Cardcaptor Sakura was the other hit collect 'em all anime from the 90s—and Sakura had a much better wardrobe than Ash Ketchum. Adapted from the manga of the same name by CLAMP, the show revolved around its titular, pint-sized Cardcaptor as she searched for mischievous, magical MacGuffins known as Clow Cards, which she accidentally let loose in her neighborhood.
The original run of the popular series lasted for 70 episodes, with two movies capping the main story off. It returned in 2018 for a follow-up series, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, which followed much the same plot as the first run. Despite its years off-air, Cardcaptor Sakura's fandom has remained an active one, meaning there's no shortage of related memes.
10 Biding His Time
Romance is almost as central to Cardcaptor Sakura as magic is, and it sure doesn't come easy to any of the characters. Tomoyo pines after Sakura, who pines after Yukito, who pines after Touya, who pines after Yukito back but never quite admits it.
After Sakura and Syaoran became firm friends, fans had to wait, as this meme points out, until the very end of the series for Syaoran to verbalize his true feelings about Sakura to her. We then had to wait until the release of the second movie for her to properly respond.
9 Her Number One Fan
Cardcaptor fans are just as obsessive about their favorite franchise as any others. But nobody will ever match up to Sakura's No. 1 in-world fangirl: Tomoyo. And not only Tomoyo Sakura's biggest supporter, but she's also her biggest benefactor, too.
Without Tomoyo, Sakura wouldn't have an adorable new battle outfit to change into each week, nor would she have any documented evidence of her secret exploits. There's really no-one that loves cardcapting more than Tomoyo.
8 Keep Cardcaptors Pure
Unusually for the medium, a lot of Cardcaptor memes are pretty wholesome, which stays true to the sweet and innocent nature of the show. The most quotable/screenshot-ed character is undoubtedly Kero, who provides much the series' comic relief.
The episode that this meme is referencing is the one where Tomoyo's voice is lost to The Voice card, leaving her only able to communicate by writing things down in her notebook. As demonstrated, this scene from it makes for prime meme bait.
7 The Good Old Days
As many an older anime fan will tell you, watching anime today is a breeze compared to the 80s and early 90s. Once upon a time, bootleg, amateur-subbed videotapes swapped around fan groups were the most direct method anime devotees had to access content from Japan.
The boom in popularity for the medium in the mid-90s saw an increase in official home releases overseas, and many still have warm, fuzzy memories of similarly fuzzy VHS recordings—a far cry from the smooth streaming services of today.
6 Plot Twist? Not So Much
The original US dub of Cardcaptor Sakura, or Cardcaptors, as it was known then, lives on in infamy for its controversial straight-washing. The manga and Japanese iteration of Cardcaptor Sakura makes it clear that many of the story's romances are queer ones.
Cardcaptors, however, did everything it possibly could do to erase these subplots, including cannibalizing episodes that featured them prominently to the point that they no longer made any sense. Thankfully, Clear Card was a more faithful Westernization, as this meme points out.
5 So Much Has Changed
It's the classic Hotline Bling meme with a Cardcaptor twist. This one again uses Sakura and Syaoran's slow-build romance as its subject, highlighting the pair's growth from 1998 to 2018.
Syaoran couldn't let go of his bitterness for Sakura when the two first met. The Chinese transfer student felt he was destined for her Cardcapting duty and couldn't hide his discontent that the role went to Sakura. But, by the time Clear Card began, their relationship couldn't be more different.
4 Over His Dead Body
Sakura's brother, Touya, loves to tease his little sister, but, deep down, we know that he really cares deeply for her. In fact, maybe a bit too deeply. Once Syaoran becomes more friendly with Sakura, it doesn't take long until Touya plays the protective older brother card. This means starting daggers at the poor kid whenever he's around him and Sakura, as depicted in this meme. Also depicted is Syaoran's departure for Hong Kong, but, fear not! He doesn't stay there forever.
3 They're Lovin' It
In case you've never come across it before, the McDonalds Alignment Chart meme sorts fictional characters according to what their response would be if they were offered McDonald's. It originates from a John Mulaney stand-up bit that a Tumblr user applied to Overwatch characters. This version uses Cardcaptor characters, featuring Sakura and Syaoran occupying the "you're the better cook. No, you are!" option, Kero and Yukito yelling the restaurant's name over and over, and Touya already working at one—of course.
2 A Passion For Fashion
If you've wondered why your favorite cartoon characters usually wear the same outfits over and over again, the answer can be found in this meme. It's just much more time and cost-effective for the animators' workload to not have to design brand outfits for every episode. This wasn't the case in Cardcaptor Sakura, in which Sakura's biggest fan, Tomoyo, insists that she has cute and fresh Cardcapting clothes for every occasion. As well as a great marketing ploy, the extra time and effort that went into this detail has long been appreciated by fans.
1 The Reluctant Mentor
While Keroberos, or Kero for short, is a loyal and affectionate companion to his new magical mistress, he can also be a slovenly, greedy oaf who'd rather spend the day playing video games and eating the Kinamotos out of house and home than lend a hand to Sakura.
Of course, this enables Sakura to become more self-reliant and Kero to become one of the series' most consistent sources of comedy, constantly demanding to be brought sweets and napping through many a battle on Sakura's pillow.