Card Captor Sakura

It all began with a strange dream. First a vision of "the Clow" - a magical book. Then the image of a young girl standing atop a building with cards swirling about; a small winged creature floating at her side both staring at Tokyo Tower and the hint of another person possibly at the tower itself. The young girl seems to speak and her shoes gain messengers wings... Who is the girl and the strange creature at her side... and what does it all have to do with Kinamoto Sakura - an active grade 4 student?

Kinamoto Sakura is your typical grade 4 girl. She has a lot of energy, often fights with her elder brother Touya (Grade 11), has a major crush on her brother's best friend (Tsukishiro Yukito - Grade 11), and is active in the cheerleading club at school. Having a strange dream isn't the best way to start one's day Sakura found out. Worrying about the dream, Sakura ended up hitting herself on the head with her baton at practise. How painfully embarrassing for her! However, after returning home from her club practise, Sakura heard a strange noise coming from her father's office. Alone in the house, Sakura decided to take a look but when she searched, despite still having heard the strange noises, she found... nothing. A glowing book quickly grabbed her attention and proved to be none other than the Clow book she'd seen in her dreams that morning. Unfortunately, for Sakura, she decided to try and read the name of the first card and ended up summoning an incredibly strong gust of wind which scattered the cards throughout the city leaving Sakura in possession of only one card - "Windy". Sakura must now try and recapture the cards which escaped in the gale; however, she will not be alone in her search for the creature guarding the cards has also awoken and emerged from the Clow book and is none other that the strange winged creature from her dream. His name? Cerberus. And so began Sakura's unwilling beginning into chasing the cards that had been freed from their magical binds and becoming a Card Captor...

Card Captor Sakura is a fun, action packed series aimed at young viewers (mid-elementary especially) and is suitable for all ages. The main character Sakura is a cute, although a touch clue-less, girl who has been unwittingly forced into the role of Card Captor. Much of Sakura's character, as well as that of her brother, is very like children growing up in a family with plenty of teasing, conflict, and of course love. The story in this first episode was concentrating on introducing the characters to the viewers and trying to build the story as much as possible. While not particularly deep, the story flows smoothly and builds a fairly clear initial image of Sakura (your usual Grade 4 kid who has a crush on certain teachers and older boys) as well as Cerberus (an Osaka-ben speaking winged creature who loves to eat). The question will arise later to what extent will the series rely solely on the idea of finding the cards and returning them to card form. Or whether there be a more substantial story hidden beneath the initial concept - Clamp stories are often much less simple than first perceived.

The animation itself is a touch weaker than usual TV quality animation with lots of empty backgrounds, unmoving backgrounds and "cotton candy" blooming cherry trees. However, given then intended viewer audience, I sincerely doubt that major budgets are available for the more highly detailed and smoother scrolling animation quality expected in adult or older audience targeted films. Also, the animation itself is more than adequately detailed to portray the story although there's definite use of more basic drawing styles to portray certain emotions as well.

The music provides a good accompaniment to the story, never being overly obvious nor completely absent but definitely helps to set the tone; bright and sprightly or a touch darker and more mystical. Time will tell how much of it is constantly recycled throughout the series, however again this is not OAV material, but kids TV.

The voice acting for the first episode is good given that the voice actors themselves are learning their roles and characters. We see in Sakura, an uncertainty in using the magic key given to her by Cerberus let alone confronting on of the Clow cards. Cerberus is solidly portrayed as being a touch over-confident and annoying creature who may well get Sakura into a fair amount of trouble; time will tell.

Daidoji Tomoyo, Sakura's best friend has a bit of a surprise for Sakura first thing in the morning at school. It seems that while out taking a video of the moon the night before, Tomoyo happened to film something very interesting: what appeared to be a small winged creature and a young girl on a staff, flying in front of a crescent moon. In a close up, the girl seemed to be none other than Sakura wearing her pyjamas and in-line skates... Needless to say, Sakura ends up sharing her secret about Cerberus and being Card Captor with Tomoyo.

Things have gotten a little rough at school otherwise. Overnight, someone made a mess of the school by piling all the desks, various furnishings, and equipment in front of the school as well as in the various classrooms. Who could have done such a thing and why? Or, could it be the doing of another of the Clow cards?

This episode continues the story of getting Sakura to become more comfortable in her new role as 'Card Captor'. Cerberus of course started pushing the role in the last episode, but the creation of a minor conspiracy between Tomoyo and Cerberus makes for an interesting air between the two characters. As Sakura's primary fan and having a strong interest in both taping Sakura as well as creating various outfits, Tomoyo's character may well prove to put Sakura in a slightly embarassing position of having to concede to her friend's hobbies; much as any person would do to keep one's friend's happy thus further developing both the characters as well as the friendship between the two.

The story continues to depict both Sakura's home and school life as typical to what a 9 year old kid would have as well as having a touch of a focus on the relationship and responsibilities of her home life. While in the previous episode, Sakura's father was making breakfast, we see in this second episode that her elder brother is now making breakfast instead, with a minor comment on Sakura's cooking ability. An interesting show of the various chores undertaken by the members of the Kinomoto family. The story itself flows smoothly with the music adding to the overall intensity of the story. The music has a certain catchy quality which, if one watches too many episodes at a given time, may prove difficult to get out of one's mind. However, the overall soundtrack is well suited to the series and adds to the overall intensity and viewer interest in the series. Likewise, the acting is also well done with the voice actors settling in well with their new roles.

Both in the story as well as in the acting, we see a certain uncertainty in Sakura about using her magic, as well as a lack of confidence on her part as to her abilities and the idea of magic use in general. This last however, will undoubtedly be a moot point as the story continues. Also, while the animation is typical to TV animation series, we do see an interesting focus on Sakura's battle costumes with some very good detail in the outfits that Tomoyo makes for Sakura.

Sakura's class is spending the day at the aquarium having fun seeing all the different fish and the various animal habitats. However, while at the penguin enclosure, the penguin trainer and one of the penguins suddenly gets in trouble and can't get out of the water. What's wrong with the penguin pool and why is there a strange eddy in the water there? However, who comes to the rescue other than Sakura's brother Touya! If what happened in the penguin's pool was one of the Clow Cards however, which card could it be and how is Sakura to capture it?

However, more important than the penguins is that Yukito has come over with Touya after work. Sakura's heart may well melt into nothing at the idea of Yukito being under the same roof! Kero-chan in the meantime, has identified which Clow Card was present at the aquarium; Watery. Watery is one of the elemental cards along with Wind(y), Earth(y) and Fire(y). Worse is that Watery is one of the martial cards with a strong attack, and while Sakura has one elemental card, Windy; Windy is a gentle card and is no match for Watery. How does one go about capturing water? and can Sakura do so with the cards she currently has?

The story continues to build with strong character development concentrating on the relationship between Sakura and Yukito and her definite feelings of infatuation with her brother's best friend. We had a decent idea of how much Sakura likes Yukito in the last episode when she made a sidetrip to visit Yukito before going to school, however, it's made blatantly obvious here through both the animation and the voice acting. Solid script writing and voice acting really makes this episode and series a great series for kids so far. The strong concentration on relationships and growing up is something that adults and kids both can relate to and thus enjoy.

Animation continues to be a mixed bag with a lower frame rate but with good attention to detail on Sakura's outfits as well as the Clow cards physical manifestations. Often however, there is heavy use of limited shots for example only of Sakura's feet when roller blading. The music on the other hand is quite nice and helps enhance the overall viewing experience. Thankfully, they aren't too catchy as to forever be going through one's head (unlike certain other theme songs and incidental music scores...) Some viewers might find the high pitched voices of Sakura and Tomoyo a bit too sweet and saccharine to get into the series, however, the voices are very well suited to the characters personalities and are somewhat representative of vocal pitch in Japan; or at least how people pitch their voices in the country.

Kids will find that there is enough action in the episode to keep their attention as well as some interesting character development on Sakura's part in figuring out on her own how to capture the water elemental. Young girls especially may be able to relate with Sakura and her crush on Yukito although they may not melt quite so literally. Still, poor Sakura's feelings for Yukito might be a bit too blatant in the animation. Never mind the use of big flowers to accentuate emotion, (while they used lilies at least they didn't use white lilies...) but also Sakura's expression is rather priceless and will have many older (than target) viewers either laughing or cringing slightly at her inability to hide her feelings a bit better rather than being completely and utterly blatant in her emotions. On the otherhand though, she is only 10 so she is more likely to be quite open in showing her feelings in that sense.

Key to this episode however, is the idea of Sakura wanting to capture the card of her own volition to help protect the penguins, and more importantly, in figuring out on her own how to capture the card despite being told by Kero-chan that it's currently beyond her ability. This underlying message to the story line here is what truly makes this a good episode for kids. How many kids have been told not to do something or been told that they can't do something because they aren't old enough, don't have the skills etc., rather than being encouraged to try, or at least being supported in their efforts and offered encouragement. While letting Sakura charge in without coming up with some sort of battle plan would probably have been too dangerous, Kero's outright dismissal of Sakura's chances is representative of what kids often encounter when facing bad odds. Sakura's imagination and initiative is a quiet but good role for kids to follow; to come up with a plan first on how to tackle an obstacle (on one's own or otherwise) and then to carry out the plan (with help).

Another facet to the overall story that is slowly being revealed to viewers, is the home life of the Kinomoto family itself and the interpersonal relationships of the various family members and friends. From Touya's teasing of Sakura to Sakura's friendship with Tomoyo and her major crush on Yukito, the development of Sakura's character as she grows up is what really makes this series so special for viewers. Sakura's ablility to cook (regardless of what Touya thinks of her skill), and her attempt to win Yukito over through that skill is very typical of Japanese girls who often try baking cookies for their boyfriends; although this is usually true at a slightly older age than Sakura is currently. Also, how many people's older brother's best friends take the younger sister out for an afternoon without their friend along? Thus far, in this series, we find that the characters are all extremely nice and almost saccharine sweet in their relationship with one another. How long this will continue and to what degree may well cause some people to lose interest because of its sugariness; others will come to love it simply because it is so sweet and the solid family relations and story underlying the idea of capturing the cards will catch their imaginations and hearts.

It's Sunday morning and yet Sakura is already up and about. Having planned on going to the park for a picnic with Tomoyo, Sakura is in a very good mood, so good in fact that she's willing to let Touya get away with calling her a monster. However, much to Sakura's chagrin, she'd completely forgotten about swapping chores with Touya earlier and Sunday was her day to pay back the favour.

After cancelling her picnic with Tomoyo, Sakura enlists Kero's aid to help with the chores. Much to Sakura's delight, she finds two Clow Cards while cleaning and leaves the cards on the desk when she's called away to deliver some forgotten papers. However, leaving the two cards together may not have been a very good idea...

I have to admit that the more I watch this series, the more I really enjoy it for the gentle and sweet story that unfolds about Sakura and her family. While her mother had passed away some time ago, she, Touya and her father all work together to keep the household running smoothly. While perhaps a touch too sweet to be completely realistic, the idealism is still touching. Tomoyo's decision to visit Sakura to help with her chores is something that we would almost never expect of friends except for when it comes to moving house and in that sense is a touch even less realistic and more idealistic.

The animation here was decidedly cute in this episode, especially in combination with the music when the Wood card manifested itself. Likewise, there is good use of humour when Sakura challenges rain. Perhaps this episode's greatest strength lies in precisely that combination of animation and music in order to present the story and humour at hand. Also, while there is the primary idea of capturing the cards, the underlying story of Sakura's home life and her friendships with Tomoyo and Yukito are also very important in developing the overall feel to this series and Sakura's character as well. All in all a very cute episode.

Matsumoto Maki has just moved to Tomoeda and is in the process of opening her new shop Twin Bells. On her way to school, Sakura meets Maki who invites her to the shop when she finishes school. Maki figures she should have finished putting out all the merchandise by that time so there should be plenty for Sakura to look at. However, as Sakura goes off to school, she watches as Maki trips and drops a box and wonders if all will infact be alright by the time she finishes school.

At school, Chiharu also mentions the new store which is opening up and suggests that everyone (Chiharu, Naoko, Rika, Tomoyo and Sakura) all go together after school to see the new shop. There should be many cute toys and other goodies for everyone to look at. However, when they get to the store, they find that things have yet to be set up and displayed. In fact, as they watch, they see Maki trip while carrying a box dropping everything. Things are not very promising with this new shopkeeper! However, wanting to see all the toys and other things, the five girls decide to help the hapless shopkeeper in setting out her wares. While taking a break from setting up, Chiharu spots a big cute panda and decides to buy the toy. However, the toy itself seems to have a will of its own as the girls discover the next day when it decides to pay Maki another visit. How is it that the panda left Chiharu's home? Could it be that there is another Clow Card at work here?

Cuteness abounds yet again in this fifth episode of Sakura. In the opening scenes as we watch Maki sleeping with various boxes around her, I'm reminded of the many, many, times that I've moved myself. However, despite moving and other such joys, watching her sleep despite all sorts of goings on around her... I wish I could sleep that soundly! The storyline itself is very basic around the idea of capturing yet another Clow card. However, we also have the introduction of another incidental character who, while she will be seen on occasion throughout the series, does not truly add anything beyond a bit more depth to the neighborhood Sakura lives in.

Again, the concept of having the kids help out with setting up Maki's shop while it does happen on occasion is likely to be much more the exception than the rule in reality. Not many stores are liable to open their doors when they don't have any merchandise set out. More than anything, this episode serves as little more than filler for Sakura to capture another Clow card albeit one that she uses often. It does however have the benefit of fleshing out Chiharu's character a touch as well.

When returning home late one day after school, Naoko decided to take a short cut through the forest behind the school. However, while going through the forest. Naoko saw a strange glowing light which she followed. Upon reaching a clearing, the light changed however, and a huge one eyed monster suddenly appeared. Telling the other people in her club about her experience, Naoko, Chiharu, and Rika all decide to go back to the forest to check out the ghostly appearance dragging Sakura in tow. Poor Sakura however, is terrified of ghosts and begs best friend Tomoyo to go with her.

On the other edge of the forest, the 5 girls once again find the strange light and once again a strange monster appears. Only this time, everyone sees different things. Sakura sees a woman with long hair while Tomoyo on the otherhand sees a huge steamed bun! What is causing the strange sightings? Deciding to go back and investigate, Sakura and Tomoyo accompanied with Kero go back to the cliff edge clearing, only this time, when the woman appears to Sakura, she sees that it is in fact her mother. What's Sakura's mother doing in the forest behind Sakura's school? Could it be that she misses Sakura and wants Sakura to join her?

This episode still maintains the sweet level of the series as a whole, however, I find that this is perhaps one of the best episodes storywise. Talking about death let alone the death of a parent is never easy yet this episode is able to touch on the subject in a gentle manner. While most children Sakura's age will not have any understanding of what it is like to lose a parent to death, there are undoubtedly many families out there which are single parent families. Perhaps not entirely the same, but at the same time, many of the problems faced and the manner in which household matters are taken care of may well be the same.

Watching the expression on Sakura's friends' faces when Chiharu asks Sakura what would be a good gift for mother, we realise the difficulty that faces many people when it comes to such matters. How does one ask these questions tactfully, or is it best not to ask at all, and what happens if you forget or just don't realise that the person you're asking may not be able to answer for unfortunate reasons? But even more than just that part, is watching as Sakura tries to understand why her mother might be in the forest behind the school and her wish to meet her mother again.

Yukito's question to Sakura after she'd fallen from the cliff is a gentle way for him to make her question the image that is seen on the cliff top and gives Sakura the determination to face what seems to be her mother. More than anything, the story here and the character relations that we see are key to this episode. The level of Touya's devotion to his sister and Yukito's relationships with both Touya and Sakura add to the depth of the characters as well as the story as a whole. Solid voice acting on the parts of the main characters combined with gentle music help to enhance the viewing experience. Overall, a solid episode in story and character development.

Sakura's class is off to the museum for art class! However, museums certainly are quiet places as Sakura discovered! While at the museum, a young second grade student was causing trouble claiming that someone had painted something over one of the paintings. Young Tachibana Yuuki makes a big fuss over the painting "Hohoemi" by Tachibana Tenkai; Yuuki's father. Yuuki is even more upset however, as it was the last painting done by the famous painter before he'd passed away from illness. Indeed the painting had been done during the last family summer outing. However, while putting up such a fuss, Sakura noticed that the painting seemed to move, motioning for silence and for a brief instant the world around her was completely silent. Could it be that there is another Clow card at work in the museum? And who painted over Yuuki's father's last work?

While maintaining the sweet nature of the show overall, this episode was decidedly unrealistic in certain aspects which detract overall from the viewing experience. While I can (oddly enough) accept the concept that a new figure magically appeared overtop one of the museum's paintings, I find it difficult to believe that a gallery or museum would be so unfamiliar with the works within that the change would not have been noticed immediately. This should have resulted in extreme consternation at the museum. However this was not in fact the case. Rather we see that the guard who faces against Yuuki dismisses the child's claims. Moreover, I would find it difficult to believe that a child would try to fix the painting on their own as well.

That aside, there is also the fact that somehow, Tomoyo was able to get hold of the guard's schedule at the museum. There are undoubtedly many a thief out there who would love to be able to get that sort of information with the seeming ease that Tomoyo had. Lastly, even with the guard schedule, how is it that Sakura and Tomoyo were able to sneak into the gallery in the first place? Moreover, how did Yuuki do the same? And while we're at it, how many different ways can one get into the museum without getting caught by the guards? Holes in the storyline which one could drive a semi through make for a very poor storyline indeed. The one saving grace for this episode was the bit of character development between Sakura and Yukito when he catches her sneaking out of her home late at night. The alternations between consternation and elation are truly well portrayed by Tange Sakura.

At school, Sakura finds that they have a new transfer student joining their class. Li Syaoran has just transferred from Hong Kong and seems to be none other than the boy from Sakura's dream that morning! However, during lunch, Sakura finds out that Syaoran has come to claim the Clow Cards. Sakura's rival has come to race against her in capturing the Clow Cards.

What a way to start the day, not only does Sakura have a recurring dream about Tokyo Tower, but she also gets teased by brother Touya about being noisy and in front of Yukito at that. However, more than that is the advent of a new transfer student from Hong Kong to her class in school. The rivalry that is introduced with Li Syaoran makes for some interesting tension in the series as well as making Sakura even more uncertain as her lack of knowledge is made abundantly clear to her. Syaoran's antagonistic and somewhat contemptuous attitude towards Sakura is well portrayed by Kumai Motoko helping to quickly establish the rivalry between Syaoran and Sakura.

The story itself is not particularly deep nor involved, concentrating more on introducing Li's character as well as the antagonism between him and Sakura. Also, the introduction of antagonism between Syaoran and Touya illustrates just how protective Touya is of Sakura. More importantly however, is the introduction of the rivalry between Syaoran and Sakura and another hurdle for Sakura to overcome when it comes to the Clow Cards. The rivalry itself as we will see in later episodes will help Sakura to gain the strength and determination to collect the cards of her own will as well as to gain confidence in her own abilities.

The animation itself while good re-uses some footage from the first episode in which Sakura, Touya and Yukito are on their way to school. While it's in keeping with the script, I was a bit surprised to see the footage being recycled like that so soon. Still, I suppose there's not much use in re-doing the trek to school too many times over.

I have to admit that I wasn't entirely looking forward to the North American release of Card Captor Sakura, and when there was a lot of negativity on the newsgroups about the series after the US premier... needless to say it was with great trepidation that I awaited the Canadian premier. The episode being aired as the first for Cardcaptors was in fact episode 8 from the original series, but with some additional footage during the opening credits, and a bit of additional background dialog, they tried to cover at least the primary concept that Sakura broke the seal on the Clow book and accidentally scattered the cards.

Because of the material addition as well as the change in story line, certain scenes had to be touched up or changed. This was accomplished through using some CGI. Likewise, the opening animation was completely re-done through CGI and was quite smoothly executed focussing more on the cards themselves. Also, the opening theme song had also been changed from a sweet and gentle song to a rap style chant of the different Clow cards. While different, the opening song is catchy and may well encourage kids to memorise the different cards in the deck.

While much of the actual animation footage itself is intact, there are some places where you are left thinking something is a touch strange. Point in fact is when Sakura is off to school with older brother Tori and his friend Julian. Julian is seen in a sparkly scene as Sakura talks to him and sees him for the first time that day, and yet there is no reason for this to be the case unless there's a lot of sun out that day. There is no explanation for the sparkly effect and as such it seemed a touch odd.

Interestingly, the dialogue itself is fairly well done and idiomatic although the voice actors aren't always taking advantage of the natural dialogue in their lines. Occasionally a touch too clearly enunciated, viewers are a touch too aware of the hip talk between Sakura and Madison as well as Kero. What did strike me as rather odd however is that the voices of the various characters sounded very old. Sakura and friends are supposed to be 10 years old and in fourth grade; not 14 and in eighth. This is particularly noticeable in the classroom at the beginning of the school day when the various incidental characters all say hello as they come in and the teacher sounds younger than Rita! Definitely odd.

As for the voice actors/actresses, Maggie Blue O'Hara actually does a good job as a rather hip and technologically with it Madison. While quite a different personality from the original, this depiction works quite well and will undoubtedly appeal to North American viewers. Li is likewise fairly well done and while he doesn't really add much to the overall feel for this episode neither does he really detract from it for voice acting quality. Many of the negative comments on the newsgroups regarding voice actors was regarding Kero. However, considering his Kansai roots and the rough and aggressive tone it has for Japanese folks, Kero's voice and attitude was actually quite well suited to that original concept. Portraying him as a cute stuffed toy won't come off well here, but overall the voice isn't all bad. Perhaps my biggest annoyance was with Sakura. While I realise that kids often want to be hip and cool with friends and show no weaknesses, Sakura comes across more as a brat with an attitude than someone who can take care of herself. For example, after Li tried to take away the Clow cards Sakura had thus far collected from her, Madison asked if she was alright. However, Sakura's response was one where "It's nothing I couldn't handle". It just did not come across well and instead made her sound like a conceited, bratty snob.

Likewise, when Tori faces off against Li after he jumps the fence, the dialogue again struck me as unnecessarily antagonistic. Also, since Tori is in 11th grade, being antagonistic towards a fourth grader makes more for a high school bully rather than a brother who is concerned for a baby sister. This is one place where they should have stuck to the original analysis of Li's fighting style as being Chinese kenpo. Afterall, Tori has learnt some martial arts.

Unfortunately, the music track from the original series was completely redone and replaced by background music which does nothing to add to the overall viewing experience. Where before the music score helped to augment the overall viewing experience through enhancing the mood of the story, the new background music is just that; background. The music is neither enhancing the mood, nor does it add excitement. It's just there almost as though it were simply filler. The other very noticeable part to this first episode was the sound effects. Very noticeable, I almost felt like I was watching Loony Tunes instead of a new anime. While okay, it was overdone and too obvious and ended up detracting from the overall viewing experience.

Following the previous nights disastrous run in with Syaoran, Sakura's feeling decidedly depressed at school. To try and bolster her spirits, Rika gives Sakura a flower as a sign of friendship and support. Tomoyo also is very aware of Sakura's misery and suggests a bit of a shopping trip with Rika on the way home to try to boost Sakura's spirits. While at the shop, Sakura, Tomoyo and Rika decide to buy some new brooches for themselves. However, when Rika puts on her brooch later in Sakura's home, her pin brooch, originally in the shape of a sword, shows itself as the physical manifestation of the sword card. Sakura has to deal with a possessed Rika and deal with the sword card. But can she do so without harming Rika, and can she keep Syaoran from attacking Rika as well?

The story continues on a gentle line about Sakura's friendship with Tomoyo and also builds a bit more on Rika's character as well. A quiet girl, Rika's always watching Terada-sensei. Rika giving Sakura a flower in class illustrates the good friendship she has with Sakura and her concern for Sakura. While much of the focus of the stories have since moved towards the capture of a new Clow Card every episode, there is still good character development and the advancement of interpersonal relationships between the various characters keeps viewers interested and involved in the series.

The music continues to be quite good and while there is definite recycling of key pieces, they still work well towards building the mood and enhancing the viewing experience overall. While the main feel is a gentle, melody, the music when a Clow Card manifests itself as well as when Sakura calls upon her magic builds a strong sense of excitement and tension. While there is also some comic relief when Kero first shows after the Clow Card manifests itself in this episode, it strikes viewers as rather typical for Kero and does not really detract from the story at hand but does help relieve a touch of the excitement thus keeping things from getting too intense for younger viewers.

Perhaps most important to this episode is the continued character development and the growing rivalry between Sakura and Syaoran. Because of the near disastrous results in the previous episode, Sakura gains more determination to work towards capturing the Clow Cards rather than giving in to her uncertainties. Also, the rivalry between Touya and Syaoran is also growing which proves to be rather interesting, but more than that are the hints of how Syaoran feels about Yukito. More than anything, I'm finding this series very enjoyable for the friendships and the character interactions. While the Clow Cards and their capture is part of the story, more important is the gentle story of life as an elementary student and the process of growing up.

Oy, what happened here? The promise that was being seen in the previous episode just took a major nosedive. While the voice acting still isn't the greatest, it isn't all that bad either, and I'm actually rather enjoying Madison's character. However, one character cannot make up for inconsistencies between the script and characters' reactions. Likewise the story itself has suddenly become decidedly holey. While the dialogue itself was decent, Sakura and Li's exchange at the beginning of class simply did not match the mood of the characters and their reactions. Why the folks at Nelvana decided against leaving the talk about Sakura's dream showing Li's robes in the dialogue is something of a mystery as it clearly illustrates Sakura's magical abilities. Likewise, it would help to make that clear to Li as well.

More importantly however, is the whole story concept for this episode. While I have nothing against the idea of changing the story concept to one where there is a class test the next day in order to get Sakura, Madison and Rita together, the idea of a teacher stating clearly in public "Rita, you need to pass this one" is rather unthinkable. The effects this would have on a student and their motivation, let alone the total lack of professionalism it shows are profound. While a child may not know how to respond to such, I sincerely doubt that the effects would be in any way positive or productive. Likewise, the fallout which would result should a parent here of such an incident would also be quite striking.

Character interactions between Tori and Sakura, Tori and Li, Li and Julian, Julian and Sakura as well as Rita and Mr. Terada are all decidedly lacking and makes me wonder how Nelvana will deal with upcoming aspects of the story, or if they will be cut out instead. Thus far, anything between Rita and Mr. Terada have been quite scrupulously cut. The relationship between Tori and Sakura is much more that of an uninterested elder brother with a bratty baby sister rather than the teasing of an overprotective brother with a clueless young sister. A shame since I quite enjoyed that depiction of family life for the Kinomoto's. How it will end up however is something to be seen for later episodes. Likewise, character development is somewhat lacking although Tori is decidedly showing himself to be little more than a high school bully in his attitude towards Li and Sakura. Where in the original he's clearly the overprotective brother, here he's an uncaring antagonistic bully. Is that really supposed to reflect what Nelvana wanted to portray for his character?

I think however, my main peeve is the inconsistencies in the scripting in this episode. At the end of the episode, we see Sakura giving Yukito a gift to say thank you for helping with Rita after the sword card had been dealt with. However, Li responds with "but, I..." as though he's the one who'd done anything. However, from the end of the scene with the sealing away of the card, Li took off right away when Julian commented about his outfit. (Why did he run away in the first place??) Li couldn't have done anything in any case since he'd run away. These inconsistencies in scripting made for a rather confusing episode and left a rather bad feel overall.

Combine this with a decidedly lacklustre background music which does nothing to enhance the overall viewing experience, this is one viewer who is starting to lose interest in the Nelvana dub rather quickly. While I'll probably keep watching out of morbid curiosity, Nelvana's going to have to do something to improve on scripting to regain this viewer's interest in the series overall.