an unstoppable murdering machine. It's happened before, when his mother was killed before his eyes and his father eaten by demons, due to FWR's machinations. The Imperial Army was sent to stop one grieving boy. They died too.
Berserker Tears: Happens during the flashback of his childhood in Recourt, when his parents were murdered and Suwa burned.
Blood Knight: Has shades of this early on, due to his obsession with strength, but is more balanced by the end of the series.
Break the Cutie: He was a sweet, happy child when he was younger... until his mother got sick and was murdered by Fei Wang Reed, his father was eaten by demons, and his home was razed to the ground, causing an breakdown of epic proportions.
Dope Slap: He will 'punch out'' anyone that does something he thinks is stupid, usually being too self-sacrificing. Given the nature of this group it happens offen.
In-Series Nickname: And how! Mostly by Fai and sometimes Mokona. Kuro-tan, Kuro-pin, Kuro-run, Kuro-rin, Kuro-pu, Kuro-chi, Kuro-wanwan, Kuro-daddy or even just Daddy, Big Puppy and many, many more. Interestingly enough, most of the suffix based nicknames that Fai gives him are actually cutesy, girly nicknames that Japanese schoolgirls give one another in an effort to appear cute- hence his aggravation.
Kuudere: Even with his Grumpy Bear persona, he shows himself to be capable of surprising gentleness. Not to mention that he actually turns out to be the most normal member of the cast at the end of the day.
Power Limiter: The "curse" Tomoyo places on Kurogane which will decrease his strength if he kills anyone. This is subverted because we find out after Celes that it's really a protection charm and the stuff about his strength diminishing was a prophecy about the consequences of killing Ashura.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Certainly appears to be the most morally ambiguous of the heroes at first glance, but subverted as you started to realize he's the most grounded among them.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: For the first few chapters he seems to be playing this straight, but it's ultimately subverted. He's actually the only member of the team who isn't a spy.
Slasher Smile: Sports one from time to time, especially when he's fighting.
Fai is a powerful magician from the country of Seresu. He travels to Yuuko on his own accord after making his king Ashura-ō fall asleep. He wishes never to return to his country, so he gives up a tattoo on his back in exchange for Mokona to travel through dimensions.
Beneath the Mask: his cheery, laughing mask is dropped altogether for his inner personality following the events of Acid Tokyo. Also has shades of Becoming the Mask, where Fai himself mentions that acting the way he did around the children became natural and instinctual.
Despair Event Horizon: Fai skips back and forth over this line a few times throughout the series, starting with the death of his twin (which he believes himself responsible for); Ashura's mental breakdown and murderous rampage; losing an eye and completely dropping his Stepford Smiler act during Infinity, followed by Sakura's "dying" because of his triggered curse; and finally the entire Ceres Arc, especially Kurogane nearly dying and Ashura's eventual death.
Deus Angst Machina: And how! Check the entry over there, but beware spoilers.
Girl in the Tower: Gender FlippedFai (Yuui) and his twin were imprisoned at the bottom and top of a tower, respectively, surrounded by unclimable walls, where the dead bodies of prisoners were discarded.
The Nicknamer: To everyone in the group to some extent, but especially Kurogane. So much so he never uses the ninja's real name. At least, not until his post-vampire-transformation personality switch, where a simple statement of "Good morning, Kurogane" is used to great effect.
Power Limiter: His full-back phoenix tattoo is supposed to restrict his huge innate powers to keep him safe. Thus, when he gives it up to Yuuko as his traveling price, he also swears off the use of magic. Later subverted when we find out he's more dangerous with it than without it, because he is cursed to kill the first person he meets who is MORE powerful. With his magic restricted, it's more likely that he'll find someone who outstrips him.
Really 700 Years Old: As Yuuko told Kurogane, '[Fai] has already lived many times your lifespan'. Given that Kurogane looks to be in his early 20's at the youngest, this probably makes Fai at least 80 years old, despite also appearing to be in his early 20's.
Spell My Name with an S : Officially, it's "Fay", but Del Rey had already settled on "Fai" for their translation, and fans tend to just spell it however the hell they want.
Superpower Meltdown: In Celes country, when the second curse on Fay activates, he literally shuts down a dimension with his magic. This also highlights his Power Degeneration.
Stepford Smiler: Though it does begin to crack and ultimately appears to fall away completely.
Team Mom: Is essentially the self-proclaimed mother of the group.
Twin Switch: Fai is actually Yuui (although the switch occurred after the real Fai, who's name Yuui uses, was already dead).
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: It's not exactly willingly, but Fai shuts down a whole dimension with a magic-powered freak out once his curse activates in Ceres, and he nearly did so earlier in Infinity when Sakura's soul was split from her body.
Mokona Modoki (Soel)
A white rabbit-like creature created by Yuuko. Can travel dimensions, translate languages and send things to the black Mokona at Yuuko’s shop.Crossover character from Magic Knight Rayearth.
Fei Wong Reed is a powerful magician who is after Sakura's inner powers. Therefore, he scatters her soul into multiple feathers throughout various worlds to make it get stronger as Syaoran is able to return them to her. Descendant of Clow ReedAlmost everything that happens in the series is according to his plan. He wants to make Yuuko come back to life, something not even Clow Reed was able to fully do, so he can be superior than Clow.
Villainous Breakdown: Fei Wong despairs upon realising all his executed plans to become superior to Clow Reed were still not enough to keep Yuuko on the verge of life and death.
Seers: He has seen that Syaoran is going to be the one to save Sakura, although he doesn't have complete information.
Fujitaka (Clow Country)
Syaoran's adoptive father. He was an archeologist who traveled from excavation to excavation, teaching Syaoran everything he knew about history. In the original timeline from the Kingdom of Clow, Fujitaka was Clow's king, father of the original Sakura, Tōya and husband from Nadeshiko. Because of the original Syaoran's wish to turn back time, Fujitaka's future changed and Clow Reed replaced him.
A meek but secretly courageous boy that Syaoran saves from a Kudan attack in Hanshin. He shows the group around, unaware that his own Kudan has caught one of the feathers.
Hero Worshipper: He really admires Shougo and Syaoran for their strength. He eventually gets promoted to The Knights Who Say Squee when Shougo invites him to join his group.
Mistaken Identity: Primera accidently gets him instead of Syaoran like she wanted.
Not So Weak: Despite his Kudan normally being low level when he uses it for himself, it becomes incredibly strong whenever he needs to protect someone else.
The Amen'osa (Koryo Country)
A group of secret spies sent by the emperor to keep a check on the local lords of Koryo and send replacements if they fail their duty.
The Cavalry Arrives Late: Due to the barrier preventing magic users from entering the world, the Amen'osa arrive only as soon as all the problems they were meant to fix were over. They get called on it.
Improbable Age: While Chu'nyan was wary about the main party to begin with the actual Amen'osa are even younger, which strains her belief further.
An orphaned girl the group meet in the second world they visit, Chu'nyan is passionately against the tyranny of the Ryanban and desires revenge for her mother's death, but feels her town can only wait for the mysterious Amen'osa to save them.
Berserker Tears: When the Ryanban claims she must keep him alive to bring back her mother, Chu'nyan flies into a rage because she knows her mother's death is permanent and can't stand that her mother's killer has the gall to lie to her like that.
Brutal Honesty: She demonstrates a lack of tact/filtering in her words, particularly when she meets the group and states outright, "You look weird."
The Cavalry: She and Sakura appear for real towards the end of the fight to restore the brainwashed citizens to normal and stop them from hurting Syaoran.
Revenge: She is motivated to avenge her mother, but Syaoran tries to stop her so she won't suffer anymore. At the end of the arc she concludes that the Ryanban is not worth killing, which is Cruel Mercy considering letting Kiishimu have him is probably a Fate Worse than Death.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: She delivers one to the Ryanban when he tries manipulate her using her dead mother.
The Ryanban (Koryo Country)
After gaining the power of one of Sakura's feathers, the Ryanban forcefully took control of Chu'nyan's village and ruled it tyrannically, killing her mother when she tried to stop him.
Dirty Coward: Hides behind ill-gained magic enchantments and mooks, and tries to lie to save his neck.
Evil Gloating: Gets a fair bit of it in, here and there.
I Have Your Wife: He tries to get Syaoran to back down by threatening to kill Sakura and Chu'nyan, who are begging to be saved. Thanks to an honorifics misstep, Syaoran realizes it's all an illusion.
The Power of Rock: Her Kudan is a microphone that can blast out physically harmful sound.
Kudan (Hanshin Republic)
Kiishimu (Koryo Country)
A witch who appears in the palace in Koryo country to stop intruders from reaching the Ryanban. Her Threshold Guardian status is unwilling thanks to the Ryanban brainwashing her through the power of an amulet.
Femme Fatalons: Her second weapon after the acid rain, although apparently magazines can defeat them easily.
Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: She call Kurogane out on his rudeness when they meet, but says she'll tolerate the insult because she hasn't talked to anyone in so long, and she's going to kill them very shortly.
Puny Earthlings: She compares humans to insects and chastises Kurogane for his rudeness the moment they meet.
So Proud of You: She delivers a proxy one to Chu'nyan, giving some closure to her mother's death.
Threshold Guardian: She was put there as the barrier to the Ryanban, and is the first real challenge that the group has to deal with.
Worthy Opponent: Kiishimu considers both Chu'nyan's mother and Kurogane and Fai as worthy opponents, and respects them a good deal more than the Ryanban she's enslaved to.
A mysterious sealed-in-sleep figure that Fai is desperate to avoid for much of the manga. He was a father figure to Fai, but due to a certain curse a showdown between them is inevitable.
Axe Crazy: As time wears on he develops shades of this.
Black Magic: He gets more powerful with each person he kills.
Don't Wake the Sleeper: Fai puts Ashura to sleep to protect the remaining people of Celes, and postpone their confrontation.
After being transported from Shara, Syaoran and Sakura meet Ashura, the king of Shura who wages eternal war against King Yasha's tribe over a wish-granting castle. Although their countries are fighting, it turns out that Ashura is in love with Yasha, and has enlisted Syaoran in his fight in the hopes of fulfilling an impossible wish, to revive the deceased Yasha.
All Deaths Final: Ashura's wish to resurrect Yasha is so impossible it causes the moon castle to self-destruct
Eternal Love: Ashura guarantees that their love always goes on by becoming gods of the next generation.
Face Death with Dignity: When his wish destroys the moon castle Ashura chooses to remain as it crumbles around him.
God Couple: Enforced by Ashura's final wish and Syaoran's request that they not be separated. In the new Shara timeline, the gods are always worshipped together.
Living Memory: Yasha is a memory powered by Sakura's feather.
Love Across Battlelines/Star-Crossed Lovers/Kill The Ones You Love/The Mourning After/Together in Death: The unholy pentangle of tragic romance. Their kingdoms war eternally against each other every night for ownership of the moon castle that grants wishes. They fall in love but Ashura accidently kills Yasha one night because he is suffering from illness. Ashura can't accept it and tries to bring him back via a wish that is so impossible, it destroys the moon castle, and chooses to die and reunite with Yasha that way.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Played tragically when Ashura, who fights with Yasha because it's the only time they can be together, wounds him one day leading to Yasha's death.
Mistaken for Spies: In spite of their protests, and Ashura stating they are guests, not spies, Kumara keeps bringing up his suspicion against them, even as the group is leaving.
Karura-o (Piffle World)
Koumoku-ten (Infinity)
Crossovers: X1999 and Tokyo Babylon
Sorata and Arashi (Hanshin Republic; Piffle World; Tokyo)
A young couple that offers the group a place to stay during their first dimension hop.
Antiquated Linguistics: The group notices Sorata speaks differently, and he claims that it's an obsolete style that he uses because he wants to preserve the history of Hanshin.
Hand Puppet: Sorata uses puppets of him and Arashi to deliver the exposition on the Hanshin Republic. Naturally the Arashi puppet doesn't say anything.
Miko: Arashi is a former one, before getting married.
The Quiet One: Arashi is pretty silent in comparison to her husband.
Sickeningly Sweethearts: Arashi isn't, but Sorata overcompensates for it on his own. He spends most of his screentime going on and on about his "honey", and even issues "I'm only not kidding if nothing happens" warnings to Kurogane about flirting with her while cheerfully smiling.
Asagi Shougo (Hanshin Republic; Piffle World)
A young and popular gang leader in Hanshin Republic with a very strong Kudan. Initially the group suspects he might have the missing feather.
