Cardcaptor Sakura Anime review

English: Cardcaptor Sakura

Synonyms: Card Captor Sakura, Cardcaptors, Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow, CCS

Type: TV

Episodes: 70

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 7, 1998 to Mar 21, 2000

Producers: Madhouse Studios, Geneon Universal EntertainmentL, NHK, Kodansha, Sogo Vision, NelvanaL, YTV, NHK Enterprises

Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Magic, Romance, School

Duration: 25 min. per episode

Rating: PG - Children

Cardcaptor Sakura is a great show, though you’ll notice that it’s really classic. I don’t watch many magical girl anime so I can’t really say for sure how Cardcaptor Sakura is better or worse than other magical girl anime. But I would trade anything to have that girls life. She is every young girl's fantasy. I watched this anime when i was very very young and it has secured a very special place in my heart.  It is a remarkable piece of work–every time I rewatch an episode I am impressed again by how well it is done.

The only thing I’m looked forward in this anime is the “romance” part but I guess it exceeded my expectations positively.

Cardcaptor Sakura begins when ten-year-old fourth grader Sakura Kinomoto (Sakura Avalon in english version) accidentally releases a set of magical cards called Clow Cards from the Clow Book, created and named after half-English, half-Chinese sorcerer Clow Reed. Each card has its own personality and characteristics and can assume alternate forms when activated. The guardian Beast of the Seal Cerberus (Keroberos) emerges from the book and tells her it is now her responsibility to retrieve the missing cards. As she finds each card, she battles its magical personification and defeats it to seal it away. Cerberus acts as her guide, while her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji (Madison) films her exploits and provides her with battle costumes. Sakura's older brother Toya Kinomoto (Tori) watches over her, while pretending that he is unaware of what is going on.

Most guys will look at Shojo and dismiss the entire thing as an assortment of oversized eyes and non existent noeses, that is why it's best to have watched this when you were a child. Cardcaptors Sakura is a story that is by far the best definition of a magical girl anime. The plotline was more of an assortment of many different smaller stories which worked out as an episode a clow card. The whole show was a collection of the individual stories of the clow cards which by themselves were very intresting. When you compile all the episodes into a series it is very much like the Clow Book itself, it is a plot of many smaller magical stories that Sakura experiences.

Well most of the shoujo fans ( or in general) would look for romance between Sakura and Li, who started as rivals and ends helping each other. Though we see many situations in which Li blushes whenever something nice is involving Sakura. But Sakura never really notices. I felt like going a little more in to this relationship in the anime would have been much better. Anyway atleast there something nice in the last episodes.

The most remarkable thing about this series is that the writers clearly knew when they wrote the first episode exactly how they intended to end it, and exactly what steps they would have to go though to get to that ending. Such careful planning is common in a short 13-episode series, and somewhat less common in a full-season 24-episode series. To see it in a series that spans three years and 70 episodes is very rare.

Usually a multi-year series is a sprawling mess that the writers make up as they go along, featuring numerous inconsistencies, forgotten characters, dangling plot threads, and finally a hastily thrown-together ending. This one is different. Everything fits together into a seamless whole. To make it one episode shorter or one episode longer would have diminished it.

Sakura is charming, cute, and happy-go-lucky without the saccharine contrivances that usually sink these kinds of protagonists. She feels like a natural complex person with various tastes and normal ambitions, and I was especially captivated by her love-hate relationship with her brother, Toya. She has a surprisingly sad background but the show put such an endearing positive spin on it, that it became a way of encouraging rather than depressing the audience. Moreover, watching her magical battles gave a real sense of her creativity, wit, and spirit, because some of the situations she survived would be challenging even for an adult.

Shaoran Li is a transfer student, newly arrived from Hong Kong. He is actually a collateral descendant of Clow Reed. He believes that the cards are rightfully his and is furious that Sakura is trying to collect them. Coming from a family of magic users, he has been trained from early childhood in magic and martial arts. Having studied old books left by Clow he knows more about the cards than anyone except Kerberos. He is fierce and intense and has, if anything, less of a sense of humor than Sakura does. Sakura finds him very intimidating but tries not to show it.

Sakura thinks that her older brother Touya Kinomoto (Tori) is very mean. He calls her a kaijuu (giant monster) [Squirt in english version) which makes her absolutely furious! She is determined to keep him from finding out about the Clow Cards. Though he already notices everything, he keeps calm. He is very caring towards his little sister. He has power to see dead people and can feel the presence of magic.

was supposed to be guarding the cards, but he happened to be taking a short nap when Sakura found them. He tells Sakura that the cards are dangerous and that she must assume the role of the “Cardcaptor” and recover them.

Kerberos may look like a talking plush toy, but he insists that his true form is much more impressive. When not sleeping or hunting for lost cards he likes to play video games and stuff his face with sweets.

Sakura feels differently about Touya’s best friend Yukito Tsukishiro (Julian in english version). Yukito is kind and helpful and has many talents, including the ability to eat great quantities of food. He also has classic bishounen good looks, and Sakura has a terrible crush on him. Well, it will be revealed that he is actually a...... um...its suppose to be a suspense in the series ^_^

Coming to art, in terms of world concept and the details within it, Card Captor Sakura has a brilliant grounding; everything from the accessories and utensils in Sakura's house to the imaginative magical battles and the unique looks of the Clow cards (which are sometimes frightening and sometimes beautiful) is a satisfying feast for the eyes. Sakura's battle costumes are different in every episode, making the conflicts just that little bit more entertaining to watch. Then there was the variety of locations for the conflicts - each one helped map the vast landscape of Sakura's world. Movement was smooth enough and, apart from the fact that it looked marginally dated, there was very little to fault here.

I'm the biggest fan of the first two opening themes or the ending themes and, although the third OP ‘I am a Dreamer' and the material in between were catchy. All the songs were highly suitable for the show and helped enhance the various moods and scenario. As for voice acting, everything was perfectly in order, with no notable weaknesses in the cast. Kero's voice, I have to say, cheered me up the most.

I would definitely recommend this and out this under must-see list. If you want heart-warming, uplifting mahou shoujo goodness, then Card Captor Sakura, being at the pinnacle of its genre, should not be missed. It provides some excellent set-pieces and mature themes, takes you on a serious adventure, and leaves you feeling like a thoroughly entertained child - I mean - adult. ^_^

Anime opening titles:

(English version cause i love it ^_^)