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カードキャプターさくら [Cardcaptor Sakura] #1-3
Cardcaptor Sakura, Omnibus 1
Fourth grader Sakura Kinomoto finds a strange book in her father's library -- a book made by the wizard Clow to store dangerous spirits sealed within a set of magical cards. But when Sakura opens it up, there is nothing left inside but Kero-chan, the book's cute little guardian beast . . . who informs Sakura that since the Clow cards seem to have escaped while he was asleep, it's now her job to capture them! * Cardcaptor Sakura is finally available in omnibus form! In the style of the recent edition of CLAMP's Clover, Dark Horse will use remastered image files straight from CLAMP. * Cardcaptor Sakura is a shojo saga well known to fans, both through the manga and the anime TV series and movies, released in the U.S. through Geneon. * The Dark Horse series of CLAMP omnibus editions has truly raised the bar for manga collections!
600 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1997
77 people are currently reading
1492 people want to read
About the author
Clamp
745 books3,138 followersŌkawa 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.
[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.
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December 19, 2016
More in my exploration of CLAMP. This manga is aimed at younger readers, generally not my preferred level although anime and manga offer loads of it. But it's an earlier work which includes a lot of the CLAMP trope-and-character formations recycled into later works aimed at older readers, so is something of a foundation-work for understanding the often maddeningly elusive latter.
Magical-girl Sakura finds an old book made to hold a set of powerful cards, which have become scattered and lost; with the aid of the magical creature who guards the volume, she is off on a quest to retrieve all of the cards. (Cue memories of all those popular collector-card games of the 90s.) Family and grade-school backdrops keep the scope at a suitable junior level for the original target audience. Artwork is pretty.
I read all four omnibus volumes. The Dark Horse reprints have excellent graphic reproduction, very fine and clear. But because I could only obtain two of them on paper, I broke down and tried the missing ones on my Kindle, which turned out to be do-able for my eyes but only just. Manga would likely be well-suited to tablets or a computer screen, though, which I may try someday when I'm sufficiently motivated to clamber bloody-fingered up the learning curve.
Ta, L.
Magical-girl Sakura finds an old book made to hold a set of powerful cards, which have become scattered and lost; with the aid of the magical creature who guards the volume, she is off on a quest to retrieve all of the cards. (Cue memories of all those popular collector-card games of the 90s.) Family and grade-school backdrops keep the scope at a suitable junior level for the original target audience. Artwork is pretty.
I read all four omnibus volumes. The Dark Horse reprints have excellent graphic reproduction, very fine and clear. But because I could only obtain two of them on paper, I broke down and tried the missing ones on my Kindle, which turned out to be do-able for my eyes but only just. Manga would likely be well-suited to tablets or a computer screen, though, which I may try someday when I'm sufficiently motivated to clamber bloody-fingered up the learning curve.
Ta, L.
January 22, 2019
4.5/5 stars
There's a reason this story is such a beloved manga classic. There's a "chosen one", there's magic and there's a funny animal sidekick - which also describes about 90% of all manga out there, but Cardcaptor Sakura is covered in such beautiful and warm aura, that it shines through them all, still.
I adore all of the characters. I adore Sakura - she's kind and loving, and her relationship with her family is precious. I adore her stoic brother and how he always gives Sakura hard time, just to mask his strong brotherly love for her. I love her father, quiet but strong and kind. I adore Tomoyo to pieces. She's so calm and peaceful, and loving, and mature - I aspire to be like Tomoyo. Kero is funny obviously. Lin is also funny, but he also gets a very good storyline. And Yuki is so special. To all of them it appears.
The art in this is one of my absolute favorite - it's really beautiful. The whole book has this cozy feeling around, but there's still a lot of action. I don't know how, but it somehow achieved the perfect balance between the two. I love how it makes me feel. How it makes me want to be kinder and pay attention to every moment, every detail.
This was my 2nd, or maybe even 3rd re-read.
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There's a reason this story is such a beloved manga classic. There's a "chosen one", there's magic and there's a funny animal sidekick - which also describes about 90% of all manga out there, but Cardcaptor Sakura is covered in such beautiful and warm aura, that it shines through them all, still.
I adore all of the characters. I adore Sakura - she's kind and loving, and her relationship with her family is precious. I adore her stoic brother and how he always gives Sakura hard time, just to mask his strong brotherly love for her. I love her father, quiet but strong and kind. I adore Tomoyo to pieces. She's so calm and peaceful, and loving, and mature - I aspire to be like Tomoyo. Kero is funny obviously. Lin is also funny, but he also gets a very good storyline. And Yuki is so special. To all of them it appears.
The art in this is one of my absolute favorite - it's really beautiful. The whole book has this cozy feeling around, but there's still a lot of action. I don't know how, but it somehow achieved the perfect balance between the two. I love how it makes me feel. How it makes me want to be kinder and pay attention to every moment, every detail.
This was my 2nd, or maybe even 3rd re-read.
My WEBSITE
My INSTAGRAM
My WORDPRESS BLOG
June 24, 2018
I bought this manga two years ago when I started rewatching Cardcaptor Sakura. I grew up with this anime, and I could say it's my #1 favorite. It just reminds me of all the things that I love about being a kid.
Cardcaptor Sakura follows the story of Sakura. She's an elementary student who stumbled upon a magical book; her mission will be about completing all the missing enchanted cards. If she fails, the world will be in chaos. This series is really pure even the "evil" characters are likable.
One thing that I didn't really caught when I was younger is the positive queer nod. Per instance, Tomoyo, who's the best friend of Sakura, clearly has a crush on her. Tomoyo's mother also has a canon crush on Sakura's mom. Additionally, the main male character Syaoran Li likes Yukito. He is bisexual. Yukito and Toyo (Sakura's brother) are subtext dating. This is not just a fan speculation. The manga and anime accentuated those certain attractions. I know using labels are important for pop-culture representation but this series was originally made during late 90s and early 2000s. For me, the fact that the queer representation was crafted in a cute and natural way made it valid. Like, I cannot believe my childhood did that.
November 20, 2016
Trying manga while in Japan...
To be honest, I picked this up while in Japan as a simple memento as I used to watch the anime when I was younger, but flicked through a couple of pages and quickly found myself hooked, whether it was nostalgia or what I don't know, but I bought Vol. 2 almost straight away.
Things I liked;
- The humour, while it is that very 'cutesy' humour that a lot of anime features I found myself laughing more than I'd like to admit.
- LGBT Representation - Not only is the main characters best friend a lesbian, but Sakura's crush is also very likely gay with Sakura's brother...also the main rival is seemingly bisexual. Who knew?
- The Art Style - Definitely impressive, the anime itself was a good representation of the art and the card spirit drawings are detailed and very well done
To be honest, I picked this up while in Japan as a simple memento as I used to watch the anime when I was younger, but flicked through a couple of pages and quickly found myself hooked, whether it was nostalgia or what I don't know, but I bought Vol. 2 almost straight away.
Things I liked;
- The humour, while it is that very 'cutesy' humour that a lot of anime features I found myself laughing more than I'd like to admit.
- LGBT Representation - Not only is the main characters best friend a lesbian, but Sakura's crush is also very likely gay with Sakura's brother...also the main rival is seemingly bisexual. Who knew?
- The Art Style - Definitely impressive, the anime itself was a good representation of the art and the card spirit drawings are detailed and very well done
April 29, 2018
I was so shocked by this volume. I have been alternating it with a few other books so I hadn't been getting immersed in it, but today I couldn't put this down! I ended up reading over 70% of this manga in a singular day. It is so light and full of heart. It shows the power of friendship, love, and wanting to help the world. It reminded me a lot of animes like Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh, but with a much softer approach. This sucked me in and makes me want to watch the anime made off it so badly. This is definitely a manga I would recommend for those dipping their toes into the genre for the first time. It is easily approachable and an all together fun read.
June 27, 2016
4.5 stars
I love this series. Kero is one of my all time favorite magical beings. Li is so crabby, and both he and Sakura are adorable whenever they see major crush Yukito. Tomoyo provides Sakura with a wardrobe even a Kardashian would be envious of. While the card battles are fun, it's the character interactions that make this a gem.
I love this series. Kero is one of my all time favorite magical beings. Li is so crabby, and both he and Sakura are adorable whenever they see major crush Yukito. Tomoyo provides Sakura with a wardrobe even a Kardashian would be envious of. While the card battles are fun, it's the character interactions that make this a gem.
November 8, 2015
Recordar una buena historia siempre es de lo mejor.
Nunca tuve la oportunidad de leer el manga completo cuando lo sacaron aquí en México, y ahora, al descubrir este hermoso Omnibus, estoy más que enamorada de esta historia <3.
Páginas a color, buena impresión, excelente historia y personajes, muy bonita portada, ¡ay caramba! Adoro Sakura :3.
Totalmente recomendado si no lo has leído :).
Nunca tuve la oportunidad de leer el manga completo cuando lo sacaron aquí en México, y ahora, al descubrir este hermoso Omnibus, estoy más que enamorada de esta historia <3.
Páginas a color, buena impresión, excelente historia y personajes, muy bonita portada, ¡ay caramba! Adoro Sakura :3.
Totalmente recomendado si no lo has leído :).
September 21, 2022
No, no, no, no, no. There is a TEACHER who gives an engagement ring to a FOURTH GRADER! Sakura's mom is 16 when she marries Sakura's dad when he's 25...and her TEACHER! No!
The premise is fun, the story overall is good, it's funny, the queer representation is great. However, I cannot get past the normalization of child predators. Sorry, can't do it.
The premise is fun, the story overall is good, it's funny, the queer representation is great. However, I cannot get past the normalization of child predators. Sorry, can't do it.
September 17, 2018
Ahh, Cardcaptor Sakura! It has been many years coming for me to return to this particular series, and it's one that I feel holds up to my warm, nostalgia-colored memories of it.
True, I'm heavily biased towards CLAMP's works overall, so perhaps this review will be painted as such and prove worthless in the eyes of those looking for something more critical to be said about a classic magical girl cornerstone manga. (I know full and well how much the dedicated, obsessive CLAMP fangirls such as myself get side-eyed for our devotion to their works.) However, I love this to pieces for the additional reasons that 1: Cardcaptor Sakura is THE series that inspired me to begin seriously drawing and working on improving my art when I was ten years old, and 2: even today it still feels as though it stands out among an entire slew of other stories in the densely saturated magical girl genre.
This series is about Sakura Kinomoto, and in many ways, aspects of the story are very slice-of-life in their nature, because she is a fourth-grader and still focused on school, hanging out with her friends, her crush, sibling nagging with her brother, and all the little things that make up her day-to-day life. She chances upon a magical tome called the Book of Clow in her father's basement library and without warning, happens to break the magical seal upon the book and releases all the enchanted cards within it and the mythic beast that is meant to guard the seal. In that way, the overarching plot becomes about Sakura discovering she has some mysterious magical heritage, accepting her destiny as the card captor (as 'bestowed' upon her by the guardian beast, "Kero",) as she works to reclaim all of the mischievous and wayward Clow Cards, and also facing off with rival Syaoran Li. Most people familiar even in passing with the name of the series are aware that this is the generalized plot of Cardcaptor Sakura.
Truthfully that is the first half of the plot, as it deepens once Sakura recaptures all the cards and must face a "final trial". [Note to those who have watched the anime but haven't read the manga: the manga originally only numbered the cards at 19 in total, where the anime bumped the final number of Clow Cards up to 52. Be aware of that if you go to read the manga and are wondering where some of the familiar cards from the anime are.] This first omnibus edition volume from Dark Horse follows the events of the first three volumes of manga, and ends around the same time a new, important character gets introduced to the story, which will lead up to the eventual "final trial" I mentioned. And a lot of what you get in this volume is set-up for the larger story, but I feel it still holds up well.
Note for the interested: if you're looking for an older manga series with LGBTQ+ characters, this is one! Before the widespread vocalization for more queer representation in media, CLAMP was doing it. They have confirmed nearly every character in this series is default-coded bisexual, with many characters having crushes on people of the same sex as well as people of the opposite sex. Of course, romantic rivalries and general feelings all around get a little convoluted in this series, so be aware of that if you're not especially interested in (what Tomoyo calls) "tangled romantic flow charts."
There are two things that particularly bugged me I'll have to mention here:
1. Sakura's father constantly refers to her with the "-san" honorific, even in the privacy of the Kinomoto home. If you aren't familiar yet with the significance of Japan's honorific system, it's expected in public around others to use honorifics at the end of someone's name. Dropping honorifics altogether implies a close or intimate relationship that is typically expected to only be between close family members and/or romantic partners. It wouldn't be unusual to see Fujitaka Kinomoto call his daughter "Sakura-san" in public if he were being very formal due to the presence of other people. However, it feels very unusual for him to call her "Sakura-san" (implying "Ms. Sakura") in their own home, when the only other human presence around is older brother Touya. Even if you didn't drop the honorific, it would still make sense to refer to her with something less formal or more affectionate, such as the "-chan" honorific. I'm not sure whether Fujitaka constantly calling her "Sakura-san" was intentional on the part of how CLAMP wrote in the original Japanese, or if it was included when this translation was published, but it comes across as very stiff and formal for a father to call his daughter in the privacy of their own home, especially when the narrative makes them out to have a very close father-daughter relationship.
2:
All in all, I love returning to Cardcaptor Sakura, as its sense of wonder, joy, life, and overall innocence make it very endearing, and I am so happy to finally own a copy (at least of this first omnibus volume. I intend to hunt down the other omnibus editions later on.) I do highly recommend it, both to newcomers (though be aware and forewarned by what I put under that spoiler line) and to nostalgic fans alike.
True, I'm heavily biased towards CLAMP's works overall, so perhaps this review will be painted as such and prove worthless in the eyes of those looking for something more critical to be said about a classic magical girl cornerstone manga. (I know full and well how much the dedicated, obsessive CLAMP fangirls such as myself get side-eyed for our devotion to their works.) However, I love this to pieces for the additional reasons that 1: Cardcaptor Sakura is THE series that inspired me to begin seriously drawing and working on improving my art when I was ten years old, and 2: even today it still feels as though it stands out among an entire slew of other stories in the densely saturated magical girl genre.
This series is about Sakura Kinomoto, and in many ways, aspects of the story are very slice-of-life in their nature, because she is a fourth-grader and still focused on school, hanging out with her friends, her crush, sibling nagging with her brother, and all the little things that make up her day-to-day life. She chances upon a magical tome called the Book of Clow in her father's basement library and without warning, happens to break the magical seal upon the book and releases all the enchanted cards within it and the mythic beast that is meant to guard the seal. In that way, the overarching plot becomes about Sakura discovering she has some mysterious magical heritage, accepting her destiny as the card captor (as 'bestowed' upon her by the guardian beast, "Kero",) as she works to reclaim all of the mischievous and wayward Clow Cards, and also facing off with rival Syaoran Li. Most people familiar even in passing with the name of the series are aware that this is the generalized plot of Cardcaptor Sakura.
Truthfully that is the first half of the plot, as it deepens once Sakura recaptures all the cards and must face a "final trial". [Note to those who have watched the anime but haven't read the manga: the manga originally only numbered the cards at 19 in total, where the anime bumped the final number of Clow Cards up to 52. Be aware of that if you go to read the manga and are wondering where some of the familiar cards from the anime are.] This first omnibus edition volume from Dark Horse follows the events of the first three volumes of manga, and ends around the same time a new, important character gets introduced to the story, which will lead up to the eventual "final trial" I mentioned. And a lot of what you get in this volume is set-up for the larger story, but I feel it still holds up well.
Note for the interested: if you're looking for an older manga series with LGBTQ+ characters, this is one! Before the widespread vocalization for more queer representation in media, CLAMP was doing it. They have confirmed nearly every character in this series is default-coded bisexual, with many characters having crushes on people of the same sex as well as people of the opposite sex. Of course, romantic rivalries and general feelings all around get a little convoluted in this series, so be aware of that if you're not especially interested in (what Tomoyo calls) "tangled romantic flow charts."
There are two things that particularly bugged me I'll have to mention here:
1. Sakura's father constantly refers to her with the "-san" honorific, even in the privacy of the Kinomoto home. If you aren't familiar yet with the significance of Japan's honorific system, it's expected in public around others to use honorifics at the end of someone's name. Dropping honorifics altogether implies a close or intimate relationship that is typically expected to only be between close family members and/or romantic partners. It wouldn't be unusual to see Fujitaka Kinomoto call his daughter "Sakura-san" in public if he were being very formal due to the presence of other people. However, it feels very unusual for him to call her "Sakura-san" (implying "Ms. Sakura") in their own home, when the only other human presence around is older brother Touya. Even if you didn't drop the honorific, it would still make sense to refer to her with something less formal or more affectionate, such as the "-chan" honorific. I'm not sure whether Fujitaka constantly calling her "Sakura-san" was intentional on the part of how CLAMP wrote in the original Japanese, or if it was included when this translation was published, but it comes across as very stiff and formal for a father to call his daughter in the privacy of their own home, especially when the narrative makes them out to have a very close father-daughter relationship.
2:
All in all, I love returning to Cardcaptor Sakura, as its sense of wonder, joy, life, and overall innocence make it very endearing, and I am so happy to finally own a copy (at least of this first omnibus volume. I intend to hunt down the other omnibus editions later on.) I do highly recommend it, both to newcomers (though be aware and forewarned by what I put under that spoiler line) and to nostalgic fans alike.
April 3, 2021
This was lots of fun, the art is very pretty, the characters are very endearing. Also I’m surprised by the amount of queer coded stuff in the manga. What a delight!
Read
August 30, 2020Cardcaptor Sakura is such a nostolgia trip for me! I love all the lgbtq+ rep this series has, especially because it is targeted towards young people. I think it's important that people see themselves in stories at any age.
Also, I just love all of the main characters SO much. Toya and Yukito are my personal favorites and I feel like there is more content of them in the manga than the anime series (((probably do to censorship))).
I do want to mention that there are relationships (not with the main characters) that have VERY large age gaps, which is most likely a by-product of the time and place these stories are from. At least I know because it is written by CLAMP that it doesn't come from a male-gaze... but still.
Also, I just love all of the main characters SO much. Toya and Yukito are my personal favorites and I feel like there is more content of them in the manga than the anime series (((probably do to censorship))).
I do want to mention that there are relationships (not with the main characters) that have VERY large age gaps, which is most likely a by-product of the time and place these stories are from. At least I know because it is written by CLAMP that it doesn't come from a male-gaze... but still.
October 4, 2011
I've been a longtime Clamp fan, but I don't think I've ever really sat down with this series. It falls into the category of Magical Girl (like Sailor Moon), and is definitely aimed at a younger market.
Sakura is a normal fourth-grader who finds a magic book that used to hold cards (they look rather like Tarot cards). The guardian fell asleep and let the cards escape. Sakura found the book, so she obviously has the magic power needed to catch the cards, and each card captured gives her more power to call on (a touch of Pokeman?).
All this sounds like fun, but for some people there are more problematic subplots. There are suggestions that Sakura's brother is in love with his (male) best friend, as are Sakura and her (male) rival. Also, Sakura's (female) best friend hints that she is in love with Sakura, much like her mother was in love with Sakura's mother (her cousin), and hates Sakura's father for stealing her away.
As well, Sakura's parents were high school teacher and student when they married. And then there's the secret engagement between Sakura's classmate (grade four, remember) and their teacher. This is the only element that really bothered me, but if I ignored it, I really enjoyed the series.
As with all Clamp manga, the artwork is gorgeous, and the omnibus edition (volumes 1-3 in the original version) includes a lot of gorgeous colour pages.
And for the curious, their other series, Tsubasa, does include many of the characters from this series and other series in an alternate universe sort of way.
Sakura is a normal fourth-grader who finds a magic book that used to hold cards (they look rather like Tarot cards). The guardian fell asleep and let the cards escape. Sakura found the book, so she obviously has the magic power needed to catch the cards, and each card captured gives her more power to call on (a touch of Pokeman?).
All this sounds like fun, but for some people there are more problematic subplots. There are suggestions that Sakura's brother is in love with his (male) best friend, as are Sakura and her (male) rival. Also, Sakura's (female) best friend hints that she is in love with Sakura, much like her mother was in love with Sakura's mother (her cousin), and hates Sakura's father for stealing her away.
As well, Sakura's parents were high school teacher and student when they married. And then there's the secret engagement between Sakura's classmate (grade four, remember) and their teacher. This is the only element that really bothered me, but if I ignored it, I really enjoyed the series.
As with all Clamp manga, the artwork is gorgeous, and the omnibus edition (volumes 1-3 in the original version) includes a lot of gorgeous colour pages.
And for the curious, their other series, Tsubasa, does include many of the characters from this series and other series in an alternate universe sort of way.
July 19, 2020
I watched the anime with my daughters when they were children and I had a good memory of it. However, the manga made me feel really perplexed by the cultural differences between Europe and Japan. Although this is considered for young readers, I think that some of the relationships portrayed here aren't suitable for them, since the age difference and the balance of power are clearly too much. They are presented in a way that normalises it, which definitely I don't like.
I find the art quite interesting, very pretty and the general story cute, but being a teacher this is not a book I would advise for the market aimed, teens would be more able to address the issues I mentioned.
I find the art quite interesting, very pretty and the general story cute, but being a teacher this is not a book I would advise for the market aimed, teens would be more able to address the issues I mentioned.
August 1, 2013
Really cute manga that people of all ages can enjoy. I remember watching the anime Saturday mornings as a kid and picking this up as soon as I could get my hands on it. A light, sweet read with utterly adorable characters.
June 29, 2018
Oh my goooOOOOOOD if you watched the show as a kid or love funny, feel good but with a touch of magic mangas. Pick this uP it’s AMAZING
November 10, 2018
I might have to get the whole series. Manga has never been my first choice, but with this one, i’m so hooked.
March 7, 2021
I LOVED reading this!
It was very nostalgic as I watched the anime when I was younger.
This is one of my favourite animes.
I can't wait to purchase the other bind ups!
It was very nostalgic as I watched the anime when I was younger.
This is one of my favourite animes.
I can't wait to purchase the other bind ups!
January 16, 2021
I've long had the theory that whenever my girlfriend's happy she resembles an anime or manga character. This book pretty much cements for me where that came from.
The characters are likeable and the story is great so far, plus the humour works. Tomoyo's crush on Sakura, which I believe is unrequited, sometimes strikes as sad rather than sweet. I thought nothing would top how uncomfortable Sakura's parents' story would be, but then came the teacher with the student. Eugh.
Sayoran needs to get more interesting, but the style of the comics themselves works.
The characters are likeable and the story is great so far, plus the humour works. Tomoyo's crush on Sakura, which I believe is unrequited, sometimes strikes as sad rather than sweet. I thought nothing would top how uncomfortable Sakura's parents' story would be, but then came the teacher with the student. Eugh.
Sayoran needs to get more interesting, but the style of the comics themselves works.
October 12, 2021
Read: 12/12 Volumes
It’s always interesting revisiting old anime or manga from your childhood and seeing them through an adult lens. I want to eventually get through most of CLAMP’s works so I figured I would start with Cardcaptor Sakura since I did see the anime as a kid and the sequel is being released.
The plot was kind of whatever for me. It felt very episodic as most chapters it was just Sakura facing the newest clow card. By half-way through she had already found all the cards and then the next quarter was spent changing them all into Sakura cards. I found it really dragged in the middle there and I just wanted her to figure everything out already. Honestly, I was only ever in this for the romance even as a kid. It does deliver in that sense, but it definitely wasn’t the focus of the series.
I was surprised by how many things I completely missed when I was a kid or were completely glossed over in the anime. I had thought that Tomoyo and Sakura were just a ship, but it’s actually confirmed canon that Tomoyo has feelings for Sakura. She just knows that Sakura doesn’t reciprocate so she’s happy as long as Sakura is happy even if it’s with someone else which is pretty mature for an elementary school student. The fact that Sakura’s dad was also a reincarnation of Clow Reed wasn’t in the anime. Thankfully the manga never had Meiling, that super annoying character from season two. She used to piss me off so much!
CLAMP also really likes their taboo relationships. It’s very heavily implied that Tomoyo’s mom, Sonomi, liked Sakura’s mom, Nadeshiko, and they were cousins. Toya had an ex-girlfriend who was the student teacher at his middle school. There’s also so many relationships / crushes between underage characters and adults. The most obvious one is Sakura’s classmate and friend, Rika, who is engaged to their homeroom teacher. Not only that but she’s shown multiple times throughout the series making him presents or meeting up with him for dates. Just seeing the height difference between them made me want to gag sometimes. Then there’s the whole thing with Sakura’s dad and mom who married when she was 16 and he was a student teacher at the high school. There’s also Kaho Mizuki who is in love with Eriol. While he is technically the reincarnation of Clow Reed, he’s still in the body of an elementary school student. They could have at least changed his physical form to reflect that. Finally there’s Sakura and Syaoran’s crush on Yukito who is a high school student so not as bad as the rest. It’s also pretty clear that Yukito doesn’t reciprocate their feelings so I’ll let that one slide.
The one thing I did enjoy a lot and I knew I would, was Toya and Yukito’s relationship. I just ate up all their scenes together and I was always craving more. I love that they’re canon. I love the dynamic between Toya and Yue and how it’s different from Yukito. I hope with the new sequel that the Cardcaptor Sakura fandom has been revived, because you already know I'm going to be looking up fanfictions after this.
Overall, I don’t know if this series has necessarily aged well. It’s marketed for kids, but then there’s some questionable things in it. I’m glad I could go back and finally read it, but I’m surprised that I didn’t love this as much as I was thinking I would. Hopefully this is not a trend as I go through more of CLAMP’s manga. Now moving on to Cardcaptor Sakura Clear!
It’s always interesting revisiting old anime or manga from your childhood and seeing them through an adult lens. I want to eventually get through most of CLAMP’s works so I figured I would start with Cardcaptor Sakura since I did see the anime as a kid and the sequel is being released.
The plot was kind of whatever for me. It felt very episodic as most chapters it was just Sakura facing the newest clow card. By half-way through she had already found all the cards and then the next quarter was spent changing them all into Sakura cards. I found it really dragged in the middle there and I just wanted her to figure everything out already. Honestly, I was only ever in this for the romance even as a kid. It does deliver in that sense, but it definitely wasn’t the focus of the series.
I was surprised by how many things I completely missed when I was a kid or were completely glossed over in the anime. I had thought that Tomoyo and Sakura were just a ship, but it’s actually confirmed canon that Tomoyo has feelings for Sakura. She just knows that Sakura doesn’t reciprocate so she’s happy as long as Sakura is happy even if it’s with someone else which is pretty mature for an elementary school student. The fact that Sakura’s dad was also a reincarnation of Clow Reed wasn’t in the anime. Thankfully the manga never had Meiling, that super annoying character from season two. She used to piss me off so much!
CLAMP also really likes their taboo relationships. It’s very heavily implied that Tomoyo’s mom, Sonomi, liked Sakura’s mom, Nadeshiko, and they were cousins. Toya had an ex-girlfriend who was the student teacher at his middle school. There’s also so many relationships / crushes between underage characters and adults. The most obvious one is Sakura’s classmate and friend, Rika, who is engaged to their homeroom teacher. Not only that but she’s shown multiple times throughout the series making him presents or meeting up with him for dates. Just seeing the height difference between them made me want to gag sometimes. Then there’s the whole thing with Sakura’s dad and mom who married when she was 16 and he was a student teacher at the high school. There’s also Kaho Mizuki who is in love with Eriol. While he is technically the reincarnation of Clow Reed, he’s still in the body of an elementary school student. They could have at least changed his physical form to reflect that. Finally there’s Sakura and Syaoran’s crush on Yukito who is a high school student so not as bad as the rest. It’s also pretty clear that Yukito doesn’t reciprocate their feelings so I’ll let that one slide.
The one thing I did enjoy a lot and I knew I would, was Toya and Yukito’s relationship. I just ate up all their scenes together and I was always craving more. I love that they’re canon. I love the dynamic between Toya and Yue and how it’s different from Yukito. I hope with the new sequel that the Cardcaptor Sakura fandom has been revived, because you already know I'm going to be looking up fanfictions after this.
Overall, I don’t know if this series has necessarily aged well. It’s marketed for kids, but then there’s some questionable things in it. I’m glad I could go back and finally read it, but I’m surprised that I didn’t love this as much as I was thinking I would. Hopefully this is not a trend as I go through more of CLAMP’s manga. Now moving on to Cardcaptor Sakura Clear!
January 28, 2018
Cardcaptor Sakura, Omnibus 1 Review
Manga Rating: 5 stars out of 5.
Story Line: 5 stars out of 5. I really enjoyed the omnibus of Cardcaptor Sakura. I am a big fan of the anime. I know that the English version was changed, but I actually enjoyed it. I read the manga to compare it to the anime. That is why I read most anime. I feel reading it helps you get more connected with the characters. You see the differences between the anime and the manga. I felt there was a lot that was different. Some of the scenes I really enjoyed and some of them that I didn't. I really loved the characters and the way they were portrayed in this volume. (I don't really want to go into too much detail as I normally do with other manga. This one I feel you should experience on your own. You should go into it on your own without really knowing what it's about. This manga will actually surprise you. )
Characters: 5 stars out of 5. Sakura is my favorite character in this whole volume. You see a lot of growth in this one omnibus. She is such an amazing character.
Tomoyo is an interesting character as well. There are a few differences in her character from the manga and anime. I didn't really mind it too much, but not sure how I felt about it either.
Toya was basically the same in this and the anime.
I loved her father too who was sweet and kind like in the anime.
Yukito was a fun character. I loved him.
Syaoran Li is also a great character. He was a bit of a jerk in the beginning. He feels like he should be the Cardcaptor not Sakura.
I'm happy that Meiling isn't actually in the manga. I didn't like her in the anime!
Writing Style: 5 stars out of 5.
Manga Rating: 5 stars out of 5.
Story Line: 5 stars out of 5. I really enjoyed the omnibus of Cardcaptor Sakura. I am a big fan of the anime. I know that the English version was changed, but I actually enjoyed it. I read the manga to compare it to the anime. That is why I read most anime. I feel reading it helps you get more connected with the characters. You see the differences between the anime and the manga. I felt there was a lot that was different. Some of the scenes I really enjoyed and some of them that I didn't. I really loved the characters and the way they were portrayed in this volume. (I don't really want to go into too much detail as I normally do with other manga. This one I feel you should experience on your own. You should go into it on your own without really knowing what it's about. This manga will actually surprise you. )
Characters: 5 stars out of 5. Sakura is my favorite character in this whole volume. You see a lot of growth in this one omnibus. She is such an amazing character.
Tomoyo is an interesting character as well. There are a few differences in her character from the manga and anime. I didn't really mind it too much, but not sure how I felt about it either.
Toya was basically the same in this and the anime.
I loved her father too who was sweet and kind like in the anime.
Yukito was a fun character. I loved him.
Syaoran Li is also a great character. He was a bit of a jerk in the beginning. He feels like he should be the Cardcaptor not Sakura.
I'm happy that Meiling isn't actually in the manga. I didn't like her in the anime!
Writing Style: 5 stars out of 5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2017
I binged watched the anime a couple of years ago and I totally fell in love with the story, so now that I kind of forgot the details I decided to actually pick up the mangas and get into them.
The first volume of the Omnibus series has the 3 first mangas of the series, so it's kind of like a collection set in 4 books for the 12 issues.
The story follows Sakura Kinomoto, a 10 year old girl, that opens a magical book that releases the clow cards. If she doesn't capture them all, a great evil is gonna happen. So, cute & brave little Sakura is doing her best to capture them while attending school. She's so adorable and I just love this story. Kero-chan is amazing <3
I love everything about this manga and I just wanna say that Shaoran is MINE & we are perfect for each other because I say so. I rest my case.
I'm giving it 5 brilliant stars, kisses to CLAMP!
The first volume of the Omnibus series has the 3 first mangas of the series, so it's kind of like a collection set in 4 books for the 12 issues.
The story follows Sakura Kinomoto, a 10 year old girl, that opens a magical book that releases the clow cards. If she doesn't capture them all, a great evil is gonna happen. So, cute & brave little Sakura is doing her best to capture them while attending school. She's so adorable and I just love this story. Kero-chan is amazing <3
I love everything about this manga and I just wanna say that Shaoran is MINE & we are perfect for each other because I say so. I rest my case.
I'm giving it 5 brilliant stars, kisses to CLAMP!
November 20, 2016
Very cute! I must admit I don't really remember much from the anime, though I do recall having a certain fondness for it. Quite interesting that this manga has same-sex relationships/crushes, and it's actually deeper than expected. Luckily I have the second omnibus volume from the library so I can continue on with the series!
October 20, 2016
I LOVED this!! I used to watch Cardcaptors all the time when I was a kid so it was really interesting to read this. I watched the english dubbed version so I think some things are quite different. It's such an enjoyable story and I can't wait to read the rest!
January 17, 2018
Como a maior parte das pessoas eu cheguei neste mangá vindo do anime que passava na TV a cabo durante a minha infância. Ele particularmente introduz romances que fogem do cotidiano, mas não de maneira explícita, fazendo um retrato mais sugestivo do que propriamente dito. O grupo CLAMP em si admitiu que seu objetivo era trazer representatividade a diferentes tipos de relacionamentos, desafiando algumas regras da heteronormatividade, mas também beirando o inapropriado com dinâmicas aluno/professor.
O que é realmente contrastante entre as duas mídias é que uma quedinha não correspondida de Reika, 10 anos, por Terada-sensei, 30 e poucos, no anime, se torna um caso de glamorizarão e normalização bizarra da pedofilia com uma cena do mangá onde ele entrega um anel de noivado a ela. Então encontramos alguns pontos muito importantes:
Primeiro que a conexão que o grupo faz entre pedofilia e relacionamentos LGBT+ é ultrajante., principalmente criando uma ilusão de que abuso psicológico e sexual é a mesma coisa que namoro consensual entre dois meninos, Yukito e Toya. Sendo uma mulher bissexual e um ser humano eu me sinto particularmente ofendida e ainda mais com a ausência das vozes dos fãs ou leitores que pouco discutem sobre isso e quando falam agem como se nada fosse de importância, simplesmente ignorando pedofilia.
A princípio me recusei a acreditar que tinha lido o mesmo que as outras pessoas e pesquisando sobre o assunto fiquei ainda mais chocada com o pequeno número de pessoas que sequer citam isso em reviews. Isso é inaceitável.
Enfim, senti a necessidade de escrever essa review mesmo nunca tendo escrito uma, por que além disso ser absurdo eu não poderia deixar me expressar quando tantos se calam. A gente precisa discutir assuntos difíceis para evoluir como sociedade e proteger as crianças que são as reais vítimas aqui.
O que é realmente contrastante entre as duas mídias é que uma quedinha não correspondida de Reika, 10 anos, por Terada-sensei, 30 e poucos, no anime, se torna um caso de glamorizarão e normalização bizarra da pedofilia com uma cena do mangá onde ele entrega um anel de noivado a ela. Então encontramos alguns pontos muito importantes:
Primeiro que a conexão que o grupo faz entre pedofilia e relacionamentos LGBT+ é ultrajante., principalmente criando uma ilusão de que abuso psicológico e sexual é a mesma coisa que namoro consensual entre dois meninos, Yukito e Toya. Sendo uma mulher bissexual e um ser humano eu me sinto particularmente ofendida e ainda mais com a ausência das vozes dos fãs ou leitores que pouco discutem sobre isso e quando falam agem como se nada fosse de importância, simplesmente ignorando pedofilia.
A princípio me recusei a acreditar que tinha lido o mesmo que as outras pessoas e pesquisando sobre o assunto fiquei ainda mais chocada com o pequeno número de pessoas que sequer citam isso em reviews. Isso é inaceitável.
Enfim, senti a necessidade de escrever essa review mesmo nunca tendo escrito uma, por que além disso ser absurdo eu não poderia deixar me expressar quando tantos se calam. A gente precisa discutir assuntos difíceis para evoluir como sociedade e proteger as crianças que são as reais vítimas aqui.
April 8, 2019
I purchased this omnibus for a book club and I am so happy I did. I vaguely remember my friend and I watching the tv show as kids so I was happy to read through the first part of it.
It’s such a beautifully “pure” book. The main character, Sakura, is a fourth grader and she acts like one which is so refreshing! (I’m used to Sailor Moon who looks like she’s 18 but is supposed to be 15.) Sakura is so sweet and she has such a cute crush on her brother’s friend (in fact, *everybody* has a crush on her brother’s friend).
This book is so adorable with all the hilarious love-triangles/squares/hexagons. Most notably, my favorite character is Sakura’s best friend who is so in love with her and supportive of her. There’s even a part where she confesses her love and Sakura responds with the typical “I love you too!” but her friend just smiles and says, “oh we’re thinking of different types of love but I’ll tell you when we’re older.” So cute.
As a note: there’s some odd teacher-student relationship stuff that was pretty off-putting given the ages of the students (10 year old dating her teacher???) but, other than that, it’s such an endearing series.
Pick it up. Give it a go. It’s worth it.
It’s such a beautifully “pure” book. The main character, Sakura, is a fourth grader and she acts like one which is so refreshing! (I’m used to Sailor Moon who looks like she’s 18 but is supposed to be 15.) Sakura is so sweet and she has such a cute crush on her brother’s friend (in fact, *everybody* has a crush on her brother’s friend).
This book is so adorable with all the hilarious love-triangles/squares/hexagons. Most notably, my favorite character is Sakura’s best friend who is so in love with her and supportive of her. There’s even a part where she confesses her love and Sakura responds with the typical “I love you too!” but her friend just smiles and says, “oh we’re thinking of different types of love but I’ll tell you when we’re older.” So cute.
As a note: there’s some odd teacher-student relationship stuff that was pretty off-putting given the ages of the students (10 year old dating her teacher???) but, other than that, it’s such an endearing series.
Pick it up. Give it a go. It’s worth it.
February 18, 2018
Still magical but wow there is one issue that is too creepy.
World: The art by Clamp is beautiful. The splash pages and sense of power is amazing. The world building is solid and serves the story. It's not super complex but it is fun.
Story: I read this along time ago during the anime release and reading it again it does have a janky pacing which the show fixed. There's all the tropes and clichés of the magical girl drama but the layer of the cards and the solving of each card keeps it fresh. The character dynamic is also clichéd but fun.
Characters: Sakura is wonderful, her personal voice is beautiful and cute making her the bet viewpoint for readers. It's sugary sweet and oh so cute. Tomoyo is also fun and cute and all the best friendships are like hers. The cast of characters I'm not going to go all I think but it's familiar but still so much fun. Rika is the issue, I know different cultures and all but a pre teen engaged to a teacher is just yucky no matter what...no.
I like this series. It's just so cute and fun. It's magic system makes it stand out.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art by Clamp is beautiful. The splash pages and sense of power is amazing. The world building is solid and serves the story. It's not super complex but it is fun.
Story: I read this along time ago during the anime release and reading it again it does have a janky pacing which the show fixed. There's all the tropes and clichés of the magical girl drama but the layer of the cards and the solving of each card keeps it fresh. The character dynamic is also clichéd but fun.
Characters: Sakura is wonderful, her personal voice is beautiful and cute making her the bet viewpoint for readers. It's sugary sweet and oh so cute. Tomoyo is also fun and cute and all the best friendships are like hers. The cast of characters I'm not going to go all I think but it's familiar but still so much fun. Rika is the issue, I know different cultures and all but a pre teen engaged to a teacher is just yucky no matter what...no.
I like this series. It's just so cute and fun. It's magic system makes it stand out.
Onward to the next book!
October 19, 2018
Noticed my local library purchased the e-manga edition of this classic magical shoujo manga and could not resist re-reading! Beautiful illustrations and enjoyable easy-to-read story telling! Sakura is the perfect heroine (and reminds me of Usagi-chan aka Sailor Moon!), and with an attractive supporting cast - Clamp created an excellent series.
January 8, 2018
Very cute and light. I do wonder if this series gets darker or if the happy-go-lucky vibe I'm getting from it remains away from all the dark and depressing stuff I tend to gravitate to.
ALSO THE SHOULDERS. DEAR LORD IN HEAVEN WHO IS STUCK MAKING THE SHIRTS FOR THESE MEN?
ALSO THE SHOULDERS. DEAR LORD IN HEAVEN WHO IS STUCK MAKING THE SHIRTS FOR THESE MEN?
June 19, 2018
I enjoyed the anime as a kid, so this was a fun read for me.
April 2, 2019
re-reading this classic is always a joy - and noting the inconsistencies and differences after reading Clear Card and watching the anime again is very entertaining.
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