Gate 7: Volume 3

by CLAMP, 185 pages

Chikahito makes friends with the beautiful new transfer student as the others keep an eye out for their enemy, Iemitsu, and his deadly oni while facing off with other contracted individuals seeking Nobunaga's legendary oni.

This third volume of the series is more battles than anything else, but the interludes between confrontations offer just enough story and character information to keep the reader interested for now.  It helps, of course, that it's pretty, although the battles involve a lot of heavy inking, and that the character glimpses we do get are interesting.  Also, I do like the historical elements, as long as they don't get overused.  Still, I hope this doesn't turn into a lighter version of X-1999, with character development and story progression getting lost in the supernatural, magical warfare and mystical melodrama for pages / chapters / volumes at a time.

Gate 7: Volume 2

by CLAMP, 182 pages

Chikahito's barely in his new home of Kyoto for a day before he's swept up into his new roomies' mysterious, magical business.

For more details, please see my full review at NoFlyingNoTights.com!

XxxHolic: Volume 19

by CLAMP, 180 pages

Watanuki has been waiting for Yûko and selflessly running her wish-granting shop for decades, but now he's suddenly dreaming of a butterfly and doesn't know what it means. Dômeki and his other friends stand by him and do what they can, but the ultimate choice to stay or go is his own. So they wait along with him and watch for the signs. But not even Watanuki knows what the future holds.

*sigh*

This might get a little spoilery, so skip it if you like.

This is both another lovely addition to the series and a sadly disappointing final volume. The wishes that arrive on Watanuki's doorstep are as thoughtful and unique as ever and his companions are as watchful and loving. But that's the problem. I knew, this being CLAMP, that the creators were not likely to outright answer anything and would probably build up to some open-ended, cryptic yet goosebump-inducing, beautifully drawn climax that the reader is happy to believe makes sense in some alternate universe. But there is no climax at all; no action on Watanuki's part to resolve his wait, no opportunity for Dômeki to use the mysterious object he's been holding onto for years now. Instead, Watanuki just decides to continue to wait, even though he's been given permission to go by a dream sent to him long before his vigil began. I was ready to accept incomprehensible conclusions, but not the complete lack of one, comprehensible or otherwise. It makes me sad. Did they run out of ideas? Write themselves into a corner? Lose interest in the characters and story? I still love these characters. I still love this story. But it will live in perpetual limbo now unless CLAMP have plans to tie it back into some future series, which I doubt is the case. I'm more content with this state of affairs now than I was when I first read this volume, but I wish I didn't have to resign myself to it. Unfortunately, that's one wish Watanuki isn't going to be able to grant. Still, lovely. Also, grrr. And, as always, a wee bit of hmmmm. *sigh*

XxxHolic: Volume 18

by CLAMP, 180 pages

Watanuki asks for Dômeki's help with one customer and shoos him away while dealing with another. In both cases, and following a visit from old friends, Watanuki shows himself to have grown stronger, both in powers and spirit, which is a comfort to his loved ones.

It's a good thing Watanuki's built up some confidence and know-how, as only one volume remains and I'm sure it will not be an easy one for him. I don't know how or if CLAMP's going to fit in all the things I want to know, but I'm excited to get whatever they're willing to give me. But I'm also sad at the thought of finally having to leave these characters and their stories behind.

XxxHolic: Volume 17

by CLAMP, 185 pages

Watanuki finds a red pearl for a familiar spider demon, sees what someone unaging like himself has to look forward to (and it's not all pleasant), and gives Dômeki a useful birthday present.

Dômeki is so patient. As he bides his time, waiting for the moment he'll be called to action, he can't help but worry exactly what action he'll be called to. It's a comfort, at least, to know that absent Yûko has clearly planned ahead. But the reader still worries.

X/1999: Volume 18: Inversion

by CLAMP, 170 pages

Numbers on both sides of the battle for the Earth's future change, but the Harbingers still seem to have the upper hand. If Kamui can't decipher Fuma's truest desire, there may be no hope of ever seeing his own come true.

This volume serves up a melancholy discourse on life and death, what matters most (and what should matter most), and the impossibility of ever truly understanding the heart of another. Over the course of the series, the art has become more polished and attractive and the characters have, as well, and not just in their visual portrayal on the page. As he explains (or talks around) the thinking behind his actions, Kamui-mirroring Fuma seems less and less outright evil than he did earlier in the series. He's mellowed into an object of pity, albeit a frightening, powerful one perfectly willing to take lives, even of those he loves, in pursuit of his personal moral code. Yet the reader worries for him, because he clearly considers himself and his continued existence with the same painfully wise pragmatism. He just wants Kamui to understand; but if he doesn't... ah, well. Oh, ambiguity and complexity, how I enjoy you in my graphic literature. :)

Released in Japan in 2002, this is the latest volume of the series to be published on either side of the pond, despite the story not having concluded yet. There appear to be three volumes worth of chapters left which CLAMP has basically completed, but they have yet to find / choose a magazine to complete publishing the serialized chapters, the original publisher for the series having dropped it because they felt it was no longer suitable due to the violence and dark themes (devastating earthquakes and juvenile murderers being too reminiscent of unpleasant reality in the country at the time...and, sadly, the present, as well). I hope they find a home for it someday, 'cause it's a good story and I really want to know how it all ends....

Gate 7: Volume 1

by CLAMP, 178 pages

History-loving high school student Chikahito gets more than he bargained for when he visits the ancient city of Kyoto. Magic and mystery, giggles and oohs are all happily par for the course in this first installment of CLAMP's newest series.

Please see my full review on NoFlyingNoTights!

X/1999: Volume 17: Suite

by CLAMP, 171 pages

Subaru has gone missing as the other Seals try to keep it together and keep one another alive.

Both sides in this conflict are learning (or will be learning soon) to better appreciate the bonds (some stronger, some weaker, than expected) that unite them. Yay for Sorata and Arashi's mutual understanding, but I worry that now they'll be prime targets for tragedy. And I don't know what's going to happen to poor, untethered Subaru....

X/1999: Volume 16: Nocturne

by CLAMP, 180 pages

Following a tip that takes him to Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge, Subaru waits alone to counter the next attack on the city's defenses. What he finds there instead is a long-delayed, climactic confrontation with his sister's murderer, his nemesis, his everything... Seishiro.

Ooooooh, I've been waiting for this since I turned the last page of Tokyo Babylon! And I am not disappointed. CLAMP are experts at the whole love-thy-enemy thing, and they've been developing this pair's tragic, complicated relationship for years. Although the characters' roots extend beyond the covers of this series, the creators are careful to tie it all into the events and personalities of the present, with Hokuto (Subaru's sister) and Kakyo's shared history, the concerned intervention of Kamui and the other Seals, and Fuma's calm observation of it all in a context only he and the dreamseers are privy to. *squee*

X/1999: Volume 15: Waltz

by CLAMP, 180 pages

As a trusted soul is secretly consumed by its other, darker self, the Dragons of Heaven are unwittingly led into danger. If the dreamseers' fateful visions come to pass, where the reinvigorated companions seek victory they will find only death and defeat.

This volume is yet another example of hope mixed with darkness. Seal Yuzuhira finds the strength to protect herself and her friends and rediscovers her lost spirit-dog companion; but dreamseer Kakyo's sweet vision of Hokuto Sumeragi, Subaru's dead twin sister, proves to be just a recurring heartbreaking dream, like a broken record, with no hope of resolution. Which tone will win out in the end? Whose beliefs will be legitimized and whose invalidated? Those who affirm the immutability of fate...or those who challenge it? Obviously, the reader is all for challenge. It's human nature, after all. But whether unpredictable CLAMP will choose to support that notion and, if so, to what degree, remains to be seen. Either way, I'm sure they'll make the journey to that revelation as twisted and hard-won as they can.

X/1999: Volume 14: Concerto

by CLAMP, 180 pages

Quiet, tired Kakyo, a dreamseer for the Harbingers, visits recuperating Kamui in his dreams and tells him he is not the only one with an opposite self, that someone else close to him is hiding another side of themselves...and it quickly becomes clear who. Why, Kakyo asks, does Kamui--why do any of them--insist on fighting a future that has already been seen, especially when doing so just causes them all more pain? Because they can't help but hold onto the hope that the future is not yet set.

I think Fuma and Seishiro's rooftop discussion about where to get good ice cream is almost the most disturbing scene in this series to-date. As they pass the chocolate-chip cone back and forth, Shibuya shatters into rubble and flames around them, the cries of the people in the streets and buildings and trains lost in the noise of collapsing concrete and twisting metal. The unexpected appearance of a potentially significant character in Kakyo's dream at the end of the volume goes a little way toward countering that darkness, but it's going to take a lot more to overtake it completely.

X/1999: Volume 13: Lament

by CLAMP, 180 pages

The Harbingers are starting to make trouble in earnest, attacking Tokyo's magically protective buildings with a series of destructive earthquakes. A young Seal tries to stop them, but alone she's not enough. Then Kamui stumbles upon Fuma just as the latter decapitates yet another of his friends. The battle goes rather downhill for Kamui from there until a pair of fellow Seals arrives on the scene and Fuma bows out till next time, never having lost his frightening cool.

Oh, these characters suffer a lot. At least we didn't know the deceased as well as we do some of the others. And Kamui is once again in need of hospitalization, every effort to impede Fuma having once again failed. Kamui needs to be more proactive, and not just wait for the other side to act before doing something. Otherwise, they'll always be a step ahead and he'll just have to take yet more gruesome beatings and watch more and more of his friends get killed in horrible ways. It's kinda depressing. And yet I can't stop reading....

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 6

by CLAMP, 220 pages

Mokona's revealed to be a lot more than just a ball of cuteness and comic relief as everyone realizes that none of them want a repeat of the past; it is only their chosen means of achieving an alternative that pits them against one another.

Loose ends are tidied up (except for one that is left amusingly wide open). Sappy and sweet and very nearly tragic, but this last volume ends on an unequivocal tone of hope and happiness.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 5

by CLAMP, 215 pages

Cephiro and its defenders fight off incursions from other countries looking to take advantage of its current weakness. But what are their motives? And what of Lantis, Zagato's quiet, brooding brother? And how is he connected to one of the invading countries?

More backstory on Emeraude and Zagato as well as Lantis and the fellows from Autozam. More muddying of the good / bad distinction. And more bonding as the future is contemplated.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 4

by CLAMP, 206 pages

The girls have returned home to Tokyo, their quest fulfilled, but their hearts are heavy with regret. To find comfort in shared memories, they meet up again at the tower only to once again be pulled back to Cephiro, where a new danger threatens the still unstable world. The trio learn some of the details they weren't privy to the first time they came to Cephiro, and that knowledge strengthens their resolve to serve the country however they can--even if that means trying to undermine its very foundations.

As the story gets more complex and the cast bigger, we meet a few characters CLAMP readers will recognize when they show up in one of the alternate worlds in Tsubasa. And did I mention that Mokona, Tsubasa's and XxxHolic's "white pork bun" tubby bunny-bat creature makes its first appearance in this series, as well? It doesn't talk so much in this one, though--probably because there aren't any perpetual grumps (I'm lookin' at you, Kurogane and Watanuki) to happily annoy. :P

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 3

by CLAMP, 207 pages

Umi and Fuu awake slumbering spirits who promise to help them when the time is right, but Zagato wants to ensure Hikaru doesn't get a chance to awaken the third and final spirit. And if he has to use mind control over one of Emeraude's most faithful servants to do it, he will.

Ah, enemies who aren't really enemies. CLAMP very rarely has baddies who are actually evil. There are almost always extenuating circumstances, contrasting yet legitimate motives, and, often, changes of heart. That's the tragedy of reality and one of the things I love best about these creators.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 2

by CLAMP, 197 pages

On their quest to get the special mineral Escudo for their new, self-adapting armor, the girls run into a strange but helpful boy in the forest. With Princess Emeraude's former priest Zagato sending one powerful enemy after another to get in their way, they could use the extra hands.

As they fight their way through obstacles, the three girls quickly learn to trust and look out for one another, bonding as best friends who've only just met. Typical CLAMP sappiness that feels right at home in the context of the story.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 1

by CLAMP, 203 pages

Three strangers are plucked from the viewing platform of Tokyo Tower and whisked away to another world where they're told they've been summoned by the imprisoned princess to save her kingdom. But can three ordinary fourteen-year-old girls who've never met before really save the world of Cephiro, where belief is power? Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi have a lot to learn, but they'll have to pick it up along the way as time is running out.

This is an early short series that still bears many of the hallmarks of future CLAMP titles: identifiable art, lots of wild magic, and a flair for the melodramatic that balances out nicely with sharp humor.

X/1999: Volume 12: Movement

by CLAMP, 180 pages

Kamui and Subaru have it out on a rooftop with Fuma and Nataku, with Subaru bearing the brunt of it. Frustrated by his own inability to protect his friends, Kamui vows to learn how to create a spirit shield. But he forgets that for every new trick he acquires, his opposite picks one up, too.

Ah, there's a reason why first Subaru and now everyone else seems to see whom they want to see in Fuma. Sneaky young man. He's even got his cohort, Seishiro, looking uncertain. That, at least, makes me happy. And goodness, have CLAMP got a thing for stealing / blinding eyes, or what? If it works, it works, I guess. It certainly fits in with Subaru's and Seishiro's personal history.