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by Lisa Klassen |
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Episode One: "Sakura and the Mysterious Book"
As she sleeps, Sakura Kinomoto dreams of standing in front of a Tokyo tower with a wand in her hand and a flying
yellow creature whizzing about her head. The alarm wakes her to the drudgery of reality and the prospect of going
to school - a trip she takes with her older brother, Touya, who teases her unmercifully. But to her joy, Touya's
friend Yukito, on whom Sakura has a huge crush, joins them on the way. Throughout the day, Sakura daydreams about
the strange creature. And, upon returning home, a noise draws Sakura to the basement where she spies an unusual
book. Within the book she finds, after a gust of wind carries away several cards tucked between the book's pages,
Kerberos, the golden beast from her dream waking from a long nap. Kerberos promptly accuses her of losing magical
cards and lays the responsibility of retrieving them on young Sakura's shoulders … but not without bestowing on her
magical powers, including the very wand she had dreamed of that morning.
Episode Two: "Sakura's Wonderful Friend"
Sakura, her best friend Tomoyo and Kerberos decide that the cause of rampant mischief around the school may be
the work of a Clow Card. Despite fears of whatever danger lurks in the shadows, Sakura leads the trio on an
investigation of the school that night, a task for which Tomoyo has drummed up a healthy supply of costumes
befitting their heroic status. Once inside the school they learn it's the Shadow card causing the trouble And
Sakura sets to capturing the impish paper prankster. Tomoyo is thrilled by the great video footage she shot and
vows to provide Sakura with battle outfits and video coverage on all her card capturing adventures.
Episode Three: "Sakura's Heart-Throbbing First Date"
A mishap at a local aquarium raises Kerberos' suspicion that it's the work of the Watery Clow Card, but he warns
that Watery is one of the hardest elements to capture because it hides inside water, and he doesn't think Sakura
can do it with just the cards she's accumulated thus far. Of course Sakura is distracted by the unannounced
arrival of her brother, recently back from his new job at the aquarium, and Yukito, for whom the love-struck
Sakura gladly whips up some pancakes. The following day, in appreciation for the meal, Yukito invites Sakura
to lunch at the aquarium. Tomoyo and Keroberos follow her surreptitiously to film this first date, a date that
is promptly ruined when the Watery card causes more mischief.
Episode Four: "Sakura's Exhausting Sunday"
Sakura wakes up on Sunday, excited about going on a picnic with Tomoyo. Unfortunately, she's forgotten about
switching chore days with her brother and she has to cancel. Resigned to doing the chores, Sakura has a piece of
good luck while vacuuming. First, she comes across the Wood Clow Card; and then while cleaning her father's
library in the basement, she finds another Clow Card but it's covered in ink. It turns out to be the mischievous
Rain card which brings havoc down upon the Kinomoto household and makes doing chores ever more difficult.
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The female creative circle Clamp (Ookawa Nanase, Nekoi Mick, Apapa Mokona and Igarashi Satsuki) created the
manga "Card Captor Sakura," on which this immensely popular TV series is based. Clamp's trademark style pervades
this series - concocted, sweetly innocent fantasies about magic; infatuations without lust; supernatural creatures
adorable enough to cause a toothache. And Clamp especially emphasizes the importance of friendships and the
family - one of the attractive details about "Card Captor" is the affectionate teasing Sakura faces at the hands
of her older brother, and their father's practice of preparing a spectrum of traditional Japanese meals. Though
hardly challenging, Clamp's work embodies the most wholesome values of the modern age. And following in suit,
"Card Captor" dishes out healthy portions of wholesome fun.
Director Nobuaki Nakanishi has developed a derivative but accessible dual central focus in this series - the
action and adventure requisite for being a Card Captor, when the athletic side of Sakura gets to shine; and the
crush Sakura has on her brother's friend, Yukito, which exposes her shy, self-conscious side. Nakanishi layers
"Card Captor's" rather shallow plot with palpable character development as Sakura grows stronger and surer of
herself as a Card Captor, and as her romance with Yukito progresses. This may alienate some masculine viewers,
but it's a winning combination for young girls struggling with identity … and, after all, this is undoubtedly a
shoujo series. The "Leave it to Kero-Chan" Corners, where Kerberos talks about one of Sakura's outfits that day
and highlights accessories or details, aims directly at the shoujo audience. Tomoyo's endless supply of fashionable,
battle-worthy attire is also tailored for this audience (although the extent to which Tomoyo fawns on Sakura is a
bit excessive and might raise some eyebrows in a Western, fundamentally feminist environment).
The most outstanding feature of "Card Captor," however, is the detail of the animation by Kumiko Takashi, who
serves both as the director of animation and the character designer for the series. Highly expressive faces and
resplendent costumes abound. Each Clow Card is a carefully rendered work of art; background designs are stunning;
battles are fast paced and vivid; and the physical forms of the Clow Cards range from frightening to downright
lovely. Some of the animation's nuances require multiple viewings to fully appreciate.
Bereft of deep commentary on the human condition, "Card Captor Sakura" is a fun, magical romp through the
world of a fourth grade girl devoid of sex, nudity and violence, and packed with morality, role models and copious,
educational snippets of Japanese culture - ideal for children of a cynical world.
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