Card Captor Sakura Reviewer: Iryl Email: private Website: http://www.hugglebunny.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Anime Episodes: 70 Seasons: 3 Movies: 2 Price: $90 Imported Box Set (DiscountAnimeDVD.com) ~$23 per DVD (amazon.com) $9.99 per subtitled VHS (amazon.com) Rated: G Catagories: Action Romance Comedy Magical Girls Cute/Fluff ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Review Synopsis: Sakura is a young girl in Japanese grade 4. She is athletic and popular. She is always cheerful and is well-liked by her peers. However, latent magical powers awaken when she accidentally scatters a book of cards across her hometown, and the beast of the seal (a small plush toy with a sweet-tooth) requires that she run around to pick them all up. Age Rating: Depending on whether you watch the original Japanese or the English translation, the age recommended fluctuates. For the English translation, I would recommend any age whatsoever. For the Japanese translation, I would recommend around 10 years old or up. Language: Very minor things in the Japanese and, I'm assuming, nothing in the English. Adult: Nothing of an adult nature is shown in this anime, not even kissing. Magic: Being a magical girl show, it has sparkly lights and spells. Mostly, the spells are in the form of the cards created by Clow Reed that Sakura must catch, as well as the magic of those helping her, such as Li and Kero. Overall -- What You Really Want to Know: Card Captor Sakura (also known as Cardcaptors for the English version) is almost completely perfect for children. In essence, this show never has a bad guy. Not one of the obstacles that Sakura must overcome is really out to harm her. Gathering the cards is sometimes hazardous, but they are more mischievous than evil. Her rival, Li, and his cousin Meiling eventually become her very good friends. And even the creepy "those must be badguys because they have scary music" characters aren't bad at all. They are only mysterious figures with their own (usually helpful) agendas. Sakura's relationships with her friends and family are exemplary, especially the touching love she has with her kind father and teasing older brother. She also is very diligent in her chores. *wink wink* However, there are a few things that parents and children should be aware of, especially in the Japanese version. Personally, I am a very big advocate of buying anime in the original language for several reasons: Japanese voice actors are usually much better than English voice actors because in Japan this is a respected and competitive profession; American censors more often than not tend to go overboard when cutting out possibly offensive things, thereby making the plot less coherent; and the artistry of a show tends to lose something in translation, much like changing currency. That said, I can advise the purchase of Card Captor Sakura in the original Japanese with only a few warnings. The first and most minor is that of Sakura's best friend, Tomoyo, and her love for Sakura. In the anime, this love is that of a friend wanting what is best for Sakura and putting all her efforts into making Sakura happy. She is happy when Sakura is happy. She even goes to lengths to set Sakura up with Li, the boy from Hong Kong, when it is apparent that Sakura cares for him. In the manga, we know that her love is of a romantic nature as much as it is of a friendly nature, but her love is selfless and in the anime it is heavily toned down. Next, Syaoran Li has a crush on the same boy that Sakura likes. This boy is older and does not reciprocate, though he is very kind to both of them. This crush, however, is explained later as being the attraction of his powerful magic on the two youngsters, and Li realizes his true feelings toward Sakura. The boy that Sakura and Li have a crush on is a friend of Touya, Sakura's older brother. We find out in the third season that this boy loves Touya, even though he does not know how Touya feels. We can assume (and I believe rightly, though I have not read the manga) that Touya feels the same way through the casual but caring way he interacts with his friend. This can be, for younger children, explained as a very close friendship, as it is since neither young man pushes the relationship at all in the series. Their interaction is so subtle and unobtrusive that had Yukito (Touya's friend) not admitted to his love of Touya, then it would be safe to assume that the two were only very close, like brothers. In the English, it is more kid-friendly, but adults will find it mostly unappealing. The dialogue and plot are dumbed down to a juvenile level and random morals are inserted where there were none in the original. As well, any visual hints of male/male or female/female love are edited out and the dialogue is changed so dramatically that it lends a bit to the ridiculous. This all makes it a less dynamic but safer version. <--- http://hugglebunny.com/animereviews/ --->