It's really good though nonetheless😕 maybe it's just my childhood nostalgia....

Really nice manga. Starts out fluffy, but shit FLIPS. This will never leave you bored. It will leave you sad and confused..

I actually read xxxHolic before TRC so it really helped clarify what happened to Watanuki in xxxHolic. I loved reading this manga because the plot was so interesting and there were so many twists and turns! (Perhaps a few too many). The thing about Clamp manga is it reveals things afterwards so you have to play close attention to figure out/understand what is going on and why things happened the way they did. Overall, the art and story was excellent but I feel the poor execution detracted from its awesomeness. I honestly think it would have been a more enjoyable read if it had taken a little longer to explain things during the events after Tokyo instead of jumping to the next twist and the next twist after that. Still, this manga managed to keep me captive and forge ahead reading because I wanted to understand what the heck was happening, although it felt like I was stuffing myself with a hundred sweet potatoes the whole time (so frustrating). The ending was bittersweet but I'm ok with that because there is a SEQUEL!! which, although it says it's is completed, will not be end.

...provided you read the whole thing in one go. (Ie: all 28 volumes within the course of a week or so, absolutely not more than 10 days between first volume and last...unless you have a good memory for minute details). Reading this the way most people read manga -- in instalments as they come out, sometimes with months in-between releases -- will give you no enjoyment whatsoever, since seemingly insignificant occurrences and random throwaway comments from very early volumes (where everything's cream and roses and there's no indication that you should pay special attention to what's happening) become important plot points towards the latter 1/4th of the series. Since I generally pay careful attention while reading, and because I'm familiar with Clamp's multiverse, I honestly didn't find anything here too hard to grasp, contrary to everyone's enraged claims. But then again, I love this kind of mindf***ery, so if you don't, do yourself and the series' rating a favour and stay away.

Nice art if you like the Clamp style (which, yes, is a different genre of art in and of itself), and the characters are exceedingly likeable -- the kind you really find yourself rooting for, despite the fact that they - the two MC's in particular - are pretty selfish (especially Syaoran, whose actions almost destroyed the space-time continuum itself). I really liked Fai and Kurogane: their motivations, so different from the romantic drive of the main pair, provided a great contrast that prevented the love story from becoming overwhelming. And Mokona's a darling, as always.

Don't let the light-hearted shenanigans of the first half of the journey fool you: Tsubasa - Reservoir Chronicle is a moderately dark manga with plenty of physical and psychological pain, grief, cruelty and sacrifice. (In other words, if you came here expecting Cardcaptor Sakura: The Second Season, you're going to be put off, even though this does retroactively connect to CCS) But keeping true to its demographic, things don't become nearly as twisted as this kind of premise could have.

On another note: It's definitely recommended that xxxHoLic be read immediately before/after or in parallel with TRC; if that notion irritates you, it'd be better to stay away from both series.

... Last updated on July 12th, 2015, 6:31am

Ahhhh, what can I say about this old friend of mine?

I first attempted to read Tsubasa in middle school and dropped it around volume 9-- I thought it was too boring. Years and a re-reading later, I have realized that this was NOT the right reason to dislike this series.

Many people say, "This is CLAMP", and that is justification enough for whatever compliments/complaints that they have about Tsubasa. I disagree. I have yet to discern any pattern among their many publications. The art in this manga is absolutely captivating and uniquely detailed; however, having read Man of Twenty Faces and Cardcaptor Sakura, I can say that their art has not already been award-deserving.

The concept behind this manga is fantastic. A cast of four characters hailing from three divergent worlds, Sakura, Syaoran, Fai D. Flourite, and Kurogane possess different goals but embark on the same journey to collect Sakura's "feathers", or her memories. They travel through myriad dimensions, encounter benevolent friends and nefarious villians. It starts off adventurously refreshing; by volume 15, however, you'll realize a sudden turn towards macabre truths and darkness.

Where is the issue, then? As others have mentioned, this series gets seriously confusing. I mean this with every ounce of integrity and emphasis I own. The explanation for the antagonist's actions are enough to make your head spin figuratively; the chronological warp made me physically dizzy. At the end, I wondered if it was truly my lack of intellect/deduction skills that caused my inability to process CLAMP's explanation. But having read other criticisms, I've concluded that this is more of an error on the mangakas' behalf. It's no fun to spell out every letter for your audience, and I understand that a bit of mind-warping can add some exciting zest. But the confusing elements within Tsubasa almost made the rationale seem... poorly written.

I have yet to read each and every of CLAMP's works, but with the exception of xxxHolic, none of the ones I've read thus far (Chobits, Legend of Chun Hyang, etc.) have been particularly memorable. I've found that despite the critical acclaim, CLAMP is not the best in storytelling.

Nonetheless... I fully recommend reading this manga. 100%. Yes, I wish the explanations were more convincing and less frustrating. But I see manga as more about the journey than the destination. I thoroughly enjoyed traveling to different dimensions with these four dynamic characters. The ending isn't half bad-- of course it's not a happily-ever-after conclusion, but given the gravity of the series, I didn't come to expect that. I will say that it felt a bit abrupt, so that's why my rating is an eight. If you ignore CLAMP's explanation and come up with your own, less-confusing rationale, you might just give this series a ten.

... Last updated on January 25th, 2015, 7:59pm

Ok, I have to admit, this was really confusing. I mean, 4 or 5 clones, or hundreds of clones? I had to read that concept in the manga as well as wikipedia about 4 times to understand atleast part of it. It wasn't until it ended that I understood the story( i think i understood it). Too many twisted things. And in the end what did fei wong reed really want? Will someone explain?
And after a few chapters, the drawings were horrible. Thick and black shounen, I don't think I understood much of the scenes. I would simply read the dialogues and skip them. The drawing get better at the end though. People probably thought that XXX Holic would explain the part of Tsubasa, but the truth is Tsubasa explained why Watanuki ended like that and Yuko died in Holic.
Okay, now for the ending. why in the world can't Sakura travel along with Shaoran? Doesnt she love him? Or is she crazy? It torments me even now.
But in the end, I love it. Have to admit, I loved the love between clone Shaoran and Sakura. After they become parents, and even before, their love has been pure and mature. So it's beautiful. Overall, I like Tsubasa because it has been such a long journey and it feels like I've travelled with them. Oh, and I love Fai and Kurogane (they ought to give us a BL here!).

... Last updated on April 6th, 2014, 4:29am

I love this manga! The plot is really well thought out, a bit confusing at parts, because it was quite complex. There were many twins\clones, but I didn't mind. I recommend this! The art is pretty, but best of all, CLAMP adds characters from their other works! That's so awesome, REALLY well thought out, they made use of the different dimensions. Really amazing, thought the ending didn't satisfy me, wish they made and extra or something ; A ; It was an okay ending.

Story: I picked it up thinking it would be cutesy and a quick read, then it went deeper halfway in and I fell in love with it. I actually got into this one enough that I could feel something for most of, if not all the characters. Yes it gets confusing at the end, but its really not that bad if you actually pay attention to it so I don't think it deserves these insanely low rating just because some people didn't understand it. I respect that, but that doesnt make it bad.

What really amazed me about the story, was its the first manga I came across that really used subtly. I can reread this countless times and pick something new up every time. Even the portions that seem unexplained make a lot more sense when you look back and go "oh so thats where that came from."


Characters: They may not be so original, but a cliche used well isnt always bad. All of them are charming in their own way. Clamp did wonderfully fleshing out the characters. As much as I hated Syaoran and Kurogane at first because they seemed so typical, the backstory is well done enough that Kurogane has become my favorite, and Syaoran is bearable.


Art: Love the style of it and there were many beautiful scenes, its not without imperfections but it keeps me captivated and still loving it after 200 chapters. I love how they put a lot of thought and work into the design side of things. They made sure the clothing fit into the setting so the scenes actually had a cohesiveness to them. As I mentioned above, there is subtleness to this manga, and Clamp succeeds in showing this in the characters faces, many times you can tell what a character is feeling not due to dialogue but purely because of the look in their eyes.

Overall. brilliant, it definitely becomes a 13+ around the middle, but I don't think you have a chance of grasping the story at the end if you are under 16. This contained enough fluff to be enjoyable, but if you are reading for just a cute story, I suggest going elsewhere.

I love the series but you need to know what exactly you're getting into when you start. There's prequels, side stories, alternate versions of EVERYTHING and I really think any new readers should be given a guide for this web of stories that eventually make sense when you're finished all of them.

New readers: can't help you very much but beware of the time and investment that goes into reading this series and understanding it fully.