Monday, December 24, 2018

Cardcaptor Sakura Review

As may have read in my other reviews of magical girl anime and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, that I would watch and review Cardcaptor Sakura and Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc. Well I finished the original series so I will now review it. Cardcaptor Sakura also known as CCS or Cardcaptors in English, started as a 12-volume 1996 manga written by CLAMP. If they sound familiar it's because they are a great group of manga artists known for works such as Magic Knight Rayearth, Angelic Layer, Chobits, xxxHolic, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, and Kobato. Then it was made into a 70-episode 1998 anime series by Madhouse. Additionally, there are three specials and two movies: The Movie (1999), and The Sealed Card (2000). Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, which I previously reviewed, features characters of similar looks and the same names with a similar story. Also, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card which came out recently continues the story but I will review that separately. There is an English dub for the original series but it sucks because they censor things out which pretty much changes the story (except for the 2nd Movie) so I watched the subbed version and would strongly recommend watching the subbed version for everyone else. Cardcaptor Sakura is a magical girl romance anime that has some coming-of-age conepts in it as well. Because I'm a grown man who works out, played hockey, and listens to rock music, I'm embarrassed about reviewing this girly magical girl anime but it's not the first review on a girly anime I'm embarrassed about reviewing (and liking) and it won't be the last, so I got nothing to lose! Cardcaptor Sakura was a very popular classic magical girl anime winning the Animage Grand Prix for best anime in 1999 and is still very well liked today. I believe it and CCS is fantastic and probably one of CLAMP's best works. Oh yeah I will be talking about the ending and the second movie so...

*************************!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!*************************


Summary
Sakura Kinomoto is a 10-year-old fourth grader, until one day, she stumbles upon a mysterious book containing a set of cards. Unfortunately, she has little time to divine what the cards mean because she accidentally stirs up a magical gust of wind and unintentionally scatters the cards all over the world. Suddenly she awakened from the boo, the Beast of the Seal, Keroberos (nicknamed Kero-chan), tells Sakura that she has released the mystical Clow Cards created by the sorcerer Clow Reed. Each of the cards possess powers, and because they like acting independently, Clow sealed all the Cards within a book. Now that the Cards a set free, they pose a grave danger upon the world, and it is up to Sakura to prevent the Cards from causing a catastrophe!
Appointing Sakura the title of "the Cardcaptor"  and granting her the Sealed Key, Keroberos tasks her with finding and recapturing all the Cards. Alongside her are her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji and rival, friend, and eventual love interest, Syaoran Li. With Kero-chan's guidance, Sakura must learn to balance her new secret duty with everyday troubles of a young girl involving love, family, and school, all while she takes flight on her magical adventures.


The Sealed Card (Fuuin Sareta Card)
During the Summer holidays, Sakura and her class are preparing to present a play at the annual Nadeshiko Festival. The unexpected arrival of Syaoran (and Meiling) give Sakura the courage to finally reciprocate her feelings. But as the cards begin to disappear one by one, Sakura discovers a single card still remains. One with power equal to all hers... It is during this summer that Sakura faces her final battle.


My Thoughts
Words alone cannot describe how amazing Cardcaptor Sakura was as a classic magical girl romance anime. While it has similar qualities to other magical girl anime it is very unique in it's own way. While I liked the artwork and designs, the characters and story is what truly makes Cardcaptor Sakura memorizing. Each of the characters are truly interesting and lovable in their own unique way. There is some great character development as well. What I really love is the way the story progresses as we Sakura mature and grow along with the other characters like Syaoran and Meiling. Along with the main plot of Sakura capturing the clow cards we also get some good subplots, mostly love stories and the progression of relationships throughout the series. Overall, it was a very enjoyable anime. While I liked Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle I enjoyed Cardcaptor Sakura more mainly because of its ending.


The Sealed Card (Fuuin Sareta Card) (********SPOILER ALERT********)
I love it when a series ends with a movie and The Sealed Card (Fuuin Sareta Card) did a fantastic job of ending the classic original series (I know Clear Card came out recently). Here we know that Syaoran has finally confessed his love to Sakura and as he and Meiling are visiting we see Sakura trying to do the same in return. The movie just had a rush of emotions and the ending to the sealed card really gives you the best feelings about the fate of our main characters. Sakura confesses her feelings toward Syaoran thinking Syaoran has forgotten her. Syaoran then replies he loves her too. The town is restored and Sakura leaps across the clock tower with her "I love you" confession into Syaoran's arms. The movie cuts to the credits but a movie poster released shows Sakura made the jump. The endings for CLAMP series are usually great (with exceptions). The manga ends with Sakura confessing before Syaoran moves away. Syaoran returns to Tomoeda later and Sakura reunites with him saying they will be "together forever." I cannot describe how satisfying that was for me I also l mentioned Cardcaptor Sakura in My Endings Rant as a great ending. It was so good I had to watch it again to take it all in.


Couples/Relationships/Shippings
Probably the one thing everyone loves in the series are the romances and love stories we get from CCS. We see Sakura and Tomoyo's friendship and how they are best friends who are like sisters with one another. Tomoyo supports Sakura along as well as Sakura's friends particularly Syaoran. Along with the main Sakura and Syaoran romance, we also get a few love triangles. Also, we see Sakura (and Syaoran) having a simple innocent crush on Yukito but they eventually have stronger feelings for each other. Meiling likes Syaoran and is a rival for Sakura, but eventually Meiling comes to terms and realizes Syaoran likes Sakura the most. Finally, our best #1 OTP Sakura and Sayoran. While they start off as rivals at first, we see their relationship progress. Syaoran seems as a cold emotionless rival for Sakura at first, but begins to warm up as Sakura's warmth, sweetness, kindness, and soft feelings bring out Syaoran's soft sweet side. Sakura doesn't notice at first but after Syaoran confesses, she is unsure of her feelings for him at first but realizes she loves him too and eventually returns his confession. In the Clear Card Arc we will get plenty more moments of love. Sakura's cute, Syaoran's cute (according to fangirls) and together they are probably the most adorable couple as I mentioned in my 2017 and 2018 Valentines Day posts. I've never met a single person that hated them as a couple and I like most people just can't get enough of this couple. While a few of us did wish they kissed, keep in mind they are at most 13 years old so they'll have plenty of time. If they did kiss it would probably be the greatest event to happen in the history of anime apart from them getting married.


My Conclusion
I would give Cardcaptor Sakura 5/5 stars or a 10/10 score. Cardcaptor Sakura was a great classic that I would strongly recommend for anyone who likes, classic anime, magical girls, or romance. It was an enjoyable series that had a unique way of tugging on your heart strings and emotions. I am really looking forward to watching Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, that recently came out in 2018 to see where things go from here. I will also be watching and reviewing some similar magical girl romance anime Mermaid Melody and Nanatsuiro Drops. More girly anime I'm embarrassed to review (and like)!


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