CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

CLAMP- perhaps the one of the most recognizeable names in the manga world, both on the Eastern and Western sides of the world, both due to the number of works they have but also due to their stylized and detailed artwork (though the actual style itself differs from series to series, depending on the main artist), which is always distinctive. A group of four manga-writing women, CLAMP is known for their fantastical worlds, complex stories, and the fact that all their stories are linked together in one way or another (also known as the CLAMP-verse, where you’ll often see characters in one series reappear with the same name but different history or background in another).

Throughout their time, they have whittled down their numbers from 11 members, to 7 in the early 90’s, and soon into that decade they became the four that we know today: Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa (Ageha Ohkawa), Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona.

Even though their manga is usually fantasy-themed, they have a wide range within that genre- from family-friendly titles like Cardcaptor Sakura to the dark and violent X, and everything in-between. And they have a ton of titles under their belt, to boot- they started out in the world of Doujinshi (fan-made comics) but have formally published almost 40 works altogether.

Their first title was RG Veda, a series that began as a fan comic but they decided to professionally publish. It was also not originally planned to be a series, but was expanded due to a high level of reader response (meaning they liked it! XD ) An adventure story much like you’ll see in their later works, this has a complex cast of characters that all are very individual, fighting fate and trying to make a better world.

Next up is one of their more controvertial works, X/1999. It isn’t controvertial because of content, but because it’s one of their few works that was cancelled (though the official status is ‘in hiatus’. At 18 volumes, this is quite a manga, with a main character that again is trying to save the earth as the “Seven Seals”, the powers to protect the earth, begin to clash with the “Seven Harbingers” that are there to destroy it. It’s a brilliant work, complex and deep, with characters you can’t help but come to feel for.

Magic Knight Rayearth- one of their most popular and enduring works. Three girls fall into a magical land, are blessed with powers that they never dreamed of, and must save it from a horrible fate. But is there more to it than what they see? Through friendship and love, they manage to endure tests and trails of strength and character!

One of their most popular titles to date, Tsubasa Reservior Chronicle, takes advantage of the CLAMP-verse to send the two popular characters from their manga Cardcaptor Sakura on an adventure across time and space. There’s action, adventure, true love, and sacrifice. But it also shouldn’t be read without the companion manga…..

xxxHolic! Pronounced as just "Holic", the name may provoke xxx-images, but this is not xxx-material. Instead, it’s the “backstory” of Tsubasa Reservior characters that you meet in the first volume and become more and more important as Tsubasa Chronicle goes on. Watanuki, a boy who can see and is chased by spirits, stumbles into the shop of the woman known in Tsubasa Chronicles as the ‘Time Witch’. He unwittingly becomes her servant, and as the story goes on, finds out about his mysterious past and purpose in his world.

CLAMP has an stounding number of works, many of which are excellent. While I can’t say that they’re all family-friendly (there is violence and some are shounen-ai), they are one of the stars of manga.

CLAMP used to be one of my favorite groups. But they're slowly dropping off my watchlist when, at least in my eyes, their works are getting a little too.....out there.

I don't think I've ever heard of them... than again I'm not one to read manga or watch too much anime

teigeki_calesa (post: 1435816) wrote:CLAMP used to be one of my favorite groups. But they're slowly dropping off my watchlist when, at least in my eyes, their works are getting a little too.....out there.

Out there? Well, they are fantasy writers. Could you clarify? Also, their latest works seem to be more grounded. With xxxHolic and Tsubasa they haven't really gone over any new ground- I've read many sci-fi stories with similar premises. And I actually found xxxHolic and Tsubasa to be easier to understand

Furen (post: 1435817) wrote:I don't think I've ever heard of them... than again I'm not one to read manga or watch too much anime

Which is why I made this thread Virtually all of their manga has had an anime adaptation (though the quality usually varies from series to series), so you've probably heard of a title or two of theirs, such as Cardcaptor Sakura, Angelic Layer, or Chobits, without realizing that it was a CLAMP work. With almost 40 works and most of them having an anime, it's hard not to come across them sometime.

Ah, the art of CLAMP will always hold a special place in my heart. Tsubasa Chronicles is one of the first manga I ever started reading and Holic soon after.
My favorite work of theirs is Clamp School Detectives, though. I was sad it was only three volumes though.

I personally like CLAMP's style of elongated figures because it reminds me of Mannerist style of art (in terms of elongated figures). It's somewhat idealized. Plus is looks pretty and flowing. XD /artgeekiness

@ Goldie- I know! There's just something so attractive about it- I don't know whether it makes the characters more streamlined and that makes the art more elegant, or whether it's the sheer detail that they put into it. You can almost see every strand of hair in their artwork!

I couldn't make my favorite manga of theirs- I think that it's a three-way tie between Magic Knight Rayearth (The first one I owned that was by them), Tsubasa Chronicles because of the depth of the story, or xxxHolic because it's just so whimsical!

Though my favorite anime tops out at Cardcaptor Sakura because it's so cute! XD

A lot is made of their involvement doing character designs for a few things (Code Geass most notably, but also Mouryou no Hako, which when I first saw it, I was like, this is pretty CLAMP-lookin- oooohhhhh), but I've never found their art to be terribly enraging or anything.

Out of the things that they're actually responsible for, I've only seen the Kobato anime, which I thought was pretty okay for the most part. From that experience, I can tell that I'd probably be okay with their stuff like Chobits or xxxHolic or CCS (which I've been meaning to check out as it's been sold to me as the magical girl show), but things like Tsubasa Chronicle would probably enrage me.

Heh, I saw the word CLAMP and went "MUSTREADTHISFORUM". I love CLAMP manga, especailly Tsubasa, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Kobato. And Wish. And Chobits. And...uh... I like Magic Knight Rayearth and Clover too.

Whoa. Sheesh. I like CLAMP art a lot, but sometimes their proportions are a bit odd... seriously, have you looked at Kurogane in some of the first couple volumes of TRC? (Hehe, this girl loves Kurogane so much she doesn't care about his disproporionate-ness). Anyways, my art style has been said to look a lot like CLAMP's. Actually, the only thing I don't like about their manga doesn't have anything to do with their art. The fans of their mangas (especially Tsubasa) can be...uh... vicious. But I guess that goes with any mangas.

I'm probably just more suscpetible to being attacked by their fans because I don't support some of their favorite pairings... and I'm rambling, aren't I? Heh. I love CLAMP. And Fai. And...you know, there are reasons for those giant Tsubasa posters hanging all over my walls...

Mostly, I just love how detailed the characters in Tsubasa are. They have really interesting backstories which can sometimes kill my brain. If you start reading that manga thinking the plot is typical, find the sixteenth volume and prepare to realize that only one of the characters does not betray them. And it's not the one you would think. Ah, so brilliant...

*stares at the picture of Kurogane in the description of CLAMP* And also they have attractive male characters.

blkmage (post: 1435859) wrote:A lot is made of their involvement doing character designs for a few things (Code Geass most notably, but also Mouryou no Hako...)

Out of the things that they're actually responsible for, I've only seen the Kobato anime, which I thought was pretty okay for the most part. From that experience, I can tell that I'd probably be okay with their stuff like Chobits or xxxHolic or CCS (which I've been meaning to check out as it's been sold to me as the magical girl show), but things like Tsubasa Chronicle would probably enrage me.

Ummm, are you sure that you're using the word 'enraging' right? The way you're using it, I think you mean that you wouldn't really get into something, but the actual word means that you'd get angry over something.

Kobato is a lot more low-key than many of their works- I find it enjoyable, but nothing terribly special. But if you were going to check out xxxHolic (and I suspect you would enjoy it), you really would have to read Tsubasa to get what exactly is going on- after Vol. 10 in xxxHolic and vol 16 in Tsubasa, you have to read them together because the stories cross over so very much. I tried reading them seperately and I was WTFreak is going on who are they and what the heck are they talking about? You just have to, to get the explanations for many of the things that go on.

Asuka Neko (post: 1435865) wrote:Heh, I saw the word CLAMP and went "MUSTREADTHISFORUM". I love CLAMP manga, especailly Tsubasa, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Kobato. And Wish. And Chobits. And...uh... I like Magic Knight Rayearth and Clover too.

Whoa. Sheesh. I like CLAMP art a lot, but sometimes their proportions are a bit odd... seriously, have you looked at Kurogane in some of the first couple volumes of TRC? (Hehe, this girl loves Kurogane so much she doesn't care about his disproporionate-ness). Anyways, my art style has been said to look a lot like CLAMP's.

lolz, yeah- The limbs were a little out-of-hand in the first few volumes. I wonder whether they were trying for a closer look to xxxHolic. It didn't work and they got back to being beautiful

Actually, the only thing I don't like about their manga doesn't have anything to do with their art. The fans of their mangas (especially Tsubasa) can be...uh... vicious. But I guess that goes with any mangas. I'm probably just more suscpetible to being attacked by their fans because I don't support some of their favorite pairings... and I'm rambling, aren't I? Heh. I love CLAMP. And Fai. And...you know, there are reasons for those giant Tsubasa posters hanging all over my walls...

It goes with any and every anime and manga! For instance, to pull one out of a hat, I'm a Zutara shipper (okay, it's not CLAMP, but...). It's been disproved by canon, and I totally get wailed on when I mention it in a lot of forums, but there you are.

Mostly, I just love how detailed the characters in Tsubasa are. They have really interesting backstories which can sometimes kill my brain. If you start reading that manga thinking the plot is typical, find the sixteenth volume and prepare to realize that only one of the characters does not betray them. And it's not the one you would think. Ah, so brilliant...

*stares at the picture of Kurogane in the description of CLAMP* And also they have attractive male characters.

Askua, I completely agree. Their characters are fabulous, and fabulously bishie.

I've read a bit of several CLAMP series, and my reactions vary, as you would expect with such a long list of differing works. xxxHolic seems to be my favorite so far, but I'm only one volume in, and I don't know when I'll read more. The Legend of Chun Hyang was pretty bad. The first volume of Chobits didn't make me cringe but I didn't go pick up the second volume. The first few chapters of Tsubasa were okay, but it got dropped pretty fast.

Atria35 (post: 1435895) wrote:
But if you were going to check out xxxHolic (and I suspect you would enjoy it), you really would have to read Tsubasa to get what exactly is going on- after Vol. 10 in xxxHolic and vol 16 in Tsubasa, you have to read them together because the stories cross over so very much. I tried reading them seperately and I was WTFreak is going on who are they and what the heck are they talking about? You just have to, to get the explanations for many of the things that go on.

Well... I actually read Tsubasa without reading xxxHolic, just because Yuko's lack of clothes disturbs me... (she's a great character, and really funny, but she really should wear higher-cut shirts) and I understand it fine. It just took a lot of thinking. I would reccomend that people read them both if they want to understand it.

Atria35 (post: 1435895) wrote:
lolz, yeah- The limbs were a little out-of-hand in the first few volumes. I wonder whether they were trying for a closer look to xxxHolic. It didn't work and they got back to being beautiful

Yes, they looked much better after the first few volumes, it was a nice change. In the later volumes, the art is amazing! And I think they were trying to make it look like a shonen (since it was in a shonen magazine) and make it look like xxxHolic at the same time, which was awkward.

Atria35 (post: 1435895) wrote:
Askua, I completely agree. Their characters are fabulous, and fabulously bishie.

Oh, yes, that's the best part about them! X3

Asuka Neko (post: 1435902) wrote:Well... I actually read Tsubasa without reading xxxHolic, just because Yuko's lack of clothes disturbs me... (she's a great character, and really funny, but she really should wear higher-cut shirts) and I understand it fine. It just took a lot of thinking. I would reccomend that people read them both if they want to understand it.

I had to read xxxHolic because I wanted to know more about Watanuki and what they were all sacrificing for and whatnot- and what Watanuki himself had sacrificed. While it would have been nice if Yuuko has some other shirts, after the first three or so volumes her clothing becomes less and less revealing, which was nice.

But yes, reading both does make the stories in either series easier to understand.

Sadly, the only CLAMP work I have read is Chobits, and as much as I loved the story, art, and characters, the content was WAY too mature for me.I want to try Card Captor Sakura, since it seems to be a lot more family-friendly

Yes, I meant that thinking about the premise behind Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle makes me angry. Like, I'm okay with multiple stories taking place in the same world or universe, but the different CLAMP stories and settings are so different that they can just threw everything together and make a series out of it baffles me to the point of rage. I feel like it serves no purpose and cheapens each of the properties involved.

There was one episode of Kobato where a bunch of TRC characters showed up for no good reason, which made me so mad.

Lynna (post: 1435909) wrote:Sadly, the only CLAMP work I have read is Chobits, and as much as I loved the story, art, and characters, the content was WAY too mature for me.I want to try Card Captor Sakura, since it seems to be a lot more family-friendly

That, CLAMP school detectives, Magic Knight Rayearth and Angelic Layer would be good series to check out if the content of Chobits was too mature (I'm assuming you mean sexually? Or theme-wise?). Bonus points if you read or watch Angelic Layer since the guy who made the game is [spoiler]the husband of Ms. Hibiya (the landlord) in Chobits, and helped create the chobits![/spoiler]

blkmage (post: 1435912) wrote:Yes, I meant that thinking about the premise behind Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle makes me angry. Like, I'm okay with multiple stories taking place in the same world or universe, but the different CLAMP stories and settings are so different that they can just threw everything together and make a series out of it baffles me to the point of rage. I feel like it serves no purpose and cheapens each of the properties involved.

There was one episode of Kobato where a bunch of TRC characters showed up for no good reason, which made me so mad.

Oh! Okay. *thinks* yeah, I can see why you'd feel that way about it. I think that because I don't mind crossovers that much it didn't bother me, but it also might be because I haven't read as many of their works as I would like.

But when you put it that way and I think about it, TRC does start sounding like bad fanfiction.

I'll admit that CLAMP is probably my favorite mangaka. The detail in the drawings are breath-taking and the storyline is well thought out and mystical. Drawing fanart of Tsubasa is also what helped me to draw my own stories better. "Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles" is, at this moment, probably my favorite series from them, and just the shocking dark turn that it takes was....whoa, unexpected, and only deepened the story. Plus I like the whole seeing alternates of other CLAMP characters, it's a nice concept. And their characters...you can easily get attached to them! What I love most is their color artwork. I can seriously stare at a picture in a CLAMP artbook for a long time, just analyze how it is drawn and every detail that they put into their works! CLAMP manga is probably one of my top inspirations for my manga artwork and fantasy-themed stories. I love the emotion they put into it! Plus I like how the artwork is never the same each series, yet it's still distinctively CLAMP!

Wait, I must ask cause I'm reading Tsubasa Chronicles and I LOVE it: Do I REALLY need to read xxxholic to get everything? Or could I just watch the anime. It's not Yuko's outfits that bother me as much as some of the "sensual" images that pop up in that manga, especially in some of the chapter art. >.<! IDK, cause xxxholic would actually be something I'd read if it weren't for some of the er..."interesting" images. (At least when I was flipping through the pages of volume 1...the story actually looked very interesting. Dark, sure, but interesting.) So, does the content in the manga get any worse than say what I've seen in volume 1?

CLAMP is my favorite manga artist group overall (although paradoxicly, I only have one of there series in my top 5 favorite manga, that being X). There artwork is amazing, and they've come up with some pretty darn interesting loveable characters and storyline concepts over the years. I do wish that they had less Yaoi/Yuri tones to some of their stories (like Gohou Drug) and some of their series are a little...weird, and they don't always have the best endings for their series. they STILL havn't finished X or Gohou Drug, and xxxHolic seems to be dragging its feet, and the slower release schedule isn't helping. By the end of it, Tsubasa about needs a commentary to help figure out what's going on, lol.

Atria35 (post: 1435843) wrote:Out there? Well, they are fantasy writers. Could you clarify? Also, their latest works seem to be more grounded. With xxxHolic and Tsubasa they haven't really gone over any new ground- I've read many sci-fi stories with similar premises. And I actually found xxxHolic and Tsubasa to be easier to understand

I have no problem with fantasy. My main gripe is with TRC. Like what was said in the above posts, Tsubasa ended up like a really bad-written fanfiction. It's like, they just threw every plot idea in at random and passed it off as Mind screw. What frustrates me is that it really showed a lot of promise at the beginning and it just...ended up like that. XxxHolic....since it's SO connected with Tsubasa, I was just reading the latest chapters at random to see how they're gonna screw this one up again.

I just hope they don't do any more bottom-pulls of the sort with Gate 7.

steenajack (post: 1435989) wrote:Wait, I must ask cause I'm reading Tsubasa Chronicles and I LOVE it: Do I REALLY need to read xxxholic to get everything? Or could I just watch the anime. It's not Yuko's outfits that bother me as much as some of the "sensual" images that pop up in that manga, especially in some of the chapter art. >.<! IDK, cause xxxholic would actually be something I'd read if it weren't for some of the er..."interesting" images. (At least when I was flipping through the pages of volume 1...the story actually looked very interesting. Dark, sure, but interesting.) So, does the content in the manga get any worse than say what I've seen in volume 1?

For the best understanding of what's happening, then yes, you do need to read both. I can't say whether or not you could just watch the anime, since I don't know how true it is to the manga and how much/how in-depth it covers what's going on. The good news is that after volume 2 or 3 the "sensual" images lighten up, a lot. Most of the sensual undertones disappear at that point, too.

I've only seen a few of the anime versions of CLAMP's works. I liked what I saw though. Here's what I've seen so far:
Angelic Layer (I didn't expect to like this, but by ep 10 or so, I got hooked)
Code Geass (they did the character designs, so it counts)
Magic Knight Rayearth (if Hulu had both seasons, I would've kept watching)

Surprised that Rayearth wasn't mentioned in this post.

Aside from plotting issues, the thing that really got to me about Tsubasa was the way the action scenes were drawn. It was very difficult for me to tell just what exactly was going on.

Goldie's point about the character desgins is interesting. I quite like them myself.

I am not a big fan of the animated versions of X.

I will agree w/ Rock that the Angelic Layer anime was surprisingly good.

TheSubtleDoctor (post: 1436032) wrote:Surprised that Rayearth wasn't mentioned in this post.

I wanted to. I was strongly for it... but I couldn't rationalize why I should put Rayearth in there. X, yes, RG Veda, yes, their most recent manga, definitely, but why Rayearth?

Aside from plotting issues, the thing that really got to me about Tsubasa was the way the action scenes were drawn. It was very difficult for me to tell just what exactly was going on.

Heh, I feel the same way I just run with it- it looks nice.

Atria35 (post: 1436054) wrote:I wanted to. I was strongly for it... but I couldn't rationalize why I should put Rayearth in there. X, yes, RG Veda, yes, their most recent manga, definitely, but why Rayearth?

I was under the impression that it is one of their seminal works and also massively, enduringly popular.

TheSubtleDoctor (post: 1436055) wrote:I was under the impression that it is one of their seminal works and also massively, enduringly popular.

Hmmm. True. *editing it in begins*

My main issue with Tsubasa was basically the same as TheSubtleDoctor's. The action scenes, at least in early volumes, were difficult to follow.

The RPG fan in me sort of likes Rayearth. It was one of the earlier anime I saw a bit of, back when I was first starting to branch out past shows that just aired on TV. I've never actually finished a CLAMP series though.

But even thought I'm not really a CLAMP fan, I'll probably give Gate 7 a shot when it comes out. The premise is interesting anyway.

Seems like I have much the same issues with Tsubasa as everyone else: the art is so complicated and haphazardly drawn that you can hardly tell what is going on during the fight scenes. Between that and an ever more confusing plot, I dropped it about 20 volumes in. Never picked up a CLAMP series since. Haven't minded.

Well, you've got to take into account that CLAMP is known as a shoujo manga group, and shoujo isn't exactly known for its great fight scenes.

Asuka Neko (post: 1436124) wrote:Well, you've got to take into account that CLAMP is known as a shoujo manga group, and shoujo isn't exactly known for its great fight scenes.

If they make the fighting a significant aspect of the series, then it should be good fighting. And Tsubasa had battles almost as often as a shounen series.

Asuka Neko (post: 1436124) wrote:Well, you've got to take into account that CLAMP is known as a shoujo manga group, and shoujo isn't exactly known for its great fight scenes.

That isn't really that true anymore though.
Almost everything they have done for the past decade...Angelic Layer, Chobits, xxxHolic, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Kobato, and the upcoming Gate 7...have been either shonen or seinen.
They have had very few shoujo titles during this period.