Reviews for Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE

Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-, often shortened for the sake of convenience to "Tsubasa", is one of the newest additions to a large body of work by world-renowned manga studio CLAMP. After 6 years of faithfully following this series' serialization, I have come to the conclusion that it is nothing short of a masterpiece. ------------------------ ~STORY~: Tsubasa has an original and fresh story under its belt, which is to be expected from a CLAMP work. The main antagonist (Fei Wong Reed) causes a desert princess (Sakura) to lose all of her memories in order to achieve his dream. Her childhood friend (Syaoran) is forced to go to the Space-TimeWitch (Yuuko Ichihara) for help, because only through the Witch's powers can he be sent to different dimensions in order to retrieve Sakura's memories. He is, by a stroke of fate and unmistakable destiny, accompanied by a swordsman (Kurogane) trying to get back to his homeland and back to the princess whom he serves (Her Royal Highness Tsukuyomi). Syaoran is also accompanied by a secretive magician (Fay D. Fluorite) who is running from his mysterious past. However, to pay the price for traveling worlds, they must each pay with the thing they value the most. Syaoran loses his relationship with Sakura forever, Kurogane gives up his precious sword, and Fay parts with the tattoo which keeps his magic intact. Along the way, they encounter corrupt worlds full of war, despair, and lies. They find treachery and abandonment within their very own group. It's a story that sends a refreshing and ominous chill down your spine, especially in the second half of the series. The majority of the series is just savagely cruel..I'm warning you that Tsubasa steadily grows to be extremely dark and depressing. The story plays out to be more than worthy of Greek tragedy. It's a fool's game trying to predict how it ends. I definitely recommend this if you like magical adventures, fighting action, or forbidden romance.

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~APPEAL~: CLAMP excels at creating manga series that perfectly mesh the conventional attributes of shōnen and shōjo manga. Tsubasa is, like many of their works, a strong example of this. For guys, there are many badass, wondrously-illustrated fighting scenes, along with fantastic displays of weaponry in the splash pages and in the Infinity arc. The sheer amount of destructive chaos and spilled blood are enough to classify Tsubasa as a seinen manga. For girls, the romance genre will definitely pull them in. There are (literally) about 20 years' worth of crossover bishies who appear throughout the course of the series. Vampire Knight fans will be delighted at the appearance of vampires and their hunters in the Acid Tokyo arc. Shounen-ai fans will be wild over the boys' love teasing that CLAMP is renowned for, specifically interaction between Kurogane and Fay (what their relationship IS remains questionable, but has been addressed by editors at VIZ Media, prominent cartoonists, and professional manga critics). The hints of shounen-ai and minuscule doses of virginal eroticism are so specifically placed into subtext that it's enough to make anyone go crazy. Some worlds resemble feudal Japan, ancient Korea, Victorian London, and post-apocalyptic Tokyo, among others. Did I mention that there's clones, time-travel, and lucid dreaming? Yeah, this is a trippy manga. There's definitely something for everyone.

Tsubasa is, without a doubt, the most incredible and epic crossover series to date. It's not necessary to read CLAMP's other stuff, and it's perfectly all right to read Tsubasa by itself, but you will finish the series feeling empty inside. Let me warn you that you won't enjoy this manga nearly as much. Why read a crossover series if you don't know the true essence of the characters? Why read a crossover series if you are unable to understand the constant references, shout-outs, and cameos? If you are new to CLAMP, the fascinating charm of "bringing back the characters" has no effect on you whatsoever, and the magic of Tsubasa is altered in a very unfavorable way. All of their manga have been given such a unifying tone that you must read them to enjoy Tsubasa to the fullest extent. I honestly cannot stress this fact enough...the more CLAMP series you have read, the more you get out of the experience. Tsubasa was truly made for the fans who sobbed, bawled, and found themselves complete wrecks throughout the courses of RG Veda, Tokyo Babylon, X, and CLAMP's other tragic classics. I have emotionally invested all of my soul into these characters ever since I was a little girl, and to see them appear again at last was absolutely blissful. The least you can do is read Cardcaptor Sakura. If time is of the essence, you can always go straight to Tsubasa after CCS and then re-read Tsubasa later, after you've plown through all of their other works.

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~PLOT~: From the very start, Tsubasa grabs interest. However, the pacing begins to slow down due to filler chapters, repetitiveness, and childish innocence. I found it frankly a bit boring, but I didn't drop this series because...come on, it's CLAMP. A joke within the fandom is that anything and EVERYTHING by them will either develop into a dark, bloody, diabolically-slaughter-and-decapitate-every-living-thing-in-sight series, or into a disgustingly cute, fluffy, this'll-give-you-diabetes series. In this case, Tsubasa is leaning towards the former. I don’t argue with those who find the series weakening around the 10th/11th/12th volume mark, but just read a couple more and everything pays off.

At the Acid Tokyo arc, things begin to pick up with wicked plot twists being introduced left, right, and center. These 'twists' had been foreshadowed very frequently before in the storyline. Halfway through, the story takes on a distinctly darker flair, as bucketloads of blood and angst are suddenly deemed imperative. It's around this time that the series morphs from what used to be a light-hearted nakama adventure story to what TvTropes describes as "something out of the drug-induced hallucination of a deranged Sigmund Freud." From this point on, Tsubasa only gets more exhilarating with each successive installment. Lissa Patillo: "You can certainly feel the excitement and suspense as the story is pulled along to dangerous, but enthralling, territory." Some people have a preference for the first half of the series...when no one is dying, Syaoran and Sakura's personalities are yawn-worthy, and the plot lacks promise of depth. Hey, if that kind of stuff floats your boat, you shouldn't be reading CLAMP. They enjoy making their characters go through living hell. But they do this artfully. And they like to torture their readers.

Did I mention that every single time a new chapter came out, people would start panicking and screaming "WTF?! I WAS WRONG!" and then proceed to curse at CLAMP for unleashing yet another plot twist? I admit that even I felt frustrated, as the theories I took months to come up with were immediately disproven and dissolved with a mere statement in the manga. Don't even bother trying to come up with theories. To quote some of my friends: "Even Einstein's brain would implode trying to understand the time paradoxes in this series. The plot's not just deep, it's BOTTOMLESS." "In fact, my brain expired three months ago." "Ohkawa has an even stranger mind than Salvador Dali, Quentin Tarantino and John Lennon put together." The sheer number of storylines that come together will undoubtedly threaten your state of mental health, as they are very confusingly executed. Tsubasa begins to rely so heavily on symbolism that it can only be labeled a huge mind screw. However, CLAMP has been tying up all the loose ends in xxxHOLiC, and I applaud them from allowing the plot unfold at its own natural momentum.

There are still many unexplained questions about this series, but the vast majority of it makes sense if you have the patience to read xxxHOLiC, consider other fans' theories, re-read Tsubasa, and dive in a little bit on symbolism. All the true Tsubasa/CLAMP fans have already done this, while others start trashing this series simply because they lack the potential to understand it. You can't just skim through pages and expect to soak up all the information like a sponge. This is a manga that makes you think. This is a manga that forces you to come up with your own ideas and analyze subtext as you read. I'm quite sure that CLAMP will spoon-feed explanations to lazy fans in xxxHOLiC's ending, so make a note to check that out if the need arises. The two series intertwine very heavily, with emphasis placed on the later chapters. You'll gain an enormous amount of insight this way, and the majority of your questions will be answered.

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~ART~: Viciously gorgeous artwork, as expected from CLAMP. It's the typical highly detailed hair, heavily stylized eyes and human figures, and elaborate clothing which remains a unique style to them. Over time, the art gradually undergoes a dramatic transformation. The result is akin to that of X/1999. Tsubasa adopts a distinctly contrasting, black-and-white style, with the panels becoming more polished due to the heavy use of screentones.

Carlos Santos of ANN: "What really matters—when two full pages are absolutely necessary to show how dramatic something is—the visual layouts nail it perfectly." In fact, the most memorable scenes are the ones expressed entirely through art. Words mean nothing in this series...silence means everything. The sheer amount of raw emotion concentrated all into a single panel manages to hit you right in the heart. CLAMP knows their tragedy; they know how to reduce a hardcore fan to tears just by having them look at an isolated, wordless page. C.S.: "Even plain old conversation scenes carry a sort of emotional magic, with bittersweet longing expressed on the faces of the characters as they ponder the changing bonds of friendship."

C.S.: "Raw penstrokes, gravity-defying angles and a bevy of special effects illuminate each fight scene. Thanks to the number of speedline intense, dialogue-scarce action panels ... don’t be surprised if you fly through this [series] quicker than most." The backgrounds might even be too detailed, to the point where it's hard to see what's going on. All in all, the art translates effortlessly onto paper with the story's emotional, psychological, and tragic beauty. I can't praise it enough.

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~CHARACTER~: Subtext is huge in this category. Every single time I re-read Tsubasa, I discover something new about the characters. You have to let things sink in slowly, and ask yourself questions. "Why did she decide to do that?" "Why did they exchange that look?" "What went through his mind when he closed his eyes in that panel?" Tsubasa is the kind of manga that you can't read through quickly. You have to analyze and theorize. One of the main reasons that people give Tsubasa a low rating is because they aren't in tune with the characters and don't pay attention to the subtext. The subtle yet powerful looks on the character’s faces reveal everything you need to know. If you look hard enough, that is.

Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane, and Fay have distinct personalities. They change tremendously. They lie and distance themselves from each other in a way that just breaks your heart. They find the meaning of true strength and break the chains that bind their pasts. They make horrible decisions and end up paying greatly for them. One thing that Yuuko said to Fai was, "To all the young ones in your group, you are no longer someone who passes through their lives and is forgotten. You have become someone very important to them. Your hardships are their hardships too." In short, our characters become extremely well-developed and have radically different ways of viewing the world as a whole. It's impossible not to relate to them, and you are dealt painful blows to the heart with the countless numbers of obstacles that are thrown between them. I would have liked a little more development for Syaoran and Sakura, though. Their love is too "pure" for me, and they're too kind-hearted for their own good. Kurogane and Fay are the ones that truly shine in this category. They're so human that it scares me to death. Lissa Pattillo couldn't have put it better: "The whole [saga] tailors heavily to fans of character-relation dramas, as the connections between emotionally-scarred characters prove to be some of the most sweet, but also chilling, moments of [CLAMP] series in recent memory."

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~OTHER~: This is a real treat for CLAMP fans. People who say that the creators were just lazy obviously aren't familiar with them. In a story where countless characters come and go, do you really expect that people will remember their names? What makes these characters memorable is the fact that their personalities and traits were unraveled when they were the main focus of a different series. The very roots of their hearts, or 'souls', are essentially the same. If you've read most of CLAMP's works, you know in exact detail the lives, true natures, and pasts of every single minor character in Tsubasa (in an alternate universe). It's nothing short of extraordinary. Like I sad before, I have been emotionally invested in all of CLAMP's characters, so to have them all again in this tragedy is almost sensory overload. I was struck with waves of nostalgia and a dizzying feeling.

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~ENJOYMENT~: I enjoyed Tsubasa tremendously, and am mourning over the fact that it has ended. It was a great 6 years, CLAMP. This manga is definitely worth your time. So why not give it a try? You certainly won't regret it. This metaphorical gem will stay lodged in your mind for a long time to come. A continued recommend read that I cannot stress enough the worth of sticking with.

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~FINAL VERDICT~: A great story, appeal for a wide range of audiences, absolutely breathtaking artwork, and good characterization make it a 'must-read' manga. However, the convoluted plot and the extremely depressing scenarios that occur in the second half of the manga will throw readers off-guard (though it's a wonderful improvement compared to the boring, comedic, "gotta-catch-'em-all" feel of the first half). The storyline gradually begins to make sense after months of ceaseless pondering, but once the majority of puzzle pieces are in place, you can't help but love Tsubasa even more. Definitely recommended if you're a CLAMP fan, but definitely NOT recommended if you've never touched any of their other series. All in all, I would rate this series a '9.5'. However, since there's no decimal rating available for reviews, I rounded it to '10'.

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IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WHATSOEVER regarding this series, or if you need someone to aid you in dissecting that absolutely mind-boggling plot, feel free to message me! (:

Story: The story is really original and is somewhat easi to follow even with all the different countries and character secrets you can keep in mind under the tale. I think its impossible to say that the story is bad no matter who you asks. Art: Yea you have guesed it. Its really CLAMP art in Tsubasa but not negativ at all. all is shown really clear and pretty. I think most people know CLAMPS signature art but I have to say this is best together with xxxholic (: Character: Gosh! you just cant keep yourself from feeling with all the different characters through the story. especiallythe main characters. all have outstanding minds and acts just after their head. I can promise one thing: None! of the main characters are flat.

Enjoyment: Tsubasa is the manga I have enjoyed the most. When you first have the manga you just cant stop reading bechause it sucks you right into the different worlds and the characters feelings.. I have felt a lot of sadness throgh the manga but I only think that is good bechause I can relate myself to it so much.

It gets under your skin.

I've probably taken about 5 years to actually read this whole manga, but a month ago I decided I wanted to finally read it in full alongside its sister manga, xxxHolic. As a long-term fan of CLAMP, I knew what I was getting into - and yet I'm sitting here now, very breathless but kind of confused. The first half of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle was absolutely amazing (up to and including Acid Tokyo, for sure). I could probably rate it 10/10 even if I included all the occasional arcs that felt a little too much like filler, as all these arcs were absolutely necessary to thestoryline and (beautiful) character development that took place. I remain in awe that something so grand in scale could be brought together so easily, so concisely and so beautifully. Solid 10/10 for story, art, character and enjoyment.

In the second half of Tsubasa, however, the reveals start.. which is still all fine and dandy - you can't really be a fan of CLAMP without being a fan of twists and turns. But with ever more turns - and all at increasing speed - initially MINDBLOWING reveals become convoluted, elaborate and confusing. Still a technically superb manga, but more and more perplexing. I'm unsure if scanlation quality had anything to do with it, but I had to google chapters regularly to understand what was going on and my history is now full of weird and cryptic questions. This is where my enjoyment started to slip (from 10/10 to 8/10ish) and my reading pace drastically slowed down. Even now, having inhaled pages of commentary and analysis, I'm not entirely sure I understand EVERYTHING that happened. But I do know that I liked Tsubasa one hell of a lot and CLAMP are still my favourite mangaka group of all time. I don't know what to do with myself now, and that always says a lot.

I definitely think reading Tsubasa alongside xxxHolic boosted my enjoyment of both. They are long, emotionally draining and confusing series, so the ability to take a break from one whilst not putting it all down completely was a blessing. Note: this is easily done by basically switching which manga you're reading at every crossover scene that occurs. You can also read the rest of CLAMP's early works to understand who all the characters are in all the worlds, but I didn't find that as necessary - besides that odd feeling of nostalgia for old faves.

To summarise this review: Just read it, but don't rush it. Do not rush it.

Story: The story started out very simple and easy enough to follow--travel the worlds, find the feathers, cute romance-y moments etc. Then everything hits the fan and at first you're like, "Oh, cool, this is actually serious!" Unfortunately, being serious can only be so good for so long when suddenly, EVERYTHING is dark and depressing and there is NO RAY OF HOPE. The story also becomes extremely confusing and hard to follow when the same plot device is used again and again. Everything seems to drag on because of these two negative factors, and so what was a cute and adventurous series turns into... something ratherterrible. There is almost a redeeming factor in the ending but that also turns out rather bad.

Art:

CLAMP has excellent artwork as always. The characters' limbs are a bit on the noodle-y side, but I suppose you can take that as their artistic trademark currently. (Not like the same could be said for their older series, but I digress.) Expressions are very animated and lively, though I think this quality went down a bit in the second half of it.

Character:

I'm sure many people picked Tsubasa up solely because it was featuring the beloved heroes of Cardcaptor Sakura. The fact that there would be additional cameos must have been an added bonus, and it was. However, the characters do develop in their own right, marking them as different from their previous incarnations. The original characters always live up to the hype however and are not so easily shadowed by the known ones.

Enjoyment:

I enjoyed the series immensely in the beginning. Light-hearted action is always my type of thing. At first, I was also excited by the story's turn into a darker side, but everything dropped immensely for me during a particular arc in which the angst and emo seemed to go on forever. Add that to the fact that suddenly everyone was the same and we had weird time lapses or time freezes or something dealing with the fabric of the universe which weren't explained very well or transitioned into/out of neatly, and we get a very unenthusiastic reader.

Overall:

I liked the series when it was cute and funny and had nice adventures. I detested the series when it dragged on with the angst and overused plot devices. If you were reading it for the cute and fun, I would stop once things hit the fan and just read up the explanations on Wikipedia.

tsubasa reservoir chronicles can be considered one of the most EPIC crossover series to date. it is clamp's latest work, along with xxxholic (w/c is also amazing, btw). the two stories are connected, and although either can stand alone as its own series, it is also recommended that you read both to completely understand the story. the opening plot is simple: the princess sakura has lost her memories and it is syaoran's task to get them back. along with a ninja who wants only to return home, and a mage who wishes never to go back (plus mokona, of course), they undertake the journey ofa lifetime. on the way, they meet different people (some very familiar to us - especially those who are avid fans of clamp), and experience different things.

but as you immerse yourself deeper into the plot, it suddenly becomes more than a simple adventure story: it becomes the manifestation of all of the themes clamp has made their own: the strength of wishes, the bonds that can form between people, and the power of the deepest kind of love. Of how there can be no such thing as coincidence, only hitsuzen.

the art is simple and yet elegant, and of course, completely original. their bodies may not be perfectly proportioned (a common complaint) - but one can say that it is their signature style. one look and you can definitely identify it as a work of clamp.

there are four main characters (mentioned in the summary), aided by Yuuko, our beloved space-time witch (see xxxholic). some start off as no more than selfish brats, and others are so completely selfless they disregard themselves entirely. there are no mary sues (nor gary stus) in this series - each character has their own flaw, their own imperfections. every one of them is pained by the past.

and as they go along their journey, they grow up - are influenced by each other, and grow stronger as a result. i love how each of them faces their past and destroys the chains that bind them.

i loved the manga - the anime, not so much, except for the ova (see tokyo revelations), w/c was great, and stuck true to the manga plot.

at this point part of me wants to know how it ends (it is now at its last arc); the other half of me wants it to go on forever.

this series is brilliant - clamp never fails to amaze me - and i would definitely recommend it to those who would enjoy a heart-thrilling, mind-bending tale of adventure, magic and love.

i guarantee that this is one series that you will always remember.

Story: 10/10 Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE begins very simply. A princess's memories have been stolen by a vilian, the band of adventurers gathered, and the journey begun. Crossing the dimensions, they pick up one feather after another against long odds through determination and teamwork. Meanwhile the vaguely evil villain smiles slyly from the safely contemplating his vaguely evil plans. A generic shounen plotline, essentially. Then it happens. Everything changes, as you find out everything you thought was true was a lie. Our team of heroes will never be the same again. Betrayals, deaths, and unimaginable horrors await. New heroes appear and the storyline changes course again and again.The future is forseen and changed. Incredible feats of heroism are performed. Dark pasts are revealed, the true motivations for earlier actions uncovered.

The plans of countless chessmasters collide in this story that is guaranteed to make your jaw drop again and again. Each plot twist is bigger than the last. Minor pieces of conversation way back in the early volumes come back to haunt the reader, as they are revealed again and again to be foreshadowing. Everyone has hidden motives, and everytime you think the story is at its end someone reveals a contingency plan.

Such a plot is not for everyone. CLAMP assumes that the reader is a genius even in the earlier plot twists, and this just gets worse in the later twists where not even a genius has any hope of fully understanding everything on their first read. If you don't like loose ends or complex plots that require intense thought to understand, stay away.

Also, note that the story ties in with xxxHolic. It is not necessary to read xxxHolic concurrently to enjoy Tsubasa – I only read xxxHolic afterword. That said, I highly recommend reading both, as reading xxxHolic will help you wrap your head around Tsubasa's incredibly complicated plotline.

Art: 10/10

Amazing, as one expects from CLAMP. The backgrounds are incredibly rich in detail, the action sequences stunning, and the spell effects beautiful. At times, though, it is difficult to tell exactly what's going on in a battle. CLAMP tends to go overboard with the spellcasting effects, causing you to lose track of who cast which spell at who and what the heck the magicless ninja is doing.

CLAMP is very good at incorporating emotions throughout their work, especially after the story takes a darker turn. When they want you to be depressed, you will be depressed. The character designs are of particular note. Whether it be pure determination, unimaginable horror, triumphant evil, or hidden motives, the facial expressions carry incredible depth throughout the story.

A warning: If you don't know, CLAMP's character designs to not reflect normal human body proportions. If you can't stand such artwork, stay away.

Enjoyment: 10/10

Understanding everything is not necessary to enjoy this work. The level of suspense that underlies the story will keep you on the edge of your seat. Each action sequence is more epic than the last, each spell battle more beautiful, each jaw-dropping twist more surprising.

Characters: 10/10

Even an amazing plot is nothing without good characters, and Tsubasa delivers in that department as well.

The characters start out fairly generic: Kurogane, the badass mentor; Syaoran, the generic shounen protagonist; Sakura, the damsel in distress; the Smart Guy, Fai; the vaguely evil villain, Fei Wong. They do not stay that way.

As hidden motives are revealed and betrayals occur, each character undergoes intense development. Having grown to like them in their original forms, your heart will break as they go through hell and back – and then go through hell again for good measure.

But what truly makes for greatness are the relationships between the characters. The romance between Syaoran and Sakura is superb, and the same is true for the close friendship/romance between Kurogane and Fai.

Ultimately, unlike so many other shounen stories, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles is greater than just one person, or even one team. No one person, no matter how badass, can hope to stop Fei Wong or his minions. Only by working together, with each other and with the people met on their journey, do they have any hope of achieving anything. Everyone does their part – even Sakura proves useful on several occasions. That teamwork is essential throughout the story.

Other:

CLAMP fans will be pleased by the crossovers with other CLAMP works, as you'll get to see alternate dimension versions of all your favorite characters.

Overall: 10/10, but not for everyone.

If you love complex, epic fantasies of immense scale with dark tones, read it. You won't be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you want a simple, light-hearted shounen storyline, don't touch this with a fifty-foot pole. Even Fullmetal Alchemist and Death Note are simple and light-hearted compared to this series.

Tsubasa focuses on 4 main characters Fai, Kurogane, Sakura, and Syaoran. It's everything I want. Action, adventure, fantasy, and romance. It first sucked me in because I saw that it had the purest love I've ever seen. It shows that love when Syaoran sacrifices Sakura's memories of him. Throughout the whole entire manga Syaoran shows an unsaid love for sakura and sakura does the same for him that's seen in their actions rather than words. The settings are varied and the character designs are always interesting. The places you see are unique and different, you see things like a magical castle and thennext a world similar ours.

The eyes are cute and simple or serious if need be, and Clamp never failed to satisfy me with how they drew the hair. While the settings change the clothes do too, and when they switched to a new world I would always wonder what they would have to wear to fit into the knew setting and culture. One time syaoran had to dress up as a girl to blend in, and it cracked me up to see him burst in through doors ready to fight while wearing a girly wig.

I found that the characters didn't really grow which is why I gave character a 9, except kurogane. Instead of him being a jerk, he develops into a nice jerk. Everyone else doesn't really grow into a different person, but rather you find things about them that were already there. Syaoran will do anything to help Sakura unless it involves wrongfully hurting someone else, and that's what I love about him.

There was plenty of action as well and my favorite person to watch fight was Fai. He doesn't normally have a weapon so he has to use his arms and legs. When he fights as a team with Kurogane they both look so cool! The scenes blended well.

In the end I can easily say that this is my favorite manga and overall story. It stirred my emotions when the story told me too. It is a true adventure to read. There wasn't too much drama, or too much romance. If there's a problem they faced it's not dragged out painfully, and the plot doesn't revolve around one thing. They face many things, but what I love is that even though they don't have too, they face them together.

This has got to be one of the most outstanding mangas I've read to date. Just when I thought I've grasped onto what was happening, something happens and I'm back on ground zero. At first glance, I thought that TRC was another one of those "gotta catch em all" themed manga's but boy was I wrong. Everything has it's reason and it's up to us readers to pick it up. It gets incredibly dark as we learn about the characters past, to the point that it gets frightening in some cases. A LOT of questions piled up while reading TRC, but towards the endeverything clicks. There are times when I go "why didn't I notice that?" It was really smart of Clamp in adding subtle hints along the way that even I did not pick up until at the end. The actual story is quite complex and many say that it's confusing, but once you get it, it's like you've learnt a new theory on something.

The artwork is BRILLIANT. It's highly detailed with a lot of black and white contrasts to add onto its epicness. In some battle scenes, it's so detailed to the point that you don't know what's going on - this kind've mirrors the nature of real battles where bystanders are left in confusion, asking themselves "what the hell just happened?"

An optional addition while reading TRC is to listen to the anime's amazing soundtrack to get into the atmosphere. My personal favourite is "Ring Your Song", it just has this tune that captures the essence of TRC.

All in all, your mind needs to be actively awake when reading TRC in order to pick up clues and understand the whole story. I highly recommend it to those who are looking for a manga that subverts traditional plotlines and are up for a challenging read.

Read TRC first, THEN read xxxHolic to understand about Watanuki. I didn't understanding it at first, but when reading xxxHolic, again, everything clicked.

I'm not much of an expert but I'd still like my say, Art: about the art, in my opinion although they did do a good job, I found that I barely knew what was going, which is probably how it should be, but I was still disappointed, I had no idea where the characters were or how they were doing! In all honesty I did like the art in the beginning a little better since I knew what was happening and it gave enough detail that the pages were still stunning. Plot: I agree that the storyline is deep but after you reread things a few timesthings eventually make sense. I myself haven't read many of Clamps works, in fact I've only read Tsubasa, xxxholic, and cardcaptor sakura. But, luckily the story is still understandable enough for me to get enough out of the story for it to grasp my heart. In the end I love how much thought went into the story and many different twists and turns, however I have to say that it took too big of a sharp turn from a fun and whimsical adventure, to a dark, depressing, and heart tearing tragedy.

Setting:

The amazing part of Tsubasa is that the setting never seems to get boring. It always changes when the gang goes to a new world, and each is inspired by something almost completely diffent from the last. For instance at one point they are in a futuristic world of flying machines, and after that they ram into a london setting where all is surrounded by magic, only to be teleported to a post apocalyptic world afterwards.

All in all I can't bring myself to say anything bad about the setting.

Characters:

Just right off the bat I don't want anyone complaining about what I say about the characters. I have had way too much dissing from people just cause I don't like this or that about a certain couple. In this case I could not bring myself to truly love Sakura.

Sakura: Although she has to go through conflict like the other characters, she is much too flat, the original sakura from cardcaptors was a lot less flat than this version. When she made mistakes she didn't always rely on others to help her fix them, and she was fully capable of taking care of herself most of the time. Not to mention her relationship with the Syaoran in cardcaptors is a lot more interesting, with Sakura completely clueless about how he truly feels about her, and completely unaware most of the time about how she feels about him.

Syaoran: as I said before Syoaran ranks a little higher on my character list but is only above sakura. He definately develops more than sakura, but for the first part of the series he's fairly predictable. And even near the end it isn't that hard for me to figure out what he is thinking. I can't think of what else i could say about him, but at the very least, unlike sakura, Sayoran makes a huge contribution to the group with his knowledge of history and language.

Mokona: Who wouldn't love mokona? I have to admit that mokona is also preidctable, but at the very least he/she/it (never got that straight) could at least lighten the mood a little when the story gets serious. His 108 techniques come in surprisingly handy to our heroes. He is very perceptive about what the rest of the gang is feeling, and does his best not to burden anyone. One could argue that sakura does the same thing in trying her best to do what she can, but this only comes up as a hinderance because although she warms the hearts of everyone in the group she makes little or no contribution. The only time she really seems to come in handy is only when her feathers are involved. When the series gets dark and the search for the feathers is no longer a main point, she becomes a fairly useless character.

Kurogane/Fai:

Kurogane and Fai are a breath of fresh air and they both tie for my favorite character position. Kuroganes honorable code and warrior like personality is deep and interesting. While his knowledge for battle gives the group exactly what they need to survive harsh or dangerous worlds.

While Fai adds a certain pizaz to Kurogane that he can't possible have alone.

The onesided fights the two constantly get into during the first half of the series are perhaps the most prevalent of the comedy, while their relationship with each other is very intimate. They both started the journey not wanting to get too attched to their companions, they fail this miserably however as want to help sakura and syaoran constantly shines through.

In simplistic terms the two were more like a comedy duo in the first half of the series who became unlikely freinds, once the dark side comes around the two have more conflicts with one another once they discover the others dark secrets. However, they never seem to truly hate one another, and both would never imagine abandonig the other. To this affect, Kurogane becomes the wall that keeps Fai from letting go of his life, while Fai seems more like something that slowly grew on Kurogane as time went on.

All in all these two have the best personalities out of all the other characters (in my opinion mind you) and their strained yet tight freindship is one of the best relationships in the Clamp universe.

On a separate note I do not support the fan based Kurogan and Fai gay relationship. I admit that it is not past clamp to place such a relationship into their manga, in fact they've done it quite often. But it was always quite obvious and the two men involved practically admit it to one another. This is not so with Kurogane and Fai, and as such there is not enough evidence to say that they have that kind of relationship although it is fully possible.

Overall:

I personally think that more could have been done with the series. That and the romance between syaoran and sakura could have been a little more rocky, y'know they should have had some misunderstandings, fights, and the works.

But in the end Tsubasa remains a manga that has enveloped my heart, and I may never stop loving it.

This is my first review. The first of several, I hope. Four characters: Shaoran, the unconsciouss Sakura, the magician Fai and the ninja Kurogane, finds themselves thrown together by fate, sent on a journey to either finish a quest or furfill dreams. This is the opening to CLAMP's latest epic tale, sometimes reffered to as a follow-up to Cardcaptor Sakura, more often reffered to as a crossover to xxxHolic. It begins as any other manga would, four people with a mission. They face discoveries, dangers and soon become fond of each other, in their own way. Youknow why I love this manga so much?

Because then it goes straight up shit creek.

Characters that before were sure of themselves quiver in doubt, what before seemed right now is wrong, and appearances DOES deceive. Unavoidably, utterly and all too cruelly. There are no heroes, there are no chosen ones - there are only people, people with goals, dreams and determination and people who are mortal.

The art stands in sharp contrast to that displayed in Cardcaptor Sakura and even more xxxHolic. The art in TRC is sweeping, rash and bulging with impact - it sports a feeling of shonen and action, but it doen't lack subtle details. Where xxxHolic uses straight lines and even panels, TRC often spreads out over the entire page. Soundeffects and close-ups roar over the paper, the panels are often disformed.

It is very, very expressional. And professional, as it always is from CLAMP.

The characters are half the story. Their throughs, their pasts, their manners, their choices - everything is involved. There isn't any comic-relief-type that is happy just for happiness sake, or long, dark emo-types that speaks in huffs and sharp glares because they somehow was born that way, far from it. They are people, and they have their own problems. They change. They lie.

Well, the enjoyment...judging from my way to describe this manga, and looking at my scores, I guess you know what I will write here.

It is just ment to lose yourself in.

And the overall verdict? Epic was the word ment to describe this comic.

A last comment about CLAMP's 'multiverse', as a friend of mine so fittingly put it; CLAMP borrows a fair deal of their own characters to TRC, and even though one could think that this is some kind of laziness or advertisement for other comics from the creators' side, I think that this is planned since a long time. Or maybe it's just fanservice. Judge it the way you want. TRC has its own crew of original characters that are just as alive as the older ones, and that is all that matters to me.

THIS MANGA IS AMAZING! I truly love Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE from the bottom of my heart. Of the three literary works that have brought me to uncontrollable tears (the other two being Fruits Basket and Fred Weasley's death in Harry Potter 7) this was by far the best. There are few manga that can make you laugh and cry and at the end I wasn't left unsatisfied. If you want a really good romance or action story this is for you. The characters are what make the story so amazing. There dynamism and relationships between the characters make this a story you can't put down.As do the insane plot twists and dramatic scenes.

The story is great because its a taste of everything Clamp in a new setting. The plot is incredibly unique, you won't find anything quite like it and the art is immaculate.

Read Tsubasa!

An absolutely amazing series no matter how you look at it. Hey, it's a CLAMP series. What do you expect? The story is original, and is not at all boring or cliched. Not only that, the series is linked to xxxHOLiC, another CLAMP series. The story is filled with various worlds and characters from CLAMP's previous eighteen or so series, which tends to make it even more interesting for those of you who are CLAMP fans. The art is amazing. Every character is drawn in their own unique way, and every detail is paid close attention to. Whether it's swirling cherry blossoms, feathers, shards of glass, orribbons, the designs on every page are simply beautiful.

Each character is gradually characterized throughout the series. To start with, the characters are simple: determined Syaoran, light Sakura, somewhat intense Kurogane, cheerful Fai, and playful Mokona, but as the series continues, CLAMP goes into more depth with each character.

It's easy to enjoy. The story has a good balance of tones: the silly moments, the sad moments, the intense moments, et cetera. It flows at a quick, but not too rushed pace, allowing the readers the most enjoyment possible.

I don't know what it was that made me decide to read and continue reading. I'm not quite sure if it was the compelling storyline, the art, the fact that I've been a CLAMP fan, or simply that Mokona is the best thing that has ever happened to the world (in my opinion), but it's nonetheless a great series, CLAMP fan or not.

Disclaimer: Might be reworked or edited later if I find stuff I've missed talking about. There are close to no spoilers in here but if there are I'll mark them as such. Ever since I finished reading Pandora Hearts at the beginning of last year, I've asked myself if I'll ever find something that captivates me as much, something that resonates with me as much, and something that just blows me away as much as it did. Now, I MIGHT be leaning myself a bit far out of the window, BUT I think I just found it. Is this really the one? Have I foundit? After all this time?

Having said this, let's not waste any more time and get straight to the review (TL,DR at the end this time)

THE CONTENT:

STORY:

Tsubasa Reservoir chronicle takes the concept from Cardcaptor Sakura of "something worse than the world splitting in two" as its base premise: Forgetting everything about the one you care about the most.

At the beginning, it's a story about a guy and his companions travelling the multiverse to find and collect the memories of his most beloved, even if she will never remember him, while the mysterious villain watches over their steps from the background. (So basically, a lot like the inital first half of Pandora Hearts, but with a little more teen angst thrown into it)

But it's SO MUCH more than that. From the moment the journey starts we are accompanying our group of 5 into a plethora of wonderfully intriguing and captivating different worlds where in each one they are put in a particular situation they have to worm their way out of, finding a feather and getting to the next one. I am a bit surprised at how lighthearted it starts out tbh.

Every single arc and world, even if it initially doesn't seem all too interesting, manages to be incredibly well crafted and pulls a twist on you at the end that makes it absolutely worthwhile.

At around 90-100 chapters in, it begins to reveal certain characters' pasts, their motivations and what shaped them into who they are now, and for some time you'll ask yourself "am I still reading the same story?" because the further it goes on the more twisted and dark it gets with each arc, yet always with that small ray of hope still shining on, never to the point of the story becoming too bleak.

Ultimately, this is a story about choices and decisions. "What is it that I want to choose?" "How will my decision affect my future and the future of others around me?" "Am I willing to go so far to make this choice even if it might hurt others, even my friends and loved ones?" "Was the choice I made right or wrong?" "Is there even such a thing as a right choice?"

I believe CLAMP did an excellent job at getting through to the reader how heavy of a burden you carry, or how much of a toll certain decisions you made can be on you.

The story is twisted, dark, messed up, captivating and all in all just mindblowing in the best way possible, but yet it sill manages to carry out a romance plot that is so engaging that you just cannot help to root for it to come to fruition even if the initial base line for it is incredibly painful

Therefore from me, it gets a full score of

10/10

CHARACTERS:

Now, on to the heart and soul of this story: Its characters.

This is genuinely one of the most amazing ensemble cast I've seen in everything I've read. Period.

Every single character is incredibly well defined, has their own style and personality, goes through their own struggles and develops over the course of the story on their own, but also through the influence of the other characters around them.

MY GOD, Sakura's development alone is some of the best I've seen in the medium.

What impresses me the most, personally, is the fact that you can put any combination of 2 or more characters in the same scene toghether and still just KNOW it will be an amazing dynamic and conversation. Every single character has a unique relationship with each of their companions and they help each other develop and overcome their struggles.

After that, the next point on the menu of mindblowingness is each individual character's backstory.

Just when you think "I don't think anything this manga does next can top that guy's backstory", they pull out the uno reverse card and be like "HA, you thought, but how about you take THIS kind of pain next!?" and reveal another character's past that just completely recontextualizes every event prior to this point in the story.

All I can say to that is: The parents are Gigachads.

One last thing to look at, a thing that I usually don't really talk about a lot, or not at all, when it comes to characters is their design.

Now, the character design itself may not be the most special or unqiue thing and if you're like me you've probably seen a shit-ton of similar looking characters in other stories you've watched or read, BUT what stands out in this (as well as most other CLAMP manga from what I've seen) is the characters costumes and clothes.

If there's anything CLAMP knows how to do, it's FASHION. And if there's anyone in the industry knowing how to give every single character an incredible flair and style, then it is CLAMP. Just watch and read Cardcaptor Sakura to see that for yourself.

I've mentioned Pandora Hearts being my favorite story at the beginning and I wanna talk about a point in which these two are pretty similar. The main villain:

Both of these manga share a particular kind of villain, one of my personal favorite kind of villains, as their main antagonist: The one who manipulates everything and everyone from behind the scenes and makes themselves comfortable in it.

Initially I did not like Fei-Wang Reed that much as a character for this kind of thing but in the end when it was revealed, or rather theorized what he ACTUALLY was, I began to see him in a much different light than what I thought before. Just like he said to Syaoran "He's the same". But I'll say a bit more to that in my personal section later.

For now, I'll leave this off and also grant TRC for its characters a perfect score of

10/10

Kind of bummed out that that one girl that's shown in every single world running (or sometimes flying) with bread in her mouth didn't turn out to be something bigger than just a fun background easter egg for people who inspect the details to look for every clue they'll get like me.

CONCLUSION/ENDING:

I am keeping this section the shortest because I do not want to spoil anything and I will go into it a bit more in the "personal section" later, but this manga hurts me right where it matters with its conclusion because it is a kind of ending I will ALWAYS absolutely adore: A bitter-sweet open ending leaving you with just enough to theorize on what is going to happen to our beloved characters next. (Well, putting the sequel Tsubasa World Chronicle aside for now)

9.5/10

THE TECHNICAL ASPECT:

ART:

The art is phenomenal. CLAMP have their own somewhat unique style of drawing their characters but I think they make it work out the best in this story compared to some of their other works (looking at you, xxxHolic and Code Geass).

It's not the best art I've seen around, by far not the best actually, but it has a certain magic that just completely pulls you into it and never lets you go until you've either finished it entirely or are too exhausted to even keep going. (Just me? Ok then, I guess)

If you've seen my reviews for Umineko (part 4 and 7) you'll know what I'm talking about when I say this.

The backgrounds are beautiful and manage to bring life into every single place they go to and make this whole manga just a beautiful sight to experience.

SLIGHT SPOILERS from here:

I gotta subtract half a point though because at some points it is very hard to tell what's going on in a fight scene. I have some problems with that kind of stuff anyway but then you throw in a fight where multiple version of the same character fight against each other while looking (almost) EXACTLY the same and I'm just like "uhm, wtf is happening guys?"

SPOILERS END

9.5/10

SIDENOTE: While reading I listened to the soundtrack of the anime adaptation for this (combined with a 10 hour loop of just Cicada sounds, please don't ask why) which just further proofs the point I've been trying to make ever since Madoka Magica that Yuki Kajiura is a literal goddess. 10/10 anime soundtrack. Right now, day 4 of writing this, I'm listening to the xxxHolic soundtrack, also very solid, OPs and EDs have no business slapping that hard.

So, finally we're coming to the most important part of this review

THE PERSONAL SECTION/EMOTIONAL IMPACT:

I've been planning on reading this ever since I've started watching anime and reading manga back in summer 2018-ish, MUCH longer before I even knew Pandora Hearts which is now my favorite story existed in the first place. So now with finally having been able to read it all I am just so excited that it turned out as good as it was.

Coming from the high of just having finished my previous CLAMP manga Cardcaptor Sakura (which, btw is also one of my personal favorites) I was IMMEDIATELY 100% attached to the main characters of the story Sakura and Syaoran. I know that it's not the same characters and just different versions of them out in the multiverse but that still didn't stop me.

Starting right at the beginning, emotional scene after emotional scene, no matter how small, got to me and put another dent in my already fragile heart. Even the supposedly wholesome scenes of the characters supporting each other were hard to read because of the messed-up-ness of the situation of Sakura not remembering who Syaoran is (not a spoiler, that's literally the premise of the story as I talked about earlier) and him just laughing off the pain.

As the story continued to go on, even in the parts or worlds that initially didn't seem that interesting, I could always hold on to the in-depth characterization everyone got and about halfway through I just KNEW that unless it managed to mess up big time this would become one of my favorites. And like I mentioned a bit earlier even those parts managed to make me completely love it by some kind of twist at the end of the arc. I can't really think of an arc that I do not like in this, and that is kind of rare, even for some of my favorites.

Every time the characters felt pain, I felt it too; every time they celebrated a success and could be happy (and very drunk lots of times), I felt their happiness too. It was just an incredibly engaging and captivating experience going through this whole thing chapter after chapter after chapter.

It got to the point where I had to literally watch a cute-girls-do-cute-things show right after to calm my feelings down a bit ("Is the order a rabbit?", surprisingly a REALLY fun show so far, shameless pandering to the kind of weeb who's a little too into CGDCT-stuff for comfort, so basically to me.)

One of the big things I wanna adress is the fact that people often talk about how confusing and hard to follow this story is, but to be honest I do find it quite easy to follow, not predictable (they always pull some kind of unexpected twist on you that you never could've guessed in a lifetime) and didn't have any real problem with how much of a "mind-fuck" this manga is.

IS WHAT I WOULD'VE SAID IF THE LAST TWO VOLUMES DIDN'T EXIST, because oh boy does it get complicated and twisted.

I was having zero problem following the events as they unfolded and as twist after twist came shooting at me until a certain point in the second to last volume revealed the mangas main plot twist to me: The meaning of the very first pages of the very first chapter. That was the point where my brain just decided to turn itself into emergency mode, and I had to quite literally read every chapter that followed at least twice to get everything that I was seeing. I had no problem seeing what happened, but taking it all in is where the hard part set in and my brain just noped out entirely.

That said, in the end, everything managed to make sense and wrap up nicely for the aforementioned bitter-sweet open ending which just left me with a feeling of complete emptyness that I haven't felt in a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time, the last time being after finishing "Hibike Euphonium" at the beginning of 2020. So this story managed to do something none other, not even my favorite story ever, has managed to do in the last two years.

And that fact alone makes it a worthy contender to stand on the same heights as the aforementioned favorite Pandora Hearts.

I briefly talked about the similarity between Fei-Wang Reed in this as a main antagonist and the main villain of Pandora Hearts, but the reason Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle falls juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust a little short of actually managing to reach the same height as Pandora Hearts in my book is because the latter handles its plot and development around the main villain in a MUCH MUCH better way. That is not to say that Tsubasa doesn't handle it well, it does, really well actually, or that Fei-Wang Reed is a bad antagonist because quite frankly, the concept alone of what he is if he actually is what our characters theorize at the end is incredibly intriguing and opens up tons of possibilities, it is just that the main villain in PH was handled so well that every other villain almost pales in comparison to them and they're what I consider one of the best written fictional characters ever.

I've found a guide online and have been reading this in tandem with the xxxHolic manga because the two are connected and I definitely think you should check out xxxHolic too if just to see another side of the events transpiring in this manga, and to get more of that sweet Sakura character development. And to know what's been going on with Watanuki (the main protagonist of xxxHolic) because he shows up in Tsubasa a lot later on.

I've been somewhat put on a mission by my brain halfway through this story to read EVERYTHING CLAMP wrote that has any kind of connection with Tsubasa, no matter how small it is, and even if it's just a version of a single character from another story. So far I've figured out that "X", "xxxHolic" (obviously) and "Chobits" definitely belong to the ones I should read.

Now letting one of my longest reviews yet (among the ones I wrote on here and just for myself too) come to a close I'll just leave it with a small fun fact about something I said not too long ago:

About two months ago I messaged a friend that 86 (aside from Pandora Hearts and Shinreigari) was the best thing I've watched and read this year, last year, and probably for the next 2 years too. Welp, guess I was wrong because THIS, right here, is peak fiction. I'm actually kind of floored by just HOW good this is. It's been a long time since I gave something a full full 10 points. I'll be giving this a re-read soon after finishing some other CLAMP mangas just to find more details and see if it actually manages to catch up to Pandora Hearts.

This review is now 7 days in the making and finally finished.

TL,DR: This, right here is peak fiction. If you want an engaging and captivating tragic tale with loveable yet deeply complex characters, great fantasy and world building with a fantastic conclusion, completed by a well-developed and well-realized romance subplot, all while building/keeping up and developing a mindblowing mystery in the background, then here you are exactly right. Seriously, read it, it's a masterpiece. If you want more reasons, read the essay above. Here, you'll find a Sakura that is not useless, the very opposite of useless in fact. This is actually a shounen where the word "unique" is quite fitting.

Tsubasa is one of the best mangas i have read in a long time. the way it entertwins with xxxholic just amazes me. i always read it over and over again. I always find something else different once i read the story again. best best best xD

SPOILERS AHEAD, BUT SRSLY DONT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS CRAP!! The villain makes a clone of Syaoran, which keeps chasing the original in order to kill him.. then through some convoluted happenings, the clone is thrown back in time, decides to live a normal life, gets married with Sakura clone and have a kid.. Which turns out to be the original. WHAAAAAAAAT??? YES, both the Syaoran and Sakura CLONES are the PARENTS of the original Syaoran. This is by far the most absurd and retarded plot twist i've ever seen in my life. I actually lost more brain cells while remembering this crap to type thisreview.

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS MANGA! YOU'RE WELCOME!

After read all the manga now I can write a review of this. Story: At the begining the stoy was so simple. Go to a journey to recolect oll the feather of Sakura. in 13 volumes this was the story. Too childish and inocent. Then in volume 14 all change and the story changes. More violence, more blood and a lot ofd secrets wew reveled. In this part, in tokyo saga the story was more exciting. I think this was a good thing. Art. The art was good, but I think other mangas of CLAMP has a better art. Like magic knight rayearth. thats why I putan 8.

character.

At the beginning was fun to see characters from other mangas. But when a character appers so constantly it is boring. Only two characters were original from tsubasa: Fye and kurogane. I think CLAMP can create more originl characters.

enjoyment. I really enjoy tsubasa, from the begining to the end. I never get bored with the story.

overall: 9. Well. honestly there were part that i was: O.o and why do that happen and CLAMP didnt explain all things like what kind of person was Fei wang reed. There are a few things that dont CLAMP didnt explain so in overall it has a 9

From my Point of View..... Its really a hard to understand but thanks to a site. well... It gave me a better understanding to this story.... I jump to this manga/anime because of my love of Cardcaptor Sakura. Also the Anime Channel in our country.... The anime channel was Animax that gave me the info that CLAMP made "this" manga/anime with Syaoran and Sakura..... as one of their main characters. => well I'm a big fan of those two Superb cute Lovers..... so I gave all my effort to finish this manga... & also anime... ahahhaa

Cardcaptor Sakura, Clover, Chobits, RG Veda, and all the works of CLAMP put into one epic, emotional series? Count me in! Whether you've read all of CLAMP's work, some of them, or none at all, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles ("Tsubasa" for short) is a stunning beautiful manga with something for everyone to love. Overview: Two childhood friends (Syaoran and Sakura) find themselves in a twisted plot when Princess Sakura's memories are scattered throughout universes in the form of feathers. Both of their lives will never be the same again. Now, along with a fleeing, happy-go-lucky magician (Fai) with dark secrets, and a belligerent ninja (Kurogane) with a darkpast of his own, the Syaoran and Sakura must travel across universes to collect her memories. The four unlikely travelers take part in an unique adventure as secrets unravel...

CLAMP does not disappoint in the plot of this manga. Tsubasa boasts CLAMP's character developement and emotional conveyence at their best. Their artwork equals, if not exceeds, the quality of the plot.

I would only like to mention that the only thing keeping this manga from a full score is its fluidity. Towards the end, the series can get quite confusing and it does have a weak ending. However, this should not keep anyone from missing out on this beautifully created manga.

This manga (TRC in short) is a Masterpiece, yep, some of you thinks that this manga is a confusing manga because of the some sudden change of the events, but this manga is truly a masterpiece. Story :9.5 They have a unique story, perfectly well written plot, plot twist are shocking, some are predictable For concern i'm going to review some arcs, they are the last 7 arc, so there are some spoilers here so do not read this part if you hate spoilers SPOILERS (do not read if you do not want to be spoil) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suwa arc (Kurogane's) = first hint of something happens here, in the image ofthe suspicious, the hints are everywhere, Fai become more mysterious here, Syaoran become suspicious, Kurogane being noob XD XD just kidding, but the thing that made me think meh in this part is why when Fai touch the book of memories, Kurogane didn't think that "fuck i should read it, he already hold it, maybe i will discover some fucking hints about him and blah blah blah"

Acid tokyo arc = Fucking plot twist, i was crying and cursing while reading this arc, crying because of the sudden change of events and to Fai who lose his precious magic, and cursing because of the fake syaoran . But this arc shows the major character development to KuroFai tandem, especially Fai (i think not character development but change character for him)

Infinity arc = brace yourselves Fai Flourite Fans because this Arc for you is going to be a burst emotion arc. "WTF is happening to them" is what my head says when i'm reading this arc, i don't know if it's plot hole or fucking hardcore change of events all over again, but since this arc answers the question in my mind when i'm reading the first arc of this manga. But i think this arc reminds me of the novel that i read somewhere that involves human chess.

Celes arc (Fai's) = "FUCK YOU FEI WANG REED" That's all. This arc is one of my trigger arc to express my emotion over the main enemy, and this arc proves that "Do not underestimate Fai, he knows everything" but Kurogane's character development show again in this arc. And WTF, why i didn't see syaoran's move in this arc?

Nihon arc = ANOTHER FUCKING PLOT TWIST, and wild major character development show up, there's a sudde. Change among all of them and it'll definitely say to you, okay this is not a manga for child right now HAHAHAHAHA. This one has the epic fighting scene in CLAMP history, TBH

Clow arc (Syaoran and Sakura's) = HANDS DOWN TO CHAPTER 203, the best chapter in this manga part,that manga chapter gives me a lot of encouragement TBH, this manga shows that "sacrifice is a matter of thing" but sorry sakura syaoran fans, but sometimes i find sakura annoying :3

Final battle (still in Clow arc) = FUCK YOU FEI WANG REED X1000000000000 (infinite) this explains the mystery that "is it a fate that the three will meet to make an adventure?" Also this one explains that Fei wang reed planned it from the start, when our heroine are still little kids, the thing that made me confuse was "why and how yuuko is involve here" but i think it answer my question in my second attempt to finish it. But this arc makes my anger to Clone syaoran suddenly disappear, and the magic of Fai returns to him after the shocking death, and ahem. . . KuroFai bond is developing once again, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! KuroFai is canon hahaha

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Art : 8

Typical clamp art, moeish style hahaha the art here is a masterpiece, especially the fighting scene part, it was perfect to display at house because those details are good, looks like a typical artist can't do it beyond one day, one day is not enough to draw a page of manga like that

Character : 9.75

Different attitude but has one goal, That's CLAMP's TRC, they have a different origin but they are joined to each other. They have a colorful character, fits to their signature color

Sakura (pink) - joyful

Syaroan (brown) - courage

Fai (blue) - cool

Kurogane (red) - determination and power

Enjoyment : 9.5

TBH, i find it boring btu as the soon as the manga goes on, it become funny, the first funny thing about this manga is it has a lots of crossover from other clamp SERIES. You can see chobits reference, CCS, Xxxholic, X, and many many more. The enjoyment here is somewhat overload because of lots of funny scenes at first half until it become dark at the second half, the enjoyment meter at second half was decreased from 9.5 to 8.87 because of the sudden change of events

OVERALL : 10

SPEECHLESS TO THIS MANGA, MASTERPIECE, well done, if you want a manga that you want to relaxed then mindfuck as it goes on, then read TRC, this series will made you insane and think a lot, it can be a perfect mind exercise because of the sudden changing of events that will left you thinking a lot before continuing another chapter.

Thumbs up CLAMP

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is the most in depth manga that I have read so far, the art work combined with the brilliant character development kept me hooked throughout. It follows a group of travellers Sakura, Syaoron, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona who travel from world to world on a mission to recover Sakura's memories. However the longer they travel more is revealed about the hidden motives behind their journey. It's not long before they uncover a sinister plot, with many hidden traps. Story I gave the story a 9 because at times it can be incredibly confusing. But that might just be me missing things. The plot iscomplicated as you would expect to find in any space-time manga. The beginning starts out innocently enough but as the plot thicken it develops the most beautiful tragic atmosphere. Mystery is maintained throughout, forcing you to turn page after page. Before you know it you've finished that volume! This manga keeps you constantly guessing and always surprises you. However for me, it lacks finality at the ending. Perhaps that is because I love this manga so much that I don't want it to end!

Art

The art in Tsubasa is simply magnificent, I rate it at a 10.

Character

The characters in this manga seriously make it one of the best mangas that I've read. I've never had a character that inspires so much emotion in me as them. Each one takes an individual journey and you can see each step they take and how their trust and relationships grow. Each of the main characters have a truly awful past, but they still manage to survive. They find love in each other, it's lovely to watch happen!

Anyway this is my first review so I hope you found it useful! :)

-Spirited xD