I am a rabid CLAMP fan. No kidding! I've collected tons of their merchandise from chess sets to figurines and almost all of their works. I love CLAMP! I always have (as one of the first mangakas whose work I read), and probably always will.
What is so great about CLAMP, as compared to the thousands of others out there, is their constant evolution.
Even though they first got popular what...back in the late 80's?...they are still going strong today. And each of their works is creative, innovative, and involves semi-complex philosophies (I do admit, we're not talking Evangelion here -ducks from angry, polarized fans-), but almost right from the start CLAMP has done their best to set themselves aside and make their works truly stand out. Make them MEAN something.
It is for precisely this same reason that, even though I know and love all of CLAMP's series, Tokyo Babylon will ALWAYS be my favorite.
As someone else pointed out, it's very concise. Some of CLAMP's works are absurdly short (The Legend of Chun Hyan got unfairly and prematurely cut off...and Kobato was only five volumes!? I expected more somehow...). Others are absurdly long (X, for one, which still hasn't finished yet ;_; and Tsubasa...damn was that a long series!).
Tokyo Babylon, however, is only 7 volumes. And I think that this creates a perfect, contained amount.
By the way, TB was only CLAMP's THIRD work (not including their doujinshi). And I'll admit that the art in the beginning (specifically the first chapter...yikes...) isn't very appealing, especially when compared with the Mokona of today and even the "legendary" X/1999. But by the second volume the art has greatly improved...and by the third or fourth it's settled into the CLAMP we all know and love, using the same beautiful compositions as X. What is ALWAYS great about the artwork, however, is its tone. The work constantly plays with chiaroscuro, choosing to fade characters into the background or make them appear lighter or darker. CLAMP even made all of the promotional art for TB monochrome, as the covers and inside color pages (if you're lucky to have them ><) attest to. This style gives a perfect sense of 1990's Tokyo, which is really the centerpiece of this masterpiece.
But what is TRULY AMAZING about TB is how it provoked CLAMP's evolution. Before, even with RG Veda and Man of Many Faces (TB's two predecessors), CLAMP had tried to show some depth to their "analysis of humanity," but somehow fell short. They'd talk realistically about things like love and create tragic or sweet characters, but NOTHING compares to what Tokyo Babylon attempts.
I will admit that it's hard to appreciate just how brilliant TB is without some foreknowledge about Japan's culture, especially the strange post-modern era of the 80's and 90'. Japan was a vastly changing country and was ripped apart by many problems such as the growth of terrorism and so-called "new religions" and the "popping" of their bubble economy, ravaging the middle-class. The main focus of TB (at least on the surface) is to discuss each of these issues. There's the responsibility of children to their parents (a confrontation between traditional and modern ideals), stress due to lack of money, the growth of occult obsessions and hikikomoris, and even a chapter about the aforementioned cults (the only one in which the character is condemed as "outright evil"...I wonder why, Aum Shinrikyo? -coughs-). However TB also covers topics that are universal, such as the suffering of those affected by random crime, rape, bullying (Ijime is a serious problem in Japan), and illnesses. These are just to name a few...
And what is great is that the series gives each topic a unique overview, examining it from multiple viewpoints so that (with the exception of the "cult chapter"), there is really no portrayal of "innocent" and "corrupt." This intertwining of morals is only underplayed next to the manga's main plot, the rise and fall of Sumeragi Subaru.
Right from the very first page the story of Tokyo and the Sumeragis is compared to the legendary story of the Tower of Babel. So one could read this somewhat knowing what to expect from the end. That being said...it's a long, heart-wrenching journey to get there.
I know that some on here are complaining about the lack of character depth. I agree that this is the manga's biggest weakness, with Subaru, although being the protagonist, being the least developed character in the series. But there is CERTAINLY depth.
The story of Tokyo Babylon, as I see it, is the story of a perfect tragedy. Hec, it even falls under most (if not all) of Aristotle's "recipe for a tragedy" which Shakespeare and many other famous writers have used and still use to this day. The characters are doomed by destiny, just like Tokyo itself, and just like the Tower of Babel, and so it's painful to watch them run towards their destruction.
In fact, the most painful (and deliciously yandere-istic) character in the whole thing is Seishirou. Talk about an idiot! Someone who basically ruins his own chance for happiness.
And that is where character development comes into play.
Perhaps on the first read through or two, it's not noticeable, but the characters of Hokuto and Seishirou have immense amounts of depth...Even Subaru, especially when he has his epiphany, shows the hollowness of his ideals. Is there such a thing as true purity? Seishirou intertwines the two, corruption and purity, ultimately showing that both exist inside of us, just like in Tokyo itself. Because it's CLAMP, even the slightest nod can give so much away about the characters' insights. Hokuto a helpless co-dependant who is, at the same time, a strong individual trying to find her small place in the world. Subaru who tries so hard to be good, letting this be his downfall. And Seishirou, the most interesting character (even though Subaru is my favorite by far! Gawd I love that kid!), well, he's just interesting, is all.
For those unsatisfied by the ending, it is true that their story is actually continued in X.
WARNING: This is a painful case. The juxtaposition of Subaru and Seishirou's feelings is jarring...the truth about Seishirou (I mean his personality...trying not to give too much away here) is so cold that it hurts.
And X just makes all of that worse. You can truly feel the characters' pain and the suffering they have endured...
SECOND WARNING: X is incomplete. Ageha, the main writer for CLAMP, has said that someday she will tell the fans the end, somehow, but that might not be for a while...at least with Legal Drug starting up again there may be hope...:3
In any case, this is an amazing example of CLAMP's work. Philosophical, great, iconic characters, beautiful artwork (as it develops ><), and a true insight into society as well as a painful tragedy about three ridiculously stubborn individuals...Don't just pass it up because of the age! TB carries well! 😉
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