Cardcaptor Sakura

Cardcaptor Sakura, abbreviated as CCS, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group CLAMP from 1996 to 2000, becoming one of the major classics of the ‘90s and the most iconic manga in shoujo and magical girl genres.

The series focuses on the eleven-year-old protagonist Sakura Kinomoto, a fourth grade elementary school student who discovers that she possesses exceptionally strong magical powers after accidentally freeing a set of fifty-two cards from a magic book in which they had been sealed for years. She is tasked with retrieving those cards by Cerberus in order to avoid an unknown catastrophe from befalling the world, and thus begins her life as ‘Cardcaptor’.

Serialised in the shoujo manga magazine Nakayoshi from 1996 to 2000, it was adapted into a 70 episode anime series by Madhouse which aired on NHK BS2 in April 1998. With media including two anime films, video games, art books, picture books and film comics, it rose to popularity in 2001 with the main character, Sakura Kinomto winning ‘Cutest Anime Girl of the Year’ award from All Anime World. It spread its wings of fame from Asia to the West, being dubbed and serialised in popular channels like Animax, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Kid’s WB.

Cardcaptor Sakura Wiki

Genre	Magical Girl, Romance
Author	Clamp
Illustrator	Clamp
Publisher	Kodansha
English Publisher	Madman Entertainment
Magazine	Nakayoshi
Original Run	May 1996 – June 2000
Volumes	12
Chapters	50

Cardcaptor Sakura Plot

Placed in the fictional town of Tomoeda, which is located somewhere near the capital of Tokyo, ten-year old Sakura Kinomoto accidentally releases a set of magical cards known as Clow Cards from a book in her basement created and named after the powerful sorcerer Clow Reed. Each card has its own unique ability and can assume an alternate form when activated. The Guardian of the Book, Cerberus (nicknamed ‘Kero-chan’ by Sakura), reveals that only a holder of magic can open the seal of the book, implying that Sakura holds magic powers.

She finds each card, battles its personification and seals it under the guidance of Kero-chan and support of Tomoyo Daidouji, Sakura’s second cousin. Shaoran Li, is another main character, introduced in Episode 7 who is a descendant of Clow Reed, a boy from Hong Kong. Initially antagonistic with Sakura, the two bond and he begins aiding her in her pursuits with the cards.

Season 2 of the anime introduces the mystical being of the Moon, the Cards’ second Guardian, Yue, testing Sakura if she is worthy to be Clow Reed’s successor. Aided by her school teacher Kaho Mizuki, Sakura passes the test and becomes the new master of the Clow Cards.

A gripping tale of magic and sorcery with the most cutest and enthralling characters in the much-loved ‘90s art style, Cardcaptor Sakura is an experience to behold of the magical girl community, filled with wholesome moments, engaging action and mostly cuteness.

Cardcaptor Sakura Characters

• Sakura Kinomoto – The eponymous heroine, Sakura is introduced as a 10-year old girl, who lives in Tomoeda in Japan, where she attends Tomoeda Elementary School during the Clow Card arc and the Sakura Card arc storyline, and a freshman in Tomoeda Junior High School in the Clear Card Arc.
• Shaoran Li – the deuteragonist, Shaoran is introduced as Sakura’s rival for Clow Card’s arc, but they gradually become friends and close allies. He also falls in love with Sakura and they start dating in the Clear Card arc.
• Tomoyo Daidouji – A major supporting character and the best friend of Sakura, She is her second cousin on her mother’s side. Tomoyo faithfully keeps Sakura’s secret and often aids her in her time of need. She designs Sakura’s iconic Cardcaptor costumes in each episode. She also becomes Shaoran’s confidante when he finds himself falling in love.
• Cerberus/Kero – One of the two Guardians of the Clow Cards created by Clow Reed. He becomes Sakura’s mentor, teaching her the basics of capturing cards. His name is commonly known in its Greek version, Kerberos, which is shortened to Zero.
• Touya Kinomoto – Sakura’s older brother, who has an inkling of what his little sister is up to. Later in the series, it is revealed that he has a rare magical ability of physically connecting with spirits, something which even Sakura is unable to achieve. It is also implied that he is in a romantic relationship with Yukito Tsukishiro.
• Yukito Tsukishiro – Sakura’s initial crush and love interest in the Clow Card arc and Sakura Card arc, and Touya’s bestfriend. He is later implied to be Touya’s boyfriend. He is the humanoid alter-ego of Yue. Shaoran initially harbours a crush on him for a while, which is later revealed to be based on his subconscious attraction to Yue’s incredibly strong lunar magic.
• Yue – He is a Guardian of the Clow Cards created by Clow Reed, along with Cerberus. While Cerberus acts as the Selector, choosing a candidate to become the next Master of the Clow, Yue is the Judge who will test the candidate. He spends most of the first two seasons of the series and the first part of the manga in his temporary form of Yukito Tsukishiro, who at first has no knowledge of his other self.

Where to Read/Watch Cardcaptor Sakura?

The Cardcaptor Sakura manga can be purchased at Right Stuf Anime, with each volume coming in a special hardcover collector’s edition for about $23 a piece. For those who aren’t interested in spending too much money on any collectors edition, Kindle versions of each volume of the original series are also available for $9.99-10.99. The series’ sequel Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card released in 2016 with all 11 volumes each are available at Right Stuf Anime for $8.24. The Kindle versions of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card are also available for $7.99 each.

Cardcaptor Sakura Anime can be watched on Crunchyroll and Netflix. The recent season, Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card can be watched on Crunchyroll. The two can also be streamed on Funimation.

Cardcaptor Sakura Review

In IMDb, it rates 8/10 with comments gushing over how precious the show is. A cute show loved by its fans, it is more than a standard mahou shoujo anime at first glance. It’s depth in character-growth and deep realistic plot that sucks you into the storyline, it takes its place in the list of Must-Reads for all anime-lovers. If you want to start with a feel-good Mahou shoujo anime, Carcaptor Sakura is more than a right choice!