Title: Tsubasa
Volume(s): 5+
Creator(s): CLAMP
Format: Unflipped; Right-to-Left
Publisher: Del Rey
MSRP: $10.95
Genre(s): Drama
Rated: Teen (13+)

"Tsubasa" is what I like to call the ultimate manga for CLAMP fans. Why am I calling it that? Because in a simple term, this is the ultimate manga for CLAMP fans. CLAMP has created a new, yet old manga with "Tsubasa," a series that takes as many characters from past CLAMP manga, and puts them into this story and gives everything a twist to keep things fresh. The story takes place in The Kingdom of Clow, which is ruled by the king Toya. However the protagonist of the story is Syaoran Li, who is a young archeologist. His parents died a long time ago, and so Syaoran has taken over his father's work, and he spends large chunks of time searching empty mine ruins (Among many other things archeologists do). Syaoran’s best friend in the whole wise world is Sakura, who is a pretty and cheerful girl, who also just happens to be the princess of The Kingdom of Clow (Uh-oh, I guess you can all tell where THIS is going). Anyway I'm going to get the most obvious thing out of the way: Syaoran loves Sakura, and Sakura loves Syaoran. I'm telling you this now since it's a major part of the story, and for the fact that everyone who's read CLAMP's manga "Cardcaptor Sakura" knows that these two were just MADE for each other, so there’s no use in pretending you don’t know that their going to get together!

One day Sakura brings Syaoran some lunch at work, hoping that this will be the day that she can finally tell Syaoran how she feels about him, however that's when she notices a large carving on the bottom of the floor in the middle of the cave. She goes up to the symbol to get a closer look at it, and then all of a sudden a big flash of light fills up the room and Sakura goes limp! Well when this happens Syaoran is crushed and scared, as he loves Sakura too much, and he doesn't want her to die (And let's face it: Who WOULD want her to die). Determined to make sure she survive's, Syaoran does everything in his power to save her. And according to King Toya's magical adviser Yukito, he can! Yukito says that he can send Syaoran to see Yuko The Dimension Witch, and she will be able to help him save Sakura. Well when he gets there, he also meets up with two other characters who need something from Yuko (to find out what they're doing there you can read the book yourself, I'm too lazy to write a summary for the other two characters). Yuko says that she will help them all out with their goals, but they each must give up the thing that is most valuable to them. And what does Syaoran have to give up for the chance to save Sakura? His relationship with her!? See the deal is that when he saves her she will forget him, and their relationship will never be the same again!?

And that's where I'll stop the summary, as I want to give you guys the chance to read the book and find out what happens after that, but let me just say this: This is going to be one wild ride! If you are a fan of "Cardcaptor Sakura" then the names Syaoran and Sakura might sound familiar. That's because they are. Most of the main cast from "Cardcaptor Sakura" is not only in "Tsubasa," but a couple of the character's are older, and a new twist is put on their personalities to keep the characters fresh (Although not so much of a twist that they are completely different characters then that we remember). In fact this is one of the reason's why hard-core CLAMP fans are going to eat this series up: The cameo's! There are characters from "Magic Knight Rayearth," "Chobits," "Miyuki-Chan In Wonderland (Boo!)," and much more! If you're a CLAMP fan you are going to just LOVE spotting all the cameo appearances of characters from other CLAMP works, as well as seeing the new take on the cast of "Cardcaptor Sakura!" And here's the better news: If you are largely unfamiliar with CLAMP's past work you don't need to worry about a thing, as this is still a great series even if you have NEVER read a series by CLAMP before (Although if you haven't yet then what are you waiting for? Go check out one of their excellent works of art right now)!

Because even though a good 70% of the cast and names are recycled, "Tsubasa" still has a great story, and the characters are still very memorable, and the artwork is (of course) some of the prettiest artwork out there. After all, the thing that is always good about a CLAMP series is the artwork, and "Tsubasa" is no exception to the rule! Another thing I want to point out is that on the back of the book Del Rey states that "Tsubasa Volume 1 crosses over with xxxHOLiC Volume 1." Well this is kind of true, because Yuko is one of the main stars in "xxxHOLiC," however to call this a crossover with that story is a little ridiculous. After all, "Tsubasa" crosses over with pretty much ALL of CLAMP's series, and Del Rey is making it seem like you absolutely need to buy "xxxHOLiC" if you want the whole story! Well I'm going to put that worry to rest, because you do not need "xxxHOLiC" to fully enjoy this book. After all, if you can get away with reading "Tsubasa" without having to read "Cardcaptor Sakura," then chances are you'll enjoy this without having to read "xxxHOLiC." Not that I am telling you to not read "xxxHOLiC," I'm just letting you guys know this in advance!

And there is one more thing I would like to praise: The inclusion of the color pages! Yes folks, we get the colored pages in glorious color for "Tsubasa!" I'm not sure why they were able to print the color pages in this book and not print the color pages for "Negima" and "Mobile Suit Gundam Seed," but I am glad they printed them for this series at least! Also if you are new to CLAMP, Del Rey has provided a little "History of CLAMP" special feature at the end of the book, and trust me, this special feature makes perfect sense considering what CLAMP did with this series! All in all, whether you are a CLAMP veteran or a newbie, chances are you will love "Tsubasa!" It is one of the best alternate reality series created in a long time! Even without the help of it's recycled cast this series would have still been just as good! So I highly suggest that everyone check this title out! And in the (slightly modified) words of Dr. Fraiser Crain, I would just like to thank you all for reading me tonight. Sorry, tonight was the finale episode of "Fraiser," and I just couldn't resist the pun.

- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -