One of the most popular magical girl anime series around, Cardcaptor Sakura brings a smile to people’s faces.
Cardcaptor Sakura anime has 70 episodes and 2 movies. This is not really long if you consider the other magical girl anime series and the other most popular ones, Sailor Moon , which runs for 200 episodes and 3 movies! The Clow Book boxset contains only 35 episodes, which are divided into 9 DVD discs (3-4 episodes each).
History:
Sakura Kinomoto, a little innocent 4th grader, loved P.E. and I hate Math. His father was a professor of archeology at the local university and he had an older brother at school. His mother? She died when Sakura was 3 years old. Not much is ever said about how the mother died, but whatever the frail mother knows, she shows a beautiful character here and there to the angel. Nothing is ever morbid about this story. Everything is seen in a cheerful light.
One day Sakura wanders through her father’s library and finds a book about magic cards – otherwise known as Clow’s powerful card. . They escape the book, and a cute, round, yellow character, Keroberos, emerges from the book and makes Sakura the cardcaptor. She has to get all the cards before chaos rules the world!
Cardcaptor Sakura, NOT Cardcaptors:
There is a difference, but it is the same story. When the Buckles created Cardcaptor Sakura, they raised questions that wouldn’t normally be brought up to younger kids. Sugar themes like death and homosexuality (only if your little one really pays attention to the conversation and activities and knows what will / knows which guy he likes and which girl he likes) as if these issues were not religious. . However, when CCS was released in the United States, a heavy revision was made to delete or change many relationships and romances (especially same-sex crushes and student-teacher relationships). Sakura and her characters are 4th graders, how can they be so immature? Well, the editors cover a lot of key points in the series, and I hate it. The series was called Cardcaptors which took the focus of the main character Sakura, and also deleted entire episodes from the American debut.
But this box is the first and unreleased version of Cardcaptor Sakura. There is nothing wrong with it. Like I said, it’s all hilarity and laughter about it. It’s really great for kids (very popular for girls!). The original music is much better and all the original names (of characters and places) are kept intact. Basically, if you want to watch Sakura, buy the original version, not the pirated copies or the American version.
Subtitles:
Depending on how you see it, this can be good or bad. The original series in this box is only available in Japanese with English subtitles (which are also removable if you understand Japanese). I like it, though, because the voice of the original Japanese actors is better suited to the cartoon (if you think the Japanese actors are too actors, the dubbed English versions tend to overdo it and sound awkward).
It is nice, however, to have titles especially for the main theme songs at the beginning and end of each episode. Every other episode will translate the songs into English, but every episode that doesn’t have English subtitles will have Italian subtitles so you can sing along! Don’t worry, this only happens in the songs, not the series. =)
About the “Clow Card arc”:
The series is divided into two major arcs: the “Clow Card arc” and the “Sakura Card arc”. The Clow Book boxset, of course, corresponds to the major arc of the previous series, but it only contains the first 35 episodes of the series — it does not end this arc. The final episode of the Clow Card arc actually has 46 events, so you’re pretty much bound to buy the next boxset (Sakura Book boxset) if you want to know the series and what happens next.
Manga to anime & quality:
The transition from paper to screen is almost complete. The anime actually corresponds with the original manga by CLAMP unlike some other anime/manga, so whether you’ve read the Cardcaptor Sakura manga books or not, you’re missing out. A few details are omitted from the manga, but in the middle of the second series. So there’s no need to really worry about it with the Clow Book boxset. (But I recommend reading the manga too!) The quality is great; the animation is very clean and clear.
Extra:
After each episode, it contains an extra segment called “Kero-chan Check!” in which a handsome man, Kero, explains some of the highlights of Sakura’s life, such as her clothes. It’s a really nice added feature that you don’t get with the US version of CCS or the enriched models. There is also an art gallery in the disc, which contains the most beautiful pictures of Sakura and her friends.
Pros:
Happy, funny, popular, unpublished
Cons:
The Clow Card arc doesn’t end until you get the next box
Bottom line:
Great for ages and ages! A good series that teaches the values of friendship and love.
We highly recommend this series! It’s better to buy the complete cut version of Cardcaptor Sakura than to buy the individual volumes (which are more expensive). Buying a legal box set will be more expensive than buying imported/bootleg versions of the series, but it’s definitely worth the money! =)
