Cardcaptor Sakura (カードキャプターさくら Kādokyaputā Sakura?), abbreviated as
CCS and also known as
Cardcaptors, is a Japanese
shōjo manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group
Clamp. The manga was originally serialized monthly in
Nakayoshi from the May 1996 until the June 2000 issue, and later published in 12
tankōbon volumes by
Kodansha from November 1996 to July 2000. The story focuses on
Sakura Kinomoto,
an elementary school student who discovers that she possesses magical
powers after accidentally freeing a set of magical cards from the book
in which they had been sealed for years. She is then tasked with
retrieving those cards in order to avoid an unknown catastrophe from
befalling the world.
The series was adapted into a 70-episode
anime TV series by
Madhouse that aired in Japan on
NHK between April 1998 and March 2000. Two anime films were produced by Madhouse in August 1999 and July 2000. Ten
video games were produced based on the series. Kodansha published
art books,
picture books and
film comics for the manga and anime series.
Tokyopop released the manga in English in North America from March 2000 to August 2003. After Tokyopop's license for
Cardcaptor Sakura expired,
Dark Horse Manga acquired the license and began releasing the series in
omnibus editions starting in October 2010.
Nelvana licensed the anime TV series and first film for North American broadcast and distribution, renaming it
Cardcaptors.
All 70 episodes were dubbed; however, the version aired on American
television was heavily edited into 39 episodes; other English-speaking
territories received the full run. Cardcaptors aired on
Kids' WB,
Cartoon Network and
Teletoon. The TV series and films were re-licensed by
Geneon, which released them unedited with English subtitles.
Critics praised the manga for its creativity and described it as a
quintessential shōjo manga, as well as a critical work for manga in
general. The manga series was awarded the
Seiun Award
for Best Manga in 2001. The TV anime adaptation was praised for its
ability to transcend its target audience of young children and be
enjoyable to older viewers too. The artwork in the anime was also a
focus of attention, described as above average for a late-1990s TV
series, and Sakura's magic-casting scenes were complimented for being
nearly unique, because of the regular costume changes. The TV anime won
the
Animage Grand Prix award for Best Anime in 1999. The American edit of
Cardcaptors
was heavily panned by critics, who called the editing ridiculous,
cutting out vital character backgrounds essential to understand the
plot.