Customer Reviews

Cardcaptors - Tests of Courage (Vol. 1) [VHS]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(43)

 

 

As most people know, there are two versions of Cardcaptor Sakura: the subtitled original, and the edit "Cardcaptors" (it seems that editors don't like the idea of females being the main character, because this is the second time I've seen that done). The animation is great. Bright, cute, and colorful. If you're looking for something as a gift for younger children, buy this version. They cut right to the action episodes, so the plot is butchered. There is little character development and it doesn't make sense because they skip so many episodes. For example, it shows Sakura Kinomoto (Avalon?) use Clow Cards that they don't show how she got in the first place. If you want the whole cute thing and the excellent full Cardcaptor Sakura experience, search for the subtitled version and buy it. The main things edited out in this edited version that are in the subtitled version are little bits of cursing, romance, and homosexuality hints. If you're old or mature enough for the things edited out, please do yourself a BIG favor and buy the subtitled version for a long and complete adventure. If you're buying this for young children, buy this edited version. My complaints with the edit are the big personality changes and they cut out some of the best (and funniest) parts. It looks like they cut out big parts of the comedy and cuteness to cut right to the action to make boys want to buy this. Tomoyo Daidouji (also known as Madison in this edit version) is supposed to sound very sweet and innocent, but in this edit, she sounds more bossy and mean at times. Sakura sounds too old and bossy, while she is supposed to sound quieter and less confident. Kero-chan sounds like a cab driver instead of a cute plush-like toy. As I've said before, if for kids, buy this. If you're older and buying it for entertainment, buy the subtitled version. It's worth it just to see the ADORABLE opening song, "Catch You Catch Me", which is a very cute, catchy song. Very much unlike the...strange opening song on the edit. It all just depends on who you're buying this before.

I have to assume that anyone interested in this DVD is primarily familiar with this series through the dubbed version shown on Kid's WB and Teletoon, entitled "Cardcaptors". What you may not realize is that this DVD does NOT contain the same episodes as the concurrently released subtitled version of this show, entitled "Cardcaptor Sakura".

The first two DVDs of "Cardcaptors" contain episodes 8, 12, 17; and 13, 9, and 20, respectively. The first two DVDs of "Cardcaptor Sakura", on the other hand, contain episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, 6, 7, and 8. So if you really love "Cardcaptors", you should also buy the first two volumes of the subtitled version, since they contain *different episodes* from the dub release. In addition, episodes 1-7 that appear on the first two subtitled DVDs have NEVER been and never will be shown on N. American TV. Nor will they ever be released on the dubbed versions of the DVDs, as they were never dubbed.

I would like to address a couple of fallacys I have noted in other reviews:
Fallacy #1: "There is no subtitled version available." This is NOT TRUE. Search on the words "Cardcaptor Sakura" and the subtitled version will show up.
Fallacy #2: "The dub is cheaper than the subtitled version." Again, NOT TRUE! The dubbed DVD is $21.49, while the subtitled version is $25.49. HOWEVER, the dubbed version only contains 3 episodes, while the subtitled version contains 4! If you do the math, you will find that *the subtitled version is actually CHEAPER on a per episode basis!*

If you are contemplating buying the dubbed version, you owe it to yourself to watch the subtitled version first. You'll get to see the original episodes, in order, as they were meant to be seen. And if you still prefer the dub after seeing the first 8 episodes in Japanese, you can get the dub without worrying about duplicating any episodes (except #8), since the first two DVDs of Cardcaptor Sakura contain episodes that have not been and will not be released dubbed.

Don't buy this. No really, don't buy this. Buy the unedited edition if you liked the show. Can we say "HACK JOB"? The TV edition is 100% EDITED and WRONG. How edited? This isn't edited like Sailor Moon was, this is edited like THE WHOLE FIRST SEVEN EPISODES OF THE SHOW ARE GONE edited. There's a reason it's hard to follow, it starts in the middle, and huge scenes are cut, dialogue is cut out, and they give the characters the most ridiculous English names. Li Shaoran is *not* Sakura's partener, he's simply a supporting character that they [Nelvana] decided to *upgrade* to make the show more interesting to boys (since it was an all the way girl's show in Japan). But guess what? When you try to turn a show upside down in dubbing and editing, you just get a crap job that nobody wants to watch, not even the big fans. Buy the UNEDITED version, and find out what the first seven episodes were about, and where all the characters are supposed to stand in the big picture. Don't waste your money, the unedited versions cost no more.

This is a terrible series. It has no plot, no character development, and the main character has the world's worst attitude problem? Why? Nelvana, a Canadian company edited this from the once beautiful show, Cardcaptor Sakura. They felt that a show didn't need characters with diverse personalities, a show didn't need humor...a show didn't need a plot. If I were you, I would high-tail out of here and buy the SUBTITLED dvd, also sold here at amazon. You WON'T regret it.

Carcaptor Sakura comes from the creative minds of CLAMP, an all-female manga-ka (comic book artist team) in Japan. Their Sakura series was (and still is) enormously popular in Japan and has a large following stateside.

Following on the heels of the success of Sailor Moon, it would only make sense that Cardcaptor Sakura would find its way into American living rooms. However, the results were hugely disappointing to many fans of the series.

While many die-hard anime fans complain about the voices being so different, let's face it. There's no way to get Iwao Junko to come here and speak English for the dubbing company. The voice actors had to be different anyway. However, on the other hand, the actors for America's Card Captors really DO sound like the company just pulled some people off the street. In dubbing this series, cute became valley-girl attitude and sweetness became tiring melodrama. Characterizations changed completely, and if that's not bad enough, so did the story.

Card Captors bears little resemblance to its Japanese forbearer. By cutting the first six episodes, major plot points were deleted, resulting in a show where cartoon characters run around catching cards with no motivation or background story. I believe the argument for that was that it would have been too complicated for the target audience of pre-schoolers and very young children. What I can't understand is why the target audience had to be altered at all. The original audience consisted roughly of girls between the ages of eight and fourteen. The following the series amassed stretched far beyond that, with the result that CLAMP's entire fan base tuned in.

So let's send a message to the TV dubbing companies -- stop dumbing down our shows for American release! If it's entirely obvious that Tomoyo has a crush on Sakura and that Touya and Yukito are more than best friends, then leave that in! Card Captors is an insult to both the audience and the creators.

CardCardcaptors otherwise known as Cardcaptor Sakura in Japan has been totally hacked up for TV.

I know that many people have said that the Cardcaptor's on WB and Teletoon are hacked up, but that's true! This VHS comes with the first episodes that are shown on Kids WB! The begining is confusing since they start off with the 8th episode. Throughout the show they have to show "flashbacks" because the episode skip according to what they think is a good order. Also, how many times on TV have you seen these episodes? Maybe about 5 now, or more. They show repeats of the same episodes over and over again! The dialect has been totally "modernized" to sound "hip" and "cool." Okay . . . and Nelvana makes totally stupid cuts too! *What's wrong with Japan??? Tokyo Tower??* (some of the cuts that aren't appropriate for TV is understandable, but then Nelvana cuts out even more for time, anything japanese looking or sounding,) Something American viewers should think about . . . . Where is Li from? (answered in Cardcaptor Sakura) Nelvana's reason for not calling it Cardcaptor Sakura . . . They wanted it to appeal to both genders. (Does it matter? If a show is good, a show is good)

Although I have said all this bad stuff about Cardcaptors, there is one good thing about it. Some younger kids may not be ready from some of the types of relationships in the regular Cardcaptor Sakura. But for the majority of people, as long as you can read, get the original Cardcaptor Sakura! It's much better and you can see what your missing!

Being a huge Card Captor Sakura fan, I was amazed that they decided to bring the show to broadcast television. But when I saw the product of editing and terrible dubbing, and realized that it was *no longer* Card Captor Sakura, I was hopelessly disapointed :( The truth is that they did a HORRIBLE job bringing this wonderful anime to America. The plot holes, inconsistencies and confusion are the result of terrible editing. The only reason I decided to write this review, is simply because, the more bad reviews this DVD gets, the less people will buy it. I don't want people to think less of a wonderful anime because someone ruined it. If you are interested in this anime, PLEASE buy the undedited subbed version instead, because it's literally hundreds of times better!

Oh boy. This show, now airing on the WB and Teletoons, has now been put onto a tape... The reasons to NOT buy this product are almost endless. First off, the names of the characters are changed. They swapped "Tomoyo" for "Madison"? ...even though they kept "Li" and Sakura's names, they pronounce "Sakura" wrong, and have the wrong name for "Li"... his first name is Syaoran... which they changed into the last name, "Showron" ... They also changed where everyone lives. The school of Tomoeda is now Reedington, while Syaoran and Mei-Ling's "hometown" (Hong Kong) is never mentioned... what's wrong with being from Hong Kong/Japan? These are just a few of the major changes made to the show. I think Nelvana underestimates the intelligence of Americans these days... but, It's hard to believe how many people *DO* watch the TV Dub. Folks, there are better things out there! Cardcaptors is a show that has been changed from the magical girl anime with the touches of romance and adventure we have come to love from CLAMP to an insanely censored and emotionless cartoon unworthy of even a one-star rating. If you're looking for the good stuff, I suggest you press the back button on your browser, quickly, and go for the subtitles!

The series focuses on the main character Sakura, a fourth-grade girl who accidentally unleashes the Clow Cards on the world, and since then, has dealt with fighting and capturing each card with the help of Kero, the guardian seal of the Clow Book, and Li, a descendent of Clow Reed and Sakura's main (oh wait, Meilin doesn't count...*only*) rival. Everything about the English series, from Madison's newly acquired valley-girl attitude to Li's apparent obsession with the word 'pathetic', detracts from the original enjoyable quality that the CCS series possessed in the Japanese episodes. My exact complaints? It's kind of difficult to have an anime that was originally titled "Card Captor *Sakura*" revolve around the character Li. (...hm...and I don't understand the Pokémon allusions here, since CCS has a different storyline, a different plot, and different characters altogether) I will admit that, if you've never seen the Japanese anime version before, then it *is* satisfactorily all right (despite the fact that the parts of the original story were edited out, making story from the English version somewhat...twisted). But, still, if you're looking to see the better version, go for the subtitled Card Captor Sakura.

OK, I thought it was the end of anime when that garbage was aired, but what is the world coming to if your favorite anime gets ruined and most people just go along with it? This is just junk that Nelvana glued together in about 5 minutes! If you're looking for something to buy, then buy the subtitled version!
Stuff that's wrong:
-more then half of the episodes went into the trash
-This stuff was rated "G" when the origional was "13 and up"
-Names got messed up for no reason.(How did Yukito Tsukishiro become Julian Star?)
-Voices and dialog are a mess!(To~riii!)
-Story-lines were completely improvised!
-Songs were cut out and butchered(Catch you, Catch me).
-Every relationship went down the toilet!
-How did a shoujo anime become a boy show?

I guess I could just go on and on. How did sucha beautiful anime become a version of Pokemon? OK, OK, I understand it if some very unusual people actually like this, but what's the point if it isn't the story CLAMP origionally meant it to be? American dubbers have no respect for other countries...

I guess there isn't anything I can do, but I won't give Nelvana that extra dollar for this DVD and if you agree, take my example.
BUY PIONEER'S SUBTITLED VERSION!!!