CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon, Vol. 4

東京BABYLON [Tokyo Babylon] #4

by Clamp

幼い一人娘を殺された母の怒りと嘆き。
法で裁けぬその男を『犬神』という呪術を使って復讐しようとする姿に昂流(すばる)は……。
そして星史郎(せいしろう)は本当に暗殺集団桜塚護(さくらづかもり)の関係者なのか!?
「VOL.4/CRIME」の他、「VOL.5/SAVE.A」「SAVE.B」を収録。

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Supernatural, Shojo, Fiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 1992

About the author

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.

Reviews

[grayi ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof this volume was way heavier that the other ones.

I can see the correlation: violence, revenge, forgiveness. While it is true that we cannot fully understand the hardships others go through, and blind forgiveness is useless, this is such a lonely conclusion. Got me spiraling a bit, thinking about the inevitable distance between all of us, so close yet so far away.

Seishiro is so scary. And I'm worried sick for Subaru, sigh. I doubt we will see her again, but I'm wishing the best to Hashimoto.

[Lemoona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was my favorite volume so far. When Subaru was having that one conversation with his grandmother, she said that "the cherry blossoms are planning to steal [him] away" and not to "let the cherry blossoms seduce [him]" or "confuse [his] mind and heart" (86-89). I immediately assumed it had something to do with Seishiro, and sure enough, when Seishiro ASSASSINATED the cult leader (I called it), a wave of cherry blossoms enveloped her body. Seishiro IS the cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms ARE Seishiro. And he's planning to win a "bet" against Subaru. I don't recall if they made a bet during their first encounter, but regardless, I am starting to think that Seishiro is very dangerous. Up till this point I've doubted his true character and intentions, but I still found reason to believe that some of his affections were genuine and not fabricated in an attempt to get closer to Subaru. When Subaru was unconscious and Seishiro drew their faces close, again I questioned whether or not he was truly dangerous. But then he put his hand around Subaru's throat. And took Subaru's glove (which he was never supposed to remove), off. Subaru's hand emitted a destructive power, seemingly planted there by his grandmother. Or maybe she was suppressing it, but Seishiro attributed this revelation to her. Then, out of respect, said he "will hold off until the final day" (156). It seems to me that Seishiro is a threat to Subaru's wellbeing. I am very curious what his plans are for Subaru. Does he truly "love" him? Why does it seem as if he plans to hurt him? What is the nature of this "love?" Stay tuned to see my thoughts on future volumes. It's been a pleasure reading so far and I am completely taken with this series.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting impatient to find out the endgame of all these secrets and constant hints - it's difficult to not just look up what's going on and spoil myself. I don't think I missed anything obvious yet, but I'm not sure.

I didn't like this volume as much as the others, I think because the two "cases of the week" were both kind of...weak.

In the first one, Subaru runs into a woman burying a dog spirit at a shrine, in hopes of avenging her young daughter's murder. The story is brutal, in typical CLAMP fashion - her five year old daughter had been walking home from school and was kidnapped and then drowned by a random man who'd just thought she was cute. When he was caught and put on trial, he was basically found not guilty by reason of insanity, which she simply couldn't accept.

The problem for me here is that there wasn't a single thing about this woman that made me like her. She was a grieving mother who was unable to recover from a horrific crime and a massive loss, yes. I understand why Subaru would sympathize with her and want to help her. But the way she went about things was was brutal, cowardly, and selfish. Why didn't she just follow through on her original plan to try to stab the guy herself? Straightforward, accomplishes her goals, looks him in the face as she takes her revenge.

Instead, she researches a ritual where you kill a beloved family dog - an animal her daughter had adored - then cut off its head and bury it in a heavily trafficked area (the shrine) to set off the curse. I'm not exactly sure how it was actually meant to kill the guy she was targeting, but while Subaru was focused on trying to save her from the backlash of such a dangerous ritual, I was busy being completely disgusted by her.

Yeah, killing the dog was definitely a step too far - and having a panel that showed it wasn't great, either. But a couple other things bother me, just beyond that. She kept going on and on about how even if they caught her, they couldn't charge her with a "crime" because there's nothing illegal about unleashing a dog spirit on someone. Except...wouldn't killing the dog and burying it in a shrine be crimes? And if she truly cared that much about her daughter, why would so much of her attention be focused on protecting herself?

I didn't like that woman at all, and I sort of wish Subaru had just let her carry on and take whatever punishment was coming for her. In that chapter, I felt myself aligning with Seishirou, who would've treated the whole situation very differently from Subaru's constant kind-hearted struggles.

I did love the scene after, with Seishirou comforting Subaru and saying all the wonderful, right things to soothe his agony over whether he was right to lie to the woman about her daughter's wishes. (The daughter was suffering, too, and wanting revenge as much as her mother did, but Subaru was the only one who could hear her.)

Of course, once Subaru was asleep, things went back into murkier territory, with Seishirou bringing up "the bet" again. I know this is probably supposed to be some mysterious hinge to their story, but not knowing is driving me kind of crazy.

We also get a warning from Subaru's grandmother about him not "falling under the cherry blossoms' spell," which is obviously about him trusting (loving?) Seishirou, and then a scene at the end that was very confusing to me, with Seishirou seeming like he was about to strangle Subaru, and then something with Subaru's gloves and a power surging out of them...a protective spell from his grandmother?

In short, I'm very confused! And I'm kind of bummed, I guess, that I really do like Seishirou a lot and don't want him to be any sort of actual villain.

I do really appreciate Hokuto's progression. She's still very cheery and loud and constantly teasing her brother about Seishirou, but she has Subaru's kind heart with an immense amount of steely resolve behind it. Loved the scene where she threatened Seishirou with her baking knife - and I really do think she meant it. Does she know more about him than it seems? And is there anything she'll actually be able to do to stop him, if it comes down to it?

The second story was in two parts and was about a girl being brutally bullied at school and being sucked into a cult. This was all interesting but also weirdly dissatisfying, mostly because the cult seemed useless? The woman leading it had some sort of psychic powers that seemed to enable her to sway people, but I didn't get what she was actually attempting to accomplish. Preaching love and self-acceptance and forgiveness and the need to embrace the divine within yourself was all pretty decent, but she was weirdly terrible at accomplishing anything with the bullied girl.

All she did was tell the girl that the bullying was her own fault for "not praying hard enough," for not loving herself enough or standing strong in the face of her difficulties. Which is exactly what the adults at school had already been telling her, so ??? Exactly what kind of help was this supposed to be? It just doesn't make sense to me, because why would teenagers in need of support join her cult, if she treated them like that?

Mostly what this volume did was make me really appreciate Seishirou and his much more jaded worldview. Although Subaru continues to be a darling. He's just too kind for his career path, really...although what he actually wants is to be a zookeeper. In another life, with him running a zoo and Seishirou being a veterinarian, maybe they really could've found happiness...

[Gise.Wen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alucinante tomo, Seishiro y Subaru condicen en un trabajo pero por los pelos algo salva a Subaru. La verdad es que este tomo nos muestra un poco mas de los dos pero la verdad es que Seishiro cada vez me da mas miedo ahhhhh, quiero saber que mas pasa. Quiero mas tomos. Vamos por el 5to :D

WEN

[kerrycat · Rating 5 out of 5]

officially afraid of seishiro now
and these stories, so very xxxholic (precursors, of course) and so so very dark (and bloody, messily so)

[✨Meryem✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing volume with a heartbreaking story ! I doubt we will see this girl again but I surely hope we will

[Daniy ♠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

AH shit this made me cry so much :( should I have a tag for books that made me cry?? lmao, can only think of this one and Piranesi, Im sure there are others tho

[marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vol. 1 ★★☆☆☆
Vol. 2 ★★☆☆☆
Vol. 3 ★★★☆☆

Of the two cases, the first one is definitely better. The second case is kind of ridiculous: we're supposed to believe that a woman creates a cult by telling bullied students they just need to pray and they stick around even after the bullying continues? That's just silly.

[Cel Red · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cada vez se pone mejor, hasta ahora ha sido mi volumen favorito. Por un lado vemos a Subaru en una situación complicada en la que debe decidir qué es mejor, y vivir con ello, y por otro, Seishirou entra en modus Sakurazukamori cada vez más intensamente.

Como siempre, el dibujo es bellísimo y Hokuto es un amor.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of moral questions are raised here. The question of whether it is okay to lie to someone if they are to receive peace, and whether, as Subaru says, that makes him a selfish person. The effectiveness of religion and faith is questioned too, alongside bullying. The dramatic climax and thoughtful speech makes this volume stand out particularly - and it is all tied off with the bloodstained ribbon of the mysterious sakura.

[Harry Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

100% rekt

[Emi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I began reading this one, I felt a little "disoriented" (not sure what a better word for it would be?), and it wasn't until I checked when I read volume 3 that I realised why that was—it's been three years! And, unfortunately, I didn't leave a helpful review on that one. So, before writing this review, I had to go back and reread that one and review it for my future self's sake! 😂

This volume tackles two cases, and they're both pretty dark and heavy. One is about a mother who lost her young daughter to a murderer who wasn't charged and 'let off' due to being declared unfit to stand trial.

"The others... they will never know... never understand what we victims endure."

Subaru tries to call her daughter's spirit to try and deter her from enacting her revenge, and is surprised by her daughter's spirit wanting her to go ahead with the revenge. Subaru ends up lying to the mother about what her daughter said, and feels conflicted about it afterwards. I can see why: if it was a video game, that'd probably be something I'd go back and redo to tell the mother the truth, knowing that it will probably lead to her enacting vigilante justice with a curse that will take her down with it. Subaru does tell her that, but doesn't seem to care because she says something like her life ended when her daughter's was. I'm not a parent, I can't understand how that feels, but I've seen parents who have lost their children saying this in true crime cases. Nobody should have to endure such profound grief like that. It's heart wrenching.

The second case is also a difficult one, but one that I can unfortunately relate to. It's about a school kid that has no friends and is severely bullied, I've not been in school in a very long time but I still felt dread at that teacher's 'work in pairs' (or groups) announcement to my core.

"As your teacher, I have to say that I think you need to bear some responsibility for being alone all the time."

That hit me close to home, not because I remember hearing any teacher say that to or about me (some may have done though, I have no idea) but I had a teacher say it to me as an adult when I was visiting a school to teach a workshop. I asked her if it's normal and whether she's tried anything to discourage it in her classroom at least, and she asked me 'what can I do?' and blamed the victim for it (saying it's her fault for being weird)—can't help but assume that maybe that teacher was a bully herself when she was in school, with the way she spoke about that kid was utterly appalling.

Anyway, I need to get down from my soap box and return to the review! Subaru receives this case from his grandmother, who takes a moment from briefing him to ask whether he keeps his gloves on—he says he does, and I don't realise why this is significant until the end of the chapter.

Towards the end of the chapter, Seishiro amps up the shady shit by straight up murdering someone (making sure that Subaru's unconscious for it before he does). He proceeds to say some creepy things to Subaru about when they met, their bet (?), and attempts to remove Subaru's glove (which, as previously stated, Subaru's grandmother brought up earlier). We're shown why it's important for Subaru to keep the glove on (which I can't help but wonder—how does he wash? What does he do if the glove gets dirty? I'm so bad when I have plasters on my hands, they always end up falling off during my first shower after administering them so they don't last long!). As per usual, he behaves shady and evasive when Hokuto begins asking him questions again. I wonder how long this is going to go on for? 👀 I don't remember whether I read the 5th volume as a kid, I don't have many memories after this volume (I'll have to see if anything comes back to me as I read it).

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for volume 1-18



While arguably less famous than some of CLAMP'S other works such as Card Captor Sakura, Tsubasa and xxxHolic, I personally believe X/1999 to be CLAMP's true masterpiece. It is all the more a shame that this series has been left as incomplete with only little hope of there ever being a conclusion. While on one hand, I would recommend this as a masterful manga, it always comes with the grain of salt that you will be left with more questions than answers.

Kamui returns to Tokyo where, much as he would like to see them again, he avoids meeting his childhood friends Fuma and Kotori. Strange things seem to happen around Kamui - earthquakes one after the other shatter the city. Soon, mysterious people called the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth try to recruit Kamui to join their cause: one to save the earth, and one to destroy and reform it.

Although one shouldn't expect any less from CLAMP, X/1999's art is stunning. The characters are beautifully drawn with intricate details and there is no other word than dedication to describing the Tokyo backdrops. The art does change significantly between the first and latest volume, which is quite natural to a longer running series.

Kamui certainly doesn't start off as the most likeable protagonist. But that changes fast enough once we become more familiar with his circumstances and also see his change toward others. Although this story has a lot of action, I believe it is foremost a character-driven plot. In addition to the seven Dragons of Heaven and the seven Dragons of Earth, there is still quite a vast cast of important and also lesser characters. What makes X/1999 so special is that they all have their legitimate intentions and wishes. If you like grey characters, well, this series consists of nothing but. There is really no saying which character is in the right or wrong - as the characters themselves point out - there is no ideal outcome in which everyone can be happy.

Not only are all characters relatable, they all have their own story to tell and are anything but flat characters. There must be at least one character everyone can adore, and - ok - relatable or not, I confess, I don't like Satsuki - at all. But apart from her? I can't say there is a single character who I don't care for. You'd wish each and everyone one of them could have their happy ending - unfortunately, you know it won't happen. And to make matters worse, we likely never will find out. I think, X/1999's status of being incomplete will forever be one of my personal biggest manga tragedies.

On another note, for those who have read Tokyo Babylon and/or CLAMP School Detectives, characters from both make a comeback in this series and the truly open ending of Subaru and Seishirou receives a somewhat decent conclusion. I say somewhat because, although their story continues and comes to a close of sorts, the last volume of X/1999 takes on a new turn which could go anywhere, so it's questionable whether it can really be called a satisfying conclusion.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The moral quandary in the first of the two stories in this volume was slightly more subtle than the second. Who is Subaru serving by lying to the woman about her dead daughter's intentions? Both mother and child wanted vengeance, but instead he advocated for peace. We aren't told what actually happens, so who knows, maybe the eventual outcome was different?

The second story was far less subtle, and far less satisfying. "Bullying is bad, and believing in yourself doesn't fix it" is hardly an earth-shattering revelation. I've seen a number of Japanese stories about what amounts to an "evil village," the people on the bottom of the totem pole being blamed for their own victimization and getting no sympathy. I hope that society's changed at least a little bit since then. Knowing what Seishirou's intentions are didn't help its case much, either.

As usual, CLAMP's earlier work isn't as impressive as their more recent work, but I've enjoyed coming back to this to see where they started. I'll be reading Magic Knights Rayearth and Cardcaptor Sakura after I'm done with this series, and continue to see their storytelling mature. I'm sorry that we haven't seen very much from them recently.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the beginning, shrines were used to seal in bad spirits. Dangerous or evil things would be captured... And to keep anyone from breaking the seal, they'd be locked within the foundation of the shrine itself. So tearing down a shrine... can lead to the release of whatever was sealed inside.

I didn't know much about this manga series but I couldn't resist picking it up when I saw the complete set in a local charity shop. The artwork is classic which made sense when I saw it was released back in the early 1990s.

This volume sees Subaru helping a grieving mother before going undercover at a Tokyo institute of learning at the behest of his grandmother. Seishirou's hidden side comes out again and takes a dark turn.

Things are ramping up and with only three more volumes I think are going to start getting spicy. 5 stars again.

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inugami. Dendam ibu dan dendam roh anak yang dibunuh orang tak waras. Subaru terpaksa berbohong kepada sang ibu agar ia batal membuat kutukan inugami yang suatu saat bisa berbalik padanya.

Hashimoto. Di-bully. Masuk sekte MS Research. Tapi pemimpin sekte, Kumiko, sok tahu dan menyuruhnya hanya bersabar dan berdoa. Seishirou menampakkan sisi bengisnya lagi. Kali ini dia benar-benar nyaris membunuh Subaru yang kehilangan kesadarannya.

[Elwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In yet another episode of "CLAMP was ahead of their time", this volume focuses on gaslighting and how it's a really fucking terrible thing to do to people. Victim blaming is atrocious and those who do blame victims... might come to a messy end.

Seishiro is really giving off some creepy vibes in this volume as well. On to the next volume~!

[Santiago Bueno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusta mucho esta serie. Me gusta van desarrollando el misterio. Finalmente en este tomo empezamos a tener algunas respuestas. Otra cosa que me gusta, es que, aunque es una serie que salió hace mucho tiempo, las tematicas que toca todavia son relevantes. Le da un aire atemporal que disfruto mucho.

[Matilda Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que fuerte las viñetas de la niña asesinada diciéndole a su madre que castigue al hombre malo. No puedo creer que yo leyera esto a los 13 años y me pareciera absolutamente normal. Ajeno, tal vez. No me cabía en la cabeza que cosas así pudieran suceder.

[Samantha Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the moral questions that are brought up in this story, they're such big questions that teens think about as much as adults. And as we age, we can see both perspectives as we get more jaded. Love that the badass!Seishirou has started to show by this volume.

[Danielle Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is progressing slowly...

[Nesdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's starting to get interesting. They go deeper into all the main characters. It deals with bullying with understanding and empathy towards the victim. Each volume I like the story a bit more.

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aburrido, luego despega... luego promete mucho, y luego vuelve a ser medio X.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally we are getting somewhere with the Subaru and Sei relationship and the mystery! Really liked this volume for the cases showcased in this.

[bookmaggot · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have thoughts but they'll have to wait until later when I can kick this migraine. This is a placeholder. Actual review to come later.

[Ana Karenina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Por fin empezamos el otro lado de Seishiro (Dolerá al final, yo lo sé)

[Fany Herondale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mientras mas avanzamos mas oscuro se pone el asunto

[devon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ☆

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damn... Shits fucked

I'm so curious as to where this is going