Finished reading Cardcaptor Sakura

Finished reading Cardcaptor Sakura (1996, Clamp, 50 chapters) on 04/21/2017.

Kinomoto Sakura is an elementary-school student by day and magical card-collecting girl by... well, whenever magical trouble arises. When Sakura opened a dusty, ornamented book she found in her basement, magical Clow cards flew out into the world and began causing chaos and mischief. Guided by the book's guardian, Cerberus (or Kero for short) and a magical wand he bestowed upon her, Sakura vows to return all the Clow Cards back to their book before they cause too much trouble.

7/10 - Uhm... gee. Where do I even start. Alright, look, here's the deal. I watched the show before reading the manga. If you're familiar with both iterations of the franchise then you might know how I might be feeling about the manga. So, what are my thoughts? Well, a little confused. Y'see, even though the anime is the adaptation of the original work, the manga to me felt like I read a rushed adaptation of the anime. The two seem to have some, well, I wouldn't call them major differences, but they're pretty different for sure. I have to say though, I'm glad the anime decided to change a couple of things, specially toning down on - and brace yourself for this one -  the pedophiliac themes that the manga made somewhat blunt. Yeah, that's right! I really was not expecting that out of CLAMP, a group of female mangaka. Why did they do it? Why did their publisher approve it? Obviously they knew that stuff wasn't gonna fly when they adapted the manga into the show. Well, anyways, I don't wanna drag that subject longer than it needs because aside from it, it's a pretty good manga and just like in the show I just loved the whole thing between Sakura and Shyaoran. I feel like that was what kept me reading more than the magical aspect of the story. But, anyways, I think what I got out of the manga is that the anime adaptation has differences that really improved the story, added to the characters and... well, took away the unnecessary stuff. It just really makes me wonder how I would've felt if I had read the manga first.

Finished watching xxxHolic Rou & Adayume

Finished watching xxxHolic Rou & Adayume (2010, Production I.G, 2 OVAs) on 5/28/2016.

Ten years have passed and now Yuko must say goodbye. She leaves Watanuki in charge of her wish-granting shop to continue her work. Nothing that a well-trained witch apprentice with years of experience can't handle. But the hope of seeing Yuko again drives Watanuki's will.

8.5/10 - Rou was a very interesting show. The way it started and the case Watanuki solved. The way it ended also left me with exciting questions. If you've been keeping up with my anime reviews you should know that I love Production I.G's work and this one's no different. I've become really fond of the xxxHolic series and just love to watch each new installment in the series. I even go for other of CLAMP's work just for the xxxHolic cameos. Needless to say, Rou was an amazing experience with that deliciously elegant art quality that the series is known for.

Finished watching xxxHolic Shunmuki

Finished watching xxxHolic: Shunmuki (2009, Production I.G., 2 OVAs) on

Watanuki gets in touch with Doumeki's grandfather who asks him to look for four objects scattered throughout the area of his temple. But as they find each item they are sent to various dream worlds.

8/10 - Although this was produced in conjuction with Tsubasa: Shunraiki in that their plots tie in together, this xxxHolic one was more interesting and made more sense. The ending even left me very intrigued as to how the series would continue from then on. Finally, and also very important, the animation and art quality are good, just like the Shunraiki one, because without good quality animation you end up being taken for filler episodes.

Finished watching xxxHOLiC Kei

Finished watching xxxHOLiC Kei (2008, Production I.G., 13 epi.) on 4/25/2016.

It's been a while since Watanuki has been working for Yuko in her shop. As such, he's seen his fair share of spiritual phenomena and other unbelievable things from the other world. But now these strange events seem to be affecting his life more and more, and even the people he loves. Could this be an omen of things to come? Watanuki must be strong!

8/10 – Continuing on the 2006 series, this show now seems to focus more on the main characters and their relationship with the supernatural world that Watanuki has known his whole life. The show is also a bit of an improvement in terms of quality. The art is good, and the animation quality as well. Long gone are the days of tall, exaggeratedly disproportionate bodies with tiny little heads. The story, above all else, is quite juicy and intriguing. You really come to learn more about the characters and meet new ones that really grow on you. Simply put, great things come in small packages.

Finished watching Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations

Finished watching Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations (2007, Production I.G., 3 OVAs) on 4/13/2016.

With the services of a dimensional witch named Yuko, a boy named Syaoran and his childhood friend Sakura continue their journey together with a warrior named Kurogane and a magician named Fai in search for Sakura's memories which turned into feathers and scattered throughout various parallel universes. Far into their travels, they reach a dismal land known as Tokyo Country where factions fight eachother for survival and resources while acid rain constantly pours from the sky. Our heroes are taken in by a faction and reluctantly fight bloody battles as secrets are revealed changing their lives forever.

8.5/10 – Wow! Holy Mokona! Y'see what happens when you hand this show over to Production I.G.? Seriously! In just three episodes this OVA mini-series revealed so much more content, and did so much more than two whole seasons of RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE ever did. I honestly don't know what Bee Train was thinking. I mean, this show really kicked it up to 11. There's so much bloody violence, really not for the weak hearted. And then there's Sakura. Wow. She had to pull her own weight this time around, all on her own nonetheless and boy, did she take it like a champ! You really don't need me to keep going here. This show is amazing! I just wish it continued with a few more episodes. But, anyways, go watch it, you won't regret it.

Finished watching Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle First Season

Finished watching Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle First Season (2005, Bee Train, 26 episodes) on 2/22/2016.

With the services of a dimensional witch named Yuko, a boy named Syaoran and his childhood friend Sakura travel together with a warrior named Kurogane and a magician named Fai in search for Sakura's memories which turned into feathers and scattered throughout various alternate universes.

6.5/10 - This show's alright. While the first episode has a lot of things going on, the plot seems to advance at a slowish pace for the rest of the season. It's interesting to see all the different worlds they go to, but sometimes they stay a bit too long in some. Sometimes there are even worlds that don't have any feathers to be found. The very last world they went to I think had the most episodes. But it was actually a bit interesting as they were in an MMORPG without realizing it. The soundtrack doesn't seem very varied with two or three of the tracks being used way too often. The animation quality gets a bit poor at times throughout the middle of the season with even some character's faces looking a bit strange. But I guess that's a common thing with shows with lots of episodes. They leave the quality for the more important episodes, usually the first and last few ones.

Finished watching xxxHolic

Finished watching xxxHolic (2006, Production I.G, 24 episodes) 1/16/2016.

Watanuki has spent most of his life running from the ghosts and spirits that chase him from time to time. One of these chases eventually leads him to a mysterious house where a tall, gracious woman named Yuko runs a spiritual shop as a witch. According to her, whoever steps into her house does not do so by accident but because they have a wish she can fulfill... at a price. As for Watanuki's price, he is hired on the spot by Yuko to cook and clean for her. While working for her he becomes more familiar with Yuko's magical ways and relics as well as how they're used on and by her customers.

7/10 - I've never read the manga to its full extent so I can't say how they compare, but the show was interesting although at times it got a bit repetitive. The manga style portrays the characters with long limbs and bodies, but this doesn't translate very well into the show, specially in mid-show episodes where the art quality is considerably lower. This results in abnormally tall and skinny characters with unreasonably tiny heads during some shots. The final few episodes were good and kept me on the edge of my seat. They were quite the tear jerkers as well.

Finished watching Cardcaptor Sakura

Finished rewatching Cardcaptor Sakura for the second time (1998 – 2000, Madhouse, 70 epi., 2 movies) on 12/18/2015.

Elementary-school student, Kinomoto Sakura comes across a magical book in her basement. After opening it she accidentally releases the magical Clow Cards inside and Keroberos, their guardian from slumber. With Kero-chan's help and a magical staff he bestows upon her, it is now her task to retrieve all the cards back into the book. But it's not an easy task as the cards take their sprite form and use their powers to keep Sakura from overcoming them.

8/10 – I had already watched this wonderful series a few years ago but had forgotten how great it is and why I was always so psyched for Sakura and Syaoran #otp. The movies were great as well with incredible quality and animation. All the characters are wonderfull, even the bad guys. Also, gotta love Tomoyo-chan. I believe she could be a Batgirl if she wanted to. The soundtrack is quite memorable as well.