While working at the Green Drug Pharmacy, co-workers Kazahaya and Rikuo go on secret assignments for their boss Kakei that require Kazahaya's gift of seeing the memories of anyone he touches in order to complete them.
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.
Ancora una volta le Clamp si autocitano quando tra i lavori speciali viene chiesto al povero Kazahaya di chiedere ad una ragazza la propria divisa. In cambio lui gli darà i vestiti che tiene nella borsina in mano. Il simbolo sulla borsa e poi il marchio citato appartengono ad Angelic Layer.
The relationship between the two main characters is really cute and very reminiscent of traditional BL manga, though the CLAMP style is apparent. I loved the mysterious story and the events in each chapter.
With no money or roof over his head, Kudo finds himself working at a drug store after almost dying out in the cold. But working in the drug store isn't only about filling the shelves - Kudo has special powers that give him visions, an ability the drug store is putting to use. Together with his colleague Rikuo, they set out on various odd jobs that all seem to have something supernatural about them.
Can there really be anything worse than a mystery series that gets cancelled before it has revealed a single secret? It's nothing new that CLAMP tend to put their series on long hiatuses and, unfortunately, sometimes even indefinitely so. Legal Drug is no exception - it ends after volume three in the middle of the story with nothing even close to a conclusion. If anything, we get more questions than answers. The drug stores actual function is never explained, all characters have a mysterious past, their powers never fully explained and just the point of all the supernatural missions to begin with. Luckily, CLAMP moved to continue this series in the sequel Drug & Drop - the bad news is, it is now also on hiatus.
As infuriating as it is to read a mystery that leaves you hanging in the middle of nowhere, Legal Drug certainly has its merits and should be read by those who like to be familiar with the wider CLAMP-universe as their works are usually linked. While we don't really get to know where this series was headed to, it makes an interesting premise and the two main characters are pretty likeable - I would have read it for them alone.
The art in the early chapters is of CLAMP's older style but the second half of the series is well improved and has all the typical gorgeousness that I would expect of these artists. And although CLAMP often includes LGBT characters, this is the first and I believe only work that is actually labelled as such a work. Romance isn't the biggest focus of this series, in fact, most of it is more along the lines of comedy. Nonetheless, the humour and banter between Kudo and Rikuo is entertaining and makes them even more likeable.
It's not my favourite of CLAMP's, but it's definitely among the ones I'd like to see a conclusion to someday. Fingers crossed they will one day continue to work on Drug & Drop.
Nearly forgot how much I freakin' love this series (read it when it first came out and many times since)! Never forgot how freakin' sad I am that they never went past three! Soo much potential.
...But something CLAMP is notorious for. :(
All these years later and another re-read still did not let me down.
I love the characters' interactions. Love how Saiga continues to surprise Kazahaya. Love Kazahaya's ridiculous OTT reactions for all the things and especially his reactions to Kakei. Rikuo and Kazahaya...!
I did forget which great scenes this second volume had. From the vase to the kitten to the school uniform to the chocolate extra...
So fantastic. These will never get old, and I will never stop wishing that there had been more.
This was fairly interesting but again, seems aimless. The homoerotic subtext is basically text, but in a way that you can only find in early 2000s manga. Very much the "We're playing off the 'gay behavior' as a joke because we can't say it explicitly, but if you know you know". It's extremely cringe-inducing by today's standards, but hey at least nowadays we can have standards about LGBT content in our media. The only reason I'm still reading is that there are only three volumes, plus I am a bit curious about the mystery of Rikuo's past. There's just enough intrigue to still keep me interested.
Well, oh my! The cross dressing mission was pretty hilarious and I think it is beginning to be quite obvious how Rikuo possibly feels about Kazahaya. The level of teasing is funny and reminiscent of other CLAMP series. Kazahaya's reactions also look a lot like stuff from Fruits Basket as well which really sent me down memory lane and he is just like a cat too lol! But that ending though yikes! Little by little things get leaked out about Rikuo's past. The extras in this volume were rather blatant but I must admit quite hilarious considering how we have seen in this volume Kazahaya can be consumed in his role when his gift is upon him.
I love how Clamp drops little Easter eggs that tie into their other works. This is a great series so far a perfect mix of fun and serious with a touch of supernatural.
Some of the scenarios that these guys get into is super weird honestly. Part of me thinks it is paranormal, but then other scenarios debunk that theory big time.
Kenangan Rikuou soal Tsukiko begitu berdarah-darah. Siapa Tsukiko dan apa yang terjadi padanya? Mengapa Saiga dan Kakei bahkan tidak bisa mendeteksi gadis itu?
Kakei... You sneaky little bitch! Don't act like I can't see what you're doing. You're playing a wee little game of Cupid, aren't you? Do me a favor, will you? ... Put Kazahaya in that skirt again...
We start with the boys, Kazahaya and Rikuo, retrieving a cat made of tangible memory. As a reward for finding him and returning him to his owner, the cat shows them each a crystal-clear vision of the one they miss the most; Kazahaya his sister, Kei, and Rikuo the same mystery woman from volume 1, Tsukiko.
Next, the boys must find a supposedly enchanted vase (based on Japanese folklore) in the midst of one of Japan's elaborate festivals. When Kakei and Siaga leave them, (to do what, exactly, is left completely to the imagination. Stop calling this yaoi) they find their way to a shrine where they believe the vase is being kept. But the vase's mystic power play tricks on them, bending time and space.
And next... What I was referring to earlier... Kazahaya in the skirt... Um. Wait, where was I? Oh, right. Well... That was basically volume 2's third and fourth chapters. Skirt-clad Kazahaya. The story is easily the best in this volume (for other reasons) and I can't really describe it without spoilers.
The extras include Kakei being a bitch (you know, a cute fluffy bitch) and whupping everyone at mahjong, and Kazahaya's memory-reading abilities working a little too well on Rikuo.
Art specs? The same. It's cute. Whatta ya want me to say?
Solid volume. The reveals are well-timed and the humor is actually pretty good.
Upon rereading it, it is far more BL than I remembered it. Kazahaya playing the sexual innocent can get a little grating after a while but I still enjoy this. I'm still looking forward to seeing the renewed series but I'm about a decade older now than when I first read this and the will they/won't they stuff wears on me much faster these days.
This one had a cute kitty spirit that revealed a little bit about both Kazahaya and Himura's past and the women in them. I wish the manga would spend a little more time with their pasts and less on the will they/won't they stuff. There is more interesting things there. For instance at one point in book one Saiga calls Himura a rent boy. That alone is worth exploring but so far not so much.
Another story, a little longer, takes place at a street festival in a temple and reveals a bit more of the boys' powers and the toll it takes, at least on Kazahaya.
The next story feels like a lot of fan service for the BL crowd as Kazahaya has to procure a girl's school uniform (which is given up a tad easily) without knowing what Kakei wants him to do with it. Out of the four main characters in this, Kazahaya is the most innocent and the only one who seems conflicted about his sexuality. THe rest seem to be rather openly gay. Well Himura flirts with Kazahaya but is it to make him upset or is it real you can't tell yet (He could be gay for pay as a rent boy for all we know at this point because we have no idea who this mystery lady is he's looking for).
I do enjoy this barring the above mentioned UST nonsense. I do wish we'd get more of their history but I'm the impatient sort.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Kazahaya and Rikuo track down a vase that likes to play tricks on people, a cat that shows them the person they want to see most in the world, and Kazayaha steals a schoolgirl's uniform and wears it through a time slip into the past to complete a mission.
This book is more about the guys' pasts than anything. Rikuo misses a girl from his past named Tsukiko though Kazahaya hasn't found out much more than that. Thanks to his visions he knows what she looks like. As for himself, memories of his sister Kei haunt him.
I'm not so sure about the relationship between Kazahaya and his sister. At the beginning of the book, during one of Kazahaya's memories, they seem way too friendly with one another--leading me at first to believe they were dating. Too much is unknown about these two girls to really make any accurate guesses as to what might have happened in the past, but if this series would have been allowed to continue, it seems the questions pertaining to these mystery girls would have eventually been solved. So this book was more confusing than the first, but the boys' relationship develops in a pleasant way. At time Rikuo seems less serious than normal. He even lets his guard down after Kazahaya faints in his arms (Kazahaya has a habit of doing that).
Tenemos referencias al jarrón de xxxHolic en el que el kudakitsune vuelve a su pequeña forma, así que probablemente los chicos o el dueño de la tienda llegaron a hacer un trato con Yuko y pagaron con él, para que después Watanuki lo usara. También está una referencia al poste por el que Watanuki y Yuko pasan, para encontrar al comerciante de sueños (aquí se explica que es un lugar que conecta con otras épocas). Y una referencia más a la chica de Tsuki, y una escuela preparatoria llamada Sakura. La Puffle Princess shop también.
La idea de que se parezca tanto a Holic ahora sí me encantó. Ambos protagonistas poseen poderes y tienen que resolver cuestiones, solo que la historia es mucho más rápida. Además hay ideas del folklore japonés que me gustaron mucho. En verdad me gustó la historia, hasta el plus donde el zapato del personaje es lo que le "da" porciones de sus gustos y recuerdos.
Además, me gustan los trazos de los chicos, se ven varoniles y no tan exagerados como en Holic.
I am honestly so glad I started reading Legal Drug. This volume was so uplifting -- we get to see the characters in more detail, learn more about them, whilst the continuous doing extra jobs leads us into humour and comedy. I couldn't stop laughing nearly the entire way through reading this.
We get to see the relationship with the two main characters blossom as they learn more about each other, more and more details about them clicking into place, and it's beautiful to see.
I have so much praise for this manga and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Legal Drug, Volume 02 is such a wonderful continuation to Legal Drug, Volume 01, and it really deserves so much more credit than it's given. CLAMP have done amazingly with this series, and I'm really into it. I really don't want to read the last volume purely because I don't want it to end.
Exquisite gender bending and all the awkwardness of boys discovering boys’s love when they’re not sure if they should shatter preconcieved stereotypes while the characters explore the spiritual landscape around them. Kazahaya and Rikuo do mysterious jobs for Green Drug Store at the wish of Kakei, its equally mysterious and beautiful proprietor. Often assisted and/or teased by Saiga, Kakei’s partner in many senses, the boys find themselves discovering more of each other’s personal secrets as their personalities develop, often clashing against each other in a romantic or erotic way.
Lacking the elaborate ornate detail of some of CLAMP’s other manga, this series has a more simplistic charm, flowering into heartwarming beauty when it focuses upon Kazahaya’s eyes at a serious moment, evoking a mood similar to Tokyo Babylon and xxxholic, yet remainly uniquely its own.
2nd volume of this supernatural mystery series has more strange cases for the boys to solve. Firstly they have to find a spirit cat that shows a person what they most want to see, then a mysterious vase with the ability to distort space and time and finally they have to appease a restless ghost by replaying a highschool crush scene. Rikuo's fine, he gets to wear his old school uniform, but Kazahaya has to dress up as a girl and looks surprisingly good! - Will def appeal to fans of Eerie Queerie & hands off! More teasing hints are revealed about the mystery women in each of the boy's pasts.
Another solid volume, with episodic requests for Kazahaya and Rikuo to face. The cases themselves are diverse and fun (and here we get the first must-have, in the same way most anime need a hot springs episode, manga of this sort always end up with the main character in girl's clothes against his will at some point.)
In this volume we also start to get a little more about these two characters' past - and about a pair of women who were very important in their lives. It's very clear why Rikuo's is not in his life anymore, but with Kazahaya, things are more up in the air.
Oh, and we also get a cameo of characters from... Suki I think? Because it's Clamp, so there need to be cameos. :)
More is revealed about Rikuo and Kazahaya's pasts in volume 2, and it feels like the CLAMP ladies are taunting the audience - giving us just a taste of it, but leaving us wanting more because what we've seen only brushes the surface of the story.
Rikuo and Kazahaya's relationship also moves forward, and Rikuo's protectiveness of Kazahaya is cute. Kakei's showing himself to be quite a mystery, and one's left wondering exactly how much he knows.
Even though i really disliked Suki, i did enjoy her little apperance in this volume. Nice touch. Other than that the mystery continious. The two mc's bicker like old ladies and i am here for it, especially when they sometimes have their real moments. The cases become more complicated and more related to their (currently not intertwined?) backstories. So ofcourse since these missions seem to be relatable for both, maybe their pasts are connected somehow as well
This volume was a little better than the first. I think Kudo is a little less whiny and annoying. The stories were a little better. I think the cat one was the best, but still, this manga could be better, unless I'm judging it for being for high school readers. The art isn't even that great anymore, really.
I preferred this volume to the first. Kazahaya was less with the hating of Rikuo, although in this volume Rikuo deserved it more, as he was always making fun of Kazahaya!
I loved the cat story, being a cat lover myself, and the mysterious vase story was entertaining, plus the extra stories were fun. Onto the next volume :-)!
I really wish that Clamp would come off of hiatus for this series, they have a good plot going. They just need to finish it. I think that I didn't like it as I should have because it hasn't been finished and I don't know that there is a definite ending. I think that takes a little off the series.
More surreality, a deepening of the overarching plot. We learn more about Kazahaya's and Rikuo's haunted pasts. CLAMP continues to be CLAMP. The boys love overtones grow more present and delightful.
I think there was a cameo here but I missed the reference!