Card Captor SAKURA (Image)

Card Captor SAKURA (Wallpaper)

Card Captor SAKURA (Sakura)

SAKURA

At the start of the series, Sakura is 10 years old and living in a fictional town called Tomoeda in Japan. It is supposedly located not far from Tokyo. One day in early April, shortly after her birthday and only slightly into her fourth grade year at Tomoeda Elementary School (Reedington Middle School in Cardcaptors), young Sakura stumbles across a mysterious old book called The Clow in her father’s study.Instantly upon touching the book, a confused Sakura mistakenly awakens one of the card’s guardians, Cerberus who was sleeping on the front cover where he was supposed to be guarding the Clow Cards: a deck of 19 (52 in the anime) magical cards with incredible powers. Upon emerging from the book, Cerberus admits to having let the cards slip away as he slumbered, and, realizing Sakura’s magical potential, cunningly tricks her into becoming the "Cardcaptor" and duty bound to collect all of the missing cards and return them to the book where they will then be under her control.What is not revealed until much later is that Cerberus, by appointing Sakura this position, was marking her as his one and only chosen candidate to become the next master of the Clow Cards and their guardians. The anime version of the series presents a slightly altered chain of events in which, on the afternoon after her first day of fourth grade, Sakura hears a mysterious sound coming from her father's library in the basement. She, nervously armed with her cheerleading baton, goes downstairs and there discovers the book of the Clow with all of its cards (the anime extends the deck to contain 52 cards) still within it. In this altered version of the story, Sakura picks up the top card and 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 after which Cerberus emerges and appoints her to retrieve them. This was most likely added to not only give Cerberus a more justifiable reason to send Sakura on her mission, but also to give her an easier time at completing it, as she now begins her adventure with one of the cards, Windy, already under her control, as opposed to starting with no cards at all as in the original manga.

Personality Outline

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. Her favorite foods are omelette and noodles with seafood and her favorite recipe is pancakes. Her birthday is on April 1. She hates Mathmatics and her blood type is A. Sakura's optimistic and trustworthy character allows her to be friendly with everybody, and the entire series focuses on the friendships she creates with people, whether strangers, loose acquaintances, or rivals. In fact, her personality is a dominating factor in her relationships, especially with Syaoran.

Family

Sakura lives with her older brother, Toya Kinomoto and her father, Fujitaka Kinomoto . The three help manage their home together, often rotating cooking and cleaning chores. Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko Kinomoto , became seriously ill, and died when Sakura was three years old. In Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, In Chapter 189, it is revealed that she had a son with Syaoran Li

Magic

Sakura's most sacred and important items are most likely her sealing
wand and cards, since they are her main weapons in 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 capture, when she summons Clow Cards. Throughout the Clow Card arc, Cerberus's comments seem to imply that Sakura's magic grows as she battles and captures more Cards. This is also implied in the corresponding anime. In contrast of this, in the second half of the series we are reminded of Sakura’s inexperience as she often collapses after transforming the cards. However, as she grows progressively proficient in changing 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. This sequence of events during the second arc is more or less true in the anime version of the series as well, with only a few changes made. The most obvious of these is that Yue (a character who, in the original version of the series is shown as becoming much closer to Sakura throughout Eriol’s trials to the point of accepting her at least as a valued friend ) is shown throwing her a constant stream of criticism as a reminder of Sakura’s lack of experience. Another interesting change made in the anime variation is that, by end of the series, she, subconsciously, manages to create a new Card, the nameless card (aka, HOPE in the English version: the unsealed card), which would later serve as a major plot point for the second movie.After Final Judgement, Clow Reed tells her that her magic seems to be drawn from the power of the stars, which may start small, but are ever-shining with their own brilliant light

Relationships

Syaoran Li

Sakura's relationship with Syaoran Li (Li Syaoran) 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.An important turn in their relationship occurs when the Earthy reveals itself in the manga chapter entitled "The Power of the Elements", where Sakura falls into a deep crevice created by the card. Running to save her, Syaoran yells out to her, calling her by her first name. After being rescued by Cerberus, Sakura returns this by asking if she can start calling him "Syaoran-kun". This is paralleled in the anime where, in episode 57, Tomoyo, Syaoran, Eriol, Sakura 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 his voice actress, Kumai Motoko [Cardcaptor Sakura Character Single: Syaoran]). This is followed by a scene in an elevator between Syaoran and Sakura where events similar to those centered around the Earth card occur. Syaoran screams out Sakura's name here when she falls into a hole. Sakura later tells him she heard this, and asks if she can call him "Syaoran-kun" instead of the more neutral "Li-kun".Throughout the series, Syaoran gradually becomes more committed to caring for Sakura romantically, most especially after Yue forces him to confront his feelings early on in the second story arc, but she remains completely oblivious of his feelings. Syaoran's blushes become more frequent, and there are some occasions where he would suddenly become clumsy when in her presence. Sakura will either keep an innocent smile on her face or look confused and worried at Syaoran whenever he trips and falls.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 being there to help her get her emotions out. To give thanks, she spends a week making him a scarf. Similarly, in the manga, Sakura returns the favor by spending a week making him a yukata which she gives to him after he agrees to accompany her to a festival. Sakura is finally made aware of Syaoran's feelings when he personally confesses them near the end of the series, after the final battle with Eriol Hiiragizawa. The news comes as a complete shock to her, and it is ever present in her thoughts over the next few days. 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. However this is slightly changed in the anime, where, 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.In the second movie, Syaoran returns to Japan with his cousin Meiling Li (Meilin Rae) (anime only character) who was having secret phone calls with Tomoyo Daidōji who helped plan their return. Tomoyo and Meiling attempted to organize 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 is so overjoyed by the revelation, that she recklessly leaps across a large hole in the floor to reach Syaoran. The film ends on a cliffhanger with Sakura halfway through the air, but a still image released with the film shows that she makes the leap, right into Syaoran's arms.Sakura and Syaoran are likely Clamp's most famous fictional couple, as they make a lead appearance in their crossover manga series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. The original Syaoran tied to that storyline is revealed to be the son of Syaoran Li and Sakura Kinomoto in Chapter 189.

Yukito Tsukishiro

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. On a class trip in the fourth volume, Sakura reveals to Syaoran that her crush on Yukito began when Toya brought Yukito home on the day Yukito transferred to Toya's school. Yukito's presence always causes a significant effect on Sakura's feelings, commonly provoking her "floaty" exclamation, "Hanyaan~" (はにゃあん～). Unlike Syaoran, who is attracted to Yukito because of his power, Sakura is truly in love with Yukito.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 the last book of the manga (episode 70 of the anime), 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 feelings for Toya and Syaoran and Sakura's feelings for each other were the unforeseen occurrences, a few of the deviations from Clow's plan, that Eriol mentions to Sakura and friends at the party in Clow's mansion.

Tomoyo Daidōji

Though non-romantic, Sakura's close relationship with Tomoyo Daidōji (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. (This is emphasized using manga conventions: Tomoyo declares her love against a background of flowers, while Sakura replies against a blank white background). 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. Clamp has stated that the image to the right is Tomoyo fixing Sakura's hair, however, it is often seen to have a romantic element to it as the expressions and pose resemble two people about to kiss.

Card Captor SAKURA (Syaoran)

Character

Voiced by Motoko Kumai in the anime, Syaoran is a distant relative of Clow Reed, the creator of the Clow Cards. As a member of the Li clan of sorcerers from Hong Kong, of which Clow's mother was a member, Syaoran believes that he should be the one to inherit the Clow Cards, not Sakura Kinomoto. He first appears as an antagonist in the story, capturing a few cards for himself in the anime (though none in the manga). He acted cold and nonchalant to Sakura. He never even says her name until the second season. As the series progresses, and especially after Sakura is officially deemed the new master of the Cards, Syaoran drops his rivalistic attitude towards her and becomes her ally and friend, eventually falling in love with her. However, Sakura is completely oblivious to these feelings and thinks of him simply as a close friend. Syaoran is shown, or at least implied, to be an excellent martial artist, swordsman (using a Chinese jian), and sorcerer. His magical abilities are centered around elemental spells using his sword or a collection of ofuda.Although he claims certain Clow Cards for himself in the anime, Syaoran does not actually capture any Cards, as the act of capturing can only be performed using Sakura's sealing wand. However, if Syaoran has played a major role in weakening or cornering the Card entity prior to its capture, credit for the capture is awarded to him (as the materialized Card floats autonomously to its owner after capture). While Sakura writes her name in rōmaji on the Clow Cards, Syaoran writes his name in Chinese characters.
Before his relationship with Sakura, Syaoran found himself attracted to Yukito Tsukishiro, often blushing madly and abruptly running away at the sight of him. While Sakura also harboured a crush on Yukito, Syaoran would compete with her for his affections, usually by getting him a better present, making him better food, or giving the better compliment. As he shows no interest in Sakura in the first season, the impression is given that he and Sakura are rivals, for the cards and for love. It is revealed later that Syaoran was magically attracted to the magical energies of the moon, which were residing within Yukito, as Syaoran drew his magical power from the moon. Sakura, although she was drawn to a person that housed "power", was truly in love with Yukito, as stated by Kero (Cerberus) in episode 51 (Sakura and the big teddy bear).Syaoran and Cerberus often fight in the series, where Syaoran often calls him a "plush toy", or a "stuffed animal", while Cerberus retorts with patronizing terms like "kid", and "brat".A major change to Syaoran's character in Cardcaptors involves elevating Li Syaoran to become the male lead character, rather than a supporting character for Sakura in Cardcaptor Sakura. Here, Li is also referred to as a Cardcaptor, while he has no such title in the original series, as Cerberus never selected him, and has no initial ability to seal cards for himself.

Relationship with Sakura

Syaoran first meets Sakura at school on his first day as an exchange student from Hong Kong. His seat is behind Sakura, an ideal position for the many grueling stares that he gives her throughout the next few manga chapters and anime episodes. That same day, he confronts her about the Clow Cards, claiming that he is the one destined to inherit them. This attitude continues throughout the first season of the anime where Syaoran constantly tries to capture new Clow Cards before she can, often stating facts about the Cards and about Card-capturing in a condescending manner. Although he would appear to do anything it takes to get the Cards, Syaoran never acts or fights dishonorably (i.e. stealing Cards from Sakura or injuring her in order to get ahead). Syaoran, despite the fact that he acquired far fewer cards than Sakura, still succeeds in capturing the Time, Storm, Return, Dash, Freeze, Dream, Sand and Twin. As Sakura and Syaoran continue to meet whenever a Card-capturing situation arises, they begin to work together and combine their efforts, although he still tries to win the Card in the end. Additionally, halfway through the first season, Syaoran begins to blush occasionally when he comes face to face with Sakura, usually after she smiles or makes a sweet comment. In season one, he considers her to be an annoying rival; in season two, they are on friendlier terms. In the later episodes of this series, he begins to develop a crush on her. In season three, he takes a more serious interest in Sakura. By this time, he finally sees Sakura's good qualities above all her faults and insecurities. After the Final Judgment, Sakura is declared the new master of the Cards, leaving Syaoran essentially a failure. At the start of the third season, Syaoran plans on returning home to Hong Kong until newcomer Eriol Hiiragizawa comes along and starts charming Sakura. At this point in the series, Syaoran's feelings toward Sakura have slowly changed from that of rivalry to that of an elementary school crush. Sakura's consistantly cheerful attitude and warm smiles cause more and more blushes on Syaoran's cheeks. Much to his surprise, Syaoran finds himself jealous over the fact that another student is getting too close to Sakura, and he in turn stays in Tomoeda for the remainder of the school year. In season three of the anime, the plot makes a stronger shift towards the development of Syaoran and Sakura's relationship. Though Sakura is still dealing with strange occurrences and using the Cards, each episode gradually puts more emphasis on the growth of this relationship, including Tomoyo Daidōji's involvement in giving Syaoran advice plus one particular dramatic scene in episode 60 involving Syaoran's then-fiancée, Meiling Li. Syaoran finds himself in more and more blushing situations, including those in which he is on the brink of confessing his feelings to Sakura but is always interrupted (often in a comical way) just before he utters the climactic syllable. Syaoran finally confesses that he is in love with her face-to-face at the end of the next-to-last episode of the series. The news comes as a major surprise to Sakura, who had always viewed Syaoran as a close friend. Sakura broods over the thought of it throughout all of episode 70, which ends with Syaoran planning to leave Tomoeda for Hong Kong. Sakura hears about his unannounced leave just in time to run to find him at the airport. He is holding (after his caretaker, Wei, hands it to him) a homemade teddy bear, which he had considered giving to Sakura but never found the right chance. Instead, Sakura asks if she could have the bear in his arms. There is a tradition stated in the series (it is not an actual Japanese tradition) that when one person gives another a personally-made plush, if the receiver names the plush after its creator (the giver in this case), then both people will be together forever. Sakura is never seen giving a name to the bear, but the symbolism of her accepting his bear is enough to suggest that Sakura returns the feelings, despite how sudden they appeared. The TV series concludes there, a cliffhanger of sorts for the upcoming release of the second movie, which finalizes the Sakura and Syaoran relationship in the anime. Set over summer break, Syaoran returns from Hong Kong for a short visit to Tomoeda. After having time to think about it, Sakura feels that she does love Syaoran back but is shy about confessing her feelings to him. Sakura wishes to tell him in person instead of writing a letter, because Syaoran had confessed his feelings in person (albeit quite randomly) and she wants to answer him the same way. The second movie goes through several situations where Sakura is just a moment away from uttering the next word after "Syaoran, I..." when something else interrupts her. In climactic fashion, Sakura finally completes her sentence in the last few lines of the movie, although she believes that his feelings had been negated by The Void; however, thanks to the intervention of the nameless card, they were not, and Syaoran smiles, accepts, and returns the feelings. Overjoyed, Sakura jumps into Syaorans arms, thus ending the series. The manga concludes the development of their relationship differently, as there is no movie for which to create a cliffhanger. Instead of after a major battle as in the anime, Syaoran finds a quiet moment in Penguin Park to confess to Sakura. Sakura again is left in a mild state of shock as she tries to absorb the words, while Syaoran, content after revealing his feelings, leaves for home. This occurs near the beginning of volume 12, and the remainder of the volume details Sakura's quiet thoughts about the situation and her reanalysis of her feelings for Syaoran. Here in the manga, Syaoran also is planning to return to Hong Kong, prompting Sakura to hurry to the bus station to confess her feelings. She has the teddy bear that she made and successfully gives it to Syaoran through the window before the bus begins moving. She also confesses her feelings right there, asking if she could call the bear he gave her "Syaoran" after he asks if he could name the one she gave him "Sakura". As the bus begins driving away, Syaoran tells Sakura to wait for him until he is finished with his tasks in Hong Kong. Some time passes, and Sakura is seen in a secondary school uniform, obviously older, preparing to leave for school. Along the way, she meets Syaoran, who is also dressed in a Tomoeda secondary school uniform. Syaoran is happy to announce that he is through with his duties in Hong Kong and is now in Tomoeda to stay. There would be no more need for letters and phone calls any longer. Sakura, filled with happiness, jumps into Syaoran's arms and happily exclaims that they can be "together forever". Syaoran and Sakura have a son together, ("Syaoran" of Tsubasa: RESERvoir CHRoNiCLE). In addition, Syaoran and Sakura are also married, and still living in the same world as xxxHolic takes place in. "Syaoran" Of Tsubasa is using his Father's name as his alias. His real name is yet to be revealed.

Card Captor SAKURA (Tomoyo)

TOMOYO (CHAN)

Name

Tomoyo's name (知世) can be best interpreted as worldly wisdom. This is appropriate for her character, as Tomoyo is very intelligent as well as amazingly perceptive of others' feelings. Her surname, Daidōji (大道寺, Daidōji?) could mean temple of great moral principles. Another possible reading is main street temple, where this could be a pun of Daigoji, a famous temple in Kyoto, Japan.

Tomoyo is the best friend of the series heroine, Sakura Kinomoto (Sakura Avalon in Cardcaptors). When she discovers that Sakura has become the Cardcaptor, she becomes Sakura's primary assistant by designing "battle costumes" (similar to another CLAMP character, Hokuto Sumeragi, who designs extravagant outfits for herself and her twin Subaru) and filming all of her magical (and non-magical) endeavours. (The videotaping, however, seems to be more to Tomoyo's personal benefit and enjoyment than it is to Sakura's.) Tomoyo faithfully keeps Sakura's new identity secret and often covers for her in times of need. In the early releases of the manga, one of the artists was not aware that Tomoyo had feelings for Sakura. As a result, some scenes in the beginning chapters show Tomoyo with a slight crush on Sakura's brother Toya. Clamp soon clarified the story with each other, however, and Tomoyo is subsequently seen showing more attention towards Sakura.[1] This is rectified in the series by a scene revealing that Tomoyo blushes around Toya because he reminds her of Sakura. Tomoyo is the daughter of the president of Daidōji Toy Company, Sonomi Daidōji (Samantha Taylor). Sonomi and Sakura's mother Nadeshiko Kinomoto (Natasha Avalon) are first cousins, which makes Sakura, Toya and Tomoyo second cousins. Tomoyo's father is never shown in the series and is only alluded to once, but it is apparent that he does not live in the Daidōji household. Her western-style house in Tomoeda is quite grand, with several maids serving the household. She is sometimes attended by the Daidōji family's team of female bodyguards, and has access to prototype technology from her mother's company (including the cell phones she supplies to Sakura and her circle). Tomoyo is very mature for her age. One of her major character traits is her selflessness towards Sakura. Tomoyo is kind, caring, highly intelligent, beautiful, meticulous, and very melodic (she has a superb singing voice and often has solos in choir recitals). She always speaks using formal verb conjugations and expressions, giving her a unique air of refinement amongst the cast. When needed, Tomoyo can exhibit considerable cunning and resourcefulness, which was most prominently displayed in the final movie (much of which revolved around a complicated scheme she had devised to give Sakura as many opportunities as possible to confess her feelings to Syaoran). Tomoyo aids Sakura's efforts to be in the company of Yukito Tsukishiro (Julian Star) on many occasions, and, in the second half of the series, becomes the confidante of Syaoran Li (Li Showron) when he finds himself falling in love with Sakura.

Relationship with Sakura

Tomoyo's relationship with Sakura is full of love and friendship. Tomoyo's actions make it clear that she deeply cares about Sakura, often to the point of obssession.
Tomoyo first meets Sakura in the third grade when she receives an eraser in class after forgetting her own. The eraser, likely used only that one time, has become Tomoyo's most precious possession. It was that one random act of kindness that sparked the development of their relationship, where Sakura's ongoing cheerfulness, kindness, and cuteness are matched by equal amounts of love and devotion from Tomoyo.In the manga Tomoyo professes her love for Sakura (albeit not in a very direct fashion) on multiple occasions, marked by the use of flowers in the background to indicate love (a common visual theme in manga and anime). However Sakura has romantic feelings for others throughout the series and never interprets Tomoyo's messages as anything other than expressions of close friendship, which are eagerly returned. Tomoyo has a few conversations (not always with Sakura) in which she suggests, if not outright states, that she has feelings at least a level deeper than "close friendship" which she does not express. Tomoyo herself does not express, or otherwise appear to possess, any feelings of jealousy or resentment toward those that Sakura has romantic feelings for. She instead is completely selfless and loves Sakura to the point where as long as Sakura is happy, Tomoyo is happy, regardless of whom Sakura ultimately loves. In one conversation, Tomoyo has stated to Sakura that she would of course be thrilled if the person whom she loves also loves her back, but what matters most to her is simply that person's happiness.Sakura's response, unknowing that this "person" is herself, replies confidently, "The person you love must be really happy then."In episode 46 of the anime, when Sakura is transported to a world where everyone forgets about their feelings toward the people they love most, she greets Tomoyo in a friendly manner like every day at school, but instead of going on talking to each other, Tomoyo merely changes her shoes and walks away, only to turn back and tell Sakura that they will be late for their classes. Also, at later classes, Tomoyo doesn't hang out with Sakura anymore and wouldn't greet her when Sakura's cheerleading practices were over. Reason would say that this means that Tomoyo cares about Sakura more than anyone else.

Card Captor SAKURA (Clow Reed )

Clow Reed is the creator of the Clow Cards (also referred to as "The Clow"), a series of cards resembling tarot cards with various magical powers within them. Additionally, he is the creator of Yue and Cerberus, assigned to protect The Clow and ensure that it gets passed on properly to new masters. Syaoran Li (Li Showron) is a distant relative of Clow, as Clow's mother's family is the Li Clan.When Clow was nearing death, he chose Sakura Kinomoto (Sakura Avalon in Cardcaptors) to be the new mistress of The Clow. Sakura was not yet born at the time, but Clow's magical ability allowed him to foresee most of the future and plan many of the situations that would enable Sakura to succeed in taking full possession of the Clow Cards. This is the reason that Sakura's sealing wand is pink and cute; he wanted to make a suitable wand for the young girl who would be mistress.Very little of Clow's personal life is known, although Kero often references his liking for playing jokes, and his constant smile and the likes and interests described in his manga quarter-page indicate that he was a content and mischievous person. There are also some hints, especially in the anime, that Clow and his creation Yue had some sort of connection that went deeper than Master and creation. However, whether this was a mutual romantic interest or simply one-sided on Yue's part in unknown.

During the first Cardcaptor Sakura movie, it is revealed that as an extremely powerful magician, Clow had a great deal of enemies, one of which is the movie's antagonist, a madoushi (sorceress) who held a bitter grudge against Clow even after she died. She is not named in the original version and simply referred to as the "Madoushi"; the English dub opted to name her "Su Yung". The Madoushi, who worked as a fortune-teller, found that Clow's ability to accurately predict the future affected her own business and developed a deep hatred for him. She challenged her rival to frequent duels and eventually cast a spell that allowed her spirit to reside in a book after she died and draw Clow Reed to her. Once released from the book by Clow(or one possessing the Clow Cards), that person would become sealed in the book in her place. In the English dub, Su Yung was actually a student of Clow's and they had loved one another. However, her desire to become powerful resulted in spreading destruction rather than using it responsibly. The two were unable to see eye to eye concerning their belief as to how magic should be used and an intense fight ensued. When she lost and died, Clow sealed her in an alternate dimension of his own creation, where she sought to free herself and pass onto the next world after taking revenge on Clow.Sakura unintentionally releases the Madoushi during a trip to Hong Kong and the sorceress, refusing to believe Clow is dead, attacks the young cardcaptor and endangers her friends. She eventually relents when she realizes she truly loved Clow; she accepts his death and vanishes.Clow makes an appearance in episode 46 just after Sakura has completed the Final Judgment, thus becoming the new mistress of The Clow. Here Clow explains the coincidences he had planned for Sakura--situations that would allow her to recapture all the Cards. He also advises Sakura to take care of her new power, the power that changed the original sealing wand into one that is completely Sakura's.In episode 68, Sakura uses The Return to visit Clow prior to his death. Clow recognizes Sakura but does not concisely answer all of her questions. Sakura is mainly concerned that she would never be as great or as powerful as Clow, but Clow reminds her that she cannot keep comparing herself to him. Sakura is her own self, and she has already been fulfilling Clow's final wish, which is to allow his creations (the Cards, Cerberus, and Yue) to live in happiness under a new master. During this visit, Clow gives little to no insight about the recent mysterious happenings, though Sakura finds that out from Eriol when she returns to the present.

Magical Background

According to Kero in the manga, Clow Reed, having both an English and a Chinese parent, was able to combine occidental and oriental magic to create an entirely new type of magic--the Clow Cards. Like his later successor, Sakura, Clow's magic is a balance between the sun and the moon. His power is of darkness, an affiliation which his reincarnation, Eriol Hiiragizawa, shares, and which manifests itself in the chant used to release the sealing staff (which uses Clow's power until Sakura transforms it under her own power of the stars).

Reincarnation

Clow Reed's present-day reincarnation is Eriol Hiiragizawa (Eli Moon), appearing in season three of the anime. In the manga, Sakura's father, Fujitaka Kinomoto (Aiden Avalon) is also a reincarnation (but just one-half, while Eriol is the other). Eriol retains all of Clow's past memories and all of his magic. Clow was not able to split his magic apart into the two new bodies and Eriol's final wish is for Sakura to take half of his magic and give it to her father. Eriol's purpose is to create situations, much like Clow did in season one, that would allow Sakura to convert the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, putting them wholly under her magical influence and completely finishing the transition of The Clow from Clow Reed to Sakura. Because Eriol is Clow's reincarnation, Sakura and company continuously detect Clow's presence during Eriol's trials. This leads to suspicion in Sakura when she visits Eriol's manor in episode 65 and feels Clow's presence all over, especially in Eriol's armchair. The manor was indeed inhabited by Clow when he was alive, but Sakura does not fully realize this until the end of the series. After learning that Clow was reincarnated, Yue protests the entire situation involving Sakura having to become the new master of The Clow. Eriol, holding Clow's memories, explains that he is not the actual Clow Reed, who would never return to this world. This is why Clow entrusted everything to Sakura. However Eriol offers to talk about his memories whenever Yue wishes.