Cardcaptor Sakura, Vol. 3

カードキャプターさくら [Cardcaptor Sakura] #3

by Clamp, Maria Simpson (Translator)

When missing Clow Cards begin turning up alarmingly close to Sakura's home, catching the cards isn't just a matter of responsibility--it's a matter of protecting the ones she loves! Meanwhile, the new teacher at school has taken a particular interest in Sakura and her friends. Could she be looking for the Clow Cards too?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Romance, Shojo, Magic

185 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 1997

About the author

Ōkawa Nanase 大川七瀬
[born: 2 May 1967; Ōsaka, bloodtype: A]

Mokona Apapa もこなあぱぱ
[born: 16 Jun 1968, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]

Nekoi Mick 猫井みっく
[born: 21 Jan 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: O]

Igarashi Satsuki 五十嵐さつき
[born: 8 Feb 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]


CLAMP originally began in 1989 as a twelve-member dōjinshi circle, but by 1990, the circle had diminished from twelve to seven. Of the remaining seven, Tamayo Akiyama, Sei Nanao, and Leeza Sei left the group during the production of the RG Veda manga. Other former members of CLAMP also included Soushi Hishika, O-Kyon, Kazue Nakamori, Yuzuru Inoue and Shinya Ōmi. Currently, there are four members in the group.

In 2004, CLAMP's 15th anniversary as a mangaka group, the members changed their names from Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona Apapa, Mick Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi to Ageha Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi (her name is pronounced the same, but written with different characters) respectively. The August 2004 issue of Newtype USA, a magazine specializing in events of the anime and manga subcultures, reported that the members of CLAMP simply wanted to try out new names. In a later interview with Ohkawa, it was revealed that initially Mokona wanted to drop her surname because it sounded too immature for her liking, while Nekoi disliked people commenting that her name was the same as Mick Jagger's. Ohkawa and Igarashi, wanting to go with the flow of Nekoi's and Mokona's name changes, changed their names as well.

In 2006, they made their first USA public debut at Anime Expo in Anaheim, California. They were well received at the convention, with 6,000 fans in attendance at their panel.

Reviews

[Lau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy lindo volumen, Touya se merece el premio al mejor hermano.
Me estoy entreteniendo pensando qué carta puede ser en cada ocasión (al menos cuando no es obvia) y estoy admirada de la movilidad que tiene Sakura con esos trajes llenos de cosas XD.

Aparecieron las mentiras de Yamazaki! me mata ese chico XD ...nunca lo había pensado, pero creo que dice la verdad cuando tiene los ojos abiertos (que es prácticamente nunca). Y Sakura es tan crédula pobre.

Me encanta que haya aparecido Kaho Mitzuki, empieza el misterio.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed.

Really, though, sometimes I wonder if this type of funny moment is purely due to the translation, or if the original is also preposterous.

[Veronica Morfi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't remember so many teacher student relationships in this story. But now we have one of Sakura's 4th grade classmates getting engaged to her teacher, Sakura's father getting married to her mother when she was 16 and he was 27 and her teacher, and now Sakura's brother and his teacher (that's not 100% sure). What the heck is going on with student-teacher relationships in this manga?! It is kind of disturbing how they are presented...

[Danny Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pues que puedo decir, esto es super entretenido y podría seguir leyendo este manga siempre, me encanta tanto, es muy divertido y este se puso un poco más serio, vemos más de esta lucha contra las cartas y Sakura intentando atraparlas, muy buen manga, recomendado completamente,

[Kami · Rating 3 out of 5]

- This one seemed shorter than the others. Maybe it was because I had to read this one online.

- Is Tomoyo hitting on Sakura?

- Sakura's brother is pretty cool. I think there is more to him. He reminds me of my older brothers.

- Kero Chan is SO cute!! I want one!

- Now I know how Tomoyo can afford to make all those costumes for Sakura! What a house!

- Tomoyo's mother has issues.

- Who is that strange lady? She keeps popping up!

- There were some pretty funny moments in this one!

[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think Sakura is going to be able to keep her Clow Card collecting a secret from her brother much longer. He almost caught Kero-chan talking and moving a few times in this book, and he knew that the Mirror card wasn't really Sakura. Toya might have mistaken it for a ghost, but it's pretty obvious that he has some psychic talents since he often sees ghosts and other strange beings. That kind of magical talent seems to run in families, and since both children have magical abilities I wonder if the father does as well. He's the English parent in their heritage, so I assume he's their ancestral connection to Clow Reed, who was also English.

[Dyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marks the appearance of one of my favorite clow cards, The Mirror.
About the plot itself... well, it's okay I guess. So many coincidences, so convenient. Zzz...

[nara ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it!

[Angelika · Rating 5 out of 5]

touya 💜

[Okuta Otherside · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared with the volume 2, i find that this volume is kind of boring. The artwork is beautiful as always, also we get to know more about Sakura family, clowcards and the relationship between the cards. But for the execution it's not as exciting as my imagination. Maybe because it's looks like the clowcards are too easy to catch even though the clowcards are more complex than before.

[Ana K P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my first time seeing a guy and a girl being love rivals over the same (unattainable) guy! Li Syaoran is a wonderful addition to the cast and kick started the magical growth of the characters wonderfully. Touya doesn't seem to be simple either, and there's a new teacher who is suspicious. The plot seems to be advancing!

[Jessie Radford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again wonderful artwork! For anyone who was ever a fan of the show you really should pick up these books. Even if there for a younger generation, they are well worth the read. I can't help but get a warm feeling reading this book.

[Jaqueline Ferraz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sakura e Li finalmente juntos. Agora sim começa aventura! Cartas clou CADA vez mais perigosas e elas sabem da existência da Sakura

[Malina]

And of course it has to end with a cliffhanger and I don't own volume 3 yet.

[Paulina Monsálvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

ME ENCANTA. Touya y su romance oculto y Yukito y todo.
Sonomi y los recuerdos de Nadeshiko.
Hasta ahora mi favorito

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

SIII MIZUKI

[Laura]

tiene unas partes muy chistosas, como la competencia de bádminton entre sakura y el otro chico por el amor de yukito xd

[Julieta · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

no es que no me gustó pero no entendí la mitad de las cosas que estaban pasando

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for the complete series



While not as big as similar titles such as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura is definitely a manga household name. Elementary Schooler Sakura finds a book in her father's library which not only proves to be magical but also releases the lion-like creature Kero-chan who tasks her with finding all the magical cards the book once contained. The cards were created by the mightiest magician to have lived - Clow. With each card Sakura adds to her collection, her own magical powers grow.

CLAMP
Cardcaptor Sakura already wins points simply by being a work of CLAMP. The art is as gorgeous as one can expect and it's almost unavoidable to read if one wants to delve into the multiverse these artists have created. It's definitely one of their bigger works, especially as it features the characters that are later featured as the protagonists of CLAMP's crossover work: Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE. Although this manga's art is a tad less intricate and almost simple in the use of screen toning, there's something very light and loveable about it and it's undeniably adorable.

Magical Girl
I've always struggled to view Cardcaptor Sakura as a magical girl manga. It undoubtedly is, but I do find it drops some of this genre's typical tropes - and I mean that in the best way possible. Sakura doesn't actually transform through any magical means. She wears a different 'magical girl' costume for most chapters, but they are all tailored by her best friend Tomoyo and are really just for variety and cuteness (and surely the artists having their fun) rather than any magical process that all other magical girls go through. In fact, all the magic is much more akin to more traditional witches and wizard's and even draws on Chinese mythology. One thing I also really appreciate is that Sakura is just your normal girl who is collecting magical cards to stop them from causing havoc rather than a girl (or group of girls) pitched against an evil force to save the earth from certain doom. It just has a much lighter and appropriate feeling to it.

Characters & Plot
It definitely starts off very episodic, but it has a nice underlying plot that becomes more solid toward the second half of the story. I find myself more invested in the main story rather than the individual episodes in which Sakura finds yet another card. The plot itself is to an equal amount about the mystery behind the cards as well as Sakura's daily life with her family and friends. Unfortunately, if we're purely looking at the plot, I can't deny that I find Cardcaptor Sakura a little boring at times. It is a bit strange because Sakura and the male protagonist Syaoran are among my favourite manga characters. I absolutely adore these two and this series features a lot of other likeable characters such as Kero-chan and Tomoyo. It is, therefore, a little baffling that their plot is sometimes a little underwhelming, though it does not change that this is still a manga I hold dear.

Romance



This is where it gets complicated. CLAMP are known to have rather unconventional romantic couples. And despite Cardcaptor Sakura being one of their most innocent and light-hearted works, I think it is also easily the most controversial romance-wise. As mentioned above, I love Sakura and Syaoran and even more so as a couple. Mind you, these two are about 10 years old and their relationship doesn't develop until very late into the series - an embrace is as far as they get. Yet it's almost that innocent setup that makes them such an adorable couple - it doesn't need to be romance focused for these two to be an exemplary match.

When it comes to homosexual characters, I find that CLAMP has always been ahead of time, though not necessarily in a realistic way. On one hand, it is great that multiple sexualities are included throughout the CLAMP world. On the other hand, it is treated almost too idealistically. Don't get me wrong, equality is important. But there is truth to non-straight persons having to face certain difficulties in daily life that others might not. In Cardcaptor Sakura, as well as most other CLAMP works, the appearance of a homosexual character is almost taken for granted - it sometimes feels as though the whole of it takes place in an ideal parallel world. I believe that both in reality and in other fiction, there's bound to be a character or two who at least consider the situation around a homosexual character. This is probably even more true when one considers that this series is from the 90s.

The only true issue in regards to romance lies with a certain age gap. Mind you, I am not in the least against relationships with age gaps - fiction or reality alike. 10 years, 20 years - where to draw the line? I don't think there is anything wrong with an age gap as long as it's a relationship built on mutual feelings and care rather than an older party taking advantage of a younger one. You can't really choose who you fall in love with and age seems a trivial thing when you truly love someone. In the same sense, I have no issues with certain 'taboo' relationships such as student-teacher, provided again the feelings are genuine and neither party is taken advantage of. I know people in real-life who have loved and married their former teacher - they're just about as happy as any couple I know. A relationship like that brings its difficulties, but in my mind, it really comes down to how it's handled more than anything else.

Now, while I neither mind age gaps nor student-teacher relationships, I do believe there is a certain threshold of how young the younger party can be. Realistically, there's a massive difference between an 8-year-old dating an 18-year-old and a couple of, say, an 18 and 28-year-old. Cardcaptor Sakura blows all caution to the wind and introduces the relationship between the 10-or-so-year-old Rika and her teacher Terada. Now Terada might be as young as 20, which would result in an age gap of about 10 years. I don't see an issue with a 10-year gap, but the fact that Rika is around 10 makes this a really awkward couple. While everything is kept at a perfectly innocent level - there are clear signs that they're staying apart until she is old enough - the fact that Terada is even considering a 10-year-old is just not right. The only thing that makes this readable to me is the fact that none of the young characters, the protagonists Sakura and Syaoran included, behave like the 10-year-olds they're meant to be. I often seem to get this issue when it comes to manga, but most characters appear a good couple of years older to me than they are actually meant to be. I would much rather think of Sakura and co. as 14-year-olds, and that already makes the whole Rika business a tad less of a shocker.

Interestingly, while Rika and Terada receive a lot of scorn from readers everywhere, there is another very similar couple which is rarely called out. There are clear hints of a budding - and encouraged - romance between yet another 10-year-old pupil and his female teacher. Their age gap is likely similar to that of Rika and Terada's, yet it does not receive nearly as much backlash. It seems people have a bigger issue when the girl is the younger party which frankly is quite unfair - I believe both are equally problematic.

So, coming to an end, Cardcaptor Sakura has its oddities and even boring moments - the romance must really be taken with a grain of salt or a flexible imagination. But it is also an adorable and loveable series with some of my very favourite and memorable characters that I can't help but love.

[Luisa R · Rating 5 out of 5]

No puedo amar más a Touya, me encanta este personaje.
Cada uno tiene algo particular y divertido pero hasta ahora él es quien se lleva mi corazón.

Nota: Son muy graciosas sus expresiones. Solo río

[melhara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The romance/paedophilia aspects of this manga still make me uncomfortable... and now there might be something going on between Sakura's brother and her new math teacher too! Is there no end to all of these inappropriate relationships?!

----------------------------------------------
Average rating for the entire series: 2.5/5
My reviews for the rest of the series:
Volume 1 | Volume 2| Volume 3 | Volume 4 | Volume 5 | Volume 6| Volume 7 (Master of the Clow, Vol 1) | Volume 8 (Master of the Clow, Vol 2) | Volume 9 (Master of the Clow, Vol 3) | Volume 10 (Master of the Clow, Vol 4) | Volume 11 (Master of the Clow, Vol 5) | Volume 12 (Master of the Clow, Vol 6)

[Ace · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Sakura opens a book in her father's library, she accidentally frees the Guardian of the Seal and now must collect the escaped Clow Cards. Cue the cutest, most tooth-achingly sweet adventure ever! Given that the target audience for this is kids, older readers may feel disenchanted with how easily everything is solved.

The romance triangles continue to complicate -- like with previous volumes, I'm still a little freaked by some of them (I don't care how mature she is, a fourth grader should NEVER be engaged to a teacher). That said, I appreciate how gently this series treats all sorts of love. It's really nice to see LGBT crushes treated kindly and without stereotypes. That keeps this series at three stars for me, despite its issues.

[Ceejay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pokemon and Sailor Moon may have been more popular with the American audience, but I think that's because the Cardcaptor anime was highly censored when it was brought here. Clamp, in volume three, has once again provided us with insight into Sakura and her friends. Sakura has to deal with a clow card ghost who may harm her brother. She visits with her best friend, Tomoyo, and helps Tomoyo mother open a special box. Finally, a new math teacher takes over at school. She may not be all she seems to be! Great series! It holds up so well, just like a manga classic should.

[Karla Jaime G-R · Rating 5 out of 5]

La cosa se está poniendo picante! Jajaja llegó la profesora Kaho Mitzuki, tan bella como misteriosa. Por otro lado, conocemos un poquito más sobre la mamá de Tomoyo y está nos sigue dejando en claro el gran cariño que le tiene a Sakura. Mientras que Toya saca la delantera mostrándose como el mejor hermano del mundo y la persona más considerada hasta con los que ya no están vivos. 💙

En otras noticias, Syaoran sigue sin tener tanto protagonismo y continúa dejándose llevar por el amor jajaja.

Cartas Clow atrapadas: Espejo y escudo. ✨

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad that I chose this one as the first book in 2010. CCS gives me a fuzzy feeling every time. I think it's great that the manga doesn't focus only on the gathering of the Clow cards, that it develops its characters a bit more with every story. In this volume, we learn more about Toya, what he sees and who he knows. And there are many touching moments: like the card's reaction to Toya's gentleness or Toya feeding Yukito his pancakes. It's these little moments that make the manga perfect.

[Nathália · Rating 4 out of 5]

é uma história fofinha, que me dá um quentinho no coração e é nostalgia pura.

A única coisa q não gosto são os age gaps, esse bando de adulto "namorando" menor de idade. isso incomoda demais.

só tô passando por cima disso (mas com muito nervoso) pq é o CLAMP, um bando de mulher q escreveu junta na década de 90 e pq tem um bando de representatividade queer (q geralmente é de boa, o problema são os casais héteros!!! Quem diria????)

[Chaemin Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this one. art and outfits still A+ and love the cliffhanger and mysterious lady coming in as a new teacher....conveniently after the first one "takes a leave of absence" uh huh sure XD my favorite bout this volume is that this was the intro of the mirror card. she was my favorite card on the show as a kid. can't wait to see her more.

[Starbubbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the series goes, I just love it more and more!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good can't complain. Nostalgia. 😊

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arithmancy exam for the O.W.Ls 2019