Clamp (manga artists)

Last updated
Clamp
Company typeManga studio
Founded 1987
Headquarters
Japan
Key people
Current:
Former:
  • O-Kyon
  • Sei Nanao
  • Tamayo Akiyama
  • Leeza Sei
  • Sōshi Hishika
  • Kazue Nakamori
  • Shinya Ōmi

Clamp (stylized in all caps) is an all-female Japanese manga artist group, consisting of leader and writer Nanase Ohkawa (born in Osaka), and three artists whose roles shift for each series: Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi (all born in Kyoto).

Contents

Clamp was first formed in the mid-1980s as an eleven-member group creating dōjinshi (self-published fan works), and began creating original manga in 1987. By the time the group made its mainstream publishing debut with RG Veda in 1989, it was reduced to seven members; three more members left in 1993, leaving the four current members of the group.

Notable works by Clamp include X (1992), Magic Knight Rayearth (1993), Cardcaptor Sakura (1996) and its sequel Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (2016), Chobits (2000), and xxxHolic and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (both 2003). Various series by the group cross-reference each other, and characters reappear in multiple works by the group, with Tsubasa, a series set across multiple dimensions, featuring multiple alternative versions of characters from past works. Clamp are noted as among the most critically and commercially acclaimed manga artists in Japan, and as of 2007, have sold nearly 100 million books worldwide. [1]

Etymology

The name "Clamp" refers to a storage clamp, in the sense of "a bunch of potatoes". [2] This is referenced in Duklyon: Clamp School Defenders , where a teacher is observed saying: "The name 'Clamp' incorporates the words 'hinge,' as well as 'potato mountain,' within its definition." [3]

History

Before their debut (1980s–1989)

Clamp originally began in the mid-1980s [4] as an eleven-member dōjinshi circle. This included O-Kyon (お·きょん), Sei Nanao (七穂せい, Nanao Sei), Tamayo Akiyama (秋山 たまよ, Akiyama Tamayo), Leeza Sei (聖りいざ, Sei Riiza), Sōshi Hishika (日鷺総司, Hishika Sōshi), Kazue Nakamori (中森かずえ, Nakamori Kazue), and Shinya Ōmi (大海神哉, Ōmi Shin'ya). Three of Clamp's artists—Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi—first began drawing manga when they were teenagers, inspired by friends. The three artists were good friends in the same school. They met and befriended Nanase Ohkawa through one of her friends who had bought comics from Mokona. The original group of twelve members began to meet at every event held in Osaka and Kobe, which usually occurred once a month. [5] Before they began creating original work, the group produced dōjinshi of Captain Tsubasa , and yaoi dōjinshi of Saint Seiya and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure . [1] [6] However, in 1987, the group stopped dōjinshi and began creating original work; it was at this time they began working on RG Veda , a loose adaptation of the Rigveda . [4] Their first collaborative work was entitled "Clamp", which they continued to work on until shortly after their debut. [5]

The group debuted as professional manga artists when they decided to print the manga RG Veda, which they had first started as a fan comic. After seeing the comic digest of the manga series that Clamp had published, an editor for Shinshokan's Wings manga magazine asked the group to work for them. They submitted an approximately sixty-page story as a sample, but the work was rejected. Ohkawa later lambasted the draft, stating that "everything was bad" and attributing the quality to the group's lack of experience, since they had never before completed a story as a cohesive group. The group was given another chance at publication should they submit a new story that Shinshokan liked; this time, they submitted RG Veda, which was serialized in Wings magazine. [5]

During the time before their official debut, the group moved to Tokyo and rented a small, two-bedroom apartment. Ohkawa stated that she thought she was "gonna die there". Nekoi stated that "the only private space [they] had was under [their] desk." [5]

By the time RG Veda debuted, its members had gone down to seven. [7] During the production of the manga RG Veda, O-Kyon had left the group. In June 1990, Nanao officially left the group (last mentioned in Shōten 6). [5] Hishika, Nakamori and Ōmi officially left in March 1993 (as mentioned in the Shōten 3).[ verification needed ] In October 1992, Akiyama and Sei officially left the group.[ citation needed ]

RG Veda was originally planned to be a single story rather than a series, although because of good reader response and higher-than-expected sales for its first volume Shinshokan permitted the group to create more volumes, [5] however after each chapter of the manga was released, Shinshokan threatened that it would cease serialization should its popularity fall.

In July 1989, Genki Comics began serializing Clamp's second work, Man of Many Faces .

1990–1999

Genki Comics began serializing Duklyon: Clamp School Defenders in August 1991, which became the work that the three artists Mokona, Nekoi, and Igarashi enjoyed working on most. [8] In March 1990, Wings began serializing Tokyo Babylon . In December 1990, Monthly Asuka ran Clamp School Detectives , and in May 1992, it began serializing X .

Clamp was serialized by many other magazines and publishers including Kobunsha publishing Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales on June 10, 1992. In 1993, Clamp released two different manga: in March, Miyuki-chan in Wonderland , which began serializing in Newtype , and in November, Magic Knight Rayearth which was serialized in Nakayoshi . Nakayoshi also began to serialize Cardcaptor Sakura in May 1996; Ohkawa, Clamp's leader and storyboarder, particularly enjoyed working on Cardcaptor Sakura because unlike many of her previous works, it wasn't tragic. [8] Kadokawa Shoten published The One I Love on July 17, 1995. Wish first began serializing in Asuka Comics DX in October 1996. In December 1998, Suki: A Like Story began first serializing in Asuka Comics DX, and in January 1999, Angelic Layer first began serializing in Monthly Shōnen Ace .

2000–2009

Clamp's cross-referencing and storytelling led to characters being re-used in different ways. Left: Syaoran Li, originally from Cardcaptor Sakura. Centre: Syaoran as he first appears in later work Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Right: an alternative Syaoran who appears later in Tsubasa. Syaoran Clamp.jpg
Clamp's cross-referencing and storytelling led to characters being re-used in different ways. Left: Syaoran Li, originally from Cardcaptor Sakura . Centre: Syaoran as he first appears in later work Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle . Right: an alternative Syaoran who appears later in Tsubasa.

In 2001, Young Magazine began serializing Clamp's Chobits which completed its run in 2002. Although their previous works are targeted at a female audience, Chobits marked the first time Clamp wrote for an older teen male audience. [9] Clamp began writing the two works that tell separate parts of the same overarching plot, xxxHolic serialized in Young Magazine beginning in 2003 followed by Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Magazine beginning in the same year. [10] Tsubasa marked the first time Clamp had ever tried writing for a younger male audience, although their first work published in the Shōnen demography was Angelic Layer . [11]

In 2004, Clamp's 15th anniversary as a manga artist group, the members changed their names from Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona Apapa, Mick Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi to Ageha Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi (her name is pronounced the same, but written with different characters) respectively. [12] To celebrate Clamp's 15th anniversary, Tokyopop released a twelve-part magazine series entitled Clamp no Kiseki that contained a plethora of information for fans. [13] The August 2004 issue of Newtype USA , a magazine specializing in events of the anime and manga subcultures, reported that the members of Clamp simply wanted to try out new names. In a later interview with Ohkawa, it was revealed that initially Mokona wanted to drop her surname because it sounded too immature for her liking, while Nekoi disliked people mistakenly commenting on her as a Rolling Stones member. Ohkawa and Igarashi, wanting to go with the flow of Nekoi's and Mokona's name changes, changed their names as well. [12]

In 2006, Clamp provided the character designs for Code Geass . This came into fruition after producer Yoshitaka Kawaguchi called them. This also marked Clamp's first time being requested to provide a character design for an anime series not originally created by them. [14] [15]

Ohkawa made her first appearance overseas at the Taipei International Book Exhibition sponsored by Production I.G that same year. [12] During an interview there, she announced that Clamp would be making its first United States public debut at Anime Expo in July in Anaheim, California co-sponsored by Anime Expo, Del Rey Manga, Funimation and Tokyopop. [16] [17] They were well received at the convention as fans completely filled all 6,000 seats present in the auditorium of the focus panel in addition to more on the waiting list. [8] By 2006, Clamp had reportedly sold in excess of 90 million copies of their manga internationally. [18]

2010–present

While Tsubasa ended in October 2009, xxxHolic ended in early 2011. The authors were satisfied with the two manga ending commenting it was difficult to serialize the two interconnected manga at the same time due to Tsubasa's focus on action which required them to write side stories for xxxHolic. [19]

Clamp collaborated in the Blood: The Last Vampire spin off anime, Blood-C , as they are responsible for designing the characters and providing the story. Ohkawa wrote the scripts with series supervisor, Junichi Fujisaku for both anime series and the sequel movie, Blood-C: The Last Dark . [20] [21] [22]

Legal Drug restarted serialization in the same year in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace under the new title of Drug and Drop. [23] A new xxxHolic manga titled XXXHOLiC Rei also started serialization in Kodansha's Young Magazine in March 2013. [24] [25]

Clamp also provided character design for Studio Deen's the anime adaptation of Kabukibu! , which aired in April 2017. [26]

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card began serialization in 2016 with an anime that aired from January to June 2018 on NHK. [27] [28] [29]

On October 19, 2020, the official Clamp fans website posted a link to a YouTube video due to start on October 25, 2020. These daily links are each accompanied by a graphic displaying the number of days to go until the announcement, and a single word. Each word relates to a chapter of Tokyo Babylon from the respectively numbered tankobon volume. This has caused speculation among Clamp's fans that a new Tokyo Babylon related work is due to be announced. [30] On October 25, 2020, at 15:00 UTC (October 26, 2020 at midnight Japan Standard Time), a trailer was released for a new anime adaptation of Tokyo Babylon. The new series, Tokyo Babylon 2021, will be released and set the story in the year 2021. It was to be made by the studio GoHands. [31] The series was to debut in April 2021, but was postponed due to the production team's plagiarism incident. [32] [33] On March 28, 2021, the production committee announced that the series's production was discontinued, and Clamp and the production committee will restart the anime series with a different studio. [34]

In January 2021, it was announced that a new series in the Cardfight!! Vanguard franchise will begin on April 3, 2021, and will feature character designs by Clamp. The new series will be called Vanguard overDress . [35]

In June 2021, it was announced that Clamp will collaborate with Netflix to produce an original anime series based on the Grimms' Fairy Tales , with Wit Studio handling the animation. [36] In March 2024, the series' title was revealed as The Grimm Variations and will be released as a Netflix exclusive in April. [37]

Business model

The members of Clamp all share a single workplace and as such do not need to arrange specific meetings. [5] Nanase Ohkawa acts as the group's spokesperson, producer-director, and storyboarder. [38] Mokona is the chief character designer, while Igarashi and Nekoi work for the background; however, the three often shuffle their roles. [12] Sometimes, they may split the work of the characters and backgrounds or have one person draw all the art depending on the story. The three artists try to stay as "close as possible" to Ohkawa's original designs. Ohkawa advises the artists on what colors to use. [5] Although Ohkawa chooses which projects they decide to decline or accept, Satsuki Igarashi decides on the actual time and order the group works on each project, creating the schedules for time allotted to each individual work. [39] They do not have any assistants, stating that assistants would slow them down because they would not understand the "years worth of jargon" they created among themselves. [5]

Once Ohkawa has conceived a story, the four members of the group gather "to discuss the purpose of the story and its main characters". After the group members become familiar with the story, Ohkawa drafts an outline for the story and determines the story's setting. [5] The ending for each story is predetermined. [8] Ohkawa designs many of the characters early in the story's development; frequently appearing guest characters are designed from the beginning whereas minor characters are designed early on. [5] As Ohkawa drafts the outline, the other three members formulate character designs by creating character profile sheets so as to avoid confusion. [5] After drawing a sample story and sketch for their editor and receiving approval, Ohkawa assigns the roles to each group member and then chooses the visual styles depending on factors such as the complexity of the story, the chosen art style, and its relationship to the group's other works. [5] [12] [38] [39] Ohkawa provides a rough draft for each chapter detailing things such as dialogue, panel size, props, movement, and character's emotions. [5]

On average for each chapter that they produce (for Clamp, an average of 20 pages of artwork in a magazine), storyboarding takes twelve hours, the script takes eight hours to write, and the artwork depends on the story. For example, a chapter of xxxHolic takes two days, whereas a chapter of X took four to five days. [8]

Style

A group cosplaying three Clamp characters: Sakura (top left) and Syaoran (top right) from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle; and Yuko Ichihara (bottom) from xxxHolic. Sakura, Syaoran, Yuko Ichihara cosplayers at NCCBF 2010-04-18 1.JPG
A group cosplaying three Clamp characters: Sakura (top left) and Syaoran (top right) from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle ; and Yuko Ichihara (bottom) from xxxHolic .

In general, Ohkawa gets her inspiration for the group from everyday events such as dreams or the news. [39] Unlike most manga artists who specialize in a single genre, Clamp has created a diverse body of work. [38] Clamp's genres vary widely, from childish and comedic ( Cardcaptor Sakura , Chobits , Clamp School Detectives ) to more dramatic and teen-rated ( xxxHolic , X ) series. Furthermore, drawing from the idea of Osamu Tezuka's Star System as they did in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle , [40] Clamp often crossover characters from their own series into their other works, which gives rise to a loosely defined "Clamp Universe". [41]

Although most of their manga are female-oriented, Clamp has also attracted male readers in their early works through their handling of fight scenes in X and Tokyo Babylon. [42] [43] [44] [45] Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is a male-oriented manga but Clamp still added multiple motifs to attracts readers such as Syaoran's romantic journey. [46] xxxHolic is an adult-oriented manga but it uses Kimihiro Watanuki as a protagonist that would attract a female demographic. [47]

Art

The current members of Clamp took art-focused classes during their high school. However, Tsubaki Nekoi feels that, aside from basic art skills, drawing manga requires a different skill set; however, none of the group members has worked as an assistant for already established manga artists, and most of their ability is self-taught. [39] Clamp's manga is distinguished by its diverse visual styles. [38] Their work Clover , for example, is remarkable for its heavy use of negative space. [48]

Themes

Clamp's works span a wide variety of themes. As opposed to keeping consistent themes across their works or having individual themes for each work, Nanase Ohkawa stated "we come up with a new theme for each story. One thing to say each time." Their works often deal with the theme of human fate that relates to Ohkawa's view on life; Ohkawa believes that "fate is something you choose", not a "mystical force manipulating your destiny", and that with determination and resolve, "you can change your fate". [49]

Also common is the idea of soulmates, or couples tied together by fate. Syaoran and Sakura (featured in both Cardcaptor Sakura and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle ) are among Clamp's signature couples that best fits this representation. As also seen in Magic Knight Rayearth, three girls are bound together by fate to save Cephiro. Fate is also the reason the three girls consider each other "sisters"; another idea that elaborates people being tied together (family cannot be chosen). Clamp also explores the idea of chaste or pure love (as in the manga Chobits ). [50] Clamp's disregard for sex or gender (or at times biological age) in these couples has led them to write same-sex couples into many of their manga in contrast to many other manga artists (for example, Tōya and Yukito in Cardcaptor Sakura). A number of such couples have been shown together across parallel dimensions in the Clamp multiverse. Although Clamp often writes romantic works, Ohkawa has mentioned that she feels that it is more putting one's life on the line than love that causes women to grow or change. [39] Clamp never features love as a central theme; Ohkawa stated in an interview with Takeshi Oshiguchi in 1997 for Animerica that she is not "good at love stories" since her "idea of a relationship is different from that of a lot of other people". [49]

Perhaps drawing inspiration from Ohkawa's own poor right-eye vision, Clamp frequently features one-eyed characters or characters that lose their sight in one eye as means to express the feeling of loneliness (for example, Subaru and Seishirō in Tokyo Babylon and X and Fay in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle). However, there is always something later on that comes to supplement the loss in vision. [39]

Works

StartEndTitlePublisherSerialized inStatusVolumes
19891996 RG Veda Shinshokan Wings Complete10
19901991 Man of Many Faces Kadokawa Shoten Newtype Complete2
19901993 Tokyo Babylon ShinshokanWingsComplete7
19911993 Duklyon: Clamp School Defenders Kadokawa ShotenNewtype Comic GenkiComplete2
19921993 Clamp School Detectives Kadokawa Shoten Monthly Asuka Complete3
19921992 Shirahimeshou: Snow Goddess Tales Kadokawa ShotenMonthly AsukaComplete1
19922003 X/1999 Kadokawa ShotenMonthly AsukaHalted [n 1] 19
19921994 Legend of Chun Hyang Hakusensha Serie Mystery - SpecialComplete1
19931995 Magic Knight Rayearth Kodansha Nakayoshi Complete3
19931995 Miyuki-chan in Wonderland Kadokawa Shoten Newtype Complete1
19931995 The One I Love Kadokawa ShotenYoung Rose Comics DXComplete1
19951996 Magic Knight Rayearth 2 KodanshaNakayoshiComplete3
19951998 Wish Kadokawa ShotenMonthly AsukaComplete4
19962000 Cardcaptor Sakura KodanshaNakayoshiComplete12
19971999 Clover KodanshaAmieHalted4
19992001 Angelic Layer Kadokawa Shoten Monthly Shōnen Ace Complete5
19992000 Suki: A Like Story Kadokawa ShotenMonthly AsukaComplete3
20002003 Legal Drug Kadokawa ShotenMonthly AsukaComplete [n 2] 3
20002002 Chobits Kodansha Young Magazine Complete8
20022002 Murikuri KodanshaYoung MagazineComplete1 (one shot)
20032011 xxxHolic KodanshaYoung Magazine, then Bessatsu Shōnen MagazineComplete19
20032009 Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Kodansha Weekly Shōnen Magazine Complete28
20052011 Kobato Shogakukan, then Kadokawa Shoten Monthly Sunday Gene-X , then NewtypeComplete6
20112013 Gate 7 Shueisha Jump SQ Halted4 (23 chapters)
20112013 Drug & Drop [n 2] Kadokawa Shoten Young Ace Halted2 (17 chapters)
20132017 xxxHolic: Rei Kodansha Young Magazine Halted4 (56 chapters)
20142016 Tsubasa World Chronicle: Nirai Kanai-hen Kodansha Magazine Special Complete3 (19 chapters + extra)
20162024 Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card KodanshaNakayoshiComplete16 (80 chapters)

Reception and awards

Mystery has surrounded the members of Clamp as, in order to avoid being harassed by overzealous fans, they avoid making public appearances. [12] In polls conducted by marketing research firm Oricon, Clamp was elected ninth most popular manga artist from Japan in 2007, while they were eighth in 2008, sharing the spot with Fujiko F. Fujio. [51] [52]

Gen Fukunaga, the president and CEO of Funimation, has praised Clamp as being "one of the most acclaimed groups of artists in Japan". [17] According to Charles Solomon, a journalist for The New York Times , Clamp "ranks among the most successful creators of manga ... in Japan and the United States". Dallas Middaugh, associate publisher of Del Rey Manga, stated that Clamp was an integral part of "manga explosion" that has been occurring in the United States over the past few years. He also praised the group's artwork and storytelling style as having "struck a strong chord with male and female manga readers". [38] The group was placed third after the winner for the Shogakukan Manga Award in the Children's category in 1999. [53] Their work Cardcaptor Sakura won the Seiun Award for best manga in 2001. [54] Almost 100 million Clamp tankōbon copies have been sold worldwide as of October 2007. [1] Various of their selling series include xxxHolic and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle that have sold over eleven million and twenty million volumes, respectively. [55] [56]

When asked about the universal popularity of Clamp's works, John Oppliger of AnimeNation stated that although it is "not based on originality [or] their artistic skill", they possess a distinct style that "perfectly mesh[es] the conventional attributes of shōnen and shōjo manga". He also pointed out that Clamp often "recycles" characters from their own earlier works, which gave rise to "a loosely defined 'Clamp Universe' that gives much of their work a unifying tone", and creates "absorbing, complex narratives that appeal to both male and female readers". All these factors result in "a cult following devoted to anything and everything the group publishes". [41] The Anime Encyclopedia authors stated that "whatever Clamp are on, we'd like some". [57]

Helen McCarthy in 500 Essential Anime Movies stated that Clamp's works "are among the most successful manga and anime with Western fans". [58]

Notes

  1. ↑ The remaining uncollected chapters following the hiatus were collected into "Volume 18.5", first released in the book All About Clamp. These are to be released as their own tankobon, "Volume 18.5", on 4 November 2023.

Related Research Articles

<i>Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle</i> 2005 Japanese manga series by Clamp and its adaptations

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses all her memories and how Syaoran, a young archaeologist who is her childhood friend, goes on arduous adventures to save her, with two other companions. The Dimensional Witch Yūko Ichihara instructs him to go with two people, Kurogane and Fai D. Flowright. They search for Sakura's memories, which were scattered in various worlds in the form of angelic-like feathers, as retrieving them will help save her very being. Tsubasa was conceived when four Clamp artists wanted to create a manga series that connected all their previous works. They took the designs for the main protagonists from their earlier manga called Cardcaptor Sakura.

<i>xxxHolic</i> Japanese manga series

xxxHolic is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. The series, which crosses over with another Clamp work, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, revolves around Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student who is disturbed by his ability to see the supernatural, and Yūko Ichihara, a powerful witch who owns a wish-granting shop. When Watanuki asks Ichihara to remove his ability to see spirits, she grants it on the condition that he pay for his wish by working for her. Clamp created xxxHolic to link the supernatural and fantasy series.

<i>Tokyo Babylon</i> Japanese manga series

Tokyo Babylon (東京BABYLON), also known as Tokyo Babylon: A Save Tokyo City Story, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Clamp. It follows Subaru Sumeragi, the head of the Sumeragi clan, and his sister Hokuto, as they work to protect Tokyo from a myriad of supernatural perils while living with a man named Seishiro Sakurazuka. Shinshokan serialized it in South and Wings magazines from 1990 to 1993, and was collected in 7 tankōbon volumes.

<i>Clover</i> (Clamp manga) Manga series created by Clamp

Clover is a manga series created by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona. The manga takes place in a dystopian future, where the government is out to control the "Clovers", a race of children with special powers.

<i>Miyuki-chan in Wonderland</i> Manga

Miyuki-chan in Wonderland is a comedy, yuri manga written and illustrated by Clamp, an all-female manga artist team consisting of Satsuki Igarashi, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Nanase Ohkawa. The story focuses on the eponymous protagonist, a Japanese high-school girl who finds herself pulled into various worlds populated by women who consider her appealing.

<i>The One I Love</i> (manga) Japanese manga

The One I Love is a romantic, slice-of-life shōjo manga by Clamp, an all-female, manga artist team consisting of Satsuki Igarashi, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Nanase Ohkawa. Appearing as a monthly serial in the Japanese manga magazine Monthly Young Rose from December 1993 to June 1995, the twelve stories were collected into a bound volume by Kadokawa Shoten and published in July 1995. The One I Love contains twelve independent manga stories, each focusing on an aspect of love and accompanied by an essay. Ohkawa wrote the essays while Nekoi illustrated the manga; it was the first time she primarily illustrated a manga by Clamp. Some of the stories draw on the life experiences of the women while others take inspiration from conversations they had with friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syaoran Li</span> Fictional character from Cardcaptor Sakura

Syaoran Li, sometimes spelled as Shaoran Li or originally as Xiaolang Li, is one of the central characters in the Clamp manga Cardcaptor Sakura and its sequel Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card. In the English anime adaptation by Nelvana of the series, Cardcaptors, he was renamed Li Showron and in the American broadcast was rewritten to be the joint main protagonist alongside Sakura Kinomoto, despite Sakura's solo lead role in all other regional conversions. Syaoran is a young Chinese sorcerer from Hong Kong, descending from Clow Reed and appearing in Tokyo during his introduction in order to capture the missing cards released by Sakura. Although Syaoran is initially apprehensive towards the protagonist due to their shared goal, he, in time, finds himself falling in love with her as the series progresses. Syaoran's relationship with Sakura is further explored in the 2000 Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card film and the sequel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsubaki Nekoi</span> Japanese manga artist

Tsubaki Nekoi, formerly Mick Nekoi, is a member of the all-female manga-creating team Clamp. She is the co-director and her duties in the team include applying screentones and correcting manga illustrations. She was also the lead artist on Legal Drug, The One I Love, Wish, Suki and xxxHolic. As the lead artist in xxxHolic, she is in charge of drawing the male characters while Mokona is responsible for the female characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fai D. Flowright</span> Fictional character from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Fai D. Flowright, born Yūi (ユゥイ), is a fictional character introduced Clamp's manga series Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Fai is a sorcerer from the country of Celes who escapes in order to request the witch Yuko Ichihara to travel to other worlds and never return to his homeland. He meets Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane and Mokona with whom he develops relationships. Despite his easygoing nature, Fai's true objective remains hidden which is further explored when the character is forced to return to his world alongside the group.

Clamp in Wonderland is a series of animated music videos produced by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi and Mokona.

Subaru Sumeragi is the fictional protagonist of Clamp's manga series Tokyo Babylon. The head of the Sumeragi clan, Subaru is a young onmyōji in charge of exorcising demons and helping spirits reach the afterlife, while living with his twin sister Hokuto and love interest Seishiro Sakurazuka. Following the events of Tokyo Babylon, an adult Subaru appears in the live-action film Tokyo Babylon 1999 investigating a murder case. He becomes one of mankind's seven protectors in Clamp's series X, and Seishiro is his new rival. Subaru's fate in the battle of the end of the world has differed across X's multiple animated adaptations. An alternate version of the character appears in Clamp's crossover series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.

Syaoran (<i>Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle</i>, clone) Fictional character from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Syaoran is a fictional character and protagonist in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, a manga series written and illustrated by Clamp. Syaoran is introduced as a young archaeologist who is in love with Sakura, his childhood friend and the princess from the Kingdom of Clow. When Sakura's memories are scattered throughout parallel dimensions, Syaoran goes on a quest to recover them, at the cost of Sakura never remembering him. Later in the series, Syaoran is revealed to be an artificial human created by the sorcerer Fei-Wang Reed—the sorcerer who wants to use him to collect Sakura's magical feathers. Controlled by Fei-Wang Reed's will, Syaoran becomes one of the series' antagonists in the second half of the series. Syaoran has featured in other works by Clamp, including the manga xxxHolic and the drama CD series Holistuba.

Sakura (<i>Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle</i>) Character from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Sakura (サクラ), also known as Princess Sakura, is a fictional character and one of the protagonists from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, a manga series written and illustrated by Clamp. In the series, Sakura is a princess from the Kingdom of Clow who has her memories separated from her body and sent to parallel dimensions in the form of feathers. Finding Sakura catatonic and near death, Syaoran, her childhood friend, goes on a quest to recover her memories. As the journey continues, Sakura forms new bonds with Syaoran, and together they learn how the sorcerer Fei-Wang Reed was responsible for the loss of her memories and will benefit from their recovery. Besides Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Sakura also appears in other works from Clamp including xxxHolic and the drama CD series Holitsuba.

<i>Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle the Movie: The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom</i> 2005 short film by Itsuro Kawasaki

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle the Movie: The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom is a 2005 Japanese animated action fantasy short film based on the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle manga written and illustrated by manga artist group CLAMP. The short film was directed by Itsuro Kawasaki, co-written by Junichi Fujisaku and Midori Goto, and was produced by Production I.G. The film premiered in Japanese theaters on August 20, 2005 in conjunction with xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream, another Production I.G animated film and based on CLAMP manga. Set between the two seasons of the anime series Tsubasa by Bee Train, the film continues Syaoran's group's journey to find Sakura's "feathers" (memories) in different worlds. On the journey they arrive at the Country of Birdcages, which contains one of Sakura's feathers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakura Kinomoto</span> Fictional character from Cardcaptor Sakura

Sakura Kinomoto is the main protagonist and title character of Clamp's manga series Cardcaptor Sakura. In the English anime adaptation by Nelvana of the series, Cardcaptors, she is known as Sakura Avalon, though her surname was changed back in the second film's dub by Bang Zoom! Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuma Monou</span> Fictional character from X

Fuma Monou, also written Fuuma Monou, is a fictional character created by the artists Clamp introduced in their manga series X. Fuma appears to be an ordinary, young man who is friends with protagonist Kamui Shiro. However, his frequent encounters with Kamui and Kamui's power has made him develop a cold-blooded alter-ego, who joins the Dragons of Earth to eliminate mankind, preserve the Earth and kill Kamui's own group, the Dragons of Heaven. Fuma also appears in an animated film and television series based on the manga, both of which have a different outcome because Clamp did not finish the X manga. An alternative version of the character has appeared in the Clamp's manga, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, as a rival of another Kamui.

<i>Cardcaptor Sakura</i> Japanese manga series by Clamp

Cardcaptor Sakura, abbreviated as CCS, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from May 1996 to June 2000, it was also published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha between November 1996 and July 2000. The story centers on Sakura Kinomoto, an elementary school student who discovers magical powers after accidentally freeing a set of magical cards into the world; she must retrieve the cards to prevent catastrophe. Each of these cards grants different magical powers, and can only be activated by someone with inherent magical abilities. A sequel by Clamp, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, focusing on Sakura in junior high school, began serialization in Nakayoshi in 2016.

Syaoran (<i>Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle</i>, original) Fictional character from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Tsubasa (ツバサ), usually called Syaoran is a fictional character from Clamp's manga series' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. In the series, the character is initially seen as child imprisoned by the sorcerer Fei-Wang Reed and appears in visions of the series' protagonist, the clone Syaoran. Upon being freed from his prison, Syaoran goes to kill his doppelgänger but fails as he escapes to carry Fei-Wang's will. As a result, Syaoran decides to join Sakura's journey across dimensions to accomplish his own mission. Syaoran also appears in the Clamp's series xxxHolic, where he often interacts with the teenager Kimihiro Watanuki whom he often sends messages to and in the Tsubasa spin-off Tsubasa World Chronicle: Mirai Nikki-Hen he goes in another journey to find his clone.

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