Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE
By: CLAMP
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: PG Mild Violence
Length: Unknown
Year released: 2003
Reviewing: Volume 1
Overall Rating: 88.3%
"She's the most precious person to me! She'll always stay that way! And so...no matter what happens to us. No matter what we do! I will not let Sakura die! Even if it means Sakura will forget me!" - Li Syaoran
Reviewer: Chibiwonton
Synopsis
The Kingdom of Clow is a peaceful world where the young princess Sakura lives and is ruled by her older brother. Syaoran is the son of the famous archaeologist who died during an archaeological dig, and he's also the childhood friend of Sakura. However, it has been prophesied that the princess possesses a remarkable power that yeilds enough power to change the world. On a normal day at a dig site, when Sakura was about to propose her love to Syaoran, a familiar symbol appeared and something unexpected happened, which brought Sakura to an incredibly dangerous state. With all determination, Syaoran sets his foot out on a quest to various worlds, for the sake of Sakura's life.
Story/Plot: 9
It may seem like a sequal to Cardcaptor Sakura, judging by the main characters of this newly released manga. But, after you read it, it's a completely different and unique storyline. The first volume introduces many events that promises a very good plot for the audiences. There are so many so many unanswered questions that pushes you to read the second volume, which has not been released by the Del Rey yet. Just by reading the first few panels of the manga was enough to suck me into the storyline, and the unguaranteed quest to search for the pieces of memories, the reasons to travel between worlds...there's so much elements that builds into a terrific plot! This is yet another awesome manga done by the brilliant group, CLAMP.
Characters: 8
The use of old characters from CLAMP's previous mangas is such a wonderful idea! I'm sure many fans of CLAMP's works are very happy to see their favorite heroes and heroines back into action. Sakura and Syaoran seems to be slightly older than they were in Cardcaptor Sakura, but that doesn't take away their character and old personalities. Especially the relationships between characters, such as Touya and Sakura, they remain the same. Character designs, although it's the use of the same characters previously used, are very unique. The clothing are completely unique designs, but their faces remains the same.
But also, the cool thing is that CLAMP mixes up characters and put them in different roles in Tsubasa. The blending of roles works out very well, making it seem like you're introduced to new characters while you are already familiar with the character. (LOL, if that made sense.)
Art: 9.5
Again, CLAMP never disappoints anyone when it comes to artwork. The scenes and the panels are nicely laid out, clear scenes and easy to follow. The artstyle varies just slightly, like Syaoran's hair is more jagged at the end for example, compared to the Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. The consistency of the artwork is very well kept, and the action scenes are awesome! Some scenes kept me staring and admiring it for a long time, definitely well worth rereading many times.
