Cardcaptor Sakura - The Clow (Vol. 1)

With this DVD American audiences and anime fans finally get to see the real program that so many in Japan fell in love with. All the humor and lightheartedness that the edited-Cardcaptors took out is back, including the small end segment "Leave It To Kero-chan!" And of course, Sakura's usual task of helping Kero-chan retrieve all of the missing Clow Cards is there for your enjoyment. The only real problem with this DVD is that it includes the, well I'll be kind, crappy Cardcaptors intro and song. But not to worry, it's safely stowed away in the EXTRAS section of the DVD, so if you want to watch the original intro, you'll see it everytime you start a new episode.

Why do I say that people watching Cardcaptors in the U.S. should get this DVD instead of the dubbed version (that's right! Only the subtitled version with the Japanese track is on this DVD! *smile*)? Because with the dubbed version you don't see the original work, the one that was so popular in Japan. What you see instead is a heavily edited and Americanized version that basically tries to take every element of Japanese society out of it. While this reigns true for nearly every dubbed anime title out there, Cardcaptors is by far one of the most prominent examples of this.

And why should you die-hard anime fans get it? Well, it's just a really good series that, while yes it is designed for kids, can appeal to nearly everyone if they just sit down and watch it.

By just watching the first four episodes contained on this DVD one can see just why this series was so successful in Japan and how enjoyable it actually is. And if you're already a fan of Cardcaptors? Hey, nothing beats the REAL thing.


Finally! The actual title to the anime .   September 22, 2000
29 out of 32 found this review helpful

This dvd is only in Japanese language with English subtitled and uncut as seen on Japanese TV. Orignal opening music "Catch you, catch me" and many great music in Japanese for this anime. For those of you who have not seen it, it is about a girl named Sakura who was curious about book titled "THE CLOW" (it was glowing) in her basement. She opened it, took out a card, say the word "windy", and blew all of the cards out that was in the book. She also woke up the guardian beast named Kerberos that was suppose to guard the cards. I can't spoil the rest of the story. I highly recommend this edition. Kudos to Pioneer for a job well done in releasing this original title. For those of you don't like to watch it in subtitle, you can find the dub version in English titled "Cardcaptor". It is cut and edited for U.S. audience as seen on WB TV.


Yes, the WB Version Doesn't Count   December 25, 2000
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Now here comes the REAL Card Captor Sakura. (Card Captors on WB is NOT the same series. And what I mean by that is lots of content was cut in the U.S. version. They also started on on Japanese episode 8, which was not a good idea. Good job Nelvana! Thanks for butchering it and making it "kid-friendly"!) These are the ORIGINAL Japanese episodes. Also regular opening and ending, with the nice little "Leave it to Kero" sketch, in which Kero describes the costume Sakura is wearing in that episode prior to it. The DVD contains few extras, but the four episodes in it make up for the extra shortcomings. If you want to know what the extras, buy the DVD! Find out for yourself. But once you buy it, anime fans and especially CCS fans shouldn't be disappointed. Briefly, for the uneducated, here's how the series starts out. Here we have a normal 10-year-old schoolgirl (aren't they all) who stumbles upon the Clow Book in her father's basement "library". She's innocently opens the book and takes out one of the cards, which was the Windy. She accidently activated it's powers and blew all the cards away, not realizing the damage she has done. Here, she meets Kerberos or "Kero-chan", who looks like a talking stuff animal. He's the supposed guardian beast of the seal. When he realizes the cards are gone, he then concludes that Sakura must recapture the cards and end the coming destruction. Well, is that good enough? Good. The animation is excellent and is done by am all-female group in CLAMP. The animation is done by Madhouse. But most importantly, they have the original personalities. (I can't believe Nelvana and WB changed some of the personalities, especially Tomoyo! (Madison). You'll see what I'm talking about. So anyway, happy viewing!


Cardcaptor Sakura   July 3, 2000
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

Cardcaptor Sakura has got to be one of the best animes going for CLAMP besides Magic Knight Rayearth. Cardcaptor Sakura is a Shojo anime which means it is meant preferably for girls. This is the subtitled version and very different from the WB! dubbed version of Cardcaptors. These DVD's/ Videos start form the begining of the series and not from the 8th episode like the dub. Even if you like the dub I highly recommend this movie even to those of you who like the Dub, you just might want to see what the original and you just might like it better. But to sum it up Cardcaptor Sakura is a great anime and deserves more than 5 stars!