The second volume gets right into the action when, new to the Hanshin Republic (a poke at how the residents of Tokyo tease the folk of Osaka), our quartet soon realizes that this world of personal gods and street gangs is going to be tricky to navigate. Lucky for them, they are given information and place to stay from a young married couple, Sorata and Arashi (familiar faces from X/1999. The ever chipper Mokona insists he sense a feather somewhere nearby, but as it seems to reside in one of the worlds many gods, he cannot figure out which god it belongs to. In their search, Syaoran is drawn into a popular form of street fighting when he attempts to protect a young man, but as he tries to help, he finds himself being noticed by both the leader of a gang and this world’s most popular singing idol what’s a boy to do? This world of people and their protector’s is reminiscent of Philip Pullman’s world in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and the idea is always a fun one to entertain. This volume also shows that while CLAMP can be serious when they want to, they have no intention of ignoring a good joke when they can get it in (once again, the translation notes at the back help immensely in getting each jibe). All the members of the team are getting to know each other, and while Fai’s calm acceptance of new situations and Kurogane’s tendency to attack anything unknown wouldn’t seem to complement each other, they’re learning to trust Syaoran’s steady hand. The final note of this volume holds a scene that this grand journey may not be so accidental and that someone out there is pulling the strings, and not in Syaoran’s favor.
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, vol. 2
ISBN: 9780345471826
By CLAMP
Del Rey Manga, 2004
