the anime for this was on all the time when i was younger and i really enjoyed watching the show, but the manga differs from the anime a bit, which isn’t a bad thing. fist off, the first series is only 6 books, the second one is only six too, and this kind of surprised me at first because the anime had something like 50 episodes, and after reading the manga i saw how much filler was in the anime. the captures in the manga are all major cards (none of the cheap cards like the move card…) and the captures all meant something, meaning they either developed plot or developed character, so if it was not for plot development it was a capture that required some effort, like the water card. on top of this, the manga also has homosexuality in it. nothing explicit, just a character implying that he/ she likes someone of the same sex. people might make a big deal about it here, which is probably why they took it out of the anime, but it’s so subdued and platonic that taking it out is kind of pointless. they basically took it out because they’re afraid of the idea, but as the characters don’t even tell who they like that they like them, as it is a children’s comic book, they’re taking out the homosexuality on principle rather than necessity. and by doing so they lessen the intricacy of the plot development and the connection between the characters, so i’m glad i read the manga for that reason (among others). sakura is a great heroine. i’ve read over 100 mangas, and i’d say that sakura is one of the strongest heroines i’ve read about in manga form. it’s kind of ironic that it’s for kids, but great i suppose. it’s hard to find proactive females in manga. even in the shoujos, the ones focused on girls, the ‘action’ is still left to the guys and the girls are for the most part withering, weak, delicate, know nothings; or if they do fight they are portrayed as kind of heartless. it’s rare to find a happy medium. cardcaptors would be an example of the girl getting some action. overall its a cute manga, i mean those who’ve watched the anime already know the basic story line, its a good one. its an original story and its well told. i recommend.