Sakura Kinomoto

## More info

### Likes:

Syaoran, cherry blossoms, music, skateboarding, sports, roller skating, being happy, cheerful, gym class, pink and white, making new friends, rice omelets, noodles

## Voices

**Sakura Kinomoto** (木之本 桜, *Kinomoto Sakura*) is a fictional character, the heroine, and the main protagonist of CLAMP's manga series *Cardcaptor Sakura* and its anime adaptation. Sakura is introduced as a 10 year-old girl who lives in the town of Tomoeda in Japan, where she attends Tomoeda Elementary School during the Clow Card Arc and Sakura Card Arc story-line. In Clear Card Arc story-line, she is a freshmen attending Tomoeda Junior High School.

## Appearance

In the anime, Sakura has short brown hair, short all-round with 2 raised partings, 2 curved ahoges, and 2 long thin strands on sides, and emerald green eyes. In certain manga sketches and official artwork, this sometimes changes. In addition to her anime hair and eyes, her hair is sometimes colored auburn, her eyes are sometimes colored grey or blue, and her skin is sometimes snow white. As a child, she is naturally short in height, but slowly grows as the years pass by.

Sakura's outfits change frequently throughout the series. In almost every single episode, her most iconic everyday outfit is her school uniform, which is doubled as her combative sailor-suited battle outfit, the latter of which changes depending on the season. Her winter school uniform is a black long sleeved shirt with red and white sleeve cuffs, a white neckerchief with a red stripe, and a white pleated miniskirt with a frilly white knee-length petticoat. On particularly cold days, she wears a thick black coat with her schools insignia on the back. Her summer uniform is a white half-sleeved shirt with a red neckerchief and a black pleated miniskirt. All year round, a pair of very shiny black Mary Jane shoes are worn along with white socks and a white sailor hat with a black trim.

## Personality

Sakura is a very energetic, cute, tough, happy, giggly, beautiful, sweet, cheerful, kind and tomboyish ten-year-old girl. She is very athletic, being a member of her school's cheer-leading squad and an excellent runner, a trait she inherited from her father, a very tough fighter, and is very good at skating, sports and video gaming. Her "invincible spell" "Everything will surely be all right" ("絶対大丈夫だよ" *"Zettai daijoubu da yo"*) has carried her through innumerable trials and obstacles as she masters her magical skills. Her catchphrase is "Hoeh!" ("ほえ！" "*hoe!"*) which is usually stretched and is used whenever she is shocked or scared even the slightest. She also frequently shouts "KERO, NO!!!" when scolding Kero.

She often comes across as naïve, clumsy, dense and clueless, but she has her perceptive moments on occasion. Her favorite foods are omelette and noodles with seafood and her favorite recipe is pancakes. Her birthday is on April the first. She hates mathematics, loves gym and music, and her blood type is A.

Sakura's optimistic and trustworthy character allows her to be friendly with everybody, she is very outgoing and the entire series focuses on the friendships she creates with people, whether strangers, loose acquaintances, or rivals. In fact, her personality is a dominating factor in her relationships, especially with Syaoran Li. Though sometimes she's quite gullible and believes what everyone tells her, her charm can win over anyone (as shown with Syaoran in the series). She's also known to be very scared of ghosts.

She became scared of ghosts because her brother, who could see spirits, would usually point them out. Though she couldn't see them, the descriptions of having 'one eye' or 'missing a hand' would frighten her. Therefore she felt a deep fear of ghosts from a young age. Ironically, she has no fear of Clow Cards. This is apparent when Sakura finds out that the ghost in the park is actually a Clow Card and was no longer scared by it. She is known to be clueless about things relating to herself but perceptive of others. Though when she finds out information about her friends, she usually keeps quiet about it.

Despite her sweet nature, cuteness and beauty, Sakura has been shown to have a very vicious temper, rather she's punching with her barefists and kicking with her black Mary Jane shoes, due to her tomboyishness. This is often seen when Touya teases her by calling her a monster and once when she and Kero got into a fight. Her temper is sometimes so vicious that it once scared Touya. That said, she rarely, if ever, gets physically violent; at most, every so often, she'll just occasionally flail her arms wildly while expressing her anger at Touya. These fits of anger also tend to be pretty intense, but short, and she's quick to forgive, as shown by the fact that she almost never seems to hold a grudge. In fact, despite Touya's frequent teasing, she's often civil and friendly to him by default until her anger is renewed whenever he takes another opportunity to do so.

## Relationships

### Eriol Hiiragizawa

Sakura and Eriol became fast friends, which irritated Syaoran. Sakura appreciates Eriol’s kindness and eager to help her, although she was oblivious to his intentions and true identity as Clow Reed’s reincarnation. Even when she was forced to fight against him when his identity was revealed, she initially refused to fight back and held no ill will towards him once he explained his motives.

Before he returns to England, Eriol tells Sakura that when someone else tells her they are moving away, think of how she feels about Eriol moving away and how it is different to when the other person leaves. He is referring to Syaoran.

He continues to contact Sakura by calling, texting, and e-mailing, and is worried about her growing magic.

### Chiharu Mihara

Takashi and Chiharu sees Sakura looking sad, so he leaves to get some juice to let Chiharu talk to her. Sakura asks Chiharu what she does if she upsets Takashi. Chiharu tells her that she apologizes because she loves him and he loves her. Takashi returns and Sakura thanks Chiharu running off thinking that she has to apologize to Syaoran.

### Rika Sasaki

After finding out about Syaoran moving back to Hong Kong, Sakura runs into Rika in a fit of tears. She asks her what is wrong and Sakura asks her about her boyfriend that she doesn't get to see very often. Rika asks her whether she won't get to see the one she likes and Sakura replies by saying she won't be able to see him for a very long time. Rika tells her that she is happy to have the time they can spend together and is grateful for it. She tells her not to worry and Sakura runs off to her house.

## Family

### Tomoyo Daidouji

Sakura's close relationship with Tomoyo Daidouji is likely the second most significant relationship in the series. Sakura and Tomoyo are best friends (and second cousins as their mothers were cousins), meeting randomly for the first time in the third grade when Sakura offered Tomoyo one of her erasers which Tomoyo has kept. Since then, Tomoyo has been very attentive to everything that Sakura does, including finding a passion for filming her throughout her daily activities.

Sakura holds a lot of trust in Tomoyo, often allowing her to take lots of measurements for the multitude of battle costumes and dresses that are made for her. Tomoyo is also one of the few keepers of Sakura's secret as a Cardcaptor, often accompanying Sakura in many of her adventures for filming and costume-testing opportunities. In the second half of the series, when Sakura gets a new wand and mission, Tomoyo is responsible for choreographing Sakura's new action poses and even helps Sakura most times in setting up situations with Yukito and Syaoran. As Tomoyo understands they are the ones who would make Sakura the happiest.

Because Tomoyo lacks magical powers and abilities, Sakura takes on a protective responsibility most times when capturing or transforming cards. If Tomoyo is ever in danger (or missing), Sakura will be the one concerned for her most and her focus changes from that of the Card at hand to Tomoyo's safety. Fortunately, Sakura has always succeeded and hugs Tomoyo warmly whenever she reunites with her.

### Touya Kinomoto

Touya enjoyed frequently teasing and making fun of his little sister. However, he did care about her a lot and was quick to defend Sakura when she was attacked by Syaoran in episode 8. He discovers the truth about Sakura being a Cardcaptor but doesn't let on about it and he tries his best to help Sakura when he can. Sakura also cares for her brother, for example when he got hurt by the Mirror card.

## Love Interests

### Syaoran Li

The most notable relationship in the series is between Sakura and Syaoran Li, largely due to the second half of the series being heavily devoted to its development.

Their first encounter was on Syaoran's first day in Tomoeda Elementary School. Before they were properly introduced, Sakura was baffled to find Syaoran glaring at her and giving her hateful glances. He later confronts her, where he demands that she surrender the Clow Cards to him. When she refuses to give them to him, Syaoran attempts to take them from her by force. Sakura's brother, Touya, intervenes before their fight could escalate. Following these events, Sakura and Syaoran's relationship was strained for quite a while and despite her many attempts to befriend him, he was cold and dismissive towards her. Syaoran often ridiculed Sakura as he believed that she was unworthy of the Clow Cards. She however, refused to retaliate and was kind to him. Like many other characters in the story, Syaoran gravitated to her gentle nature and they eventually became friends.

An important turn in their relationship occurs when the Earthy reveals itself in the manga chapter entitled "*The Power of the Elements*", where Sakura falls into a deep crevice created by the card. Running to save her, Syaoran yells out to her, calling her by her first name. After being rescued by Cerberus, Sakura returns this by asking if she can start calling him "Syaoran-kun". This is paralleled in the anime where, in episode 57, Tomoyo, Syaoran, Eriol, Sakura take a visit to a teddy bear museum. (The journey through the museum is accompanied by the song *Ki ni Naru Aitsu* or *That Girl I Can't Ignore*, sung by his voice actress, Kumai Motoko). This is followed by a scene in an elevator between Syaoran and Sakura where events similar to those centered around the Earth card occur. Syaoran screams out Sakura's name here when she falls into a hole. Sakura later gets herself to safety by changing the Float Card and then tells him she heard this, and asks if she can call him "Syaoran-kun" instead of the more neutral "Li-kun".

Throughout the series, Syaoran gradually becomes more committed to caring for Sakura romantically, most especially after Yue forces him to confront his feelings early on in the second story arc, but she remains completely oblivious to his feelings. Syaoran's blushes become more frequent, and there are some occasions where he would suddenly become clumsy when in her presence. Sakura will either keep an innocent smile on her face or look confused and worried at Syaoran whenever he trips and falls.

Similarly, in the manga, Sakura returns the favor by spending a week making him a yukata which she gives to him after he agrees to accompany her to a festival, although he is concerned when she shows up to school, wearing bandages.
Sakura is finally made aware of Syaoran's feelings when he personally confesses them near the end of the series, after the final battle with Eriol Hiiragizawa. The news comes as a complete shock to her, and it is ever present in her thoughts over the next few days. After talking to her friends about why she is upset and confused about her feelings, she recognizes that she may love Syaoran as more than a friend. She goes to his house to speak with him, only to discover that he is returning to Hong Kong. She is heartbroken, saying to herself that she doesn't want him to leave. This leads her to conclude that Syaoran is her true "number one person," and she hurries home to make him a teddy bear before she confesses her newfound feelings as Syaoran suddenly leaves for Hong Kong (though only temporarily). He asks her to wait for his return and she promises because she loves him the most.

Two years later, they reunite as a couple. The anime stretches out the suspense, with Sakura not yet answering Syaoran in the last episode of the series. Instead, her confession comes at the end of the second movie, after several failed attempts throughout the film.

The teddy bears (seen in the above picture) are named Sakura and Syaoran, respectively, referring to a fictional tradition where if two people make teddy bears for each other and the recipients name them after their donors, the two will be a couple forever. In the manga, Sakura and Syaoran name their bears after each other after she confesses her love to him. However this is slightly changed in the anime, where, Syaoran gives Sakura his bear (she asks to have it) in Episode 70, but Sakura never gives him one, having already given it to Yukito earlier in the series.

In the second movie, four months after Syaoran's departure, Sakura expresses her wish to confess her feelings to him to Tomoyo. Unbeknownst to her, Syaoran returns to Japan with his cousin Meiling Li who was having secret phone calls with Tomoyo who helped plan their return. Tomoyo and Meiling organized outings for Sakura to tell Syaoran about how she feels but, rather amusingly, she gets constantly interrupted by Kero, Touya, and the awakening of the The Nothing card. During the final battle with the latter, She traps Sakura between two gaps on a tower's staircase. Sakura manages to convince her of her wrongdoings with the help of the other 52 cards. As Sakura changes the card into a Sakura card, ready to lose her most precious feeling as the price for sealing it, she regrets not being able to tell Syaoran how she felt. However, the card chooses Syaoran instead, who arrives in the nick of time, as he had more magical energy left. Sakura, unable to reach Syaoran, could only watch as the Nothing took it's effect on Syaoran. However, the effects of the Nothing card was successfully negated by the The Nameless card, turning it into the The Hope card. Sakura confesses her love believing that Syaoran had forgotten his own. She begins to cry, but Syaoran surprisingly replies that he loves her too, meaning that he had not lost his most important feeling. As the sun rises, the damage done by the Nothing card starts to fade away. However, Sakura is so overjoyed by the revelation, that she uses the Jump card to recklessly leap across the gap to reach Syaoran, despite his pleas to wait for the stairs to return. The film ends on a cliffhanger with Sakura halfway through the air, but a still image released with the film shows that she makes the leap, right into Syaoran's arms.

The manga (as well as the sequel Clear Card arc anime) concludes the development of their relationship differently, as there is no movie for which to create a cliffhanger. Instead, after a major battle, as in the anime, Syaoran finds a quiet moment in Penguin Park to confess his love to Sakura. Sakura, again, is left in a mild state of shock as she tries to absorb the words, while Syaoran, content after revealing his feelings, tells her to be careful going back home and then leaves. The rest of the volume of the Cardcaptor Sakura is focused on Sakura trying to work out her feelings for Syaoran. Many people play a role in this.

After confiding in them Sakura runs home to make a bear for Syaoran, Kero offers to help, but she tells him that she has to do it by herself. Yukito brings her some food up, telling her that Touya made it, but is too shy to bring it up to her and is freaking out downstairs. He asks if the bear is for that one special person. She nods, but then tells him that he is going far away and they won't be able to see each other. He tells her that he would be upset if he disappeared and wouldn't be able to see Touya and that he would do anything to stop himself from disappearing. Sakura finishes the bear in the morning and receives a phone call from Tomoyo, telling her that the plane was leaving at ten. She runs downstairs and Touya offers her a lift to the bus stop. She runs after the bus and confesses to Syaoran, handing him the bear. He asks her if he can name it Sakura and she asks can she name hers Syaoran. They both agree. After asking if she will wait for him, she shouts that she will.

A cherry tree is shown and two years have passed: Sakura (now 13), dressed in her new Tomoeda School uniform and handing a small case, is putting on her shoes in a hurry as she will be late for school (again) and Touya would complain. Running across the know cherry trees way, she suddenly stops as she sees something - or someone.

Syaoran is right in front of her, wearing his own new Tomoeda uniform, carrying a case with one hand and holding Sakura's Bear on the other. He says he has finished his paperwork in Hong Kong and came to stay. She asks if they will not have to exchange phone calls and letters to communicate, and he agrees. While they hug each other, Sakura, emotional with joy, says that from now on they will stay together forever. From then on, they become inseparable and are a loving couple, and they try to spend as much time together as possible.

### Yukito Tsukishiro

In the first half of the series, before any hint of a relationship with Syaoran, Sakura's primary romantic focus was on Yukito Tsukishiro, a friend of her brother, Touya.

On a class trip in the fourth volume, Sakura reveals to Syaoran that her crush on Yukito began when Touya brought Yukito home on the day Yukito transferred to Touya's school.

Yukito's presence always causes a significant effect on Sakura's feelings, commonly provoking her "floaty" exclamation, "*Hanyaan~*" (はにゃあん～). Unlike Syaoran, who is sensed to Yukito because of his power and ability related to the moon, Sakura truly loves Yukito.

Sakura always does her best to impress Yukito, on rare occasions even competing with Syaoran to give the better compliment or gift. She often looks forward to going to school with Yukito each day, and she is worried when he is not there. Most times when her brother, Touya is present, Sakura is often provoked to raise her voice or else act "unladylike" at Touya, which immediately elicits her embarrassment when she realizes Yukito is also there watching her.

Late in the series, Sakura finally decides to confess her love to Yukito instead of forever skirting around the issue. However, Yukito gently declines Sakura's confession, admitting that he loves her but only in a platonic way. He asks her to re-evaluate her feelings towards him and suggests that she feels attached to him more because he resembles her father. Yukito reassures her by saying that the real "number one person" for her is still out there somewhere, and she should not give up searching for him.

After an emotional afternoon in the park, Sakura is able to get over Yukito, but still remaining a close friend through the end of the series.

Interestingly, in the last book of the manga (episode 70 of the anime), Eriol Hiiragizawa reveals to Yue that when Clow Reed chose Sakura as the future new Master of the Clow Cards and their guardians, he had expected that in the future Yukito would love Sakura more than anyone else and vice versa. Yukito's feelings and Syaoran's feelings for Sakura were the unforeseen occurrences, a few of the deviations from Clow's plan, that Eriol mentions to Sakura and friends at the party in Clow's mansion.

### Ken Ichijouji

Sakura is hinted to have a crush on Ken throughout the series, it is hinted when he saves her life from getting killed. and she blushed at him, she even gave him some homemade cookies as a sign of her appreciation. and whenever she gets scared, she holds onto him. and even asked him to go to the halloween festival with her.

1. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 3, Chapter 3, pages 43-44
2. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 9, Chapter 4, pages 1-15
3. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 6, Chapter 1, page 37
4. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 6, Chapter 1, page 39
5. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 6, Chapter 1, page 40
6. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 8, Chapter 1, pages 24-28
7. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volumes 8-11
8. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 6, Chapter 3
9. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 12, Chapter 1, page 35
10. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 10, Chapter 4, page 11
11. ↑ Cardcaptor Sakura Episode 51
12. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 10, Chapter 4, page 11
13. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 2, Chapter 5, pages 39-40
14. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 10, Chapter 3, page 14
15. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 10, Chapter 1, page 31
16. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 10, Chapter 1, pages 31-35
17. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 10, Chapter 1, pages 39-40
18. ↑ Card Captor Sakura Volume 12, Chapter 1, pages 16-18