Card Captor Sakura

Plot
Cardcaptor Sakura begins when ten-year-old fourth grader Sakura Kinomoto accidentally releases a set of magical cards called Clow Cards from the Clow Book, created and named after half-English, half-Chinese sorcerer Clow Reed. Each card has its own characteristics and can assume alternate forms when activated. The guardian Beast of the Seal Cerberus emerges from the book and tells her it is now her responsibility to retrieve the missing cards. As she finds each card, she battles its magical personification and defeats it to seal it away. Cerberus acts as her guide, while her best friend and second cousin Tomoyo Daidouji films her exploits and provides her with battle costumes. Sakura's older brother Toya Kinomoto watches over her, while pretending that he is unaware of what is going on.

A boy Sakura's age and descendant of Clow Reed, Syaoran Li, arrives from Hong Kong to recapture the cards himself. Their relationship is rocky because he believes that he deserves the cards more than Sakura. However, he comes to respect Sakura and instead begins aiding her as he spends more time with her. Once Sakura captures all of the cards, she undergoes the Final Judgment, presided over by Yue, the cards' second guardian, who tests Sakura to determine if she is worthy of becoming the cards' true master. Yue is the true form of Yukito Tsukishiro, Sakura's crush and her brother's best friend. Sakura is aided by her teacher Kaho Mizuki, who was sent by Clow to ensure Sakura is able to pass the test, because he chose Sakura to be the cards' new master when he knew he was going to die. Sakura passes the test and becomes the new master of the Clow Cards.

Life for Sakura returns to being initially peaceful until another boy Sakura's age, Eriol Hiiragizawa, transfers from England, which coincides with new a new string of disturbances in Tomoeda. Suddenly unable to use the Clow Cards, Sakura transforms her wand and creates a new incantation, which can transform a Clow Card into a Sakura Card. As strange events continue, Sakura gradually transforms each card into a Sakura Card, unaware the events are being caused by Eriol and two guardian-like creatures, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon. Yue begins to grow weaker, because he requires magical support from Sakura, but her magic is not yet strong enough to sustain him. Toya gives all of his magical abilities to Yue in order to ensure Yukito does not die. Sakura eventually deals with the pain of Yukito's gentle rejection of her feelings, as he instead loves Toya. Syaoran consoles Sakura, while finding himself falling in love with her, but is unsure of how to tell her.

When only the Light and Dark Cards remain to be converted, which must be done together, Eriol reveals to Sakura he was behind all of the strange events. After the cards are transformed, Eriol explains that he is half of the reincarnation of Clow Reed, with Sakura's father being the other half. Eriol, who has Clow's memories and magical abilities, aided Sakura in converting the cards so they would not lose their magic powers. Before returning to England, Eriol asks Sakura to split his magic between himself and her father so that he will no longer be the most powerful magician in the world. Sakura does so, which results in her father finally being able to reunite with the spirit of her deceased mother. Afterwards, Syaoran confesses his love to Sakura, but she is unsure how to respond. Sakura is hurt and upset when he tells her he is returning to Hong Kong, and comes to realize that she loves him too after talking with her friends. She rushes home to make a teddy bear for him and confesses to him as he leaves for the airport and he promises to return when he has taken care of some things. Two years later, Syaoran moves back to Tomoeda permanently. They embrace and Sakura happily exclaims that they will be "together forever."

The plot of the anime series is extended, featuring 52 Clow Cards from the manga's original 19, and certain scenes are stretched and delayed, such as Cerberus' true form not being revealed until just before Yue's appearance. Sakura creates a 53rd card, Hope, a talent she is not shown to have in the manga. Some of the circumstances around the capturing of the cards is changed, such as Syaoran capturing several cards himself and being tested by Yue in the Final Judgment. Syaoran's cousin and fiancee Meiling Li is introduced in the anime, who positions herself as a romantic rival for Sakura later in the series. The role of Sakura's father as the second half of Clow's reincarnation and the splitting of Eriol's magic is removed from the ending. The TV series leaves the relationship between Sakura and Syaoran unresolved, but Sakura confesses her love to Syaoran at the end of the second anime film.

Episode List




First Movie
(Gekijōban Kādokyaputā Sakura) (劇場版カードキャプターさくら)

Airdate: August 21, 1999

The film begins with Sakura and Syaoran capturing a Clow Card, with Tomoyo videotaping the event and Kero and Meiling cheering for the two. Later that night, Sakura has a strange dream of being surrounded by water and of a strange woman. The next day, everyone receives their report cards, which all but Meiling got good grades. Syaoran is nervous of his grades because of his mother, but is relieved that he got decent grades to show her. Sakura and Tomoyo go shopping and visit Maki's shop, where Sakura plays a lotto and wins a trip to Hong Kong. Sakura invites Tomoyo to go with her, and wants her father to go too. However, because of his job, he is unable to and that leaves Toya, much to her dismay. But she is cheered up when Yukito decides to go as well.

Along with Kero, they fly to Hong Kong. Once there, Sakura feels a strange presence involving water. She is separated from her friends and hypnotized into nearly falling into water until Syaoran suddenly appears and snaps her out of it. Meanwhile, Tomoyo runs into Meiling, who explains that she and Syaoran have returned to Hong Kong for the spring break. She offers them to come back to the Li mansion so Sakura can change clothes after tripping in the water. There, they meet Syaoran's four older sisters and his mother, who takes an immediate interest in Sakura and invites them to sleep over, much to Syaoran's chagrin. Sakura is later warned by his mother that a powerful magical force is following Sakura.

Syaoran is forced by his mother to accompany Sakura and the others around the city. However, Sakura encounters a woman with the same magical presence she has been feeling and uses water as her weapon. One by one, the spirit captures Toya, Yukito, Tomoyo, and Meiling. Sakura and Syaoran team up to save their friends. While Syaoran fights the woman, Sakura frees Tomoyo. However Syaoran is defeated and captured, and he orders Sakura to run and save everyone. Coming back into the room Sakura tries and fails to find the book that transported them to the other dimension. Now back in the hotel room Kero tells Sakura and Tomoyo a tale of when Clow Reed met and feel in love with a fortune teller in Hong Kong. His magic had caused her to use the magic for evil and so Clow Reed trapped her in a magical prison, and with that she vowed revenge against him.

When trying to figure out how to go back to the woman to save their friends, Sakura remembers the well and realises that that's the place to go. Arriving at the well the three find out there is a barrier around the well house, when trying to figure out how to get in they hear footsteps coming toward them. Syaoran's mother shows up and splits the barrier for Sakura. Telling Tomoyo to stay, Sakura goes in to the well alone. While going through, Kero tells Sakura to think of where she wants to go. She thinks "I want to go to where my friends are", she arrives in a room. The birds from before are there and flies away. Sakura runs and arrives at a door. she opens the door to find water filled up to the top of the roof. Walking she swims to the top to once again confront the fortune teller.

The woman demands to know where Clow Reed is, and that she has been using her magic to summon him and only Sakura appeared. Sakura tells the spirit that Clow Reed has been dead for many years, which the spirit refuses to believe. The woman attacks Sakura and demands the truth, and sadly saying she has been waiting for him for a long time. Sakura realizes that the woman in fact loved Clow Reed after he gave her a hair flower pendent, and finally the woman believes that Clow Reed is dead. With that, the woman dissolves into water, leaving only the pendent she has cherished, which dissolves a minute after she's gone. Everyone is free of their prison and everything returns to normal.

The film concludes with everyone preparing to board a ferry and are about to return to Japan. Everyone does not remember anything, which the three says that that's a good thing. But the movie ends with Sakura saying that she has a feeling she has not seen the last of Hong Kong.

Second Movie: The Sealed Card
(Gekijōban Kādokyaputā Sakura Fūin Sareta Kādo) (劇場版カードキャプターさくら 封印されたカード)

Airdate: July 15, 2000

The movie begins with Eriol's old house being demolished, which seemingly activates an unknown Clow Card buried beneath the mansion. Four months have passed since the ending of the TV series. Tomoyo and Sakura review videos showing Sakura in action, showcasing and capturing various cards. As the topic of Syaoran comes across, Sakura wishes to tell him in person that she loves him as well. Sakura is attending summer classes because her class is participating in a play for the Nadeshiko festival and looks at the nameless card she made in the final episode as proof of her love for Syaoran. Sakura is to play the princess and Yamizaki is to play the prince. Later that night, Sakura thinks of Syaoran as she reads the princess's confession. Meanwhile, the area where Eriol's mansion was has been turned into an amusement park, where the unknown Clow Card reveals to be a young girl hovering in the clock tower. The next day, Sakura goes with Tomoyo to visit Eriol's old house to find it has been replaced with a new amusement park. While they explore the park, Sakura feels a presence similar to that of a Clow Card. As she runs through the park trying to locate the source of the presence, she crashes into Syaoran, who has returned from Hong Kong with Meiling, for a visit to see the town's annual festival. Sakura is flustered as she still hasn't confessed her true feelings for Syaoran, despite his having done so before he left. Meiling tells Sakura that she and Syaoran canceled their engagement because he has someone he really likes. Syaoran is aware that the visit is part of Tomoyo and Meiling's plans to give Sakura an opportunity to reply to him. He tells Tomoyo that he wanted to see Sakura but is worried that his presence will burden her into giving him a reply. Tomoyo and Meiling set Sakura and Syaoran up alone for dinner. Sakura tries to confess, but is interrupted by Kero and Toya respectively. Unbeknowest to her, some of her cards begin to disappear.

Syaoran and Meiling volunteer for the class. While the four walk around town and talk, they notice that parts of the city are disappearing. Sakura writes to Eriol and doesn't notice more of her cards disappear. After rehearsals, the four meet up with Toya and Yukito. Yukito talks with Sakura and encourages her to confess to Syaoran. She finally senses her cards disappearing and then a bridge missing. Meiling invites everyone to go to the new amusement park, where she pitches Sakura and Syaoran alone again. They notice the cards disappearing and sense Clow Reed's magical power, and follow it. Sakura and Syaoran encounter a mysterious girl who takes away more of Sakura's cards before disappearing. Later, Eriol calls Sakura and after she tells him what has happened, he explains that the girl and the presence at the park was the Sealed card, the fifty-third Clow Card, which was set free when his old house was demolished. Containing an equal amount of tremendous power as the other fifty-two cards combined, it was created to balance the positive powers of the cards with a negative one. Every time the Sealed Card steals one of the Sakura cards, it will also take something near her. Sakura will have to convert the card to a Sakura Card to restore the balance, but to do so will require that someone of the card's choosing will lose their most important feeling (due to that love is the most powerful feeling). This means that Sakura will lose her feelings for Syaoran if she converts the Card.

The next day, Sakura tells Syaoran what Eriol told her. Although both are saddened, he tells her that it can't be helped and she runs away crying. She is comforted by Yukito who turns into Yue, who assures her that it will be alright. On the day of the festival, Sakura sense the Sealed Card at the school. When she spots it in a void circle, Sakura activates the Sleep card to try to prevent a panic. However, the sleep spell only lasts a short time as the Sealed card quickly steals the Sleep card. Yamizaki ended up hurting himself from falling to the floor and everyone asks Syaoran to take the role. During the play, Syaoran and Sakura dance and confess their feelings as the prince and princess. The stage lights explode and the ground begins to shake. A string of Sakura Cards flies away from Sakura's bag into the dark sky, and the Sealed card steals the people from the play, including Sakura's family and friends, along with huge portions of the entire city. Eventually the only two remaining uncaptured, Sakura and Syaoran rush to the amusement park to confront the card. Sakura's magic proves ineffective against the card. As his magic is not tied to the Clow Cards, Syaoran attacks the card and manages to wound it, but it eventually deflects his attack and wounds him.

Sakura races up the tower after the Sealed card, but gets trapped on the stairs after void spheres leave two gaping holes on either side of her. The Sealed card tells Sakura that she is lonely and just wants her friends, the other cards, back. She doesn't understand why Sakura is getting in her way, but Sakura tells her that true friends do not push each other nor try to bind each other. The Sakura cards pull free from the Sealed Card and surround her. Shocked, the Sealed Card collapses in tears. Seeing that all of the Sakura Cards want to be friends with the Sealed Card, Sakura asks her to join with the other fifty-two Cards that way she won't be lonely.

The Sealed Card agrees. Sakura orders the rebirth of the card and says that she really couldn't confess her true feelings to Syaoran after all. As the card appears to go to Sakura, it chooses Syaoran (who manages to make it in time) as the one who will lose their most important feelings because Sakura used too many cards at one time. Syaoran tells Sakura not to worry, because even if he has to sacrifice his love for her to save everyone, he'll just fall deeply in love with her all over again. However, as the card attacks, The Nameless Card suddenly negates itself and they combine into a new Sakura card, The Hope Card.

Crying and believing it's too late, but encouraged by the Hope Card, Sakura still confesses to Syaoran that she loves him and that he is her most important person. To her surprise, he gently replies that he loves her too, and Sakura realizes he didn't lose his feelings for her after all. As everyone and everything begins to reappear, an overjoyed Sakura uses the Jump Card and leaps to Syaoran before the stairs return to normal with no intention to wait further, despite Syaoran's protests to keep her safe. As she leaps to embrace Syaoran, she exclaims, yet again, "I love you!" The movie ends leaving Sakura in mid-air with their warm embrace not directly shown in the video. However, bonus artwork released with the film (during its DVD premiere) includes a large illustrated poster of an extra ending scene showing Sakura successfully making the leap, right into Syaoran's arms, as the pair embrace for a happy ending.

The Special Edition DVD release also features an extra episode following the events of the movie, the Kero-Chan Theatrical special. As Sakura and her friends (including Eriol, who is visiting) are having a tea party, Kero and Spinel Sun battle for the last ball of fried octopus as they pursue it on a pinball trajectory across the town.

OVAS
Three short, bonus original video animation (OVA) episodes were released with the first-print, limited edition versions of the VHS, LD and DVD releases. The first episode was released with volume one of the VHS and LD releases on September 25, 1998. The second episode came with volume ten of the VHS, LD and DVD releases on September 25, 1999. The third episode, also released on September 25, 1999, was with volume one of the DVD release.

1- "Suteki desu wa, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo no Kādokyaputā Sakura Katsuyaku Bideo Nikki!"
(すてきですわ、さくらちゃん! 知世のカードキャプターさくら 活躍ビデオ日記!)  ("You're Wonderful, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo's Cardcaptor Sakura Video Diary!")

Airdate: September 25, 1998

Tomoyo wants to produce what she calls a "Sakura-chan Memorial" and is shown recording scenes featured in the opening theme song video of the first season, including a scene where Sakura sings the theme song. When the opening video is completed, Tomoyo reveals to Sakura that the project encompasses 35 episodes of Sakura's exploits while she captured the Clow Cards in the first season, which will be broadcast on TV, much to Sakura's embarrassment. The completed opening video is shown with Sakura singing the song "Catch You Catch Me".

2- "Suteki desu wa, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo no Kādokyaputā Sakura Katsuyaku Bideo Nikki 2!"
(すてきですわ、さくらちゃん! 知世のカードキャプターさくら 活躍ビデオ日記 2!) ("You're Wonderful, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo's Cardcaptor Sakura Video Diary 2!")

Airdate: September 25, 1999

Sakura, Tomoyo and Eriol are making cupcakes at Sakura's house, but right after completing them, they start mysteriously disappearing. Suspecting Kero must be the culprit, Sakura and Tomoyo go to check on him, but find him still tied up with the ribbon Sakura had tied him in to prevent him from eating the sweets. With no proof Kero ate the cupcakes, Sakura and Tomoyo go back downstairs, but now Eriol has to leave. While baking a cake, Kero's ribbon unties itself, letting Kero—who can smell the cake baking—to come downstairs. Sakura uses the Create card to finish the cake, and the Move card to prevent Kero from eating it. In the process, they find out it really was Kero who somehow ate the cupcakes earlier, and outside Eriol is shown holding the ribbon that Kero had been tied up in.

3- "Suteki desu wa, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo no Kādokyaputā Sakura Katsuyaku Bideo Nikki Supesharu!"
(すてきですわ、さくらちゃん! 知世のカードキャプターさくら 活躍ビデオ日記 スペシャル!) ("You're Wonderful, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo's Cardcaptor Sakura Video Diary Special!")

Airdate: September 25, 1999

Sakura and her friends overhear Yamazaki saying that in addition to the usual red mailboxes, there are blue ones too. Everyone assumes it is just one of his usual lies, but Sakura and her friends come across a blue mailbox after school. Meilin recalls Yamazaki opening his eyes while telling the story, and this is confirmed after a look at the video tape Tomoyo was recording of Sakura at the time. Meilin realizes that Yamazaki must only tell the truth when he opens his eyes. They rush outside when they hear Yamazaki and Chiharu coming, and watch as, while his eyes are open, Yamazaki says that if someone mails a letter towards someone he or she loves in the blue mailbox, that person will love them too. Sakura, Syaoran and Meilin go to write letters, and it is revealed later on that Yamazaki was only opening his eyes because Chiharu stepped on his foot, and the mailbox was blue because of a spilled paint can. Not knowing this, Sakura, Syaoran and Meilin fight over who gets to mail their letter first while Tomoyo records it.