Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
| Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle | |
| File:Tsubasa volume1 cover.jpg The first volume of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle as released by Del Rey Manga. | |
| Genre | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Shounen |
|---|---|
| Created by | CLAMP |
| Manga | |
| Written by | CLAMP |
| Published by |  Kodansha  Del Rey Manga Chuang Yi   Tong Li Pika Édition Norma Editorial Egmont Editora JBC Haksan Publishing Editorial Vid Vibulkij Publishing |
| Anime | |
| Tsubasa Chronicle | |
| Directed by | Koichi Mashimo |
| Studio | Bee Train |
| Anime | |
| Tsubasa Chronicle - The Princess of the Birdcage Land | |
| Directed by | Itsuro Kawasaki |
| Studio | Production I.G |
Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE (ツバサ-RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-) is a manga by CLAMP which is running in Shonen Magazine in Japan. Tsubasa means a wing or wings in Japanese.
Currently still in the process of being written, Tsubasa is published by Kodansha in Japan, and the fourteenth volume came out in April, 2006 in both hardcover and paperback versions. In North America, the series is licensed for translation into English by Del Rey Manga, and in Singapore it is published in both English and simplified Chinese by Chuang Yi.
An anime adaptation, Tsubasa Chronicle, has finished its first season and begun its second. It was broadcast by the anime television network, Animax across its networks within Southeast Asia and South America in English, Spanish and other languages. The first season and movie are licensed for release in North America by FUNimation Entertainment[1].
Plot summary
Template:Spoiler Sakura is the princess of Clow Country, which is ruled by her older brother, King Tôya. Her childhood friend Syaoran is a young archaeologist. Sakura is revealed to have strange powers when she has a vision of a mysterious symbol and places she has never seen. Meanwhile, Syaoran discovers the same symbol at the ruins he is excavating. When Sakura goes to the ruins to confess her love for Syaoran, she spots the symbol and recognises it. Ghostly wings appear on her back and a mysterious force begins to pull her into the walls of the ruins. Syaoran rescues her in time, but her wings are scattered across dimensions. The High Priest of Clow Country, Yukito, immediately realizes that Sakura's "wings" were the manifestation of her soul and memories; without her wings, she will die. In order to save Sakura, Syaoran must journey to retrieve Sakura's lost memories.
Yukito sends Syaoran and the unconscious Sakura to the Witch of Dimensions, Yûko, who is one of the main characters in xxxHOLiC. There he meets Kurogane, a rough-mannered ninja banished from his world by Princess Tomoyo, and Fay D. Flourite (as spelled in CLAMP's official guide or "Fai" as spelled by Del Rey), a magician who fled his world to avoid King Ashura. Each of them must pay with what he values most in order to gain the power to cross dimensions. For Kurogane, it is his sword Ginryû, and for Fai, it is the tattoo on his back which regulates his control of his magic. (Fay later reveals that he still possesses magic, but has sworn not to use it without the tattoo on his back.) Syaoran, on the other hand, must pay with his relationship with Sakura: even if he is able to retrieve all of her memories, she will never remember anything about him or their relationship. (This sacrifice also pays Sakura's "toll" to Yûko, because what Sakura values most are her memories of and with Syaoran.) Only when the three agree to her terms does Yûko present them with the power to cross dimensions; a white creature named Mokona Modoki
While traversing through worlds to find Sakura's feathers, the four travellers and Mokona are forced to overcome many dangers and opponents, some of whom are figures from Syaoran's past who wish to collect Sakura's feathers for their own reasons.
Note that because of the crossover characters with xxxHOLiC, some of the plot points of the two mangas do occasionally intertwine with each other.
Tsubasa Chronicle
Tsubasa Chronicle (ツバサ・クロニクル), is a Japanese anime TV series adapted from Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE. The first season aired Saturday nights on NHK from April 9 2005 to October 152005. The second season began on April 29 2006. It was broadcast by the anime television network, Animax, across its networks within Southeast Asia and South America in English, Spanish and other languages.
The story is about Syaoran's adventures to different worlds to recover Sakura's feathers which contain fragments of her memories. Accompanying him on his journey is Fai D. Flourite (who is traveling to different worlds to avoid returning to his world, Celes), Kurogane (who desires to return his own world, Nihon), and Mokona-Modoki--a creature given to the foursome by the Dimension Witch, Yûko--which helps in detecting the presence of Sakura's feathers in each world and acts as a translator.
A movie, Tsubasa Chronicle the Movie: The Princess of the Country of Birdcages (劇場版 ツバサ・クロニクル 鳥カゴの国の姫君, Gekijōban Tsubasa Kuronikuru Torikago no Kuni no Himekimi), was released in Japanese theaters on August 20 2005 in conjunction with xxxHOLiC Manatsu no Yo no Yume. The DVD of the movie was released on February 25 2006. The movie also crosses over with the XXXHOLiC movie.
- For music and voice actor information please see Tsubasa Chronicle media information.
- For a list of episodes please see List of Tsubasa Chronicle episodes.
Characters
Main characters
- Syaoran: The hero of the story. A crossover character from Cardcaptor Sakura. He (at this point) does not have any magical power, but is an excellent kicker and an aspiring archaeologist with extensive knowledge of various languages, histories, and artifacts. His right eye is blind; sometimes, in mysterious dreams, he can see out of the eye and look at a person he does recognize as himself in endless mirrors. Syaoran was found in his childhood wandering the streets without a memory, before he was discovered and adopted by the man he now calls father, who recently passed away, leaving his foster son to continue his great work. He obtained his sword Hien during his stay at Ôto, which he learned to use from Kurogane, and learned his fighting abilities from now-enemy Seishirou, who can also travel between worlds and says he is looking for vampires.
- Sakura: The Princess of Clow Country. She is targeted by Fei Wong for the power she is supposed to hold. A crossover character from Cardcaptor Sakura.
- Kurogane A rough-mannered ninja from the world of Nihon (Japan), exiled for his recklessness. He originally possessed the blade Ginryu before giving it to Yûko as price for his deal with her. He obtained a new sword in Ôto called the Sôhi, and taught Syaoran the skills of sword fighting and sensing attacks from the right.
- Fai D. Flourite: A laid-back mage from the Country of Seresu. He is on the run from King Ashura (a crossover from RG Veda), whom he put into a near-eternal slumber. Although he seems happy-go-lucky and pretends to know less than he does, there is more than meets the eye. His assistant in Seresu, currently guarding against the awakening of Ashura, is a very organic-looking Chii from the series Chobits.
- Mokona: A creature given to Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane by the Time-Space Witch in exchange for their most-valued possessions. Whichever world he/her (there are no actually gendered pronouns for Mokona) finds himself in, Mokona can contact his sibling Larg. Both were created by Clow Reed and Ichihara Yuko. Crossover character from Magic Knight Rayearth.
Side characters
- Seishirô: A mysterious traveler from Syaoran's past who also gained the power to travel worlds from Yûko. He's hunting two vampires, one of whom is named Subaru. His abilities include summoning Oni to fight for him. He is able to perform these abilities with the help of Sakura's feather, which Syaoran failed to retrieve in their encounter in Oto country. An experienced fighter, Seishirô was also the one to teach Syaoran his kicking technique. He is a crossover character from Tokyo Babylon and X/1999.
- Yûko Ichihara: Also called the Dimension Witch or the Space-Time Witch. She owns a shop in xxxHOLiC, which can grant people their wishes if they in return give her equivalent price.
- Syaoran: Kept asleep in a liquid chamber at Fei Wang Reed's palace, with his left eye covered by a piece of cloth, and hands and arms by binding spells and wearing clothes marking Fei Wang Reed's bat symbol. In fact, this Syaoran is the original while the Syaoran at Sakura's side is only a clone that Fei Wang Reed created. This Syaoran has Clow Reed's bloodline and can thus use magic and gave half of his heart to the main character, Syaoran, to stop Fei Wang's plan temporarily. He was depicted as a villain (it was believed that he was controlling the clone's actions, when it was only the clone's true nature showing) until it was discovered that the main character, Syaoran, was a clone with half of the original's heart.
- Tomoyo: The princess of a country called Japan/Nihon who sends the ninja Kurogane on the quest that causes him to join the dimension travelers. Tomoyo is a powerful miko sorceress responsible for maintaining the wards of Nihon that protect the country from demons.
- Clow Reed: The sorcerer who is tied to the storyline, but does not appear directly as he is already deceased before the story begins. A crossover character from Cardcaptor Sakura. He and Yuuko appear to have had a strained relationship.
Villains
- Fei Wang Reed: A mysterious and powerful villain who is after Sakura's feathers. He is later revealed to be a direct ancestor of Clow Reed. He was the one who imprisoned the "real" Syaoran in the stasis pod and created the Syaoran who is the protagonist of Tsubasa. Though he already possesses the power to cross dimensions like the High Priest of Clow and Princess Tomoyo, he seeks the power of Sakura's wings, which surpasses the power of all who can cross dimensions, and lies under the ruins of the Clow Country in order to "To bring back a dream that has already ended". He does not care on how much blood has to be shed to get that power; of those he has killed (or arranged to be killed) have included Kurogane's mother. He is aware of Yuuko's powers as well.
- Xing Huo: Fei Wang's assistant. Not much about her is known besides the fact she is Fei Wang's assistant and was somewhat also a "failed creation". However, as the story progresses her character has more depth. In Volume 15 of the manga she helps the real Syaoran go to Yuuko after he awakened (Chapter 10 of xxxHolic), but stated she can only do it once. Her reason to him was because "If the Dream does not end" and is killed by Fei Wang shortly afterwards as a result.
- Kyle Rondart: An agent of Fei Wang Reed, first introduced in Jade country as the good doctor who was helping the village with their problems around the time the children started vanishing. He seems kind and sincere at first, but we later find out that through hypnotism he was the one that sends the children (most of them his patients) to the old castle to dig out Sakura's feather. He re-appears in Piffle World as the very same person, knowing that Syaoran and his friends will likely assume he is just another incarnation of himself. In Piffle World he tries to sabotage the race to get Sakura's feather, but later escapes without it.
Crossover characters
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Tsubasa contains various crossover characters from various CLAMP series, including Cardcaptor Sakura, RG Veda and xxxHOLiC. Noticeable names and faces show up including Miyuki of Miyuki-chan in Wonderland who appears in almost all the major worlds the group visits usually with a piece of toast in her mouth or another bread product.
Note: Celes is also known as Ceres, Seles, and Seresu (from the Del Rey translation).
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Trivia
- Piffle is also the name of the stores in other CLAMP works such as Angelic Layer, XXXHolic and Legal Drug. The name of a leading Persocom company in Chobits is "Piffle Princess Co."
- Duklyon Bakery another crossover establishment, named after the bakeshop from CLAMPs Duklyon can be seen as logos on some of their food containers. Other CLAMP works Duklyon logo's appear are at Card Captor Sakura, Chobits and XXXHolic.
- The apartment complex managed by Chitose Hibiya in Chobits appears in Tsubasa's Hanshin Republic and is managed by Sorata and Arashi Arisugawa. The same apartment complex (or at least the same building architecture) can be seen in other CLAMP works such as XXXHolic and Kobato.