Ranking Every Cardcaptor Sakura Outfit Because I Have Free Will And No One Can Stop Me

I like Cardcaptor Sakura a reasonable amount for a grown ass person and have a general interest in character design/fashion, so I’m obviously the most qualified person to critique the aesthetics of one of the most widely known and beloved magical girl series in popular media. Cardcaptor as a franchise has some of the strongest character designs not only in the magical girl realm, but in the animation industry at large. Its variety, creativity, and execution is, in my opinion, unrivaled. Which makes critiquing its design both a delight and an extreme undertaking. 

So, if I seem overly harsh, it’s only because the costuming in this show is so impressive that, if I didn’t nitpick, there’d really be nothing to say other than “yeah looks good.” Which would be really boring to write and read. And I don’t feel like doing that. I just want an excuse to make a list. I like lists. 

(also I’m only going over the official “battle costumes” of the original series. 1. because I don’t fuck with Clear Card and 2. because this is already long enough I cannot expand my criteria. For the sake of my sanity. You understand.)

Ok yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy let’s go look at some cute magical girl outfits ^_^ yayayayay yippee weeeeeeeeee

Opening 1 - Catch You Catch Me

5/5

I mean, are you really surprised. Who is giving this anything less than full points. It is without a shadow of a doubt, The most iconic and recognizable costume in the entire series. If you see Sakura anywhere, if you even think about Sakura, chances are she is in this costume. It’s sweet and cute and frilly and pink and she has her little wings and there’s really nothing I can say about this other than it’s perfect. Simple, but perfect. 

Episode 2 - The Shadow Card

5/5

Banger right off the bat. Really great first battle costume, it encapsulates a lot of the strong points of CC design philosophies that we see throughout the show. The combination of formal wear and genre typical fashion aesthetics creates something regal with a sense of power without sacrificing the cute quality we all want from a good magical girl outfit. The iconic bigass hat + bigass cape + bigass sonic the hedgehog shoes and gloves combo is established here as well. CC in general really enjoys playing with these big defined shapes, and it’s usually very successful. I’m also a huge fan of these colors, the hyper saturated red and blue up the wow factor without being overwhelming. They’re setting the bar pretty high with this one. 

Episode 3 - The Watery Card

3/5

Listen I fuck with clowns ok I’m down with jesters I love me a court fool. This one doesn’t do it for me. There are several points that just feel a little awkward. The collar/shoulder area feels more futuristic than medieval which clashes in a weird way with the rest of the concept to me. The “skirt” also feels a bit sparse and has me wishing there were some kindof secondary layer, maybe the two back tails as more of a full tailcoat with some ruffles under the front section, idk I’m spitballing. It’s definitely still cute, I really like this shade of blue with this yellow. I do wish it leaned a little more frilly and flouncy to fit the historical reference, rather than the clean and minimalist look they went for. Don’t hate it but it’s not what comes to mind when I think of CC costuming. 

Episode 4 - The Rain Card and The Wood Card

5/5

Ok this is a much better example of a sci-fi magical girl costume. The big shoulder pauldrons work for me here, because it flows with everything else going on around it. It’s like they took a space suit and gave it a 90s highschool romcom makeover. This astronaut suit starred on Drag Race (and sewed its own clothes). I can practically hear the latex crinkle from this thing. Which is a compliment, because that’s exactly what a futuristic, cyber magical girl should sound like. Also the wing headband is just cute. I don’t know what you want from me, it's a cute outfit. The Sakura-ism of Big Shapes also really sells this. My space age daughter aww so cutes. 

Episode 6 - The Illusion Card

2/5

The image quality of this one reflects my feelings pretty well. I don’t like this one. There’s nothing offensively bad about it but there’s nothing really of note either. She’s dressed like a cheap dollar store easter bunny plush that definitely has a weird sharp spot in the fur where they glued it together or whatever so if you try to hug it it’s just gonna stab you. I find the points of contact between the blue and pink sections especially unappealing. If they just shifted where those 2 colors met I think this would look a lot better. Also if they shifted the colors, they’re simply too similar in saturation/value. I feel like I’m looking at a CMYK printer ink test sheet but the printer is on its final dying breath. 

Episode 6 - The Illusion Card (the good one)

5/5

There’s a reason this is the only outfit that yields search results when I lookup “Cardcaptor Sakura episode 6 costume” and it’s because this is infinitely superior to the dumbass bunny costume. Everything that worked in the ep. 4 costume is also working here. CC does really well with sci-fi-fantasy design, with its penchant for big shapes and distinct silhouettes. Really digging the contrast between these feather-like details combined with these sharp, straight lines too. The shoes and the headset give bonus points as well. Just a really strong costume. Good job Tomoyo. 

Episode 7 - The Silent Card

4/5 

Okay listen. I like this outfit. I think it’s cute as hell. The little bat wings? Don’t even get me started. I cannot give it a 5 for a couple reasons. One, again, these colors are just too close in saturation and value. I’d hedge a bet that part of the problem is simply that this is a very dark episode, and CC at the time would have still been hand painting frames, which as we all know led to some funky colors in atypical environments. I also think the diamond pattern on the front is a little redundant with how often it shows up on the outfit, especially since it looks a lot better on the boots and hat. I do really like how this one is cut, with the crop top/shorts/thigh-high boots combo; it’s stylish and suits the practical needs of the episode. She’s a little burglar awwwww baby’s first burgling. Should’ve given her a ski mask and a crowbar. 

Episode 8 - The Thunder Card

3/5

Obligatory cat girl/maid outfit. Doesn’t compel me. Offends me slightly less because they at least had the decency to combine the two into one costume instead of wasting multiple outfits on an overdone and largely uninteresting trope. Like it’s cute, it’s clean, there’s nothing Bad about it, but it’s just a maid dress with cat ears. I like the black and pink, the small details they do add are cute: the ruffle collar, the bells, the big waist bow. I’m just so sad they didn’t do something more unique to the episode. The whole premise of this costume is that it's supposed to be made of rubber to be non-conductive, but there’s really nothing about the stylization of the fabric to imply this. Would’ve been a great opportunity for another sci-fi outfit, or if they didn’t want to pull that trick too often, a raincoat inspired costume would’ve been cute as hell. I just think it’s a bit of a waste. Save the catgirl maid cliche for an episode without a clear prompt. 

Episode 12 - The Time Card

2/5

Girl why are you wearing so many scrunchies. Too many scrunchies. Take away like half the scrunchies. Or all of the scrunchies and just replace them with something better. A little fairy ballerina is such a cute concept I’m really bummed this is the culmination of that idea. Everything just looks vague in a weirdly uncanny valley way, her shorts are drawn the exact same as the 20 scrunchies on her, her shoes are devoid of detail other than more scrunchie-esque shapes. It also just feels a little. Flat? Again, I’d like a secondary layer of ruffles on this one, make the weird poof shorts leggings or something. And find a visual motif other than all these damn scrunchies. Quit pissing me off. 

Episode 15 - The Storm Card

4/5

WE’RE SO BACK!!! God I really love this red and blue next to each other, every time CC has a costume with these colors it goes hard. It went hard with the very first costume, it goes hard here.They just compliment each other so well it’s mwah. Her big ol witch hat is cute, her big ol shorts are cute, her chunky boots are cute. It is missing a certain je ne sais quoi to bring it to a full 5/5, but I like everything happening here. Maybe if they leaned into the concept a little more it’d feel more impactful. She’s a little baby witch she’s a cutesies little baby witch baby baby witch my baby. 

Episode 20 - The Fight Card

3/5

I’m realizing I don’t like when they pull fabric into this bloomer shape, because I really don’t care for the shape of the skirt here. It doesn’t feel fair to score it too low because there’s nothing that specifically offends me, but I can’t say it’s one of my favorites. It’s sweet and simple, but doesn’t appeal to me personally. The colors are nice and the bows are cute - she looks like a little cream puff. 

Episode 23 - The Song Card

2/5

My feelings on this one are largely the same as the last, which makes sense since it looks mostly the same as the previous one also. It’s a very similar color scheme with a similar silhouette, which does make me like it less because it feels like more of a rehash than a new unique costume. Neither have anything particularly special about them, they’re just cute. Which is fine but doesn’t compel me when they aren’t even cute in distinct ways. Also minus points for the music note on her chest because I think it looks dumb and tacked on. 

Episode 24 - The Little Card

5/5

I take back everything I said about maid dresses being stupid I think this outfit is So cute she’s a little Alice in Wonderland ohhhhh my little baby… OK I’m going to defend myself here, the maid dress from before was lame because it served no purpose other than to fulfill the trope of The Maid Dress without elaborating on it in an interesting way while also actively subtracting from the concept of the episode. This maid dress is noble and pure of heart because it’s literally the whole bit of the episode, it’s the Alice in Wonderland episode, she’s dressed as Alice. Almost makes me like the catmaid less because why wouldn’t they just let this maid dress satisfy the expected trope of maid-dress-magical-girl. I like the big ol bow and the pink and blue compliment each other really well. It’s just cute she’s cute I love her. 

Episode 30 - The Dash Card

1/5

Tomoyo what the fuck. Where are you getting your jester references from. What sick version of pinterest are you on. I don’t like anything about this one. The colors are bad. The giant clasps/buttons on everything are bad. It’s all bad scrap it and start over. I don’t even really know what to say because it seems pretty clean cut. It’s bad and I don’t like it. Moving on. 

Episode 31 - The Big Card and the Create Card

5/5

Oh thank fuck we’re back. God I love this costume. One of my personal favorites. Mostly because of the color scheme, these colors are so good. It’s like a pastel version of the super saturated red and blue CC likes to use, with some extra secondary colors to really tie the whole thing together. Easily my favorite color palette of all the costumes. The big shoulder pauldrons, the fingerless gloves and the boots with the strong primary colors are giving a lot of Saturday morning action cartoon, and it’s awesome. She’s like a shoujo power ranger. This 9 year old’s gonna kick my ass. I love it. 

Opening 2 - Open the Door

5/5 

Not as iconic as the first intro, but really nothing is so that’s an unfair assessment. It is just as strong in my opinion and checks all the boxes of an opening costume for me. She still has her little wings, and the motif continues throughout the whole design. It’s very cohesive - it’s a perfect little feedback loop without anything unnecessary cluttering it up. They really upped the ante too, bringing in a bit more of a royal feel with the crown and the gold and white color scheme. The first opening costume set the tone for the show perfectly, and this new opening costume sets the stage for the climax of season 2 just as well. She’s not just a cute little magical girl starting out her journey anymore, she’s powerful and regal and in full command of her abilities. Well, at least in the opening, but she’ll get there soon enough. I don’t even mind the cream puff bloomers here because she’s so stinkin cute. She’s a little angel princess ohhh my little baby angel princess. My sweetie pea…

Episode 36 - The Snow Card

2/5

Incredibly underwhelming. Feels more like just a cute outfit than a proper costume. It’s kindof just shorts and a hoodie. Actually it’s literally just shorts and a hoodie. A cute hoodie, but a hoodie. I still don’t like the bloomer shorts they keep using they just look weird to me. It doesn't do anything Wrong per se, but it doesn’t really do anything Right either. There’s just nothing going on that interests me. Overall very forgettable. Which is especially lame for the first episode of season 2. 

Episode 43 - The Twin Card

3/5

This one’s a bit of a mixed bag. I really like the colors and Most of the costume, excluding the weird tummy cameo. Just button the rest of your buttons honey you’re gonna get cold. This picture also does it pretty dirty, she’s posed very stiffly, but it does look better in the actual episode. Not that much better though, there are still several things I would change, starting with that open midriff. Which is a shame because I think it’s really close to being really good, just needs some fine tuning. 

Episode 45 & 46 - The Final Judgement

5/5

Banger banger banger. Easily one of the best costumes of Cardcaptor. And thank god it is because if these episodes had something like the fucking bunny outfit I’d have been pissed. At least I can comfort myself with the fact CC saves the big winners for the biggest episodes. Because this costume is perfect. The color scheme is immaculate, the futuristic/ultra-modern design elements CC is drawn to paired with the more classic magical girl visuals is balanced perfectly here and forms something both visually appealing and uniquely Sakura. Also tickles me that she matches the sealing wand, just another small detail that makes this costume the perfect climax for season 2. It feels like she’s really come into her own and is fully embracing her ownership of the Clow Cards. Which is exactly what these two episodes are about. It’s a perfect visual representation of her character arc and puts her growth on full display. Also it’s cute as hell. Great costume. Makes me question whether some of my other 5s should be 4s. 

Opening 3 - Platinum

5/5

If the first opening costume was the first form and the second opening was the mid-evolution, then this outfit is the perfect, and I mean perfect, final evolution. Her wings have grown larger and, while still adorable, feel less like a cute accessory and more a visual signifier of her power. This opening song has a much more somber tone than the previous two, and this costume follows suit; it demands a bit more respect. Yes, it’s still very sweet, but it also has this ethereal feel on par with Yue or Ruby Moon, like she’s a magical being of a completely different caliber and not just a young girl with homework due Monday. She’s otherworldly. It’s light and airy and elegant but also whimsical - it’s simple and yet so impactful. I think its simplicity is what makes it so impactful. There’s no wasted effort, no unnecessary detail; it’s not gimmicky or kitschy, it’s clean and unified. And the details it does have all work toward this concept of finality and realized potential. Other than the wings on her back, the main motif here is the star, not a symbol of Clow, but of Sakura and her power. I would argue this costume is the second most iconic next to the first opening (sorry Open the Door, the world just isn’t ready for a magical girl outfit that isn’t pink) and for good reason. More than just cute, it’s a genuinely beautiful costume. But it is also cute. Truly Cardcaptor at its finest. 

Episode 47 - The Sakura Cards

2/5

Tomoyo What The Fuck. It’s not a one purely by merit of not being the worst CC costume, the weird lime green jester takes the cake on that, but there’s not much else working for it. Orange and blue Should look good together, but again, they’re both so saturated that they battle for dominance. The red and blue work together because they aren’t fighting to be the primary color of their respective costumes; typically one takes center stage with plenty of black or white to cool down the high contrast and give both colors room to breathe. Here though, every section of her is either bright bright orange or bright bright blue, with very little neutral territory to help guide the eye. I also don’t understand what this random red accent is doing here it’s not adding anything other than more visual clutter. The colors aren’t even my only issue, the shape of whatever suit she’s wearing is also upsetting to me. I don’t care for the patterning on it either. I don't really care for anything going on here. Confused and disjointed without any clear inspiration to make sense of the visuals. 

Episode 48 - The Firey Card

4/5 

Man this had a lot more ups and downs than I expected. Probably because the only costumes that stuck in my memory were the good ones, but hey we’re back to one of those right now. Another classy costume, nothing too out there or concept heavy, just a cute outfit with a good color scheme. I personally think the boots are the most interesting part of this; the design is still very homogenous with everything else around it, but it stands out as the most unique aspect of this outfit. The rest of it is pretty straightforward. It’s not quite a 5/5 because it’s missing that wow factor for me, but not everything can be a hard hitter. It’s a perfectly executed simple costume, which is a nice breather occasionally. 

Episode 50 - The Sword Card

3/5

I know it’s the sword episode but you really couldn’t use Any color in this one? I think a monochrome palette could be interesting, but I just don’t think it is here. I actually like the manga panels of this one more -  the contrast between the light grey and black works a lot more for me than with the white in the anime version. But I suppose that could be biased because the whole manga is in black and white so it stands out less sorely. I’m not talking about the manga here though I’m talking about the anime. You couldn’t even make it metallic? Shiny? Add some armor? Make her a little knight or something? You just make her midtone grey and slap a gold medal on her and call it good? What does the medal have to do with anything. Because it’s metal because sword metal equal metal medal is that is that what the medal is for. Despite my griping I don’t think it’s bad, just a little unconsidered. Or at least not the direction I would have taken. But hey, I’m not the creator of a multi-million dollar brand spanning multiple mediums, so what do I know.

Episode 52 - The Erase Card and the Power Card

2/5

I’m realizing a lot of the costumes I don’t like in the anime look much better in the CLAMP manga/watercolor style. Which makes sense because that’s the case for most things I like, but it’s making me feel bad for rating these so low when I don’t think it’s the costume itself I dislike, just the execution in the anime. Whatever I can’t start letting the manga art affect my opinion this far in. Anyways I don’t like this one very much. Again, I think my biggest issue is the colors. The design sketches look really fun, it’s very whimsical I like the silhouette of it. But the colors… in the official render….. aren’t great. I also just don’t like the way it’s rendered, she looks like she’s made of rubber. Part of the aesthetic appeal of CC to me is the soft, fuzzy look it has, which I know is because it’s an older show using the technology available at the time, but these renders just drain all the charm out of it. It’s too clean and shiny. It’s like looking at classic Sailor Moon vs. Crystal. It’s like an inbred pug. She can’t breathe like that. I’m getting off topic, this is about the design itself not the specific renders. I still don’t like it that much. 

Aside: I’m going back and looking at the manga art of the designs that scored poorly and dude. They’re so much better. They’re all so much better. Except the dumb fucking bunny which is apparently an anime exclusive because of course it is. You have a treasure trove of inspiration and you decide to go rogue and make her the fucking Easter bunny. You sicken me. Anyways go check out the CLAMP watercolor art for Cardcaptor, it’s really beautiful. 

Episode 58 - Yue and Cerberus

3/5

I feel kinda bad not giving it a 4/5 but I have too many specific complaints about this one to do so. The reason I feel bad is I don’t think my complaints are legitimate, I think they just show my personal preferences for costume designing. But there is no objective scoring system for art, so if I don’t allow myself to be biased, then I might as well not say anything at all. I just wish the exaggerated shapes were toned down like a teeny tiny bit. I knoww I keep saying Cardcaptor is sooo good at big shapes and ohhh the shapes mmm shapes good but I think it got pushed a little too far here. Just pull in the shoulder pauldrons a teensie bit, make the hair buns a hair (hah) smaller, and this would be an easy 4. Also not digging her designer uggs. Overall cute but I have notes. 

Episode 59 - The Shadow Card

3/5

Only thing keeping this from a 4 is the colors. Literally the only thing. It wouldn’t be a 5 just because it’s not a big showstopper but it is really cute. Just not perfect. If I could just do a quick color balance on this to make the pink and blue contrast a bit more (like in the CLAMP watercolor art cough cough), all my nitpickings would go out the window. I do also think it would really benefit from a tertiary color, even if it were just a lighter shade of pink or blue to add more depth, but it’s not a necessity. It only being two colors and those two colors being, again, so close in value is doing some serious damage here. Man we really are not on a great streak in season 3 what happened. 

Episode 68 and 69 - All Remaining Cards

2/5

It’s time… we’re here….. the final Cardcaptor Sakura costume…… everything has been leading up to this crucial moment. And it’s. mmmmmmmokay. I don’t think it’d earn a 2/5 if I were viewing it without context, but with the context being this is the grande finale of a multi-season show… it’s pretty disappointing. I don’t know why CC is holding back here, we know they can make stunning costumes, but this just isn’t one of them. Same gripe as the last costume, the colors just aren’t doing it for me. It’s giving burger joint mustard and ketchup bottles. And if your magical girl costume reminds me of Ronald McDonald, it’s not a good costume. I do appreciate that they both have the star motif to follow the Sakura Cards arc, but they feel a little unconsidered. Actually, looking at them side by side, I’m realizing they both have the same exact same big flat star on the exact same spot on their chests. Boo. Integrate the star a little more thoughtfully and change the colors to literally anything else, maybe throw in a third color to make certain details pop a bit more if you’re feeling generous, and this would be a much better costume. Hell if all you did was change the colors it’d easily bump it up a point. Not terrible, but definitely a let down for the final costume of the entire show. I know Cardcaptor can do so much better. 

And.... that's a wrap. God this ended up being way longer than I thought it would. Unfortunately I like thinking for a long time about things that really don't matter that much. I would like to do this for other franchises/rank the rest of the outfits in CC because I have a disease of the mind and like ranking things. This took me a couple weeks tho so I don't see myself dedicating that kindof time to something else immediately. I have a job. But one day.....

Also - open invitation to argue with me. I would be delighted if someone had other thoughts they felt compelled to share. I mostly made this for my own satisfaction but also I'd be enthused if there were another living breathing human being who was as insane about a 90s children's anime as I am. Ok I'm gonna be done now I have to make myself dinner byeeeeeeeeeeeeee~