The rights to the animated version were bought by Nelvana in 2000.

Then the tragedy began.

NOTE: It seems that all 70 episodes were dubbed. They have been and are airing in England and Canada in the correct CCS order. The focus of this website is the American-aired CC episodes. That means fewer dubbed episodes, aired in the wrong order, and more comments about stupidity in marketing, lack of storyline and characterization, and "what the hell were they thinking" editing. So if you are an international visitor, welcome to the site, and please realize that the CC I'm criticizing may not be the CC you have been watching. Unless they still edited out Sakura's crush on Yukito in CCS#35/CC#13 in which case the dub is still an evil abomination.   ^_^

It seems Nelvana didn't think the target audience of girls ages 6-12 was correct, so they edited the show to market it toward *their* target audience of young boys, trying to create a competitor to Pokemon. Never mind the fact that the artists had created a show exactly correct for their target audience. Never mind the fact that young girls (and older girls as well) would buy merchandise just as much as young boys. Never mind the fact that most companies on this continent haven't realized the buying potential of young females (hello, does anyone remember My Little Pony or the Cabbage Patch Kids?)

Anyway ..... in their efforts to Frankenstein CardCaptor Sakura into Cardcaptors, all kinds of atrocities were committed.

• Change the name of the show from CardCaptor Sakura to Cardcaptors, to imply there is more than one person chosen to collect the Clow Cards.

  While Li Shaoran/Li Showron can collect a Clow Card if he turns it to its alternate form, only Sakura can seal it into its Card form.

• The first English dubbed episode was CCS#8, so that Li Shaoran/Li Showron can be seen as an equal to Sakura.

  It's easy to be deluded into thinking this if you haven't seen the first *seven* episodes that establish the story and relationships of the characters.

• Change anything remotely Japanese into something that sounds like English (ie Sakura's last name goes from the original 'Kinomoto' to 'Avalon').

  What's wrong with keeping this as a Japanese show? An English-speaking person did not come up with any aspect of this piece of art. Wouldn't it be nice to let children know about other cultures, and foster an understanding and appreciation for the fact that there are many similarities and some differences between themselves and children on the other side of the globe?

• Edit the few episodes that are aired to make room for more commercials.

  I understand television shows exist on the basis of their sponsors, but the result of the seemingly haphazard editing done to create Cardcaptors alters the relationships and characters in a very detrimental way.

  Sakura has a small amount of magic power, therefore she was able to open the Clow. But she has to call on the ability of individual cards in order to catch other cards. She is *not* a little girl with awesome magical powers, but someone who has been entrusted with the responsibility for catching potentially dangerous magical creatures. It takes courage, skill, creativity, physical prowess, and intelligence to fulfill her role as a CardCaptor, and by cutting every scene where she calls upon the power of a card to assist her, the seriousness of this task is trivialized, as are Sakura's achievements as she grows beyond her own expectations of herself.

• Translate, and then re-write the dialog.

  Okay, some things don't translate well (such as most Japanese puns), but the majority of the dialog changes and additions are not necessary and alter the characterization. Kero-chan is not that belligerent - he honestly cares about Sakura's well being. Tomoyo didn't find her costume ideas in a magazine, she referenced different books for inspiration - every costume is her own creation. Sakura is not a stuck-up little snot that talks back to Li - she has feelings that are easily hurt, yet her inner strength will show through when it comes down to the challenge of catching the Clow cards. Touya is not an asshole who complains of Sakura talking to ghosts - he is an older brother with a genuine love for his younger sister, no matter how much he teases her, and he has the special ability to see things that are not apparent to other people, a talent that is critically important in the later part of the story.

Thankfully, CardCaptor Sakura in its pristine, unedited, subtitled form is available on VHS and DVD. So you have to read the dialog, and you miss some things when you leave the room to get a Coke out of the fridge - it's worth it. CLAMP is an amazing storyteller, and Madhouse's high production values can be seen in every frame of this animation.

Take a chance ... checkout the *real* story in all 70 episodes instead of the small inaccurate sample that airs on American television.

Thank you kindly,
      Kestrel

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