The pink petals that swirl in the wind whenever a girl catches the eye of her crush; the countless skeletons buried under their roots; the myriad of petal themed attacks...

Whichever interpretation you want, no one can deny that sakura always means a lot to us.

That's why we made this list of top 10 Sakura character we're most familiar with in anime.

10. Sakura Matou – Fate/Stay Night

A young woman who possesses immense natural power and great inner strength, despite the many hardships she faces.

She has a not-so-subtle crush on Shirou Emiya and often helps him with his chores. She has a gentle smile and is talented at archery.

In English you’d probably call her something like “Rosie Rose”.

9. Sakura Sakurakouji – Code: Breaker

A beautiful girl that boys want to protect… before they realise she’s a martial arts expert.

She’s friendly and elegant and slightly naive. Her protective and good natured personality poses a bit of a problem after she catches her bus and witnesses something unusual through the window… a teenage boy mercilessly burning people with a mysterious blue flame.

She ultimately gets drawn into the underworld of Code:Breaker, an organisation that hires assassins with strange powers and secretly works under the government…!

Next time you get on public transport, remember that you might just witness a handsome young assassin frying people on your way home.

8. Sakura Mizukami – D-Frag!

One of the Game Creation Club (Temp) girls, Sakura believes she has power over water and can use it in combat.

This involves pouring water on her hands and forcing her opponents to choke down bottles of water, all with a bright smile on her face. Her weak spot is surely the threat of water restrictions.

Wrestling idols? What will they think of next? A cricket player acting? Oh, wait…

7. Sakura Hagiwara – Gonna be the Greatest in the World!

Sakura’s a cutesy pop idol in the group Sweet Diva. After a female wrestler injures one of her co-members Sakura decides to become a wrestler to avenge her friend.

Turns out she’s not too bad at it. What sort of training do idols do behind the scenes anyway?

“I’m hot, I’m rich and I’ve never had to worry about a thing!”

6. Ichiko Sakura – Good Luck Girl!

A high school girl blessed with great luck, she is smart, attractive and never has to work hard at anything.

It turns out she’s been absorbing Happiness energy from those around her, disrupting the World’s energy balance.

Because of her fortunate life, Ichiko has a big ego and thinks money is more important than being with people who love you.

She’s actually quite lonely, and eventually learns how to be a more caring person.

Sakura skips classes to fight. Kids, don’t skip class, not even if a maniacal dictator hell bent on world domination is hanging around.

5. Sakura Kasugano – Street Fighter

A school girl who teaches herself martial arts after watching Ryu win the first World Warrior tournament.

Her style may be an emulation of Ryu’s, but she is a strong fighter in her own right and has the potential to become even stronger than her idol.

She has a strong sense of justice and won’t hesitate to help out anyone in trouble.

4. Kyoko Sakura – Madoka Magica

A veteran magical girl who always seems to be eating something. She’s stubborn, brash and aggressive, preferring to work by herself than in a team.

However, after she warms up to the other magical girls, she becomes a loyal comrade, willing to sacrifice herself for others.

Her combat skills are highly developed and, despite her fiery temper, remains level headed in combat.

A little bit of tea before murders never hurt anyone. Maybe.

3. Sakura Oogami – Dangan Ronpa

Despite being buffer than all the Dangan Ronpa cast combined, Sakura is a noble and quiet girl who would rather be friends than fight…

That is, unless you’re challenging her to a martial arts or wrestling match, in which case she won’t hesitate to beat you down.

“Hot damn my forehead is looking fine.”

2. Sakura Haruno – Naruto

Where once Sakura just seemed like a mostly useless side character, she really came into her own as the series went on, developing her medical jutsu and becoming a truly valuable member of the team.

She also got her man in the end, despite her big forehead.

The number one sakura of our hearts.

1. Sakura Kinomoto – Cardcaptor Sakura/Tsubasa Chronicle

In Cardcaptor Sakura, she’s a ten year old who unwittingly frees the Clow cards and must find them before they cause trouble.

In Tsubasa Chronicles, she’s the princess of Clow and in love with her childhood friend, Syaoran. Her memories get separated from her and turned into feathers, causing Syaoran to go on a journey to find them.

In both incarnations, Sakura is a positive and upbeat girl, always ready to offer a smile and her assistance when times get tough.

“What if you were sitting under the tree and all the leaves fell off at the same time, do you think you’d die-“

Is your favourite Sakura on the list?

(source:madman)