It’s Cardcaptor Sakura episode 1, and Sakura, a cheerful 4th grader, ends up starting out on her amazing magical journey.

The episode starts with us meeting Sakura, a seemingly ordinary 4th grade girl who lives with her teasing high school brother and her kind father. However, one night she has an odd dream about herself standing on a building looking at Tokyo Tower, as well as a flying plush toy and an odd red book. Once Sakura gets up, however, there is one person predominately on Sakura’s mind: her brother Toya’s best friend Yukito, whom she eagerly wolfs down breakfast in order to see in the morning, enjoying skating with him until she gets to school.

At school we meet Sakura’s best friend Tomoyo who has somewhat of a fetish of videotaping Sakura, and even though they’re best friend, Sakura notes that Tomoyo’s rather eccentric behavior does make her a little weird. Once Sakura gets home from school, she hears weird noises coming from the basement, which also serves as her father’s study. However, as she’s home alone, Sakura decides to check things out to make sure it’s not a burglar. However, once down stairs she is drawn to a strange red book, which she discovers is the same book she dreamed about when she takes it out of the bookshelf.

The book unlocks itself, and inside there are some cards, with the top card having the word “Windy” on it. Sakura reads the word “windy” and a sudden gust of wind blows around her, blowing all the cards away (and straight out of the house too!). This startles Sakura, though not nearly as much as what happens next: a yellow plush-toy looking thing with an Osaka accent suddenly rises from the cover of the book. The thing, introduces himself as Keroberos, and it’s his job to keep the cards, which are called Clow Cards, in line. However, he soon discovers that the cards have all blown away due to Sakura’s accidentally using magic.

Keroberos then tricks Sakura into becoming a cardcaptor – one who must go and recapture all the Clow Cards that have blown away. Sakura tries to protest, but the first escaped card is already causing problems: The Fly card, which is in the shape of a giant raptor (a bird, not a dinosaur). Sakura and Keroberos head out to capture it, but Sakura has little idea of what to do. Finally, Sakura is able to roller blade her way onto the creature’s back and binds it with the Wind card – something she is able to do because the Fly card is “under” the Wind card. This allows her to seal her second Clow Card. Afterwards she takes a leisure trip, using the card to fly around on her magic staff.

Now this is how you start off a magical girl series. The concept is pretty simple: Sakura has to go around collecting all the scattered Clow Cards. However, the characters have already shown enough depth to make the series seem pretty interesting right off the bat. Of course, now that she can use magic, Sakura’s first job will probably be to try to keep anyone from finding out that she’s using magic…