Cardcaptor Sakura, Volume 6

I'm a huge Tsubasa fan, but I scorned CCS because at first glance it seemed to cutesy. The only reason I ended up reading it is because I thought my little sister would like it. ....OK, and I admit it. It's now one of my favorite mangas. I looove all the characters (syaoran is so cuuuute! Toya and yuki are awesome! Tomoyo is adorable!) and Sakura is a great character- much more active than her older counterpart in Tsubasa (not that i don't love Tsubasa, but i would have loved it more had Sakura been less of a sleeping beauty for the first 10 volumes :(. She's got brains as well as skils, which is always nice (a heroine that isn't ditzy and basically helpless! yay!) Also, the fight at the end was a lot easier for me to get invested in than the usual take-down-the-not-very-scary-clow-cards theme that had formed the basis for all of the fights so far- this one has actual stakes, and you kind of really don't want her to lose because that would suck for everybody. (of course she doesn't lose- and she manages to win on her own, with no helpers or get-out-of-jail free type deals, which I was very pleased about.) As always for Clamp, the art is gorgeous. there's a lot of super cool magic fight stuff going on in this volume, which is drawn very well. recommended for everybody, especially younger girls looking for adventuresome yet also girly stories, and older people who just want a fun read.

anti climatic, sappy. everything CCS is known for. considering I absolutely adore CCS...I hate this book. blech. took sugary sweetness to a whole new level. it was...predictable. cute for 10 year olds, kinda beyond them though. series is a good read for all ages, but this book, probably the worst of the entire arc and the worst of the 12 if you count in the other arc. read only to complete series. then cleanse your manga addled brain with Furuba.

Sakura is down to capturing the last card but she's saved the most powerful for last. Will she be able to capture the "Firey" card and restore Kero-chan to his true form instead of him remaining a little flying lion cub the rest of his life? Even if she defeats Firey and has all the Clow Cards in her possession, she still has to fight and win a battle against Yue, "The Judge", Kero's twin and fellow guardian of Clow Reed's Cards. If Sakura loses to Yue, she and all of her friends will have to pay a heavy price! This is the last volume of one of my guilty pleasures. Gone are the creepy relationships between teachers and students and little girls. Volume 6 is straight up battle manga, with Sakura calling up all her reserves for her final fights, contests in which she cannot receive help from her friends. She has to do it alone and prove herself to Yue, prove that she is worthy of being the "Master of the Clow". What makes this different from a Shonen title is that Sakura doesn't want to fight...but she will when backed into a corner or when people who mean a lot to her are put in danger, whether physically or emotionally. While this last volume is no masterpiece, it is really good and leads into the second series, Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow. I would also recommend the uncut Japanese anime version of Cardcaptor Sakura. Another manga you might enjoy would be Ultra Maniac.

I think this is the best one out of the six original ones. But I kinda wish I'd waited for the Authentic Manga version to come out. Oh well.This was the second anime series I started collecting after Sailor Moon, which is pretty similer to this. For starters, it includes important magical items like the Clow Book, Clow Cards, and the two different sealing wands. And for Sailor Moon, her brooches and her rods. And the main character in each series has a guardian: Luna and Kero. And both shows deal with friendship. But there are some differences. There are alot more magical people in Sailor Moon than there are in Cardcaptor Sakura. But Sakura has a WAY bigger varity of costumes than anyone in Sailor Moon!! And there is one very different purpose to each show. In Sailor Moon, the senshi battle evil. And Sakura captures the Clow Cards. And it's obvious that Sailor Moon is the leader of the Sailor Senshi, but Sakura isn't really the leader of anything. She has Kero and Yue, but that's not as big as the group Sailor Moon has. Without further delay, here is my summary of this book:In the first chapter:Sakura captures the Firey Card.Kero becomes his true form.In the second chapter:Sakura captures the Earthy Card.Yue appears.Yue tests Sakura to see if she can be the "Master of the Clow".In the third chapter:Sakura's staff changes. Sakura becomes the master of the clow.

I liked this volume, but I felt it really didn't have as much "action power" as the other five. I was really looking forward to an all-out battle between Sakura and Yue (no! It's not Yueh! That translation stinks!) Instead we get a frilly, happy resolution. Well, it's shoujo, what can I expect, I suppose. Anyway, I know you all wouldn't be reading this if you haven't read the other books, so go pick it up anyway.