wDec 26, 2007


Clamp School Defenders Duklyon

I hope it's okay that I don't worry about spoilers here. The series is only 2 volumes long, and it's so silly that I don't think any of you are going to be reading it anyway.

Clamp School Defenders Duklyon is another 2-volume series by CLAMP that (surprise!) takes place at the Clamp School. As CLAMP reiterates from previous series, the school is home to students from kindergarten through graduate school. But now, CLAMP has more to say in its description of the school:
However, where that many people gather, trouble usually follows....
Given the volume of brilliant and eccentric minds housed in this community, security is of utmost importance. As a result, the school founders established a secret organization. A unit to solve all problems quickly, and to maintain peace - a do-it-all unit, if you will. (Here, two armored, masked men with a gun and a sword appear). This, in short, is the CLAMP School Defenders. Or more commonly known as DUKLYON!

More notes on Plot and Characters

This series is meant for the humor. When the Sukiyabashi/Eri storyline takes over, CLAMP makes fun of Kentaro and Takeshi for no longer being the main characters. Also, the dialogue is often just ridiculous:
(The enemy is in the cafeteria)
Takeshi: Can't we just seal off the cafeteria?
General: We don't have the right to deprive students of nutrition. Plus, lunch is the happiest time of day. CLAMP SCHOOL DEFENDERS DUKLYON! COMMENCE!
Takeshi and Kentaro: YES, SIR!!

My recommended order for reading these 3 series is Clamp School Detectives, Man of Many Faces, and then Clamp School Defenders Duklyon. I think that MoMF might come before CSD, but CSD gives a nice explanation of Clamp School, etc. Definitely save CSDD until after the other two.

Really, though, I recommend the three series only for people looking to read all of CLAMP's stuff. They're pretty silly, and don't offer much in the way of plot. Because they're so inter-connected, I kind of view them as a 7-volume series, instead of 3 separate ones.

The Internet tells me that Kentarou, Takeshi, and Eri will appear in CLAMP's current series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.

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scribbled mystickeeper at 4:12 PM
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wDec 23, 2007


Man of Many Faces

Man of Many Faces is a 2-volume story written by CLAMP. It centers on Akira Ijyuin, a 9-year-old attending Clamp School. As you may remember, he is one of the three Clamp School Detectives. In Man of Many Faces, Akira periodically dons an eye-mask and a top hat (looking very much like Tuxedo Mask, from Sailor Moon!) and steals highly-prized items for his two mothers, who ask him to do so. In addition to stealing for them, Akira also does all of the cooking and cleaning for his mothers (remember, this is ALSO in addition to all of his work with the Clamp School Detectives, receiving perfect grades, being on the Student Council, etc.).

One night while evading the police, Akira happens to meet Utako Ōkawa, a kindergarten student at Clamp School who is nursing her broken heart. Verily, at the tender age of 5, Utako has fallen in love. With her teacher. See, CLAMP has this tendency to make young girls between the ages of 5 and 9 fall in love with their teachers, and it is oh, so romantic! Also, WTF. Oh well. Thankfully in this series, the teacher has refused her love, due to their 22-year age difference. Also, Utako is only 5. 5!

Anyway, the series is overall fluffy and cute, detailing their romantic encounters. At least, it's mostly cute except for my mind constantly going, But they are only 5 and 9 years old! WTF! They are impossibly intelligent and mature for their ages. But. Still. Weird.

It was nice to get a lot of characterization for Akira, as Nokoru and Suoh were the two who were most-developed in the Clamp School Detectives manga. The interwebs tell me that these three boys will also appear in X/1999 and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. I wonder if they'll still be elementary school students, or if they will be older. Utako will also have a cameo in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.

Also, it can be hard to find manga that is "safe" for young children, in that it doesn't contain any sex or graphic violence, so I will mention that both Man of Many Faces and Clamp School Detectives are kid-safe!

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scribbled mystickeeper at 10:52 AM
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