List of Cardcaptor Sakura characters

This article covers the major characters of Clamp's manga Cardcaptor Sakura and its respective anime and movies. The manga and anime focused on 10-year Japanese schoolgirl Sakura Kinomoto who finds the magical Clow Book in her father's basement study, accidentally unleashing the magical Clow Cards loose across her hometown Tomoeda. Dubbed the Cardcaptor by the cards' guardian Cerberus (better known as Kero-chan), Sakura must wield the Clow Staff to capture the card spirits and turn them back into cards for her use. Sakura is aided by her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji, who creates battle costumes for her as well as videotaping her ventures as Cardcaptor; and layer, Syaoran Li, a Chinese boy who is a direct descendant of the Clow Cards' creator Clow Reed. The anime also introduced a fourth companion, Meiling Li, Syaoran's cousin and fiancee. The rest of the characters are mostly oblivious to Sakura's magical life, aside from her brother Toya who has his own magical powers, and later Eriol Hiiragizawa, who is a reincarnated Clow Reed.

The anime was dubbed into English under the title of Cardcaptors, with most of the character names changed to English ones with the exception of Sakura (her name repronounced though), Meiling, Cerberus (also repronounced as "Keroberos" based on the Japanese pronounciation of his name), and Clow Reed.

A great deal of the characters reappear as alternate selves in Clamp's other series, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and Xxxholic. Only Sakura appears as her original self in brief cameos in Tsubasa, interacting briefly with her parallel selves.

Sakura Kinomoto

Main article: Sakura Kinomoto

Sakura Kinomoto (木之本 桜, Kinomoto Sakura^?) is the eponymous heroine of Cardcaptor Sakura. Sakura is portrayed as a well-loved, cheerful, cute and at times an naïve ten-year old. Named after the Japanese word for "cherry blossom", Sakura is skilled in sports at school, being called the "best baton twirled in school" by her friends.^[1] However, she hates math and has an open fear of ghosts. Sakura maintains a crush on Yukito Tsukishiro for most of the manga and anime, but eventually develops similar feelings towards Syaoran Li after he confesses to her upon his own feelings. In Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, she is married to Syaoran and is the mother of a son named Tsubasa.

She becomes the entitled Cardcaptor by guardian beast Cerberus after accidentally opening and releasing the Clow Cards from the Clow Book. Aided by Cerberus, her best friend and cousin Tomoyo Daidouji, and later Syaoran, Sakura successfully captures all the cards and is named the new Clow Mistress by the cards' second guardian Yue (Yukito's true form).^[2] In the second half of the manga and anime, Sakura must use the power of her own star to transform the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, or else the cards would lose their powers.

For all Japanese-language productions of the anime (including movies, audio CDs, and video games), Sakura is voiced by Sakura Tange. For English-language productions where Sakura is renamed Sakura Avalon, she is voiced by Carly McKillip through Cardcaptors and the first movie dubbed by Nelvana. She is voiced by Andrea Kwan in the Animax English dub. She is voiced in the second movie by Kari Wahlgren.

Other characters

Toya Kinomoto

Toya Kinomoto (木之本 桃矢, Kinomoto Tōya^?) is Sakura's older brother. Though he teases her frequently, he cares a great deal for her and works to protect her. He is fully aware of what she is doing as a Cardcaptor, and regularly takes on several part-time jobs that put him in a position to be nearby when she is working on capturing a card. He also initially dislikes Syaoran, knowing that one day Syaoran will "take her away" from him. Similarly, Toya seems to dislike his nephew, Tsubasa, in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.Toya possesses several magical powers, including the ability to see ghosts and other non-humans, the ability to sense when Sakura is in danger, and mild precognition. He has a close relationship with his friend Yukito, despite knowing he is the alter-ego of Yue. To save them both, he eventually gives all of his magical powers to Yue, making him promise to protect Sakura in his stead as well as himself (and, by extension, Yukito).^[3] In the Japanese anime adaptation, Toya is voiced by Tomokazu Seki. In the Animax English adaptation, his name is romanized as "Toya". In the English adaptation Cardcaptors his name is changed to Tori Avalon, his romantic relationship with Yukito is removed, and he is voiced by Tony Sampson. In the English dub of the second film, Kirk Thornton takes over the voicing role.

Fujitaka Kinomoto

Fujitaka Kinomoto (木之本 藤隆, Kinomoto Fujitaka^?) is the father of titular character, Sakura Kinomoto, and a reincarnation of the Clow Cards' creator, Clow Reed. A busy professor of archaeology at Towa University, Fujitaka is a kind and caring father. He met his late wife Nadeshiko while doing his first year as a teacher at her high school. Nadeshiko had climbed a tree to return a baby bird to its nest, but fell out of the tree, landing on Fujitaka. Upon seeing her, he stated that "an angel has fallen from the sky." They fell in love and married when she was sixteen. Though Nadeshiko died seven years before the start of the series, Fujitaka is shown to still be very much in love with her and devoted to her memory. He keeps a picture of her in the dining room, changing it each morning.

Little is initially said about Fujitaka's family or past. During the second half of the series, it is revealed that when Clow Reed divided his soul (seeking to no longer be the most powerful magician in the world), he split it into two halves. One of these halves became Eriol Hiiragizawa, holding all of Clow's magic and memories, and the other being Fujitaka, who has no magic of his own, but fathered the one who would inherit the cards. It is stated that Fujitaka has no magical powers of his own, but he is also unaffected by other Clow's magic, such as the Eriol's sleep spell. At the end of the series, Eriol gives half of his magic to Fujitaka. This enables Fujitaka to finally see the spirit of Nadeshiko, who has been watching over her family since her death.

In the anime adaptation, Fujitaka's role as the other half of Clow Reed's reincarnation is completely removed as is his immunity to Eriol's magic and he is never able to see Nadeshiko's spirit. He is voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka. In the Cardcaptors English adaptation, his name is changed to Aiden Avalon and he is voiced by Brian Drummond. In the English dub of the second movie, he is voiced by Michael McConnohie.

Syaoran Li

Syaoran Li (李 小狼, Ri Shaoran^?, Chinese Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎoláng) is a distant relative of Clow Reed, the creator of the Clow Cards. As such, he believes that he should be the one to inherit the Clow Cards and tries to capture the cards for himself. As the series progresses, Syaoran comes to respect Sakura and becomes her friend and ally. He eventually falls in love with her, though she is slow to realize it due to her own feelings for Yukito.

Initially, in the anime, Syaoran has a crush on Yukito. Only later, at the beginning of the third season of the "Cardcaptor" series, does Syaoran begin to fall in love with Sakura, and make his feelings visible to viewers. ^[4] In the manga, Syaoran begins to develop feelings for Sakura around the time of the Erase card's capture. After Yukito rejects Sakura's feelings, Syaoran comforts her and Sakura slowly reciprocates his feelings. Near the second-half of the series, Syaoran confesses his feelings to Sakura. With Sakura now undisputed master of the cards, he decides to return to Hong Kong. At the end of the series, he returns from Hong Kong a few months later to reunite with Sakura. In the anime adaptation, Syaoran manages to catch several cards by playing a major role in helping Sakura seal them. He is allowed to attempt the final judgment but fails. Sakura also does not return his feelings in the initial anime but does confess at the end of the second film. In Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Syaoran is married to Sakura and has a son named Tsubasa Li.

Syaoran is shown to have similar powers to Sakura, such as sensing Clow Cards and magical auras, is a skilled martial artist, and wields a sword which he can use to cast spells when equipped with incantation papers. He can also use a device dubbed a "lasenboard" in Cardcaptors^[5], which can detect and direct him to magical entities.

In Japanese media, Syaoran is voiced by Motoko Kumai. In the English Cardcaptors adaptation, he is renamed to "Li Showron" and he is introduced in the first episode, as the male lead. He is also called a "Cardcaptor," despite his not being chosen by Kero as such. Syaoran is voiced by Rhys Huber during the Clow Cards arc and the first movie, by Jordan Kilik in the Sakura Cards arc, and by Mona Marshall in the second movie.

Eriol Hiiragizawa

Eriol Hiiragizawa (柊沢 エリオル, Hīragizawa Erioru^?) is the principal antagonist in the second half of the series, commonly called the Master of the Clow arc. The reincarnation of Clow Reed, Eriol has both Clow's memories and all of his magic power. He has a magical staff similar to Clow Reed's, can restrain Clow's creations Yue and Cerberus, and has created his own similar pair of guardians: Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun. He moves from England to transfer to Tomoeda Elementary school after Sakura Kinomoto passed the Last Judgement and became the official master of the cards. He is depicted as a quiet, mature boy while at school, though he also shows a mischievous side when he regularly joins classmate Takashi Yamazaki in weaving complex lies about the history of objects, places, and events. While seeming a normal student to Sakura, Syaoran Li is suspicious of him, mainly due to that Eriol is overly nice to Sakura which makes Syaoran jealous. It is soon shown that Yue and Cerberus are able to detect his magical signature as being Clow's, and Eriol must erase Yue's memories after he is accidentally seen by him.

Eriol came to Japan in order to aid Sakura and force her to use her own magical powers to convert the Clow Cards into Sakura cards. This is necessary as the cards take their magical energy from their master, but until Sakura converted them, they could not use her magic and were slowly dying. The guardian Yue also was suffering the same fate, forcing Sakura's brother to "feed" him all of his magical power to prevent Yue, and his false form Yukito, from dying.

Sakura does not become aware that Eriol is causing all of the magical disasters that are forcing her to convert the cards until near the end of the series when Eriol reveals himself to her. He puts the city to sleep and challenges Sakura to convert the last two cards, the Dark and the Light, which must be changed together. After Sakura successfully does so, he then tells her that she is now more powerful than Clow Reed and asks her to perform one final task for him: to divide his own magical power between himself and her father Fujitaka—the other reincarnation of Clow Reed—so that Eriol will no longer be the most powerful magician in the world. He then takes Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Yue, and Cerberus to his home where he explains why he had to give her a reason to convert the cards, as her doing so without a need could have been dangerous for Sakura.

Eriol's true age is unknown, as he used his magic to halt his aging process to remain the same physical age as Sakura. He is romantically involved with Kaho Mizuki, whom he originally sent from England to aid Sakura in the Final Judgment and who offers Sakura support through letters during the second arc. At the end of the manga series, she returns with him to England, and in the second anime movie, they are shown together when Sakura calls for advice.

In the anime series, Eriol is the sole reincarnation of Clow Reed, with all of the elements from the manga regarding Fujitaka's relation to Clow and inheriting of half of his powers removed. The final explanation at Eriol's house is also shifted slightly so it takes place the day after the final battle, rather than immediately after, and it is done because Sakura seeks him out rather than him giving an invitation.

The character of Eriol is voiced by Sasaki Nozomu. In the Cardcaptors English adaptation, his name is changed to Eli Moon and he is voiced by Bill Switzer. In the English dub of the second film, his voice is supplied by Johnny Yong Bosch.

Spinel Sun

Spinel Sun (スピネル・サン, Supineru San^?) is the cat-like magical guardian created by Eriol Hiiragizawa as a counter part to Clow Reed's original guardian Kerberus. Spinel Sun's true form is a butterfly-winged black panther, while his false form is similar to a small winged cat. Nicknamed Suppi by Ruby Moon, Spinel Sun spends most of his time reading and projects a calm demeanor. Ruby Moon often teases him that he needs to have more fun. During the series, he mostly remains out of sight of the main characters, except when he once runs into Cerberus in his false form (though this encounter is exclusive to the anime). Fortunately for him, Cerberus doesn't suspect anything and instead declares him a monster and feeds him sweets, not realizing that the sweets would turn Spinel Sun into a hyperactive eating machine. Cerberus does not learn his true identity until just before the final battle where the two cats face one another. Initially, Spinel Sun appears to have the upper hand, however Cerberus' greater determination to protect Sakura enables him to defeat him.

In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi in his true form, and by Yumi Tōma in his false form. In the second Cardcaptor Sakura movie, his false form briefly appears and is voiced by Philece Sampler. In the English adaptation Cardcaptors, his name is changed to Spinner Sun and both forms are voiced by Colin Murdock.

Ruby Moon

Ruby Moon (ルビー・ムーン, Rubī Mūn^?) is one of two magical guardians created by Eriol Hiiragizawa. The counterpart to the original guardian, Yue When Eriol transfers to Tomoeda Elementary, Ruby Moon created a false form named Nakuru Akizuki (秋月 奈久留, Akizuki Nakuru^?) and enrolls in Seijou High School, entering the same class as Toya Kinomoto, Sakura's brother, and Yukito Tsukishiro, the false form of Yue who is unaware of his true nature. As Akizuki, she acts as a general annoyance, deliberately interfering every time Toya tries to talk to Yukito about the latter's dwindling energy. She claims she wants to consume Toya's energy herself, though it is never stated that she actually has a need for it nor why she couldn't simply steal it. When Toya is finally able to speak with Yue and give him all of his magical energy to sustain Yue's life, Akizuki gives up her pursuit, though she expresses great contempt at Yue's survival. In the final battle, Ruby Moon battles Yue and initially appears to be winning. However, Yue is able to get past her due to his greater determination and desire to protect Sakura.

In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Ryoka Yuzuki. In the English adaptation, Cardcaptors, both her true form and false form is called Ruby Moon and she is voiced by Willow Johnson.

Cerberus

Cerberus (ケルベロス, Keroberus^?), nicknamed "Kero", is the appointed guardian of the book which holds the Clow Cards. He is one of two magical creatures created by Clow Reed along with the Clow Cards. Before his death, Clow appointed Kero as the one to select the potential candidate to be the next master of the cards, Cerberus himself, and his "brother" and fellow guardian, Yue. After Sakura accidentally releases the cards, Cerberus chooses her to be the candidate and teaches her the basics of capturing the cards. Throughout the series, he displays an extensive knowledge of mysticism. After Sakura passes the Final Judgment to become the Clow Cards master, Cerberus remains with her as a friend, companion, adviser, and protector when new threats appear.

Having spent a lengthy amount of time in the book while it was in Osaka, Cerberus speaks with a pointed Osakan-accent.^[6] He tends to be bossy, demanding, egotistical and gluttonous, but clearly displays his affection for Sakura, especially if she is hurt or in danger. He becomes very fond of video games, and is addicted to sweets.^[6] Cerberus spends most of his time in a "temporary" or "false form": a small figure resembling an orange stuffed animal with wings.^[6] Unlike Yue, Cerberus' magical powers are like the sun, and thus largely self-sustaining, and he is subsequently not as dependent on his master's power to support his life as is Yue. However, his master must have control of the Firey and Earthy cards in order to power his true form, a large-winged cat. In the anime adaptation, the Light card is changed to the Earthy card to delay his obtaining his true form.^[6] Cerberus' name is taken from the Greek mythological figure, Cerberus, a large three-headed beast who was assigned to guard the gates of Hades. In the bilingual Kodansha version of the manga, the name for Cerberus' borrowed form is Cero.

In the anime adaptation, his false form is voiced by Aya Hisakawa, while his hidden form is voiced by Masaya Onosaka. In the English release of the anime adaptation, his name is spelled Kerberos. In the English adaptation, Cardcaptors, it is changed to Keroberos. His false form is voiced by Matt Hill with a New York accent, and Richard Newman voices his true form, though the accent is not as distinct. In the second film, he is voiced by Wendee Lee and Dave Wittenberg, in his respective forms.

Cerberus appears in Episode 44 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle in his borrowed form^[7], although in the parallel world he dwells in it appears to be his singular body. Cerberus (using "Kero-chan" as a nickname) guards the Country of Kero, and has a prophetic dream of Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona, the protagonists of Tsubasa, arriving in his world and recruits Mokona to climb up a mountain to retrieve one of Sakura's memory feathers which shrinks down the protagonists in size. Aya Hisakawa reprised her role as Cerberus for this character appearance.

Tomoyo Daidouji

Tomoyo Daidouji (大道寺 知世, Daidōji Tomoyo^?) is the best friend of the series' protagonist, Sakura Kinomoto, and her second cousin on their mothers' sides. The daughter of the president of Daidōji Toy Company, Sonomi Daidōji^[8], Tomoyo lives a life of wealth and is watched over by a team of female bodyguards ^[9]. She has access to a variety of prototype technological gadgets from her mother's company, and supplies Sakura and Cerberus with different communication devices throughout the series. She is depicted as being mature, kind-hearted, intelligent, and regularly speaking using more formal verb conjugations and expressions than normally seen in elementary students. She is a talented singer, and is shown performing in various school events. In the anime, her musical ability causes her to be targeted by both the Voice and Song cards.

When she learns of Sakura's new role as a Cardcaptor, she insists that Sakura must wear "special outfits" and begins providing Sakura with the various costumes she wears during her captures as well as accompanying her on missions to record the events with her video camera. In the manga, some scenes give the appearance that Tomoyo has a crush on Sakura's brother Toya; however, according to an interview in the Cardcaptor Sakura Memorial Book, this was an error caused by one of the finishing artists not being aware that CLAMP intended for Tomoyo to have feelings for Sakura. In future volumes, this is corrected by having a scene note that Tomoyo blushed around Toya because he reminded her of Sakura.^[10] While Tomoyo is in love with Sakura, she notes that she is happy to be able to be with Sakura and does not require Sakura to love her back. Instead, she encourages Sakura's love of Yukito, and later becomes Syaoran Li's confidante and ally when he falls in love with Sakura.

In the English adaptation Cardcaptors, Tomoyo's name is changed to Madison Taylor. The familiar relationship with Sakura is removed and all dialog suggesting that she has romantic feelings for Sakura are edited to be purely platonic in nature.^[11]

In the original, Japanese adaptation of "Cardcaptors", it is implied, Tomoyo has a "girl crush" on her best friend, Sakura. This tentative yuri theme, or girl and girl love, is not unwelcome, nor uncommon in Japanese animation targeted at audiences of young girls.

In the anime adaptation, the character is voiced by Junko Iwao. In Cardcaptors, she is voiced by Maggie Blue O'Hara. In the English dub of Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card, her voice is supplied by Michelle Ruff.

Clow Reed

Clow Reed (クロウ・リード, Kurō Rīdo^?) is the magician who originally created the Clow Cards, and their magical guardians Cerberus and Yue. Born of an English father and a Chinese mother, Clow created a new type of magic that blended both Eastern and Western magical elements. His plan was to hand down the magic to people who would use and protect it while meeting all of the qualifications. However, few people could learn his brand of magic. The character of Clow is only seen in flash backs, as he has long been dead before the series starts. Few details are revealed about his character, personality, or life.

When Clow knew he was about to die, he chose his then unborn descendent, Sakura Kinomoto, to become the new guardian of the cards and the new master of Yue and Cerberus. Clow's magical ability allowed him to foresee most of the future and plan many of the situations that would enable Sakura to succeed in taking full possession of the Clow Cards. Likewise, he deliberately made the sealing wand pink, reflecting that its future user would be a young girl. He also split his soul into two reincarnations, Eriol Hiiragizawa who had all of his memories and magic he possessed, and Fujitaka Kinomoto, Sakura's father. In the anime adaptation, Clow only splits his soul into a single reincarnation.

In the first anime film, the "Madoushi (魔導師, Madōshi, literally Sorceress^?)", the spirit of a woman who had fought bitterly with Clow about the appropriate use of magic, is introduced. Even after her death, she attempted to continue the feud by embedding her spirit in a book and waits for Clow Reed. After Sakura accidentally releases her, the sorceress refuses to believe Clow is dead and attacks Sakura and her friends for trying to trick her. When Sakura is able to convince her that Clow has gone, the spirit realizes that she had truly loved Clow rather than hating him as she believed. Accepting his death, her spirit vanishes.

In the anime adaptation and the film, he is voiced by Kazuo Hayashi. In the English adaptation, Cardcaptors, he is voiced by Dale Wilson. The design, name and past of the character Clow Reed are reused in two additional CLAMP works, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and xxxHolic.

Yukito Tsukishiro

Yukito Tsukishiro (月城 雪兎, Tsukishiro Yukito^?) (nicknamed 'Yuki' by Toya, and 'Yuki-usagi' by Kerberus) is the close friend of Sakura's older brother, Toya, and the human alter-ego of the Clow Card guardian, Yue.Though he is certainly Yue's temporary form, he is referenced several times by other characters (including Eriol and Yue himself) as being simultaneously a completely separate "heart" from Yue's. As Yukito, he displays a kind and gentle nature, and at the start of the series, Sakura has a crush on him. When she eventually confesses her feelings, he gently rejects her noting that the one he "likes best" is Toya. For most of the series, Yukito is unaware of Yue's existence, though he maintains an enormous appetite for food in an unconscious attempt to give Yue power. Yue's existence is revealed to the other characters after all of the Clow Cards are collected, and Toya states he knew of Yue's existence all along and was just waiting for Yukito to notice himself. Once Sakura collects all of the cards, Yue begins needing greater power as her magic isn't strong enough to sustain him. Subconsciously, Yukito begins eating even more to try to compensate, but it is not enough and he starts sleeping constantly, even while standing, and eventually finds his body fading away altogether. Once Toya gives his magical energy to Yue to sustain them, Yukito begins to grow aware of Yue's existence and that the grandparents he thought he lived with didn't exist. It is suggested that he came into existence shortly before he met Toya, to be near the future new guardian of the Clow Cards. Eriol tells Yue that while he (and Clow) did know Sakura would be the future master of the cards, that Yukito had deviated from his vision by falling in love with Toya instead of Sakura. In the Japanese anime adaptations Yukito is voiced by Megumi Ogata. In Cardcaptors, Yukito's name is changed to Julian Star, his relationship with Toya is removed, and he is voiced by Samuel Vincent. In the English dub of the second movie, he is voiced by Steve Staley.

Yue

Yue (月^?, Chinese Pinyin: Yuè) is the one of two Guardians of the Clow Cards, along with Cerberus. His name, which is written in katakana rather than hiragana is the Mandarin Chinese word for "moon". Where Cerebus is the elector of the new Clow Card Master, Yue is the judge who is allowed to test the candidate for their worthiness. He spends most of the series in his temporary form, Yukito Tsukishiro, who initially has no memory or knowledge of his other self. Unlike Cerberus, Yue's powers are heavily dependent on the power of his master. Sakura's power is not yet strong enough to sustain him after he awakens, particularly after she begins transforming the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. Yue's growing need for power is reflected in Yukito's ravenous appetite, and later constant sleeping. Similarly, the deficit effects Yue himself in instances such as the blatant failure of his magic which causes he and Sakura to fall out of the sky during one of Eriol's synthesized 'situations'. Eventually, Sakura's brother Toya reveals that he knows Yue and Yukito are not human and gives his power to Yue to sustain his existence so he does not lose Yukito.

Though he is not human, he has the appearance of a beautiful young man with long, silver, braided hair, silver-purple cat like eyes, and a pair of white angel wings which he uses for flight. He is also considered a genderless creation of Clow Reed, same as Ruby Moon. His personality is depicted as more serious and aloof than Yukito's, and while Yukito is fond of Sakura, Yue is reluctant to accept her. As the series progress, he comes to respond to Sakura's request that rather than being his master, she just wants to be his friend. Yue has jurisdiction over the elements wind and water, though he is stated by Cerberus to have control over other cards, including the Wood. In the anime television series, Yue is voiced by Megumi Ogata in Japanese and Sam Vincent in English. In the English dub of the second anime film, his voice is provided by Steve Staley.

Meiling Li

Meiling Li (李 苺鈴, Ri Meirin^?, Chinese Pinyin: Lǐ Méilíng) is a character that appears only in the anime adaptation of Cardcaptor Sakura. Introduced in episode 20, she is Syaoran Li's cousin and self-proclaimed fiancée. As children living in Hong Kong, they both trained in martial arts under the tutelage of Wang Wei. One night her pet bird escaped from his cage, and the normally quiet and withdrawn Syaoran told her not to cry, then left. After spending hours in the rain, he returned with the bird and Meiling was both grateful and touched. From that day, she devoted herself to him, eventually declaring that she liked him above all others and, reasoning that he liked her as well, she declared them to be engaged. At the same time, she promised that if he ever found someone he liked more than her, she would call the engagement off.^[12]

In coming to Tokyo, Meiling intends to help Syaoran gather the Clow Cards, and actively dislikes Sakura. As the series progresses, Meiling develops a grudging respect for Sakura that turns into a good friendship by the time Meiling returns to Hong Kong in episode 43. During her initial visit, Meiling seemed to recognize that Syaoran was falling in love with Sakura, but it wasn't until she briefly returned in episode 60 that she fully acknowledges and accepts Sakura as the person Syaoran loves. Wanting to keep his promise, Syaoran attempts to tell her that he loves Sakura, but Meiling interrupts and tells him that she knows because he is now calling Sakura by her first name, something he only does for his sisters and herself. She smiles at Syaoran with tears in her eyes and declares that the engagement is called off, then quickly leaves. Meiling spends the night at Tomoyo Daidōji's house to release all of her sadness through much screaming and tears without burdening Syaoran. At the end of the episode, Meiling returns home and is not seen again in the main series. She returns in the second movie, with Syaoran, and together with Tomoyo tries to help Sakura confess her own feelings to him.

Unlike Syaoran, Meiling has no magical abilities, relying solely on her physical fighting abilities and a healthy dose of pride. Her lack of powers, however, results in her hindering more than helping Syaoran in most battles against the cards. She challenges The Fight card in episode 20, and was nearly badly wounded and had to be rescued by Syaoran. Recognizing that she was being a burden, Meiling grew upset and lashed out at Syaoran. However, she was then able to be an aid to him while fighting The Twin card, as their years of practicing martial arts together enables them to match the card's synchronized fighting style.

The character of Meiling is voiced by Yukana Nogami. In the English adaptation Cardcaptors her name is changed to Meilin Rae and her relationship with Syaoran is changed from cousins to childhood friends. She is voiced by Nicole Oliver. In the English dub of the second movie, she is voiced by Julie Maddalena.

Sonomi Daidouji

Sonomi Daidouji (大道寺 園美, Daidōji Sonomi^?) is the mother of titular character Sakura's best friend Tomoyo Daidouji, and the first cousin of Sakura's late mother Nadeshiko Kinomoto. She is rarely seen in the series, but is said to be a wealthy woman and the President of a large toy corporation. She greatly loved her cousin Nadeshiko, and disapproved of her marriage to Fujitaka, later blaming Fujitaka for Nadeshiko's death at a young age. During the marriage, it is implied that Nadeshiko was at least partially cut off from her family. Sonomi has Tomoyo keep her hair long because it reminds her of Nadeshiko.

After meeting Sakura for the first time, Sonomi realizes that Nadeshiko had lived a happy life and is able to come to terms with the marriage. At times, she still treats Fujitaka as a "rival" competing to love Sakura more, but she also helps him pass on gifts from Sakura to her grandfather and to arrange for Sakura to meet her great-grandfather while on a family vacation. Sonomi shows great affection for Sakura, wanting to join her and Tomoyo whenever Sakura comes over to visit.

In the Cardcaptors English adaptation, her name is changed to Samantha Taylor and her declaration of love for Nadeshiko is modified to a purely familiar love rather than a romantic love.

Sonomi is voiced by Miki Itō. She is voiced by Venus Terzo in Cardcaptors and by Wendee Lee in the English dub of the second movie.

Yoshiyuki Terada

Yoshiyuki Terada (寺田 良幸, Terada Yoshiyuki^?) is a teacher at Tomoeda Elementary School. During the series, as the main characters go through fourth grade, and enter the fifth grade, he acts as their home room teacher. He is also shown teaching in other classes, including the physical education classes, and he acts as the chaperon on several school field trips. As the series progresses, it is revealed that he is having a romantic relationship with his student Rika Sasaki. In the manga, they become engaged when he gives her a ring, noting that he hopes it will one day become her wedding ring. Rika gives him a teddy bear she made and named after herself, which legends says will allow them to remain in love forever. Towards the end of the series, when Sakura is unsure of her feelings about Li, the couple is shown having a picnic at a park, with Terada slipping away so Sakura doesn't notice him. During the series, none of the other characters appear to know about the relationship, though when Rika is taken over by the Sword card, Sakura hears her call out "Sensei" (teacher) when she uses the illusion card to show Rika her most beloved.

In the anime adaptation, their relationship is not shown in the same light. Their engagement and more romantic scenes between them are removed, and Rika notes that Terada reminds her of her absentee father. Terada is also shown accepting cakes made by Rika and in accepting the bear and naming it after his "hardest working student." In the Cardcaptors English dub, he is simply called Mr. Terada, and all aspects of the romantic relationship between Terada and Rika are completely removed, with Rika's shyness and reactions to him made to appear to be more of a general fear of men than romantic feelings.

In the anime series, he is voiced by Tōru Furusawa for the first season and first movie, and by Katsuyuki Konishi for the second and third seasons and the second film. In the Cardcaptors dub, he is voiced by Brian Drummond. He is voiced by Steven Jay Blum in the English dub of the second movie.

Rika Sasaki

Rika Sasaki (佐々木 利佳, Sasaki Rika^?) is a classmate and friend of titular character Sakura Kinomoto. She is considered to be very elegant and mature for her age, though she can also be shy. During the series, she is also shown to be a skilled cook and very good at crafts. During the series, Rika is affected by the Clow Cards several times. Early in the series, she buys a brooch that is actually The Sword card. The card takes her over and causes her to attack Sakura. Sakura is able to stop Rika by using The Illusion card to show her an image of her beloved, allowing Sakura to capture the card. During the second half of the series, she is nearly drowned during a magical trial Eriol Hiiragizawa created to cause Sakura to convert a Clow Card to Sakura Card.

During the series, Rika is shown to be in a romantic relationship with her teacher Yoshiyuki Terada. In the manga series, they are engaged to be married when she is old enough, and they frequently spend time alone together on "dates." In the anime adaptation, the engagement is removed as are many of their dates, however they are still shown to have affection for one another. Rika gives Terada the hand-made teddy bear she made, and he names it after her. In both the manga and anime, when Sakura uses the Illusion card to stop Rika's attacks, she calls the image "Sensei" which means "teacher" in Japanese. During the final judgment when Yue shows Sakura a world where everyone has lost their feelings for the one they love the most, Rika is shown handing Terada a paper without her usual blush and shy look.

In the Cardcaptors English adaptation, Rika's name is changed to Rita and all hints of her relationship with Terada are removed. Instead of being a good student, she is depicted as having trouble with her school work and her blushing around Terada is explained away as being embarrassed at having to stay after school so often.

In the original anime series, she is voiced by Tomoko Kawakami. In the English dub of the second film, she is voiced by Stevie Bloch.

Kaho Mizuki

Kaho Mizuki (観月 歌帆, Mizuki Kaho^?) is a shrine maiden and the daughter of the priest at the Tsukimine Shrine. She first appears in the series as a new substitute teacher at Tomoeda Elementary School for the math class of Sakura Kinomoto and Syaoran Li. While Sakura instantly likes the teacher and feels a connection with her, Syaoran is distrustful and believes she is up to no good.

When Sakura, Syaoran, Meiling and Tomoyo are trapped by the Maze card, Kaho uses a mysterious bell to break through Maze's walls allowing Sakura to capture it. After this incident, the readers learn that Sakura's older brother Toya dated Kaho when she was his junior high school teacher and that they broke up when Kaho left to study in England. Before she left, she told them that when they met again, they would be in love with different people which he acknowledges is now true.

After meeting her, Cerberus incorrectly believes that Kaho is the false form of his fellow guardian Yue, which is later shown to actually be Yukito Tsukishiro. Kaho's role is to use the bell left at her family's shrine to give Sakura another chance when she is unable to defeat Yue out of fear of hurting him. The bell changes Sakura's staff into a new staff containing her own power of the stars and gives her the power to use the cards to defeat Yue. After fulfilling this duty, she returns to England. During the third season of the series, she is primarily "seen" through providing a steady, but oftentimes enigmatic exchange of letters with Sakura over the mysterious attacks. After Eriol Hiiragizawa reveals the truth behind the attacks, they learn that Kaho had met Eriol three years before Sakura discovered the Book of the Clow. As they leave for England, Kaho and Eriol confirm their feelings for one another and vow to remain together. In the anime, Kaho is last seen in the second film expressing concern for Sakura and her friends due to the incidents with the final card.

In the anime series, Kaho is voiced by Emi Shinohara. In the English adaptation Cardcaptors, her name is changed to Layla MacKenzie and she is voiced by Linda Rae Jurgens.

References

1. ^ Cardcaptor Sakura, Episode 1 Sakura and the Mysterious Magic Book
2. ^ Cardcaptor Sakura, Episode 46 Sakura and the Final Judgment
3. ^ Cardcaptor Sakura, Episode 65 Sakura, Yukito, and the Vanishing Power
4. ^ Cardcaptor Sakura, Episode 47 Sakura and the Mysterious Transfer Student
5. ^ Cardcaptors, Episode 9 The Rival
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Lew, Kevin; Carlos Ovalle, Winnie Chow (December 2008). "Cardcaptor Sakura". Animerica (San Francisco, California: Viz Media) 8 (11): 15. ISSN 1067-0831. OCLC 27130932. 
7. ^ Tsubasa Chronicle, Episode 44 Kero-chan and Mokona
8. ^ Cardcaptor Sakura, Episode 10 Sakura and the Sports Day of Flowers
9. ^ Cardcaptor Sakura, Episode 2 Sakura's Wonderful Friend
10. ^ interview printed in Cardcaptor Sakura Memorial Book, published by Nakayoshi.
11. ^ "A United States audience would have a hard enough time accepting the deference and politeness of Sakura's best friend, Tomoyo, as merely a sign of good breeding. But her intense devotion to Sakura -- sewing elaborate costumes for each Clow Card chase, documenting Sakura's successes on video, assuring Sakura that she really likes her -- verges on the creepy. No wonder the American version simply paints Madison (the Tomoyo character) as a video obsessive who sees Sakura's adventures as mere camera fodder." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/20/movies/television-radio-making-anime-a-little-safer-for-americans.html
12. ^ Ep 43