Booklog: Manga Dump

[nebroadwe]

CLAMP, Tokyo Babylon 1-2 (tr. Ray Yoshimoto, Alexis Kirsch and Carol Fox)

Sixteen-year-old Sumeragi Subaru, thirteenth head of his clan and a powerful onmyouji, lives in Shinjuku with his twin sister Hokuto. When not performing exorcisms in the spiritually disturbed city of Tokyo, he's dodging his sister's attempts to "marry him off" to twenty-five-year-old veterinarian Sakurazuka Seishiro, who may or may not be related to the Sakurazukamori clan of assassins. It's a rewarding life, but a difficult one, since Subaru is some ways as haunted as the city by events in his childhood. I'm not sure about this one ... CLAMP's penchant for May-December romances that push the boundaries of appropriateness till they scream with the strain (I'm looking at you, Cardcaptor Sakura!) is not something I'm all that comfortable with, so the ephebophilia here does not thrill me. On the other hand, the art is superb and the episodic stories are engaging (I'm noting structural parallels with XXXholic). Having seen X, I have some idea of what's coming, but as long as getting there doesn't cause me to up and heave the book at the wall, I'll persevere.

岩永 亮太郎 [Iwanaga Ryotaro], Pumpkin Scissors 2 (tr. Ikoi Hiroe)

Imperial Army State Section 3 (aka Pumpkin Scissors) continues its war relief and reconstruction work, but runs athwart the plans of profiteers when it attempts to move refugees from camps in the sewers to farms in the countryside. As Corporal Oland redefines himself as a relief worker rather than a killing machine, some of his comrades struggle to accept him as one of them, while the unit's commander, Captain Hunks, begins to uncover evidence of a mysterious conspiracy at work. Transitional work in these chapters: with our central cast established, it's time to begin hinting at the wheels-within-wheels driving the plot engine. The character work is handled lightly -- I was interested to see that it was one of the secondary figures, Machs, who took center stage here, rather than any of the principals. The comedy tends to fall flat, but the story overall is keeping me interested enough to continue, at least until I see whether the all the build-up actually leads anywhere. Provisionally recommended to shounen fans.

CLAMP, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle 16 (tr. William Flanagan)

The "Acid Tokyo" arc rolls on relentlessly, with this volume devoted almost entirely to one gigantic action scene in three episodes: Shaoran v. Kamui; Fay's intervention; and Shaoran v. Shaoran-from-Fei-Wang's-bottle (and may I say that I got chills down the spine at the return of a Cardcaptor Sakura attack staple?). This is the point at which the midden gets flung at the windmill and the resultant splatter leaves no one unstained. CLAMP's action sequences continue to be difficult for my eye to follow -- there's always so much explosive detail anyway, and the fact that these battles take place in part underwater adds another level of confusion to the mix. On the other hand, the complex overturning of assumptions, as explained by Yuuko to our heroes and Fei-Wang Reed to Xing Huo, I found both entertaining and easy to understand (in concept, if not in motive). Translator Flanagan is doing yeoman's work making CLAMP's elusively allusive style both comprehensible and graceful. The notes at the end of the volume are interesting and informative. I must remember to write that fan letter to Del Rey one of these days. This is a series I just can't put down.