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Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card
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Feb 14, 2018 8:27 PM
#1
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Oct 2017
2
I see many reviews and episode discussions saying Clear Card is "nice" so far without much specifics or just overall "Yah something from the original showed up". As a fan of Cardcaptor Sakura and regard it as old favorite, the new series has a lot to live up to, but I can't help, but be bored out of my mind. I feel like I'm forcing myself to enjoy it because I don't want this series to be bad. However, while watching each episode go by with absolutely no development or interesting character dynamics it becomes such a hassle to get through.

Everything is oddly perfect, Sakura and friends hanging out and having normal day-to-day discussions is really not doing it for me. Were missing our big personalities that always kept things interesting and those people being Meiling, Touya, Eriol and Yukito. We have Saoyran, but his personality has been drastically subdued and his main role is to be Sakura's love interest now. Sakura and Saoyran's relationship is also still underdeveloped even though they've confessed, it hasn't been addressed and seems like things went back to square one.

The cards have never been the biggest focus in the original, but they were well crafted and stylized beautifully. The new cards are not very unique and rehashing what the old series did, but less creatively. And the mystery surrounding this is overly drawn out. (The old series did this, but it had great filler episodes to distract from that).

This all sounds very negative, but I harbor no hate against the series. I just have some worries as to where it's heading and ask if others feel the same way.
blissful_HarmonyFeb 14, 2018 8:31 PM
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Feb 15, 2018 5:45 AM
#2
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Sep 2014
7
I have to say I'm in the same boat. I've been enjoying thinking a lot about how because of their unique experiences, these kids all act a LOT older than the 10 to 12 they'd be, but the show itself tends to be a bit dull. Additionally, I think the art/animation of the original show was a little more dynamic, whereas this animation feels a little bit more flat in its expressive quality.

I do think the new cards are unique, though. I find the fact they're clear genuinely intriguing and I'd love to know who's behind the mask...

...I think what this show could really benefit from if it's gonna have this slower pace is a few more moments where the characters themselves are bothered by the mystery. Any scenes we get where the characters linger on the problems of their situation are very, very short.

I really hope it picks up steam as it continues. I want to love this continuation, too.
Feb 15, 2018 6:26 AM
#3
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Oct 2017
10
Honestly I feel the same way. I watched the original series for the first time a few years ago and loved it, but something about Clear Card just seems off. I’ve actually already dropped it and I’m not even exactly sure what it is I dislike. Maybe because it’s so similar to the original? I know a lot of people enjoy it for being so similar but in my case that seems to be the problem. It’s too similar. It’s basically a clone with the same story and jokes being repeated to lesser effect. Not that I think it’s bad per say, but I feel like it’d be a better use of my time to rewatch the original than to spend time on this.
Feb 15, 2018 6:33 AM
#4

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Feb 2016
1212
I personally love Card-hen a lot. The things is, that it does have the same charm and beautiful atmosphere like the Original first season. In my opinion, the second season is already too good already and I like it, that it's not too different or too similar.


I will not believe that everything is controlled by fate.

ll X ll
Feb 15, 2018 11:00 AM
#5
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Oct 2017
1838
its really weird. ostensibly it's the same. same format ("sakura and the ____", interstitial card sequence, monster of the week, staff sequence), same characters with the same beats (kero being a fatty, tomoyo playing dress up and filming sakura, yamazaki lying, toya being mean and eyeing kero), same music, but the directing is kinda different. i think it has more to do with the editing and the timing of the jokes. the cardcapturing segments feel closer to the original series than everything else, which makes me think the comedic timing is way different than the original series.

also, everything feels a lot cleaner. digital colouring has that effect, plus all the lightning effects. the floral backgrounds are definitely a big part of that too. the character designs are also "cleaner" or i guess more simplified. e.g. sakura's hair is shorter in clear card-hen, making the two long curls easily distinguishable. in the original series, her hair was longer, and the two curls blended in with her hairstyle more. also, yukito and toya have more proportional bodies, making them look more typical than their broad-shouldered idiosyncratic counterparts in the original series.

i guess for me, it looks like cardcaptor sakura, but feels kinda watered down.
Feb 16, 2018 10:51 AM
#6

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Aug 2007
3749
I am not disapointed. But which is the point to show the same thing that we saw before? Sakura catched all cards, then she transformed them in Sakura cards. And now, again she is capturing the cards.

I was hoping to a new story, not watching Sakura catching cards again.
Feb 17, 2018 2:29 AM
#7

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Apr 2016
336
I completely agree with all the points made, and I'd like to add the mystery is PAINFULLY obvious

I haven't read the manga but I think it's obvious that



Also not a fan of the new visuals, the original CCS looks great with the cel animation and is like the most comfortable thing ever but the digital animation doesn't do it for me.
QueenNothingFeb 17, 2018 2:58 AM
Feb 17, 2018 11:50 AM
#8

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Jul 2015
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I mostly just want something to justify why it exists tbh, it's pretty much exactly the same as always but less interesting since the new "plot" is meh, the original was already fine as it was and there was no need for a sequel.
Feb 19, 2018 6:55 PM
#9

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Jul 2011
901
minimiau said:
I am not disapointed. But which is the point to show the same thing that we saw before? Sakura catched all cards, then she transformed them in Sakura cards. And now, again she is capturing the cards.

I was hoping to a new story, not watching Sakura catching cards again.


Well the show is called Cardcaptors. So it would be odd if she wasn't at least doing that.

As for me I'm fine with the show. It looks like, sounds good, and nothing makes me want to hate the show. When I watched Sailor Moon Crystal I hated it. CCS I just don't feel that way.

The one thing I do miss is that Sakura seem's to be able to catch the cards much easier and none of them seem to have destroy vibe. Not to mention Sakura just get's close to the cards and catches it. She had to do more planing to even get the cards.

I'll admit it's not a perfect show, but I still enjoy it.
Feb 20, 2018 3:29 AM

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Oct 2015
1422
Sakura has always been overrated here on MAL because most people gave it a high score because they remember they loved it as a kid. I rewatched the show last year because of this new season and I found myself laughing at many of the stories and character interactions: it is a solid 5/10 for me.

Now due to this high as f- score people think they are supposed to treat this as a masterpiece. No. The characters are as simple as they can be, this was originally a kids' show: the show that appealed to us, KIDS of that time, a lot. This is most likely simply a nostalgia-bomb, it never was intended to be something very good storytelling or characterization-wise.
Feb 20, 2018 10:12 PM

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Apr 2012
1933
You guys may not realized this but maybe you all just outgrown the show. So far from what I've seen is that the anime has stayed true to its format: a slice of life magical girl genre. Like its previous arcs, it introduced a new character via the transfer student e.g. Shaoran & Eriol, Sakura is still capturing cards per episode like she used to. The only thing some might consider disappointing is the Tomoyo x Sakura shippers, the anime is really pushing the Sakura x Shaoran home. The writers have so far avoided any yao and yuri undertones and also written off Rika who was having an implied relationship back then with an adult male teacher.
Janethan23Feb 20, 2018 10:18 PM
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Feb 21, 2018 12:16 PM
Supreme Tsundere

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Nov 2012
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Autumne said:
I have to say I'm in the same boat. I've been enjoying thinking a lot about how because of their unique experiences, these kids all act a LOT older than the 10 to 12 they'd be, but the show itself tends to be a bit dull. Additionally, I think the art/animation of the original show was a little more dynamic, whereas this animation feels a little bit more flat in its expressive quality.

I do think the new cards are unique, though. I find the fact they're clear genuinely intriguing and I'd love to know who's behind the mask...

...I think what this show could really benefit from if it's gonna have this slower pace is a few more moments where the characters themselves are bothered by the mystery. Any scenes we get where the characters linger on the problems of their situation are very, very short.

I really hope it picks up steam as it continues. I want to love this continuation, too.


People were just expecting too much, S1 was 8 for me at the time, currently reading the manga for S1 and it is also an 8, same for Clear Hen.
It is more of a nostalgia bomb than anything else and it suceeds at being very entertainable for the most part, aside those overused jokes with the kid fooling Sakura and Li around.

Nostalgik said:
Sakura has always been overrated here on MAL because most people gave it a high score because they remember they loved it as a kid. I rewatched the show last year because of this new season and I found myself laughing at many of the stories and character interactions: it is a solid 5/10 for me.

Now due to this high as f- score people think they are supposed to treat this as a masterpiece. No. The characters are as simple as they can be, this was originally a kids' show: the show that appealed to us, KIDS of that time, a lot. This is most likely simply a nostalgia-bomb, it never was intended to be something very good storytelling or characterization-wise.

I agree with 90% of what you said, aside the rating, it is okay not to give this anime 9 and 10's, I fully admit it I would have had a much harder time getting into this series IF I have never had some context with it in the past, and that is alright for me, it is fine.
Feb 21, 2018 12:21 PM
Supreme Tsundere

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Nov 2012
4019
Bluekirby2 said:
I completely agree with all the points made, and I'd like to add the mystery is PAINFULLY obvious

I haven't read the manga but I think it's obvious that



Also not a fan of the new visuals, the original CCS looks great with the cel animation and is like the most comfortable thing ever but the digital animation doesn't do it for me.


On the visuals I agree, they are cute but I favor more the originals, besides almost everyone looks way younger now, and that is just weird, older design were better.
Feb 21, 2018 12:25 PM

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Apr 2016
336
Janethan23 said:
You guys may not realized this but maybe you all just outgrown the show. So far from what I've seen is that the anime has stayed true to its format: a slice of life magical girl genre. Like its previous arcs, it introduced a new character via the transfer student e.g. Shaoran & Eriol, Sakura is still capturing cards per episode like she used to. The only thing some might consider disappointing is the Tomoyo x Sakura shippers, the anime is really pushing the Sakura x Shaoran home. The writers have so far avoided any yao and yuri undertones and also written off Rika who was having an implied relationship back then with an adult male teacher.
I didn't outgrow the show, I didn't watch it until last year
Feb 21, 2018 5:57 PM

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Apr 2012
1933
I'm seeing such a ridiculous reaction towards this anime and also towards the original as well. What were your expectations from an anime aimed at little girls? It's "slice of life" which explains the show pacing and over indulgence of fluffs. The "magical girl" aspect of this anime are mostly secondary and happens at the better half of the season. If you're hoping for anything tragic or psychological like: Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru and Puella Magi Madoka Magica then this anime isn't for you.
"Manga readers are annoying, all they do is complain or spoil the anime we discuss in an anime forum.
They should really do their whining at manga forums.


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Feb 22, 2018 2:48 AM

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Apr 2016
336
Alright, imma try to put this idea to rest that people don't like the new show because "We've simply outgrown it", because that simply isn't true. I have a friend whose a HUGE fan of this show but she hadn't seen it until a few years back, and I saw it last year and got a good amount of enjoyment out of it. Hell, I'm 19 and I love Shugo Chara to death despite having not read it until December of last year and liking things such as Evangelion, Berserk, Kaiji, and the works. There is an audience for magical girl anime outside of just kids, look at the following the Precure series has gotten outside of its target audience, there's a good amount of otaku into that show.
Janethan23 said:
If you're hoping for anything tragic or psychological like: Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru and Puella Magi Madoka Magica then this anime isn't for you.
Nobody is going into this is expecting a dark tragic anime, thats really silly to assume
Nostalgik said:
Now due to this high as f- score people think they are supposed to treat this as a masterpiece. No. The characters are as simple as they can be, this was originally a kids' show: the show that appealed to us, KIDS of that time, a lot. This is most likely simply a nostalgia-bomb, it never was intended to be something very good storytelling or characterization-wise.
I'm pretty sure the people who are fans of CCS are aware of the fact that the characters aren't "deep", but for fans of the show that isn't what CCS is about. I don't know why the fuck people fucking EVERYWHERE talking about anime judge anime based on shit like "character and story", if thats all that matters to you in anime find a different medium.

What I'm saying is I don't enjoy the new show not because "Oh it has a bad story and bad characters", that would be retarded, I dislike the new show because its very derivative of the original series which REALLY doesn't need a sequel and lacks the charm the original had with its cell animation, and thats just a level of comfort for me you just can't match with digital animation (Or at least you can and the new CCS just does it poorly).

I'm probably wasting my time typing this since I expect everyone to miss the point of this but hopefully I can shoot the ridiculous idea of "Oh you've just outgrown the original!"
QueenNothingFeb 26, 2018 1:54 AM
Feb 22, 2018 3:00 AM

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Oct 2015
1422
Bluekirby2 said:
Alright, imma try to put this idea to rest that people don't like the new show because "We've simply outgrown it", because that simply isn't true. I have a friend whose a HUGE fan of this show but she hadn't seen it until a few years back, and I saw it last year and got a good amount of enjoyment out of it. Hell, I'm 19 and I love Shugo Chara to death despite having not read it until December of last year and liking things such as Evangelion, Berserk, Kaiji, and the works. There is an audience for magical girl anime outside of just kids, look at the following the Precure series has gotten outside of its target audience, there's a good amount of otaku into that show.
Janethan23 said:
If you're hoping for anything tragic or psychological like: Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru and Puella Magi Madoka Magica then this anime isn't for you.
Nobody is going into this is expecting a dark tragic anime, thats really silly to assume
Nostalgik said:
Now due to this high as f- score people think they are supposed to treat this as a masterpiece. No. The characters are as simple as they can be, this was originally a kids' show: the show that appealed to us, KIDS of that time, a lot. This is most likely simply a nostalgia-bomb, it never was intended to be something very good storytelling or characterization-wise.
I'm pretty sure the people who are fans of CCS are aware of the fact that the characters aren't "deep", but for fans of the show that isn't what CCS is about. I don't know why the fuck people fucking EVERYWHERE talking about anime judge anime based on shit like "character and story", if thats all that matters to you in anime find a different medium.

What I'm saying is I don't enjoy the new show not because "Oh it has a bad story and bad characters", that would be retarded, I dislike the new show because its very derivative of the original series which REALLY doesn't a sequel and lacks the charm the original had with its cell animation, and thats just a level of comfort for me you just can't match with digital animation (Or at least you can and the new CCS just does it poorly).

I'm probably wasting my time typing this since I expect everyone to miss the point of this but hopefully I can shoot the ridiculous idea of "Oh you've just outgrown the original!"
I don't have that close-minded mentality at all. All I know is that I watched the show and even for an innocent mahou shoujo school anime it doesn't use its fun ideas to their full potential (like the cards themselves, the way some affect Sakura's staff, the matches and situations the cards appear in, etc.), meaning to me it has the fun ideas in but it doesn't use the possibilities the plot provides from the beginning at their best. So all in all, I get what fans of the show mean when they state their reasons for not only liking it, but LOVING it, but I simply see the show has much more room to grow.

I can't opinate on the new series because all I've seen is the new OVA (which, for the record, I disliked) and the first episode of Clear Card (which was ok). I am highly looking forward to see that beautiful outfit from the opening. If in the show it shines as much as that one then I think they are doing a great job in terms of utilizing modern visuals to still sell the appeal of Sakura.
Feb 23, 2018 3:24 AM
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Sep 2014
7
Reading the above discussion, I have definitely solidified what's bothering me about this show.

I loved Cardcaptor Sakura when I watched it (as an 18 year old, no nostalgia bombs for me) because I loved its aesthetic. From its visuals, to its sound, to its scenarios, to its character archetypes, its "wonderland magical girl" aesthetic was a feast for my imagination.

I completely agree with the posters mentioning that Sakura does little planning and uses limited creativity to capture the cards, which is probably the biggest issue with the show's day to day story for me.

Wanting stronger characters who linger and muse on the events is what I -usually- enjoy from an anime, but that was not what I was really into with CCS. Wanting it now is a bandage for the loss of the special thing that CCS lives on for me.

It's definitely the aesthetic package that's not working for me in Clear-card.
still gonna watch it though because CCS
Feb 25, 2018 3:22 PM

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It basically feel like a watered down, more safe version of the original.

As for "you have outgrown it" yeah, not really, I read CCS manga like a couple of years ago and it was a pretty good experience. The characters in particular really stuck with me, while I can't say the same thing about this sequel.

Feb 25, 2018 5:12 PM

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I'm also having a hard time enjoying this Arc. I don't think we haven't outgrown the show because I can go back watching to the original Cardcaptor Sakura and still say I thoroughly enjoy it. I am sure many of us fall in the same boat.

I like the character development and the story in the previous installment (plus their movies). Perhaps because it felt fresh at the time I watched it as a kid and nostalgia plays a role, but I think it is more.

The Clear Card-hen is visually clean and music is nice; although, I'm not liking the new cards design for some odd reason (not the clear part just the design in general). For me, the problem is the story feels rehash of the Sakura Arc (evening have some card using the same ability) and character feels flat. They could have explored more (ie. Sakura and Syaoran`s relationship) in Clear Card-hen. The creators are playing a bit too safe.

Despite this, I`m going to stick with the show cause I like Cardcaptor and essence is still there. I hope it improves later on. Otherwise, the only way to enjoy it is to not think too much and just watch it as is.

BTW, I am glad you made this discussion. I thought it was only me who feels this way.
CorbitFeb 25, 2018 5:16 PM
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Feb 25, 2018 6:33 PM
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Original Cardcaptor Sakura was in the beggining the same. She capture the cards and is a slice of life, only second arc with was Eriol's test has more dept and character development. I think this new show has the same structure. Not desappointed at all. The Slice of Life elements are relaxing and the cardcaptor stuff is cardcaptor stuff. They are still developing new girl and that's it
Feb 26, 2018 6:58 AM
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blissful_Harmony said:
I see many reviews and episode discussions saying Clear Card is "nice" so far without much specifics or just overall "Yah something from the original showed up". As a fan of Cardcaptor Sakura and regard it as old favorite, the new series has a lot to live up to, but I can't help, but be bored out of my mind. I feel like I'm forcing myself to enjoy it because I don't want this series to be bad. However, while watching each episode go by with absolutely no development or interesting character dynamics it becomes such a hassle to get through.

Everything is oddly perfect, Sakura and friends hanging out and having normal day-to-day discussions is really not doing it for me. Were missing our big personalities that always kept things interesting and those people being Meiling, Touya, Eriol and Yukito. We have Saoyran, but his personality has been drastically subdued and his main role is to be Sakura's love interest now. Sakura and Saoyran's relationship is also still underdeveloped even though they've confessed, it hasn't been addressed and seems like things went back to square one.

The cards have never been the biggest focus in the original, but they were well crafted and stylized beautifully. The new cards are not very unique and rehashing what the old series did, but less creatively. And the mystery surrounding this is overly drawn out. (The old series did this, but it had great filler episodes to distract from that).

This all sounds very negative, but I harbor no hate against the series. I just have some worries as to where it's heading and ask if others feel the same way.


I agree with you. At first, I didn't plan to watch it because I liked the first series and the end was satisfying. But I was curious about this sequel and now I'm kinda disappointed.

At first, I felt nostalgic seeing all the characters, and although I like the design of the first series more, I think the current one has pretty visuals. But yes, the most interesting characters are barely shown, and Sakura and Shaolan have lost their personalities, their enthusiasm. The romance is too shoujo-ish. Moreover, most of the characters are useless, bland, too kind, they are acting too perfectly and it's annoying. And, the new cards are not really original...

I almost wanted to drop it but I keep watching it since episode 8 wasn't that bad (because of the mysterious butler and book), I think that Akiho must be the villain but she's lacking in personnality, charisma, compared to Kaho, Yukito and Eriol.

I don't hate it either but I liked the first series way better, not because I saw it when I was young since I've rewatched some episode not long ago and I was still enjoying it.
Feb 26, 2018 4:28 PM
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Gosh, I was going to open a similar thread but specifically about how Sakura has been catching the cards, but looks like I may not be the only one.

I mean, I loved how Siege card was creativelly caught, and I loved how exciting was to see Sakura catching Action card, but I was so dissapointed on how Sakura easily caught Record, Flight and that vanish card I don't remember it's name.

In the past Sakura flew through an entire aquarium, had lots of tries to enter a museum risking herself to go to jail, and almost dies from falling from the sky and everything else to catch the Clow Cards, but in this case she just finds something weird and immediately catches the card without any effort, how can I not feel dissapointed about that?
Mau-KunMar 2, 2018 3:14 PM
Mar 1, 2018 5:21 PM
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Feb 2018
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Mau-Kun said:
Gosh, I was going to open a similar thread but specifically about how Sakura has been catching the cards, but looks like I may not be the only one.

I mean, I loved how Siege card was creativelly caught, and I loved how exciting was to see Sakura catching Action card, but I was so dissapointed on how Sakura easily caught Record, Flight and that vanish card I don't remember it's name.

In the past Sakura flew through an entire aquarium, had lots of tries to enter a museum and almost dies from falling from the sky and everything else to catch the Clow Cards, but in this case she just finds something weird and immediately catches the card without any effort, how can I not feel dissapointed about that?


I'm completely agree with this
The lack of action and creativity in each episode make me feels really empty inside and everytime I finished watching an episode I'm just sitting here like:

"is that it?"

To be honest I love the aesthetic between the original and the new series, both emitted a different auras and looks beautiful
But the new series just pleasantly good on the visual and...I think that pretty much it
The rest is just...flat
The characters are flat
The cards are more fancy but not something new
And more importantly is how sakura try to catch the card, that is why I'm always exited for the new episode when I was a kid. In the original she always tried her best to capture all cards no matter the risk
But now almost in every episodes CCS clear card, sakura is like : "something's weird...oh a card!" And then procced to do the whole magic thing
I know it sounds like me ranting on this series but I'm just being honest for myself
I won't drop this yet because I'm curious with the mysterious person in sakura's dream, although I'm pretty sure everyone is already know who he/she is

Sorry for the bad grammar
Mar 1, 2018 10:37 PM
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I watched the first episode and was so dismayed by how love struck Sakura is portrayed and how lame Saoyran is. The only thing I can remember from this episode is Sakura repeatedly going "Saoyran...Saoyran...Saoyran..." like a broken record. -_- Even in the movie, I don't remember those two being so boring.

I'm kinda annoyed that the premise is kind of the same with Sakura collecting cards, but hey, it is called Card Captor.
Mar 1, 2018 11:16 PM

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Well, I'm not going to say I told you so, but... I told you so! (^.^') Feel free to read any of my rant posts in any of the other threads where I identify all the problems that I had with this show.

But in summary, here's what I said after Episode 3:

While it might have been obvious to most, it just occurred to me that this is pretty much a reboot in disguise. Other than new merchandise, they needed to take away her old cards in order to start her from zero again so that she could start collecting cards from scratch again. Not to mention, the cards are pretty much the exact same in terms of abilities save for the designs. Gale = Windy, Aqua = Watery, Reflect = Mirror, Siege = Shadow, etc... At the moment, there is literally nothing new.

That was one of my issues about this series. Why do we have to retread the same formula again? Yes, she is indeed Cardcaptor Sakura, but I stand by my initial opinion of wanting to have seen Sakura develop her existing powers more. Think of the opening scene of the second movie. More of that, where she has already mastered her powers. The original show spent so much time building it up and throwing all of that away is just heartbreaking. The best outcome I see for this series is for her to lose all these new cards and reclaim her old ones in a triumphant return. Jeez... It's the Metroid problem. What reason do we give players for taking away all of her upgrades from the previous games to necessitate yet another treasure hunt?

That became painfully clear with the heavy rain thing. I found it weird when Sakura never mentioned something like this happening before. But I guess that would have drawn far more attention to that reused plot point than necessary.

Canon issues aside, one of my biggest pet peeves is how Sakura didn't seem to care about the Sakura Cards. However, I have to admit that at least they acknowledged it in the previous episode with Sakura saying "Nothing I can do... So, why worry?" Fair enough. Li doing nothing is also a tad frustrating. Why is he not in his battle attire coming to Sakura's aid? He still can use elemental magic.

Last but not least, like all other nostalgia-bait properties, is there anything to like about it once the nostalgia has been taken away? That's the issue I have with sequels to old properties that aren't adaptations of existing unadapted material like Full Metal Panic IV (eg. Digimon Tri., Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Side of Dimensions, etc...).

When the original series aired, it didn't rely on nostalgia. It had to prove itself and stand on its own merits. And we loved it. Now, all these years later, the only thing that anyone talks about is the nostalgia factor. Okay... but nostalgia aside, what does the show have to offer? That's why I'm curious to see how it will fare after the initial squeals of nostalgia have died down.

The reason I'm cynical is because everything feels so contrived. One of the main reasons companies do sequels is to capitalize on people's nostalgia. It's an easy way out without putting in any thought or effort into them. Seeing everyone squeal over the nostalgia and not talk about anything else is somewhat disheartening as it kinda validates my cynicism.


Yup. I called this falling out once the nostalgia goggles fell off long, long ago. But to add on to that, with the original season, we actually had tangible goals, be it for Sakura to capture all the Clow Cards or to turn all of them into Sakura Cards. Not only did we have the rivalry with Li at the beginning to make things competitive and exciting, Eriol played the villain role in the second arc that tied everything together.

Here, we don't know how many of these new cards there are. We don't know what collecting them will achieve (we don't even know if it will restore the Sakura Cards) and there really isn't any compelling reason for us to be invested in the collection of the cards (which are again repeats of the original). I'm really hoping this is all building up to something because the mystery is the only thing that's driving the story.

I'd argue that while Madhouse did indeed recapture the feel of the original (save for all those shojo flowers and comedic cut-aways), they have yet to recapture the magic. Like, where's Sakura's triumphant theme? Also, I don't remember the jokes being this repetitive. It's like each episode has a checklist that they need to fill. Touya joke - check. Yamazaki joke - check. Tomoyo joke - check. I do remember them being far more subtle and with far more variation. I guess you can say that the series is far too... formulaic? It's like they went back and tried to reverse engineer the original series but only managed it half-way.
ActarMar 1, 2018 11:20 PM
Mar 4, 2018 1:26 PM
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I didn't actually grew with Sakura since I just watched it this year, while I do enjoy it I do think it has few issues at hand. A bit formulaic from time to time but I tend to enjoy this as some sort of its own merit. Granted as I said this is coming from someone who really didn't grew with the original since I didn't even watched it when I was a kid (I grew up with Mecha stuff mostly).
Mar 5, 2018 5:49 AM

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I think it's just perfect. Nostalgia was very strong for that one and I'm glad to see the spirit of the show didn't change, it's very recognizable with even more colors.

I love it they way it is, it's different from most animes we have these days, a breath of fresh air :)
Mar 10, 2018 1:02 PM

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Syaoran--Li said:
I think it's just perfect. Nostalgia was very strong for that one and I'm glad to see the spirit of the show didn't change, it's very recognizable with even more colors.

I love it they way it is, it's different from most animes we have these days, a breath of fresh air :)

Breath of fresh air? C'mon, you may like the anime as it is and see not problem with it. It's totally fine, but there is no reason to be delusional.

The anime doesn't bring a single thing new from anything we have nowadays.
I despise woke people.
Mar 10, 2018 1:46 PM
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Jan 2013
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Quite honestly there's a perfectly good reason (or list of reasons) why the new season is, well.. boring a f. And I don't think it has anything to do with people growing up and just not feeling it anymore.

Sure, it looks like it has the same format,but that's just on the surface. In reality, this season in my honest opinion lacks a soul. It's basically a very bare plot that makes up for that by getting thrown into a pool of nostalgia. In the first and second season episodes explored things ranging from Sakura's family relations (her longing from not getting to know her mother, wanting to look dependable to her father, bantering all the time and yet forming a relationship of trust with her brother), the different types of love explored by characters throughout the show (of course Tomoko's unconditional love for Sakura, Yue's love for Clow and Touya and Yukito's relationship, Touya's relationship with Sayuri, that one friend that Sakura had that was in love with their elementary school teacher, Sakura's and Syaoran's crush on Yukito and them getting to move on from it), I mean, the list goes on and on! All of her friends and all characters have their own moments and provide fodder to the story

And now, what do we get? Without any of the aforementioned stuff, we just get replayed gags of Yamazaki, Sakura doing cheerleading, Tomoyo fangirling over Sakura in costumes, it's like the show just keeps on shouting to your face "SEE? SEE? REMEMBER THAT??" And yet apart from that there's no story. It's like instead of listening to a full song we get a broken record going on repeat. Nothing freaking goes wrong, they are like robots, I was so done when the "mysterious transfer student girl" who's totally unrelated to the antagonist (-___-) was reading in class and then all the girls came up to her afterwards to praise her for it! WTF? Who does that?? That basically summarises the problem! Everyone is just doing things they are good at and then they praise each other over it and then a monst- sorry, a card appears and Sakura easily catches it and THE END.


Quite honestly I'm finishing it because fuck it but it's quite disappointing. If all I wanted was reminisce cute moments then I'd watch the old show.
Mar 10, 2018 8:34 PM

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2258
It would be surprising for a sequel to come out after decades and *not* fail to please a lot of fans, no matter how good it was.

Katt_Cleo said:
Nothing freaking goes wrong, they are like robots(....)

Mmmm, that may be the main reason why I like it more than the old show. Which ties in with this:

Kaetokiha said:
Syaoran--Li said:
I think it's just perfect. Nostalgia was very strong for that one and I'm glad to see the spirit of the show didn't change, it's very recognizable with even more colors.

I love it they way it is, it's different from most animes we have these days, a breath of fresh air :)

Breath of fresh air? C'mon, you may like the anime as it is and see not problem with it. It's totally fine, but there is no reason to be delusional.

The anime doesn't bring a single thing new from anything we have nowadays.

Most of the time I feel like I'm watching a modern relaxing iyashikei slice of life moe girls doing cute things fluff show. The old show was cute, but it didn't feel like that at all.
Mar 10, 2018 11:38 PM

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May 2012
739
Katt_Cleo said:
Quite honestly there's a perfectly good reason (or list of reasons) why the new season is, well.. boring a f. And I don't think it has anything to do with people growing up and just not feeling it anymore.

Sure, it looks like it has the same format,but that's just on the surface. In reality, this season in my honest opinion lacks a soul. It's basically a very bare plot that makes up for that by getting thrown into a pool of nostalgia. In the first and second season episodes explored things ranging from Sakura's family relations (her longing from not getting to know her mother, wanting to look dependable to her father, bantering all the time and yet forming a relationship of trust with her brother), the different types of love explored by characters throughout the show (of course Tomoko's unconditional love for Sakura, Yue's love for Clow and Touya and Yukito's relationship, Touya's relationship with Sayuri, that one friend that Sakura had that was in love with their elementary school teacher, Sakura's and Syaoran's crush on Yukito and them getting to move on from it), I mean, the list goes on and on! All of her friends and all characters have their own moments and provide fodder to the story

And now, what do we get? Without any of the aforementioned stuff, we just get replayed gags of Yamazaki, Sakura doing cheerleading, Tomoyo fangirling over Sakura in costumes, it's like the show just keeps on shouting to your face "SEE? SEE? REMEMBER THAT??" And yet apart from that there's no story. It's like instead of listening to a full song we get a broken record going on repeat. Nothing freaking goes wrong, they are like robots, I was so done when the "mysterious transfer student girl" who's totally unrelated to the antagonist (-___-) was reading in class and then all the girls came up to her afterwards to praise her for it! WTF? Who does that?? That basically summarises the problem! Everyone is just doing things they are good at and then they praise each other over it and then a monst- sorry, a card appears and Sakura easily catches it and THE END.


Quite honestly I'm finishing it because fuck it but it's quite disappointing. If all I wanted was reminisce cute moments then I'd watch the old show.


What you're saying is true. The first anime had a lot of funny moments involving Sakura as she was more childish and more prone to throw a tantrum or make weird faces when things were happening to her. I laughed a lot when watching CCS.
Here are some pics i took from just the episode 5 of the CCS.









Sakura now just tries to act mature which makes her a very boring character. Before i thought she had a personality of a little girl, but now she acts too perfect all the time which makes her seem unreal. The new anime comedic stuff is basically just some stuff Kero does and Sakura overreacting to Tomoyo wanting to film her (none of them are funny).

The scenes where she captures the new cards are also much inferior to the CCS. Before Sakura would have quite a struggle against some cards (like the card Fire) and the cards were way more interesting too (like the card Mirror who could talk and wanted hurt to Toya, but then she regretted it and let herself be captured) and the scenes were overall much much longer (some times half of the episode).
Now the card capturing scenes are very fast, going from 30 seconds to usually 3 mins. The biggest one i think was Siege and even so it was nothing special, she just popped it like a balloon and used her staff.

It doesn't seem like Clamp is thinking too much about the new cards, the cards seem to be there just to fulfill the "monster of the week" stuff instead of being something interesting and entertaining.

The SoL stuff is as generic as it could be. I like SoL animes too, but Sakura and her friends just praising each other all the time with nothing else happening (aside from a card appearing at the end) is just boring and uninteresting. I skipped most of the episode 9 dialogues cause i found Sakura and Syoran relationship extremely dull.

So yeah i do think this anime is riding solely on Nostalgia feels instead of quality content. It's NOWHERE NEAR as good as the original CCS and this has nothing to do with people growing up like some people here are saying.

KaeUBWMar 13, 2018 1:53 PM
I despise woke people.
Mar 11, 2018 5:42 AM

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I am enjoying the show, but I agree with several of the previous posters.

There is barely any focus on the actual card capturing. Sakura just gets close to the cards and uses her staff and it's done. Very little strategy or wondering about the card.

Large parts of the episode are just "slice of life" without anything actually happening. Only a lot of "you are so good at cooking!" and "you are so good at singing" and "let's all be friends!".
Mar 11, 2018 6:53 AM

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Feb 2018
134
Actually, the past two episodes seem to be improving IMO. At least now the cards don't just let themselves to be captured.
"The world appears wonderful in the eyes of wonderful people." (Alicia Florence, ARIA)
Mar 11, 2018 8:04 AM

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844
Well i might be a little biased, since original CCS is one of my favorite anime of all time, but personally, i dont have ssues with it, characters act mostly same, but, they also matured, grew up with its audience, while still having that charm and innocence :)

Plus, comparing it to such crap as first two seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal or most parts of Dragon Ball Super, CCS Clear Card shines even more :)
Mar 13, 2018 1:13 PM
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I don't particularly mind the new arc - I think the whole marketing tactic is based on nostalgia anyway so as long as it's all produced and reminiscent of the old series, madhouse appears to have achieved its goal. While I do feel like it's a tad watered down like previous posters have said, I'm curious what exactly the episodes are SO similar to the point that they are nearly replicas in terms of the anomalies that appear. Really hoping that there is a plot point to this rather than play execution. Also curious about the butler Yuna D Kaito, since his D initial is synonymous with being a powerful magician like Fai from TSR. It's been a while since we've seen anything else major from clamp so dropping a few easter eggs would be a pretty nice touch too.
Mar 13, 2018 1:54 PM

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10508
The only thing I'm disappointed with is Sakura's lack of TWIN TAILS. DX

She looks cuter with them; don't give me this "it's to make her look more mature" shit; you know how many characters 16+ wear twin tails!?



Mar 19, 2018 8:23 AM

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33
I just find the tech update weird- because it becomes obvious how much time has passed between this and the original series, almost feels like a parallel unniverse
Mar 21, 2018 8:03 PM

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Mar 2011
170
I was starting to think I was the only one with the same issue.
I'm trying to keep watching it just to see where the story is going, but overall I feel like most people here commenting their issues with this series.
Let's see where this goes, I still have hopes it will improve
Mar 26, 2018 6:17 AM

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6847
Mahou Shoujo Ore aired yesterday is 10x more fun to watch than this

Just saying
Mar 31, 2018 6:21 PM

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899
I feel the same. rather than try to be a new, revitalized sequel, with a fresh new take on the classic you know and love, Clear Card is too busy living in the shadow of the original series. its going more for the "remember this?" approach then actually creating a new interesting story. the original Cardcaptor Sakura was great because it felt fresh and brought new concepts to the rapidly growing stale magical girl genre. but that anime is now around 18 years old, and doing the same thing isn't fresh anymore.
I still think there's more room to grow if they branch out the plot a bit, but as of now I feel like I'm gonna have to chalk this anime up to yet another unnecessary reboot of a classic anime.
Apr 1, 2018 10:14 PM

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May 2015
608
Not, you’re not.

Not only I’m disappointed with it (12 episodes in), but I have come to question why was this even green-lighted in the first place. Nostalgia is the only thing that comes to mind.

Cardcaptor Sakura was an OK TV mahou shoujo’s series from the late nineties-early 2000s. It is one of those old series that didn’t need to be “revived”, especially with a sequel as lackluster as this one.

Honestly, producers should just stop reviving old series that have already finished with unnecessary sequels. Code Geass seems to be another victim of this ridiculous “trend”.

We ultimately fear what spawns from within us ~Shinsekai yori
Music is freedom. ~Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Apr 1, 2018 10:19 PM

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666
not a fan either. the new characters and the cards aren't interesting and imo the fights used to be more entertaining at least. i facepalmed when they had the throwback episode at the same location sakura caught The Watery.

...at least we getting new outfits
Apr 2, 2018 2:49 AM

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95
Kaetokiha said:
Syaoran--Li said:
I think it's just perfect. Nostalgia was very strong for that one and I'm glad to see the spirit of the show didn't change, it's very recognizable with even more colors.

I love it they way it is, it's different from most animes we have these days, a breath of fresh air :)

Breath of fresh air? C'mon, you may like the anime as it is and see not problem with it. It's totally fine, but there is no reason to be delusional.

The anime doesn't bring a single thing new from anything we have nowadays.


Well, at least there is no oversexualization/pandering. It's quite good to see this given that seems to be increasingly rare not to use these things to appeal to some people.

It's pretty innocent and I like this.
Apr 2, 2018 5:07 AM

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Im satisfied with the season.

Apr 2, 2018 3:25 PM

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May 2012
739
Syaoran--Li said:
Kaetokiha said:

Breath of fresh air? C'mon, you may like the anime as it is and see not problem with it. It's totally fine, but there is no reason to be delusional.

The anime doesn't bring a single thing new from anything we have nowadays.


Well, at least there is no oversexualization/pandering. It's quite good to see this given that seems to be increasingly rare not to use these things to appeal to some people.

It's pretty innocent and I like this.


It seems like you're saying "it could be worse, therefore it's good".

I'm not trying to make you dislike the anime as i'm already tired of people trying this kind of thing here on MAL. If you like it then it's ll good and you can enjoy it to the fullest, but the anime is not bringing anything new to the genre or even the series. There is no breath of fresh air here.

Everything so far has been basically a re-do from the first series, but with less charisma, less comedy, worse SoL and much duller action sequences.
The anime is completely relying on nostalgia, which is sad. I think Clamp could have done a much better job if they tried something new, but they didn't want to risk anything and went with the safest route possible.
I despise woke people.
Apr 15, 2018 12:49 PM

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Kaetokiha said:
Syaoran--Li said:


Well, at least there is no oversexualization/pandering. It's quite good to see this given that seems to be increasingly rare not to use these things to appeal to some people.

It's pretty innocent and I like this.


It seems like you're saying "it could be worse, therefore it's good".

I'm not trying to make you dislike the anime as i'm already tired of people trying this kind of thing here on MAL. If you like it then it's ll good and you can enjoy it to the fullest, but the anime is not bringing anything new to the genre or even the series. There is no breath of fresh air here.

Everything so far has been basically a re-do from the first series, but with less charisma, less comedy, worse SoL and much duller action sequences.
The anime is completely relying on nostalgia, which is sad. I think Clamp could have done a much better job if they tried something new, but they didn't want to risk anything and went with the safest route possible.


Fair enough, that's a criticism that I can understand, there's certainly some truth to it. Nostalgia is so strong that I don't mind but it can be different for other people.
Apr 23, 2018 4:25 AM

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145
CCS is in my top favorite anime and top 3 favorite manga. When the Clear Card manga came out, I wasn't excited. There is NO reason for there to be more CardCaptor. The story was wrapped up perfectly and I'm not one to get high off nostalgia. Anyway, I read it to some point and there was nothing exciting about it but at least the art was good. Now watching the anime, I'm just here trying to give it a chance, trying to find a sliver of goodness about this series and it's a struggle.

Animation is flat, characters are souless copies of their former selves, episodes are a step-by-step rehash of the previous series, it lacks charm overall. It's nothing but one of the many, lame-ass magical girl for children anime that come out in hordes every year.

Yes it's a children show, but there was a certain level of complexity before between these characters and their feelings and relationships which is non-existent here. Just like what happened to Sailor Moon Crystal, the characters are here to be 'pretty'. What happened to Sakura's and Syaoran's crazy faces, strong personalities, funny moments? Nowhere to be seen here, because these are plastic dolls that are just supposed to look cute.

I'll try to watch this through to the end, but the main problem is the lack of charm and inspiration in this work. CLAMP must really be thinking about all the money they'll make from nostalgia-stans.
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Apr 23, 2018 6:43 AM

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I discovered CCS through magazine articles then found a chance to get the story through the TV dulled down french version and finally read the whole manga series (I liked the manga, even the anime despite its excedingly long duration).
But...
sea-lemon said:
When the Clear Card manga came out, I wasn't excited. There is NO reason for there to be more CardCaptor. The story was wrapped up perfectly and I'm not one to get high off nostalgia. Anyway, I read it to some point and there was nothing exciting about it but at least the art was good.

Episodes are a step-by-step rehash of the previous series, it lacks charm overall.

The main problem is the lack of inspiration in this work. CLAMP must really be thinking about all the money they'll make.

Apr 23, 2018 9:25 AM
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Sep 2008
3
I like the slower pacing, seeing as how the original series was 70 episodes and 2 movies long and a lot of it was this same kind of slice of life stuff where it's giving you time to appreciate the character relationships and everything instead of rushing through the story. The character relationships are an extremely important aspect of the series, and not spending enough time on that to focus more on the Carcaptor side of things would be a mistake.

Although, I will admit this Clear Card series goes a bit heavier on the slice of life side of things than the old series did. The first cour usually only spent the last 5-7 minutes of each episode on a Clear Card disturbance where Sakura figures out what's going on and captures it with no trouble at all within minutes, whereas the earlier seasons she had a lot more trouble. I think that's just to show how much more competent Sakura has gotten since then, so it makes sense. This 2nd cour seems to balancing it a bit differently, by alternating between slice of life heavy episodes and Carcaptor-focused episodes, which still is slower than the original series but I'm okay with it.

There's still plenty of mystery and intrigue even during these slice of life parts where nothing much happens. I always get this ominous feeling whenever the camera zooms in on Sakura's or Syaoran's stuffed bear. You know something's going on with that. And I think the whole thing with Kaito and Akiho is executed really well and keeps you wondering what's going on without giving too much away. It's kinda similar to how Kaho and Eriol were presented when they were first introduced.

So far I'm totally okay with how this series is going. I guess I won't be as okay with this slower pacing if it means that they have to rush the ending and if there's barely any time between when Momo starts talking and when the series ends... but I'm hopeful that they will come through with another season after this in order to properly stretch out the story so that it keeps this same pacing and doesn't have to rush anything.
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