Cardcaptor Sakura

After renting the first DVD, I did something I very rarely do -- I bought all 18 DVD's (they were on sale). Now that I've seen the series, I can honestly say that despite some troubles I have, I'm glad to have made the purchase of this waffy, fun series.

First, let's get the whole whacky relationship issue out of the way. To varying degrees, CCS has the following types of relationships: shoujo-ai (girl love), shounen ai (boy love), yaoi (gay), yuri (lesbian), incest (brother-sister and first cousins), and sensei-student (male sensei-young female student, female sensei-middle school male). These relationships are either mentioned (so-and-so likes so-and-so) or hinted at (by actions or words spoken). No wonder this series is such a hit, especially among the lolicon and shouta crowds. In the first two season, these are more subtle but in the 3rd season, the series takes a more shoujo turn and these relationships all get resolved. Some are innocent such as Rika-chan's crush on Terada-sensei. Sakura-chan (10) has a crush on Yukito-san (16). He even takes her out a couple of times but it is nothing bad. And finally, there's this love-hate thing going on between Li-kun and Sakura-chan which is fun to watch.

However, here are the "questionable" relationships (these really aren't spoilers...I've avoided those). There appears to be something going on between Yukito-san and Sakura-chan's older brother Touya (I'll let you decide if there is after seeing all 70-episodes). It also seems that Touya has a thing for his sister Sakura. Touya also had a relationship with a female sensei when he was in 8th grade. Sakura's best friend (and cousin) is Tomoyo-chan. Tomoyo-chan has a huge thing for Sakura and being rich, Tomoyo makes a ton of outfits for Sakura to wear. Further, Tomoyo-chan insists upon recording everything with her camcorder, then editing these videos for her private theater at home (where she watches these videos when she's not doing something else for Sakura-chan). Then there's Li-kun, who wants to collect the Clow Cards for himself. He's engaged to his first cousin Meilin, but finds himself with a crush on Yukito-san (and thus further in competition with Sakura). Tomoyo-chan's mother had a crush and Sakura-chan's mother when they were in high school. Sakura's father was a sensei at that high school and married Sakura's mother at 16. So even though this is a "shoujo" (girl) series for young teens, there are elements that parents may decide they don't want their children exposed to yet (though this is typical shoujo stuff in Japan). I will say that upon my 2nd viewing, knowing the truth behind some of these weird relationships made the viewing experience much more enjoyable.

That out of the way, lets get down to the normal ups and downs of the series. Being a mahou shoujo series, we have some traditions to follow. First, there's the "monster of the week" syndrome. In CCS's case, for the first two seasons, it is limited to capturing Clow Cards. Since the cards have their own unique personalities and physical bodies, they are able to act on their own. Thus Sakura (often with Li-kun) must battle the cards in their summoned form before Sakura can return them to card form, thus sealing them. This can get a bit tedious, especially since some of the cards seem to have been thought up just for a specific story and would not have been created by a powerful magician (Sweet card for example). The third season still has the monster of the week, but this time, the monsters force Sakura to convert her Clow Cards into Sakura Cards so she can use them.

Sakura doesn't magically transform as seen in Magical Project S, Sailor Moon, or Ultra Maniac, but there are three different transformations sequences. First is the summoning of the wand, then there's the summoning of the card, and finally there's the sealing of the card. Thanks to computer technology, Sakura can wear different costumes and clothing while still using the identical sequences. That is certainly fairly unique.

Let's get to the good. The seiyuu cast is outstanding, especially for Sakura-chan. Tange Sakura does Sakura-chan's voice and she plays the part so well. She provides the right mix required for Sakura-chan. The characters in the series are all very likeable which makes dealing with the weird relationships much easier. Watching the characters grow through the series is very enjoyable.

While there is the card-of-the-week issue, to be honest, the stories around these are often pretty interesting and often humorous. Often, stories center around Sakura's life in school, at home, and with her friends. Since there's no super villian to fight (even in the 3rd season where there is an opponent for Sakura), this gives the series a fresher feel than some other mahou shoujo series. However, the characters are really what drive CCS to the next level.

Bottom line: There are a lot of strange relationships and attractions in CCS, so much so that Tomoyo-chan commented, "our relationship chart has gotten very complicated." This may put people off and certainly I would recommend parents watch the series themselves and make their own mind up. However, there is more than enough good to overcome these mild homosexual overtones.

Last updated Wednesday, December 13 2006. Created Wednesday, April 14 2004.

This is easily my favorite CLAMP series. The artwork is spectacular even for CLAMP, with very lush and bright colors. The character designs are also very attractive, especially for the child characters.

The first season is pretty episodic, but the card-capturing plots are always fun. Later seasons have more of an ongoing plot. The only thing that I have mixed feelings about is the character interaction: there's as much of a romantic tangle here as you'd find in any high school romance series. On the one hand, it definitely makes the story much richer and more interesting to adults, but on the other hand, I have to admit that I'm a bit uncomfortable seeing this kind of thing treated seriously among 10-year-olds. It makes more sense toward the end of the series when the main characters are all 12 or 13.

(This may explain why I must confess to a sneaking fondness for Cardcaptors, the edited, dubbed version: it keeps most of the card-capturing without the romantic mess. Yes, it does lose an important dimension in the process, but the result is still fun. Plus, I think Meilin's dubbed voice is hilarious!)