Clover | |
![]() Cover of the first manga volume of Clover | |
Genre | Fantasy, Cyberpunk |
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Manga | |
Written by | Clamp |
Published by | Kodansha |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Amie |
Demographic | Shōjo |
Original run | 1997 – 1999 [lower-alpha 1] |
Volumes | 4 |
Anime film | |
Directed by | KitarōKōsaka KōMatsuo (unit director) |
Music by | Ichiko Hashimoto |
Studio | Madhouse |
Released | August 21,1999 |
Runtime | 5 minutes |
Clover (stylized in all caps) 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.
Clover was serialized in Kodansha's Amie from 1997 until the magazine's demise in 1999. Kodansha Comics released the entire series in English as one hardcover volume in 2020. [1]
Clover is primarily about a young girl called Sue (スウ,Sū),whose name was stated to be derived from the Chinese word for four (sì) since she is a "4-leaf Clover". In the futuristic world that she inhabits,the military conducted a search for gifted children nicknamed "Clovers",who seemingly have the magical ability to manipulate technology. Demonstrations of their powers include teleportation and summoning weapons from thin air.
Classified according to how powerful they are,the children were then tattooed with a symbol of the Clover Project,with the number of leaves on the Clover indicating their power. To date,Sue is the only "4-leaf Clover" discovered. Along with other "Clovers",Sue was imprisoned to prevent her contact with other humans,as the government feared that she might develop feelings and be used as a weapon to jeopardize the country's national security.
Being isolated from the rest of mankind,Sue craves for company,and as for her only wish,she asks to visit "Fairy Park." Her escort is Kazuhiko,an ex-military soldier who has been forced to undertake the task. It is later revealed that Kazuhiko and Sue are connected through Kazuhiko's deceased lover,Oruha (織葉,Oruha).
The manga was conceived as a four-part story. The first two volumes comprise part I and trace the main story in the present. The following two volumes are parts II and III,and are flashbacks which explain the history behind certain incidents. According to series head writer Nanase Ohkawa,two further books are needed to complete the story. [2]
Clover was serialized in Kodansha's Amie from 1997 until the magazine's demise in 1999,and remains unfinished. Kodansha collected the chapters into four volumes. The first was published on June 6,1997;the final was released on August 9,1999. [3] Kodansha re-released the series in two volumes on July 17,2008. [3]
Clover was licensed for an English-language release in North America by Tokyopop. It published the series from May 15,2001 to March 20,2002, [4] but let the series go out of print on May 2,2005. [5] Dark Horse Manga picked up the license,combining the series into one volume ( ISBN 1-59582-196-1) in its original right-to-left format and releasing it on May 13, 2009. [6] The series is also licensed in French by Pika Édition, [7] and in German by Carlsen Comics. [8]
After Dark Horse Comics' license expired, Kodansha Comics licensed it and began releasing the series, combining into one hardcover volume in 2020. [9]
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | North American release date | North American ISBN | |
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01 | June 6, 1997 [3] | 978-4063400014 | May 15, 2001 [4] | 978-1-892213-66-2 | |
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02 | August 22, 1997 [3] | 978-4063400021 | September 11, 2001 [4] | 978-1-892213-94-5 | |
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03 | May 13, 1998 [3] | 978-4063400182 | November 20, 2001 [4] | 978-1-892213-95-2 | |
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04 | August 9, 1999 [3] | 978-4063400342 | March 20, 2002 [4] | 978-1-892213-96-9 | |
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A Clover animated music video based on the prologue chapters of the manga was produced by Bandai Visual and Madhouse Studios and shown in Japanese theaters before the Cardcaptor Sakura film in 1999. It is directed by Kitarō Kōsaka, with Nobuteru Yūki designing the characters and Ichiko Hashimoto composing the music. The short film was released to DVD as part of the Clamp in Wonderland collection on October 26, 2007.
Dark Horse Comics, who previously held the license for the distribution of the English North American edition of the manga, were in negotiations with Universal Studios for the rights to develop a film based upon the manga. [10] However, as of 2022, nothing from this has materialized.
Rika Takahashi, from EX: The Online World of Manga, noted the work's stark contrast with other, more positive CLAMP works such as Cardcaptor Sakura and Wish. She stated that it was a fast-pace drama similar to works such X and Tokyo Babylon. She commented on CLAMP's choice of presenting the story in short sequences and in a style "where the frames break out of the typical 'grid'" and to produce an experience of watching a movie on paper. She also commented that the typesetting of the sound effects helped create the overall cold mood unlike other CLAMP works. Furthermore, she praised the work for retaining a high detail of the art without being too dense. [11]
Kisei from Tokidoki Journal praised Clover for having a sense of beauty due to its empty space and simplicity, which help give the manga and characters a mood of "chilling isolation," a stark contrast from CLAMP's previous works which Kisei said feature highly detailed pages that make reading difficult and "cheerful bubbly" female protagonists. Kisei further praised the work for, instead of defining the characters, using art to express their personalities and traits. Further praising it as a work that would draw both female and male audiences with its romance and military aspects, Kisei stated that the only flaw with the work was its high price. [12]
Casey Brienza of Anime News Network remarks that the series is "arguably the best artwork of CLAMP's career" and has "gorgeous production values" but that "pretentious poetry conceals a thin plot and even thinner characterization." [13]
A Publishers Weekly review felt that reading the series is like, "looking into a dystopic future through one tiny, perfectly square frame." The same reviewer said that the character designs were "magnificent" and that, "the tiny details on the clockwork birds and imaginative effects are stunning." The reviewer felt that though it was obviously an experimental work for CLAMP, that the series would be widely liked. [14]
Magic Knight Rayearth is a Japanese manga series created by CLAMP. Appearing as a serial in the manga magazine Nakayoshi from the November 1993 issue to the February 1995 issue, the chapters of Magic Knight Rayearth were collected into three bound volumes by Kodansha. They were published from July 1994 to March 1995. A sequel was serialized in the same manga magazine from the March 1995 issue to the April 1996 issue. It was published by Kodansha in three bound volumes from July 1995 to April 1996.
Clamp is an all-female Japanese manga artist group, consisting of leader and writer Nanase Ohkawa, and three artists whose roles shift for each series: Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi.
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.
Tokyopop is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well as original German-language manga. Tokyopop's US publishing division publishes works in English. Tokyopop has its US headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California. Its parent company's offices are in Tokyo, Japan and its sister company's office is in Hamburg, Germany.
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.
X, also known as X/1999, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Clamp, a creative team made up of Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona. It premiered in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka manga magazine in May 1992 and ran there until it went on hiatus in March 2003; it has yet to be concluded. The story takes place at the end of days in the year 1999. The series follows Kamui Shiro, a young esper who returns home to Tokyo after a six-year absence to face his destiny as the one who will determine the humanity's fate.
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.
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.
Legend of Chun Hyang is a manga by Clamp. Its story and characters are loosely based on a well known Korean folktale of the same name.
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.
CLAMP no Kiseki is a twelve volume series of anime books celebrating the 15th anniversary of Clamp in 2004. It is published in America by Tokyopop and in Spain by Norma Editorial. Each volume is a full-color, 32-page book that contains summaries of featured series, interviews with Clamp and friends of Clamp, artwork, and exclusive new short comics. In addition, each issue comes with three special chess pieces featuring characters from Clamp's various series.
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.
Chobits is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine from September 2000 to October 2002, with its chapters collected in eight bound volumes. Chobits was adapted as a 26-episode-long anime television series broadcast on TBS from April to September 2002. In addition, it has spawned two video games as well as various merchandise such as figurines, collectable cards, calendars, and artbooks.
Nanase Ohkawa is a member of the all-female manga-creating team CLAMP. She is the director of the team and is primarily responsible for writing the stories and scripts for CLAMP's various works.
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 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.
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.
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. It is a sequel to Clamp's manga Cardcaptor Sakura and focuses on Sakura Kinomoto in junior high school. The manga was serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine between the July 2016 and January 2024 issues, with the chapters being collected in 16 tankōbon volumes. A 22-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Madhouse, featuring the cast and staff from the original series, aired from January to June 2018, which loosely adapts the first 24 chapters.