Return-to-Series: Cardcaptor Sakura

Common Name: Cardcaptor Sakura

Alternative Names: Card Captor Sakura, Cardcaptors, CCS

Score: 8/10, 5/5

Length: 70 Episodes, 2 Movies

Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Romance, Magical Girl, School Life, Shoujo

Summary: Kinomoto Sakura is your run-of-the-mill fourth-grader. While she's a little clumsy and reckless, she's ultimately a good kid who cares deeply for the people around her. Perhaps it was these very traits that led her to become the successor to one of the greatest wizards the world has ever known or perhaps it was just her destiny. Either way, after accidentally freeing a collection of magical cards created by the mage, Clow Reed, Sakura has been tasked to retrieve the Clow Cards and bring their power under her control. So, with the help of her friends and the magical guardian turned plush toy, Keroberos, Sakura readies to become the one, true Cardcaptor.

Review: In preparation for my eventual binging of the newer, fancier-looking addition to the Cardcaptor franchise, otherwise known as the Clear Card arc, I decided that it would be a totally sane and reasonable idea to binge all 70 episodes of the old series, as well as the two movies, within the span of a couple months. My questionable sanity aside, I'll start all this off by saying I actually enjoyed this experience in spite of myself. Consider that for a moment. Even though I have never been part of this show's target audience; even though I, as an adult, could see through every character and plot point this show had to offer; even though this show certainly looks like it's a couple decades old now, I actively enjoyed Cardcaptor Sakura.

To be totally honest though, my feelings for the show pretty much

started on much the same foot as Sakura and Shaoran's relationship

but my feelings followed pretty much the exact same arc as their relationship.

Now, perhaps that has something to do with the fact that I read a lot of CLAMP titles during my troubled teen years, including all 12 volumes of the original Cardcaptor manga. What that doesn't account for is the fact that I actually ended up liking the show more than the manga when all was said and done. Don't get me wrong; I still appreciate the manga's relative brevity, but I rarely ever felt like the fluff added to the anime was just filler. Nearly every single episode served a purpose, more often than not giving detail and complexity to the characters that was wholly absent from the manga. Most notably, the relationships that form the backbone of this show's drama actually felt like something I could get invested in even though I already knew the outcomes. Of course, that's not to say that Sakura's relationships felt half-assed in the manga, but the sheer amount of time the anime dedicated to those arcs made the slow shades of development all the more worthwhile.

And believe me, when it comes to CLAMP's standard love-quadrangle nonsense,

taking some time to untangle and establish things makes all the difference.

As much as I enjoyed this show and everything this medium did for the franchise, I'll be the first to admit that it's far from perfect. Like nearly every CLAMP title ever, things do get muddled and problematic as time goes on, particularly in that relationship category I'm so infatuated with. Now, unlike most people, I've built up an immunity for a lot of CLAMP's standard nonsense, meaning it doesn't bother me as much as it might bother others, but it is worth noting that this children's anime isn't spared from their decisions that could be considered either offensive or progressive based on your own opinions of what can be considered reasonable. For instance, I consider it nothing short of revolutionary that CLAMP managed to work in characters who are unabashedly bisexual, homosexual, and possibly even agender (depending on how you label Ruby Moon), normalizing those kinds of relationships and identities for an entire generation of kids. Touya and Yukito's relationship is nothing short of revolutionary when you consider that this came out in the 90s. Tomoyo, I'm sure, was nothing short of a role model for some young girls, given how obvious her feelings for Sakura are. Those kinds of things, I consider not only reasonable, but praiseworthy. The undercurrents that seem intent on legitimizing far more questionable things like stalking, pedophilia, and voyeurism, however, I could definitely live without.

And here we come to the reason why I both love and take issue with Tomoyo's character.

To be fair, though, the anime did cut back on a lot of that stuff. For instance, the feelings between Sakura's teacher, Mr. Terada, and her classmate, Rika, are still made fairly clear. What the anime basically does, though, is draw the line at a point where their "relationship" was little more than unrequited feelings on Rika's part--making a fine parallel to Sakura's crush on Yukito--rather than taking things to the same lengths seen in the manga. Unfortunately, Tomoyo wouldn't be Tomoyo without her desire to dress Sakura up in showy outfits and film Sakura every second of every day. Granted, that's still fairly innocent and harmless in comparison to some of the other things CLAMP has done.

Not to mention, it's highly unlikely that a child would actually

pick up on any of this show's more questionable decisions.

Beyond these nits to pick, I cannot say I really have much to complain about or praise with this show. In spite of its age, it still holds up really well. The action, drama, and comedy are simple but paced in such a way that even I could find it bearable at worst and utterly captivating at it's best. This fact is particularly clear when you take the franchise's two movies into consideration. While more artistically accomplished than the main show, due in large part to it having a dedicated budget, the first movie (titled simply Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie) serves little purpose and is entirely insular in nature, having little to no bearing on the show itself. What this movie does well, however, is provide some possible insight into why Sakura grew braver as the series went on and even hints to her own potential as a mage, rather than the power given to her by the Clow Cards. Because of that, this movie just manages to be tolerable. The second movie, Cardcaptor Sakura: The Sealed Card, functioning as a direct sequel to the series, is a treasure to watch. While the plot is nearly as contrived as the first movie, it managed to grab and hold my attention simply because it was able to harness the drama of the main series and then paid dividends on that investment as it created a fulfilling emotional climax.

Also, I won't lie, I love their matching outfits more than any of Sakura's weird outfits from the series.

Now, this is, unfortunately, my biggest point of contention. I have no clue what the new season will or will not retcon and am honestly a little worried that Sealed Card, the movie that actually brought a tear to my eye, will wipe that from the record. Based on what I've seen of the new season, however, I'm fairly hopeful that things will go well. For starters, I actually like some of the outfits I've seen thus far, which is something the original series could never boast. Still, all my biases aside, I liked the old series a lot and understand why some might consider it a masterpiece. Were I judging it on a graded scale (accounting that this is literally a show for children), I might even consider elevating it to that level, but I'm not particularly inclined to do so this time. Cardcaptor Sakura actually managed to engage me on such a level that I think giving it that handicap would be a disservice. It's just a great show, so I'll give it the credit it's due, putting on the same level of adoration that I've held for works like Youjo Senki, which I love to pieces. So, if you have not given this show a shot and are hesitant to do so, I'd honestly recommend going for it. If nothing else, you'll get to watch one of anime's most influential works and will probably even fall for this show's music like I have. Needless to say, I am both terrified and giddy beyond words that I'll get to enjoy the new season now that I've refreshed my memory and love for this show. Here's hoping I didn't go through all this trouble just to watch something I end up hating!

#Review #RTS #Action #Drama #Comedy #Romance #MagicalGirl #SchoolLife #Shoujo