

This was likely done because they couldn’t skip the plot of Toya giving up his powers but they also wanted to minimize the queer content. The Kids WB version also edited the episodes where Toya gives his power to Yukito and Yukito confesses his attraction to Toya (originally two back-to-back episodes) into one single episode. Perish the thought that someone might see a boy crush on another boy! How will we live as a society?
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They were going to make this a boys action series no matter what they had to do and you certainly can’t have queerness in a show in the early 2000’s, let alone one meant for young boys. The Canadian dub of the show certainly changed many elements but the Kids WB version radically altered the show even further. More content was cut and some episodes were combined, mostly done to push Syaoran as a more important character and focus on the action in an attempt to appeal to boys. The show was further edited when it was aired on Kids WB, with only 39 of the 70 episodes shown. The conversation between Sakura and Yukito about who he likes is also changed to be Sakura learning “Julian” knows about his angel spirit. The scene where Toya (now named Tori) gives Yukito (now named Julian) his powers he actually says, “I don’t want to lose my BEST. All 70 episodes of the series were dubbed in Canada with some major edits occurring, including removal of any romantic pairings and especially the queerness. As previously mentioned, when Cardcaptor Sakura was brought over to North America it was adapted into Cardcaptors. Unless you were a kid in America, like me. That’d be a welcome addition to any kids series today but it was especially groundbreaking for kids to see it in 2000. It’s later explained he was actually drawn to the angel spirit (you’re going with it!) inside Yukito but still, Sakura and Syaoran competed for the affections of the same boy for a good chunk of the show. There’s Tomoyo clearly being written as a lesbian and even Syaoran believes he has a crush on Yukito for a good chunk of the series. This isn’t the only case of queerness in Cardcaptor Sakura. The two have feelings for each other and they are queer. He even refers to Toya as his “number one” and for the rest of the series the two share several scenes where they’re clearly affectionate for each other.

This is especially powerful because that magic was the only way Toya could see the spirit of his dead mother. Toya, who had previously been established as having some magical power of his own, gives all of it to Yukito to keep him alive. Towards the end of the series, there’s a plotline involving Yukito slowly dying because he has a magical angel spirit inside of him (go with it) and doesn’t have enough energy to live. The two start off as close friends but it’s clear as the show goes on that Yukito and Toya are more than friends. The reason I bring them up is because they are very, very queer. Yukito is gentle, sweet, and loves to scarf down as much food as possible.

Toya has a tough guy exterior but deep down cares about the people closest to him.
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The supporting cast is full and rich but the two most important characters to mention are Toya, Sakura’s older teen brother, and Yukito, her brother’s best friend. Cardcaptor Sakura is a series where the characters emotions and relationships take precedence over any action. It’s an extremely adorable series and for every intense action scene, like Sakura fighting off a giant dragon conjured from her friend’s imagination, there’s three adorable scenes with her doing low stakes activities like performing in a play or baking a cake. She’s joined by magical boy/rival turned love interest Syaoran Li, her best friend Tomoyo, and mystical guardian beast of the Clow Cards/cute animal companion Kero. Each card she captures gives her new magical powers and she isn’t alone. The original series tells the story of young Sakura Kinomoto and her journey to retrieve the mystical Clow Cards in order to prevent a great catastrophe befalling the world. I didn’t know this at the time but Cardcaptors was an English reworking of the Japanese kids series Cardcaptor Sakura, originally released as a manga by the all-women artist group Clamp. This was the show that made me realize it was okay to like men.ĭespite what the oddly alluring narrator voice told me, I wasn’t prepared. I had no idea that this would be the show that, despite some of the heaviest censorship and edits ever seen in anime, would introduce me to queer characters for the first time.

I had no idea then how much of an effect it would have on my life. That was, of course, my journey into discovering Cardcaptors.
