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An innocent sightseeing trip to Kyoto opens up a magical realm to shy high schooler Chikahito Takamoto. Visiting a legendary shrine, Chikahito finds himself in the mystical world of Hana and her comrades--and his immunity to their powers leads them to believe that he's no ordinary, awkward teenager! Protecting our world from violent supernatural beasts, Hana and her team welcome the confused Chikahito--who isn't quite sure that he wants to be caught in the middle of their war!

186 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2011

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About the author

Clamp

745 books3,138 followers
Ōkawa Nanase 大川七瀬
[born: 2 May 1967; Ōsaka, bloodtype: A]

Mokona Apapa もこなあぱぱ
[born: 16 Jun 1968, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]

Nekoi Mick 猫井みっく
[born: 21 Jan 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: O]

Igarashi Satsuki 五十嵐さつき
[born: 8 Feb 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]


CLAMP originally began in 1989 as a twelve-member dōjinshi circle, but by 1990, the circle had diminished from twelve to seven. Of the remaining seven, Tamayo Akiyama, Sei Nanao, and Leeza Sei left the group during the production of the RG Veda manga. Other former members of CLAMP also included Soushi Hishika, O-Kyon, Kazue Nakamori, Yuzuru Inoue and Shinya Ōmi. Currently, there are four members in the group.

In 2004, CLAMP's 15th anniversary as a mangaka group, the members changed their names from Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona Apapa, Mick Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi to Ageha Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi (her name is pronounced the same, but written with different characters) respectively. The August 2004 issue of Newtype USA, a magazine specializing in events of the anime and manga subcultures, reported that the members of CLAMP simply wanted to try out new names. In a later interview with Ohkawa, it was revealed that initially Mokona wanted to drop her surname because it sounded too immature for her liking, while Nekoi disliked people commenting that her name was the same as Mick Jagger's. Ohkawa and Igarashi, wanting to go with the flow of Nekoi's and Mokona's name changes, changed their names as well.

In 2006, they made their first USA public debut at Anime Expo in Anaheim, California. They were well received at the convention, with 6,000 fans in attendance at their panel.

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405 (32%)
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407 (32%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
Profile Image for Lois Bujold.
Author 190 books39.3k followers
January 5, 2017
More in my tracking back among CLAMP's cross-connected series. I read this because I was trying to understand Tsubasa: World Chronicle, which has some mysterious cross-over characters from Gate 7. I had dimly thought this was a finished series, and had gathered up all the volumes my library had to give it a go, only to discover at the end of Vol. 4 that it is not in fact finished. Beautiful artwork, though.

A naive young man with a mania for history goes to Kyoto, and there meets three mysterious otherworldly persons who seem to have some mystical guardian duties. Natch, he gets sucked in. It is implied there will be Reasons, later, but they are not revealed as far as the tale goes at present. A lot of the larger cast, as they are introduced, turn out to be reincarnations of assorted Warring States historical personages, still carrying on their rivalries. This trope reminded me a lot of Mirage of Blaze, one of the earliest anime I ever encountered, back when.

Nevertheless, price of admission was earned when I learned that one of the protagonists (a big strong fellow) has as a part-time job (when he isn't assisting in magical combats) to tie obis for traditional geishas, this apparently being a task that requires serious upper-body strength. This is apparently a Real Thing. Bent my brain. I grinned all day.

I hope CLAMP eventually gets to finish this series, but who knows.

Ta, L.
Profile Image for Mir.
4,974 reviews5,331 followers
June 19, 2017
Interesting premise and pleasantly nerdy main character. The supporting characters are so far underdeveloped, as is the plot, although it picks up enough at the end that I may continue with the series. Not immediately, however -- all the descriptions of ramen have sent me back to Oishinbo to read the Ramen volume!

I wonder of there's any place to get a decent Kogashi around here...?

Profile Image for Yodamom.
2,208 reviews215 followers
September 26, 2016
Beautiful illustrations, amazing detailing with emotional impact. I would buy the art book in a minute. I could have looked at the pictures for hours and never absorbed all the little details. The story seems historical in nature with humor and action. i would like to continue with this series.
Profile Image for Martine.
182 reviews11 followers
June 25, 2012
A young man is stepping into a kekkai that he should not be able to enter and witnesses a supernatural fight. (Oh, but this is not X-1999!)
He is a nice bespectacled boy, a bit loud sometimes, definitely a bit wimpy and – he can see things that others can’t. (Oh, but this is not xxxHolic, either.)
The boy meets a young child with great powers and a special mission. But the kid is not alone. By its side are a smiling blonde and a grumpy raven-haired man. (Yet, this is not Tsubasa.)

Well, Gate 7, the latest work of CLAMP obviously resembles some of the other works of these amazing four mangakas. Not that I mind. It’s just when I look at the similar works, I get the feeling that Gate 7 is going to start simple, fluffy and funny – and at some point the reader and the characters will be dragged into a maelstrom of angst. I can totally see that happen. Hopefully this means it’s going to be a longer series as well (I was miffy when Kobato was finished after just 6 volumes).

Since this is CLAMP, I guess I don’t need to say that the artwork is incredibly well done, aaand we get a new set of likeable characters. Like Chikahito Takamoto, the boy from Tokyo who loves history and Kyoto. He’s a bit like Watanuki from xxxHolic, but less flailing and ranting and more enthusiastic (not being pestered by ghosts and spirits all of the time does have a positive effect on one’s behavior). Then there is Hana, the kid of unknown gender, who might as well be genderless (this is CLAMP after all) and who is using flowery magic to defeat magical creatures, based on the principles of eastern alchemy – every creature belongs to yin or yang and to one of the four elements and comes in an animal shape… though I haven’t figured out the meaning of the shape yet.
Hana’s guardians, Tachibana and Sakura, are representing Yin and Yang and are capable of creating Hana’s weapons, setting up a kekkai (Sakura) and scanning the creatures for their abilities (Tachibana). Aside from the supernatural story aspect: Hana loves noodles, Tachibana is no morning person and Sakura can’t sleep without the warmth of another body next to him. Now, if that doesn't make you like them... I don't know what will.

There’s still a lot more about this story, but it was so history related and I lost track. I was very glad for the explanations on the very last page ^^. I rated it four stars because I can feel that this is going to get even better in the next volumes. Gate7 is a must-have for CLAMP fans.

For those who are new to the CLAMP-fandom: this is the right manga for you if you like stories about fantasy, reincarnations, and people summoning demons. If you’re also a fanfiction-reader who doesn’t like Shounen-Ai, you’re going to have a hard time and should seek the internet for knowledge about CLAMP soul mates, because I expect a lot of people to ship Tachibana/Sakura. I expect to be one of these people. They’re perfect opposites! So I’ll definitely keep my eyes open for some glove-biting, full back tattoos, loss-of-eyesight, cats and dogs or phoenix and dragon symbolism, smutty subtext and everything else that makes the CLAMP gaydar go off. XD
Profile Image for Amanda Zamorano.
91 reviews5 followers
February 11, 2020
Interesting read but the whole book was a setup for the series. If you know a lot about Japanese history and Japanese slang this will be a real easy and enjoyable read. I wish I had known there was a index in the back of information about what some of it meant. I was very confused by a lot of it. "Stringy noodles" and "myoho"? Were a couple of things I had to google partway through. Im hoping the next book is less scene building and more story. True to the CLAMP style its a very pretty book.
Profile Image for Leslie Carnahan.
1,419 reviews15 followers
May 20, 2025
this is one Clamp manga series that I could never find! I was SO happy to finally be able to read it. And it's good (don't get me wrong) but it didn't grab me like Clamps other titles. will I finish the series? of course I will. will I love it? who's to say.
Profile Image for Momo.
572 reviews4 followers
September 4, 2021
2/5 problems and overall didn’t like the story and characters much. First book I’ve read in almost a month and now I don’t feel like reading even though I’m on my break.
Profile Image for Dagmar Sola.
130 reviews
May 3, 2022
Muy introductorio, pero también muy bonito visualmente. Creo que es el manga de CLAMP con el mejor dibujo.
294 reviews1 follower
February 3, 2023
As always, CLAMP delivers with the stunning artwork and dropping us right into a hidden world of supernatural battles. I'm sure there's angst on the way, knowing this circle as I do, but to get this series started, it was a good intro, with just enough confusion to keep us in the same mindset as our slightly-daunted young hero.
Profile Image for usagi ☆ミ.
1,206 reviews331 followers
September 2, 2011
Netgalley, you always have my back. Once again, I have to thank them (and Dark Horse) for putting up the first translated chapter preview of CLAMP’s newest series, “Gate 7″. However, because I’ve been following since its initial publication in Japan late last year/early this year, this was a great opportunity to compare the translation to the original, and I have to say that once again, in the translation department, Dark Horse has renewed my faith in QUALITY translation within the manga sector. They did a FANTASTIC job with this series – and it’s not easy, seeing as how it relies so much on a lot of deeply historically researched and semi-obscure Shinto-related practices and concepts. So my hat’s off to Dark Horse for doing such an awesome job with this series so far.

As for the story – I love it. I absolutely adore it. And I love some of the huge risks that CLAMP is taking with this series – the plan to get it out to North America was inked around the same time the serialization deal was, so they knew ahead of time what they might deal with concerning their foreign audience’s ignorance on the finer points of the series. So I really have to hand it to them to explaining the concept of “kotodama” (wiki it, it’s too long to go into explanation here) in terms of simplifying it for everyone and making their story progress really gorgeously and smoothly. The art, of course, is exceptional (no surprise there), and I love how they’re bringing in other characters from their series (if you’ve read XXXHolic or Tsubasa, then you’re familiar with how they interweave their previous tales into new ones in new ways) in totally new ways. It all fits, and it’s a very smooth ride.

And then there’s the romance option – there’s always a degree of romance with CLAMP stories, but here they actually show kisses! That’s rare. I’m not sure why it is, but it is, and I’m happy to see they’re breaking their habit of hiding physical affection and hope it continues.

The history aspect – the Sengoku period (“Warring States” period in English) has always fascinated me, and I really love how CLAMP is using old Shinto mysticism in all of its glorious obscurity with some of the facts lost to recent history about the Sengoku period to create this very addictive story. If you don’t know much about the Sengoku period or its heroes and villains, don’t worry! CLAMP lays it out for you Cliffs Notes style without losing any of the details and nuances of the really complicated and confusing period that was Sengoku.

The result? I literally could not put this book down when I read it the first time around, and Dark Horse just makes me want to read the translated version even more. If you’re a fan of Japanese history, or religion, or you just have a passing interest, this is definitely a series you want to check out. This makes my best of 2011 list just for the sheer ballsiness for using such a complicated period in Japanese history along with obscure references in the Shinto practice.

CLAMP, I love you even more now. Don’t change a thing.

The first volume of “Gate 7″ will be out in North America in early October, with other volumes to follow. If you’re not in North America or Japan, consult your local translation houses to see if it’s been licensed in your area, and when it’s due out. Seriously worth a read!

(posted to librarything, goodreads, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for #ReadAllTheBooks.
1,219 reviews93 followers
August 19, 2011
Before I go any further with this review I have to state that I've only read the first chapter of Gate 7, the oneshot that started everything with this series. CLAMP works tend to have plots that reach far beyond one chapter, so I want to stress that all I can do is give my impressions of what I have.

You can't read any CLAMP manga without admiring the gorgeous style that is their trademark. It might change as members come and go, but it's always beautiful and worth looking at on its own merit. This doesn't really change in Gate 7. I absolutely loved looking at the art in this story. It might not be their strongest work (their earliest works will always be my favorite), but this is beautiful. I can't say enough about it.

Story-wise, I can see where this will draw in a lot of readers. It's not entirely my style, but there's a decent base here to expand upon. It's a little on the vague side, but since this was just the first chapter I don't feel right giving any final judgement on the storyline of this series. (Supposedly what I read was just a oneshot but it looks like it was definitely intended to be a promo for a series.) I've done a little snooping on the internet for information and it looks like this series will get pretty interesting as the volume progresses. It just doesn't seem to be my cup of tea, but that's OK. I'll just wait for Dark Horse to release the inevitable artbook. (Hopefully they'll re-release some of the out of print artbooks TokyoPop used to carry.)

I have to say, this will definitely find an easy audience here in the states. CLAMP can rarely go wrong in my opinion and they're giving us more of what they do best. Gate 7 will definitely appeal to those who loved X and xxxHolic.

3.5 out of 5 stars

(Reader copy provided by Netgalley)
Profile Image for Andre.
1,422 reviews105 followers
September 16, 2014
One thing is clear right away:
The art in this manga is really good, downright gorgeous in some cases, except for that one case when that yin creature was referred to as a lion but it looked more like a shaggy dog with bat ears. The backgrounds are either incredibly detailed drawn or they are manipulated photographies, I am not sure. Otherwise the drawing is very detailed and it shows that a lot of effort was put into this:
Except for the colors and shading the style on this cover is the same as in the manga.

However, the story did not really draw me in. There is nothing wrong with it, even if two of the characters fully adhere to manga hair color coding, it just didn't manage to really catch my interest enough to continue after this first volume. I head no problem with the many Japanese names and terms or the magic system, nothing was to complicated for me, albeit towards the end the storytelling flow was a tad odd, it simply couldn't draw me in.
I am not sure why, perhaps there was not enough emotion in it. For the most part the main character just goes from one part of the story to another, there is never any time for him to reflect on what happened around him or time for the reader to breath. Perhaps that was it, he was all in all a tad too accepting and while this is ok for more comedic mangas for one that seems to take itself as serious as this one it just seems weird.

Nonetheless, if you would aks me whether you should give this manga a try, I would say "do it!" I think its definitely worth a try. I would say its a 2.5 storywise and the artwork makes it 3 stars.
Profile Image for Kristen Harvey.
2,089 reviews260 followers
September 29, 2013
Gate 7 is a series that excited me since I found out that Clamp was writing it. The first in a new fantasy manga series, the main character is a visiting tourist named Chikahito who finds himself transported with three strangers into what looks to be another world. Unsure of why he has traveled with them, they decide to erase him memories, only to be unable to. Hana is a strange young girl who seems to taken a liking to Chikahito and even gives him a kiss before he leaves to return home from Kyoto.

Months later Chikahito finds himself going to school in Kyoto and back with the same three strangers again. Hana seems to have done something to him to make him return to her. After being offered a place to stay, Chikahito finds himself living with all three of them, still not sure what is going on. They also are unsure of why he can do what he does and what it all means.

I love the illustrations of this artist team and fell in love with the world and characters right away. Hana is so cute and very single-sited when it comes to life, acting very child-like although it is hard to tell what age she should really be. More is revealed slowly throughout the first book about what is going on, but it's obvious there is more to be revealed soon. I'm curious as to how Chikahito is involved in this complicated world with magical beings.

Final Verdict: I'm excited to see where this series is going and will be reading the next two volumes shortly. I love the mix of humor with fantasy that manga always allows for.
Profile Image for Yuu Sasih.
Author 6 books46 followers
June 29, 2012
This review and rating are for all published (on-going) volume.

After Holic and Tsubasa ends like that, I was yearning for another CLAMP's work and tadaa!, this story was being published!

This story's about Chikahito, an ordinary-but-all-skilled high-school freshman who came to Kyoto, his dream city, and met many surprising creatures and legends there with the lead of Hana and her (his?) companion.

I think this story could be a massive work like Tsubasa or X/1999, and I'd really love to see how CLAMP's twist will work in this one. I mean, with Toyotomi Hidetomi, Sanada Yukimura, Mitsuhide, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and other Japanese war hero? Yeees, this could be massive. I count on you, CLAMP.

I don't know why I'm suspicious of Hana's gender. LOL. Because since the beginning, nor Tachibana nor Sakura, Hana's guardian, was openly admit Hana's gender, mostly they just shrug it off as if nothing. So somehow I have this gut feeling that Hana is actually a boy.

Ah, well. Fujoshi can dream.
Profile Image for Amanda.
252 reviews9 followers
August 29, 2011
My Thoughts: This was a great start to a seemingly fascinating story. I haven't read any manga past a brief glance but I am a huge fan of anime. The premise Gate 7 sounded like an anime I would be interested in watching so decided to give this a go. After I remembered that everything is back to front, I really got into it. I found myself giggling a few times and by the time it finished, I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. Some of the drawings were a little hard to discern but that's probably more my inexperience with manga than anything else.

Final Opinion: Gate 7 is an amusing, fun, quick read and I'll definitely keep an open mind to more manga in the future.
Profile Image for Anna.
379 reviews7 followers
Read
August 24, 2012
The artwork is superb, and the action sequences are a mix of X and Tsubasa. Hana is a cutesy warrior/mystic savant and full-time noodle glutton. I did admittedly get bogged down on the Sengoku Jidai history lesson, which I find interesting but it was too much all at once. Also, knowing CLAMP's tendency to troll, I don't 100% trust the manga to be telling me the correct history about the people and the era.

Also, seriously, CLAMP ladies -- how much longer are we going to play this, "which gender is this character" game. I thought you got over that when you wrote Wish?
Profile Image for Selena Pigoni.
1,938 reviews263 followers
June 20, 2015
The art was gorgeous.

Sadly, that's about all there was to this one.

If you're big into Japanese history, especially the shogun era, you might like it, but if you aren't a history buff, there's not much to offer. The characters aren't particularly interesting and feel to me more like rehashes of CLAMP characters I've already seen that story originals. The story is so-so. The storytelling is lots of long, never-ending text bubbles that makes this a slow slog to read.

So, overall, I was a bit disappointing.
Profile Image for Elsa.
1,092 reviews8 followers
November 27, 2011
Very stylish, but then what do you expect from CLAMP. This is definitely a set-up volume, can't wait to see what happens from now on.
Profile Image for Tinita125.
297 reviews
March 27, 2022
Buenas buenas, hello there!
Que decir... para ser sincera, este manga me pareció horrible. Primero, esta sin terminar; segundo, este manga tiene un millón de personajes que están mal introducidos y no generan ganas de conocer (ni siquiera me gusta que estén basados en figuras históricas de la era Sengoku); tercero, las cosas pasaban super rápido, las batallas eran re aburridas y terminaban sin que pasara nada; cuarto, me chupan un huevo los dos protagonistas, Hana no me parece cute y el personaje principal es feo y aburrido; quito, lo único bueno que podía tener era meter shonen ai entre los dos pibes lindos (el rubio y el pibe papu uke); sexto, creo que no necesito más razones para decir que fue horrible.
Me pareció que para ser un manga de clamp, se nota mucho que la modernidad no las ayudó tanto. Me da la sensación que después de Tsubasa/Holic no supieron que más inventar y por eso se tiraron a seguir con continuaciones. Honestamente, me costó leer esto.
No se si tengo mucho que decir, preferiría que siguiera con Drug and Drop, antes que con esta mierda, pero bueno. La verdad tenía ganas de parar, pero como me leí más de 20 mangas de estas señoras, eso no iba a suceder.
En fin, no lo recomiendo y me pareció muy malo. Estaba mal escrito y hecho. Me parece que la trama solo podría llegar a interesar a la gente de japón, pero ni siquiera me parece bueno.
Lo mejor de todo esto, es que solo me quedan 3 mangas para decir "LEÍ TODO CLAMP". Que felicidad <3
Profile Image for Mary.
386 reviews4 followers
July 30, 2019
This was suggested to me when I was asking around for short manga series (7-8 volumes or less) to recommend to a friend who hasn't read any manga because they all seem to be super long series.

This is a 4 volume series, but what I know now (but wasn't told by the one recommending it) is that it is short because it has been indefinitely put on hiatus. There is no end and it drops off quite suddenly with zero resolution at volume 4. Just wanna get that out there up front before someone else picks it up only to be equally disappointed.

OK, so that out there, I loved this. First off I really love the art style. It's just beautiful. I also really like the the mix of history and fantasy. The main character is a fan of Kyoto history & culture, so I learned a bit about Kyoto in reading (mostly the end notes). That's pretty cool! The end notes are super helpful with the details an average foreigner isn't going to know, but it can feel a little overwhelming to pick all this up at the end. (I never read end notes until the end as I worry about spoilers.)

The first volume is a little tough to get into as there is a lot going on with very little explanation. It definitely hops right in without a lot of setup. There are some cool characters, but it's a little unclear who is who and what exactly the story will be about...
Profile Image for Claire Binkley.
2,268 reviews17 followers
January 10, 2019
Here is such a lovely inclusion to CLAMP's oeuvre.
Now that I think of it, I should probably make a shelf which includes all of my 2019 Read Harder Challenge books... I mean, I was originally intending to read a different manga for what I just described, the first omnibus of Fushigi Yuugi, but this book was easier for me to polish off quickly, as it has fewer pages. I think I'll finish Fushigi Yuugi next year, as I am already part way through it.

I wished throughout my perusal of this volume that I knew more about Japan's fascinating archaeological history and how it divulges from China's. (I could ask Dr. Chien, my former Chinese History professor, but I also don't want to eat up her time when the next time I see her it would be more sensical to just ask for a letter of recommendation for continuing library studies.) Also, I am envious of this quartet of artists' ability to convey meaning through the media of ink, toner, and a knife.
So, hurrah I learned more about Japanese culture through reading this! Also, it is very, very pretty!
Also, kudos to CLAMP for not producing a gory comic!
Profile Image for Kara Bianca.
568 reviews76 followers
January 10, 2019
3.5 stars.

Summary:
This manga follows Chikahito, a high school student on a trip to Kyoto who stumbles across three strange people. That's... It. Really.

Characters 4/5:
I liked the characters in this, especially Hana. So far, however, there's a lot of mystery regarding the characters, so I'm not 100% sure if I would continue to like them all into the future.

Plot 2.5/5: Eh, I don't feel like enough plot actually developed in this first book. There was a bit of a mystery... That wasn't significantly solved. Really it was a few bits of developing mystery without any kind of resolutions and there wasn't much plot besides that. The atmosphere was pretty awesome though.

Art Style 4/5:
I actually really enjoyed the art style in this one. The text was easy to follow and the way the mystery/magic element was working was really gorgeous.

Setting and atmosphere 4/5:
So yeah, where this was lacking in plot, it definitely made up for in setting and atmosphere. This was gorgeously mysterious.

Overall, I think I MIGHT continue this series. I was intrigued by the mystery but I don't think enough of anything actually happened to form too solid an opinion.
Profile Image for Amina D'Anima.
499 reviews25 followers
November 4, 2019
Ce fut une lecture plaisante ma foi :) Je dois dire que j'appréhendais un peu vu les avis et les notes que j'avais vu dessus mais finalement j'ai quand même bien aimé au final. L'univers se met doucement en place, les principaux personnages sont présentés... en résumé c'est un tome d'introduction. J'avais vu des avis comme quoi on pouvait être perdu par le fait qu'il y ait autant de personnages et beaucoup de termes historiques. ça n'a pas été mon cas j'ai relativement bien suivi qui est qui, je reprocherais juste peut être la façon dont c'est amenée ^^ On est aussi paumé que le personnage principal Chikahito mais en même temps il s'est retrouvé embarqué dans cet univers par hasard donc c'est logique. On retrouve bien évidemment la patte de Clamp : avec l'ambiance mystique, les secrets, le folklore japonais etc...
En bref j'ai été agréablement surprise donc je me procure la suite (même si je sais que c'est une série en cours depuis un moment déjà mais pas grave ^^ )
Profile Image for Nicole.
627 reviews28 followers
July 13, 2017
2.5 stars. Like most Clamp series, the art is gorgeous, and the premise is basic but has the potential to be interesting depending on how it develops. However, one of the characters, Hana, is drawn like a child, acts like a child, and is treated as one, and yet the story seems to be setting them up as the main romantic interest for its high school aged protagonist. I have no idea what happens with this beyond this volume, but it totally turned me off of reading any more of this series. If I'm in the mood for pretty Clamp art, they have a million different series to choose from, and I'd rather read a series without the pedophilic vibes.
Profile Image for Adrian Santiago.
1,176 reviews21 followers
April 13, 2025
De nuevo no estoy seguro cómo van los capítulos y volúmenes, pero la historia (y los trazos) se sienten frescos, dinámicos y más ràpidos. A pesar de algunas explicaciones largas hasta de lo cultural en Japón.

La historia se siente o nota bastante como un nuevo intento de X, pero a la vez llama la atención. Quitando lo básico y repetitivo, el prota mágicamente más poderoso que todos los demás, pero nadie sabe por qué; que conocina y atiende la casa, como muchos protagonistas de Clamp; chistes y recuadros "graciosos" y personajes kawaii que ya sabemos que de un momento a otro se vuelven ultra fuertes inderrotables y blabla.

Pero llama la atención la historia y los personajes.
Profile Image for Jessika Hoover.
656 reviews99 followers
September 4, 2022
I’m certainly not an expert on the genre, by any means, but of the handful of manga that I’ve read so far, this was a favorite!

The art was so beautiful, but also very unique. The story was a little vague and slow to build, but I think this volume was very much a set-up to the overall story. It was very culturally and historically detailed, but between the translator notes and trusty Google, I didn’t find this difficult to follow. I actually found it very fascinating! Add the fantasy plot line, and I was hooked!

Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of volume 2!
Profile Image for Alba Lafarga.
90 reviews87 followers
January 3, 2022
El dibujo de las CLAMP en esta obra me parece impecable, líneas preciosistas que nos recuerdan a xxxHolic, pero con toque distintivo (para mí) más nítido y claro. Aunque hay quien dice que peca de dar demasiada información sobre Kyoto (principalmente para el público no japonés), me pareció estimulante y disfruté con la lectura. Aun me quedan pendientes los dos últimos tomos (y me parece que no han terminado este manga todavía, que lo dejaron en stand by).
Profile Image for Nazish Ahmed (Nazish Reads).
952 reviews38 followers
May 9, 2013
I rate this 3.5 stars.


To view the full post and other reviews, click here Gate 7 Volume 1 by Clamp



Gore: No
Magic: Yes
Romance: Kind of, very subtle

Action: 3.5 stars
Pacing: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Drawings/Art: 5 stars


Warning, Spoilers

The story starts with a teenage buy named Chikahito Takamoto arrives to Kyoto. He wanted to go there since he was a little kid. He's always felt a pull towards Kyoto and more at ease, which makes me think that he has some kind of link there, that either he doesn't know about or doesn't remember.

He then meets three strange people who use magic and are dressed in traditional Japanese outfits: two guys and a little girl. They're shocked that he was able to get past the barrier. Chikahito faints and he wakes up where those three live and now they are in modern clothes. They are even more shocked when they found out that he's a normal teenager, but they believe that he has some kind of powers because how else would he able to get through the wards so easily and also when they try to erase his memory of what happened earlier, it doesn't work. Then Hana (the little girl) takes him outside and kisses him.

It's near the end of Chikahito's second year in high school and surprisingly he's transferred to a high school in Kyoto, then he starts looking for an apartment to stay in.

This is what his mom did when he transferred,
Then mother went through all that fuss trying to seeif I could be transferred to a different prefecture.

I keep thinking that there's a reason why she was acting like that and maybe it's because she knows something that might be connected to those three and doesn't want him to get mixed up in the crazy stuff they do. I'm not really sure, it's just a theory I have.

Chikahito starts decides to eat something, so he looks for a restaurant he wanted to go to. When he goes inside, he see's Hana and the gang and he freeks out, but he ends up sitting with them and eating with them. Then they end up in a battle against something. From one of Hana's reactions, it seemed like she might know something or is speculating something about Chikahito, but for some reason she won't tell anyone. After the battle, it is revealed that Hana didn't actually kiss him that time, it was actually something else. He ends up living with the mysteious trio as a cook. I always thought that Sakura is only a girl name, it seems that these days, quite a few names can be used for both boys and girls in many different religions.

The next day, Chicahito is sent with Hana on an errand and she can't go alone because if she sees a noodle shop, she'll go nuts and attack. After they leave, Tachibana and Sakura are talking about someone.

Chikahito meets Hidetsugi. He tells Chickahito (and us0 more about what those three do and taht there are more of them including him, he also explains where they get their powers from. They also try to figure out who Chickahito is. I'm not going to be too specific on what happens, I don't want to spoil the story for you guys, and I don't want this review to be long.

Then a new character appears, his name is Mitsuhide Akechi, and that starts another battle, which is how this volume ends.


If I were to describe this manga in one word, I would say that it's a bit confusing. Actually, the first isn't as bad as confusing as the second volume (I read up to the third volume a few weeks ago). I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this manga series yet. I don't know if I like it or not, but I will keep reading because I'm really curious about Chikahito and that guy some of the characters are looking for. This volume has subtle romance in it, which is good, because it's nice to have a break from romance sometimes.

I've seen the anime Sakura Cardcaptor but I didn't read the manga yet, I saw a few episodes of Chobits and that's about it for me being exposed to their stories. Although i recently read XXX Holic volume 1. I heard that it isn't very good, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it way more than their Gate 7 series.

The main character from Gate 7 (Chikahito) looks similar to Watanuki from XXX Holic. Except, Watanuki has a short temper and most of the time he's not afraid of speaking his mind, whereas Chikahito is very passive: he never speaks his ming, never gets angry, gets scared easily, and is too nice, etc. He kind of reminds me Tohru Honda, except that she smiles too much and is stupid, while Chikahito is a history nerd.

I feel kind of similar to how I feel about most of Arina Tanamura's books, that the manga is mostly about the pretty pictures and not as much about the story and the characters. Because in some cases, the art is gorgeous and the story is close to mediocre or a little bit better than that. I do want good art to look at while I'm reading manga, but what I really want is a good and enjoyable story.

Overall, this manga is not everyone, try reading the first or first two volumes and see how you feel about it.
Profile Image for Ghada.
220 reviews
December 23, 2018
I don't know how I feel about this one. I also borrowed the second volume from the library so I'll give it another chance but I doubt that I'll like it, although I can see that this manga series does have a lot of potential. I like any story with a Japanese myth or something to do with shrines and temples.
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