Cardcaptor Sakura

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: CCS, Cardcaptors, Card Captor Sakura

Japanese: カードキャプターさくら

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Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 70

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 7, 1998 to Mar 21, 2000

Premiered: Spring 1998

Broadcast: Tuesdays at 18:00 (JST)

Producers: NHK, Kodansha, Sogo Vision

Licensors: Nelvana, NIS America, Inc., Geneon Entertainment USA

Studios: Madhouse

Source: Manga

Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Themes: Mahou Shoujo, School

Demographic: Shoujo

Duration: 25 min. per ep.

Rating: PG - Children

Statistics

Score: 8.16¹ (scored by 212,273 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #389²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #503

Members: 419,741

Favorites: 12,753

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8.16

Ranked #389Popularity #503Members 419,741

Spring 1998TVMadhouse

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Episodes: /70

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Synopsis

Ten-year-old Sakura Kinomoto is an ordinary fourth-grade student living in Tomoeda until, one day, she stumbles upon a mysterious book of cards titled "The Clow." Pondering over her discovery, she unintentionally causes a magical gust of wind to scatter the cards all over town.

The accident awakens the Beast of the Seal—Keroberos, nicknamed "Kero"—who tells Sakura that she has released the mystical "Clow Cards" created by the sorcerer Clow Reed. Due to each Card's ability to act independently and their incredible power, Clow had sealed them away. Now that they have been set free, the Cards pose great danger to the world, and it is up to Sakura to put an end to them.

Appointing Sakura as the "Cardcaptor" and granting her the Sealed Key, Kero tasks her with finding and recapturing all the Clow Cards. Alongside her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji, and with Kero's guidance, Sakura must learn to balance her new secret duty with the everyday troubles as she takes flight on her magical adventures as Cardcaptor Sakura.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Cardcaptor Sakura won the Animage Grand Prix award for Best Anime in 1999.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Cardcaptor Sakura
Side story:	Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 1, Suteki desu wa, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo no Cardcaptor Sakura Katsuyaku Video Nikki!
Sequel:	Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: Fuuin Sareta Card, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen Prologue - Sakura to Futatsu no Kuma

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kinomoto, Sakura

Main

Tange, Sakura
Japanese

Li, Shaoran

Main

Kumai, Motoko
Japanese

Daidouji, Tomoyo

Main

Iwao, Junko
Japanese

Keroberos

Main

Hisakawa, Aya
Japanese

Tsukishiro, Yukito

Supporting

Ogata, Megumi
Japanese

Yue

Supporting

Ogata, Megumi
Japanese

Kinomoto, Touya

Supporting

Seki, Tomokazu
Japanese

Li, Meiling

Supporting

Yukana
Japanese

Hiiragizawa, Eriol

Supporting

Sasaki, Nozomu
Japanese

Spinel Sun

Supporting

Konishi, Katsuyuki
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Maseba, Yutaka

Producer

Asaka, Morio

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Mima, Masafumi

Sound Director

Kanbe, Mamoru

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

	1: "Catch You Catch Me" by Gumi (eps 1-35)
	2: "Tobira wo Akete" by ANZA (eps 36-46)
	3: "Platinum" by Maaya Sakamoto (eps 47-70)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Groovy!" by Koumi Hirose (eps 1-35)
	2: "Honey" by Chihiro (eps 36-45)
	3: "Tobira wo Akete" by ANZA (eps 46)
	4: "Fruits Candy" by Megumi Kojima (eps 47-69)
	5: "Platinum" by Maaya Sakamoto (eps 70)

More reviews

Reviews

Jun 4, 2012

Veronin

Recommended

Cardcaptor Sakura is perhaps the best mahou shoujo anime produced. It's more than just a classic or a title that's influential. It's an example of a series that was not afraid to take risks and defy common conventions of the genre in order to maximize quality. And while Cardcaptor Sakura may seem like a standard mahou shoujo anime at first glance, there is a lot more depth here than a cursory glance might reveal.

The premise itself is fairly typical for a mahou shoujo anime. A happy-go-lucky girl suddenly comes across magical power and begins her quest alongside a cute lion-like caricature serving as her ... guardian and mentor. Sakura's role as the chief protagonist is to capture the fifty-three magical cards of Clow Reed, each inhabiting a unique power that inconveniences Sakura and the people around her in some way. Some of these cards are immensely powerful, including the ability to manipulate time and dreams, while others are fairly weak or trivial in comparison and encompass smaller abilities like creating flowers or making objects float. After Sakura fights against the power behind the card and then seals it away it becomes a part of her possession that she can then use at will.

At least, this is how the story first seems.

The series is largely changed and complicated with the introduction of the deuteragonist in the eighth episode. Syaoran Li, a boy from Hong Kong, suddenly transfers into Sakura's class and disturbs the situation by antagonizing Sakura and competing for the Clow Cards. This relationship serves as the basis for the central theme of the series as their feelings and relationship change and develop immensely, from rivals to friends and finally to lovers. This is a very gradual change and it's paced well enough that it feels completely natural, a change you might not even notice without retrospect. You contempt Li when he's first introduced and by the end you grow to enjoy his presence almost as much as Sakura herself.

Shoujo series are a bit infamous for their overly-idealized and sudden romances but Cardcaptor Sakura is again an exception. There is certainly idealizing, sparkles and bubbles, but the depth is there. The feelings between Sakura and Li naturally grow and evolve over the course of the series, with no contrived events used to advance their relationship. There is not even a confession by the end of the 70-episode run, yet there is no need for one as the anime has already communicated how strongly the two feel for each other. Character interaction and body language are used to express this-- not conveniences followed by dramatic outcomes. The end result is one of the most natural and endearing romances in anime. As a mahou shoujo it is good, but as a romance it is excellent.

Cardcaptor Sakura is mainly a lighthearted and fun series. Most of the entertainment revolves around Sakura and her interaction with the characters, most notably her guardian Keroberos (endearingly shortened by Sakura to Kero-chan) and her closest friend Tomoyo who often goes along with her to the scene of each card to record footage on her camcorder. Other important characters include Sakura's beleaguering older brother Toya and the object of her affections, Yukito, a friend of Toya whom she holds a large crush towards. Still, the series does eventually take a more serious turn in the second half after the initial card collection draws to a close. Some characters reveal hidden sides that will surprise the audience and certain side characters develop and become integral to the story. At no point does the show ever feel too silly or too serious; it's a perfect blend of the two.

Interestingly, there are several elements that deviate from the conventions of most mahou shoujo anime. There isn't a traditional transformation sequence in the anime nor one unique outfit that Sakura wears when using magic. Instead she wears normal clothing like a regular girl, or rather whatever silly costume her friend Tomoyo decides to dress her up in before the event. This adds a lot of variety to the action sequences and gives the audience a small something to look forward to each episode.

Despite its young demographic and reputation as a family-friendly anime, there are also some surprisingly taboo topics that are covered in the anime. There's the forbidden love between teacher and student and homosexual feelings between two important characters. The anime does not use any of these elements as shock value, though, simply presenting them as-is with no moral connotation. 'Love' is the main theme of CCS and the amount of detail put into the relationships of even periphery character is certainly commendable.

On the other hand, the music here is nothing short of stunning. Some of the songs that play in the series, such as the first opening and the track used when capturing a card, are classics that will stick in your head and be remembered fondly for a very long time. More than simply enhance the experience, these tracks are a large part of what makes the anime what it is. The soundtrack is by far one of most defining and important aspects of the series, and perhaps one of the best in anime.

That being said, Cardcaptor Sakura is definitely not without flaws.

One of the largest complaints can be put on the rather long length of the anime. At 70 episodes it can certainly drag on at some parts in the story. While CLAMP carefully tried to make each episode as engaging and interesting as possible, it’s only natural that some episodes are weaker than others and that some events can become a bit predictable at times. Luckily, this mostly changes in the second half of the anime where the story expands and takes a mostly different direction where more emphasis is put on the characters’ relationships. As fun as each episode is, I can’t help but feel like it would have benefited from a shorter episode count in order for the story to flow better. A 50-episode story would have been a perfect fit, neither too long nor too short.

It should also be mentioned that the changes between the original Japanese version and the English localized "Cardcaptors" are very drastic, and certainly not in a good way. Music and names of the characters are changed, episodes are flipped and mixed together in an odd and sometimes incoherent order, and important backgrounds and plot elements are minimized or removed completely. While certainly not unwatchable, it’s a very toned down and poor imitation of a fantastic anime. You would be doing yourself a huge disservice by watching any version except the original Japanese one.

In a genre where conventions and inspiration form the crux of most stories, Cardcaptor Sakura is a brilliant title that breathes new life into the genre and anime as a whole. While not quite flawless, this is a classic that has acceded its spot as one of the most influential and quality anime titles in recent times. It’s a consistently high-quality, entertaining and sometimes thought-provoking anime that has more than earned its widespread acclaim and influence. This is a title that shows that there is indeed a correlation in storytelling between creativity and quality.

Cardcaptor Sakura has certainly earned its place in history.

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Feb 22, 2008

KholdStare88

Recommended

Cardcaptor Sakura is a classic. It is one of those anime that everyone could enjoy, regardless of age and gender. While being a typical magical girl anime, the plot is actually intertwined with lots of comedy and romance. There's not a lot of drama (yet), except maybe recurring goofs and difficulties that each characters face. However, that is the true magic of Cardcaptor Sakura. It has such a high enjoyment value that you will often forget that you are watching someone capturing cards, but rather, live through the experiences of a not-so-typical elementary girl whose life was changed in many ways by the cards she ...

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Feb 19, 2015

Muan142

Recommended

I'll go ahead and say this is my favorite series.

Overview/Opinion:
I should clarify that and say, if the Monogatari series were one series and not multiple series, they might beat out Cardcaptor Sakura, but as single series go, this one for me is the best.

Cardcaptor Sakura wins me over not because it has the highest quality story or characters, or sound or even animation. Haibane Renmei has it beat on all those counts. Except plot maybe, but stuff like Death Note has it bear there. It is the best because it is seventy episodes long and the quality stays pretty darn amazing for ...

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Li, Shaoran

Daidouji, Tomoyo

Keroberos

Tsukishiro, Yukito

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Cardcaptor Sakura

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