This is a list of characters from the manga series Cardcaptor Sakura and its anime adaptation.

Protagonists

Sakura Kinomoto

Syaoran Li

Tomoyo Daidōji

Clow Reed

Cerberus

Yukito Tsukishiro

Yue

Antagonists

Eriol Hiiragizawa

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 control 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 has passed the Last Judgement and become 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. Its 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 causing 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 converted 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 sent the cards out of control or drained Sakura's own life.

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 his 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

is the cat-like magical guardian created by Eriol Hiiragizawa as a counter part to Clow Reed's original guardian Cerberus. Spinel Sun's true form is a 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 site of the main characters, except when he once runs into Cerberus in his false form. 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 enable him to defeat him.

In the anime adaptation, he voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi in his true form, and by Yumi Touma 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

is one of two magical guardians created by Eriol Hiiragizawa. The counterpart to the original guardian Yue, Ruby Moon is genderless but refers to herself as female. When Eriol transfers to Tomoeda Elementary, Ruby Moon created a false form named 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 its 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. 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.

Supporting characters

Toya Kinomoto

Sakura's older brother. He enjoys teasing Sakura, calling her the 'Monster' for fun. To Sakura, he's just the regular annoying big brother. In reality, he really does care for her and wishes to protect her. He and Syaoran don't get along. He has countless part-time jobs, ranging from a waiter at an amusement park to a Teddy Bear Mascot, and shows up virtually everywhere Sakura goes.

Fujitaka Kinomoto

is the father of titular character Sakura Kinomoto, and a descendant of the creator of the Clow Cards, 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 which became Eriol Hiiragizawa holding all of the 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 people'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.

Meiling Li

is a character that appears only in the anime adaptation of Cardcaptor Sakura. Introduced in episode 19, 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 withdraw 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 give him up.

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 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.

Chiharu Mihara

is a friend and classmate of Sakura Kinomoto, as well as a fellow member of the cheerleading squad. Chiharu is often in charge of stopping Takashi Yamazaki when he starts spinning lies about the history of objects and events. Though she is regularly seen jokingly strangling him or dragging him away by his collar, they have been friends since kindergarten and are a couple. At the end of the series when Sakura is struggling to come to terms with her feelings for Syaoran, Chiharu gives her advice about love and acknowledging your true feelings.

In the anime adaptation, Chiharu and Yamazaki's relationship is less clearly stated, but she gives him chocolates for Valentine's Day and they are frequently seen together both in and out of school. When Sakura is shown a world where everyone connected to the cards has lost their feelings for the one they love the most, Chiharu and Yamazaki are shown reacting to one another as virtual strangers. Chiharu's name is changed to Chelsea in the Cardcaptors English adaptation of the series, and she and Yamazaki are changed from a couple to cousins displaying sibling rivalry.

She is voiced by Miwa Matsumoto in the original anime series, by Jocelyne Loewen in Cardcaptors and by Dorothy Elias-Fahn in the English dub of the second film.

Maki Matsumoto

is a character that appears only in the Cardcaptor Sakura anime adaptation. She first appears in the fifth episode, opening a new gift shop in Tomoeda called Twin Bells. Sakura sees her setting up shop and helps her clean up after some boxes fall over. After the shop opens, Maki has trouble a mysterious stuffed animal that keeps returning to her shop every time someone buys it, resulting in accusations that Maki is stealing it back. Sakura discovers that the stuffed animal is the The Jump card and seals it. Maki later introduces a line of "enchanted cards", which resemble Clow Cards, that grant their owners good luck. The Shot is among the cards in the rack, eventually being purchased by Meiling who accidentally causes it to attack Syaoran. Sakura and her classmates shop at Twin Bells regularly and Maki makes brief appearances throughout the first season of the series and in both films.

In the original Japanese series, Maki is voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi. In the English dub Cardcaptors, her name is changed to Maggie.

Sonomi Daidōji

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, but 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.

Yoshiyuki Terada

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 school several 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 mirror 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 theCardcaptors dub, he is voiced by Brian Drummond.

Rika Sasaki

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 a couple of time. 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 judgement when Yue show's 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

Naoko Yanagisawa

is one of Sakura Kinomoto's elementary school classmates and friends. She is also on the cheerleading squad with Sakura. Naoko loves to read, particularly fantasy stories and ghost stories. She finds mysterious situations fascinating and shows no fear of scary situations. In the 31st episode of the anime adaptation, Naoko accidentally acquires the The Create card, which had disguised itself as a book. In book form, The Create would create anything that Naoko wrote in the book, though she was unaware of it. This results in Sakura and company having to deal with a confusing area of odd mystical creatures and circumstances, including a fire-breathing dragon. When she goes to bed and closes the book, the card's power is stopped and Sakura is able to capture it. When Naoko wakes in the morning to find the book gone, she thinks it disappeared from a supernatural experience and is happy.

During an interview, Clamp noted that they had originally intended for the character to have a long-distance boyfriend, but the chapter featuring that story was cut out of the series.

Naoko is voiced by Emi Motoi. In the English adaptation Cardcaptors, her name is changed to Nikki and she is voiced by Kelly Sheridan. In the English dub of the second movie, she is voiced by Sherry Lynn.

Nadeshiko Kinomoto

is the mother of the series titular character, Sakura Kinomoto, who died seven years before the series starts. Only seen in flashbacks, photographs, and as a spirit, Nadeshiko was a high school student and professional model when she met and fell in love with Fujitaka Kinomoto, who was her teacher. Her family disapproved of their marriage when Nadeshiko was sixteen. Nadeshiko continued to send gifts to her father, and maintained contact with her cousin Sonomi Daidōji. At the age of 27, Nadeshiko died, and Sonomi, who loved Nadeshiko greatly, blamed Fujitaka. It is hinted that after her death, the Amamiya family cut off all contact with Fujitaka and the children from the marriage, as Sakura is shown learning that Sonomi, who is the mother of her best friend, is a relative, and meeting her grandfather for the first time as the series progresses.

Though Nadeshiko has died, her love for Fujitaka and her children, and visa versa continues to live on. She frequently visits the family as a winged spirit, though initially only Toya can see her. In the manga, it is noted that Toya likely inherited this power from Nadeshiko, implying she too could see spirits. Throughout the series, she worries over Sakura as the young girl begins gathering the Clow Cards. When the Illusion card tricks Sakura into walking off a cliff, Nadeshiko's spirit grabs her arm and keeps her from falling until Yukito Tsukishiro arrives to catch her. Later in the series, when Sakura develops a high fever, Nadeshiko appears and puts her hand on Sakura's forehead, lowering the fever. When Fujitaka goes to talk to her father for the first time in a long time, she rains Sakura blossoms over them to show her happiness that they are reconciling.

The family is shown to also still love her, most noticeably through a picture kept in the dining area near the kitchen table. Fujitaka changes the picture each morning and Sakura always greets the picture while coming to breakfast. At the end of the series, after Fujitaka receives half of Eriol's powers, he and Nadeshiko are happily "reunited" as the magic allows him to finally see her.

In the anime adaptation, Nadeshiko's role is generally unchanged, except that Fujitaka is never able to see her as he does not receive any magical powers. She is voiced by Yūko Minaguchi. In the Cardcaptors English dub, her name is changed to Natasha Avalon.

Takashi Yamazaki

is a student in Sakura Kinomoto's, and the only male student in the class to be referred to by name before the introduction of Syaoran Li . The character is named after film director, Takashi Yamazaki, who is a friend of the series creators, CLAMP.. Throughout the series, Yamazaki's defining trait is his ability to fabricate highly detailed fake stories and histories about practically any subject. While most of his classmates see through these fabrications, Sakura and Syaoran often believe them. When the character Eriol Hiiragizawa is introduced in the second half of the series, he becomes Yamazaki's storytelling ally. The two are able to respond to one another's clues perfectly and spin complex stories on the fly.

Fellow classmate Chiharu Mihara often interrupts his stories so others know when he is lying, and proceeds to punish him for lying by pretending to strangle him or by dragging him away by his collar. While the two often seem to be arguing, they are actually a couple and have known one another since kindergarten. She is the only girl in the series that he addresses by her first name. Despite Yamazaki's often joking nature, he is shown to have a serious and sensitive side as well, willing to jump into a fierce wave to attempt to save fellow classmate Rika from drowning, and leaving Chiharu alone to talk to Sakura when Sakura was struggling with her feelings for Syaoran.

In the anime adaptation, Yamazaki is the only character to be rarely shown with his eyes open. His relationship with Chiharu is left more ambiguous, though on the day of Judgement when Sakura is shown a world in which everyone losing their feelings for the person they love the most, Yamazaki and Chiharu lose their feelings for each other and are shown to be strangers.

In the Cardcaptors English adaptation, Yamazaki's name is changed to Zachary Marker and all hints of his relationship with Chiharu are removed. Instead, they are said to be cousins and the Chiharu's joking strangling of Yamazaki is considered to be sibling rivalry.

Yamazaki is voiced by Issei Miyazaki in the anime adaptation, and by Philip Pacaud in Cardcaptors. In the English dub of the second film, he is voiced by Joshua Seth.

References