Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card

Movies

Cardcaptor Sakura is among the most-beloved magical girl titles, and the manga by the powerhouse mangaka circle CLAMP first began its serialization in Nakayoshi in May 1996. It was then adapted into an anime in 1998 which ran for 70 episodes before ending in March 2000, quickly followed by the conclusion of the manga in June 2000 and the final 12th volume’s July 2000 release. There were also two movies: Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie and Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card.

Following the end of the anime and manga, there was silence in the Cardcaptor Sakura universe and CLAMP moved onto a number of other series including Chobits, xxxHOLiC, and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, but the brilliant series finally made its epic return in Nakayoshi in July 2016 with an entirely new story: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card.

Along with this, an anime adaptation was quickly announced beginning with an OVA on Sept. 13, 2017 titled Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc Prologue: Sakura and the Two Bears. Following this, an anime adaptation began airing on Jan. 7, 2018 with 22 episodes planned.

Synopsis

The triumphant original series followed Sakura Kinomoto, a kind and honest elementary school student at Tomoeda Elementary who gets pulled into the world of the Clow Cards after finding a mysterious book in her basement which houses these cards, each enchanted with a particular kind of magic. They disappear from the book after Sakura mistakenly reads one, thus setting her on a journey of collecting them as the Cardcaptor alongside the Guardian of the Clow Cards, Kerberos, and her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji.

Shortly thereafter, a transfer student named Syaoran Li comes to Tomoeda from Hong Kong, and it turns out that he, too, is aiming to collect the Clow Cards and become Cardcaptor. Over time they become friends, and ultimately Sakura becomes the Cardcaptor after collecting all of the Clow Cards.

Following this is the Sakura Cards arc when another transfer comes to Tomoeda named Eriol Hiiragizawa. The magic within the Clow Cards is dwindling, and Sakura is forced to enchant them with her own magic, thus turning them into Sakura Cards. She successfully transforms all of the cards, and it’s revealed that Eriol is the reincarnation of Clow Reed, the original creator of the Clow Cards. Eriol then returns to England alongside his trusted companions Kaho, Spinel, and Ruby Moon, and Syaoran returns to Hong Kong.

The story then immediately moves into Clear Card with Sakura starting junior high school alongside all of her old friends. Following the events of the last movie, she is also in a long distance relationship with Syaoran. She’s surprised to see him outside of her home after her first day of school, and he reveals that he’ll be attending school in Tomoeda again, as well.

That night, however, Sakura has what seems to be a prophetic dream in which a mysterious cloaked figure appears in front of her, alongside a number of clear cards. When she wakes up, she looks at the Sakura Cards and finds that the magic has vanished from them, and they’ve been turned clear, thus beginning another chapter in her story as she is forced to capture new Clear Cards while being watched by the mysterious figure. Meanwhile, yet another new transfer student joins Sakura’s class named Akiho Shinomoto...

Anime Adaptation

Cast and staff alike returned from the original series for the Clear Card anime adaptation beginning with director Morio Asaka (Chihayafuru, Chobits), writer Nanase Ohkawa (xxxHOLiC, Kobato.), composer Takayuki Negishi, and animation studio Madhouse. Many of the voice actors, including all of the main vocal talent, remain unchanged, as well. As a result, despite the more modern animation style, the magic and atmosphere remain unchanged.

Maaya Sakamoto (the singer of the third opening theme, “Platinum”) was also brought back for the new opening theme “Clear,” while Saori Hayami performs the ending theme, “Jewelry.”

Broadcast Information

NHK BS Premium: Sundays at 7:30 pm

Online Streaming:

NHK On Demand, dTV, dAnime Store, Video Market, TSUTAYA.TV, Happy!Douga, Movie Full, Rakuten TV, NicoNico Channel, U-NEXT, AnimeHoudai, Bandai Channel, Hulu, animeteleto, AbemaTV, Gyao!, Video Pass, J:COM On Demand, HikariTV

International Streaming:

Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu

Official Info

Cast

Sakura Kinomoto (Sakura Tange)

The titular Cardcaptor Sakura is now a seventh grader in the Clear Card arc, and she remains as kind and earnest as ever. She is tasked with sealing the new Clear Cards throughout the arc alongside Tomoyo, Kero-chan, and Syaoran.

Cerberus / Kerberos / Kero-chan (Aya Hisakawa)

The Osaka dialect-using guardian of the Clow Cards continues to live as a stuffed animal with Sakura while serving as her advisor and protector.

Tomoyo Daidouji (Junko Iwao)

Sakura’s constant companion and best friend, Tomoyo records all of Sakura’s adventures while also making all of her costumes. She’s also extremely kind and a very gifted singer.

Yukito Tsukishiro / Yue (Megumi Ogata)

In his human form, Yukito is a high schooler in a relationship with Sakura’s brother Toya. Yue also exists within the same body, and in the original series, Yukito was forced to constantly eat and sleep in order to compensate. Toya sacrificed his own magic, however, allowing them to coexist without the need to compensate, and in Clear Card, Yukito is now fully aware of Yue.

Akiho Shinomoto (Minori Suzuki)

Akiho is a new transfer student in Sakura and Tomoyo’s class who has lived abroad in a number of countries and cities including France, Germany, Italy, England, and Hong Kong. Like Tomoyo, she is a gifted singer, and she quickly joins the school choir club. Her relatives are avid book collectors who travel the world in order to find rare books, and as a result, she has a massive library of books including her favorite, Alice in Clockland. She claims to have spent most of her life in search of a particular book.

Syaoran Li (Motoko Kumai)

A distant relative of Clow Reed, Syaoran Li possesses a great deal of magic and is in love with Sakura. He returned to Hong Kong after the conclusion of the original series, but came back to Tomoeda in the beginning of Clear Card.

Yuna D. Kaito (Natsuki Hanae)

The tall young man Yuna D. Kaito has served as Akiho’s caretaker since she was a young child, and he is extremely skilled at domestic tasks including cooking, baking, and sewing.

Toya Kinomoto (Tomokazu Seki)

Toya is Sakura’s older brother and Yukito’s boyfriend, and is a high schooler in the beginning of Clear Card. He had the ability to see ghosts and sense magic prior to sacrificing his talent to save Yukito, but some amount of power appears to have been restored since then.

Naoko Yanagisawa (Emi Motoi)

A lover of reading, Naoko is an extremely intelligent and kind classmate of Sakura’s.

Kaho Mizuki (Emi Shinohara)

First appearing as a substitute teacher at Tomoeda Elementary, Kaho possesses magic and assisted Sakura during her trial to become the Cardcaptor. She left with Eriol at the end of the original series to England.

Fujitaka Kinomoto (Hideyuki Tanaka)

Fujitaka is Sakura and Toya’s father and a busy professor of archaeology. After the death of his young wife Nadeshiko, he became a single father. He is able to occasionally see her ghost thanks to Eriol gifting him with magic.

Takashi Yamazaki (Issei Miyazaki)

Best-known as a prankster who tells elaborate stories that Sakura and Syaoran mistakenly trust, Yamazaki is a classmate and is in a relationship with Chiharu.

Chiharu Mihara (Miwa Matsumoto)

Chiharu is a classmate of Sakura’s who is also in the cheerleading squad with her. She’s in a relationship with Yamazaki and frequently offers advice.

Eriol Hiiragizawa (Nozomu Sasaki)

Initially introduced as a mysterious transfer student, Eriol is a reincarnation of Clow Reed. He now lives in England and stays in touch with Sakura and Syaoran, and he seems to know more than he’s letting on about the Clear Cards...

Nakuru Akizuki / Ruby Moon (Ryoka Yuzuki)

Alongside Yue, Ruby Moon is one of two magical guardians created by Eriol, and she currently resides in England with him.

Spinel Sun (Yumi Touma)

The counterpart to Cerberus, Spinel Sun is a magical guardian with an extreme sweet tooth. Although he now lives in England, he continues to stay in touch with Cerberus.

Staff

Original Work: CLAMP (serialized in Kodansha’s Nakayoshi )
Director: Morio Asaka
Writer: Nanase Ohkawa
Character Designer: Kunihiko Hamada
Music: Takayuki Negishi
Opening Theme: “Clear” by Maaya Sakamoto
Ending Theme: ”Jewelry” by Saori Hayami
Studio: Madhouse