Cardcaptor Sakura

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Artist/Writer: CLAMP

Published in: 1996-2000 (Japan), 2004-2005 (America)

American Publisher:s Tokyopop, Dark Horse

Genres: Magical girl

Premise: Sakura, a 10-year-old girl, unleashes magical cards in the form of troublesome spirits, and must collect them.

Show x Show: It's Sailor Moon meets Strawberry Marshmallow

Length: 200 pages

Volumes: 12 in Japan, 6 in America, or 2 omnibuses

Manga Review (Volume 1)
Is it as good as everyone says? Yes.

What's the CLAMP weirdness in this one? Lots of preteen schoolgirl crushes on teenage boys or young men. Plus, Sakura's best friend is really obsessed with Sakura.

How's the art? Lovely. Not quite as frilly as I'd expected, though there's plenty of that. The pages are quite busy, with panels alternating between long shots and close-ups to an almost dizzying degree.

How girly is it? Not as much as I expected. And Sakura has a grit that I don't recall in the TV series.

How shoujo is it? It's actually got a fair amount of shonen blood. The story moves along at a satisfying clip. Once nice twist: each card that Sakura collects becomes a spirit that Sakura can control, so Sakura is using her previous conquests in all her later battles.

Can I show it to my Mom? Sure.

Can I show it to my kid brother? Nah, still too girly.

Can I show it to a non-manga fan? This is a tough one. The art style is cute, soft, and pretty frilly. Plus, it's about a 10-year-old girl who keeps putting herself in dangerous situations (Sakura  nearly drowns in this volume), which may be off-putting to the Westerners. But it's solidly structured.

How's the dialogue? I read the Tokyopop "100% authentic" version, which tries very hard to maintain the distinctive voices of the original: Sakura's dialogue is pretty simple, her brother is terse, Kero-chan has a strong accent, etc. Works just fine.

Does it have any memorable moments? Several.

Availability: The Tokyopop version is available used. Dark Horse is currently releasing a 4-volume omnibus version; as of this writing, volume 1 (containing the first 3 "regular" volumes) is out while volume 2 will be released soon. I may have to pick that up, actually.