Aug 26, 2020
When it comes to anime, I am usually not a fan of magical girl shows, but I felt like this was a particularly exceptional series. I don't think that this is the best anime series I'd ever seen, but I think it stands out as a pretty good one that deserves recognition.
What sets Cardcaptor Sakura apart from most other magical girl series are the costume transformation scenes, for one. In most other magical girl shows, the protagonists typically have fancy transformation scenes before they engage the villains in battle. The "costumes" are usually the same every battle with some small changes later in the
...
series to indicate some kind of newfound power that the magic users have discovered within themselves. In CCS, Sakura dons a different costume each episode thanks to a special someone who provides her with them. It is a refreshingly different take on the "transformation scenes."
In the world of CCS, LGBT relationships and romances are normalized and accepted in the same way hetero dynamics are which I found to be interesting since I don't commonly see this in other anime, especially magical girl ones. There aren't any questions about the romantic orientation among the characters; the ones with LGBT leanings, speculated or confirmed are just "themselves" and they are embraced with open arms just like any hetero character. The way the creators of CCS approached this anime was very progressive and "outside the box" especially for its time and genre.
The episodes start out similarly to a "monster of the week" series, but eventually evolve to become something a bit bigger towards the end. All of the episodes are connected together to weave into a bigger story, so it's recommended to watch everything in order.
The initial opening and ending themes are quite catchy and memorable, the later ones in the series...not so much, but that is just my opinion.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the art style, namely most of the adults or older kids (the teens) due to their awkwardly tall, exaggeratedly lanky bodies. I dislike some of CLAMP's designs for this. Otherwise, the art is nice, especially the design of the "spirits" of the cards.
I didn't expect to enjoy or like the series as much as I did, but I loved it and have raved about it to just about anyone who would listen. Not much holds my attention lately, so I was surprised that a series out of my typical preferred genre did.
I found Sakura a bit annoying as a main character due to her whiny-ness, but I guess that could have been worse. One thing I disliked about her character was that she always seemed to need others to tell her when to use certain cards or make decisions for her instead of figuring most things out herself. One way to look at that, however, is to remember that realistically, she's just a kid taking on new, big responsibilities. I can see how that can be overwhelming.
Every episode after the end credits, a particular character from the series enthusiastically shares fun facts about various things featured in each episode. I thought this was a fun approach to become better acquainted with the characters and familiarizing with the details of the show if you are a fan.
I didn't expect to enjoy or like the series as much as I did, but I loved it and have raved about it to just about anyone who would listen. Not much holds my attention lately, so I was surprised that a series out of my typical preferred genre did. I highly recommend this series as an introduction to the magical girl type shows, or for any magical girl show lover (if you're looking for something a bit different.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
