CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

CDLviking wrote us this much needed review for the popular CCS series (and if you're wondering, he did base it on Pioneer's official subtitled release, not the irksome dub that's shown on TV).

http://christiananime.net/reviews.php?display=167

Gypsy wrote:he did base it on Pioneer's official subtitled release, not the irksome dub that's shown on TV

What a marvelous phrase!

Thanks, CDL for writing this review!

Ouch, 8/10 on Bad Religion? I've seen the first 24 eps and so far I'd give it something like a 4/10. There are things that bother me, like Shaoran's "compass" and how he calls on false gods and all, and I still don't know what to make of this "key that hides the powers of the Dark" thing, but from what I've seen a 8/10 seems harsh. Yes there's magic, but what I've seen at least is mostly just flashy effects, not occultic sorcery. It just seems like a typical magical girl anime. The magic Sakura uses doesn't seem to be much more than super powers, besides you have to be born with the power to use it, unlike real life. As for the same sex attraction, I hear the Shaoran/Yukito thing is explained later, and as for Tomoyo, though she seems to adore Sakura, she acts all dreamy and blushes at alot of things, Sakura or not. That's just her personality. Besides she supports Sakura getting together with Yukito. So unless there's anything going on later in the show that I haven't seen yet, I don't get the 8/10 rating.

I agree with Jeikobu. 8/10 is a little harsh. Tell me how Slayers can have a 4/10 religion rating and CCS can have an 8??

You can have more than one review for an anime right? If so, maybe you should do one for CCS, Rocketshipper. Nothing against the current review, but we should have a second opinion so not everyone thinks CCS is a series with so much "Bad Religion" content that it's worthy of an 8/10.

Sorry, guys - one review per title. Also, I'd suggest really reading into the details rather than just basing it on the numbers. There's really no objectional way to gage the number scale - they are just there to give a glance of the rest of the review.

CDL, you said the music wasn't all that exceptional, and I would have to disagree. There were some Maaya Sakamoto songs and so many spectacular songs that were memorable from the series like "Catch You Catch Me" to name one. I have the Theme Song Collection and its got 12 great songs. I would have given it much higher praise for the music.

I also would have noted that the manga was written by CLAMP, but I saw no mention of this phenomenal manga-producing team.

Also, I'd have to give this a 5 or 6/10 rating on bad religion and I'm not sure how it got the 8/10. This wasn't blatant bad religion or occultic, which is when I would go over 5, and all very fantastical magic stuff, even more minor than Sailor Moon.

I also wish you wouldn't have claimed the Clow Cards in the same catagory as Tarot cards. I'm sure they were never seen as anything like Tarot Cards except maybe a similar shape. But then, how many different shapes can you form a card set? These cards had creatures inside them which Sakura had to capture and never foretold any future events or even changed future events. They had nothing to do with the occult.

Overall, I agreed with your basic anime overview of the story. Its just sad that it will now be seen as something much more dangerous than this clean and cute little anime it is. ( -_-);;;

BTW, the Geneon gave it a 13+ rating. I have some of the DVD's.

TThis is why I really hope that people read the threads that go along with these reviews. Opinions on music and such will always vary and it's nice to get other people's perspectives.

And I have no problem with people disagreeing with religious content - the fact of the matter is that religious content is (usually) based on the viewer's interpretation. Sometimes people complain that this or that anime didn't get a high enough overall score, but the fact of the matter is that the reviewer was the person that took the time to sit down and write a review for everyone - therefore, it's their opinion that's going to come across on the official review. I wish that religious content could fall under the non-negotiable categories (like sexual content, nudity, language, and story synopsis) but we're pretty diversified here. Thankfully, most people understand this and are respectful (check out t_n_c's post above) when they disagree.

No one is every going to find a review perfect, but in these threads, you may (respectfully!) share your opinion and views to give review readers a wider scope.

And I will see to it that CLAMP is mentioned in the review.

I realize I'm coming in rather late here, but I'd like to explain why I rated it like I did. To me the rating I gave it was not in relation to the offensiveness of the material, but to the quantity and pervasiveness. The 8 rating is not intended to suggest that the show is unsuitable for Christians to watch but, more of a warning to be aware of the content that is there. I tend to rate things on the side of caution, keeping an eye out for whatever could reasonably be seen as offensive, even if I myself do not find it to be so. It's been a while since I wrote this, but I believe I tried to qualify the rating in the review by stating that a properly formed and educated Christian should have little problem identifying any troublesome elements in the show or recognizing it for being pure fantasy.

Ouch, 8/10 on Bad Religion? ...As for the same sex attraction, I hear the Shaoran/Yukito thing is explained later, and as for Tomoyo, though she seems to adore Sakura, she acts all dreamy and blushes at alot of things, Sakura or not. That's just her personality. Besides she supports Sakura getting together with Yukito. So unless there's anything going on later in the show that I haven't seen yet, I don't get the 8/10 rating.

Yes, Shaoran/Yukito is explained later on and I tend to discount Tomoyo/Sakura as a close friendship, but others may not. Also there is another relationship that comes more towards the front towards the end that is also troublesome. There are things that go on later on that did raise the score a bit also. And while I still feel it should be viewed as simple fantasy, the magic did get a bit more occult later in the show.

CDL, you said the music wasn't all that exceptional, and I would have to disagree. There were some Maaya Sakamoto songs and so many spectacular songs that were memorable from the series like "Catch You Catch Me" to name one. I have the Theme Song Collection and its got 12 great songs. I would have given it much higher praise for the music.

I always hate writing the music portion of reviews because I know that there are people who are more into the music than I am. I mainly watch for the story, while the music is an interesting back drop. Very seldom do I find a song that I find worth mentioning. So I appreciate you're weighing in on this subject for anyone else who has a love for music.

I also wish you wouldn't have claimed the Clow Cards in the same catagory as Tarot cards. I'm sure they were never seen as anything like Tarot Cards except maybe a similar shape. But then, how many different shapes can you form a card set? These cards had creatures inside them which Sakura had to capture and never foretold any future events or even changed future events. They had nothing to do with the occult.

There was an isolated instance of them being used in this fashion when she was hunting the mirror card. Perhaps it should be mentioned that it was a one time deal, but it still happened and I felt that people should know in order to make an educated decision about the show.

Overall, I agreed with your basic anime overview of the story. Its just sad that it will now be seen as something much more dangerous than this clean and cute little anime it is. ( -_-);;;

BTW, the Geneon gave it a 13+ rating. I have some of the DVD's.

I think the review should be read as a whole. I rated the show as 10+ which should show that I do not really find it to be incredibly dangerous. The review itself will usually explain why I gave the rating I did, and any disclaimers that should go along with it.

I appreciate all the input and would like to assure you that I am not in the least hurt that you take exception to my rating. I was simply erring on the side of caution.

CDLviking wrote:I realize I'm coming in rather late here, but I'd like to explain why I rated it like I did. To me the rating I gave it was not in relation to the offensiveness of the material, but to the quantity and pervasiveness. The 8 rating is not intended to suggest that the show is unsuitable for Christians to watch but, more of a warning to be aware of the content that is there. I tend to rate things on the side of caution, keeping an eye out for whatever could reasonably be seen as offensive, even if I myself do not find it to be so. It's been a while since I wrote this, but I believe I tried to qualify the rating in the review by stating that a properly formed and educated Christian should have little problem identifying any troublesome elements in the show or recognizing it for being pure fantasy.

Fair enough. I guess how I'd rate it would be on the offensiveness of the material (also the amount of it), so that's probably why I took it that way. Maybe what we should do in the future is mention how we rate things so the readers won't get the wrong idea.

CDLviking wrote:Yes, Shaoran/Yukito is explained later on and I tend to discount Tomoyo/Sakura as a close friendship, but others may not. Also there is another relationship that comes more towards the front towards the end that is also troublesome.

The manga seemed a bit suggestive of Tomoyo's love for Sakura being more than a friendship (at least where I am. I've read through volume 2 and in it Tomoyo says at one point, "I love you alot, Sakura-chan", Sakura responds "Hey, me too!" Tomyo then says "I think we're talking about different kinds of love, Sakura-chan"), but at least in the anime, it felt less suggestive. Besides, though Tomoyo gets so excited over Sakura like she does, that's just her personality, and she often seems very in favor of Sakura [SPOILER]being with Shaoran[/SPOILER] in the end of the series.
As for the other relationship you are referring to you, are you talking about [SPOILER]Yukito/Yue and Touya?[/SPOILER]

CDLviking wrote:There are things that go on later on that did raise the score a bit also. And while I still feel it should be viewed as simple fantasy, the magic did get a bit more occult later in the show.

"Things that go on later"? Such as? I thought the show only improved as a whole as it went on. And I see in no way how the magic became "more occult" later on. It never felt different to me.

CDLviking wrote:There was an isolated instance of them being used in this fashion when she was hunting the mirror card. Perhaps it should be mentioned that it was a one time deal, but it still happened and I felt that people should know in order to make an educated decision about the show.

That was the one part of CCS I really didn't like. Thankfully it was only one time, but you're right that it should be noted. However, one short scene shouldn't keep one from seeing the whole anime.

As for the other relationship you are referring to you, are you talking about

yes

Originally posted by CDLviking:
There are things that go on later on that did raise the score a bit also. And while I still feel it should be viewed as simple fantasy, the magic did get a bit more occult later in the show.

"Things that go on later"? Such as? I thought the show only improved as a whole as it went on. And I see in no way how the magic became "more occult" later on. It never felt different to me.

Things like the magic being based on the sun, moon, and stars. Also, some religious relativism, such as playing music at a Christmas mass to give thanks not to God, but to the Earth. In general the first half seemed to be more about collecting the cards, while the second half went into the magic behind them.

Heh. I saw a set of CCS cards at GameStop one time. I didn't buy them, beause I didn't knwo what they were; tarot cards, or not? I still don't know if I would buy them, though they're just toys.

I don't think there would be anything wrong with buying them.

I just thought I'd let people know that Geneon's just collected this series into a box set. Anime Insider says it's available sometime in Oct 2005.

I own the first box. It's simply awesome, a must have. The first half of the series in a box that, under the slip cover, looks exactly like the Clow Book.
The 2nd box will be out 11/15/05.