Cardcaptor Sakura

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There is only one official word that comes to my mind when I think of Cardcaptor Sakura: Beautiful.
Everything about it is simply the epitome of beauty. The story, the characters, the art.
It's a CLAMP cult classic, and perhaps one of the most famous mangas ever written.

You think you know magical girl manga? Well, you haven't seen ANYTHING until you've read Cardcaptor Sakura. As far as your concerned, this is the ultimate magical girl manga. This is what inspired 100's of other artists to rip off the idea.
(Oh, and as I usually say, the Cardcaptor Sakura Manga is waaaay better than the anime. So ... don't even think that you shouldn't read the manga series, if you've already seen the show)

Let's get started, shall we then?

Story:
Sakura Kinomoto is a do-good 10 yr old who finds a mysterious book in her father's library entitled " The Clow". Upon opening the book, Sakura discovers that The Clow is in fact not a book, but a container to a host of 19 magical beings who were originally sealed in "Clow Cards". As well as releasing the cards, Sakura also releases the guardian of The Clow, which appears as a plushie like animal with wings, whom Sakura nicknames "Kero". Kero tricks Sakura into becoming the next "Cardcaptor" after sensing that she had magic in her. And so begins the adventure of Cardcaptor Sakura, but collecting the cards is only the beginning.

Art:
CLAMP's art is always breathtakingly beautiful, so it's no exaggeration when I tell you that I have never seen anything more amazing than the art in Cardcaptor Sakura. Some of the designs for the outfits Sakura wheres while "Cardcapting" are so original that it begs the question "where did they come up with this stuff?". CLAMP is truly the best of the best, the creme of the crop.

Characters:
Throughout the manga, one has to just fall in love with Sakura and her optimistic views on life. Her character is developed very well throughout the series, and each volume she starts to look more and more amazing than the last. The Clow Card designs are equally as wonderful to look at, and leaves the reader anticipating what the next one will look like.

Enjoyment&Overall:
If this manga was a person, I would marry it. So yes, to answer the question "If you love it so much, why don't you marry it?", I would. I most definitely and without any hesitance, would.
Cardcaptor Sakura is like a nice batch of fresh-baked cookies, but for your eyes. And what always gets me is that it's not just the art that makes this manga great- it's the fact that it manages to keep a well-thought out plot with plenty of questions and mysteries to keep the reader going.
I truly and from the utmost pit of my heart, suggest that you give this manga a try.
Thanks for reading.

The manga version of the CCS is slightly better than the anime, although I love both versions. CLAMP's artwork for CCS manga is the best in my opinion, the artwork is very fluid and cute looking without feeling saccharine.

Sakura Cardcaptor's manga is basically the same anime story told in a somewhat different way. Unlike its animated counterpart, it lacks filler, goes to the point, develops more quickly and explains certain details that the production of the anime decided to discard or modify. Here we have 19 Clow cards as opposed to the 52 of the anime; Meilin does not exist here either.

As such, this work have strengths and weaknesses very similar to those found in the anime. Its true strong point are its characters. Sympathetic, adorable, human, through them are explored the different types of affections that can arise in human experience: love ... between people of different ages, unrequited love, true love, etc. The interactions between the characters and the development of their relationships are one of the most well-worn and fun parts to see in all of history.

Beautifully drawn, CCS have a fine and delicate art with thin lines that manage to give a clean and sweet appearance to the drawing. The detailed expressions of the characters are supported by highlights and background drawings (mainly flowers) that highlight their emotional states, very convenient for a story that mainly talks about feelings.

The plot performs like a standard Maho shojo, but adds elements that make the formula feel pretty fresh. For example, Sakura uses a different costume in each chapter and the spells are conjured through a set of cards that must be captured. The design of the cards and the costumes is very good and exhibits talent and imagination on the part of the authors.

However, as in anime, the plot suffers from certain defects. I will always complain about the lazy way in which the outcome occurs during the Judgment of Yue. And how did not deepen properly in the Clow Cards (being the central aspect of the series). The way in which most of them are trapped is very loose too, without any strategy or anything like that.

The abuse of plot conveniences here is even more notorious than in the anime, especially in the arc of the Sakura Charts. Arch that, in my opinion, was quite unnecessary. However, the manga have a quite different ending to the anime and explains more details about the relationships and plot. It's worth reading if you liked the anime.

To conclude, I want to say that CCS is a beautiful story, whose main theme is human relationships and how love can be displayed in different ways in human experience. However, it could have been better executed and has very important defects that do not allow me to consider it more than an average sleeve.

All in all, it is a true coming-to-age story for young girls with valuable lessons and, above all, it does a better job than a lot of many similar works in dealing with feelings and the human heart.