wMay 17, 2010


Cardcaptor Sakura

I am so pleased that Dark Horse is putting out a new translation/packaging/etc. of Cardcaptor Sakura that I have been giving some serious thought to re-purchasing the entire series as it comes out (even though I already own the entire series). It's really exciting to me that a company cares about shoujo manga originally published about fifteen years ago.
(Okay, maybe they care more about the fact that CLAMP sells really well, and people will want to reread it after they finish xxxHolic and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles.)

I really wish that an American manga company would do this for Sailor Moon - I have all 18 volumes, but they were made pretty shoddily, and many are falling apart.

La!


Unfortunately, it looks like they're giving Chobits the omnibus treatment, too. Chobits.....*shudder*

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scribbled mystickeeper at 10:47 PM
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wJun 2, 2008


Cardcaptor Sakura, vols. 1-12

I'm making it my goal to read most of the manga written by CLAMP before delving into their two current series, xxxHolic and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, as the two contain lots of crossover elements. I'm also doing it because CLAMP has made a pretty large impact in the manga medium, and they have written in many different genres. To see my past posts on CLAMP manga, I recommend using the tag system to your advantage!

Technically, volumes 7-12 are called "Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow," and are numbered 1-6. Whatever.

This is the only CLAMP series that I had read once before (most of it, anyway). Like Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura is an old favorite of mine. Sakura Kinomoto is a fourth-grader with a special mission: to collect the magical Clow Cards, each of which have a separate magical ability. The Clow Cards were created by Clow Reed, a magician with "supreme powers." Sakura opened a book in her father's study one day and met Kero, who looks like a cute stuffed animal that's a hybrid between a lion and a dog, with wings. He assures Sakura that he is only in this "cute" form because he is low on magic, and his "true form" is "awesome and scary."

The fact that Sakura was able to open the book means that she has magical powers. And thus, she uses them to collect the cards, with Kero's help. The only person who knows about her secret mission is her friend, Tomoyo. Tomoyo thinks Sakura's mission is so cool that she makes different elaborate outfits for every time Sakura goes out to capture a card. In Tomoyo's words, "When you do special things, you have to wear special clothes." Hence the frill.

Tomoyo (a girl) has a very apparent crush on Sakura, who is totally oblivious. Sakura is head-over-heels for her brother's high school friend, Yuki. Sakura's father married her mother when she was only 16 years old, and her father was a teacher!! Sakura's cousin, who is also Tomoyo's mother, is very jealous and angry at Sakura's father for taking away Sakura's mother. This also means that Sakura and Tomoyo are second cousins, and the love of Tomoyo's side of the family for Sakura's seems not to have left. Tomoyo knows that Sakura is completely oblivious to her love for her, but instead of pining and angsting about it, she encourages Sakura to express her feelings to the person she loves: Yuki. This is a very mature attitude for a 10-year-old!

Things grow more interesting when Li Sayoran transfers to Sakura's school from Hong Kong, and tells her that he is a direct descendant of Clow Reed, and therefore entitled to capturing the Clow Cards for himself.

Sakura is a pretty typical cute fourth grader. When Kero (Kerberos) tells her that uncaptured cards can do evil in the world, she asks, "Um, um, evil? Like stealing a snack? Or bending a flower? Or not doing homework? Or staying up late...?" Her cuteness (combined with her determination and courage) will make you love her; I promise.

And all of these plot points are from the first six volumes only (maybe even only the first 2 or 3, I don't remember).


But there is so much to discuss! Romance is highly prevalent in this series, so I've decided to try my hand at making a list for who likes whom.

Sakura -> Yuki (later revealed to only like him because of his relationship to the Clow Cards, although for a while it was pretty creepy how she kept noting how similar Yuki was to her father and Eriol!!!)
Sakura -> Li
Li -> Yuki (Same reasons as Sakura)
Li -> Sakura
Yuki <-> Toya
Fujitaka (father) <-> Nadeshiko (mother)
Nadeshiko <- Sonomi (Nadeshiko's cousin and Tomoyo's mother)
Tomoyo -> Sakura
Rika <-> Her teacher (WTF?!?! SO INAPPROPRIATE)
Ruby Moon -> Toya (?)
Eriol <-> Ms. Mizuki (WTF age-gap, although maybe it's different because he's the reincarnation of Clow Reed?!)

ALSO, my FL has told me that clones and doubles will be important in Tsubasa Chronicles (well, they always are in CLAMP - look at Chobits, X/1999 and RG Veda, for starters!). Thus, I thought it would be worth mentioning that Sakura has a card that allows her to make a copy of herself when she has dire need of one; for example, when she must battle a Clow Card while also lying in bed sick from school. Her brother Toya could tell it was a clone right away, and had a conversation with it.


This series is appropriate for all ages (although it might be difficult for very young readers to keep track of who likes who, as well as some of the plot points). It does not contain the references to panties that Angelic Layer does.

I love this series! It's one of my favorites by CLAMP, although nostalgia might have a lot to do with it, as well as its similarities in structure to Sailor Moon (perhaps my all-time favorite). The series is probably more focused on human relationships than on the Clow Cards themselves, although there are plenty of plot twists to keep that aspect of the story interesting, too.

I like that Sakura is strong in ways outside of her magical powers: she is athletic, and often shown roller-blading and otherwise being active in school. She is also a genuinely nice person, and a responsible role model for young children in that she's often shown taking turns with her older brother and father to take care of household chores.

I love that Sakura's father is shown cooking and cleaning in a way that isn't a hilarious joke. I love that there is gay love that isn't meant to be laughed at. The only thing in the series that made me cringe was the cousin!love and the student/teacher loves.

My favorite characters were probably Sakura herself, Tomoyo for her pure and honorable love, and Toya, for knowing so much but only acting when it was appropriate.

Cardcaptor Sakura looks like it will play an important role in CLAMP's current series Tsubasa Chronicle, as its protagonists appear to be aged versions of Li and Sakura. I look forward to reading it, and will be very angry if Sakura is a passive, useless heroine.

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scribbled mystickeeper at 6:43 PM
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wNov 18, 2007


A quick post, so that I can chain myself to my English paper

Firstly, a couple of links:
It might not make as much sense here on Blogger, but over on LiveJournal, every time you make a post, you use a picture icon to go with the post. How many icons you get depends on the type of account you have with LiveJournal. In this post, I describe the meaning of 7 of them. Interesting enough, I guess. I wish I could have icons here on Blogger, too, but oh well.

A post, and comments, dealing with the issues Heroes has been having this season when it comes to gender and race. It is not just me, I swear!

Borders plots to ruin my book-perusing experience in every way imaginable. And I had gotten so excited, too, because at the Madison location, they just moved the manga section to be right next to the young adult.


My Real Reason for Posting:
There should be a CLAMP manual. (For those who are confused, and curious, CLAMP is a 4-person team from Japan that writes manga. Lots of manga! They are so prolific that they have their own tropes!)

I’m working on reading all of CLAMP’s manga, and there’s a lot to cover, as they are quite prolific. I just finished reading Clamp School Detectives and Tokyo Babylon. I know that it isn’t necessary to read every other CLAMP title in order to read Tsubasa Chronicle/xxxHOLIC, but I would like to read as many as possible in order to enjoy maximum appreciation. Also, I'd like to read many of the series for the sake of themselves. Still, I think that they’ve written over 20 series, or something equally absurd.

My “must” list so far is X/1999 (yes, I know it isn't finished, but I own half the series, and I want to get to it now that I'm done with Tokyo Babylon anyway), Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Cardcaptor Sakura. Does it matter what order I read these series in?
For that matter, when I finally start reading Tsubasa Chronicle and xxHOLIC, does it matter what order I read those two series in? Start with one, reach a certain point, and then alternate? (As I’m doing with the Buffy/Angel series)

Also, are there any other series I should check out, first? RG Veda? Angelic Layer? Miyuki-chan in Wonderland? Clover? Clamp School Defenders? Man of Many Faces? Suki? Wish? Legend of Chun Hyang?

My God, how is it possible to write so much manga?!


Note to Self: What You're Blogging About Next
* Beowulf movie
* Clamp School Detectives manga
* Tokyo Babylon manga


Current Music: BON BON - Hey! Say! 7 (Lovely Complex, second ending)

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scribbled mystickeeper at 11:49 AM
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wAug 14, 2007


Woe.

Wait, wait, wait. Cardcaptor Sakura is a 12-volume manga, and not 6?? I thought I just finished collecting them all! Now I don't even know which ones I have. And apparently, before when I downloaded and read it all...it was only half the series. Why is this all so confusing??

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scribbled mystickeeper at 10:41 PM
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