Monday, June 11, 2007

Angelic Layer


Angelic Layer (エンジェリックレイヤー, Enjerikku Reiyā?) is a manga series released by Clamp. The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English by Tokyopop.[2]
The manga was adapted into a 26-episode anime series titled Battle Doll Angelic Layer (機動天使エンジェリックレイヤー, Kidō Tenshi Enjerikku Reiyā?, lit. Mobile Angel Angelic Layer) which aired on TV Tokyo from April 1, 2001- September 23, 2001.[3] Seven volumes of videos were released by ADV Films on VHS and DVD in 2003. It was re-released in 2005 as a five volume box set.[4]

Angelic Layer is related to Clamp's later work Chobits, and like it, deals with the relationship between humans, human-created devices, toys, and godlike power. Several characters also appear in Clamp's Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle including most of the main characters as well as the angel Blanche.

Plot summary

The main character of Angelic Layer is Misaki Suzuhara, a seventh grader who just moved in to Tokyo in order to live with her aunt, Shouko Asami. After arriving in the city, she watches the battle doll Athena on a big screen television outside of Tokyo Station and becomes interested in learning about the amazingly popular toy called Angelic Layer, a game in which players (called Deus) buy and custom-design dolls known as Angels. Angels can move by mental control when on a field called the "layer". Layers are very expensive, and most people pay to use them by the hour in establishments resembling cybercafes.

An eccentric man wearing a white lab coat and glasses, calling himself "Icchan" (Itchan), encourages Misaki to purchase and create her own angel. She names the angel Hikaru, after Hikaru Shidou from Clamp's Magic Knight Rayearth which she was reading on the train to Tokyo, because she wants the angel to be "a short girl, but strong and happy" like Hikaru and herself (Rayearth is a manga in Angelic Layer's world, and Misaki identifies herself with Hikaru). Even though she's clueless about the game, Misaki soon begins to compete in tournament, and is assisted and watched carefully by Icchan. Later Icchan's identity is revealed as Ichiro Mihara, the co-creator of Angelic Layer.

Misaki also begins studying in the Eriol Academy, an educational institution which includes grades from kindergarten through high school (it seems to be named after Eriol Hiiragizawa from Cardcaptor Sakura). There she becomes friend with Hatoko Kobayashi, a very intelligent kindergarten girl who is also a famous Deus and an expert about Angelic Layer. Her incredibly fast angel Suzuka is a favourite contender in tournaments. Misaki also befriends Hatoko's older brother Koutarou Kobayashi and his friend Tamayo Kizaki, a girl fascinated by martial arts. Both turn out to be Misaki's classmates.

Misaki pursues her ultimate goal of finding her mother, whom she has not seen since preschool. Eventually she learns that her mother assisted in the development of Angelic Layer in her quest to develop a perfect prosthesis for her multiple sclerosis, which has confined her to a wheelchair. Her mother is also the Deus of Athena, and the champion of Angelic Layer.

The manga series is set a few years before Chobits, a Clamp work in the same universe as Angelic Layer. In the manga, Icchan plays an important role in Chobits' storyline, but this connection was reduced to a single scene in the Anime. Icchan has a brief cameo but is not mentioned by name in the Chobits anime. Kaede's younger brother Minoru is also a Chobits character. In the manga series, Misaki's mother does not have multiple sclerosis, nor is she depicted in a wheelchair. The ending to the manga also has different couplings.

Characters
Main article: List of characters in Angelic Layer

Staff

Planning: Fukashi Azuma (TV Tokyo), Takeshi Yasuda (Kadokawa Shoten), Tetsuya Watanabe (Dentsu)
General producer: Takayuki Nagasawa (avex entertainment)
Original story: CLAMP (Published in Kadokawa Shoten's "Shonen Ace")
Planning support: Kazuhiko Ikeguchi (Amber FilmWorks)
Series supervision: Shinichirō Inoue
Series composition: Ichirō Ōkouchi
Character design: Takahiro Komori
Mechanic design: Junya Ishigaki
Design support: Shigeru Morita (Studio Nue)
Art director: Nobuto Sakamoto (Big Studio)
Color design: Sayoko Yokoyama
Directors of photography: Atsushi Takeyama -> Haruhide Ishiguro -> Shūichi Heisei
Sound direction: Yōta Tsuruoka (Rakuonsha)
Recording: Satoshi Yano (Studio Gong)
Sound effects: Eiko Morikawa (Rakuonsha)
Recording studio: Studio Gong
Sound production: Rakuonsha
Sound production desk: Yoshimi Sugiyama (Rakuonsha)
Music: Kōhei Tanaka
Music producer: Takayuki Nagasawa
Music production: avex entertainment
Music production support: TV Tokyo Music
Producers: Shinsaku Hatta (TV Tokyo), Taihei Yamanishi (Dentsu), Masahiko Minami (BONES)
Director: Hiroshi Nishikiori
Production: TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BONES

Music

In episode three, the song that Icchan (Masaya Onosaka) is singing while Misaki is training is "Catch You, Catch Me", the first theme to another Clamp creation and popular TV Series, "Cardcaptor Sakura".[5]
All of the musical score was composed, arranged and conducted by Kōhei Tanaka, the composer of One Piece and Sakura Wars.
Atsuko Enomoto, the seiyu for Misaki, also sang the opening theme song.

Other Clamp series

Hikaru is named after the main character in "Magic Knight Rayearth". She also looks somewhat like her. (However, in the anime version, Misaki says that Hikaru is named after her favorite doll, which she left at her grandparents' home in Wakayama when she moved to Tokyo.)[6]

Piffle Princess is the store where Misaki buys supplies for Hikaru. This store is also found in other Clamp creations such as Cardcaptor Sakura, xxxHolic, and Chobits.[7]

Just like how Sakura in CCS uses the word "hoe!", Misaki likes using "na!" or "eeks!"[8]

In the manga, if you look in the manga pre-story pages you can see faux newspaper articles that bring tidbits up from other series.
Ringo Seto's Angel Ranga looks very much like the characters of Magic Knight Rayearth, Princesses Tarta and Tatra. With the nearly same dress design and moves, Ranga and Tarta/Tatra were dance warriors
Hatoko looks rather similar to Tomoyo Daidouji, Sakura's friend in CCS.[9]

Mihara is a known last name to be used by 2 popular Clamp Characters. Chiharu Mihara of Cardcaptor Sakura and Icchan Mihara. Chiharu's last name Mihara is used (or possibly is related to) by Icchan Mihara also suspected to be the late husband of Chitose Hibiya of Chobits. Chitose used the Mihara last name in another Clamp work Kobato.

In volume 7 of Chobits, on page 16, Kaede Saito's story of her death was told by her brother Minoru. We can see in the background Misaki, Sai, and Ohjiro standing by her bed in one panel and crying with her back turned when she died.

Also, Kaede seems to be similar in appearance to Fuu Hououji, a character from Magic Knight Rayearth, another Clamp work.

In volume 7 of Chobits, the legendary Angelic Layer dolls (Shirahime, Blanche, Wizard, Suzuka, and Hikaru) or what is a sillohuette of them is shown as Chitose tells Motosuwa the truth about her husband's earlier works Angelic Layer.

Clamp crossovers

Besides Angelic Layer being the prequel to the Chobits manga many of its characters and establishments are shown in other Chobits works
Hikaru is introduced in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Chapter 144 as an "automata" one of the Chess pieces Eagle ( who is a crossover character form Magic Knight Rayearth) uses on an one on one battle with Sakura and the Real Syaoran.

Tamayo, Oujiro, Shouko Asami, The Angelic Layer announcer appears in TRC as well in Piffle Country while Kaede and Sai appeared in Rekord.

In the country of Infinty in TRC, there is a tournament similar in style to the battles of Angelic Layer where the Deus sits on an egg shaped chair and telekinetically controls the players (in TRC they are called chess pieces instead of "Angels," however, and often normal people are the pieces.)

In volume 9 of Cardcaptor Sakura, Kero-chan is reading an Angelic Layer book, which appears to be one for a computer game (though some have thought he's reading the Angelic Layer manga).


Online

In the MMORPG Hogwarts Live, one of the comics you can read in the bookstore is Angelic Layer.
On the Online Forum Gaia Online, one Monthly Collectible item was an "Angelic Microphone". One way the avatar could wear them was as a headphone identical to the headphones used in Angelic Layer.


Manga volumes
Volume 1 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4-04-713283-7; American Edition: ISBN 1-931514-47-X)
Volume 2 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4-04-713319-1; American Edition: ISBN 1-59182-003-0)
Volume 3 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4-04-713375-2; American Edition: ISBN 1-59182-004-9)
Volume 4 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4-04-713414-7; American Edition: ISBN 1-59182-086-3)
Volume 5 (Japanese Edition: ISBN 4-04-713454-6; American Edition: ISBN 1-59182-152-5)



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Naruto

Naruto (ナルト, Naruto? romanized as NARUTO in Japan) is a manga by Masashi Kishimoto with an anime TV series adaptation. Its main character, Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for approval and recognition, as well as to become Hokage, acknowledged as the leader and strongest of all ninja in the village.

The manga was first published by Shueisha in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's Shonen Jump magazine. As of volume 36, the manga has sold over 71 million copies in Japan.[1] VIZ Media publishes a translated version in the American Shonen Jump magazine. Naruto has become VIZ's best-selling manga series.[2] To date, the first fourteen volumes are available. In order to catch up to the translated anime, VIZ plans to release volumes 16 to 27 three at a time over the months of September to December 2007.[3]

The the first of two anime series, produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex, premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo network and the anime satellite television network Animax on October 3, 2002, and is still being aired. Viz also licensed the anime for North American production. Naruto debuted in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block on September 10, 2005, and in Canada on YTV's Bionix on September 16, 2005. Naruto began showing in the UK on Jetix on July 22, 2006. It began showing on Toasted TV on January 12, 2007 in Australia, although it could be watched on Cartoon Network in 2006. The first series lasted nine seasons, while Naruto: Shippūden began its first on February 15, 2007.

Growth and popularity

The series' length and popularity is comparable to that of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball, another popular action-oriented shōnen manga. Since its creation, Naruto has spawned a large number of fansites that contain detailed information, guides, and active forums. Some of the first and most popular sites targeted at English speaking audiences were established shortly after the first English manga volume was released in August 2003. Like many other manga and anime titles, Naruto has also spawned its own collectible card game.

Prior to the anime's North American debut in 2005, several scanlation and fansub groups translated the series and made it available for free download on the internet. Despite North American companies' perceived tendency to prosecute fansubbing groups more frequently than Japanese companies,[4] there are some that have continued to translate new Naruto episodes due to the extremely large gap between the English and Japanese versions.

Volume 7 of the manga has recently won a Quill Award for best graphic novel in North America.[5] In TV Asahi's latest top 100 Anime Ranking, Naruto ranked 17th on the list.[6]

Anime details

See also: List of Naruto episodes, List of Naruto: Shippūden episodes, and List of Naruto media
Even though it debuted some time after the manga, the anime quickly caught up, since one anime episode usually covers one or two manga chapters. To prevent overlapping, the anime's producers tend to organize content from the manga chapters into long, uneventful sections followed by short bursts of action, sometimes adding filler content in between. By the time the Sasuke Retrieval arc ended in the anime (episode 135), the series was at a point where it was quickly gaining on the manga. At the conclusion of this arc, the anime immediately switched to anime-only filler episodes to allow the manga to broaden the gap once more. Most of the filler episodes are stand-alone stories, with a few being part of arcs that are several episodes long.

The filler episodes lasted for 85 episodes, the duration of the first series. After the series moved back into manga-adapted episodes, it was renamed Naruto: Shippūden (疾風伝, Naruto: Shippūden? lit. Hurricane Chronicles). The new series premiered on February 15, 2007.

The anime generally remains true to the manga, usually changing only minor details (causes of death, loss of limbs, and other injuries have been lessened in the anime) or expanding on parts skipped by the manga, such as the fight between Tenten and Temari. The filler arcs, though unreferenced in the manga (save for a few scant scenes), deal with the breaks between manga volumes, which covers a short period before the Sasuke Retrieval arc and several months before the time skip. The filler arcs tend to cover the supporting characters, occasionally giving insight into an otherwise rarely seen character.

New episodes, animated by Studio Pierrot, air weekly on TV Tokyo in Japan during the Golden Time slot (Japan's equivalent of prime time in the US). As of October 5, 2006, it shows on Thursday nights. The series has also spawned four movies, Naruto the Movie, Naruto the Movie 2, Naruto the Movie 3, and Naruto: Shippūden the Movie scheduled to premiere on August 4, 2007. The first three are available on DVD.

English-language broadcast

On September 10, 2005, Naruto had its hour-long premiere in the U.S. on Cartoon Network's Toonami. The first episode of Naruto premiered in Canada on YTV on September 16, 2005. In the United Kingdom, Naruto premiered on Jetix on July 22, 2006. In Australia and New Zealand it premiered on Cartoon Network on September 27, 2006. It also began showing on Toasted TV on January 12, 2007, in Australia.

In its English anime release, Naruto was aired with a TV-PG rating in the US and a PG rating in Canada. More explicit episodes, such as Jiraiya's debut and the battle with Zabuza, have been given a TV-PG-DS or a TV-PG-V rating[7]. References to alcohol, Japanese cultural differences, mild language, mild sexual situations, and even blood and death remain in the English version, though reduced in some instances.[8] Other networks make additional content edits apart from the edits done by Cartoon Network, such as Jetix's more strict censoring of blood, language, smoking and the like.

Plot overview

Further information: Plot of Naruto, Plot of Naruto: Shippūden, and List of Naruto story arcs
Twelve years before the events at the focus of the series, the nine-tailed demon fox attacked Konohagakure. It was a powerful demon indeed; a single swing of one of its nine tails would raise tsunamis and flatten mountains. It raised chaos and slaughtered many people, until the leader of the Leaf Village – the Fourth Hokage – defeated it by sacrificing his own life to seal the demon inside a newly-born child, whose origins are as yet unknown. That child's name was Naruto Uzumaki.

The Fourth Hokage was celebrated as a hero for sealing the demon fox away. He wanted Naruto to be respected in a similar light by being the containment vessel for the demon fox. The village he grew up in, however, mostly shunned Naruto; they regarded him as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood.

A decree made by the Third Hokage made it so that the other villagers were forbidden to mention the event to anyone, even to their own children. However, this did not stop them from treating Naruto like an outcast. Although their children did not specifically know why their parents treated Naruto the way they did, they learned through example to despise the boy. As a result, Naruto grew up as an orphan in a lonesome atmosphere without friends, family, or acknowledgment. He could not force people to befriend him, so he sought acknowledgment and attention the only way he knew – through pranks and mischief. However, that soon changed after Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy by using his Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to save his teacher, Iruka Umino, from the renegade ninja Mizuki. That encounter gave Naruto two insights: that he was the container of the demon fox, and that there was someone besides the Third Hokage who actually cared for and acknowledged him. His graduation from the academy opened a gateway to the events and people that would change and define his world, including his way of the ninja for the rest of his life.

Naruto maintains a balance between drama and comedy, with plenty of action interspersed. It follows Naruto and his friends' personal growth and development as ninja, and emphasizes their interactions with each other and the influence of their backgrounds on their personalities.

Naruto finds two friends and comrades in Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, two fellow young ninja who are assigned with him to form a three-person team under a very experienced sensei named Kakashi Hatake. Naruto also confides in other characters as well that he has met through the Chunin Exam. They learn new abilities, get to know each other and other villagers better, and experience a coming-of-age journey as Naruto dreams of becoming the Hokage of the Leaf Village.

Naruto places strong emphasis on character development. Almost all outcomes are a result of decisions, character, and personality; very few things happen just because of chance. At first, emphasis is placed on Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who are the members of Team 7. However, other characters are developed, such as Kakashi, Guy, and Jiraiya, as well as Naruto's peers in the other Genin teams and other villages.

Several major villains came into play as well, the first being Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure, and his partner, Haku. Later, in the Chunin Exam arc, Orochimaru is introduced as an S-Class missing-nin at the top of Konoha's most wanted list. Later, a mysterious organization called Akatsuki begins to pursue Naruto in order to take the demon fox inside him and harness its power.

Characters

Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and team leader, Kakashi Hatake
Main article: List of characters in Naruto

Naruto has a large and colorful cast of characters, running a gamut of detailed histories and complex personalities, and allowing many of them their fair share in the spotlight; they are also seen to grow and mature with the series, as it spans several years. As fitting for a coming-of-age saga, Naruto's world constantly expands and thickens, and his social relations are no exception – during his introduction he has only his teacher and the village's leader for sympathetic figures, but as the story progresses, more and more people become a part of his story.

The students at the Ninja Academy, where the story begins, are split up into teams of three after their graduation and become Genin. Each team is assigned an experienced sensei. These core teams form a basis for the characters' interactions later in the series, where characters are chosen for missions for their team's strength and complementary skills; Naruto's Team 7 becomes the social frame where Naruto is acquainted with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, and their sensei Kakashi Hatake, also called the "copy ninja" for copying thousands of ninja techniques with his Sharingan eye, forming the core of his world-in-the-making. The other three-man teams of his former classmates form another such layer, as Naruto connects with them to various degrees, learning of their motives, vulnerabilities, and aspirations, often relating them to his own. The groups of three are not limited to the comrades Naruto's age – groups in the story in general come in threes and multiples of three with very few exceptions.

Sensei-student relationships play a significant role in the series; Naruto has a number of mentors with whom he trains and learns, most notably Kakashi Hatake and Jiraiya, and there are often running threads of tradition and tutelage binding together several generations. These role models provide guidance for their students not only in the ninja arts but also in a number of Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideals. Techniques, ideals, and mentalities noticeably run in families, Naruto often being exposed to the abilities and traditions of generation-old clans in his village when friends from his own age group demonstrate them, or even achieve improvements of their own; it is poignantly noted that Naruto's generation is particularly talented.

Many of the greater lingering mysteries of the series are questions of character motives and identity. The legacy of Naruto's parents, the goals that guide Kabuto Yakushi, the identity of the mysterious Akatsuki leader – these are only a few of the fundamental unanswered questions of "who" and, by proxy, "why" currently at the core of the series. The story is remarkably character-driven; the theme of causality runs inherently throughout the series as characters reciprocate for their past actions and relationships. In this respect, characters' respective destinies are very much intertwined, and large emphasis is placed on comradeship and 'bonds' between the community or individual.

Character names often borrow from Japanese mythology, folklore and literature (such as the names borrowed from the folk-tale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari), or are otherwise elaborate puns; often there is a noticeable influence of the story behind the name shouldered by the character.[9]

References
^ Comi Press (March 6, 2007). The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shonen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump. Press release.
^ VIZ Media (March 7, 2006). USA Today's Top 150 Best Seller list features VIZ Media's Shonen Jump's Naruto manga at number 29. Press release.
^ VIZ Media's Naruto Nation campaign. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
^ http://animesuki.com/doc.php/licensed/. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.
^ Nominees for the Graphic Novel category. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
^ Japan's Favorite TV Anime. Retrieved on 2006-12-22.
^ American-Naruto: Episode Guide and Rating. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
^ Anime-Editz - Naruto Editz Guide. Retrieved on 2006-04-14.
^ Naruto names' origins and meanings. Retrieved on 2006-04-14.
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Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch

Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (マーメイド メロディー ぴち ぴち ピッチ, māmeido merodī pichi pichi picchi?) is a shōjo manga and anime series created by Michiko Yokote (横手 美智子, Yokote Michiko?) with artwork by Pink Hanamori (花森 ぴんく, Hanamori Pinku?).

The manga was originally published in the monthly shōjo manga anthology Nakayoshi. There are 32 chapters published (including two special stories) and most of them are compiled into seven volumes issued by Kodansha.

The anime series was produced by TV Aichi. The first season of which, composed of 52 episodes, was shown on the TV Tokyo Network from April 5, 2003 to March 27, 2004. A second season, entitled Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure, lasted for 39 episodes and was aired from April 3 to December 25, 2004.

ADV Films acquired the license to the anime on June 2004 for its North American release, but was eventually dropped due to difficulty in finding backers and securing a TV airing deal.[1] Although the anime has not since been re-licensed for an English language distribution, Del Rey Manga acquired the rights to publish the manga for the North American audience. It began releasing the manga on April 2006 under the title Pichi Pichi Pitch: Mermaid Melody.[2] This came as an attempt to familiarize English readers with the canonical short form of the title, as other titles have done: for example, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon became Sailor Moon and Kidō Tenshi Angelic Layer has been released in North America as simply Angelic Layer.

Pichi Pichi Pitch is loosely based upon the old Hans Christian Andersen version of the "Little Mermaid" tale, which is about the mermaid who falls in love with a human boy, and transforms into a human to win his heart. In the case of Pichi Pichi Pitch, the old 1950s movie Three Coins in the Fountain is sort of mixed in to the plot as three mermaid princesses come to land to learn about the human world through attending middle school and trying to be idol singers.

Plot

Lucia, Mermaid Princess of the North Pacific Ocean, sets out to land to find the boy she saved from a shipwreck seven years before the beginning of the story, the boy to whom she entrusted her pink pearl. She eventually found the boy: a surfer named Kaito Dōmoto. But as the human form Lucia assumed, a girl named Lucia Nanami, bears very little resemblance to her mermaid form, Kaito cannot recognize her. She cannot tell Kaito who she really is; otherwise, according to mermaid folklore, she would turn into foam. So she tries to convince Kaito into figuring out who she really is (since the legend does not say anything about the other person discovering a mermaid's true identity by himself).

At the same time, Lucia has been told that a group of water demons or suiyō (水妖) have invaded the marine world and she must gather the six other Mermaid Princesses and their pearls to resurrect the legendary goddess Aqua Regina to stop them. To fulfill this, she joins forces with Hanon and Rina, Mermaid Princesses who came up to dry land, use their pearls, turn into singing idols, and use their voices as an offensive.

Characters

Wherever possible, the spelling of the names are taken from the English translation of the Pichi Pichi Pitch manga. Otherwise, spellings are based on those used on official merchandise, or commonly-used fan transliterations.

Main characters

Three DVD covers showing the three forms of the main characters Lucia (blonde hair), Hanon (blue hair), and Rina (seaweed green hair): mermaid (left cover), human (center cover), idol (right cover).
Lucia Nanami (七海 るちあ, Nanami Ruchia?) Voiced by: Asumi Nakata - Mermaid Princess of the North Pacific Ocean, keeper of the pink pearl, and the main character of the story. Lucia goes up to land to search for a boy she saved seven years ago. She is unaware of the danger in the marine world and of her real mission until she is told of them by her "older sister", Nikora. She is characterized by her simplicity and naïveté, but with having a strong will, typical traits of shōjo manga heroines. Her idol form is Pink Pearl Voice.

Many fans in the West still spell her name as Luchia, as early fansubs called her, probably because the Japanese spelling in Katakana, due to the fact that the Japanese alphabet cannot spell "ci", ressembles the Italo-Hispano-like pronunciation of the name. However "Ruchia" is indeed the Japanese variant of the Western name "Lucia". See also note below about Rina's name.

Hanon Hōshō (宝生 波音, Hōshō Hanon?) Voiced by: Hitomi Terakado - Mermaid Princess of the South Atlantic Ocean and keeper of the aqua (水色 mizu-iro "water-color") pearl. Unlike Lucia, Hanon goes up to land to escape water demons. Hanon is perky and feminine, yet a bit more worldly than her friend Lucia. This worldliness is evidenced by many of her actions -- especially by her romantic pursuit of her music teacher, Tarō Mitsuki. Her idol form is Mizuiro (Aqua) Pearl Voice, although the first time that it is named in the manga, she is erroneously called Blue Pearl Voice.

Rina Tōin (洞院 リナ, Tōin Rina?) Voiced by: Mayumi Asano - Mermaid Princess of the North Atlantic Ocean and keeper of the green pearl. Initially she is depicted as stern and bent on revenge for the capture of her best friend, Noel. Later, however, she evolves into a more mature character, and acts as an older sister figure to Lucia and Hanon. Her idol form is Green Pearl Voice.

Many fans in the West still spell her name as Lina, as early fansubs called her, because "Rina" is actually the Japanische version of the western name "Lina", and as well as the tendency in the Japanese language to substitute "r" sounds for "l" sounds and vice versa, especially in romanization.

Major supporting characters

Kaito Dōmoto (堂本 海斗, Dōmoto Kaito?) Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio - Kaito, the adopted son of a pair of musicians, is an avid surfer, as well as Lucia's love interest. Though he is popular with girls, he is secretly in love with a beautiful mermaid who saved him from a shipwreck seven years ago, and has yet to realize that this mermaid is Lucia. Later in the story, it is discovered that beneath Kaito's human exterior lie some distinctively un-human qualities.

Hippo (ヒッポ, Hippo?) Voiced by: Miyako Ito - Lucia's guardian who serves as her guide. Hippo accompanies Lucia in her search for her pink pearl, and is among those who voice disapproval of her relationship with Kaito. He is also polite, always putting -��ん, -san after every name, even when angry. In the anime, he is shown as Lucia's pet penguin. Later on, he is able to transform into a very cute human boy, as well as a creature called Hippocampus.

Nikora (にこら, Nikora?) Voiced by: Eri Saito - virtual manager of the "petit-hotel" Pearl Piari (プチ ホテル パール ピアリ, puchi-hoteru pāru piari?) on land, where Lucia, Hanon, and Rina work (in the manga, she is the owner of a bath house called Pearl Waters). A mermaid like Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, she poses as Lucia's older sister in order to inform her of her mission.

Madame Taki (タキさん, Taki-san?) Voiced by: Kumi Yamakado - owner of the Pearl Piari. A fairly major character in the anime, she is seen most of the time looking into her crystal ball.
Tarō Mitsuki (海月 太郎, Mitsuki Tarō?) Voiced by: Daisuke Kirii - Lucia's music teacher and Hanon's love interest (she refers to him as 太郎ちゃん, Tarō-chan). He had met a mermaid in the past, and made a piano piece for her, not knowing what happened to her after their last meeting.
Noel (ノエル, Noeru?) Voiced by: Ryoko Nagata - Mermaid Princess of the Arctic Ocean and keeper of the deep blue (i.e. 藍色, ai-iro) pearl. She helped Rina escape from the sea monsters, which led to her capture. She is calm, gentle, caring, and studious (as she sometimes wears glasses on land later in the second season of the anime). Her idol form is Ai-iro (Deep Blue) Pearl Voice.

In the third volume of the English manga, ai-iro was translated as indigo, but deep blue makes more sense regarding the character's colour scheme; the colours may be based on the rainbow, but Lucia is pink, not red. It is yet to be seen whether this will be corrected.

Some refer to Noel's name as Noelle, because originally Noel is a male name, while Noelle is the female form, but the official English translation as well as the official Japanese romanization uses Noel.

Caren (かれん, Karen?) Voiced by: Ema Kogure - Mermaid Princess of the Antarctic Ocean, keeper of the purple pearl, and twin sister of Noel. In the anime, she first appears as the winner of a beauty contest that the main trio enters; in the manga, she first appears to save them from the Dark Lovers. In the first season, Tarō asks her about his mermaid, and she later blames Rina for Noel's kidnapping. Even after things are straightened out, she chooses to go find Noel alone. She is Noel's polar opposite, having a mysterious personality. While she is cold and distant in the first season, she is found to be wild, humorous, and even a bit sexual in the second. Her idol form is Purple Pearl Voice.

Coco (ココ, Koko?) Voiced by: Satomi Arai - Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific Ocean and keeper of the yellow pearl. She is incarcerated by the sea monsters for most of the first season, so not much is known about her. In the manga, however, she is a friend of fellow Mermaid Princess Sara. Later, she found to be playful and gentle in the manga, yet brash and outspoken in the anime. Her idol form is Yellow Pearl Voice.

Aqua Regina (アクア・レジーナ様, Akua Rejīna-sama?) Voiced by: Kumi Yamakado - the ocean goddess who gives the Mermaid Princesses new songs and upgrades for their gear. However, this is all that she can do alone after expending a great deal of energy thousands of years ago.
She is needed to ultimately stop the sea monsters, and the seven pearls have to be gathered to summon her; Gaito/Gakuto seeks to summon her as well, so that he can use her to destroy the world. Aqua Regina later gives bands to the mermaids to upgrade their singing power; as in many magical girl series, this is signified by adding frills and accessories to their dresses. She also upgrades their microphones in the end of season one, before she is finally summoned.

Sara's servant (, Bāya?) - This old woman only appears in the manga. She is Sara's servant and guardian from childhood, and worries about Sara's involvement with Gakuto. However, Sara treats the woman like garbage and refuses to listen to her. The old woman therefore helps the princesses in secret to atone for what her ward has become. She is actually at the root of the incident that caused the events in the story.
Antagonists

Gakuto (楽斗/ガクト, Gakuto?) Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio - the leader of the sea monsters who is bent on taking over the marine world. He is always depicted drinking wine, and wearing black.
His resemblance to Kaito made the latter a subject of initial ire by Rina. He is known in the anime as Gaito (ガイト). (There is no definite reason for the name change, but one obvious reason is to distinguish him from J-Pop star Gackt, whose name is spelt the same way in katakana. In the Del Rey manga translation, his name is spelled Gackto in order to emphasize the comparison between the character and the singer.)

The Dark Lovers (ダーク・ラバーズ, The Dark Lovers?) - Gakuto's four female followers who serve him in exchange for his love for them. There are composed of the following:

Izuru (イズール, Izūru?) Voiced by: Sayori Ishizuka - The most mature of the four, she has the power to control waves and marine beasts and has the ability to create dragons from water. She is also the most obsessed with winning the heart of Gakuto.

Eriru (エリル, Eriru?) Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka - The one with the multiple personality disorder. At one phase, she is cute, and acting as if she were antsy (spinning around and never saying any normal speech). In her other personality, when threatened (or when she spins around), she becomes scary, her eyes glow red, and she changes her voice accordingly.

Maria (マリア, Maria?) Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi - The one closest to Gakuto in terms of love. She is also very cruel at times, and sometimes seems to see Gakuto more as a boy-toy than a love prospect. She has the power to make and/or manipulate ice and snow.

Yūri (ユーリ, Yūri?) Voiced by: Chieko Honda - the youngest-looking of the four. She has the ability to control people and objects, especially with the use of her music and, if any, a nearby piano. Although Yūri is loyal to Gakuto, his continued treatment of her as a child leads her to a star-crossed relationship with Hippo, i.e. his human form.

The Black Beauty Sisters: Mimi and Sheshe (Screenshot from eyecatch)
Black Beauty Sisters (ブラック・ビューティー・シズターズ, Black Beauty Sisters?) - composed of the red-wearing older sister Sheshe (シスターシェシェ, Shisutā Sheshe?, Voiced by: Miki Tsuchiya) and the blue-wearing younger sister Mimi (シスターミミ, Shisutā Mimi?, Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya). Gakuto hires them after the Dark Lovers' failed attempts to capture the Mermaid Princesses. These two have the ability to sing tunes more powerful than the songs the Mermaid Princesses themselves sing, although in the anime and the second arc of the manga, the Princesses manage to get strong enough to overpower them. Though Gakuto turned them back to their original forms (two angler fishes), they were resurrected in the second season. Their group name is usually shortened by fans to BBS.

Many fans think that the name "Black Beauty Sisters" is just a stage name, as Mimi and Sheshe seem to be in love, and sister can mean other things that would apply to the two, such as sharing the same origin.

Sara (沙羅, Sara?) Voiced by: Kana Ueda - Mermaid Princess of the Indian Ocean and keeper of the orange pearl. She joins Gakuto in his quest to take over the marine world after an incident bestowed her a dark power, turning both her orange hair and her orange pearl pitch black (though her eyes stay orange) and destroying her own kingdom. That incident was a proposed rendezvous with Tarō, her secret human lover, in which he never showed up. (In the manga, he actually arrived before, but Sara's guardian found out about the relationship and insisted that he leave, convincing Sara that he had abandoned her.) In a fury, Sara unleashed a wave of power, destroying her kingdom and causing the wave which killed Kaito's parents and from which Lucia saved Kaito. In the manga, her villain name is Black Pearl Voice and she transforms into an idol in a black dress reminiscent of a diva. However, in the anime, she does not transform until she turns good, and instead has the power to sing offensively in a humanoid, amphibious form like the villains and mermaid idols, with or without her E-pitch. In the end, she decides to join the other mermaids as is her duty. She, herself, seals the gate to Gakto's castle in the book because it's her duty and she unsealed the gate after her kingdom was destroyed. In the TV show, Aqua Regina seals the gate and Sara goes with Gackto because she loves him. She also appears in the second season as a spirit, informing Lucia of the future Orange Pearl Voice and offering her assistance where she can. Sara is also seen singing with the other mermaid princesses in the very last episode of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure.


Songs

CD Cover showing the original seven mermaids in their power-up forms.
Although Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch is comparable to any shōjo title, the anime's songs are used not only as opening/ending songs, but are also used as battle songs and image songs. Each episode has at least one battle/image song performance.


Music

Opening themes
"Taiyou no Rakuen ~Promised Land~" by Miyuki Kanbe (Episodes 1-28)Translation: Paradise of the Sun ~Promised Land~
"Rainbow Notes♪" by Miyuki Kanbe (Episodes 29-52)
"Before the moment" by Eri Kitamura (Episodes 53+)
Ending themes
"Daiji na Takarabako" by Lucia (Asumi Nakata) (Episodes 1-28)Translation: Important Treasure Box
"Sekai de Ichiban Hayaku Asa ga kuru Basho" by Lucia, Hanon, and Rina (Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano) (Episodes 29-52)Translation: The Place Where Morning Comes First
"Ai no Ondo" by Lucia, Hanon, and Rina. (Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano)(Episodes 53+) Translation: The Temperature of Love
Mermaid songs
These songs are usually used in battle and as image songs.
"Legend of Mermaid" by Lucia, Hanon, and Rina (Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano)
"Koi wa Nan Darou" by Lucia (Asumi Nakata)Translation: Just What is Love?
"Super Love Songs!" by Lucia, Hanon, and Rina (Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano)
"KIZUNA" by Lucia, Hanon, and Rina (Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano)Translation: BONDS
"Yume no Sono Saki he" by Lucia, Hanon, and Rina (Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano)Translation: To the Place After a Dream
"Splash Dream" by Lucia (Asumi Nakata)
"Ever Blue" by Hanon (Hitomi Terakado)
"Star Jewel" by Rina (Mayumi Asano)
"Aurora no Kaze ni Notte" by Caren (Ema Kogure)Translation: Riding on the Winds of the Aurora
"Return to the Sea" by Sara (Kana Ueda)
"KODOU ~Perfect Harmony~" by Lucia, Hanon, Rina, and Caren (with Coco and Noel in second version) (Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, Mayumi Asano, and Ema Kogure; second version also includes Satomi Arai and Ryoko Nagata)Translation: HEARTBEAT ~Perfect Harmony~
Other songs
"Kuro no Kyousoukyoku ~concerto~" by the Black Beauty Sisters (Miki Tsuchiya and Noriko Shitaya)Translation: Concert of Darkness ~concerto~Sometimes erroneously called "Voice in the Dark" after a repeated (and understandable for English-speaking veiwers) line in the song.

Video games

Three video games (developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan) were released on Nintendo's Game Boy Advance console during the original run of the anime. All the games featured multiplayer capabilities, but required each player to have his or her own copy of the game in order to play.
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - Inspired by Dance Dance Revolution. This included eight songs from the anime.
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pichi Pichi Party - A "virtual board game" similar to the Mario Party series.
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pichi Pichitto Live Start! - Similar to the first Mermaid Melody game. This included fourteen songs from the anime, as well as several mini-games. Although this game (along with the first one) is a Konami-developed music video game, it is not considered part of the Bemani series.

References
^ Mikhail Koulikov, Christopher Macdonald. "Anime Next - A.D. Vision, Inc.", Anime News Network, 2005-06-21. Retrieved on 2006-10-15.
^ "Del Rey Manga Acquires Four New Kodansha Titles", Anime News Network, 2005-10-06. Retrieved on 2006-10-15.
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Sakura Kinomoto

Sakura Kinomoto (木之本 桜, Kinomoto Sakura?) is a fictional character, the heroine of Clamp's anime and manga series Cardcaptor Sakura. She is known as Sakura Avalon in the English anime adaptation Cardcaptors. For all Japanese-language productions of the anime (including movies, audio CDs, and video games), Sakura is voiced by Sakura Tange. For English-language productions, she is voiced by Carly McKillip through Cardcaptors and the first movie. She is voiced in the second movie by Kari Wahlgren.
Sakura is also a main character in Clamp's later work, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. In its anime adaptation, she is voiced by Yui Makino in Japanese and Monica Rial in English.
She is also appears in another Clamp title xxxHolic and briefly cameos in chapters 7, 8, and 133.




Name

Sakura's given name (桜) means cherry blossom. Her surname, Kinomoto (木之本), literally means the origin of wood.

In Cardcaptors, Sakura was originally going to be called "Nikki," but Nelvana kept her given name because of fan demand and the difficulty and expense of editing out numerous appearances of her name in rōmaji in the series. Her family name was changed to "Avalon." The pronunciation of her given name changed, as stress is put on the middle syllable ku, while in Japanese, the accent is on Sa. Nelvana purposefully changed the pronunciation of the name since many English names have stress on the middle syllable.

Cardcaptor Sakura

Character
At the start of the series, Sakura is ten years old and living in a fictional town called Tomoeda in Japan. On the afternoon after her first day of fourth grade at Tomoeda Elementary School (Reedington Elementary School in Cardcaptors), Sakura hears a mysterious sound coming from her father's library in the basement. She, nervously armed with her cheerleading baton, goes downstairs and finds a mysterious book named The Clow. She opens the book to find the Clow Cards, a set of fifty-two cards that contain powerful magic. Picking up the top card, Sakura reads its name aloud, "Windy." This activates the Card, summoning a large wind that blows the remaining Cards out of the house and into the distance. The guardian of the Cards, Keroberos, then emerges from the book and recruits Sakura to become the Cardcaptor to retrieve the Cards. In return, she gains the right to use the Cards' power herself. It is later revealed that Keroberos also refers to Sakura as his appointed Candidate, as he is also searching for a new Master of the Clow Cards.

Sakura is an extremely energetic and cheerful character. She is very athletic, being a member of her school's cheerleading squad and an excellent runner. Her "invincible spell", "Everything will surely be all right." (「絶対大丈夫だよ。」, "Zettai daijōbu da yo."?), has carried her through innumerable trials and obstacles as she masters her magical skills. She often comes across as naïve, clumsy, and clueless, but she has her perceptive moments on occasion.

Sakura's optimistic and trustworthy character allows her to befriend virtually everybody, and the series focuses on the friendships she creates with people, whether strangers, loose acquaintances, or rivals.

Sakura lives with her older brother, Toya Kinomoto (Tori Avalon), and her father, Fujitaka Kinomoto (Aiden Avalon). The three help manage their home together, often rotating cooking and cleaning chores. Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko Kinomoto (Natasha Avalon), died when Sakura was three years old. Sakura and her family moved to Tomoeda about three years before the start of the series, when Toya was in eighth grade and Sakura was in first grade.

Sakura's character designs for the manga were originally developed by Mokona of Clamp. She was designed to capture the image of Mokona's then two-year-old niece Kawaji. Kawaji wore short hair in pigtails much like Sakura does in the anime and manga.

Magic
Throughout the series, Sakura's magical powers get progressively stronger. This is mostly verified by Cerberus at random points in the series, as Sakura would otherwise appear to have equal expertise in each episode when she summons Clow Cards. Through the first two seasons, Cerberus's comments seem to imply that Sakura's magic grows as she battles and captures more Cards. In the third season, Sakura's inexperience is noted in Yue's criticism and Sakura's weariness after a single Card transformation. However, as she grows progressively proficient in transforming Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, she becomes less tired and more aware of Clow Reed's presence. She also remembers more details about her prophetic dreams. During the last of Eriol's trials, she is able to transform several cards at once.

Phrases
To summon her sealing wand:
CCS
Key that conseals the powers of darkness, show your true nature to me.I command you, as your master..Release!
闇の力を秘めし鍵よ。真の姿を我の前に示せ。契約のもとさくらが命じる。レリーズ!
CC
Key of Clow, power of magic, power of light,surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!
To capture a Clow Card:
CCS
Return to the guise you were meant to be in, Clow Card!
汝のあるべき姿に戻れ、クロウカード！
CC
[I command you to] return to your power confined... !
To summon her star wand:
CCS
Key that hides the power of the stars, show your true form before me.I, Sakura, command you under our contract...Release!
星の力を秘めし鍵よ。真の姿を我の前に示せ。契約のもとさくらが命じる。レリーズ!
CC
Key of the Star, with powers burning bright,Reveal the staff and shine your light! Release!
To transform a Clow Card into a Sakura Card:
CCS
The Card created by Clow, abandon your old form and reincarnate!Under the name of your new master, Sakura...!
クロウの創りしカ－ドよ、古き姿を捨て生まれかわれ。新たな主さくらの名のもとに!!
CC
I call upon the powers of my star, ancient forces near and far.Clow Card transform all your might and draw your power from my light.Release! !
Sometimes (most likely to save time in the anime) the phrase to summon her wand is simply, "Release!" When the summoning occurs off-screen, the phrase is often omitted entirely, and a bright flickering light is seen to indicate the summoning.
If Sakura did not know the name of the Card during capture, her incantations would refer to it simply as "Clow Card."

Relationships

Syaoran Li

Syaoran and Sakura with teddy bears
Sakura's relationship with Syaoran Li (Li Showron) is the most recognized relationship in the series, mostly because the second half of the series is heavily devoted to its development.

Most significant to the development of their relationship is Syaoran's changing opinion of Sakura, mostly because of Sakura's own heart-warming personality. In the beginning of the series, Syaoran immediately considers Sakura a rival when he finds out she is the Cardcaptor and concludes her unworthy of bearing the responsibility of the Clow Cards. Sakura is constantly intimidated by his glares and brash attitude both at school and while capturing Clow Cards. However Sakura never gives back any negative responses or behavior. Most of the time, despite Syaoran's aggression, she thanks him for his help and effort. This eventually becomes very confusing to Syaoran, whose gentler side soon causes him to be more humble than arrogant.

Though Syaoran gradually becomes more committed to liking Sakura, she still remains completely clueless of his feelings. Syaoran's blushes become more frequent, and there are some occasions where he would suddenly become clumsy when in her presence, but Sakura will either keep an innocent smile on her face or look confused and worried at Syaoran whenever he trips and falls.

In episode 57, Tomoyo, Syaoran, Eriol, Sakura (and Kero) take a visit to a teddy bear museum. The journey through the museum is accompanied by the song Ki Ni Naru Aitsu or That Girl I Can't Ignore , sung by the voice of Kero, Hisakawa Aya (Cardcaptor Sakura Character Single: Syaoran). This is followed by a very sweet scene in an elevator between Syaoran and Sakura.

Following the Final Judgment when Syaoran makes a permanent change from rival to ally, Sakura begins viewing Syaoran as a very close friend, often thinking of including him when there are school or community events. She is very happy to become able to call him "Syaoran-kun" instead of the more neutral "Li-kun" when he (in a more desperate moment) calls her "Sakura."
When Sakura confesses her feelings to Yukito, only to have them essentially rejected, Syaoran is there to comfort her in the park afterwards. It is a very emotional period in the series, but she is able to recover, thanks to Syaoran. In the anime, Sakura returns the favor by spending several nights in a row knitting him a scarf, which he accepts after a surprised pause. Similarly, in the manga, Sakura returns the favor by spending a week making him a yukata.

Sakura is finally made aware of Syaoran's feelings when he personally confesses them after the final battle with Eriol Hiiragizawa (Eli Moon). The news comes as a complete shock to her, and it is ever present in her thoughts over the next few days. In the manga, after talking to her friends about why she is upset and confused about her feelings, those feelings lead her to conclude that Syaoran is her true "number one person," and she confesses her newfound feelings as Syaoran suddenly leaves for Hong Kong (though only temporarily). The anime stretches out the suspense, with Sakura not yet answering Syaoran in the last episode of the series. Instead, her confession comes at the end of the second movie, after several failed attempts throughout the film.

The teddy bears (seen in the above picture) are named Sakura and Syaoran, respectively, referring to a fictional tradition where if two people make teddy bears for each other and the recipients name them after their donors, the two will be a couple forever. In the manga, Sakura and Syaoran name their bears after each other after she confesses her love to him. In the anime, Syaoran gives Sakura his bear (she asks to have it) in Episode 70, but Sakura never gives him one, having already given it to Yukito earlier in the series.[citation needed]

In the second movie, Syaoran returns to Japan with his cousin Meiling Li (anime only character) who was having secret phone calls with Tomoyo Daidouji who helped plan their return. Tomoyo and Meiling attempted to organise outings for Sakura to tell Syaoran about how she feels but, rather amusingly, she gets interrupted until the end of the movie where Sakura confesses her love believing that Syaoran had forgotten his most important feeling. She begins to cry but Syaoran surprisingly replies "Me too, Sakura". The song Ashita e no Merodi plays with the sunrise clear in the background to symbolize happiness and victory.

Sakura and Syaoran continue to be widely recognized in fandom to the present day. They are also likely Clamp's most famous fictional couple, as they make a lead appearance in their crossover manga series, Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.

Yukito Tsukishiro

Sakura and Yukito
In the first half of the series, before any hint of a relationship with Syaoran, Sakura's primary romantic focus was on the older Yukito Tsukishiro (Julian Star). The origin of the relationship is unclear, but Yukito's presence always causes a significant effect on Sakura's feelings, commonly provoking her "floaty" exclamation, "Hanyaan~" (はにゃあん～).

Sakura always does her best to impress Yukito, on rare occasions even competing with Syaoran to give the better compliment or gift. She often looks forward to going to school with Yukito each day, and she is worried when he is not there. Most times when her brother, Toya, is present, Sakura is often provoked to raise her voice or else act "unladylike" at Toya, which immediately elicits her embarrassment when she realizes Yukito is also there watching her.

Late in the series, Sakura finally decides to confess her love to Yukito instead of forever skirting around the issue. However, Yukito does not return the feelings, admitting that he loves her also but only in a platonic way. He asks her to reevaluate her feelings towards him and suggests that she feels attached to him more because he resembles her father. Sakura agrees with Yukito after some thought, and he continues to reassure her by saying that the real "number one person" for her is still out there somewhere, and she should not give up searching for him.

After an emotional afternoon in the park, Sakura is able to get over Yukito but still remaining a close friend through the end of the series. She, in a rare perceptive moment, also realizes that Yukito's feelings have always been aimed towards her brother, Toya. She accepts that fact, also, and wishes them the best.

Interestingly, in episode 70, Eriol reveals to Yue that when Clow chose Sakura as the future new Master of the Clow Cards and their guardians, he had expected that in the future Yukito would love Sakura more than anyone else and vice versa. Yukito's attraction to Toya and Sakura's to Syaoran are the unforeseen occurrences, the deviations from Clow's plan, that Eriol mentions to Sakura and friends at the party in Clow's mansion.

Tomoyo Daidouji

Clamp's "almost kiss" drawing of Tomoyo and Sakura
Though non-romantic, Sakura's close relationship with Tomoyo Daidouji (Madison Taylor) is likely the second most significant relationship in the series. Sakura and Tomoyo are best friends (and second cousins as their mothers were cousins), meeting randomly for the first time in the third grade when Sakura offered Tomoyo one of her erasers. Since then, Tomoyo has been very attentive to everything that Sakura does, including finding a passion for filming her throughout her daily activities.

Sakura holds a lot of trust in Tomoyo, often allowing her to take lots of measurements for the multitude of battle costumes and dresses that are made for her. Tomoyo is also one of the few keepers of Sakura's secret as the Cardcaptor, often accompanying Sakura in many of her adventures for filming and costume-testing opportunities. In the second half of the series, when Sakura gets a new wand and mission, Tomoyo is responsible for choreographing Sakura's new action poses.

Tomoyo holds a special, arguably romantic attachment, to Sakura, of which Sakura is completely oblivious. In both the manga and anime, Tomoyo admits that she loves Sakura, but Sakura replies innocently, "I love you, too," in the platonic sense. The manga takes the scene further where Tomoyo comments that her love is more than what she is thinking it is. Sakura gives a confused look, but Tomoyo drops the topic, adding, "I'll tell you when you're older." Throughout the series, Sakura never realizes this deeper attachment, simply remaining Tomoyo's best friend. Tomoyo, however, selflessly does not mind this at all and even helps Sakura most times in setting up situations with Yukito and Syaoran, as Tomoyo understands they are the ones who would make Sakura the happiest.

Because Tomoyo lacks magical powers, Sakura takes on a protective responsibility most times when capturing or transforming cards. If Tomoyo is ever in danger (or missing), Sakura will be the one concerned for her most, and her focus changes from that of the Card at hand to Tomoyo's safety. Fortunately, Sakura has always succeeded and hugs Tomoyo warmly whenever she reunites with her.
xxxHolic

While Sakura does not have a direct role in xxxHolic, Yūko Ichihara mentions her on several occasions and has a replica of her first sealing wand. She also states there is a Sakura living in her current world with her boyfriend, hinting of Sakura Kinomoto (and Syaoran Li) from Cardcaptor Sakura. Sakura appears once in Chapter 12 of the manga, however in an unconscious state, held by Syaoran, and again in chapter 133 when Watanuki's dream connects him to the world her 'soul' resides in .




Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Princess Sakura, pictured here in this cover art from Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.
Sakura also appears in Clamp's crossover series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and Tsubasa Chronicle. Her character is similar only in looks and personality to her Cardcaptor Sakura counterpart. Tsubasa Chronicle takes on a new story with new histories for each of its characters.

Sakura as seen in Tsubasa Chronicle
At the start of the series, Sakura is the princess of the Kingdom of Clow who has feelings for Syaoran, her childhood friend. When she is about to confess her feelings, a mysterious force causes her own dormant magical powers to manifest in the form of feathered wings. When her feathers are scattered across time and space, Syaoran vows to recover all of them because each feather represents a memory Sakura has had since birth and are connected to her heart; without the feathers, she will die. Fei-Wong Reed (the mysterious villain in the series) reflects on the ability of people like the High Priest Yukito, Princess Tomoyo of Nihon, and Yūko to cross dimensions and comments that the power concealed within Sakura and the ruins in Clow surpasses them all.

She pays Yuko in an indirect way. Her price is pretty much the same as Syaoran - her memories of him. When she awakes in the Hanshin Republic the first person she sees is Syaoran. He is taken back when she asks, "Who are you?"

At times, such as in Outo, Sakura comes extremely close to remembering Syaoran but it is quickly erased once more from her memory. Syaoran, having known this would happen previously, will never tell her anything about their previous relationship. At most, all Sakura knows about Syaoran is what she has relearned from the adventures together with Mokona, Fay, and Kurogane, although she knows she knew him previously and he was very important to her. It is also clear that she is falling in love with him once more.

Sakura possesses unnaturally good luck; both Chun Hyang and Yūko call her "a favored daughter of the gods". This is what allowed her to travel dimensions safely until Yūko asks for her good luck as a price. According to Yukito and Syaoran, Sakura also has the ability to "hear" the voices of those who cannot be heard, such as spirits of nature, and to see ghosts. She can also see the future in visions, though this ability is unreliable and nothing she has control over.

In the anime, at some points when she is asleep, she will unknowingly go out and search for her feathers. She will seem to be awake, talking and interacting with others and her surroundings, yet is actually completely out of it, like she is unconsciously searching for her own feathers.

In Tsubasa, Sakura's personality is passive and weary, weary because she's exhausted from her loss of memories. However as the series goes on she becomes stronger and independent.
Syaoran states, even though she's lost most of her memories, she'll never change. She helps the group whenever she can, whether it's washing dishes or saving their lives.

In the later chapters, she is shown with a much darker personality, accompanied with gothic clothing. In the Infinity Arc, the group spent a few months fighting in a tournament, supposedly wanting to use the prize money to restore a world the Clone Syaoran destroyed. But she was after the real prize - a robot (who is identical to Freya from Chobits) who can let one person and one person alone travel across dimensions. It is later revealed that Fay is under a curse that forces him to kill if he ever meets a person that is stronger than him (In volume one you can see that Yuuko was not hit by the rain, nor did she touch and of the people directly because she was in another dimension to prevent Fay's curse activating). But when Sakura receives two feathers in Infinity, she was made stronger than Fay's halved magic and so he stabbed her, seemingly possessed. Sakura had a vision that after killing her, he would go insane and kill everyone else, eventually committing suicide, but she used the robot to transport her soul to a dream world, thus saving herself and stopping Fay from going insane. It is later revealed that she was not the original target of the curse, the real Syaoran was.

Later it's learned that Sakura didn't die, although she did. By this Yuko meant that Sakura still can be saved and the two places where her body and her soul went contains two feathers, and her soul will be aided by the other Syaoran in the world of dreams, so the real Syaoran, Fai, Moknona and Kuragane went to Celes Country to rescue the body of Sakura, as Yuko told them it's the body they should rescue first then the soul.
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