is a Japanese ''shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. It is a sequel to Clamp's manga ''

Cardcaptor Sakura , abbreviated as ''CCS'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from May 1996 to June 2000, it was also published in 12 ''tankōbon'' ...

'' and focuses on

Sakura Kinomoto is the main protagonist and title character of Clamp's manga series ''Cardcaptor Sakura''. In the English anime adaptation by Nelvana of the series, ''Cardcaptors'' is known as Sakura Avalon, though her surname was changed back in the second ...

in junior high school. The manga began serialization in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''

Nakayoshi is a monthly ''shōjo'' manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized in Nakayoshi include ''Princess Knight ...

'' magazine with the July 2016 issue. A 22-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation by Madhouse, featuring the cast and staff from the original series, aired from January to June 2018, which loosely adapts the first twenty-four chapters.

Plot

is starting

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

alongside her friends, including her boyfriend

Syaoran Li Syaoran Li, sometimes spelled as Shaoran Li or originally as Xiaolang Li (李小狼 ''Lǐ Xiǎoláng''; リ・シャオラン ''Ri Shaoran'', or ''Ri Syaoran'' ( Kunrei); Cantonese Jyutping: ''lei5 siu2 long4''), is one of the central characters ...

, who had just returned to Tomoeda. After having a prophetic dream about a mysterious cloaked figure, all of the Sakura Cards turn blank and are rendered completely powerless, thus starting her quest to find out what is wrong. In doing so, Sakura and her friends, along with her guardians and protectors

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; grc-gre, Κέρβερος ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the mo ...

and Yue, discover and capture the transparent cards, using the new and much stronger mystical dream key. Eriol,

Spinel Sun This article covers the major characters of Clamp's manga ''Cardcaptor Sakura'' and its respective anime and movies. The manga and anime focused on Japanese schoolgirl Sakura Kinomoto who finds the magical Clow Book in her father's basement stud ...

and

Ruby Moon This article covers the major characters of Clamp's manga ''Cardcaptor Sakura'' and its respective anime and movies. The manga and anime focused on Japanese schoolgirl Sakura Kinomoto who finds the magical Clow Book in her father's basement study ...

appear as supporting characters, as does

Kaho Mizuki This article covers the major characters of Clamp's manga ''Cardcaptor Sakura'' and its respective anime and movies. The manga and anime focused on Japanese schoolgirl Sakura Kinomoto who finds the magical Clow Book in her father's basement stud ...

, having returned to England, but continuing to aid Sakura and her protectors from afar. Sakura ends up befriending a transfer student named Akiho Shinomoto and meets her butler and guardian Yuna D. Kaito, from whom Syaoran detects supreme levels of magical power.

Media

Manga

''Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card'' is written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It began serialization in the monthly '' shōjo'' (aimed at young girls)

manga magazine Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

'' with the July 2016 issue sold on June 3.

Kodansha Comics Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and manga, ...

is releasing the series in English both digitally and in print.

Anime

A 22-episode

television series adaptation aired from January 7 to June 10, 2018 with

Morio Asaka is a Japanese storyboard artist and director. After graduating Osaka Designers' College, Asaka entered Madhouse. He was inspired to become a director by '' Phoenix: Yamato Chapter'' and made his debut as an episode director in episode 40 of ''Y ...

Nanase Ohkawa is a member of the all-female manga-creating team CLAMP. She is the director of the team and is primarily responsible for writing the stories and scripts for CLAMP's various works. As part of CLAMP's 15th Anniversary, each of the four members ...

and Madhouse returning from the original anime series to direct, write and produce the new adaptation, respectively, loosely adapted from the first twenty-eight chapters of the manga. Kunihiko Hamada replaced Kumiko Takahashi as the character designer from the original series. The main cast from the original anime also returns to reprise their roles. An

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

prequel titled ''Sakura and the Two Bears'', which bridges the stories of the "Sakura Card Arc" and the "Clear Card Arc", had its world premiere at

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

on July 1, 2017 and shipped in Japan as a DVD bundled with the special edition of volume 3 of the manga on September 13, 2017. The first opening theme for the series is " Clear" by

Maaya Sakamoto Maaya may refer to: * Maaya (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * ''Maaya'' (1972 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''Maaya'' (2014 film), an Indian Telugu film See also * Maya (disambiguation) Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya ...

, while the first ending theme is "Jewelry" by

Saori Hayami Saori (written: 沙織, 早織, 佐織, 砂織, 沙保里, 沙緒里, 紗央里, 紗央莉, 左多里 or さおり in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * Saori (television personality) (born 1981) ...

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

premiered the simuldub on January 24, 2018. The second opening theme is "Rocket Beat" by

Kiyono Yasuno is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Miyagi Prefecture. She attended voice actor training classes of the Avex Artist Academy before becoming affiliated with Avex Planning and Development. She is known for her role as Megumi Katō in the a ...

while the second ending theme is "Rewind" by

Minori Suzuki is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with E-Stone Music. She started her career after passing an audition for the role of Freyja Wion in the 2016 anime television series ''Macross Delta'', beating 8,000 other auditionees for the r ...

. The series was released in Japan on Blu-ray and DVD in eight volumes from May to November 2018. In 2019,

released the series in two Blu-ray sets of 11 episodes each in North America on February 5 and July 2. Funimation released the complete series in one Blu-ray volume on August 11, 2020.

Video game

Bushiroad is a Japanese entertainment company, producer of collectible card games and trading cards, publisher of mobile apps and games, promotional items and many other venues, which was founded in 2007 by Takaaki Kidani and is headquartered in Tokyo. ...

and Monster Lab created a

mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...

for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android titled ''Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Happiness Memories'' and launched it on October 3, 2019. The game's theme song is "Flash" by

. In May 2020, Bushiroad and Monster Lab announced they were ending services for the game on June 30, 2020 due to the "state of the game" and "current operations situation."

Reception

It was reported in April 2017 that over 1 million copies of the manga were in print in Japan. Geordi Demorest of ''Anime Feminist'' criticized the series, arguing that while the original ''Cardcaptor Sakura'' is beloved for its "LGBTQ-inclusiveness," this sequel seems "less actively progressive" and is missing the original focus on "explicitly representing LGBTQ characters". Lynzee Loveridge of

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

wrote that she was unsure whether the series added "anything worthwhile to characters' stories," writing that it is a "facsimile of the previous series," with no traditional villains. Tim Jones and Stig Høgset of

THEM Anime Reviews THEM Anime Reviews, otherwise known as THEM or T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, is an Anime, anime Review, review website that writes about current and past anime in any form, including Original video animation, OVAs and Original net animation, ONAs. The ...

gave the series a more positive review. Jones said he had some hesitation to start the series, as it was three years after ''

Sailor Moon Crystal ''Sailor Moon Crystal'', known in Japan as , is a 2014 original net animation adaptation of the ''shōjo'' manga series '' Sailor Moon'' written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, produced in commemoration of the original series' 20th ann ...

'', while Høgset called the show like "a fun family reunion" and praised the background art for the series.

References

External links

* * {{Madhouse 2016 manga 2018 anime television series debuts 2018 Japanese television series endings Animated television series about teenagers Japanese children's animated action television series Japanese children's animated fantasy television series Anime series based on manga Crunchyroll anime Funimation Kodansha manga Madhouse (company) Magical girl anime and manga Medialink NHK original programming Sequel television series Shōjo manga Works by Clamp (manga artists)