Sakura's given name (桜) means cherry blossom. Her surname, Kinomoto (木之本), literally means the origin of wood.

In Cardcaptors, Sakura was originally going to be called "Nikki," but Nelvana kept her given name because of fan demand and the difficulty and expense of editing out numerous appearances of her name in rōmaji in the series. Her family name was changed to "Avalon." The pronunciation of her given name changed, as stress is put on the middle syllable ku, while in Japanese, the accent is on Sa like "Sa-nik (Sonic)". Nelvana purposefully changed the pronunciation of the name since many English names have stress on the middle syllable.

[edit] Cardcaptor Sakura

[edit] Character

At the start of the series, Sakura is ten years old and living in a fictional town called Tomoeda in Japan. On the afternoon after her first day of fourth grade at Tomoeda Elementary School (Reedington Elementary School in Cardcaptors), Sakura hears a mysterious sound coming from her father's library in the basement. She, nervously armed with her cheerleading baton, goes downstairs and finds a mysterious book named The Clow. She opens the book to find the Clow Cards, a set of fifty-two cards (17 in the original manga) that contain powerful magic. Picking up the top card, Sakura reads its name aloud, "Windy." This activates the Card, summoning a large wind that blows the remaining Cards out of the house and into the distance. The guardian of the Cards, Keroberos, then emerges from the book and recruits Sakura to become the Cardcaptor to retrieve the Cards. In return, she gains the right to use the Cards' power herself. It is later revealed that Keroberos also refers to Sakura as his appointed Candidate, as he is also searching for a new Master of the Clow Cards.

Sakura is an extremely energetic and cheerful character. She is very athletic, being a member of her school's cheerleading squad and an excellent runner. Her "invincible spell", "Everything will surely be all right." (「絶対大丈夫だよ。」, "Zettai daijōbu da yo."^?), has carried her through innumerable trials and obstacles as she masters her magical skills. She often comes across as naïve, clumsy, and clueless, but she has her perceptive moments on occasion. Her favorite food are the Hot cakes and the noodles with seafood. Her birthday in in April 1st, she hates Mathematics and her blood type is A.

Sakura's optimistic and trustworthy character allows her to befriend virtually everybody, and the series focuses on the friendships she creates with people, whether strangers, loose acquaintances, or rivals.

Sakura lives with her older brother, Toya Kinomoto (Tori Avalon), and her father, Fujitaka Kinomoto (Aiden Avalon). The three help manage their home together, often rotating cooking and cleaning chores. Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko Kinomoto (Natasha Avalon), died when Sakura was three years old. Sakura and her family moved to Tomoeda about three years before the start of the series, when Toya was in eighth grade and Sakura was in first grade.

Sakura's character designs for the manga were originally developed by Mokona of Clamp. She was designed to capture the image of Mokona's then two-year-old niece Kawaji. Kawaji wore short hair in pigtails much like Sakura does in the anime and manga.

[edit] Magic

Throughout the series, Sakura's magical powers get progressively stronger. This is mostly verified by Cerberus at random points in the series, as Sakura would otherwise appear to have equal expertise in each episode when she summons Clow Cards. Through the first two seasons, Cerberus's comments seem to imply that Sakura's magic grows as she battles and captures more Cards. In the third season, Sakura's inexperience is noted in Yue's criticism and Sakura's weariness after a single Card transformation. However, as she grows progressively proficient in transforming Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, she becomes less tired and more aware of Clow Reed's presence. She also remembers more details about her prophetic dreams. During the last of Eriol's trials, she is able to transform several cards at once. By the end of the series, she, unconsciously, manages to create a new Card, the nameless card. This would seem to imply the ability to create other cards in the future.

[edit] Relationships

[edit] Syaoran Li

Syaoran and Sakura with teddy bears

Sakura's relationship with Syaoran Li (Li syaoran) is the most recognized relationship in the series, mostly because the second half of the series is heavily devoted to its development.

Most significant to the development of their relationship is Syaoran's changing opinion of Sakura, mostly because of Sakura's own heart-warming personality. In the beginning of the series, Syaoran immediately considers Sakura a rival when he finds out she is the Cardcaptor and concludes her unworthy of bearing the responsibility of the Clow Cards. Sakura is constantly intimidated by his glares and brash attitude both at school and while capturing Clow Cards. However Sakura never gives back any negative responses or behavior. Most of the time, despite Syaoran's aggression, she thanks him for his help and effort. This eventually becomes very confusing to Syaoran, whose gentler side soon causes him to be more humble than arrogant.

Throughout the series, Syaoran gradually becomes more committed to liking Sakura, but she remains completely clueless of his feelings. Syaoran's blushes become more frequent, and there are some occasions where he would suddenly become clumsy when in her presence. Sakura will either keep an innocent smile on her face or look confused and worried at Syaoran whenever he trips and falls.

In episode 57, Tomoyo, Syaoran, Eriol, Sakura take a visit to a teddy bear museum. The journey through the museum is accompanied by the song Ki Ni Naru Aitsu or That Girl I Can't Ignore , sung by the voice of Kero, Hisakawa Aya (Cardcaptor Sakura Character Single: Syaoran). This is followed by a very sweet scene in an elevator between Syaoran and Sakura. Syaoran screams out Sakura's name here when she falls into a hole. Sakura later tells him she heard this, and asks if she can call him "Syaoran-kun" instead of the more neutral "Li-kun".

When Sakura confesses her feelings to Yukito, only to have them essentially rejected, Syaoran is there to comfort her in the park afterwards. It is a very emotional period in the series, but she is able to recover, thanks to Syaoran. In the anime, Sakura returns the favor by spending several nights in a row knitting him a scarf, which he accepts after a surprised pause. Similarly, in the manga, Sakura returns the favor by spending a week making him a yukata.

Sakura is finally made aware of Syaoran's feelings when he personally confesses them near the end of the series, after the final battle with Eriol Hiiragizawa (Eli Moon). The news comes as a complete shock to her, and it is ever present in her thoughts over the next few days. In the manga, after talking to her friends about why she is upset and confused about her feelings, those feelings lead her to conclude that Syaoran is her true "number one person," and she confesses her newfound feelings as Syaoran suddenly leaves for Hong Kong (though only temporarily). The anime stretches out the suspense, with Sakura not yet answering Syaoran in the last episode of the series. Instead, her confession comes at the end of the second movie, after several failed attempts throughout the film.

The teddy bears (seen in the above picture) are named Sakura and Syaoran, respectively, referring to a fictional tradition where if two people make teddy bears for each other and the recipients name them after their donors, the two will be a couple forever. In the manga, Sakura and Syaoran name their bears after each other after she confesses her love to him. In the anime, Syaoran gives Sakura his bear (she asks to have it) in Episode 70, but Sakura never gives him one, having already given it to Yukito earlier in the series.^{[citation needed]}

In the second movie, Syaoran returns to Japan with his cousin Meiling Li (Meilin Rae) (anime only character) who was having secret phone calls with Tomoyo Daidouji who helped plan their return. Tomoyo and Meiling attempted to organise outings for Sakura to tell Syaoran about how she feels but, rather amusingly, she gets interrupted until the end of the movie where Sakura confesses her love believing that Syaoran had forgotten his most important feeling. She begins to cry but Syaoran surprisingly replies "Me too, Sakura". The song Ashita e no Merodi plays with the sunrise clear in the background to symbolize happiness and victory.

Sakura and Syaoran continue to be widely recognized in fandom to the present day. They are also likely Clamp's most famous fictional couple, as they make a lead appearance in their crossover manga series, Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.

[edit] Yukito Tsukishiro

Sakura and Yukito

In the first half of the series, before any hint of a relationship with Syaoran, Sakura's primary romantic focus was on the older Yukito Tsukishiro (Julian Star). The origin of the relationship is unclear, but Yukito's presence always causes a significant effect on Sakura's feelings, commonly provoking her "floaty" exclamation, "Hanyaan~" (はにゃあん～).

Sakura always does her best to impress Yukito, on rare occasions even competing with Syaoran to give the better compliment or gift. She often looks forward to going to school with Yukito each day, and she is worried when he is not there. Most times when her brother, Toya, is present, Sakura is often provoked to raise her voice or else act "unladylike" at Toya, which immediately elicits her embarrassment when she realizes Yukito is also there watching her.

Late in the series, Sakura finally decides to confess her love to Yukito instead of forever skirting around the issue. However, Yukito does not return the feelings, admitting that he loves her also but only in a platonic way. He asks her to reevaluate her feelings towards him and suggests that she feels attached to him more because he resembles her father. Sakura agrees with Yukito after some thought, and he continues to reassure her by saying that the real "number one person" for her is still out there somewhere, and she should not give up searching for him.

After an emotional afternoon in the park, Sakura is able to get over Yukito but still remaining a close friend through the end of the series. She, in a rare perceptive moment, also realizes that Yukito's feelings have always been aimed towards her brother, Toya. She accepts that fact, also, and wishes them the best.

Interestingly, in episode 70, Eriol reveals to Yue that when Clow chose Sakura as the future new Master of the Clow Cards and their guardians, he had expected that in the future Yukito would love Sakura more than anyone else and vice versa. Yukito's attraction to Toya and Sakura's to Syaoran are the unforeseen occurrences, the deviations from Clow's plan, that Eriol mentions to Sakura and friends at the party in Clow's mansion.

[edit] Tomoyo Daidouji

Clamp's "almost kiss" drawing of Tomoyo and Sakura

Though non-romantic, Sakura's close relationship with Tomoyo Daidouji (Madison Taylor) is likely the second most significant relationship in the series. Sakura and Tomoyo are best friends (and second cousins as their mothers were cousins), meeting randomly for the first time in the third grade when Sakura offered Tomoyo one of her erasers. Since then, Tomoyo has been very attentive to everything that Sakura does, including finding a passion for filming her throughout her daily activities.

Sakura holds a lot of trust in Tomoyo, often allowing her to take lots of measurements for the multitude of battle costumes and dresses that are made for her. Tomoyo is also one of the few keepers of Sakura's secret as the Cardcaptor, often accompanying Sakura in many of her adventures for filming and costume-testing opportunities. In the second half of the series, when Sakura gets a new wand and mission, Tomoyo is responsible for choreographing Sakura's new action poses.

Tomoyo holds a special, arguably romantic attachment, to Sakura, of which Sakura is completely oblivious. In both the manga and anime, Tomoyo admits that she loves Sakura, but Sakura replies innocently, "I love you, too," in the platonic sense. The manga takes the scene further where Tomoyo comments that her love is more than what she is thinking it is. Sakura gives a confused look, but Tomoyo drops the topic, adding, "I'll tell you when you're older." Throughout the series, Sakura never realizes this deeper attachment, simply remaining Tomoyo's best friend. Tomoyo, however, selflessly does not mind this at all and even helps Sakura most times in setting up situations with Yukito and Syaoran, as Tomoyo understands they are the ones who would make Sakura the happiest.

Because Tomoyo lacks magical powers, Sakura takes on a protective responsibility most times when capturing or transforming cards. If Tomoyo is ever in danger (or missing), Sakura will be the one concerned for her most, and her focus changes from that of the Card at hand to Tomoyo's safety. Fortunately, Sakura has always succeeded and hugs Tomoyo warmly whenever she reunites with her.

Sakura and Cerberus

[edit] xxxHolic

While Sakura does not have a direct role in xxxHolic, Yūko Ichihara mentions her on several occasions and has a replica of her first sealing wand.

Sakura (from Tsubasa) appears in Chapter 12 of the manga, however in an unconscious state, held by Syaoran, and again in chapter 133 when Watanuki's dream connects him to the world her 'soul' resides in. This dream occurs again in chapter 136 and 137, and Sakura holds a short conversation with Watanuki. She tells Watanuki that she changed the future in such a way that Syaoran would not be stabbed, but everyone would still live, including herself. An important occurrence in the dream is the emphasis put on the similarity of Sakura, Syaoran and Watanuki's birthdays-they are all on April 1st. Sakura's birthday is April 1st because Clamp was formed on that day. It is also the same as that of Kimihiro Watanuki of xxxHolic, whose name (四月一日君尋, Watanuki Kimihiro) is spelled with the characters for "April 1st."

Yuko tells Watanuki that if Sakura's soul is separated from her body too long, she will die.

[edit] Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Sakura also appears in Clamp's crossover series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and Tsubasa Chronicle. Her character is similar only in looks and personality to her Cardcaptor Sakura counterpart. Tsubasa Chronicle takes on a new story with new histories for each of its characters.

Sakura as seen in Tsubasa Chronicle

At the start of the series, Sakura is the princess of the Kingdom of Clow who has feelings for Syaoran, her childhood friend. When she is about to confess her feelings, a mysterious force causes her own dormant magical powers to manifest in the form of feathered wings. When her feathers are scattered across time and space, Syaoran vows to recover all of them because each feather represents a memory Sakura has had since birth and are connected to her heart; without the feathers, she will die. Fei-Wong Reed (the mysterious villain in the series) reflects on the ability of people like the High Priest Yukito, Princess Tomoyo of Nihon, and Yūko to cross dimensions and comments that the power concealed within Sakura and the ruins in Clow surpasses them all.

In order to cross dimensions, Sakura must pay Yuko the thing most important to her. to She pays Yuko in an indirect way. Her price is pretty much the same as Syaoran - her memories of him. When she awakes in the Hanshin Republic the first person she sees is Syaoran, but she does not remember anything about him, asking "Who are you?"

At times, such as in Outo, Sakura comes extremely close to remembering Syaoran but it is quickly erased once more from her memory. Syaoran, having known this would happen previously, will never tell her anything about their previous relationship. At most, all Sakura knows about Syaoran is what she has relearned from the adventures together with Mokona, Fay, and Kurogane, although she knows she knew him previously and he was very important to her. It is also clear that she is falling in love with him once more.

Sakura possesses unnaturally good luck; both Chun Hyang and Yūko call her "a favored daughter of the gods". This is what allowed her to travel dimensions safely until Yūko asks for her good luck as a price. According to Yukito and Syaoran, Sakura also has the ability to "hear" the voices of those who cannot be heard, such as spirits of nature, and to see ghosts. She can also see the future in visions, though this ability is unreliable and nothing she has control over.

In the anime, at some points when she is asleep, she will unknowingly go out and search for her feathers. She will seem to be awake, talking and interacting with others and her surroundings, yet is actually completely out of it, like she is unconsciously searching for her own feathers.

In Tsubasa, Sakura's personality is passive and weary, exhausted from her loss of memories. However as the series goes on she becomes stronger and independent. Syaoran states, even though she's lost most of her memories, she'll never change. She helps the group whenever she can, whether it's washing dishes or saving their lives.

However, her personality undergoes a change after the Clone Syaoran leaves her. As she voices to Fay, no matter how identical the two Syaorans may be, the real Syaoran is still not the one she knows. Subsequent volumes show Sakura with a much darker personality, accompanied with gothic clothing.

In the Infinity Arc, the group spent a few months fighting in a tournament, supposedly wanting to use the prize money to restore a world the Clone Syaoran destroyed. However, the truth is that she was after the real prize - a robot (who is identical to Freya from Chobits) who can let one person and one person alone travel across dimensions. It is later revealed that Fay is under a curse that forces him to kill if he ever meets a person that is stronger than him (In volume one you can see that Yuuko was not hit by the rain, nor did she touch any of the people directly; this was because she was in another dimension to prevent Fay's curse activating). But when Sakura receives two feathers in Infinity, she was made stronger than Fay's halved magic and so he stabbed her, seemingly possessed. Sakura had a vision that after killing her, he would go insane and kill everyone else, eventually committing suicide, but she used the robot to transport her soul to a dream world, thus saving herself and stopping Fay from going insane. It is later revealed that she was not the original target of the curse, the real Syaoran was. This is explained further in her appearance in xxxHolic; she changed the future so that Syaoran would not be killed.

Later it is learned that Sakura can still be saved. The two places where her body and her soul went contains two feathers. Her soul went to the world of dreams, where it will be aided by the other Syaoran. So the real Syaoran, Fay, Mokona and Kurogane went to Celes Country to rescue the body of Sakura, as Yuko told them it's the body they should rescue first, then the soul.

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Li.

Syaoran Li (李 小狼, Japanese: Ri Shaoran^?, Chinese pinyin Lǐ Xiǎoláng or Li Xiaolang), is a fictional character in Clamp's manga and anime series Cardcaptor Sakura. He is known as Li Showron in the English adaptation, Cardcaptors. He is voiced by Motoko Kumai in Cardcaptor Sakura and by Miyu Irino in Tsubasa Chronicle. In Cardcaptors, he is voiced by Rhys Huber in Season 1, Jordan Kilik in Season 2, and by Mona Marshall in the 2nd Movie. He is voiced by Jason Liebrecht in Tsubasa Chronicle.

Syaoran is also the protagonist in Clamp's crossover manga series Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and its subsequent anime, Tsubasa Chronicle. His characterization here is mostly independent of his characterization in Cardcaptor Sakura and is discussed further below.

Syaoran has also appeared in Clamp's xxxHolic.

Syaoran Li in Cardcaptor Sakura

[edit] Name

Syaoran's name is Chinese in origin, commonly romanized from Chinese as Xiaolang. His given name, Syaoran (小狼, Syaoran^?), in both Chinese and Japanese, means "little wolf" and probably derived from Xiaolong or Syaoran (小龍, Syaoran^?), meaning "little dragon" which was Bruce Lee's screen name (coincidentally, they both are good at Chinese martial arts). His last name, Li (李, Li^?), is a common Chinese surname that may also be spelled Lee.

In Cardcaptors his name is changed to "Li Showron." Li becomes his given name and Showron his family name. This was only a minor change during the first season as almost all the characters referred to him as "Li".

In the early printing of the English manga, his name was presented in the Chinese naming order (family name then given name), Li Syaoran. Later printings switch the name to the Western order (given name then family name), Syaoran Li.

In the uncut English anime his name is romanized as Shaoran Li.

[edit] Character

Voiced by Motoko Kumai in the anime, Syaoran is a distant relative of Clow Reed, the creator of the Clow Cards. As a member of the Li clan of sorcerers from Hong Kong, of which Clow's mother was a member, Syaoran believes that he should be the one to inherit the Clow Cards, not Sakura Kinomoto. He first appears as an antagonist in the story, capturing a few cards for himself in the anime (though none in the manga). As the series progresses, and especially after Sakura is officially deemed the new master of the Cards, Syaoran drops his rivalistic attitude towards her and becomes her ally and friend, eventually falling in love with her and blushing at practically every sight of her.

Syaoran is shown, or at least implied, to be an excellent martial artist, swordsman (using a Chinese jian), and sorcerer. His magical abilities are centered around elemental spells using his sword or a collection of ofuda.

Although he claims certain Clow Cards for himself in the anime Syaoran does not actually capture any Cards, as the act of capturing can only be performed using Sakura's sealing wand. However, if Syaoran has played a major role in weakening or cornering the Card entity prior to its capture, credit for the capture is awarded to him (as the materialized Card floats autonomously to its owner after capture). While Sakura writes her name in rōmaji on the Clow Cards, Syaoran writes his name in kanji.

Before his relationship with Sakura, Syaoran seemed to appear to have an attraction to Yukito Tsukishiro, often blushing madly and abruptly running away at the sight of him. While Sakura also harboured a crush on Yukito, Syaoran would compete with her for his affections, usually by getting him a better present, making him better food, or giving the better compliment. It is discovered later that Syaoran was just magically attracted to the magical energies of the moon which were residing within Yukito as Syaoran drew his magical power from the moon. Sakura, although she was drawn to a person that housed "power", was truly in love with Yukito, stated by Kero (or Cerberus) in episode 51 (Sakura and the big teddy bear.)

Syaoran and Cerberus often fight in the series, where Syaoran often calls him a "stuffed animal" while Cerberus retorts with patronizing terms like "kid" (小僧, kozō^?).

A major change to Syaoran's character in Cardcaptors involves elevating Li Shaoran to become the male lead character, rather than a supporting character for Sakura in Cardcaptor Sakura. Here, Li is also referred to as a Cardcaptor, while he has no such title in the original series (as Cerberus never selected him).

[edit] Incantations

To use fire-based magic:				To use wind-based magic:
CCS		God of Fire, Answer my call!	火神招来	CCS		Petals of Wind, Answer my call!	風華招来
CC		Element, Fire! come to my aid		CC		Element, Wind! come to my aid
To use lightning-based magic:				To use water-based magic:
CCS		Emperor of Thunder, Answer my call!	雷帝招来	CCS		Dragon of Water, Answer my call!	水龍招来
CC		Element, Thunder! come to my aid		CC		Element, Water! come to my aid
Syaoran's lazin board (clow compass) incantation:
CCS		Imperial king of gods, Your divinity watches over the four corners Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, Thunder, wind, lightning, Whirling blade of light, I summon thee!	玉帝有勅 神硯四方 金木水火土 雷風 雷電神勅 軽磨霹靂 電光転 急々如律令!	CC		Source of light with ancient spin, send forth the magic power within. Oracles of gold, wood, water, fire, earth, cloud, wind, rain, and electricity. Force, know my plight. Release the light!

[edit] Relationship with Sakura

Syaoran first meets Sakura at school on his first day as an exchange student from Hong Kong. His seat is behind Sakura, an ideal position for the many grueling stares that he gives her throughout the next few manga chapters and anime episodes. That same day, he confronts her about the Clow Cards, claiming that he is the one destined to inherit them.

This attitude continues throughout the first season of the anime where Syaoran constantly tries to capture new Clow Cards before she can, often stating facts about the Cards and about Card-capturing in a condescending manner. Although he would appear to do anything it takes to get the Cards, Syaoran never acts or fights dishonorably (i.e. stealing Cards from Sakura or injuring her in order to get ahead). Syaoran, despite the fact that he acquired far less cards than Sakura, still succeeds in capturing the Time, Storm, Return, Dash, Freeze, Dream, Sand and Twin. As Sakura and Syaoran continue to meet whenever a Card-capturing situation arises, they begin to work together and combine their efforts, although he still tries to win the Card in the end. Additionally, starting halfway through the first season, Syaoran begins to blush occasionally when he comes face to face with Sakura, usually after she smiles or makes a sweet comment.

After the Final Judgment, Sakura is declared the new master of the Cards, leaving Syaoran essentially a failure. At the start of the second season, Syaoran plans on returning home to Hong Kong until newcomer Eriol Hiiragizawa comes along and starts (toyingly) charming Sakura. At this point in the series, Syaoran's feelings toward Sakura have slowly changed from that of rivalry to that of an elementary school crush. Sakura's consistently cheerful attitude and warm smiles cause more and more blushes on Syaoran's cheeks. Much to his surprise, Syaoran finds himself jealous over the fact that another student is getting too close to Sakura, and he in turn stays in Tomoeda for the remainder of the school year.

Sakura and Syaoran with their teddy bears

Season three of the anime is where the plot takes a stronger shift towards the development of Syaoran and Sakura's relationship. Though Sakura is still dealing with strange occurrences and using the Cards, each episode gradually puts more emphasis on the growth of this relationship, including Tomoyo Daidouji's involvement in giving Syaoran advice plus one particular dramatic scene in episode 60 involving Syaoran's then-fiancée, Meiling Li. Syaoran finds himself in more and more blushing situations, including those where he is on the brink of confessing his feelings to Sakura but is always interrupted (often in a comical way) just before he utters the climactic syllable.

Syaoran finally confesses his love at the end of the next-to-last episode of the series, 69. The news comes as a major surprise to Sakura, who had always just viewed Syaoran as a close friend. Sakura broods over the thought of it throughout all of episode 70, which ends with Syaoran planning to leave Tomoeda for Hong Kong. Sakura hears about his unannounced trip just in time to find him at the airport. He is holding (after his caretaker, Wei, hands it to him) a homemade teddy bear, which he had considered giving to Sakura but never found the right chance.

Instead, Sakura asks if she could have the bear in his arms. There is a tradition stated in the series (it is not an actual Japanese tradition) that when one person gives another a personally-made plush, if the receiver names the plush after its creator (the giver in this case), then both people will be together forever. Sakura is never seen giving a name to the bear, but the symbolism of her accepting his bear is enough to suggest that Sakura and Syaoran have a special bond with each other.

The TV series concludes there, a cliffhanger of sorts for the upcoming release of the second movie, which finalizes the Sakura and Syaoran relationship in the anime. Set over summer break, Syaoran returns from Hong Kong for a short visit to Tomoeda. After having time to think about it, Sakura feels that she does love Syaoran back but is shy about confessing her feelings to him. Sakura wishes to tell him in person instead of writing a letter, because Syaora