Monthly Archives: November 2006

Cardcaptor Sakura 2: The Sealed Card – Anime Review

By | November 20, 2006 at 2:18 pm | No Comments

The Essentials

Cardcaptor Sakura 2: The Sealed CardName: Cardcaptor Sakura – The Movie 2: The Sealed Card
Genre:: Fantasy, Adventure
Episodes: N/A
Released: July 15, 2000
Based On: Cardcaptor Sakura anime and manga series by CLAMP
Director: Morio Asaka
Produced By: Madhouse, Bandai Visual, Kodansha, Shochiku
US Distribution By: Pioneer/Geneon

Major Japanese Cast

Sakura Kinomoto: Sakura Tange
Shaoran Li: Motoko Kumai
Kero (little): Aya Hisakawa
Kerberos: Masaya Onosaka
Tomoyo Daidouji: Junko Iwao
Yukito Tsukishiro/Yue: Megumi Ogata
Toya Kinomoto: Tomokazu Seki
Meilin Li: Yukana Nogami
Nothing Card: Maaya Sakamoto
Naoko Yanagizawa: Emi Motoi
Takashi Yamazaki: Issei Miyazaki
Chiharu Mihara: Miwa Matsumoto
Rika Sasaki: Tomoko Kawakami
Fujitaka Kinomoto: Hideyuki Tanaka
Sonomi Daidouji: Miki Itou
Eriol Hiiragizawa: Nozomu Sasaki
Kaho Mizuki: Emi Shinohara

Major English Cast

Sakura Kinomoto: Kari Wahlgren
Shaoran Li: Mona Marshall
Kero (little): Wendee Lee
Kerberos: David Lelyveld
Tomoyo Daidouji: Michelle Ruff
Yukito Tsukishiro/Yue: Steve Cannon
Toya Kinomoto: Robert Lloyd
Meilin Li: Julie Maddalena
Nothing Card: Lia Sargent
Naoko Yanagizawa: Roberta Kim
Takashi Yamazaki: Joshua Seth
Chiharu Mihara: Dorothy Elias-Fahn
Rika Sasaki: Stevie Bloch
Fujitaka Kinomoto: Michael McConnohie
Sonomi Daidouji: Wendee Lee
Eriol Hiiragizawa: Johnny Yong Bosch
Kaho Mizuki: Sue Beth Arden

Scores

Animation: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: 7/10 (x 1 = 7 pts)
Gut Score: 9/10 (x 5 = 45 pts)

Total: 160/180 (88.9%)

Review

Cardcaptor Sakura: The Sealed Card finally wraps up all the lose ends from the end of the TV series as we (sort of) find out the purpose of the final card that Sakura creates at the end and Sakura’s and Shaoran’s relationship finally comes to fruition. Shaoran and Meilin have come to Tomoeda to visit Sakura and to hang out during the town’s festival that is going on during the upcoming weekend. However, weird things start happening, such as Sakura losing some of her Sakura cards, and things disappearing. Soon Eriol calls Sakura up and tells her that she must defeat a new and more powerful menace than she’s ever faced before – a secret clow card which has broken through it’s seal now that all the other cards have been converted to Sakura Cards, and which contains negative energy equivalent to the power of all 52 clow cards and has the power to turn anything into “nothing.”

The existence of this card was held so secret that not even Keroberos or Yue know of it’s existence, and Eriol only becomes aware of it once it has broken it’s seal. The only way to seal it is to turn it into a Sakura Card as well – an action that will cost Sakura her most cherished feeling.

The Sealed Card definitely feels more like the series than the first movie, and it’s better for it. This movie is set in Tomoeda and Sakura actually uses her clow cards rather extensively this time around. I think it also balances the romance aspect between Sakura and Shaoran and the action in the movie rather well. There is quite a bit of comedy has Sakura tries to confess her feelings to Shaoran as well as the normal bad relation between Shaoran and Sakura’s brother Toya. There are some action sequences as well, especially at the end when the action gets rather intense.

The story blends all of these aspects together very well, making a coherent story which has enough comedy, romance, and action to please, but doesn’t overdo any of them. The only issue may be that prior knowledge of the franchise is recommended before watching this movie, or else you may be lost at first.

As is usual of Cardcaptor Sakura, the movie is highlighed by excellent animation and, as can be expected of a movie, is even richer than the TV series. The music, while mostly original, is still in the Cardcaptor Sakura style. This movie also comes with a different English dub from the Cardcaptors Nelvana adaptation and the first movie. This time around the dubs are much better, though not perfect, but the voice actresses voices do at least fit their characters this time.

In the end, The Sealed Card is a fitting send off for a series that was 3 years, 70 episodes, and 2 movies in the making. If you’re a fan of the Cardcaptor Sakura Series, you’ll definitely like this movie.

First Watched: September 2006
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes

Koi Kaze – Anime Review

By | November 19, 2006 at 8:02 pm | No Comments

The Essentials

Koi KazeName: Koi Kaze
Genre:: Drama, Romance
Episodes: 13
Released: April 1, 2004 – June 17, 2004
Based On: Koikaze manga by Motoi Yoshida
Director: Takahiro Omori
Produced By: Rondo Robe, TV Asahi
US Distribution By: Geneon

Major Japanese Cast

Koushirou Saeki: Kenta Miyake
Nanoka Kohinata: Yuuki Nakamura
Zensou Saeki: Ryouichi Tanaka
Kaname Chidori: Akemi Okamura
Kei Odagiri: Kousuke Okano
Ouko Tamaki: Risa Shimizu
Futaba Anzai: Satomi Akesaka

Major English Cast

Koushirou Saeki: Patrick Seitz
Nanoka Kohinata: Stephanie Sheh (as Tiffany Hsieh)
Zensou Saeki: Doug Stone
Kaname Chidori: Michelle Ruff
Kei Odagiri: Liam O’Brien
Ouko Tamaki: Heather Klinke
Futaba Anzai: Tara Hudson

Scores

Animation: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Coherency/Story Arc: 10/10 (x 2 = 20 pts)
English Dubs: 8/10 (x 1 = 8 pts)
Gut Score: 9/10 (x 5 = 45 pts)

Total: 181/200 (90.5%)

Review

Koushirou seems to have hit the bottom in life. He still lives with his father at the age of 26, he was just dumped by his girlfriend who wonders ifKoushirou has ever “truly loved someone,” and he hates his job as a marriage counselor. Then one day, on his way to work Koushirou notices that a high school girl on the train he’s riding drops her train pass as she’s getting off the train, Koushirou runs after the girl to give her back her train pass. The next day, Koushirou runs into the girl again outside of a client’s office and gives the girl two tickets to a nearby amusement park that the client gave him. The girl wants Koushirou to go with her as thanks for helping her the morning before.

While riding the ferris wheel, the girls says that she’s been down after being turned down after asking a boy out, and even though the boy gave her a button off his school uniform at their middle school graduation, she wants to throw it out of the Ferris Wheel window if she could. This prompts Koushirou to ask how her love is so pure, and gets him to confess that he had just been dumped too, but that he wasn’t even sure he loved his girlfriend at all, so the girl should keep the button so she can remember her pure feelings. This exchange seems to seal Koushirou’s and the girl’s feelings for each other.

When leaving the amusement park, the two are about to go separate ways when Koushirou’s father runs up, and both Koushirou and the girl have the same response: “hello father.” Koushirou realizes that the girl is actually his younger sister, Nanoka, who is coming to live with he and their father so that she can be closer to her high school. The rest of the series is spent, mostly from Koushirou’s point of view, but also quite a bit from Nanoka’s point of view, as they both struggle with their feelings for each other even though they’re siblings.

This is one of the few anime series that is largely geared for an older audience. While there are a few comical moments, the series is a drama and has a serious atmosphere. The series tries to tackle the question of whether there is any type of love which is wrong. The series allows the viewer to make up their own decision, spending it’s time showing Koushirou and Nanoka’s relationship dispassionately without passing judgement on it.

The animation is mixed, with fantastic character designs but with background art that goes for a more washed out than detailed look, though I think it does fit the overall atmosphere of the show. The music, while rather subdued, is fantastic, and the music is also used very well – both when it is played and when it isn’t played. The dub is also pretty good.

Obviously the subject matter that is being dealt with may drive away some viewers, if one can get past that or don’t mind it, then I think this is a series that can stick to you.

First Watched: September 2005
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes

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