Cardcaptor Sakura Blu-ray review
It’s been 14 years since Cardaptors first arrived on television in North America. It wasn’t until much later that many others and I learned that the series we watched was really called Cardcaptor Sakura and was heavily edited to reach an American audience. It was series like this that awakened a larger audience to anime as a whole.
Cardcaptor Sakura was eventually re-dubbed and released uncensored for the fans who wanted to wanted to watch the series as it should be, which included a lot of different adult themes like same sex relationships or student-teacher relationship. In 2007 Geneon USA shut down, and the licence for Card Captor Sakura was up in the air, leading to the prices of the DVDs skyrocketing. In 2014 NIS America announced it would be releasing the entire series on Blu-ray.
Created by Clamp, Cardcaptor Sakura follows the story of Sakura Kinomoto, a 10-year-old girl who one day discovers a book that would change her life forever. She finds a card that was placed in the book and reads the name ‘Windy’ which creates a huge gust of air that sends the rest of the cards in the book flying and scattering them. A mystical creature named Cerberus awakens from the book and reveals himself as the guardian of the ‘Book of Clow’ and is shocked when Sakura tells him what happens. She is tasked to collect all the cards before terrible things start happening. Her powers awaken and she becomes a magical girl.
Now Sakura must retrieve the cards before they cause any harm, but there are others who are after the cards. Being a 10-year-old girl with magical powers isn’t easy when she has to go to school, save the world, hang out with friends, and having childhood crushes.
Video/Audio Quality
Cardcaptor Sakura was given the HD touch up. which includes improved visuals and colors that make a huge different. It’s presented in 1080p with a 1.33:1, giving it the classic look.
Both the English audio and Japanese audio sound great thanks to the : Japanese 2.0 Uncompressed PCM and English Mono Uncompressed PCM and yes I did say English audio as NIS America was able to use the older dubs for the series while using their own subtitles. They received an update to stay closer to the original Japanese series. (Having the subtitle option with the English dub won’t be the same.) It’s a great option to have, especially remembering the voices back in the mid-2000s, but nothing beats the Japanese track in terms of characters and sound.
Video/Audio Ratings: 4.5/5 Atoms
Extras
Who needs extras when you have 70 episodes of anime to watch. That’s 9 Blu-ray discs with 1,750 minutes of magical girl action and romance to enjoy from Clamp.
The Cardcaptor Sakura Complete Series Premium Edition also includes a limited edition book which features character art and a synopsis for all 70 episodes of the series. It’s one of the smaller collector’s books NIS America has released, and it is a nice addition. The premium edition includes a hardcover case and case which houses all 9 Blu-rays.
Extras Rating: 5/5 Atoms
Final Reaction
A definite blast from the past, NIS America brings this series back into the spotlight for fans to enjoy on Blu-ray. With 70 episodes in a single collection in the premium edition (or split into 3 volumes in the standard), CCS is a classic anime series that helped launch the success of what anime is today. A definite must-watch for people who love magical girl series.
NIS America has the option of buying the standard DVD set which has all 70 episodes split onto 12 discs in three different volumes, as well as the Premium Edition. If you have a Blu-ray player pay the extra $40 to really get a crisp and amazing look for this anime.
Overall Rating: 5/5 Atoms
