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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Depends on how you look at it, 16 March 2002
Author: (gears_chatroom_god@hotmail.com) from N. Ireland

When looked up as a dub of the original Japanese "Card Captor Sakura" series, "CardCaptors" embodies absolutely everything that is wrong with the dubbing process. Storylines butchered, plots changed, episodes cut to shreds and aired in different orders, etc, etc.

However, when viewed as a separate series unto itself - if you forget the Japanese version exists, just for a while - "CardCaptors" can be quite entertaining. Some of the dub changes can be VERY hard to swallow when you're aware of the true meaning behind things (Madison's in love with Sakura, Tori and Julian are an item, Li has a crush on Julian, etc), but it makes me laugh, and I can't help but enjoy it.

It does have it's flaws, though - specifically, it sets up a big plot arc... then does absolutely nothing with it. For example, season one - after excessive random card capturing, the concept of Sakura's dream is introduced, along with the mysterious teacher, Miss McKenzie. We then proceed to see Sakura's dream in every following episode, and Miss McKenzie acts more and more mysterious... but *nothing actually happens.* The mystery of the plot is not advanced in any way, save for the occasional mention of the enigmatic "Yue." Then it all comes crashing down at once. Same with season two - we're introduced to the new kid, Eli, who obviously has mystic powers, and two familiars like Keroberos and Yue, and yet all he does it put Sakura in peril from behind the scenes, over, and OVER, and OVER. The pacing of the series can be very bad - and then, you have to consider what it must be like for the Japanese viewers, as for us, there are a lot of episodes that don't get aired, and it STILL seems to take too long.

The animation's a bit iffy, as well. There are two sizes... short, and immensely tall. There's nothing in between. Plus all the adult men are exceptionally... pointy.

The way the Japanese writers overindulged themselves also grates. More than fifty percent of the main cast is homosexual or bisexual, which, towards the end, creates some problems because it threatens to affect the outcome which the writers want to have (Li and Sakura together). So it's all just shoved aside without so much as a by-your-leave. And there's never any reason given for why the cards had to BECOME Star Cards at all.

If you think too much about this show, you'll probably quickly stop being a fan of it. So just enjoy it for what it is.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Ok you're right, but then again..., 27 March 2002
Author: Misaomaki19 from Chicago Illinois

Being a long time anime fan, I find that in order to find the stuff that you want, you have to take what you can get. When I first started buying anime, there were hardly any dual language DVDs available and the dub tapes were just about all there was in the store. I had to settle for dubs most of the time.

I do like dubs. I like dubs that are able to stick to the original Japanese plot. HOWEVER... I'm afraid that Cardcaptors is not one of those series. I don't want to spoil the Japanese version for any of you so you have a fair warning... in the original Japanese story Julian (Yuki) and Tori(Toya) are a lot more than friends. This is even more obvious in the CLAMP manga that the anime was based on. And in the Japanese version Lee has a crush on YUKI not on Sakura. Either children in Japan are expected to be able to understand this stuff, or, as it seems to be the case these 'cute girly shows' are not just for kids.

Nelvana did a poor job of dubbing CCS but they did an even worse job translating it. Why bother to make the names more American sounding. The worst name change was from Toya to Tori. In Japanese Toya means peach arrow, Tori means bird.

Anyhow, I guess you can't blame them. Here in the US anime is for children. In Japan, anime is for everyone. Sadly, for those of us who appreciate the original, we'll just have to wait until it comes out on DVD. (I know for a fact you can find it if you want to)

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
An Engaging story that is more than passable, 21 January 2001
Author: SyxxNet from United States

I have been in love with Cardcaptors since it's premiere on KidsWB last year. While I have read nothing but negative comments about the american version in the past, for kids in the US, Cardcaptors is more than passable. It offers an intriguing storyline, excellent writing, more than passable acting, and good action adventure.

Those who are familiar with the original Japanese version, which is called "Cardcaptor Sakura", often slam the american verson, and it is probably not without merit, since many excellent anime series are often completely watered down and revamped when brought to the US. However, on it's own, Cardcaptors provides more than enough entertainment for all ages.

I admit I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing the original, which I recently ordered on video. But even so, the Americanised version provides me with great enjoyment, and was the first anime series I ever got into without prodding from my anime-fanatic fiancee.

3 out of 4 stars on my scale.

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One Of The Best Anime I've Ever Seen!, 12 April 2009
10/10
Author: jakevmars from Australia

Brilliant. That's one word that describes this show. And so it should. Cardcaptors (Named "Cardcaptor Sakura" In Japan) is one of the most magical & brilliantly thought up anime's in the world. It begins when Sakura Avalon ("Sakura Kinomoto In Japan) finds a mysterious book in her basement. She decides to open it, to discover mystical cards named "Clow Cards" inside. Accidentally, she summons the "Windy Card" by looking at it, and causes all of the 53 (The 53rd Card is the card in the second movie) cards to fly out of the book, disappearing. "Keroberos", nicknamed Kero is the guardian beast of the Clow Cards. It is his duty to recognize Sakura as a Cardcaptor. Along with Kero, her best friend, Madison (Tomoyo), enemy & sometimes ally, Li Showron, & Li's longtime friend (Cousin In the original), Meilin Rae join in the fun and adventure! Spanning over 2 (3 In the original) seasons & 2 Movie's (Cardcaptors-The Movie & Cardcaptor Sakura The Movie 2-The Sealed Card) Cardcaptors is one of the most amazing anime's ever created. Hugely recommended. And I have just recently created a petition about Cardcaptors. The petition is to "Bring Cardcaptors Back To DVD"! I would greatly appreciate it if anyone would love to sign my petition. I ask you of your time to do so, and tell people to do so as well, and to spread the word! Here is the link to my petition: http://lnk.ms/03S5T

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Buy the original., 29 January 2007
5/10
Author: jstrahan from Florida

Well, NB2000, since you have not seen the original, you don't realize what a disappointing piece of work the dub is. As one other reviewer put it: "It's like ripping out your intestines and stuffing it into your skull". If you have NOT seen the original, I guess you could say this show is OK. However, I advise passing on the dub and watching the original. The editing is atrocious. Chopped up episodes, pieced together in haphazard fashion. Admittedly, I have only seen the first disk, but if this is any indication, I am not very optimistic. A lot of the character interactions are either missing or changed drastically. On it's own it's a nice show, but if it is to be seen as a version of the original, it is not.

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Beg your pardon..., 22 January 2004
Author: Sarah (sars1@myself.com) from Lincoln, England

I like Cardcaptors, i'm not going to justify that further than I like animation and I like magic and this programme fitted the bill. Having not known that there was a different version of the progamme out there i'm amazed at what I read about it. I don't see what's wrong with the original Japanese version that they couldn't view it in England. It's not as if kids don't know what's going on. People are more open minded nowadays and if parents don't like their kids watching it, change the channel. I have never actually seen any of the original episodes but I think now I will seek them out just to see the differences. I think that they should been seen as seperate programmes. Card Captor Sakura is obviously different from CardCaptors that they should have there own identities, be seen as seperate entities then maybe they can be appreciated as such.

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I gave it a shot..., 1 October 2003
Author: Krissy06 from USA

Back when this premiered on the WB, I loved it. I became obsessed, but then again, I was 9 or 10. About a year ago, I was web surfing and I came across something called "Card Captor Sakura". I had long forgotten about the dubbed version, but then it all came back to me. Now, Card Captor Sakura, for those of you who don't know, is the subdubbed version of "CardCaptors". I read about it and realized how horrible the dub really was. I mean, in some elements, it was ok, but the voice acting and the censoring is HORRIBLE! I mean, they cut out total story lines (like Li's crush on Julian or w/e his name is in the dub)and totally buchered the last 2 episodes (obviously they couldn't show us or even MENTION the word "love") and never even released the second movie (again for obvious reasons)! I agree with the comment above. Sailor Moon was BAD, Pokemon was even WORSE, and this....is just horrible!

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If u think "CardCaptors" is great, you probably don't know what you're missing., 9 October 2001
Author: (majgroup@home.com) from Digital World

When I first started watching CardCaptors, I thought it was cool, but then they started going slack on their episodes and flooding us with reruns and then they went off the air or something. The Japanese DVDs with English subtitles are really great. If you try to watch them on a playstation it'll want you to set Parental Control to level 8 but hey, there's NOTHING wrong with it; to me that's just the mark of a good strong show that hasn't been run over as if by a Mack truck from all those watering-downs! "Parental Control 8, enter your password" is just the mark of a good show that hasn't been babied down just to make toddlers watch it so they fuss to their parents "buy me cardcaptors cards! buy me this! buy me that!"

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bad, just bad, 28 September 2001
Author: Shard Aerliss from Brum, England

Being a great lover of anime I had to check this one out. Well it stinks. The acting is awful, the story line is just boring, I haven't seen any actual battling yet, the characters are flawed and basic and the art work is just ugly. Good anime is pretty, has a good v bad story line, a little romance, excellent animation, half way decent acting and at least one battle per episode. Cardcaptors has none of this. I do not recommend this to any one, not even children. Stick to the older stuff. If you want something newer, Pokemon or Digimon are your best bet.

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Not good at all, 1 July 2001
Author: koolsam from Grand Rapids, MI

Usually I'm not thrilled by anime, but Cardcaptors seems to be at rock bottom. I see no good at all in the writing, storyline, action, appearance of characters, voices, or anything. The writing and storyline are repetitive. The action scenes could be better. With the exception of Pokémon, I never like the looks of anime characters. The voice actors and actresses are horrible--no one sticks out in the crowd, and no one you'd recognize. But then again, maybe true celebs don't want to be humiliated. Other than that, it's perfect!

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