Fresh off its recent sequel in both the manga and anime mediums, CLAMP’s seminal magical girl series gets a new deluxe hardcover treatment from Kodansha Comics in the Cardcaptor Sakura Collector’s Edition. Never has there been a better time to discover the adventures of the plucky Sakura Kinomoto, as she tracks down the magical Clow Cards and plunges headlong into a world of sorcery beyond anything she could’ve imagined whilst dealing with everyday school life.

As previously stated when talking about its follow-up series Clear Card, you can’t talk about the magical girl or shojo genres in manga without bringing up Cardcaptor Sakura. Not only was it one of the titles that put the legendary all-female manga creator group CLAMP on the map, but it was also one of the key titles in both manga and anime’s rise in popularity in the west. Given its importance, it is only fitting that the series is the latest title to get the deluxe treatment from Kodansha Comics.

Cardcaptor Sakura stood out for several reasons which still hold up today. It is deeply layered – despite its initially simple premise. Sakura’s happy home life is peppered with sadness as both her and her father mourn her mother who died shortly after marrying Sakura’s father, and her closest friend and confidant Tomoyo may have feelings that go way beyond close friendship. At the same time, Sakura must master new techniques whilst retrieving the magical Clow Cards and overcoming her fears and insecurities at the same time.

CLAMP’s always stunning artwork hugely benefits from the larger page size and high-quality paper. Their delicate style still has the strong visual aesthetic that was established in the original release and despite being in black and white, the artwork is dazingly bright. Character designs have also always been one of CLAMP’s main strengths and there is no better showcase of this than Cardcaptor Sakura. Sakura in both her regular garb and magical outfits is truly iconic, whilst Kero is one of the most memorable magical girl sidekicks in the genre.

As an added bonus, this collector’s edition is also packaged with the first of nine exclusive Clow Cards which will form an extra-large illustration upon assembly.

Cardcaptor Sakura is just as memorable as it was upon its original release and this collector’s edition more than does justice to one of CLAMP’s greatest series. All manga fans whether hardcore or casual should have this in their collection.

Cardcaptor Sakura Collector’s Edition 1 is out now from Kodansha Comics

9781632367518 – H/B – £25.00

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