Well, I'm about 20 episodes into CCS and I doubt I'll be able to complete it by the time the voting rolls around, so I'll drop a few of my general thoughts about the series so far.
First off, the atmosphere of the show seems to be on the right track, with the magical elements oddly enough not feeling that overbearing compared to other mahou shoujos. Specifically, a lot of the events seem to revolve more around fleshing out elements of Sakura's life as well as her numerous relationships with the other characters. The Clow Cards still do play a role, but they are usually seamlessly integrated into the theme of each episodic plot, usually touching on an theme of growing up such as relationships or reality/illusions. As such, everything just seems to be paced very well, with the show managing to establish its own rhythm before the conflict is built up to its climax. Part of this probably stems from the show not wasting time on re-used animation such as 1-2 minute transformation scenes and capture segments. The reason for this being that Sakura has her battle costumes pre-made by her friend, Tomoyo. While this may seem like a minor aesthetic choice, in actuality it allows CCS to avoid a huge pitfall of the genre. Generally speaking, lengthy transformation scenes affect magical girl titles in terms of how much content they can cram into one episode, negatively affecting their pacing.
As for the actual cast, they've been pleasant to watch so far due to their dynamics. Sakura in particular stands out (as she should considering she's the show's title character), and though I will admit she does have moe qualities, they do little to negatively detract from her characterization. If anything, her personality seems more in keeping with a young girl her age - elements such as her fascination with the world, schoolgirl-like crush and even somewhat bratty nature brings out her multiple facets. Her relationship with Tomoyo is also quite charming, as the two share a close bond with a lot of unspoken subtleties below the surface. For example, in the one episode where Sakura was going up against the Thunder Clow Card, Tomoyo prepared a special outfit made out of rubber to protect her against the electricity. It's just little moments such as this one that shows the closeness between the two girls and more specifically how well written the character dynamics are.
Another element of the show which I'm finding rather interesting is the whimsical and mystical nature surrounding the different Clow Cards. Apart from their varied designs, each one seems to possess a unique personality that determines how they behave, leading to a certain degree of unpredictability. Still, this aspect lends itself quite well in terms how Sakura must find a method of capturing each one, whether this is by her own skills or using the abilities of another card in her inventory it keeps things feeling fresh. This is one area which I feel CCS excels at compared to most other mahou shoujos, since it makes extremely good use of the monster of the week formula, turning it into something that is exciting and strategic, rather than dull or repetitive.
Last but not least are the production values, which while nothing outstanding for the time period are quite effective overall. While some of the directing is generally good, I'd say the soundtrack lends itself quite well in terms of crafting some of the show's stronger moments. Overall though, CCS seems to be on the right track as far as mahou shoujo titles are concerned. The characterization and dynamics of the main cast, along with the mysterious nature of the Clow Cards and excellent use of the monster of the week formula makes this stand strong as a mahou shoujo title. The show does have its weaker episodes where conflicts aren't built up as naturally or Sakura barely has to do anything to capture a Clow Card, but in general the show subverts a lot of the pitfalls with the genre.
At the moment I'm leaning towards a "yes" on this one, though I'll see where I end up in about a week's time. |