Cardcaptor Sakura Manga Buying Guide: Collector's Edition, Clear Card and the Omnibus
Kodansha's nine Collector's Edition hardcovers and sixteen Clear Card paperbacks with checked ISBNs and list prices, and what to know about the older omnibus.
CLAMP's Cardcaptor Sakura is two manga, not one long series: the original story, which Kodansha USA publishes as nine Collector’s Edition hardcovers, and the sequel Clear Card, published as sixteen paperbacks. Both current English runs are complete. The buying question is less which edition to choose than how to keep the two runs straight, and what to do about the older omnibus editions on the secondhand market.
The original story: Collector’s Edition 1 to 9
Penguin Random House’s listing for Kodansha Comics gives Collector’s Edition 1 as a hardcover at $29.99 US, 256 pages, 7 × 10 inches, published June 25, 2019, and calls the edition “the definitive version of the story, for both long-time fans and readers new to the story.” Collector’s Edition 9, flagged “FINAL VOLUME!”, followed on November 23, 2021 at 304 pages. All nine carry the same $29.99 list price, so the full run lists at $269.91 US.
| Book | ISBN-13 | Released | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collector’s 1 | 9781632367518 | 2019-06-25 | 256 |
| Collector’s 2 | 9781632368652 | 2019-10-15 | 256 |
| Collector’s 3 | 9781632368669 | 2020-01-28 | 240 |
| Collector’s 4 | 9781632368768 | 2020-03-25 | 240 |
| Collector’s 5 | 9781632368775 | 2020-08-18 | 240 |
| Collector’s 6 | 9781632368782 | 2020-11-17 | 240 |
| Collector’s 7 | 9781632368799 | 2021-02-16 | 240 |
| Collector’s 8 | 9781632368805 | 2021-06-22 | 258 |
| Collector’s 9 | 9781632368812 | 2021-11-23 | 304 |
The Japanese original ran to twelve volumes, according to Anime News Network, so nine Collector’s books do not line up one-to-one with Japanese or older English volume numbers. The publisher listings do not say which chapters each book holds. A reader switching editions partway should go by chapter, and the edition-switching guide explains how to count the overlap. Our Cardcaptor Sakura inventory carries every ISBN above.
The sequel: Clear Card 1 to 16
Clear Card 1 is a paperback at $10.99 US, 160 pages, 5 × 7½ inches, published December 19, 2017. Its description says the series “picks up right where Cardcaptor Sakura left off, with Sakura and Syaoran starting junior high school.” Clear Card 16 is listed as book 16 of 16, published March 11, 2025 at 224 pages. At $10.99 each the sixteen list at $175.84 US. In Japan the manga is finished: ANN reported its final chapter in Nakayoshi’s January 2024 issue and a 16th and final Japanese volume due on April 1, 2024.
| Book | ISBN-13 | Released | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Card 1 | 9781632365378 | 2017-12-19 | 160 |
| Clear Card 2 | 9781632365385 | 2018-02-27 | 160 |
| Clear Card 3 | 9781632365392 | 2018-04-10 | 160 |
| Clear Card 4 | 9781632366191 | 2018-06-26 | 160 |
| Clear Card 5 | 9781632366597 | 2018-11-20 | 160 |
| Clear Card 6 | 9781632367198 | 2019-11-26 | 160 |
| Clear Card 7 | 9781632368324 | 2020-03-31 | 160 |
| Clear Card 8 | 9781632369062 | 2020-11-17 | 160 |
| Clear Card 9 | 9781646510337 | 2021-07-13 | 160 |
| Clear Card 10 | 9781646512881 | 2021-10-05 | 160 |
| Clear Card 11 | 9781646514397 | 2022-05-24 | 160 |
| Clear Card 12 | 9781646515684 | 2022-10-18 | 160 |
| Clear Card 13 | 9781646516872 | 2023-04-25 | 192 |
| Clear Card 14 | 9781646518869 | 2023-11-14 | 160 |
| Clear Card 15 | 9798888772669 | 2024-09-24 | 160 |
| Clear Card 16 | 9798888773734 | 2025-03-11 | 224 |
Our Clear Card inventory tracks the same sixteen books.
Collector’s Edition versus the omnibus
The two current runs are different books in different formats, and the numbering is where buyers go wrong. Collector’s Edition 1 and Clear Card 1 are not two versions of the same volume: the first is the start of the original story in a large hardcover, the second is the start of the sequel in a standard paperback. Read the nine hardcovers first, then the sixteen paperbacks, and record the full title next to each number on a checklist.
The omnibus is a third, older option. ANN’s 2016 report says Tokyopop released the original series in English in two editions, and Dark Horse Comics later released it in omnibus format. This guide has not found publisher product records for those books, so it lists no ISBNs, contents or prices for them, and they are outside our inventory. A secondhand omnibus is a separate purchase decision: check which chapters it collects before treating it as a substitute for any Collector’s book, and do not assume the English text matches Kodansha’s.
Which to buy
For a new reader the choice is simple because there is only one current English edition of each story. Start with Collector’s Edition 1; it is the larger outlay per book, at $29.99 against $10.99 for a Clear Card paperback, but it is the only way to begin the story in a current Kodansha printing. Readers who already own an older run can go straight to Clear Card 1, since the sequel exists in English only as these paperbacks. Prices here are publisher list prices on the dates shown, not shop offers or stock.
The anime follows a slightly different route through the same material; the Cardcaptor Sakura watch order covers the TV series, the two films and Clear Card.