Cardcaptor Sakura

SPOILER-FREE!
This review was originally written in mid-September of this year, published as a YouTube video on my channel.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the United States saw something of an “anime boom.” Anime franchises and properties found themselves being brought over from Japan and made seemingly more-accessible than ever. Whether it was Dragon Ball Z on the Toonami block, Pokémon via 4Kids, or any of the other properties that found their way onto televisions, companies seized upon the opportunities to present viewers with new content. The problem that arose however was that some companies didn’t necessarily translate the material properly, leaving some shows and franchises to become running jokes in the community even years after their runs had ended.

Cardcaptor Sakura was one such show that got this treatment, which I remember watching as it aired on television. Renamed to just Cardcaptors when it came to the United States, the content of the episodes was cut in significant manners. Entire plot threads and arcs were removed for not being deemed appropriate, episodes were pointlessly shuffled to be in the wrong order, and entire episodes in general were just flat-out skipped altogether, leaving the series with some glaringly-poor continuity gaffes. If there is to be any lesson learned from this property, or this period of time in American anime consumption, it’s that you should do your research before choosing or evaluating what to bring over. So, when the chance presented itself to see the franchise in its original state, I simply had to give it a whirl.
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In Tomoeda, fourth-grader Kinomoto Sakura lives with her archeologist father and older brother Touya, while harboring a crush on her neighbor Tsukishiro Yukito. One day, she stumbles across a mysterious book in her family’s basement called The Clow, inadvertently unleashing the magical cards and spells within it. A creature named Keroberos emerges from the book, claiming that Sakura must return the Clow cards to the book by sealing them away. Infused with magical energy as the cardcaptor, and along with Keroberos, her video-camera and costume-designing addicted friend Tomoyo, and the abrasive Syaoran Li, Sakura vows to stop the Clow cards from causing havoc in her town and to the people she loves.

Cardcaptor Sakura’s creativity becomes apparent in the various Clow cards themselves. Though the franchise frames the cards as being responsible for a grand calamity if they are not gathered back, the cards themselves are not necessarily cut from the same cloth. Some are, as one would expect, inherently destructive, causing some form of damage in one way or another, and some are also quite predictable as to what they are. Thankfully, not every card is like this; there are cards that are quite docile or benevolent, or pertain to a theme or property that might leave one surprised. This helps prevent the narrative from becoming too bogged down by the episodic “serious problem of the day” format, allowing the show to have some breathing room in its run. The cards’ malevolence or benevolence also extends to giving some of them a sense of personality – there is one card in particular that, while only featured for a handful of episodes, is given true care and attention to fleshing it out, and the fact that the show managed to do it at all is highly-commendable.

The creativity also manifests in other, simpler ways. The entire Tomoeda city is used for new Clow cards to appear, whether that be in the school or Sakura’s home, two places where most of the story takes place, or at any of the numerous landmarks around the city. Several places are recurring, and a healthy dose of foreshadowing makes it clear that certain locations carry more meaningful connotations than others. Additionally, Sakura does not have an “official outfit” as she’s battling, as each of her outfits are generously made by Tomoyo, which gives a fun dose of warmth to each encounter. A few costumes are better than others, but watching Sakura get increasingly disturbed by Tomoyo’s obsession makes for a good comedic time. Complete with a lovely visual styling and good soundtrack, the series makes full use of its creative sandbox.

Though I used the word “episodic” earlier, calling Cardcaptor Sakura “episodic” is actually not quite a correct description. It’s true that the general plot of collecting the Clow cards does pervade most of the episodes, but the franchise also weaves a wonderful amount of character depth and dynamics into the mix. Love in its many forms is one of the themes that makes its presence known throughout; whether it be Sakura’s crush on Yukito, the complicated sibling love-hate relationship Sakura and Touya have, one of Sakura’s friends having a schoolyard crush on her teacher, or the homosexual undertones and overtones between some of the characters, each of these various types of love gets expanded upon and helps the main cast emerge into growing, more-complex characters through its continuity. In pouring so much emphasis on making the characters endearing, likeable, varied, and both funny and serious, the ensuing love ideas and romances that play out, naïve as they can sometimes be, never stopped being interesting or smile-inducing. Gathering the Clow cards may be the plot, but it is through the characters that the franchise establishes itself as well-written. It’s rather telling that the love in Cardcaptor Sakura succeeded more often than some other romance anime I’ve seen.

The increased complexity carries over into the actual battles against the Clow cards. Characters may be the show’s greatest strength, but the battles likewise contribute much to the fun I had with it. While Sakura gets thrust into becoming the cardcaptor early and finds herself caught off-guard or struggling numerous times in the first several episodes, she begins to shift away from that and into a competent magician. This does not mean that she doesn’t make mistakes or doesn’t occasionally need help, but rather that she overtly becomes more capable of holding her own and relying on her wit, guile, and understanding of the cards to stop them. There is an inherent logic to the cards’ relations to one another; resistances or properties make certain cards unable to be used against other ones. Some are particularly special or of a particular type, meaning that there is no catch-all strategy for capturing them. This helps prevent the show from falling into the trap of being too predictable in the battles, even if the outcome at the end of an episode is most-definitely pre-determined.

Due to the nature of the narrative, Cardcaptor Sakura’s appeal from episode to episode relies not only on the overarching development of the cast, but also the self-contained content in each installment. Even here, there are traces of continuity that don’t pertain to character. I enjoyed the fact that the characters would mention a planned field trip one episode and then actually go on that trip in another, or as I stated before, re-use certain locations to make Tomoeda seem like a real town. That said, not every battle against the Clow cards was fun, nor were the scenarios that set them up. This was more often than not due to the episode’s card in question not being especially intriguing. It also does feel like the characters really should have a more-intuitive sense as to when a Clow card is responsible for something. But, considering the sheer volume of battles and cards throughout the series, there were only a scant few misfires. Even in the lackluster outings, the cast made each interaction and development a pleasure. Coupled with a satisfying conclusion, the franchise closed the book with charm.
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Cardcaptor Sakura was a shoujo that ended up being a pleasure to see. Creative, full of life, and a delightful fantasy collect-a-thon that somehow always manages to keep entertainment close by, I loved both the intrigues surrounding the magic and that the relationships among the cast were surprisingly complicated for a series geared towards younger audiences. A couple of mediocre outings and one particular running comedic gag that was not funny in the slightest drag it down, but I will not be forgetting this series anytime soon. It was visually beautiful, acoustically beautiful…it was simply fun!