DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA AdventureCardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen
MOVIE DramaCardcaptor Sakura Movie: Fuinsareta Card
Not Available AdventureCardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen (Zoku-hen)

REVIEWS

• 

  wheatsquares33

  45/100
  Why did we need this?

  Cardcaptor Sakura is one of my favorite anime of all time. It has an unbelievably charming cast of characters and really fun and creative monster of the week battles that serve to help those characters grow more than just for action’s sake. It’s a bright, poppy, and consistently fun show and watching the cast grow over time is really fulfilling, and it culminates in one of my favorite closing scenes of any anime. It’s a very conclusive story, but also a very nostalgic show, so I guess if the manga continues, why not adapt that to anime 20 years after the original? Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card-hen is not good. Not only does it fail miserably as a sequel to an excellent show, it also fails as a standalone piece.

  I had always said that I love the characters in Cardcaptor Sakura enough to want to watch them do literally anything for 70 more episodes, so what’s my problem with Clear Card? Well, naturally, its biggest flaw is with the characters themselves. The diverse, quirky cast has been reduced to basically memes of themselves that show up only for the sake of nostalgia.

  Syaoran is no longer the sassy yet taciturn and emotionally closed off guy he was in the past, but a completely hollow hunk that shows up to be nothing more than Sakura’s love interest (and this romance is not even elaborated on in an interesting way throughout the 22 episodes, though the romance was a bit overdrawn in the original show as well). Tomoyo just shows up to say “hey look! Drones! Webcams! Cardcaptor Sakura’s still cool with the millennials right?! I’m gay!” and her former charm has been almost completely reduced to the meme. Touya and Yukito/Yue show up sometimes, but are pushed wayyy to the side. Which is fine, they’re not the focus, but man the voice acting performances on these two are just not all there, both Tomokazu Seki and Megumi Ogata sound like they’re about ready to pass out 90% of the time (which is a shame, because the latter is my favorite seiyuu).

  So I guess naturally, with less than a third of the length of the original show, it is expected to put the cast to the side a bit to focus on the characters that really matter in the narrative, but man...it just makes for a really dull show. The main characters in play here are Sakura and Akiho. I think Sakura stays truest to her original character, still very charming and full of personality (and Sakura Tange should have more voice acting roles, just as a side note). Akiho on the other hand is a completely unnecessary addition to the cast. I mean, she definitely upholds a baseline level of pleasantness and positive emotions and clearly has some major connection to the main plot throughout the show, but does that make an...interesting or detailed character? Especially given how much time is focused on her (and when most of the interactions are just “look Akiho this is a thing!” “wow, this is a thing that is new to me! How lovely!”). Given how dynamic and full of personality the rest of the characters in this show are, the fact that so much focus is put on her and she still doesn’t even have half that level of charm or detail is just really obnoxious. (and uh Kaito is there too I guess, to be basically very overt mystery character in the vein of Erriol, who I also never really cared for).

  The action scenes and card fights stay pretty consistent throughout, I wouldn’t really say they’re any better or worse than the original show’s, though those weren’t really the draw for me in the first place, it was more the events that would happen during the fight that mattered. Every fight has a point in the original show, and the context around it is what makes it so fun to watch. I uh didn’t really get that quite as much from this show, the card fights felt more like an obligation as a monster of the week show than serving any purpose to develop the characters.

  The core mystery about the cards turning clear isn’t uninteresting, it’s a fine arc, I’d put it on the same level as the later arcs of the original show. But it’s just handled so messily, they don’t even really get into solving it until the last couple episodes, and then it’s just tied up with a really messy bow to give some sense of closure without even touching on many of the points that were touched on for the greater part of the show (cause lord knows we needed an entire episode of Sakura reading a fucking book to kids). I know this is an adaptation of an ongoing manga so it’s to be expected, but if there's nothing close to a conclusion at the ready, why even bother?

  On a production level, the show is good. The modernized designs are nice to see, it’s well animated, the card designs are cool (the labyrinth card in episode 10 was especially cool, definitely stands out in my mind). While I do prefer the more colorful, 90s aesthetic of the original personally, I have no gripes about this show’s appearance. Returning many of the old voice actors leads to mixed results, but I think it's a net positive, same for reusing parts of the original soundtrack.

  Now, I know it seems like I’m spending a lot of time comparing Clear Card to its predecessor, but is it not unfair to criticize the show itself of the same thing? I think anime reboots are find and usually pretty tasteful, but the amount of nostalgia jerking off here was just obnoxious. Remember lying guy? What if he’s just in literally every school scene doing his gimmick and Sakura and Li believing him way more than in the original, that won’t get old will it? Remember when Tomoyo was gay for Sakura in a way that would be believable for a 9 year old girl? Nah, she’s just the big gay now because that’s funny. Remember Spinel he’s actually a cool gamer dude that facecams with Kero now!

  Hell, even Syaoran being here comes across like that to me, his arc was so well done and ended so neatly in the original show, and his departure at the airport and subsequent brief return in the second film to tie up loose ends is so heartfelt and conclusive. But nah fuck that, we need another season of Cardcaptor Sakura, bring him back to the school, pull together some bullshit reason to justify that. And then...he doesn't even really contribute anything outside of to have Sakura constantly reaffirm her love.

  Look, just because something in the original show was good does not justify bringing it back just to touch the same feels as it did originally, especially when there’s nothing to be gained from it. It just comes across as desperate to me. Why not, instead of focusing on the past, develop a new cast and put some energy into developing characters that are just as likable as the original?

  And all that being said, I can not visualize this show functioning as a standalone piece all that well. There’s so much callback to the original that would be lost without context. Add to the fact that the original story _was) finished...the characters have already grown in the way they were intended and there’s so little development here that it just comes across as flat. I do think it has a baseline level of pleasantness and charm that keeps it watchable, but there’s still just so little actually going on and being effectively executed that it is just not worth being added.

  So in conclusion, Clear Card is just a flop. While fine on a technical level and still maintaining a level of charm, it is just a sequel we didn’t need to a story that ended neatly. It misuses great characters, clings too closely to the original without much new to offer, and ultimately raises more questions than it answers. It’s just the definition of unnecessary.

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• 

  DesolatePsyche

  80/100
  and old school mahou shoujo Anime get's an sequel, I approve

  Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen 7/9/7/7/7

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  Note: I'll use my MAL reviewing format until I tweak it for AL. link Here is how my "review" system works. W.I.P

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  ✦Story✦
  It's been ages since I've watched Cardcaptor Sakura. And sadly I cannot compare those two. Considering I gave old one 9 overall score, I've must have enjoyed it a lot. But it's been..many many years. Taste change, emotions change and so on. Anyhow, this particular season was rather enjoyable. Alongside of very very sweet slice-of-life comedy and some nice touch of sweet romance to it, we actually get rather nice progression throughout the story. Even though most story elements are rather straightforward and well.. very easy to predict, which is not a surprise as this Anime is pretty much aimed for kids. Nevertheless, it is still rather sweet and nice story telling. Well progressing with sweet "reveals" and plenty of revamped card powers. Basically this season felt like a Sakuras growth journey and making her powers her own. It's enjoyable and sweet. Although.. worst part about this season is the very obnoxious cliffhanger with no information about getting a sequel. In another words, cliffhanger means that story of this arc is not finished. It essentially ends when finally story starts becoming more dramatic and serious. So they better make a sequel.

  7/10

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  ✦Character✦
  Not much to add. Adorable and sweet as always. Most of the characters are rather neat and memorable. Plenty of characters get growth and progression. Even oldies get some recognition. A bit maybe too simple or pure for my taste, but eh once again it's the thematic of this Anime. As it feels it's aimed towards younger girls maybe?. It's an very classical mahou shoujo Anime, when they still used to be all about cute transformation, talking plushies, various powers they obtain in rather easy way and so on.

  9/10

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  ✦Art & Sound✦
  Once again. Sadly I cannot remember old well enough to compare these two. But I know that much, that old animation used to be superb. (if I remember correctly very nicely hand-drawn Animation). This one? I actually think the animation, art and the whole style was actually pretty good. Not amazing, but great nevertheless.

  Also music and whole OST was also quite good. Rather sweet. Funnily enough for some reason few OST's reminded me of flyff online music. Which kinda gave nostalgia hit, not like this Anime needs it. I mean like what? It's been around 20 yeasr since the first season?

  8/10

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  ✦Enjoyment & Overall✦
  Pretty much everything I wanted to mention got mentioned. It's a pretty good old-school Mahou shoujo Anime. Very good and sweet sequel to the original.

  7/10

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  ✦✦Final score✦✦: 8/10

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• 

  Juliko25

  77/100
  Nice, and true to the spirit of the show, but little more than a rehash and nostalgia cash grab...with no ending.

  I'll admit, I never grew up with Cardcaptor Sakura (Which reminds me, I REALLY need to finish my review for the original series). I remember seeing commercials for CardCaptors when I was younger, but I dismissed it as a shallow girly girl show that was about girls who did nothing but talk about fashion and boys. Yeah, I was a pretty judgmental kid. But I did watch bits of the original series later and my opinion on it changed, even more so when I finally watched the whole thing during college. While I wouldn't consider it to be one of my favorite magical girl series ever, I can respect the impact it had on the industry, and I do like it as a whole. I even own the original series on Blu-Ray and the entirety of the manga. So when it was announced that a sequel was being made, with an anime adaptation soon to come, I and many other CCS fans were absolutely ecstatic, and devoured it like crazy. So why the low rating? Well...let's go over it, first.

  About two or so years after the original series ended, Sakura Kinomoto and her friends have started middle school, ready to start new lives. Sakura and Syaoran are dating, and they even make a new friend in a girl named Akiho Shinomoto and her butler Yuna. Things are going pretty great...until Sakura starts having strange dreams involving a mysterious robed figure, and all of her cards suddenly disappear out of thin air. Strange things start happening in Tomoeda again, and when Sakura's staff transforms and she gets new cards, they suddenly become transparent, with new forms and names. It's up to Sakura and friends to figure out just what is going on before it's too late.

  It's a rare feat for sequels to not only reunite the original cast, but the original staff and animators, especially if a lot of time has passed. Most creators start completely new, with new staff, new animators, new voice actors, all that stuff, due to the original staff being unavailable for whatever reason or to just cut back on unnecessary expenses, which is understandable in some cases. Not only did the producers bring the original cast and staff back, but even the same animation team and company. The animation is luscious and beautiful, just like the original, just with a new coat of paint and with some CGI sprinkled about, what with hand-drawn animation falling out of use. I can safely say that in this department, the animation hasn't lost its touch at all. The colors are bright, the animation is nice and fluid--though not without a few wonky spots every now and then--and the characters, despite being a little older, haven't changed much in appearance at all, so they're still very much recognizeable, both in appearance and personality.

  The music is still the same as the original, with a few new tracks sprinkled in to distinguish it from the original. Considering the same composer worked on the original and this, it makes sense that re-used pieces would be used, and they fit nicely here (Take note, Precure series). Plus, there's new music here to keep it separate from the original, so it's not like the creators were being deliberately lazy or lacking in budget (Again, take note, Precure). The new opening and ending songs are very nice too, and they even got Maaya Sakamoto to sing the opening theme again, since she also worked on the original series, which is nice.

  Clear Card is full of references and call backs to the original series. It's really neat when the creators actually care about continuity and remind the viewers that certain things haven't been forgotten (You could really learn from this, Pokemon), which many sequels or reboots tend to completely forget about, especially for long running series that go on for years and years. Heck, the anime even brings back Meiling, a character who only appeared in the anime. This extends to the characters, though I'm a bit conflicted on this one. Sakura and her friends are still themselves, keeping their original personalities and the character development they received from the original series, so the creators did a good job in keeping them in character and not changing them so much that they're not themselves. Sakura's still sweet and energetic, Kero's still hotblooded and perky, Syaoran's still reserved but kinder than before, Tomoyo is still polite, caring, and Sakura-crazy, so on and so forth. But I think the creators tried a bit too hard in keeping them the same, to the point of flanderizing some of them a bit. I feel Tomoyo in particular was hit with this especially hard. In the original, while her habit of wanting to record Sakura's exploits on video is a big part of her character, it was still just one part of it. She still had other aspects to her personality, such as her politeness, her kindness towards others, and she even helped Sakura in catching the cards on occasion. Here, it seems like Tomoyo's entire character revolves around videotaping Sakura, and it borders on creepy at times. Syaoran doesn't really do much in the anime, unfortunately, and the few times he does help out are really short and severely under-utilized. There's rarely any real conflicts the characters go through and they're all so excessively nice to each other that it borders on saccharine and overly sweet and cutesy. The two new characters, Akiho and Yuna, are okay, but Akiho's constant apologizing for supposedly causing trouble and "being a burden" even when she did nothing to warrant such a claim just got really annoying after the first five times. Now, I haven't read the manga, so for all I know, things might be different there. I ought to read the rest of it later, since it apparently does explain more on Akiho's past and why she's so deferential about...well, everything.

  Another problem that persists here, which was also a problem the original series had, was a lot of filler episodes. Now, filler in and of itself isn't a bad thing. Depending on the series and the execution, filler episodes can be a great reprieve from a daunting storyline and the high stakes conflicts. Some of my favorite episodes from certain series happened to be filler episodes because they were so well done and well executed. But as certain series like Naruto, Bleach, Rurouni Kenshin, and a few other long runners can prove, filler episodes that are poorly done can really hurt a series' quality. Clear Card is unfortunately no exception. Some episodes are relatively decent, but others were straight up unnecessary and I feel didn't add to the story much. I mean, there's an ENTIRE episode where everybody talks about lunches, food, picnics, making lunch for someone, and openly talking about how awesome the food is and literally nothing else (You'll know which episode I'm talking about)! I guess part of this was because the manga was still running when the anime was being made, and I can understand not wanting to overtake the manga, but Clear Card has so many unnecessary episodes that could have been better off adding to the story and explaining a lot of the series' overarching storylines. Instead, Clear Card just meanders and plods along throughout its entire run, and that's not a good thing.

  Now, Clear Card's existence in and of itself isn't bad. It's still true to the original source, keeping the tone, mood, and the characters in character, which few sequels can boast. I really want to like Clear Card more than I do, and some parts of it I liked better than the original! Unfortunately, the anime has a pretty huge black stain on it, and that's the final episode. The ending was just...bad. Not only did it not feel like a finale, it was a complete and utter cop-out in that it sets up so many interesting things, but then the reset button is literally pressed and nothing is ever resolved! Every conflict it introduced and the revelations it showed are rendered completely pointless, along with the rest of the series! Why even bother building up to this if you're not even going to make the effort to address or resolve it?! You can't just go out of your way to set up this underlying conflict and just pull the rug out and expect the audience to just accept it! Not only that, it makes all of the filler episodes even worse in context, because instead of meandering through its run time, the creators could have used a bunch of those episodes to address the plot issues it set up! The fact that it didn't really hurt this series in more ways than one, making it seem much more like a cheap nostalgia cash grab than it intended to be, and all of its efforts went down the drain.

  Crap. I was really going to give Clear Card a positive review, and then it has the nerve to pull this. Why must some great series have terrible endings? I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but when it pulls stuff like this, it really leaves a nasty aftertaste. Thanks a lot, Clear Card. You've managed to piss me off in the end.

  So if you want to watch this sequel, that's fine! It's a nice little nostalgia trip! But don't watch the final episode. Seriously, don't.

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