Title: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magical Girl, Romance
Length: 70 episodes, 23 minutes each
Circa: 1998 – 2000
Scrumptious Meter: Very scrumptious! Can’t get enough of it!

Synopsis:

Cardcaptor Sakura is a very successful magical girl franchise from the all-female powerhouse team, CLAMP. Sakura Kinomoto, our very cute 10-year-old heroine, accidentally opens an enchanted book in her dad’s study one day. Inside the book is a set of magical cards, the Clow Cards. Unwittingly, she uses one of the cards, The Windy, and through its power scatters the cards throughout the city. Kerberos (or Cerberus in Greek Mythology), the guardian of the Clow Cards, awakens and explains that it is now Sakura’s duty to collect all the cards before they go haywire and let loose their mischief all over Tokyo. This then leads to the start of Sakura’s adventures as a Cardcaptor.

Review:

Animation is fluid and exceptionally well made for an anime of its time. Scenes are rich in both color and detail. Overall, there is nothing to complain in the animation department, as CCS could easily outshine most recent anime shows. For a lengthy series, CCS managed to keep the quality consistent with only a few minor lapses. Character designs are ultra kawaii (cute) and not your typical CLAMP fare. I found it very appealing. Sakura and all her friends look very healthy (not disproportionately long *cough* xxxHolic *cough*) and cute (~waiii)! I would like to give the animators serious props for supplying the characters with proper wardrobes, complete from spring to winter wear! Yey!

There are three sets of opening and ending songs. Most of the songs convey a happy and cheerful feel to it that matches well with the tone of the anime. Of course, you also have the obligatory stock of background music to complement all sorts of situations. My favorite among the songs would have to be Fruits Candy, the third and last ending theme, with its very upbeat and bubbly melody. The Engrish just gives me a blast of happy hormones (yeah, I am weird like that).

The plot kicks off with Kerberos dubbing Sakura as the Cardcaptor. From then on, each episode features Sakura in some kind of event, mostly school activities, and a card or two will somehow find its way there (to wreak havoc, of course). Being the Cardcaptor, she goes about her business in sealing the card/s involved. Although, this is the basic flow of each episode, CCS still manages to keep it fresh, because how each card is sealed is unpredictable. Even the transformation scene, staple for any mahou shoujo anime, is never stale and annoying. It is notably shorter than most transformations since Sakura is already in her battle costume (which is pure genius as this must shaved off at least 10 seconds of footage for each episode!).

Ah… yes, the characters! Cardcaptor Sakura showcases one of the most endearing cast of characters EVER! Sakura Kinomoto is quite talented, athletic, responsible, strong, and sports a very cheerful disposition. If she is not living out her double life as a Cardcaptor, she does her chores, worries about assignments, struggles with Math, dreams of her crush, enjoys going out with friends, and gets lovingly called a “monster” every now and then by her brother, just like everybody else. Tomoyo Daidouji, my favorite character of the bunch, is ever supportive of Sakura and gets a piece of the action as Sakura’s personal stylist (tailors Sakura’s battle costumes XD), gadget guru, and camerawoman (though the videotaping is more of Tomoyo’s benefit than Sakura’s, you can say it is her hobby o__o). Tomoyo is kind, very polite (she always uses the –masu form in her speech), and is just so adorable in her love for Sakura (albeit slightly obsessive in nature and may creep some people out, but it is all good). Syaoran Li, introduced later on, starts out as Sakura’s rival in both collecting the Clow Cards and *ahem* in love XD. However, unlike most rivals that you would be dying to gauge out their eyes whenever they appear on screen, I never felt that way about him (the Clow Cards are more mischievous than Syaoran ever was). Of course, to round up the main cast is Kerberos, affectionately called Kero-chan, the guardian beast of the seal, is equally entertaining. Often appearing as a very, very, very, very cute beanie plush toy (with wings!), and his personality is more developed than most familiars are. What is not to love with a familiar that has an Osakan accent, an insane sweet tooth, and obvious love for video games?

Cardcaptor Sakura easily earns a spot in my all-time favorite anime list. It won me over with its fresh and innovative use of Clow Cards as catalysts of the plot, beautiful visuals, attention to detail, adorable characters, and solid OST. No heavy plot analyzing here, just set the brain to low and let Sakura and her merry friends charm you into her world. I highly recommend it for all anime lovers, unless you absolutely detest cuteness (and if you do, shame on you XD!).

Will add more screencaps later, too lazy now >.>

Screencaps by Seleria. Images courtesy of Aethereality Gallery.

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