don't be dull, be fannish

"Tsubasa Chronicle Vol. 28" by Clamp

4 stars out of 5

The last part of the series. It was pretty good and there were so many things explained, no wonder this volume was much longer than the previous ones. We found out who Shaolan and Sakura and Shaolan 2.0 and Sakura 2.0 and Watanuki actually were and what happened to them. The ending was slightly open-ended; the main story found its end but it wasn't entirely happy and it opened so many new possibilities. Though I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see some of the characters they had met on their way again and whose story thus remained unfinished, like the vampire twins.

Vol. 23: I have no idea what's happening anymore. There's a twist after a twist after a twist and I'm starting to lose my way in them. So, there are two Shaolans and two Sakuras? But I still don't get how Shaolan and Watanuki are related. They're brothers? It's really intriguing but, uh, I need a map. Or maybe a character chart! And what's with Fuuma and the Twins?

Vol. 24: I would love to read more about boy!Toya and boy!Yukito. They were so cute. But now I don't get who Shaolan and Sakura are. Are they actually their own parents? As in time travel? Hm... But man, all those people melting away, that was scary!

Oh my God! Did Kurogane really do what I think he did to save Fai? Man, how many body parts can a group of four - okay, with Mokona it's five - afford to lose? But I loved that even after Fai's past was revealed, Kurogane still didn't care. He cared about the present and about their future, not about the past, things nobody could change. Fai's shocked look! Loved that Kurogane refused to let Fai go.

This manga pushes the boundaries of dubious consent. Souichi always protests - and very loudly, too - whenever Morinaga tries to get him in bed. On the other hand, whenever Morinaga stops trying to get him in bed, Souichi becomes angry! Souichi reacts very violently to everything Morinaga does, but God forbid someone tries to hurt Morinaga - punches fly! So yeah, the relationship between the characters is more than confusing. And especially this volume was rather silly with the "karaoke blackmail" thing...

This volume was rather confusing and I don't know if it was the author's or the translator's fault. Also, a lot of place was devoted to Raikou-sama and his goons. I would prefer to learn more about Kantarou and Haruka. So, to sum it up, it was good but nothing all that special.

Wow, we really did leave the fluff behind. That was creepy and cruel and dark and I'm still stunned. Clamp really knows how to shock. I mean, I hoped that this volume would delve into Fye's past but I didn't expect ~that~! Now I'm curious how the others will react to what Fye did. And how will Fye react. I'm so glad that I bought the next volume already!

Oh, and I feel the insane need to slash Geo and Eagle. I don't even know from which Clamp manga they are but they were so immensely slashable in this book! Maybe I'll look them up and buy their "original" manga if they are as slashable there as they were in here.

Vol. 15: That whole world, the setting was so creepy, all apocalyptic and a bit Dune like. It made me wonder what Kamui was waiting for so patiently the whole time, the way he refused to budge away from the underground water source. And the other!Syaoran appeared again. So freakishly terrifying with his stone cold attitude.

Vol. 16: And we finally learn more about Syaoran and about what's going on. Wow, that pretty much sums up my reaction. Simply WOW! This time, creepy doesn't even begin to cover it. I was all teary eyed after what happened to Fai, his determination to die made me all sad. On the other hand we got to see just how much Kurogane cared for Fai, the way he cradled him gently and even went up against Syaoran to protect him. I was glad that I had the next book in the series at hand because the cliffhanger was heart-stopping!

Vol. 17: Ouch. Poor Fai. From now on, he and Kurogane are tied together forever. And Fai really wasn't happy about it. When he stopped calling Kurogane names and Kurogane realized it - that broke my heart. I wonder what Fai's secret is. But I was glad to see Sakura show some spunk. Looking cute is fine but it's not enough for me. Also, Kamui and Subaru vs. Fuuma and Seishiro again, huh? And still, there are the Kamui/Fuuma and Subaru/Seishiro vibes there, just like always. Clamp, please, never change!

Review: Not a bad manga - but also nothing special. Rather forgettable. The narrative seemed choppy and disjointed, some parts didn't make sense, the artwork was average. The most interesting thing was Takumi's confession to Gie, when Takumi told his boyfriend about what happened to him that made him afraid to be touched and alienated him from his parents. I was rather surprised by the revelation. Such trauma isn't exactly common in BL manga and usually, it's glossed over, it doesn't have any consequences.

( Synopsis... )

Review: I'm so glad that this wasn't yet another filler, that we're back on track with the main story. And I actually cried when I read this volume. It started out so happy but deteriorated so fast and then it was all dark and depressing and awesome, lovable people died - yeah, Clamp knows how to do that.

( Synopsis... )

Review: Pretty good but not as good as some of the previous volumes. The Kantarou and Muu's Kyoto Diary, an AU story, took too much place, just like the advertisement for the CD-drama that we will never get anyway. But I liked the bickering between Kantarou and Hasumi. And it was nice to see Haruka concerned for Kantarou when the exorcisms tired him out.