[Categories: Manga Reviews]
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Chapters 1-5: The beginning of a wonderful journey
A story that runs parallel to xxxHolic, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is both a new story from acclaimed manga-ka team CLAMP and the ultimate in manga ‘crossovers’. A number of characters from Cardcaptor Sakura join familiar faces from numerous other CLAMP series as we follow Cardcaptor’s Syaoran in a magical quest to save the life of childhood friend Sakura.
Even if you have never read a single chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura (or any other CLAMP story for that matter) it doesn’t hinder your enjoyment of this series. The characters may look familiar but their situations, and even some of their personalities, have been reworked for the new story. With the help of XXXHolic’s Yuuko, Syaoran sets out to retrieve Sakura’s memories that have been scattered across numerous worlds. Even if and when Syaoran succeeds the most precious memories of all, those of Sakura’s childhood spent with him, will be irretrievably lost to her.
Right from the outset CLAMP have created a superb premise for an epic fantasy tale. The courageous hero must travel through time and space to accomplish his task of retrieving the memories, which inevitably leads him and the unconscious Sakura to places very much unlike the world that they (or we!) are familiar with. In this first volume he meets two unlikely travelling companions in the form of the fearless warrior Kurogane, magician Fai and a strange creature called Mokona, given to Syaoran by Yuuko.
The artwork is a little sketchy in places but otherwise it is in true CLAMP tradition, combining the gothic and fantastical with beautiful shoujo aesthetic and intuitive page layouts. Tanoshimi have gone to great lengths with the presentation as well with character profiles, translation notes on honorifics, and other helpful extras.
The story itself is only getting off the ground at this stage and even those familiar with the characters’ previous incarnations require some background to them in this particular setting. There are many questions thrown up, not least the circumstances that are responsible for Sakura’s memory loss and even Fai and Kurogane have their own secrets that are not yet apparent; when sent on their way with Syaoran they make for a varied and occasionally tumultuous team.
Summary
Long-standing CLAMP fans will get the most out of Tsubasa but for the rest of us this alternate-universe tale promises to be an enjoyable journey. The greatest strength of the fantasy genre is its unpredictability, so there is no telling where Sakura’s and Syaoran’s journey will lead them. The first volume efficiently introduces the major characters and kicks it all off at a comfortable pace; it is a series that already shows much promise.
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