JAPANESE CULTURE IN CARDCAPTOR SAKURA Cardcaptor Sakura ! " Brief Background: ! " Manga: ! " Written By: Clamp ! " Published By: Kodansha ! " Original run: May 1996 – June 2000 (monthly issue) ! " Volumes: 12 ! " Genres: adventure, comedy, magic, romance Cardcaptor Sakura ! " Anime: ! " Director: Morio Asaka ! " Studio: Madhouse ! " Television Network: NHK ! " Original run: April 1998 – March 2000 ! " Episode: 70 ! " Season 1: 35 episodes ! " Season 2: 11 episodes ! " Season 3: 24 episodes PLOT/SUMMARY OF CARDCAPTOR SAKURA Cardcaptor Sakura begins when ten-year-old fourth grader Sakura Kinomoto accidentally releases a set of magical cards called Clow Cards from the Clow Book, created and named after half-English, half-Chinese sorcerer Clow Reed. Each card has its own personality and characteristics and can assume alternate forms when activated. The guardian Beast of the Sea, lCerberus emerges from the book and tells her it is now her responsibility to retrieve the missing cards. As she finds each card, she battles its magical personification and defeats it to seal it away. Cerberus acts as her guide, while her best friend and second cousin Tomoyo Daidouji films her exploits and provides her with battle costumes. Sakura's older brother Toya Kinomoto watches over her, while pretending that he is unaware of what is going on. A boy Sakura's age and descendant of Clow Reed, Syaoran Li, arrives from Hong Kong to recapture the cards himself. Their relationship is rocky, because he believes that he deserves the cards more than Sakura. However, he comes to respect Sakura and instead begins aiding her as he spends time with her. Once Sakura captures all the cards, she undergoes the Final Judgment, presided over by Yue, the cards' second guardian, who tests Sakura to determine if she is worthy of becoming the cards' true master. Yue is the true form of Yukito Tsukishiro, Sakura's crush and her brother's best friend. Sakura is aided by her teacher Kaho Mizuki,who was sent by Clow to ensure Sakura is able to pass the test, because he chose Sakura to be the cards' new master when he knew he was going to die. Sakura passes the test and becomes the new master of the Clow Cards. Life for Sakura is initially peaceful until a boy Sakura's age, Eriol Hiiragizawa, transfers from England, which coincides with new disturbances occurring in Tomoeda. Suddenly unable to use the Clow Cards, Sakura transforms her wand and creates a new incantation, which can transform a Clow Card into a Sakura Card. As strange events continue, Sakura gradually transforms each card into a Sakura Card, unaware the events are being caused by Eriol and two guardian-like creatures, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon. Yue begins to grow weaker, because he requires magical support from Sakura, but her magic is not yet strong enough to sustain him. Toya gives all of his magical abilities to Yue in order to ensure Yukito does not die. Sakura eventually deals with the pain of Yukito's gentle rejection of her feelings, as he instead loves Toya. Syaoran consoles Sakura, while finding himself falling in love with her, but is unsure of how to tell her. When only the Light and Dark Cards remain to be converted, which must be done together, Eriol reveals to Sakura he was behind all the strange events. After the cards are transformed, Eriol explains that he is half of the reincarnation of Clow Reed, with Sakura's father being the other half. Eriol, who has Clow's memories and magical abilities, aided Sakura in converting the cards so they would not lose their powers. Before returning to England, Eriol asks Sakura to split his magic between himself and her father, so that he will no longer be the most powerful magician in the world. Afterwards, Syaoran confesses his love to Sakura, but she is unsure how to respond. Sakura is hurt and upset when he tells her he is returning to Hong Kong, and comes to realize she loves him too after talking with her friends. She rushes home to make a teddy bear for him and confesses to him as he leaves for the airport and he promises to return when he has taken care of some things. Two years later, Syaoran moves back to Tomoeda permanently. They embrace and Sakura happily exclaims that they will be "together forever." CHARACTERS Sakura Kinomoto ! " Sakura Kinomoto is the eponymous heroine of Cardcaptor Sakura. Sakura is portrayed as a well-loved, cheerful, cute and at times an naïve ten-year old. Named after the Japanese word for "cherry blossom", Sakura is skilled in sports at school, being called the "best baton twirler in school" by her friends. However, she hates math and has an open fear of ghosts. Sakura maintains a crush on Yukito Tsukishiro for most of the manga and anime, but eventually develops similar feelings towards Syaoran Li after he confesses to her upon his own feelings. ! " She becomes the entitled Cardcaptor by guardian beast Cerberus after accidentally opening and releasing the Clow Cards from the Clow Book. Syaoran Li ! Syaoran Li is a distant relative of Clow Reed, the creator of the Clow Cards. As such, he believes that he should be the one to inherit the Clow Cards and tries to capture the cards for himself. As the series progresses, Syaoran comes to respect Sakura and becomes her friend and ally. He eventually falls in love with her, though she is slow to realize it due to her own feelings for Yukito. Keroberos ! " Cerberus nicknamed "Kero", is the appointed guardian of the book which holds the Clow Cards. He is one of two magical creatures created by Clow Reed along with the Clow Cards. Before his death, Clow appointed Kero as the one to select the potential candidate to be the next master of the cards, Cerberus himself, and his "brother" and fellow guardian, Yue. He tends to be bossy, demanding, egotistical and gluttonous, but clearly displays his affection for Sakura, especially if she is hurt or in danger. He becomes very fond of video games, and is addicted to sweets. Tomoyo Daidouji ! Tomoyo Daidouji is the best friend of the series' protagonist, Sakura Kinomoto, and her second cousin on their mothers' sides. The daughter of the president of Daidōji Toy Company, Sonomi Daidouji, Tomoyo lives a life of wealth and is watched over by a team of female bodyguards. She has access to a variety of prototype technological gadgets from her mother's company, and supplies Sakura and Cerberus with different communication devices throughout the series. She is depicted as being mature, kind-hearted, intelligent, and regularly speaking using more formal verb conjugations and expressions than normally seen in elementary students. She is a talented singer, and is shown performing in various school events. Touya Kinomoto ! Touya Kinomoto is Sakura's older brother. Though he teases her frequently, he cares a great deal for her and works to protect her. He is fully aware of what she is doing as a Cardcaptor, and regularly takes on several part-time jobs that put him in a position to be nearby when she is working on capturing a card. He also initially dislikes Syaoran, knowing that one day Syaoran will "take her away" from him. Touya possesses several magical powers, including the ability to see ghosts and other non-humans, the ability to sense when Sakura is in danger, and mild precognition. Fujitaka Kinomoto ! Fujitaka Kinomoto is the father of titular character, Sakura Kinomoto, and a reincarnation of the Clow Cards' creator, Clow Reed. A busy professor of archaeology at Towa University, Fujitaka is a kind and caring father. He met his late wife Nadeshiko while doing his first year as a teacher at her high school. Nadeshiko had climbed a tree to return a baby bird to its nest, but fell out of the tree, landing on Fujitaka. Upon seeing her, he stated that "an angel has fallen from the sky." They fell in love and married when she was sixteen. Though Nadeshiko died seven years before the start of the series, Fujitaka is shown to still be very much in love with her and devoted to her memory. He keeps a picture of her in the dining room, changing it each morning. Yukito Tsukishiro ! Yukito Tsukishiro is the close friend of Sakura's older brother, Toya, and the human alter-ego of the Clow Card guardian, Yue. He displays a kind and gentle nature, and at the start of the series, Sakura has a crush on him. Yue ! Yue is the one of two Guardians of the Clow Cards, along with Cerberus. His name, which is written in katakana rather than hiragana is the Mandarin Chinese word for "moon". Where Cerebus is the elector of the new Clow Card Master, Yue is the judge who is allowed to test the candidate for their worthiness. Though he is not human, he has the appearance of a beautiful young man with long, silver, braided hair, silver-purple cat like eyes, and a pair of white angel wings which he uses for flight. He is also considered a genderless creation of Clow Reed, same as Ruby Moon. His personality is depicted as more serious and aloof than Yukito's, and while Yukito is fond of Sakura, Yue is reluctant to accept her. Eriol Hiiragizawa ! Eriol Hiiragizawa is the principal antagonist in the second half of the series, commonly called the Master of the Clow arc. The reincarnation of Clow Reed, Eriol has both Clow's memories and all of his magic power. He moves from England to transfer to Tomoeda Elementary school after Sakura Kinomoto passed the Last Judgement and became the official master of the cards.