Cardcaptor Sakura episodes 1-70 + the sequel movie
The Sealed Card (all in sub):
I had seen a couple random ep.'s of the (apparently pretty butchered...
) old 'CardCaptors' version on TV when I was a kid, and was completely entranced by what I'd seen of it at the time (in fact, I actually learned the 'maze trick'-- the surefire way to keep from getting lost, and {eventually} find the exit, if you're inside a maze-- from one of those randomly-caught episodes, and that has always stuck with me for some weird reason, LOL); however, despite that, for whatever reason I somehow never actually got around to watching it properly (which I suppose was probably a good thing, given the edits and all, LOL
). Anyway, about a year or so ago (I think?) I finally got around to reading the manga, and while it was good, I had a few issues with its pacing in the beginning and several story elements later on; so, while it was certainly worth the read for me, it wasn't quite what I had been expecting, LOL. Then, a few months ago, I decided to start watching the (unedited, of course!) anime, as well, purely for nostalgia purposes-- and I'm quite glad I did!
Adaptations that not only do justice to their original source material but actually do so in such quality that they turn out to be even *better* are unfortunately fairly rare (and you all know my opinions on *that* sad state of affairs
). However, I am happy to say that-- minus a few beefs I have with the ending (more on that in a minute)-- this anime adaptation is (almost entirely) one of those few.
Even the stuff that got added-- for example, the whole Syaoran-having-a-fiancée thing (which I had expected to find annoying, but which actually turned out to have been done surprisingly well, and I even truly liked her character quite a bit), and the extra cards, etc.-- were woven in pretty brilliantly (and completely true to both the heart of the characters as well as the heart of the story). It even fixed almost everything I had issues with in the manga-- for example, the thing with Rika and
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the teacher. In the manga, well... let's just face it, that was weird as heck.
(Indeed, that particular 'relationship' in the CCS manga actually strained my credulity past its breaking point as I was reading it.
) However, the anime toned this down quite a bit (while simultaneously building it up a little better at the same time), to the point where it's (thankfully
) up to you to decide whether you think that
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Terada reciprocated her feelings or not. And that's just one example.
All that said, though, while those are all obviously huge points in the anime's favor, the adaptation's ending does have some issues. Not only is the second (and nearly 100% anime-original, although actually quite excellent in and of itself-- as I am obviously not reluctant to admit, given the MAL score that I gave it!
) movie,
The Sealed Card, necessary viewing to get emotional closure with Sakura and Syaoran's relationship, there were more than a few other details that were lost near/at the ending of the TV show, as well-- a few examples being the reason Touya had random part-time jobs like everywhere (which IIRC wasn't really outright stated in the anime, but which was pretty clearly explained in the manga), certain details about Clow/Eriol, Kaho Mizuki, and Eriol *and* Kaho, the interesting little
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: dividing-the-power thing with Fujitaka (which, in the manga, led to quite a nice emotional touch with him and
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Nadeshiko), and of course the aforementioned Sakura x Syaoran closure, which-- although the eventual outcome is the same
-- was done very differently than it was in the manga. So, while the series + movie certainly did a fairly good job with the ending, I do think that the manga's ending was better overall in terms of fleshing out and wrapping up certain points.
TL;DR: Other than those slightly odd cuts from and differences in the ending, to my pleasant surprise I did actually enjoy nearly all of the anime (series + movie) *more* than the manga-- and, really, it's just such a classic and so darn feel-good that I definitely recommend it regardless.
Only caveats would be to remember to watch the second movie after finishing the TV series; possibly read some of the manga's ending, at least, after that to wrap up a few more details; and, of course, in case you didn't know about it already, be aware of the whole
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Touya x Yukito thing (...although, I suppose that is at least somewhat mitigated by the fact that
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yukito's true form is a technically-genderless magical being, but still...
).