Continuing on with Tsubasa, we finish up with the Gothic horror universe, and move on to a more distinctly Japanese one.
General Information
Title: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle – Vol. 5
Written and Illustrated by CLAMP
Translated by Bill Flanagan
English Lettering by Dana Hayward
Originally Serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine
Cover Price: $10.95 US
Available from Amazon.com and RightStuf.com
The Premise
Princess Sakura has been kidnapped by whatever force has been kidnapping the children, forcing Sayoran Fai and Kurogane to re-double their efforts, to find Sakura and the Feather. After resolving that storyline, we head to the next universe, one with an everlasting Taisho Period.
High Points
The reveal of who was behind the children’s kidnapping was well done. The person was surprising, but didn’t ultimately seem out of place. Also, the reveal of the truth behind the Legend of Princess Emerald was also extremely well done.
The Taisho Universe looks interesting, and I’m interested in seeing how the universe is fleshed out.
Low Points
While the villain’s reveal was well done, the fact that his plot was basically a slightly darker version of the Scooby Doo Gambit was more then a little disappointing.
While I like the inclusion of characters from X/1999 in the Taisho universe, and I’m interested in what they do with the universe, I’m kind of concerned that the arc could turn into a Shonen Monster Of The Chapter manga for the duration of that arc.
Content Notes
No graphic violence or nudity here.
Scores
Originality: The Gothic arc’s conclusion was decent, though, again, the particulars of the villain’s plan are rather blah, and the next arc definitely runs the risk of becoming very cliché. 3 out of 6.
Artwork: The artwork here still looks very good, though the designs for some of the Oni in the Taisho universe are rather bland. 5 out of 6.
Story: The conclusion of the Gothic Arc isn’t quite as climactic as I’d like, and the start of the Taisho arc runs the risk of becoming very generic. 3 out of 6.
Characterization: We get some more development for Sayoran (for example, why he favors kicks in his combat), and for Sakura. Also, I really don’t think Fai and Kurogane’s bickering will ever get old. 4 out of 6.
Emotional Response: I really enjoyed the conclusion of the last chapter of this volume, as it fleshed out some more of the conditions of Sayoran’s price, and what this will mean for him and Sakura. 5 out of 6.
Flow: 6 out of 6.
Overall: This wasn’t the best chapter conclusion I would have gone for, but it was still pretty decent, and I look forward to seeing how the rest of this arc will play out. 5 out of 6.
In Total, Tsubasa Vol. 5 gets 31 out of 42.