Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card – The Return of My Childhood~

Wait! What?! Minty’s here with a post that’s -NOT- related to Real People Stuffs?!! WUHHHHHTTT?!!!
Yes!~ Because other than real people stuffs, I love cute and girly stuffs too! So I asked the guys to let me cover this one, and they were kind enough to let me do so~ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Thanks Fam~

I mentioned it before, but I grew up on mostly on shoujo manga and anime series. If you were to ask me what was one of the biggest series from my childhood, I’d tell you Cardcaptor Sakura. Cardcaptor Sakura was definitely one of the most famous series from the late 1990s. It’s also one of the most famous magical girl series. As a hella basic little Asian girl, I loved Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. I remember waking up hella early to watch it on weekend mornings, and during my summer vacations in Asia. I even had the Clow Card Book with the cards! Such good memories. Anyway, you can imagine just how excited I was when I heard they would finally be doing a sequel to the anime after nearly two decades!~ The original manga ran from 1996-2000, while the original anime ran from 1998-2000. This sequel is based on the Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card series/arc. This manga sequel began publication in 2016. The anime started airing January 2018, and there had been an OVA back in September 2017. Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card is slated to have 26 episodes.

PLOT
The sequel basically picks up where the original series ended. Kinamoto Sakura is now entering junior high with her friends. Li Syaoran, her boyfriend, has returned from Hong Kong and they can now be together. Everything seems to be going well, until one night when Sakura has a prophetic dream where she encounters a mysterious hooded figure. When she wakes up, she feels something is wrong and quickly checks on the Clow Cards. She’s shocked to find that they’re now blank and transparent, and rendered completely powerless. As she tries to find out what has happened, she encounters new transparent looking cards. Using a new wand, Sakura and crew capture the new transparent cards and try to solve the mystery behind everything.

Okay, let me just say again that I was hella hyped for this. As hyped as Tomoyo is whenever she can film how cute Sakura is~ When I found out about the anime sequel, I told everyone and started counting down the days!~

Me and one of my besties, Jessica, when we heard about the sequel~
(My Jess…well I guess she’s Loha’s too..whatever… #SuckItLoha ╮(︶▽︶)╭)

From the original Cardcaptor Sakura anime

I also admit that it’s been quite a while since I watched the original series, so the details are pretty fuzzy for me (meaning I don’t really remember shit). I am in the process of rewatching the original though, but luckily there’s a (very quick) recap right at the beginning of the first Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card episode! Not gonna lie, I’m still a bit confused but it did help remind me of some stuff! I also did in fact read the available chapters of the Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card arc manga! The chapters do go by much faster than the anime. However, it did give me some insight and remind me of some of the original stuff as well. I’m definitely excited to see the rest of it in anime form!

An refresher on the animation/art style from the original 1990s anime.

All I can say animation wise is that everything is really cute and pretty!~ The style has slightly changed from it’s original 1990s anime style to fit the current trend. You can see subtle differences in how the faces and eyes are drawn. I guess the best way I can describe it is that overall, it looks a bit softer, brighter, and smoother? The colors are also softer and brighter kind of colors. Luckily, the hands also look more natural…I mentioned it in the podcast, but anime hands in the 1990s were really awkward looking. The Clear Card series is also much more detailed looking. It’s easy to see a comparison, because both first episodes of the original and the sequel have Sakura passing a bunch of cherry blossom trees (aka sakura~) on her way to school.

From the original Cardcaptor Sakura series

From Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card

I also enjoyed the opening and ending for the series! I’ll admit that it’s probably not going to be something I’ll say is my favorite and that I love, but it’s really pretty and cute!~ It definitely fits the series! I also really like the art style of the ending. Again, it’s very cute!~ I like how it has a simple kind of style to it. It reminds me of when artists draw special pieces and color them with copic markers. I just like how simple and cute it looks. Watching it makes me go “Awwww~” Both definitely have that fluffy, cute, and girly feel to it.

I also forgot how young Sakura and crew are! In the original series, she was in the 4th grade and now she’s starting junior high! I think it just shows what a great and positive role model Sakura was. She’s incredibly young, but has this huge responsibility. She’s only concerned for others more so than for herself. It shows that she has such a kind and good heart. The Cardcaptor Sakura series has always been such a positive and wholesome show. It’s definitely my kind of show since it’s full so so much cute stuff! I especially love Kero-chan in his plushie form! However while I do find Sakura and Syaoran to be very cute….a part of me also finds it a bit too saccharine. I suppose becoming an adult makes you skeptical and bitter haha. Like it’s cute that they truly love each other and that they’re all “We’re going to be together forever!~” and all, but y’all are only like 11-12? Still, it’s pure and wholesome, so whatever~ Relationship goals I guess… Find yourself your Syaoran or Sakura~

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed this series so far! It’s definitely nostalgic, but new at the same time! So far capturing these new cards have been quite easy…perhaps a bit too easy. However, I’m looking forward to seeing how the story develops and unravels the mystery!

Random Things from Minty:

Why does Sakura’s dad look hella young? Like he’s supposed to be a university professor in his mid-late 30s, but he looks like he’s the same age as his college-aged son… I get that we Asians look hella young for our age, but WTF bruh?? What fountain of youth or Korean skin care regimen are you using?!

Also we’re just going to ignore the huge gap of time from the beginning of the original series until now apparently. Years and years may pass in real life…but that’s not the case in the story. Much like a high school detective who’s been stuck in his 6-7 year old body for the 20+ year duration of a certain anime series (Detective Conan). In the anime timeline, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card is only about 2-3 years after the start of the original Cardcaptor Sakura series. Anyway, somehow the tech can develop rapidly to what we have now lulz~ So yeah, no one question that…we’re just going to roll with it~

As a reference to the last podcast… ☆⌒(≧▽° )

By the way…Kerberos=Cerberus~