Regarding Sakura, I'd throw in the caveat that she doesn't actually need to transform. The whole thing with her staff is merely a means of safe-keeping - part of the contract that binds her cards to her.
Labster and I once talked about it in the Discord and came the the conclusion that her cards are much like the Summons Materia used in FFVII. But unlike in FFVII, Sakura is now capable of creating entirely new cards.
While she does seem to fall into the Magical Girl category, this ability effectively makes her a mage because she's not just spamming pre-ordered attacks. Even if she can't do it on the fly like most mages can, she can create something entirely new and original to add to her repertoire.
We just don't see her doing it very often because Clow Reed has already left her an incredibly versatile box of tools. Thus, when she does make a new Sakura Card, she's usually blazing entirely new trails in uncharted territory.
Labster and I once talked about it in the Discord and came the the conclusion that her cards are much like the Summons Materia used in FFVII. But unlike in FFVII, Sakura is now capable of creating entirely new cards.
While she does seem to fall into the Magical Girl category, this ability effectively makes her a mage because she's not just spamming pre-ordered attacks. Even if she can't do it on the fly like most mages can, she can create something entirely new and original to add to her repertoire.
We just don't see her doing it very often because Clow Reed has already left her an incredibly versatile box of tools. Thus, when she does make a new Sakura Card, she's usually blazing entirely new trails in uncharted territory.