Cardcaptor Sakura

***Card Captor Sakura*** (カードキャプターさくら Kādokyaputā sakura) is a 1998/1999 anime series by Madhouse that

    was adapted from the manga of the same name by the famed Manga artist group CLAMP. It was first broadcast on NHK on April 7th 1998 and ended on March 21st 2000 with a total of 70 episodes produced. The anime was very well received, and it had spawned two movies and several video games, and also saw huge international debuts in several countries, including the US, the UK and Australia, in where it first saw the light of day under a plagarized dub by Nelvana called Cardcaptors with several edits and name changes, before NIS America released the anime on DVD under its original name. The anime was very successful, and it has been one of the most beloved animes of all time, with some people even dubbing it as the "Sailor Moon Killer".

## Plot

*Cardcaptor Sakura* takes place in the fictional Japanese city of Tomoeda which is somewhere near Tokyo. Ten-year-old Sakura Kinomoto accidentally releases a set of magical cards known as Clow Cards from a book in her basement created and named after the sorcerer Clow Reed. Each card has its own unique ability and can assume an alternate form when activated. The guardian of the cards, Cerberus, emerges from the book and chooses Sakura to retrieve the missing cards. As she finds each card, she battles its magical personification and defeats it by sealing it away. Cerberus acts as her guide, while her best friend and second cousin, Tomoyo Daidouji films her exploits and provides her with battle costumes. Sakura's older brother Toya Kinomoto watches over her, while pretending that he is unaware of what is going on.

Syaoran Li, a boy Sakura's age and descendant of Clow Reed, arrives from Hong Kong to recapture the cards himself. While initially antagonistic, he comes to respect Sakura and begins aiding her to capture the cards. Once Sakura captures all of the cards, she is tested by Yue, the cards' second guardian, to determine if she is worthy of becoming the cards' true master; Yue is also the true form of Yukito Tsukishiro, Toya's best friend. Aided by her teacher Kaho Mizuki, Sakura passes the test and becomes the new master of the Clow Cards.

Afterwards, Eriol Hiiragizawa, a transfer student from England, arrives in Tomoeda and begins causing disturbances with two guardian-like creatures, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon. Sakura is suddenly unable to use the Clow Cards and transforms her wand, beginning the process of evolving the cards into Sakura Cards as Eriol causes strange occurrences that forces her to use and thus transform certain cards. Once all the cards have been transformed, Eriol tells Sakura that he aided her in converting the cards so they would not lose their magic powers. Syaoran later confesses his love to Sakura, who comes to realize she also loves him. *Cardcaptor Sakura* concludes with Syaoran returning to Hong Kong with a promise to return. Two years later, Syaoran moves back to Tomoeda permanently.

The plot of the anime series is extended, featuring 52 Clow Cards from the manga's original 19, and certain scenes are stretched and delayed, such as Cerberus' true form not being revealed until just before Yue's appearance.[2] Sakura creates a 53rd card, Hope, a talent she is not shown to have in the manga. Some of the circumstances around the capturing of the cards is changed, such as Syaoran capturing several cards himself and being tested by Yue in the Final Judgment. Syaoran's cousin and fiancée Meiling Li is introduced in the anime, who positions herself as a romantic rival for Sakura later in the series and also a friend until she returns to Hong Kong. The TV series leaves the relationship between Sakura and Syaoran unresolved, but Sakura confesses her love to Syaoran at the end of the second anime film. In the OVA that bridges the stories of the original series and the *Clear Card* anime, Syaoran returns to Tomoeda two years later, just like in the manga.

## Why it Rocks

1. Great story and characters, especially Sakura herself, her guardian Kero and her best friend Tomoyo.
2. Superb animation and character designs.
3. Strong romance and chemistry between Sakura and Syaoran.
4. Highly-memoralbe opening and ending songs and background music.
5. Takes several liberties from the original manga.

## Reception

### Manga

he manga has over 17 million copies in print as of April 2018.[131] *Cardcaptor Sakura* was popular with Japanese readers, ranking among the top five sellers during its release.[132]The manga series was awarded the Seiun Award for Best Manga in 2001.[133] Shaenon Garrity of *The Comics Journal* described the series as a quintessential *shōjo* manga, which is praised for its mature direction in the second half.[134] *Cardcaptor Sakura* has been described as a "critical work" of manga by Christopher Butcher of Comics212.[134] In a review by Lisa Anderson of Manga Life, the subplots in the series related to the interactions between characters were noted to be of special interest. Anderson praised how the manga, while at the onset begins with a costumed Sakura chasing after a Clow Card, takes a "rather big leap in another direction" when focusing on the characters. The manga is further lauded for its depth.[135] Anime News Network (ANN) reviewer Robert Nguyen felt *Cardcaptor Sakura* is an "atypical *shōjo*" manga, which puts an "emphasis on the emotions of the character."[136]

In *Manga: The Complete Guide*, Mason Templar states that the series is not "just one of the best kids' manga in translation, it's one of the very best manga available in English, period." He praises Clamp for their creativity and shrewd business sense, in being able to create a series that "clearly has merchandising in line" and an "utterly forgettable premise" into a story that is "brimming with warmth and joy and wonder" and is "much more than the sum of its parts."[4] The manga is cited as being cute by critics, and in some cases too cute;[136] however, Anderson stated that "much like *Magic Knight Rayearth*, even a cute story will have its depth and drama."[135] The artwork of the manga is praised for being detailed and having "beautifully drawn pictures of the Clow Cards themselves." The cards are described as having "an artful blend of magical fantasy and reality."[136]

### Anime

The anime adaptation was popular with viewers in Japan, despite having a timeslot that normally has low viewership.[2] The *Cardcaptor Sakura* anime adaptation won the Animage Grand Prix award for best anime in 1999.[137] In May 2000, volumes 8 and 17 of the anime LD release were among the top selling titles, with volume 17 being in first place.[138] The 18th DVD volume was the eighth best selling anime DVD in Japan in June 2000.[139] *Animerica* contributor Kevin Lew felt the series had a "sophisticated design sense" that allowed the series to transcend its target audience of young children and be enjoyable to older viewers as well.[2] Fellow contributor Takashi Oshiguichi found the character Sakura to be appealing and praised the series art work. He felt that while it was "very calculated" to attract male readers, the series was attractive to fans due to Clamp's "unique entertainment style" that incorporates "perfectly time[d] appearances of "fascinating villains" and the unusual element of having the main character change costume for every capture.[132] The magazine's Winnie Chow felt the series' animation was "far above average for a TV series", and compliments Sakura's magic-casting scenes for being nearly unique due to the regular costume changes.[140]

Zac Bertschy of ANN praised *Cardcaptor Sakura* for taking an "incredibly stale and repetitive" magical girl genre and "providing something fun, clever, beautifully animated, touching and exciting all at once;" Bertschy goes on to call the series "the best magical girl show ever produced."[141] The animation was described as being "incredibly fluid" with the character designs "maintain[ing] a consistent and impressive level of detail, even during action scenes."[141] The series has been described as formulaic, but this is not said to detract from the show's enjoyment.[142][143][144] While *Cardcaptor Sakura* is normally intended for an audience of young girls, the anime is lauded for containing "elements that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age or gender, providing they are open-minded enough."[142] In 2001, the anime ranked 46th on *Wizard's Anime Magazine'*s "Top 50 Anime released in North America" ranking.[145]

The Kids' WB version of the *Cardcaptors* dub was panned by critics. Jake Godek of THEM Anime called it "the worst thing that has ever happened to anime that had a good Japanese name," with the dubbing being "one of the worst if not the worst dubbing done for a program." He also criticized the editing, saying that it had "demolished the plot" and noting that it cut out vital character backgrounds needed in order to understand the show.[146] Adam Arnold of Animefringe, reviewing the first *Cardcaptors* DVD, said it was "nothing more than an attempt to dilute a fan favorite anime," with the dubbed voices described as "not up-to-par with the originals." The ordering of the episodes on the DVD was also criticized, noting that starting with episode eight meant that the cast are "left without their backgrounds fleshed out." However, he also approved of the episode stories being left intact, and praised the voices of Carly McKillip as Sakura Avalon and Rhys Huber as Syaoran Li, stating that they were "only voices that really shine above the rest."[48]

In January 2002, the restaurant chain Taco Bell began a month-long promotion in which four *Cardcaptors* toys were available in their kids' meals and the company expected to distribute up to 7 million of the toys during the month.[147] The "conservative Christian political orientation" American Family Association complained about the promotion as the organization felt the Clow Cards in the series were too similar to tarot cards and Eastern mythology. However, the organization's complaints did not begin until the promotion was already scheduled to end, so it is unsure whether the complaints had any actual effect.[148]