Anime Pri Month – Cardptor Sakura Was Gayer (and Better) Japan – Startg Life From Zero

A LOOK BACK ON CARDPTOR SAKURA’S GAY ROMANC
ANIME PRI MONTH – CARDPTOR SAKURA WAS GAYER (AND BETTER) JAPAN
‘CARDPTOR SAKURA’ SHOWED KIDS WORLDWI THAT IT WAS OK TO BE QUEERMAGICAL GIRLS“CARDPTOR SAKURA” FOLLOWED A MAGIL GIRL LLECTG WILD SPIRS AROUND TOKYO. BUT ALSO OFFERED A GENUE PORTRAYAL OF ALL KDS OF YOUNG LOVE—AT A TIME WHEN THOSE WERE RARE.GEOFEY BUNTGFREELANCE WRERUPDATED APR. 16, 2023 3:19AM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY ER O’FLYNN/THE DAILY BEAST/NETFLIXTHE CARDPTOR SAKURA ANIME PREMIERED MORE THAN 25 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, AND MY SIS ARE TURNG TO DT JT THKG ABOUT . BASED ON THE BELOVED MANGA BY ARTIST LLECTIVE CLAMP AND ANIMATED BY THE WELL-KNOWN STUD MADHOE (DEATH NOTE, MONSTER), THE TV ADAPTATN BUTED JAPAN ON APRIL 7, 1998. IT WOULD GO ON TO BE DUBBED TO ENGLISH, THEN RENAMED CARDPTORS THE WT.CARDPTORS BEME TEGRAL TO MY AFTER-SCHOOL ROUTE THE EARLY 2000S. RACG HOME, I’D DUMP MYSELF ONT OF THE TV TO WATCH EACH NEW EPISO. THEN, ONCE FISHED, I’D REWD THE VHS ON WHICH I’D HARANGUED MY MOTHER TO TAPE EVERY EPISO AND WATCH AGA (THIS TIME TO TCH THE 10 MUT I’D MISSED WHILE WALKG HOME). THAT TAPE IS LONG GONE, BUT A QUARTER-CENTURY AFTER S RELEASE, CARDPTOR SAKURA REMAS BELOVED—BY ME AND BY OTHER FANS; NOT SO MUCH BY MY MOTHER—FOR S ENDURG PORTRAYAL OF YOUTH AND, MORE POTEDLY, S REVELATORY QUEERNS UNLIKE ANYTHG ON TV AT THE TIME, ALL WRAPPED A KID-IENDLY MONSTER OF THE WEEK PACKAGE. THE SERI FOLLOWS SAKURA, A FOURTH-GRAR WHO LIV WH HER WIDOWED FATHER AND TEENAGE BROTHER, TōYA. ONE EVENG AFTER SCHOOL, SAKURA ACCINTALLY RELEAS THE SEAL ON A BOOK NTAG THE MAGIL CLOW CARDS, WHICH HOE FANTASTIL SPIRS THAT SUDNLY DISPERSE ACROSS THE CY. WH THE HELP OF THE BOOK’S PUDDG-LOVG GUARDIAN, KEROBEROS, AND HER BT “IEND” TOMOYO (MORE ON THAT LATER), SAKURA SETS OUT TO TCH AND RETURN THE CLOW CARDS TO THE BOOK, AN ARC SPANNG 70 EPISOS AND TWO FEATURE FILMS.ONLY 70 EPISOS AND TWO SHORT MOVI ISN’T A LONG N BY 1990S MASTREAM ANIME STANDARDS. YET CARDPTOR SAKURA GREW WH S PRE-TEEN DIENCE SMALL, RELATABLE CREMENTS. IN THE FACE OF THE PERPETUAL AGELSNS OF ASH KETCHUM, CARDPTOR SAKURA OFFERED A SENSE OF MOMENTUM ACROSS S SERI-LONG NARRATIVE. MOST MEANGFULLY, S STORY OFFERED A MORE GROWN-UP ALTERNATIVE TO ANIME AVAILABLE TO WTERN KIDS AT THE TIME. THOUGH TAPPED TO POTEDLY ’90S TRENDS, CLUDG P ROLLERBLAS—WHICH 10-YEAR-OLD ME THOUGHT WERE WICKED-OL, THOUGH NEVER OL ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY TRY—CARDPTOR SAKURA NEVER FELT CYNIL. ITS EARNT TONE WAS HELPED BY SAKURA NOT FULFILLG THE UAL “MAGIL GIRL” ROLE, MONLY HELD BY CHARACTERS LIKE SAILOR MOON. SHE DON’T FIGHT EVIL. RATHER, SHE EAS RTLS SPIRS A WAY THAT MIRRORS HER OWN FEELGS OF BEG A PRETEEN: THAT OF BEG SUDNLY TOO YOUNG AND TOO OLD. “I DIDN’T WANT SAKURA TO BE A SUPER ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL GIRL,” NANASE OHKAWA, A MEMBER OF CLAMP, SAID AN TERVIEW PUBLISHED CLAMP NO KISEKI 2004. “SHE N’T DO EVERYTHG; SHE STGGL WH MATH, AND SHE DO WELL WH PHYSIL EXERCIS. EVERYTHG SHE OKS IS FAIRLY SIMPLE, LIKE OKONOMIYAKI AND PANK, WHICH MIGHT BE THE MOST A NORMAL FOURTH-GRAR IS PABLE OF.”THIS SENSE OF THENTIC STORYTELLG IS AID BY MADHOE’S TRACK RERD OF REALISTILLY PROPORTNED ARTWORK, WHICH POSNED CARDPTOR SAKURA AT ODDS WH OTHER NTEMPORARY ANIME. REMOVED OM THE HYPER ATHETIC OF SIAR-GENRE SHOWS LIKE SAILOR MOON, THE ANIME BEME REMARKABLY FAIAR TO MORN VIEWERS. SAKURA MAY HAVE BATTLED MAGIL BEGS AT NIGHT, BUT DURG THE DAY, LIFE REVOLVED AROUND HOMEWORK, BAKG K, DOG CHOR, HANGG OUT WH IENDS, AND NAVIGATG FIRST LOV.THOSE RELATNSHIPS FORM THE RE OF CARDPTOR SAKURA’S LASTG APPEAL, WHETHER ’S SAKURA’S OBSSN WH YO, HER BROTHER’S BT IEND AND LATER BOYIEND, OR HOW SENSIVELY THE SHOW HANDL TOMOYO’S UNREQUED ROMANTIC TERT SAKURA. THE SHOW’S REALISTIC GROUNDG HELPS DRIVE HOME S LSONS ON THE OPENNS OF LOVE ALL S FORMS—LSONS THAT STAY WH YOU EVEN TWO S AFTER FIRST SEEG THEM. LGBTQ+ THEM WERE BY NO MEANS UNUAL ANIME AT THE TIME, BUT CARDPTOR SAKURA FED S WHOLE BEG WH THE IA THAT LOVE IS LOVE. IMPORTANTLY, DID SO WHILE ALSO MAKG THE TRANSN TO A LS PERMISSIVE WTERN MEDIA.IN A COMIC BOOK ROURC PIECE OM 2020, ANTHONY GRAMUGLIA ASSERTS HOW PIVOTAL A NON-HETERONORMATIVE APPROACH TO LOVE WAS TO THE SHOW’S CENTRAL MSAGE. “THAT LOVE EXISTS REGARDLS OF ALL OTHER FACTORS,” HE WR. “THE SERI TEACH S TARGET DIENCE OF YOUNG GIRLS THAT LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDS.”THROUGH S NARRATIV OF FLUID SEXUALY, EXPLORATN OF GENR, AND THE EMPLOY OF TRANSGENR, BISEXUAL, AND AGENR CHARACTERS, CARDPTOR SAKURA WAS LIKELY THE FIRST TRODUCTN MANY OF YOUNG VIEWERS HAD TO NON-STEREOTYPIL, SYMPATHETIC LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS. FOR ME, THE SHOW’S OPEN QUEERNS FEELS PECIALLY IMPORTANT RETROSPECT; I GREW UP A BIGOTED HOEHOLD, AND EMBRACG CARDPTOR SAKURA WAS MY FIRST STEP TOWARD SHEDDG EVERYTHG I EVER SUBNSCLY LEARNED OM MY FAY. IN AN TERVIEW THE 2001 CARD CAPTOR SAKURA MEMORIAL BOOK, OHKAWA SPOKE OF THE SERI’ DIVERSE, ACCEPTG APPROACH TO SEXUALY. “I WANTED A STORY WH A PROTAGONIST WHO HAD AN OPEN MD TOWARDS DIFFERENT FAY STCTUR, DIFFERENT KDS OF LOVE, AND DIFFERENT PERSPECTIV OM SOCIETY,” SHE SAID.THAT’S NOT EXACTLY EMBLEMATIC OF ’90S WTERN TV—WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY THAT OPEN-MD VERSN OF SAKURA WAS ONLY SEEN JAPAN. WHEN ADAPTG THE SHOW FOR WTERN DIENC, WORKS TRIED TO WATER DOWN S PORTRAYAL OF THE PLEXY OF LOVE. EPISOS WERE EDED, REORRED, AND SOME WEREN’T EVEN SHOWN OUTSI OF JAPAN—ALL TO REMOVE ALLNS TO LGBTQ+ THEM AND ALIGN WH OTHER SANIZED IMPORTS, LIKE POKéMON AND DIGIMON. “SO GRAED WERE THEM OF QUEER LOVE THAT THEY MANAGED TO BREAK THROUGH THE MULTIPLE LAYERS OF CENSORSHIP.” THE WORKS ULDN’T GET ALL OF THOSE REFERENC OUT, THOUGH. SO GRAED WERE THEM OF QUEER LOVE THAT THEY MANAGED TO BREAK THROUGH THE MULTIPLE LAYERS OF CENSORSHIP THE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DUB, TO MATA THE WTERN CARDPTORS AS ONE OF THE QUEERT SHOWS ON TV AT THE TIME. AFTER ALL, YOU N CHANGE THE SCRIPT, BUT THE ANIMATN REMAS THE SAME.TōYA GIVG YO HIS MAGIC REMAS A REMARKABLY TENR MOMENT BETWEEN TWO MALE-D CHARACTERS THE DUB, EVEN 2023. SYAORAN—SAKURA’S CLASSMATE AND CSH—MAY NOT HAVE BEEN OPENLY ATTRACTED TO YO AS HE IS THE JAPANE ORIGAL, BUT HE STILL BLHED EVERY TIME YO WAS NEAR HIM. AND AS MUCH AS THE DUB TRIED TO PAT TOMOYO AND SAKURA AS VERY GOOD FRIENDS™, WAS CLEAR, EVEN ENGLISH, THAT TOMOYO HARBORED STRONG ROMANTIC FEELGS FOR SAKURA.“I STILL PICKED UP ON THE QUEERNS,” WR SHAM KELLY DEN OF GEEK, REFLECTG UPON THE SERI 2020. “NOT DIRECTLY, MD YOU. I WAS 9 YEARS OLD AND STILL HADN’T HAD MY FIRST CSH YET. [BUT] BEE OF TōYA AND YO, I WAS ABLE TO FIGURE OUT MY SEXUALY A SAFE WAY. I WASN’T AAID OF THE SLOW REALIZATN THAT I LIKED WOMEN AND MEN; I KNEW WAS OKAY BEE CARDPTOR SAKURA SHOWED WAS OKAY.” NETFLIX CARDPTOR SAKURA WAS JT THAT: A WELG, SAFE PLACE. AND WHILE SAKURA AND SYAORAN ULTIMATELY ENDG UP TOGETHER MIGHT SEEM TO UNRME THE IMPACT OF THE SHOW’S QUEERNS, OHKAWA WAS KEEN ON FANS NOT SEEG THAT WAY.“I AM GLAD THAT THE REARS ARE HAPPY THAT SAKURA AND SYAORAN GOT TOGETHER, BUT THAT ANYONE WOULD THK ’S BEE THEY MAKE [AN OBV] UPLE… ’S A LTLE DISNCERTG,” SHE SAID THE CARD CAPTOR SAKURA MEMORIAL BOOK. “SAKURA DIDN’T CHOOSE SYAORAN BEE HE’S A BOY CLOSE TO HER AGE. IF SYAORAN HAD BEEN A GIRL, IF THEY HAD BEEN FAR APART AGE, AS LONG AS HE WAS STILL SYAORAN, I THK SAKURA WOULD HAVE FALLEN LOVE WH HIM. IT’D SADN ME IF YOU THOUGHT THEY’RE A GOOD UPLE BEE THEY’RE [HETEROSEXUAL].”THIS CLAIM ISN’T MA PERFORMATIVE HDSIGHT, LIKE, SAY, MAKG DUMBLEDORE GAY YEARS AFTER THE FACT WH NO TEXTUAL REFERENCE. THAT SAKURA ULD HAVE END UP WH SYAORAN REGARDLS OF WHO HE WAS, AND THAT ANY CHARACTER ULD DO MUCH THE SAME THEIR OWN RELATNSHIPS, WAS FUNDAMENTAL TO THE SHOW AND TO SAKURA’S CHARACTER—SOMETHG EVEN CENSORSHIP ULDN’T MASK. STILL, CARDPTOR SAKURA REMAED A RISK, EVEN THE MORE PERMISSIVE LANDSPE OF ’90S JAPANE ANIME.“I WONRED HOW THE SERI WOULD BE RECEIVED, SCE RAN NAKAYOSHI [A LONG-NNG MANGA MAGAZE AIMED AT YOUNG GIRLS], BUT WAS RECEIVED BETTER THAN I EXPECTED,” OHKAWA SAID 2001, BEFORE LATER ADDG, “THERE MAY BE PEOPLE WHO THK THAT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN ARE PABLE OF THAT MUCH MATURY, BUT THERE ARE MANY CHILDREN WHO ARE THAT WISE, AND SUFFER FOR .”FOR ALL S POPULARY, CARDPTOR SAKURA WASN’T A SEMAL SHOW THE GRAND SCHEME OF THE MEDIUM; DIDN’T REIGNE TERT THE WANG MAGIL GIRL GENRE, NOR DID SHAKE UP ANIME. BUT WAS DIFFERENT. IT NEVER ASSUMED PETENCE ON THE PART OF S YOUNG DIENCE. IT NEVER CLAIMED THAT WE WEREN’T READY FOR S LSONS. IT TOLD THGS WERE CHANGG, AND THAT’S OKAY—’S ALL OKAY. EVERYTHG WILL BE OKAY.NOW, WH THE 25-YEAR-OLD SHOW STREAMG ON NETFLIX ( THE US, AT LEAST) WH A MORE FAHFUL (AND GAYER) DUB, CARDPTOR SAKURA N GIVE A NEWER GENERATN THE SENSE THAT Y, EVERYTHG WILL BE OKAY. GEOFEY BUNTG

A LOOK BACK ON CARDPTOR SAKURA’S GAY ROMANC

Cardptor Sakura was a super gay kids' show. Runng manga form om 1996 to 2000 and anime form om 1998 to 2000, the seri was one of the gayt ... * cardcaptor sakura gay moments *

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