Let me know how much you’re selling the 1st R1 boxset, as well as the high-quality bootleg (if you are willing to part with it). My e-mail is featherdust[at]gmail[dot]com. Thanks! =D

If you would be interested in just the first half of the series (R1 box set), I’d have that ready to go for a hopefully decent price, but that’s just half the series when you can get an eight DVD set of the whole series for the same price. It wouldn’t be economically wise to put so much money into half the set when the whole set (albeit bootleg) would be about the same price. And if you’re watching on TV, the bootleg I recommend out of them should be decent enough quality, even a widescreen hi def TV. At least I think that’s the photo I took from that set. With so many bootlegs, and two being AnimeCartoon bootlegs (and one a bootleg of the AnimeCartoon bootleg!), it’s hard to keep them all straight!

Of course, I’m looking to spend $1,000 on Cardcaptor Sakura this year, aside from what I spent on the R1 DVDs (the first half as a box set, then the 18 DVDs together), and all the bootlegs for writing quality reviews of to post in the first quarter or two in 2008. Who am I to talk about “economically wise”? =P

(At times like these I really, really regret not picking up the $75 boxset from animenation last year, before the license expired.)

@ Chris: Thank you so much for writing up the semi-review! I was actually eyeing the lower-quality DVDs you said to avoid. But why would the quality be inferior if these DVDs are the same Japanese version bootlegs as the “better quality” DVDs?

The series description from the 2-DVD bootleg made my day. It’s even worse than Babelfish translations! It’s like a mixture of Ja-Chin-glish under alcohol influences.

Finally, if you’re ever selling those R1 DVDs (assuming you still have them and would possibly want to get rid them), let me know. =)

I’ve been working on some writeups of the CCS bootlegs, but nothing to be up in time for Christmas for Asuka, I’m afraid. However, I can help a little here.

This box set has nice DVDs (although they’re single layer), and the quality is fair. It has the low quality subtitles, and the animation is compressed more than the official DVDs (8 DVDs rather than 18). However, the color and cropping differs from the official R1’s. Compare this one and this one. Offical R1 on the right, bootleg on the left. The Tomoyo one shows a wider face in one screenshot compared to the other, but that’s because the R1 release has black borders that my screenshot collage generator removes, causing the screenshot to “stretch” to fill the area.

The other item you’ll see is this one, with lower-quality looking DVDs, but they’re dual layer. Being dual layer doesn’t help the quality much compared to the other. These are the same Japanese version bootlegs as the above. Due to quality issues, I say avoid this one.

Finally, there’s the R1 bootleg, which has decent, but unconsistent DVD designs , which seem to be decent DVDs. Single layer.

I’ve experienced errors in various releases which made parts of the DVDs unplayable on my laptop. I don’t have my list of which available at the moment, I’m afraid, nor did I try these portions on a standard DVD player.

Actually, there is a two-DVD bootleg of the same release as the first two above. Avoid it, but at least enjoy the series description from the back of it. This one’s hard to find, thankfully, as you would not want to end up with this release. I think this one even lacks the subtitles to fit every episode onto two DVDs!

asuka: But that means you’re in luck, since the one I own is the same one that’s on that site.

Uh, comparing to the R1, I’m not really sure. I tried to compare them both recently, and there didn’t seem to be a huge difference video-wise. I’m sure if you’re discerning, there might be a difference, but either way the series is still 10 years old.

Of course, there are other changes; the region-free doesn’t contain any extras – not even the Kero omake! – and the subtitles are typical region-free quality (i.e. a bit shoddy; I haven’t watched it in a bit, so this is all from memory)

It’s still watchable though, and it seems like it’ll be your only option outside of paying quite a bit for the R1 copy (through Ebay, random sites, etc. I think some places are selling it for upwards of $200).

I would love to hope that there would be an R1 re-release, as the license for CCS is expired, so theoretically any company could pick it up. Somehow, I doubt it though.

I don’t claim to be a master of the industry, but I would say outside of the rumored remastering that Chris Fritz brought up, I don’t see a CCS re-release. I’m not sure how well magical girl shows sell nowadays.

Best of luck in your CCS quest.

Now that the R1 DVDs are out of print, would you recommend getting the “cheap” 8-disc region-free boxset (still going at about $100 at discountanimedvd)? I really want to get it for Christmas, but am kinda worried about the video quality. On the other hand, what are the chances of getting another re-release?

(…he said, going all hanyaan.)

DKellis: A card game show, eh? That’s impressive.

I’d definitely put Ep. 60 up there in the powerful moments category but my heavy background in visual novel adaptations kind would probably force me to pick something else for #1. I’m a sucker for anime that say ‘cry now kthx’.

I’ve also been looked at funny for liking a show aimed at a target audience half my age (well, two-fifths, to be precise) on the opposite side of the gender divide. Weirdly, I’ve tried watching some other magical girl shows (Ojamajo Doremi, Fushigiboshi no Futago-hime), and they just didn’t grab me the way CCS did from the first episode.

… you know, I probably should write yet another blog entry praising CCS to the heavens as it richly deserves.

I’ll also mention that I cannot think of any anime with a Moment as powerful as episode 60 of CCS. It did not cement my love for the show, since that had happened long before, but it reaffirmed it in great letters of fire and stone one hundred meters tall, as a monument to all who would witness it that this was how to write a character giving up her love for another.