Perhaps the first feeling upon watching CARD CAPTOR SAKURA is "Too... cute..." (courtesy of Excel Saga). But seriously, CARD CAPTOR SAKURA is a phenomenon that swept Japan a couple years back, and enjoying moderate success with the English edited version over here. The charm of the characters, the quality of the stories, and the high animation production values all contribute to this magical children's show.

Looking into the past of EX, we have often mentioned CARD CAPTOR SAKURA in various forms, but have not really looked at the North American video releases... until now.

When Nelvana picked up the rights to CARD CAPTOR SAKURA, fans were rightly concerned to how it would be treated. It may be a fact of reality that they had to edit it (sometimes dramatically) to show it on TV in a U.S. children's timeslot, but luckily Nelvana listened and gave Pioneer the ability to release an uncut, subtitled version as well. So in case you have not heard already, there are two video versions: CARD CAPTORS (the edited dub), and CARD CAPTOR SAKURA (the original uncut subtitle only). And chances are if you are an EX reader, you will want to stay as far away as possible from the CARD CAPTORS release.

So repeat after me: CARD CAPTOR SAKURA="Good", CARD CAPTORS="Bad". Okay, with that out of the way, this is a review of the 3rd volume of the CARD CAPTOR SAKURA release.

For a more detailed look at the characters and story, take a look at EX's Japanese anime review done back when the series originally aired in 1998. But to summarize, CARD CAPTOR SAKURA is about Kinomoto Sakura, a fourth grader who opens a sealed book (The Clow) in her basement and "accidentally" releases the magical cards held within. The guardian, Kerberos (or Kero-chan) tells her of her duty to retrieve these cards, and convinces her to become a "Card Captor". Each card however has a life of its own, and she must use her wits and abilities to discover how to reclaim each one. Helping her is Daidouji Tomoyo, Sakura's best friend (with deep pockets and a keen fashion sense). By this point also, Syaoran Li is introduced and acts as a rival (and reluctant ally) since he does not feel Sakura has the ability to retrieve all the cards "before disaster befalls the world".

The first episode on this disk, "Sakura and the Mysterious Brooch", brings attention to Sakura's friend Rika. While Sakura is depressed with Li always criticizing her, Rika and Tomoyo try to cheer her up by taking her to a neat antique shop. However, Rika encounters a Clow Card, and it is up to Sakura to find a way to save her.

The next two episodes, "Sakura and the Sport's Day of Flowers" and "Sakura, Tomoyo, and a Mansion", dive into the families of Sakura and Tomoyo. We discover more about Sakura's dad and Tomoyo's mom and the link they share. It also serves for some humorous rivalries.

Finally, "Sakura's Never-Ending Day" and Li and Sakura deal with a Clow Card that can control time a-la "Groundhog Day".

The video quality on these DVDs are great. The transfer is top notch and as good as I would expect. The extremely catchy openings and endings are the Japanese original songs, and the eye-catches, next episode previews, and "Leave it to Kero-chan" corners are all present. The subtitles are standard removable DVD subs, though there is only the Japanese audio track (which is fine in my book) as it would be impossible to add the edited CARD CAPTORS version to these episodes.

This volume again highlights some themes that would never get onto "politically correct" American children's TV. From Tomoyo's fascination with Sakura, to Li's crush on Yukito, these same-gender suggestions did not escape unedited from CARD CAPTORS. There are some other moments too, but I will not spoil them now as they are central to the stories of this volume.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching these episodes of CARD CAPTOR SAKURA. This is a show I would not only have no problems showing my young nieces and nephews, but I also look forward to seeing what situations Sakura and friends get into. Everytime I start to feel CARD CAPTOR SAKURA getting into a routine, they do a twist to move away from "capture the boss of the week" to introduce new character depth, further reveal grand plot elements, and generally entertain me with lovable characters and stories.

Whether you have children in your lives or not, this is a great children's show for all ages. I would probably rank CARD CAPTOR SAKURA as the best "magical girl" show I have seen, and I highly recommend it as each episode should leave you with a smile on your face. CARD CAPTOR SAKURA is most certainly cute, and that is not a bad thing either.