There really isn't a lot of shojo anime available in region one.  Though "girls cartoons" are popular in Japan, they haven't really taken off in North America yet.  There are exceptions though; Sailor Moon was one of the first anime shows to be shown on cable in the US and helped start the current anime boom that we are experiencing.  Another early shojo program to be shown in the US was Cardcaptor Sakura.  Nelvana purchased the American broadcast rights to the show, and in a boneheaded move, decided to edit it for the US markets.  They changed the music and names (and retitled it Cardcaptor), cut scenes, added a new CGI intro and then proceeded to broadcast the shows out of order.  (The eighth episode was shown first.)  This altered version drained much and the charm from the original, and was quickly canceled.

Luckily the folks at Pioneer (now Geneon) released the unedited version on DVD, but the entire run of 70 shows was released on 18 DVDs, and getting the whole series was pretty expensive.  That has changed now with the release of Cardcaptor Sakura: The Clow Book.  This set takes the first nine volumes (the first season of the show) and packages them in an attractive book at a greatly reduced price.  This is great news, since now more people will be able to afford this delightful show.

The show:

Sakura is an ordinary 10-year-old.  She lives with her older brother and father in Japan, is in the 4th grade, and likes sports.  One day whoever, she hears a strange noise from her father's study in the basement.  Going down to check it out, she discovers an odd book that is glowing and locked.  The lock falls away easily though, and when she opens the tome she discovers a stack of cards.  Looking at the top card, she reads the word printed on it "Windy" and suddenly she's engulfed in a mini-tornado that takes the cards and scatters them to the four winds.

Right after this the guardian of the book, Kero, wakes up from his nap.  He is supposed to be a fierce defender of the cards, but he looks like a cute and cuddly stuffed animal.  When he discovers that the cards are gone he explains to Sakura that each card is a magic spell, and now, thanks to her, they've all escaped.  Not only that, but the cards can be dangerous.  Kero convinces Sakura that she has to become a Cardcaptor, and round up all the cards before they can do any harm.

The good news is that she managed to hang onto the Windy card, and can use that to help capture the others.  Every time she captures another card, she can use its powers.  Unfortunately the cards start getting harder to catch as time goes on.

With her rich friend Tomoyo tagging along making super-hero costumes for Sakura and recording her every feat with her video camera, Sakura goes about trying to gather all of the Clow Cards.

This set:

This first half of the show is a lot of fun.  I enjoyed this show much better than Sailor Moon.  While SM has its charms, Cardcaptor Sakura is better developed.  The characters are more rounded and the plots are a tad more complex.  Several episodes come across like puzzles, where Sakura has to figure out how to use the cards at her disposal to capture the one that she's tracked down.

Though this program is aimed at a younger audience, it's is still enjoyable for older viewers.  The dialog is well written and isn't repetitive like some shows.  They also don't take themselves too seriously, gently poking fun at some of the cliche's of the magical-girl genre.  In an early episode Tomoyo is amazed to learn that Sakura has magic powers, and insists that she come up with a pose to use when she transforms.  Sakura thinks the whole idea is silly.

Sakura is also competent at her job.  She makes mistakes and messes up sometimes, but when she does she has to rely on herself to get out of the jam.  There is no mysterious stranger in formal wear who shows up to rescue her every time things aren't going her way.

The animation is good too.  The show first aired in the late 90's in Japan, and while animation has come a long way since then, this show still looks very good.  They don't reuse the same pieces of animation over and over and over, which is a blessing, and there is a good amount of movement.  It's not one of those shows where they cut every corner that they could.  They put some time into the animation.

Cardcaptor Sakura is a light, fun show for both youngsters and their parents.

This set contains the first nine volumes of Cardcaptor Sakura in a nice book.  Each DVD gets its own page, and the cover has the same design as The Clow book that originally contained the cards.  The book comes in a slip on sleeve.  These DVDs are identical to the original releases as far as I can tell.

Audio:

This show only has a Japanese stereo soundtrack.  There is NO English dub.  That's because when the English dub track was created, it was done for a version of the program that was edited for American TV.   This is the original uncut version, and since the dubbing wouldn't match up and it would have cost too much to dub the series again, Geneon decided to release it with only the original soundtrack.  There are optional English subtitles, and my children (aged 13 and 9) had no trouble reading them.

Video:

The full frame video looks very good.  The colors are bright and solid and the lines are tight.  Digital defects are minimal, with only a little bit of banding visible in some scenes and a tough of aliasing.  Besides that this is a very nice looking set.

Extras:

The extras are the same as the original releases for this series.  In other words, not much.  The is a clean opening and closing, and each disc comes with an art gallery.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this show a lot more than I was expecting to.  Cardcaptor Sakura is a lot of fun.  It's a cute show with a good amount of humor which is sure to please younger viewers.  The show also has three dimensional characters and plots that are a little more complex than your typical kid's program which make it fun for older viewers too.   An excellent show for the whole family to watch, especially if you have a child who needs practice reading.  For some reason, my children didn't think that reading subtitles was work, and quickly started enjoying it.  This set is an excellent deal too, retailing for just a little more than 1/3 of the cost of the original volumes, and it comes in a nice space saving package.  A better show than I was expecting, this set is Highly Recommended.