Anime Lessons

Title:  Card Captor Sakura

Creator:  CLAMP

Director:  Asaka Morio (Supervising Director)

Japanese Production Studio:  Madhouse

Type: TV

Number of Episodes:  70

Vintage:  1998-2000

US Licensing Company:  Pioneer/Geneon (Dub by Nelvana)

Genre:  Mahou Shoujo

General Summary

Card Captor Sakura is the story of a young girl named Kinomoto Sakura and her quest to save the world from disaster.  However, more then that, this is a story about Sakura herself and the things that she will learn about both the world and herself.  As the story begins, we meet Sakura, a normal middle school girl with a normal life.  Her mother passed away not long after she was born, as a result she has been raised by her kind father Kinomoto Fujitaka who she loves dearly and her mean (or so she says) older brother Touya, whose greatest joy is getting a rise out of his little sister.  Despite being tormented by Touya, traveling with him to school each day means getting to see Tsukishiro Yukito, Touya’s best friend and a kindhearted boy that Sakura can’t see enough of.  She has many friends, her best friend being Daidouji Tomoyo, the daughter of a president of a large company and a wonderful singer in her own right.  Tomoyo is Sakura’s confidante, the one she goes to with all her problems.  Tomoyo is also fanatical about taking pictures and videos of Sakura.  Besides Tomoyo, Sakura has several other good friends, many of whom are in the cheerleading club along with her.

This is Sakura’s life.  At least it was, until one day, when she arrives home from school, she hears strange noises coming from her father’s study in the basement.  Aware that her father and brother are both out, and armed with her baton, she heads for the basement to discover the source of the noise.  After carefully searching around, she finds a mysterious book that seems to be glowing.  Taking up ominous book labeled “THE CLOW”, she opens it, finding inside a set of strange cards.  Taking the first one on the stack in her hand, she reads “Windy” as it is written on the card.  What appears to be a magic circle forms around Sakura and a violent wind begins to blow.  In moments, the remaining cards in the stack are swept up in the wind.  The cards phase through the walls and scatter as far as the eye can see.  Dropping the book in shock, it suddenly begins glowing again.  From the book rises a small, winged yellow creature.  In probably one of the greatest character entrances ever created, the creature eventually introduces himself as Keroberos, the Guardian Beast of the Seal who was charged with protecting the Clow Cards.  Discovering that Sakura accidentally scattered the cards, he decides to appoint her with the task of gathering them up again.  Calling forth a small key shaped objected from the book of the Clow, Keroberos summons a magic circle and enters Sakura into a contract with the Key of the Seal.  By invoking this contract with the Key, Sakura can obtain the power to use magic via the Clow Cards.  Reluctantly, Sakura is forced to accept her role as a Cardcaptor, the one who will recapture the Clow Cards and prevent disaster from befalling the world.  But this won’t be as easy for Sakura as it sounds, each Clow Card is unique.  Clow Cards are living beings, beings with incredible powers.   Sakura will eventually meet up with a boy named Li Syaoran, who is also collecting the Clow Cards.  Sakura must compete with Syaoran in order to collect the cards and return them to their rightful place.  With the help and support of her friend Tomoyo and guardian Kero-chan (as he comes to be called), Sakura must overcome many hardships.  Along the way, she will make many friends, face powerful adversaries, and have experiences that will change her life forever.

Art and Animation

            I could talk all day about the art and animation in Card Captor Sakura and still not have given it enough praise.  CLAMP’s style could not possibly match the story any better.  The anime character designs took the style from the manga and transformed it into the beautiful character designs many now know.  Card Captor Sakura doesn’t have a transformation sequence in a strict respect, but thanks to Tomoyo, we get to see Sakura in countless beautiful outfits.  The character designs in general are stunning for both males and females.  Stylistically, it is by far one of my favorite products of CLAMP’s work.  As always, their attention to detail allows for a greater sense of immersion in the universe of Card Captor Sakura.  Their character designs, as always, seem to center around the eyes.  CLAMP has a very distinctive way of drawing eyes, even within anime, and Card Captor Sakura is another fine example of it.  The CLAMP eyes are fantastically expressive, you can very nearly see right into a character through their eyes.

            The animation is rather impressive as well, especially for a mahou shoujo title.  Because of the nature of the Clow Cards, Sakura has a wide variety of abilities, all of which work and are animated in different ways.  Despite her appearance, Sakura is not your typical pink laser and sparkle shooting mahou shoujo.  While she does do some of that, a ‘battle’ in Card Captor Sakura is very different.  CLAMP really has a great sense of flow, something that is difficult to capture correctly in anime.  However, whether it be wind, water, or whatever else, Card Captor Sakura loses none of the smooth motion that is so a part of CLAMP’s inherent style.  I really enjoy watching these sequences just for the fluidity of movement involved.  Like with a lot of CLAMP things, flowing clothes and flight are a part of the fantastic and magical feel of the characters and the world.

Character Development and Storyline

If I were to name one thing that sets Card Captor Sakura apart from other Mahou Shoujo and from other anime, it would be the characters.  First of all, the main character, Sakura, was one of the most memorable characters in anime for me.  She was kind and caring, but determined, steadfast and strong.  Her attitude is pretty rare to see pulled off well, and Sakura couldn’t be a more perfect example of how to do it right.  However, Card Captor Sakura’s greatness goes far beyond its lead character.  Li Syaoran, who undergoes significant character development throughout the show, also ended up being one of my favorite characters.  He is stubborn and a bit hardheaded, but beneath that hides a good nature and someone who will always fight for what he believes in.  The last two I will mention specifically are Kero and Tomoyo, without at doubt two of the most entertaining characters in all of anime to date.  The two individually are both hysterical in their own ways, but paired together as they sometimes are, they are an unstoppable comedy duo.

Others characters that left a deep impression on me include Li Meilin, Yukito, Touya, Yue, Eriol Hiiragizawa, and countless others.  The cast of Card Captor Sakura created a wide variety of characters, each as unique as they are interesting.  The actions and interactions of the many amazing characters makes Card Captor Sakura the unique viewing experience that it is and sets it apart from the rest of anime as something truly special.

However, even beyond the fascinating cast of characters, the storyline is extremely well written.  The show is broken down into two different timeframes, episodes 1-35 and then episodes 36-70.  I could very easily describe exactly what occurs in each of these timeframes, but I don’t want to spoil even a second of this fantastic series. The first 35 episodes have a very general focus.  You get to meet the characters, you get to watch them learn about their abilities and grow in ways both magical and emotional.  The second half of the series, the focus shifts.  Not only will Sakura and her friends continue to face unknown challenges, they will also have to deal with the ever changing feelings that connect them.  The second half of Card Captor Sakura brings with it a much deeper and even a bit darker storyline.  The relationship and character development seem to move in double-time.  You will begin to question the things that seemed to be true in the first season and you will meet several enigmatic characters.  Besides just getting to see more of Sakura’s magical abilities in action, there is a whole lot to look forward to in the last 35 episodes.

Music

The soundtrack to Card Captor Sakura remains one of my absolute favorites.  The opening and ending themes are very well done and suit the show perfectly.  The BGM in the show itself is always well suited and well timed for the particular moment it is needed.  I still love listening to this music, despite the number of times I have heard many of the songs.  My favorite OP theme is Platinum, arranged by Kanno Yoko and preformed by Sakamoto Maaya.  You really can’t do much to beat that combination.  My favorite insert would have to be Mienai Chizu, a song preformed by ANZA.  This song still has an impact on me, even after such a long time I can remember the exact details of the scene during which it played.

There is one more thing worth mentioning in terms of music in Card Captor Sakura, that being the seiyuu for Daidouji Tomoyo, Iwao Junko.  Iwao performs several pieces throughout the show itself and then many more on the numerous Sakura OSTs.  Her voice never ceases to amaze me, both as a seiyuu and as a singer.  It’s a bit difficult for me to explain, it’s just something that you have to hear before you can really comprehend.  I want to avoid going on and on about the music, so I’ll cut myself off here, but CCS truly does have one of the best soundtracks in all of anime.

Seiyuu

            Without sounding too much like a fanboy (which I am), the voices in Card Captor Sakura are some of the very best that I have ever heard.  There is not a single seiyuu that isn’t perfect for the character they play.  Tange Sakura was amazing at Sakura, filling her character with life and portraying her exactly as I would have imagined from the manga.  Iwao Junko as Tomoyo was also fantastic.  The voicework she did in the role as well as her insert songs were some of the highlights of CCS.  Seki Tomokazu did a great job as Touya.  His voice was wonderfully matched to Touya’s personality and despite his countless other roles, his work as Touya will always stand out to me.  Hisakawa Aya has played many roles in many different anime, but her work as Kero-chan still remains some of my favorite.  Ogata Megumi voiced Yukito and has done quite a number of other outstanding roles.  I’m quite honestly going to stop checking for more seiyuu because as I said, there isn’t a role in CCS that isn’t praiseworthy.  In terms of seiyuu, there are very few other shows that I would even consider in the same league as Card Captor Sakura.  You really have to see it and hear it to understand.

Final Summary

Card Captor Sakura is funny, it’s romantic, it can be completely serious, it can captivate your emotions; in short, I suppose I would say that it embodies all that is the Mahou Shoujo genre.  In all fairness, I found the ending to the Card Captor Sakura series less compelling then the manga.  However, so long as you watch Card Captor Sakura: The Movie 2 after the completion of the series, all is brought to a meaningful conclusion.  All in all, Card Captor Sakura is an amazing show.  Spanning 70 episodes and 2 full length movies, it manages to pull off a continually interesting storyline and bring it to a wonderful conclusion without feeling like it is dragging on.  I really can’t say that I find anything wrong with this show.

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