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Syaoran Li (李 小狼, Japanese: Ri Shaoran?, Chinese pinyin Lǐ Xiǎoláng or Li Xiaolang), is a fictional character in Clamp's manga and anime series Cardcaptor Sakura. He is known as Li Showron in the English adaptation, Cardcaptors. He is voiced by Motoko Kumai in Cardcaptor Sakura and by Miyu Irino in Tsubasa Chronicle. In Cardcaptors, he is voiced by Rhys Huber in Season 1, Jordan Kilik in Season 2, and by Mona Marshall in the 2nd Movie. He is voiced by Jason Liebrecht in Tsubasa Chronicle.

Syaoran is also the protagonist in Clamp's crossover manga series Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and its subsequent anime, Tsubasa Chronicle. His characterization here is mostly independent of his characterization in Cardcaptor Sakura and is discussed further below.

Syaoran has also appeared in Clamp's xxxHolic.

Syaoran's name is Chinese in origin, commonly romanized from Chinese as Xiaolang. His given name, Syaoran (小狼, Syaoran?), in both Chinese and Japanese, means "little wolf" and probably derived from Xiaolong or Syaoron (小龍, Syaoran?), meaning "little dragon" which was Bruce Lee's screen name (coincidentally, they both are good at Chinese martial arts). His last name, Li (李, Li?), is a common Chinese surname that may also be spelled Lee.

In Cardcaptors his name is changed to "Li Showron." Li becomes his given name and Showron his family name. This was only a minor change during the first season as almost all the characters referred to him as "Li".

In the early printing of the English manga, his name was presented in the Chinese naming order (family name then given name), Li Syaoran. Later printings switch the name to the Western order (given name then family name), Syaoran Li.

In the uncut English anime his name is romanized as Shaoran Li.


Character

Voiced by Motoko Kumai in the anime, Syaoran is a distant relative of Clow Reed, the creator of the Clow Cards. As a member of the Li clan of sorcerers from Hong Kong, of which Clow's mother was a member, Syaoran believes that he should be the one to inherit the Clow Cards, not Sakura Kinomoto. He first appears as an antagonist in the story, capturing a few cards for himself in the anime (though none in the manga). As the series progresses, and especially after Sakura is officially deemed the new master of the Cards, Syaoran drops his rivalistic attitude towards her and becomes her ally and friend, eventually falling in love with her and blushing at practically every sight of her.

Syaoran is shown, or at least implied, to be an excellent martial artist, swordsman (using a Chinese jian), and sorcerer. His magical abilities are centered around elemental spells using his sword or a collection of ofuda.

Although he claims certain Clow Cards for himself in the anime Syaoran does not actually capture any Cards, as the act of capturing can only be performed using Sakura's sealing wand. However, if Syaoran has played a major role in weakening or cornering the Card entity prior to its capture, credit for the capture is awarded to him (as the materialized Card floats autonomously to its owner after capture). While Sakura writes her name in rōmaji on the Clow Cards, Syaoran writes his name in kanji.

Before his relationship with Sakura, Syaoran seemed to appear to have an attraction to Yukito Tsukishiro, often blushing madly and abruptly running away at the sight of him. While Sakura also harboured a crush on Yukito, Syaoran would compete with her for his affections, usually by getting him a better present, making him better food, or giving the better compliment. It is discovered later that Syaoran was just magically attracted to the magical energies of the moon which were residing within Yukito as Syaoran drew his magical power from the moon. Sakura, although she was drawn to a person that housed "power", was truly in love with Yukito, stated by Kero (or Cerberus) in episode 51 (Sakura and the big teddy bear.) In the mang Yukito asks Sakura if she truly loves him or loves him like an older brother and Sakura realizes that it's the latter.

Syaoran and Cerberus often fight in the series, where Syaoran often calls him a "stuffed animal" while Cerberus retorts with patronizing terms like "kid" (小僧, kozō?).

A major change to Syaoran's character in Cardcaptors involves elevating Li Shaoran to become the male lead character, rather than a supporting character for Sakura in Cardcaptor Sakura. Here, Li is also referred to as a Cardcaptor, while he has no such title in the original series (as Cerberus never selected him).

(Source: Wikipedia)