Cardcaptor Sakura is the very first manga series I ever started. When I picked up the first book at my local library, waaaay back in 2001, I had never seen anything like it. I think it may have been the first manga my library ever bought. Whether it was or not, it absolutely blew my mind. (Please note that I was a 12 year old girl at this time). Toykopop's license of Cardcaptor Sakura expired before they finished the series, but happily it was picked up by Dark Horse who have now released the whole series in 4 large omnibus editions (similar to what they did with Finder by Carla Speed McNeil). Because of this I have now finally, FINALLY, been able to finish reading the series. How does it look more than a decade later?

It's a sweet, funny story, a classic of the magical girl genre. The main character, Sakura Kinomoto, is involved in the accidental release of a dangerous set of magical cards created by the mysterious wizard Clow Reed. With the help of one of Clow's other creations- a magical lion- Sakura must capture the escaped cards and tame them to her will before they wreak havoc and ruin down on Toyko. If you like manga, and especially if you are already a fan of the manga creator circle Clamp, you will doubtless be charmed by this lighthearted story. If not, you may find this series rather childish and somewhat lacking in drama. I, of course, have such a soft spot in my heart for this series that I have a hard time being objective about it, especially the art. The clean and delicate line work is classic Clamp.