Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card

Company type	Manga series
Industry	Manga, Anime
Founded	July 2016 (2016-07)
Founder	Clamp
Headquarters	Japan
Products	Manga, Anime television series, Drama CDs, Mobile game

is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by the artist collective Clamp. Serving as a continuation of Clamp's Cardcaptor Sakura, it centers on Sakura Kinomoto during her junior high years. The series was serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine from July 2016 until January 2024, culminating in 16 compiled volumes. An anime adaptation produced by Madhouse aired from January to June 2018, spanning 22 episodes that loosely cover the initial 24 chapters, featuring the original voice cast and production team.

Plot

As Sakura Kinomoto embarks on her junior high journey alongside her friends and boyfriend Syaoran Li, who recently returned to Tomoeda, their relationship evolves from long-distance while he was in Hong Kong to dating in person. Throughout her first year, Sakura encounters new magical challenges reminiscent of those she faced during elementary school. Following a prophetic vision involving a cloaked figure, all of Sakura's Cards mysteriously lose their power, prompting her to investigate the cause. Assisted by her friends and guardians Cerberus and Yue, she uncovers and captures new cards utilizing an enhanced mystical dream key. Key supporting characters include Eriol, Spinel Sun, Ruby Moon, and Kaho Mizuki, who supports Sakura remotely from England.

Sakura’s brother Toya regains his ability to communicate with their mother’s spirit and acquires new magical powers to aid Sakura. She also befriends transfer student Akiho Shinomoto, who resides with her guardian Yuna D. Kaito in the former home of Eriol. Akiho, descended from a lineage of powerful magicians, cherishes Momo—a magical guardian similar to Cerberus and Spinel Sun—and harbors romantic feelings for Kaito. Syaoran encounters Kaito and senses his exceptional magical prowess.

With her powers expanding, Sakura is able to create new cards symbolizing those she cares about during emotional experiences. Syaoran’s mother, Yelan, warns of a prophecy suggesting that uncontrolled powers might lead to catastrophe. To safeguard Sakura, Syaoran secretly takes possession of the cards, which causes him guilt and withdrawal until he eventually confesses the truth. His return to Japan was motivated both by a desire to prevent this prophecy and to reunite with Sakura. Although initially skeptical of his intentions, Sakura is reassured by his genuine affection.

Recognizing Kaito’s use of sorcery and time manipulation—employed to disguise his identity and influence events—Syaoran attempts to alert Sakura but is silenced by a spell cast by Kaito, which Sakura later breaks. It becomes clear that Kaito is aware of Sakura’s role as Cardcaptor and her ability to create cards; he deliberately arranges magical incidents to compel her into creating a particular card for reasons yet unknown.

Manga

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card is authored and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It appeared in the monthly shōjo publication Nakayoshi beginning with the July 2016 issue (released June 3) through the January 2024 issue (released December 1, 2023). An additional bonus chapter was published in March 2024. Kodansha compiled the chapters into 16 tankōbon volumes between December 2017 and April 2024. The series has been released in English both digitally and in print by Kodansha Comics.

Anime

The anime television adaptation, consisting of 22 episodes, was broadcast from January 7 to June 10, 2018. Morio Asaka, Nanase Ohkawa, and Madhouse returned to direct, script, and produce this new version, which loosely adapts the first twenty-eight chapters of the manga. Kunihiko Hamada took over character design duties from Kumiko Takahashi. The original series’ lead voice actors reprised their roles in this adaptation. An original video animation prequel titled Sakura and the Two Bears, serving as a narrative bridge between the "Sakura Card Arc" and "Clear Card Arc," debuted at Anime Expo on July 1, 2017, and was later included with volume 3 of the manga in Japan on September 13, 2017.

The opening theme for the initial part of the series is "Clear" performed by Maaya Sakamoto, while the ending theme is "Jewelry" by Saori Hayami. Funimation launched the simuldub on January 24, 2018. For the latter half of the series, the opening song switched to "Rocket Beat" by Kiyono Yasuno, with "Rewind" by Minori Suzuki serving as the ending theme. In Japan, the series was distributed on Blu-ray and DVD across eight volumes between May and November 2018. In North America, Funimation released two Blu-ray collections containing eleven episodes each in February and July 2019, followed by a complete series Blu-ray set released on August 11, 2020.

A continuation adapting the remainder of the story until its conclusion was announced during the Sakura Fes event on April 1, 2023.

Other

Bushiroad collaborated with Monster Lab to create a mobile game for iOS and Android platforms named Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Happiness Memories, which launched on October 3, 2019. The game features "Flash" by Maaya Sakamoto as its theme song. However, in May 2020, Bushiroad and Monster Lab announced that service for the game would cease on June 30, 2020, citing issues related to the game’s status and operational challenges.

To date, Japan has seen the release of two Clear Card drama CDs alongside two supplementary manga stories. The drama CDs were bundled with special editions of volumes 7 and 8 of Clear Card. The first bonus manga depicted Sakura and Syaoran on a date and accompanied volume 8 of the Blu-ray release. The second bonus story, titled "Until We Meet Again," explored their long-distance relationship during Syaoran’s stay in Hong Kong and was included with a special edition of volume 10. This edition also featured a CD containing the duet "Letters Between The Stars," emphasizing their romantic bond.

Reception

By April 2017, over one million copies of the manga were printed in Japan. Erica Friedman, founder of Yuricon, described the sequel as genuinely enjoyable for fans of the original series due to its appealing artwork and characters but noted that its yuri themes received lower praise.

The anime adaptation garnered mixed critical responses. Miranda Sanchez from IGN praised both its narrative structure and animation quality but found the second episode somewhat dull. Geordi Demorest at Anime Feminist criticized it for lacking the original’s LGBTQ inclusivity and progressive representation. Lynzee Loveridge from Anime News Network questioned whether it contributed meaningful development to characters’ arcs, characterizing it as a near replica of the previous series without traditional antagonists.

Timothy Donohoo of Comic Book Resources labeled it a mediocre retread that faded into obscurity following its underwhelming 22-episode run. Charles Solomon from Animation Scoop complimented its animation but argued that it stumbled by adhering too closely to its predecessor and ended abruptly; he also pointed out that important aspects such as Tomoyo’s affection for Sakura were neglected. Jack Eaton at Gamerant noted its failure to achieve either critical acclaim or commercial success comparable to its predecessor and recommended either a more fitting sequel or a remaster of the original series.

Shamus Kelley from Den of Geek critiqued the finale as overly complicated and described the storyline as heavy-handed with excessive focus on Tomoyo’s fixation on Sakura. Despite this, he found enjoyment in parts of the series but remarked that some episodes suffered from weak plots that did not expand queer themes effectively and felt like lazy imitations of earlier material.

On a more positive note, Tim Jones and Stig Høgset from THEM Anime Reviews offered favorable assessments. Jones admitted initial reservations due to the long interval since Sailor Moon Crystal, while Høgset referred to it as “a fun family reunion,” praising especially its background art quality.

Legacy

In 2025, the character Momo from Clear Card was introduced into the xxxHolic universe, making her first appearance in Chapter 59 of xxxHolic Rei. At Momo’s request, Watanuki’s companion Doumeki gave her the name “Seoritsu-hime,” and she subsequently became a recurring figure in xxxHolic Rei. It has not been established whether Momo’s storyline takes place prior to or following the events depicted in Clear Card.