wJun 15, 2008


xxxHolic, Volumes 5 and 6

Spoilers for these two volumes lie behind the cut, as well as relationship drama in Cardcaptor Sakura.


I take back what I said about thinking it would be hot if Yuuko seduced Watanuki.

Instead, I want Watanuki/Doumeki! Is there good slash fiction about them?! I'm sure there is. Last night, I made the mistake of reading some Subaru/Seishiro, and now I sit and think about how hot various CLAMP pairings would be.

Anyway! Doumeki is totally the night in shining armor. He held Himawari's ribbon for ten hours, so that Watanuki could get back.
They held the lantern thing like a married couple!
Doumeki carried him to the health office when he was sick!
Doumeki shot the ghost woman, even if it might make Watanuki hate him!

Doumeki is totally awesome, and Watanuki should be in love with him! Maybe he's only attracted to Himawari because she has magic, just like Sakura was only attracted to Yukito for the same reason.

It's interesting that Doumeki can't enter Yuuko's store, and Moro/Maru can't leave. But Doumeki must have a soul, unlike them, right?

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scribbled mystickeeper at 4:29 PM
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wJun 14, 2008


xxxHolic, Volume 4

I don't have many notes on this volume - most of the notes I'm making are cross-over ones. I hope to put up a guide of what order to read the volumes in at some point, as I was annoyed that I couldn't find one for myself. Also, look forward to my post on my preferred order for reading CLAMP manga!

Spoilers for this volume lie behind the grey.

Hey, what's up with it being cold outside, and Valentine's Day? Wasn't Yuuko sweltering in the heat just one volume ago? Does time flow backward in the xxxHolic universe?

Hmmm, why is Yuuko sealing the magic power of Watanuki with the black Mokona's ear clip? (It's pretty obvious why she would be amplifying magic power around the Tsubasa kids).

LOL to Yuuko's comment to Watanuki: "Just why are you such a loser with the women?" This series is hilarious.

Overall, xxxHolic is reminding me a lot of Tokyo Babylon. The story-of-the-week is basically Yuuko/Watanuki helping someone who's experiencing some paranormal problems. Of course, because it is CLAMP, there are veiled statements indicating that there is a lot going on beneath the surface of the characters.

This volume also made me feel sad for poor, lonely Watanuki. Himawari-chan isn't good enough for him! Stupid Doumeki! Yuuko should totally seduce Watanuki. He would freak out, but it could be hot.

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scribbled mystickeeper at 10:46 AM
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wJun 12, 2008


xxxHolic, Volumes 1-3 and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Volumes 1-5

To see my past posts on CLAMP manga, I recommend using the tag system to your advantage!

Can I just say how much I love Del Rey's publishing style? I wish that their manga wasn't so expensive ($10.95/volume). Their post-volume character guides, cultural notes, and cross-over notes are absolutely fantastic. Also, their honorifics guide at the beginning of each volume is stellar. Huge props to Del Rey!

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

This will mostly be squee. References (but not particularly spoilery things) are made to the series Cardcaptor Sakura, X, Chobits, Legend of Chun Hyang, and xxxHolic.


Hey! Syaoran's dad is Fujitaka, or Sakura's dad from Cardcaptor Sakura! Also, cuteness, Sakura and Syaoran look like they met at about the same age as they did in Cardcaptor Sakura.

Syaoran is once again orphaned, living alone as he did in Cardcaptor Sakura.

I don't like Sakura even in the Kingdom of Clow, whining about missing Syaoran all the time.

I love tha Toya still calls Syaoran a brat. Also, OMF Toya/Yukito!! Their love is so cute. They say that they know Syaoran is destined for Sakura. How do they know this?

Is the "power to pass through space and time" greater than the power of the Clow Cards?

Yuki's fierce "I will never allow him to die!" was so cute, and just made me think of the sacrifice Toya made for Yuki in Cardcaptor Sakura.

Squee for Tomoyo - now she has awesome outfits, too!

Chi. Still an idiot. I'm glad her role seems very minor.

Oh no! Even if Syaoran restores Sakura's memories, their relationship won't be the same! That is so sad, :(

OMF, Arashi and Sorata from X! I love Arashi!

Watching Chu'nyan was pretty depressing. Syaoran tells her it's "because she's suffered too much already," which kind of sucks. Even at the end of her world's arc, she says her opponent "isn't worth the energy it takes to hit him." Where is the Chun Hyang I know?! Sadness!

Volume 3
I love when Sakura gets a memory back, and Syaoran's flashbacks too. I also enjoy how, like in Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa Chronicle makes it very clear when a flashback is taking place.

Sakura has the same birthday as Watanuki! Birthdays can be important in CLAMP (Tokyo Babylon!). What does this mean? I would guess that Watanuki was a version of Sakura in his dimension, but it's been made pretty clear that Watanuki's dimension is the one in which Sakura was Cardcaptor Sakura (I think?! Why else would he recognize her scepter?).

Ooooh, okay so Syaoran's father isn't Fujitaka, and he's missing some memory. AND, Sakura's father is Clow Reed. What does this mean?!

Volume 5
Yay, fairy tale arc!

I loved Sakura breaking out of jail. LOVE the 19th century attire.

So far, the feather has caused badness in society, so it's actually a good thing when Syaoran & Co. take it back for Sakura. I think it would be interesting to watch them make a choice between Sakura's memory and a feather that was causing a society to flourish.

WTF, Syaroan is blind in an eye?! Isn't that the Seishiro blind-side?! I MUST USE CAPS LOCK!

Also, yay, Nekoi and Kusanagi are on the same side, unlike in X! Happiness abounds.



xxxHolic

This will mostly be squee. References (but not particularly spoilery things) are made to the series Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.


LOL, I liked Yuko calling Clow Reed a creep. She says, "The creep's blood relation, a cute young girl" owns the original staff. Was Sakura related by blood? I just read Cardcaptor Sakura, and I can't remember. I remember Syaoran was a direct descendent, but I can't remember Sakura being related by blood.

Also, Watanuki recognizes the staff. I hope Tomoyo's tapes hit the airwaves, and everyone in Sakura Kinomoto's universe got to see her getting Clow Cards!

OMF, Watanuki in the Legal Drug store! Hey, and what's up with this witchesandmagic.com? I wanted to check that website, but maybe I should wait until I get home. Is it a site for fans??

I squeed at Yuko's reference to Subaru as a kind, hard-working medium.

Volume 2
Interesting that Yuko calls Sakura and Syaoran as the "same, but of different worlds."

I love how dramatic she is with the Tsubasa characters, and then instantly wants a beer as soon as she's done. Yuko is hilarious. And what's she up to, anyway? Grooming Watanuki and Domeki to be master magicians like her and Clow Reed?

I love the funny dialogue, too:
Fortune Teller: "You are also very adept at housework."
Watanuki: "I've got nothing against it."

Watanuki's cooking is really good.....who else cooks well in CLAMP? Hotoko, Sakura's dad. Probably many others.

Bwahaha to Watanuki in Persocom ears!

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scribbled mystickeeper at 1:52 PM
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w


Book Talk

Does anyone know if there is a limit to how many books a person can put on hold at the public library? Yesterday, I put hold requests on 22 volumes of manga. I CACKLEE FOREVER.

Sorry I haven't been blogging much. Now that Kristy's moved into town, we've been spending our evenings at Antoine's house, playing Mario Kart and watching Arrested Development (Dave, you should do it! We're working on Disc 1, and Jennifer has seen it too). It's kind of nice to not be spending so much time online, though.

I hope to write today about manga, specifically xxxHolic and Tsubasa Chronicle, which I have now begun. I understand now why people were so eager to say, "Skip most of CLAMP's old stuff and just read those, they're awesome!" Because they are so awesome! There is a huge jump in quality in my opinion, particularly in the pacing of the storytelling. I have been taking notes while reading - something for which my co-workers ridicule me.

I had intended to blog about it last night, but I wanted to find a CLAMP LiveJournal icon. Of course, I fell asleep on top of my covers before I could accomplish this task.

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scribbled mystickeeper at 8:51 AM
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wNov 18, 2007


A quick post, so that I can chain myself to my English paper

Firstly, a couple of links:
It might not make as much sense here on Blogger, but over on LiveJournal, every time you make a post, you use a picture icon to go with the post. How many icons you get depends on the type of account you have with LiveJournal. In this post, I describe the meaning of 7 of them. Interesting enough, I guess. I wish I could have icons here on Blogger, too, but oh well.

A post, and comments, dealing with the issues Heroes has been having this season when it comes to gender and race. It is not just me, I swear!

Borders plots to ruin my book-perusing experience in every way imaginable. And I had gotten so excited, too, because at the Madison location, they just moved the manga section to be right next to the young adult.


My Real Reason for Posting:
There should be a CLAMP manual. (For those who are confused, and curious, CLAMP is a 4-person team from Japan that writes manga. Lots of manga! They are so prolific that they have their own tropes!)

I’m working on reading all of CLAMP’s manga, and there’s a lot to cover, as they are quite prolific. I just finished reading Clamp School Detectives and Tokyo Babylon. I know that it isn’t necessary to read every other CLAMP title in order to read Tsubasa Chronicle/xxxHOLIC, but I would like to read as many as possible in order to enjoy maximum appreciation. Also, I'd like to read many of the series for the sake of themselves. Still, I think that they’ve written over 20 series, or something equally absurd.

My “must” list so far is X/1999 (yes, I know it isn't finished, but I own half the series, and I want to get to it now that I'm done with Tokyo Babylon anyway), Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Cardcaptor Sakura. Does it matter what order I read these series in?
For that matter, when I finally start reading Tsubasa Chronicle and xxHOLIC, does it matter what order I read those two series in? Start with one, reach a certain point, and then alternate? (As I’m doing with the Buffy/Angel series)

Also, are there any other series I should check out, first? RG Veda? Angelic Layer? Miyuki-chan in Wonderland? Clover? Clamp School Defenders? Man of Many Faces? Suki? Wish? Legend of Chun Hyang?

My God, how is it possible to write so much manga?!


Note to Self: What You're Blogging About Next
* Beowulf movie
* Clamp School Detectives manga
* Tokyo Babylon manga


Current Music: BON BON - Hey! Say! 7 (Lovely Complex, second ending)

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scribbled mystickeeper at 11:49 AM
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