Cardcaptor Sakura

Jun 28, 2009

lalazoe

Recommended

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.

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Aug 19, 2015

Zheng56

Recommended

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.

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Aug 26, 2012

RoodyChan

Recommended

One of the best shoujo manga ever!
it's got magic, sweet relationships (between kids, still so sweet) and even a little hint to yaoi. but that's fine.

it all goes about this young fourth-grade Sakura kinomoto, who finds in her house's basementa abook of cards which she unleashes with her powers and start her journey to gather them, when Kero chan, the guardian, tells her that only she can do so!

The type of illustration is so cute, especially Tomoyo's hand-made costumes for Sakura's battles against the card. It's just a warm, sweet manga, that you'd finish before you'd realize!

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Jun 21, 2010

Torii-chan

Recommended

Cardcaptor Sakura is probably one of my favorite series of all time. The story is about a young girl who awakens a magical book that holds cards created by a magician. With the help of the books guardian, she and her friends collect the cards to save the world from a disaster.

Story 9/10: The story is well developed, Sakura evolves as the story progresses. Even though it's centered around an elementary aged protagonist, the flow of the story feels more adult-like.

Art 9/10: The characters are expressive, sincere and the scenery is detailed. CLAMP mangakas are very good at expressing the feelings of each ...

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Jun 16, 2019

SchylerAM

Mixed Feelings

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.

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May 30, 2021

Firechick12012

Recommended

Unlike most anime fans I know of, I never grew up watching Cardcaptor Sakura. The English dubbed version of the anime, called Cardcaptors, did air when I was younger, but I stayed the hell away from it. Why? Because I saw one of the commercials and dismissed it as some babyish girly show where the characters would talk about nothing but fashion and boys, be petty and nasty to one another over stupid things, and assumed it was something like Bratz. Yeah, I admit, I was a pretty judgmental kid. To seven/eight year old me, nothing could beat Pokemon and Digimon in my eyes. Over ... the years, I started to warm up to the series upon learning more about it, even managing to finally watch the whole anime when I was in college, though I saw the movies before that, and even bought Tokyopop's release of the manga at my local bookstore. In fact, I still have those manga volumes on my shelf to this day, even after other companies put out newer, better prints of it with new translations and everything. Cardcaptor Sakura is considered one of the best children's anime of all time, and one of many manga that put CLAMP on the map in the anime fandom. It's easy to see why, and now, as an adult, I appreciate it a lot more than I did when I was younger. That being said, how does it hold up today in my eyes?

Sakura Kinomoto is a normal ten-year-old girl with a pretty easy life. One day, she finds a mysterious book in her basement, and upon opening it, a slew of magical tarot cards fly out, spreading all across the city. She also accidentally awakens one of the guardians of said book, Cerberus, aka Kero-chan. It turns out the cards she released are called Clow Cards, magical cards created by a famous magician, Clow Reed. Kero tells her that since she released the cards, she has to be the one to stop them from wreaking havoc on the world. With this, Sakura is christened as a cardcaptor, and with her loyal friends by her side, she's determined to collect all the Clow Cards.

Really, what is there to say about CLAMP's art that hasn't been said already? It's luscious and beautiful, and in this case, since CCS is a children's manga, they manage to make the kids look cute without bordering on overly saccharine. The linework is clean and sharp, the backgrounds are packed with detail, the character designs are great, and the fight scenes are all packed with action and effects that really make them pop. I do feel that sometimes the billowy costumes can be a little over the top though, making some panels and frames look busier than they should be. Also, having read Magic Knight Rayearth, which came out before CCS and had thicker lines, sharper eyes for the characters, and the character designs did make the characters have overly long, thin noodle limbs, CCS is noticeably an improvement on that front, with more realistic character designs and nicer looking eyes.

There's also no denying that CLAMP are masters of creating diverse, versatile, and likeable characters that immediately win you over with their charm. Every character, from the main leads to minor characters such as this one group of Sakura's school friends, are all given their time in the limelight, getting equal amounts of development and depth to them, really making the world the series takes place in come alive. One problem I had with Magic Knight Rayearth's manga is that it was moving at such a fast pace that it didn't bother to leave time to show what the characters were like outside of saving the world. CCS remedies that flaw impeccably, as the manga has 12 volumes, giving CLAMP plenty of freedom to balance out the more action packed chapters with ones where the characters just hang out and have fun. My favorite chapters were the ones where Sakura goes to the festival and gets the Glow card and one where she meets a nice old man. That being said, the manga is rather vague in regards to what Kaho Mizuki's deal is, and I wish more had been done with her. Anime fans are probably wondering "Where's Meiling?" Y'know, Syaoran's cousin in the anime. Technically, she doesn't exist in the manga. Meiling is a completely original character made solely for the anime, so she's nowhere to be found in the manga.

Given that this is, indeed, a children's series, CLAMP obviously can't indulge in some of their favorite tropes, like having the series just end with many questions unanswered, or a lot of the things they use in their more teenager-oriented works, such as more detailed violence. Of course, they're self-aware enough that they didn't try to dumb down the story they had for CCS. The premise is still child-friendly, but there's enough intrigue and depth to Sakura's card collecting quest that it never feels like the manga is insulting you for expecting something more from it, offering plenty of worldbuilding and backstory that manages to seamlessly fit into CCS's narrative. That being said, CCS isn't a perfect manga. Like I said earlier, I still think the manga should have done more with the character of Kaho Mizuki. Plus...there is one thing about the manga that might be a potential turn-off for a lot of people. CLAMP has a pretty accepting view of age-gap romances, even ones that would normally be considered creepy and unethical, like Sakura's mother, who married a teacher while she was a 16-year-old high school student (Japan considers 16 the legal age of marriage), with the most egregious one being one of Sakura's friends, a ten year old girl, crushing on a teacher who's in his thirties...and having said teacher actually reciprocate those feelings. Granted, nothing sexual or explicit happens, and the anime changed it to just a one sided crush on the girl's part, but anyone who really doesn't like seeing this stuff at all is going to have a hard time with it, and I honestly have to question why CLAMP put this in at all. Luckily, they seem to have realized how stupid and creepy this was, so when they made the sequel manga Clear Card years later, they cut the teacher character in question out of the story while also having Sakura's friend go to another school, downplaying her role in the story. So for me, while that particular element doesn't exactly sit right with me, I'm glad CLAMP didn't go further with it than they did, and I can at least take comfort in the fact that they addressed the issue later on, so kudos to them.

Overall, this is my more objective analysis of Cardcaptor Sakura as a manga series. But the thing is, one thing that makes me decide whether something will be one of my all-time favorites is whether it really resonates with me, blows me away, and hits me in the feels. So, I pose the question: Did Cardcaptor Sakura resonate with me, to the point that it becomes one of my favorite series? Sadly, the answer is no. This is not me saying CCS is a bad manga. It's very good, and I can absolutely see why it made the impact it did on not only magical girl anime, but anime as a whole. I like it, but I don't necessarily LOVE it, per se. It just didn't really add any extra spices to its storytelling and takes on various magical girl tropes. There are plenty of other anime and manga that I just happen to love a lot more. I guess I would have appreciated it more had I watched it as a kid, or even saw the uncut version earlier, but who can say? That being said, Cardcaptor Sakura is a great manga that I can wholly recommend to anyone looking for something sweet and heartwarming to read without it being too saccharine, and I think it absolutely earned its designation as a beloved classic, as it should.

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Jul 28, 2018

_WeebWolf_

Recommended

This is an amazing and classic manga that is great for all ages.

Story: The story makes sense, but is a little cheesy. (Not too much.) It is usaully pretty interesting and enjoyable.

Art: The story has detailed and beautiful art. Every single little detail has so much effort put into it. Some anime from it's time looks slap-dash, almost like a story board.

Characters: Each character has so much depth and thought put into them, even the minor characters.

This is a great introduction to Shojo (Magical girl) manga. (To be honest, that's how I got into Shojo.) I have enjoyed it and can't wait to start ...

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Dec 27, 2015

usernome

Recommended

I really liked this manga. The artwork is pretty good, characters are generally well-developed, Sakura is a great main character and the story is good, even though after the 6th volume it kind of plays for time but it's still pretty enjoyable to read.

The development of the romantic subplot between Sakura and Syaoran is a bit far-fetched, I don't like them as a couple, but there's something that bothers me much more than their relationship: there are a lot of pedophile relationships, which is really, really disgusting and creepy. I counted 4 established pedo-couples, but I might be forgeting some. All of those relationships are, ...

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Mar 27, 2010

minimiau

Recommended

Well, finally I finished another CLAMP manga. This time I will make a review of Card captor Sakura, my first CLAMP series.

The story is about Sakura. She has to sealed all Clow Cards. The story is better than anime: there is only a few cards and not a lot than in the anime. Meilin doesnt exist in the manga and is more exciting.

The art is impresive. I like it very much. Sakura CC has the best art of all CLAMP series, but not better than magic knight Rayearth. For me thise mangas have the best art, but The review is about Sakura not Magic Knight.

I ...

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Jan 12, 2023

Vegetarian_Trex

Recommended

Like putting your heart in the microwave for three minutes and it coming out all fuzzy. A work without cynicism that is so refreshing and joyful to undertake. The manga explores same sex relationships in a profound way that I was not expecting. It’s not blunt but all develops naturally. The romance is balanced with some of the most beautiful art in manga history, very busy but flows with elegance. And Sakura’s outfits ... dat girls got style. Fantastic cast of characters. Short and sweet (60 chapters total I think). Treat yo self. Skip the anime and read the manga - get the author's intent. ...

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Aug 19, 2015

John_Parker

Recommended

Overall, a great magical girl series from Clamp. The story is above good, and has a nice balance between action and romance. Outstanding Characters; each of them play a vital role to progress the story and have unique personalities. Clamp has worked real hard to create CCS, as the quality of artwork is outstanding!

By general, every readers would praise Sakura's sweet Character/Personality, which simply leaves this series enjoyable to any age group.

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Sep 6, 2015

jonatganofficial

Recommended

I loved this manga, even though I only read 3 volumes. (Well, one. It was the first 3 in one book. I picked it up in the library and I'm glad for it.) It's about a cute little girl, her friend, (I don't want to give away much of the story) her brother, his friend, and another boy. (Oh my god my brain is packed I can't remember their names.) BUTTT Here is a warning for some people.

This is not for homophobes. I don't really mind it at all, but if you are STRAIGHT AND ALL MUST BE STRAIGHT Go away. (Okay that was mean.) ...

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Apr 15, 2022

squish

Recommended

“Everything will surely be alright!”

I remember seeing Cardcaptor Saukra on TV when I was a kid, and at the time no part of it appealed to me. Me, being the tomboy I was, would have much rather watched Pokemon. I was indifferent to Sakura's frilly dresses and pink accessories.

Now, as a 30-year-old, I found myself gravitating toward this story and the magical world that has been held in such high regard by fans for so many years. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so I started the manga, not really expecting to get into it as much as I did.

Cardcaptor ... Sakura captures the innocence and wonder about childhood that we naturally lose as we grow older. Reading it made me feel like a kid again in a lot of ways. Her friendship with Tomoyo hearkens days spent with childhood besties that live on in memories forever. Sakura is a symbol of childhood and innocence that I think we can all relate to and would do well to remember. There's something about being a young girl – full of innocence and ambivalence, feeling unsure of the world around you but still having a sense of optimism, that yes--everything will surely be alright in the end. From having a crush on your older brother's friend, to navigating friendships and crushes and figuring out your place in the world... to me, it's very much a story about a girl growing confident in herself and finding out that she, too, has power, even though she's small, and even though she's young, and even though she's a girl.

There are a couple problematic relationships between some characters, which almost made me want to drop this series. Ultimately I chose to ignore it (they take up, I dunno, thirty or less pages in the entire series), and I'm glad I did because the rest of the story is great. It would be a solid 10/10 otherwise.

Something this series does really well is its representation of LGBT characters. Being gay is totally normal in this series; characters are completely accepting of each other and themselves for having feelings towards the same gender.

In all, I really enjoyed this, and now I know why so many people love this series. In a lot of ways I wish I had gotten into this series as a kid, but I think it's still impactful now, as a grown woman, to kind of reconnect with all these themes of childhood wonder. I was sad when it was over, but glad that I'd gone through the journey with Sakura, growing and learning and making friends and discovering her inner power. I think about how it felt to be a young girl, and I remember how I was so eager to believe that magic is real. Maybe it still is, if we look for it hard enough.

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Oct 2, 2022

ryuujiryu

Recommended

A classic, a perfect classic which is still deservedfully remembered today! One of the most iconic shoujo manga ever. Absolutely reccomended!

Warm and cute but with a lot of emotional moments which will make you teary and smile. Literally adorable, it may seem like a simple mahou shoujo manga - and yet has deep themes of love! Unrequited love, love of different ages*, love of the same gender, etc. Even minor characters like Sakura's classmates have time in the spotlight and get somewhat developed.

The art is perfect. Like CLAMP's may actually be my favourite artstyle. They're very very good at expressing emotions and scenery, like you ...

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