Card Captor Sakura

Genre: Fantasy
Type: Series

Sakura is an ordinary middle school student who roller skates to school everyday alongside her brother, Touya, and his friend, Yukito. One day, however, her ordinary life changes drastically after she discovers a book. Curious, she opens the book to see what's inside. With wind circulating around her, cards shoot out of the book and out of the building leaving her a bit bewildered. After all of the cards have disappeared, a small figure with the appearance of a stuffed animal teddy bear, Keroberos, emerges and tells Sakura that she must become a card captor and return those cards back to the Clow book because each card is unstable and has the ability to cause chaos. Sakura agrees to become a card captor, but her mission is not easy. Along the way, she's met with conflicts she must overcome, might it be conflicts of the heart, or those of magic, Sakura must prevail!

Card Captors is no typical children's anime. It's no Pokemon where the story doesn't go any deeper than kids trying to capture animals that fight each other, which is probably why it was pulled off air after a good two weeks of episodes in America several years back. I thought the story was cute and well developed. There was a lot in the anime that I never would have expected from a children's anime. Heck, I wouldn't even call it a children's anime after watching it. There are some elements in the anime that are questionable as to whether young children should watch it because perhaps parents would find it unethical. Excluding those elements in the story, the anime never gets boring and neither do the characters.

Sakura, who lacks a mother, is loved very much by both her father and brother. Like Sakura, her brother Touya has a secret similar to that of hers (but I won't tell you what it is). Yukito is Sakura's crush and Touya's best friend. He's a nice fellow who, as the anime progresses, plays a huge part in Sakura's quest. He's a really pretty character. Tomoya is Sakura's best friend and cousin whose hobby is recording Sakura's every move. She's an interesting character who adores pampering Sakura with all her creations. Keroberos is a guardian of Clow. Although his petite appearance is a disguise of his true form, he's a guide for Sakura as she captures all the cards. He's a comical character with a huge appetite. Li Shaoran is Sakura's rival. After the cards escape from the Clow book, Li transfers to Sakura's school in order to capture the cards for himself. There's a story behind being a card captor and capturing all of them for oneself but you have to watch the anime to figure that out. Sakura meets other characters too, but get to know them yourselves…hah.

The animation in the anime is everything you expect from Clamp, the creator. There's so much detail and the characters makes you really appreciate the artistry. The art is also very cutesy and bright, despite being an older title. From watching this anime, there's the impression that the series is for children, and although it is appropriate for children, older people can find this entertaining as well. Overall, this anime has great animation.

The music is so cute! I love it. Of course, there's the other music which is more orchestral than singing which is good too. The sound is great. Everything goes along well with the action, slight romance, whatever it is that going on in the anime. The American theme song was also decent, and the American dubbing for this anime was pretty decent as well. Personally, the Japanese voice acting is my preference, but in comparison to other animes that were dubbed in the United States, this one is quite above par.

I recommend this for everyone! Though really young kids shouldn't go farther than the first ten or so episodes because the story becomes more complex, but if their parents are cool with it, everyone's cool with it. This anime really does have everything in it. It has the romance, the drama, the action, and the fantasy. As a bonus, it has a good story. An even bigger bonus is that the characters are lovable and gorgeous. I have no doubts you'll be searching for some wallpapers to put on your desktop. I suppose this anime is more intended for girls. Not to say that guys won't like it, but with the heroine a girl, it's probably safe to assume that younger girls will watch it more than younger guys. Anyways, Card Captors Sakura is a good anime. It's enjoyable so I hope you'll get out there and watch it!

Written by Chiyuffie

Rating Meter: 91 %