Syaoran and friends continue to dimension hop in their never-ending search for Princess Sakura’s missing feathers. In Recort, Syaoran finds himself stuck in a book full of Kurogane’s memories. Then, the group lands in Tokyo where acid rain falls from the sky, and Princess Sakura has fallen into a seemingly endless slumber. Will they be able to wake her up before it’s too late?
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.
And despite the cliffhanger I've given this volume five stars because it was the most intriguing so far.
The insight into Kurogane's memories made me feel so heartbroken for him. I figured he had gone through some turmoil but I did not imagine it to be as heartbreaking or devastating as it was. Poor Kurogane.
It was also really surprising to see how he and Tomoyo met.
The volume got progressively dark and progressively interesting in terms of whatever is happening to Syaoran. And the part where they landed in the kingdom of Clow and saw some more of Syaoran's memories with Sakura and the significance and meaning of it.
As for the ending, I was not expecting any of that to happen and I'm scared for what's about to happen in the next volumes ahhhh!
This Omnibus will take us on a sharp 180 turn away from the cutesy-ness of Piffle and deep into the darkness of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo. X/1999 fans will rejoice as the entire cast of characters from that series arrive in a setting much like their original (with one very key difference that will make any X fan gasp)!
Kurogane's backstory is finally revealed, and, in turn, he's chipping away at Fai's secrets, forcing Fai to reevaluate his place in this story! But, more importantly, Shoaran is taking some real hits, physically, psychologically, and even mentally! Something is happening to him that the reader is only vaguely aware of (and Shoaran himself isn't aware of at all). Sakura is pretty much out this entire Omnibus which becomes a real problem by the end of it. In fact, the end of this Omnibus sees our heroes left in a very hostile and dark world, Shoaran injured and confused, Sakura in mortal peril, and Kurogane and Fai straining to keep it together with Fai on the defensive against Kurogane's attempts to figure out what his true motivations are. It's really tense, and the tone of the series has definitely gotten darker. xxxHolic features more heavily in this too as the dual plots merge at various key points.
WHAT A VOLUME!!!! Loved it! It had everything-- incredible art, tight writing, and myth arc, myth arc, myth arc! Things I loved:
1. Sakura clearly developing feelings for Syaoran even without her memories, just because Syaoran is That Guy. Be still my heart. 2. Kurogane's memory book was tragic and gave so much insight into his character 3. Getting to see cracks in Fai's happy-go-lucky persona. 4. Syaoran glitching into his "clone" and Xing-Huo sending the "clone" to the witch.... "I have to give it back"... what?! Feathers, HIMSELF (I'm guessing he's the "left eye" and Syaoran proper is the "right eye"), something yet to be revealed? Is he bad? Is he misguided? Is he an echo? Ahhhh!!!!
Can't wait to read the next omnibus!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is one of my favourites so far, if only because of the peek into Kurogane's past. It's heartbreaking to say the least, and explains why he is the way he is.
The interactions are becoming deeper and the story is getting darker, and I'm in for the rest of this wild ride.