"Herein lie the Clow Cards—if their seal is broken, disaster shall befall this world..."

Sakura Kinomoto is an energetic and sweet 10-year-old girl attending Tomoeda Elementary School. One day not long after entering the fourth grade, Sakura finds a mysterious book titled The Clow hidden within her father's bookshelves. Upon opening it, a small, winged creature with an Osakan accent comes out of the book and introduces itself as Keroberos, the Creature of the Seal who guards magical cards known as the Clow Cards and keeps them from escaping the book.

Unfortunately for the plushy guardian, it seems that the Clow Cards have already escaped—and now Sakura is tasked with capturing them before the cards unleash their powers and cause havoc all over Tomoeda! With the support of the tiny guardian who she nicknames "Kero" and her best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji, Sakura must wield a magical bird-shaped key and use her new powers as the Cardcaptor to maintain peace and ensure that everything is alright.

Cardcaptor Sakura won the 32nd Seiun Award for Best Manga in 2001.

The series was published in English by Tokyopop from March 1, 2001, to August 5, 2003, and in 3-in-1 omnibus volumes by Dark Horse Comics from October 20, 2010, to September 19, 2012. Tokyopop's release split the manga into two six-volume series, the second of which is titled Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow. The series was published in Spain by Ediciones Glénat; in French by Pika Édition; in Italian by Edizioni Star Comics; in German by Egmont Manga; and in Brazilian Portuguese by Editora JBC.

The series was adapted into multiple video games, audio CDs, and artbooks.