As a bit of an animation junkie, I have fairly high standards for good shows.
I originally was introduced to CCS by the lackluster dubjobs from the 90s, and was not impressed by the dub chopjob. I later got a chance to see the original episodes, and ended up buying the DVD set.
While Sakura has a lot of the classical magical girl tropes, the series messes around with some of them and even lampshades some of these conventions early on, as Kero and Tomoyo poke gentle fun at a lot of the usual expectations one makes of your typical magical girl series. The action scenes remain quite interesting, with a lot of creativity and some lore of traditional magic and elements required for Sakura to prevail against some cards, and practical knowledge of limitations required for others. Somehow even the simple everyday things Sakura is content to enjoy as a growing child manage to keep me interested in the series in general, although her character as a generally good child is a simple one. It helps that under her somewhat meek and easily-embarassed character is a strong-willed and unshakeably resolved person who is willing to believe the best of others and unwilling to give in to despair even in harsh times.
The anime's simple colours and linework belie the beauty of its admittedly old, yet classically timelessly good-looking visual style, and the music is always engaging, even when it dips into sugary-sweetness.
All in all, I'd say that Sakura is an excellent product of its era and a must-see for most young people in its lessons about growing up mixed in with the magic and action.
Cute and classic
As a bit of an animation junkie, I have fairly high standards for good shows.
I originally was introduced to CCS by the lackluster dubjobs from the 90s, and was not impressed by the dub chopjob. I later got a chance to see the original episodes, and ended up buying the DVD set.
While Sakura has a lot of the classical magical girl tropes, the series messes around with some of them and even lampshades some of these conventions early on, as Kero and Tomoyo poke gentle fun at a lot of the usual expectations one makes of your typical magical girl series. The action scenes remain quite interesting, with a lot of creativity and some lore of traditional magic and elements required for Sakura to prevail against some cards, and practical knowledge of limitations required for others. Somehow even the simple everyday things Sakura is content to enjoy as a growing child manage to keep me interested in the series in general, although her character as a generally good child is a simple one. It helps that under her somewhat meek and easily-embarassed character is a strong-willed and unshakeably resolved person who is willing to believe the best of others and unwilling to give in to despair even in harsh times.
The anime's simple colours and linework belie the beauty of its admittedly old, yet classically timelessly good-looking visual style, and the music is always engaging, even when it dips into sugary-sweetness.
All in all, I'd say that Sakura is an excellent product of its era and a must-see for most young people in its lessons about growing up mixed in with the magic and action.