| Type: | TV |
| Length: | 70 episodes |
| Genre: | Magical Girl |
Cardcaptor Sakura
Summary
One day, Sakura finds hears a noise in her basement and goes down to find out what it is. She finds a strange book called "The Clow" and opens it. Inside she finds a stack of magical cards. She reads the name of the first card, "Windy," which causes a gust of wind that releases all the cards across town. Then a cute creature, named Kero, emerges from the book and gives Sakura the sealing staff so she can capture these Clow Cards.
Review
Cardcaptor Sakura is an extremely entertaining magical girl series. It's a cute, feel good show that is a lot of fun and I was smiling and laughing during a lot of it, yet, at the same time, it's a heartwarming and emotional series that had me in tears at one point. The show really clicked with me in every way, and I love the charming, magical atmosphere it creates. I quickly became hooked on the show because it manages to be very enjoyable episode after episode. For me, it's one of the most gratifying experiences in anime. To put it simply, this is the best magical girl series ever.
Like most magical girl shows, Cardcaptor Sakura is a very repetitive series in that every episode has Sakura capturing a Clow Card. However, because each card she captures is different, it offers a lot of variety that keeps the series fresh. I can happily watch Cardcaptor Sakura without feeling like it's more of the same or that it's not going anywhere. It has a surprisingly good story and I like the way everything plays out, with lots of little hints from various characters and the prophetic dreams that occasionally Sakura has. At 70 episodes, you'd think it would be hard to make a concrete series, but Cardcaptor Sakura holds together really well.
Sakura captures over 50 cards including The Sleep card, The Fly, The Time, The Sword, The Dream, The Jump, and The Little, to name a few. Sakura finds the cards causing trouble around town while they are in their physical form. To capture the Clow Cards, Sakura uses the cards she currently has to defeat or weaken the card she is trying to capture so she can get close enough to seal it back into its card form. Every card she captures she can use to help her capture future cards. There is some action in the series because some of the cards are attack cards.
After Sakura captures all the Clow Cards, a new story arc is started and some new characters are introduced. Story-wise, it does a excellent job of continuing the plot without feeling tacked on. A large portion of these episodes is spent just watching the characters interact and develop, which works out well because this arc has more emphasis on character relationships. There is a good love story tied in that grows and changes as the series goes, and it really takes off in this arc. The ending does end on a cliffhanger, though, so you will need to see the second movie to wrap up one of the major plot points.
Out of all the positive things I can say about Cardcaptor Sakura, I'd have to say that the characters are the best part about the show. I absolutely love every one of them, which isn't too hard to do since they are all nice, kind-hearted people. Sakura's family members are important characters and even Kero, the little mascot, plays a big role in the story. During the course of the series, you can see the characters change and form bonds, especially between Sakura and Shaoran. I quickly became emotionally attached to the characters. When they were happy, I was happy, and when they were sad, I was sad. It really is the characters that make Cardcaptor Sakura so good.
Cardcaptor Sakura is well animated, and one of the best-looking magical girl anime I have seen. There aren't any transformations, but there are scenes where Sakura will use a Clow Card and the view will circle around her while she twirls her wand that looks really neat. Sakura's best friend, Tomoyo, makes different battle costumes for her to wear during many of her card captures, which means that these scenes aren't used to cut back on the actual animation needed. The background music is also excellent, I really like some of the songs played while Sakura is capturing Clow Cards. There are also three different openings and endings, all of which are very enjoyable, especially the first opening theme, "Catch You Catch Me."
Just...wow. This is such a fantastic series. The journey is long, but it's a lot of fun and very rewarding. Carcaptor Sakura is a truly wonderful show, and a must have for all anime fans. No one should pass up this classic series, it's the best of the best.
Like most magical girl shows, Cardcaptor Sakura is a very repetitive series in that every episode has Sakura capturing a Clow Card. However, because each card she captures is different, it offers a lot of variety that keeps the series fresh. I can happily watch Cardcaptor Sakura without feeling like it's more of the same or that it's not going anywhere. It has a surprisingly good story and I like the way everything plays out, with lots of little hints from various characters and the prophetic dreams that occasionally Sakura has. At 70 episodes, you'd think it would be hard to make a concrete series, but Cardcaptor Sakura holds together really well.
Sakura captures over 50 cards including The Sleep card, The Fly, The Time, The Sword, The Dream, The Jump, and The Little, to name a few. Sakura finds the cards causing trouble around town while they are in their physical form. To capture the Clow Cards, Sakura uses the cards she currently has to defeat or weaken the card she is trying to capture so she can get close enough to seal it back into its card form. Every card she captures she can use to help her capture future cards. There is some action in the series because some of the cards are attack cards.
After Sakura captures all the Clow Cards, a new story arc is started and some new characters are introduced. Story-wise, it does a excellent job of continuing the plot without feeling tacked on. A large portion of these episodes is spent just watching the characters interact and develop, which works out well because this arc has more emphasis on character relationships. There is a good love story tied in that grows and changes as the series goes, and it really takes off in this arc. The ending does end on a cliffhanger, though, so you will need to see the second movie to wrap up one of the major plot points.
Out of all the positive things I can say about Cardcaptor Sakura, I'd have to say that the characters are the best part about the show. I absolutely love every one of them, which isn't too hard to do since they are all nice, kind-hearted people. Sakura's family members are important characters and even Kero, the little mascot, plays a big role in the story. During the course of the series, you can see the characters change and form bonds, especially between Sakura and Shaoran. I quickly became emotionally attached to the characters. When they were happy, I was happy, and when they were sad, I was sad. It really is the characters that make Cardcaptor Sakura so good.
Cardcaptor Sakura is well animated, and one of the best-looking magical girl anime I have seen. There aren't any transformations, but there are scenes where Sakura will use a Clow Card and the view will circle around her while she twirls her wand that looks really neat. Sakura's best friend, Tomoyo, makes different battle costumes for her to wear during many of her card captures, which means that these scenes aren't used to cut back on the actual animation needed. The background music is also excellent, I really like some of the songs played while Sakura is capturing Clow Cards. There are also three different openings and endings, all of which are very enjoyable, especially the first opening theme, "Catch You Catch Me."
Just...wow. This is such a fantastic series. The journey is long, but it's a lot of fun and very rewarding. Carcaptor Sakura is a truly wonderful show, and a must have for all anime fans. No one should pass up this classic series, it's the best of the best.
Score:
Written by Marc Frost on
Content 
Nothing.
Violence
Some of the cards can be a little violent.
Sex
Some of the characters are, or appear to be, homosexual, but nothing ever really happens as a result.
Other
When Sakura releases the seal on her staff by saying the incantation, she says that it "hides the powers of the dark." It also has other occultic references like the star that is in the magic circle. It never goes into detail about these and this aspect is very tame.