SUMMARY:
Five extraordinary travelers: Sakura, Syaoran, Fai D. Flourite, Kurogane, and Trokona (actually Mokona Modoki. I used that name "Trokona" as Mokona's nickname since it fits her troll personality. LMFAO!) traveled to countless worlds in different time periods to search for Princess Sakura's power/memory feathers. While the group were aiding Syaoran's feather hunt, each member of the Tsubasa family had a particular reason to travel to different worlds, as well as learning each other's true identities. The story also focused on how their childhood tragedies brought them closer to this never-ending journey. The Sakura & Syaoran who travelled with Fai, Kurogane & Mokona at the beginning were clones while the real Sakura and Syaoran were held as captives to Fei Wong Reed (the twisted yet manipulative villain who was responsible for this tragic mess). Fai D. Flourite hoped to avoid confronting King Ashura of Celes while Kurogane was sent away by Princess Tomoyo of Nihon Country due to the reckless slaughter. Whether it's saving Princess Sakura's feathers or her life, Syaoran, in no terms, would risk everything he had for her sake from Fei Wong Reed's murderous grasp.

SCORECARD:

Story: 9
Although the cloning scene got confusing sometimes, the story was easy to follow. The first half of the story resembles "saving the princess" game premise (e.g. Super Mario) with a healthy balance between comedy and tragedy. Unbeknownst to the travelers, Fei Wong Reed was the main perpetrator who set up the grueling travel drama for his victims. As the story reached to its climax, it began to overshadow more gloom. Its mood darkened when the connection between the five travelers disintegrated with dark secrets they were unwilling to share. After the travelers learned each other's past, they were all prepared to not only save their beloved princess, but also waged their lives against Fei Wong Reed. The Clow Country arc gave out the powerful feeling of fighting justice and keeping faith amongst each other. Since Tsubasa's main genre was adventure & tragedy, I thought CLAMP did a wonderful job to make the blockbuster crossover story feel realistically believable. Despite the Sakura & Syaoran cloning confusion, the story protion deserved a 9.

Characters: 10
-Syaoran (clone): At the beginning of the story, we were given that the Syaoran in front of us was the main protagonist. He was an artificial copy of Tsubasa Li, and he was designed to collect memory feathers as his top priority. We see him mostly as an emotional fighting machine throughout in the first half of the run; as we reached to the Tokyo arc, we learned that Fei Wong Reed and "Syaoran" were responsible for creating his artificial life. The real Syaoran also placed his magic from his right eye and implanted to the clone's right eye as a camera before he was taken prisoner. I suppose it's safe to say the clone Syaoran was mostly used as a robotic fighter during the first half. I admired his bravery, intelligence & determination to save Sakura's feathers and the world from evil. He also never took a step back from the choices he was willing to walk onto.
-Real Syaoran (Tsubasa): After clone Syaoran was used as a puppet, real Syaoran filled in the lead role. While clone Syaoran was journeying with the other travelers, the real Syaoran could only witness on what the clone was facing. As for my thoughts about this little puppy, I could only admit that the clone and the real were one of a kind. Either brothers or father-and-son alike.
-Princess Sakura: I first thought Sakura was kind of a cute looking human baggage when Syaoran brought her along the quest. If she were to be written out, then there would be no story. She first starts out as a damsel-in-distress after Syaoran retrieved a couple of power feathers. She was unable to do anything at that time being due to the lack of gaining power feathers. As the story progressed, Sakura emerged from her "damsel-in-distress" role and contributed actively as much for the group as she can. While she was unable to fight for her own memory feathers, she could only hope that Clone Syaoran makes out the battles alive. After the clone "betrayed" the group, Sakura took more drastic measures to have the clone's heart returned to him. As for the adorable little princess, I'll confess that her faith, progressing strength & genuine care amongst her traveling companions made her an outstanding female protagonist.
-Fai D. Flourite (aka Yuui): A runaway magician who always carried out a clownish, carefree façade during the first half of the story. Fans would wonder why Fai would revert from his shady facial expressions to his cheerful mask. We were given hints that he may be fleeing from his troubled relationship with King Ashura. Aside from his powerful magic and fighting abilities, he's also talented on visual and culinary arts. He genuinely cared about Sakura and Syaoran's well-beings whenever they both are feeling uncomfortable or facing troubled times. He created a ton of hilariously ridiculous nicknames for Kurogane, as well as teasing him in a friendly manner. Kurogane was able to see through Fai's mask as Fai deflected his response that he doesn't want to be involved in other people's lives. From what I had witnessed from his character, I really enjoyed him as a gentle and selfless "mother" figure towards the children. His mysterious and conniving personality also makes him quite an alluring anime hottie to die for or mirror ourselves with. :heart:
-Kurogane: A gruff-mannered ninja who was seen as a contrast character of Fai. He often teamed up with Clone Syaoran to retrieve Princess Sakura's feathers & taught him how to use a sword under Syaoran's request. Beneath his sour and stern face hides his generosity. He only wanted the best from each member. Whenever he interacted with Fai, he expected honest answers from Fai regarding to his behavior and maigc abilities. While Kurogane was serious about this issue, Fai had the tedency to evade it by playing moody. From what I had learned about this character, Kurogane was quite an entertaining character CLAMP created. His weakness, which happens to be controlling his anger, always had me laughing. A combination of "daddy figure" + seriousness + professional swordsmanship + humor gave Kurger Burger a perfect 10!
-Mokona Modoki (Trokona Trodoki): A magical rabbit-like critter who's best known for transporting the team to different worlds and troll humor. Mokona and Fai nearly have the same personality, except Mokona doesn't conceal the truth. The story was intended to be a tragic romance; without Mokona, the group could have been emotionally lost inside the vast darkness. Trokona never ceases to amuse me, especially her 108 super techniques. I always loved how she would use one of her secret techniques and playfully tell that the other 107 techniques were a secret. She's always there to give you a hug whenever you are feeling low. =3= <3
-Fei Wong Reed: The ruthless, cruel, elderly sorcerer who was responsible for setting up a depressing, feather-searching expedition with his manipulative intelligence. His creepy intentions to target Fai, Kurogane, Sakura, and Syaoran made you want to question what advantages would he get from his controlling destiny. There wasn't a single positive trait I could honestly describe about Fei Wong. He seemed to linger himself backwards in most of the story to bring the dead back to live. Although CLAMP had constructed his villain persona well, his actions and purpose made him the biggest criminal in all of CLAMP society.
~My thoughts on other characters: All five travelers had met many other crossover characters they could befriend with. The people the team met was similar to how we meet during each different stage of life. When we move on the next stage, the friendship bonds created remain permanent. Most of their newfound friends helped our prince-in-shining-armor to develop his character growth and often gave our heroes a healthy amount of support for them to complete every feather-searching mission they encountered from world to world. Some of the "supporting" characters came off as typical assholes. They would prevent our heroes from completing their mission by selfishly keeping the feather for personal gain. The crossover idea helps us see what types of people we encounter in reality.

Themes: 10
Tsubasa mainly focuses on growing up, enduring sufferings, and identity issues. Syaoran had to suffer from his physical and emotional injuries before the start of the feather-hunting expedition. He was forced to forfeit his previous relationship to Yuuko, the space-time witch, in order to start his relationship with Sakura again. Even if Sakura was able to gain more memory feathers, she wouldn't be able to remember Syaoran. Hearing Sakura mentioning her past broke Syaoran's heart. With this encouraging quote spoken by his newfound comrade Kurogane, Syaoran was able to move forward. Each time Syaoran was wounded, he ignored the bothersome wound and continued to pursue the memory feather within his own will. He also received survival training and advice from Kurogane in order to improve his upcoming battles against his future foes. While Syaoran wasn't the only member who had to emotionally mature, Sakura, Kurogane, and Fai had to outgrow from their former personalities. Before regaining enough memory feathers, Sakura had to nap most of the time. As she regained each memory feather, she was able to remember most of her past without Syaoran in the picture. Even though Syaoran was forgotten, she remained open to restart their relationship anew. Kurogane started off as an arrogant warrior before Princess Tomoyo sent him to join his future companions. As he grew emotionally close with the crew, he was able to understand the true meaning of strength as Princess Tomoyo wished him to. He became less violent and learned to take care of others. As Tokyo Arc approached, Kurogane gave Fai a pep talk to confront his current character and behavior when Fai was questioned. Even though Fai countered Kurogane's answer by playing hooky, Kurogane could see his statement was a lie. No matter how much Fai wanted to avoid making someone unhappy, Kurogane still believed Fai's actions had already gotten himself involved with their younger companions. As the conversation ended, Fai admitted to himself that putting a carefree façade wasn't paying off. Kurogane's trust for the group began to deteriorate as the group discovered that Syaoran was a duplicate and ate Fai's right eye. Sakura, who was trapped in the orb-like cage, witnessed the heterochromia Syaoran was entirely different. The Syaoran she now saw became a ruthless young man with murder inside his eyes. After the clone departed the group, Sakura became serious and determined to bring back the heart clone Syaoran had lost. She closed herself up and became emotionally distant after the real Syaoran took the clone's place. Despite her cheerless personality, she secretly sacrificed herself by saving the future she foresaw. She allowed herself to get stabbed by Fai by rescuing the real Syaoran from getting killed. As the group traveled to Fai's homeland and learned about his history, Kurogane discovered that Fai was unable to forge forward and cut the copy of his dead twin as a lesson. He also reminded Fai that his past doesn't add with the present situations. He slayed King Ashura from strangling Fai to death as a way to put an end between their relationship conflicts. As the dead twin disintegrated, Fai could only watch, weep, and forgive himself. The second curse allowed Fei Wong Reed to close the empty-barren Celes. Fai was rescued by Kurogane as the world swallowed into darkness. CLAMP had portrayed these themes well (I will discuss them in future CLAMP reviews) in a realistic pace, so I credit them a perfect 10.

Story's Emotions: 10
Tsubasa's story was mainly considered to be a tragedy, so most of the story's scenes were genuinely heartbreaking. I had already covered the heartbreaking loss Syaoran had to suffer after he paid Yuuko the expensive price: his relationship with Sakura. All three Tsubasa boys had a tragic past shared as the story dove into the deepest part of the ocean. If I were to choose the most tragic backstory, it would be Fai's. Fai had to survive a number of hardships as the King of Valeria proclaimed that he and his twin were "considered" bringing unhappiness to their kingdom. The young twins were separated in a landfill where many civilians (innocent and guilty) were mercilessly executed by the deranged ruler. Before the deranged king executed himself, he gave Fai two heartwrenching selections: live or die. As years passed by, the twin princes above the tower felt emotionally tormented and wanted to commit suicide. Fai (the name young Yuui took to change himself) sacrificed himself by allowing Yuui to restart his life. Life in Celes seemed less threatening when Fai put his magic to work. His hard work had saved the townsfolk from an incoming disaster and he learned to brighten himself with a smile; however, the unnecessary murders across Celes made him sad again. When King Ashura challenged him to murder him, Fai was unable to assassinate him due to the strong power of kindness that was buried deep inside his heart. Instead, he put the monstrous king to sleep in efforts to avoid the adversary King Ashura had implanted into the relationship. Kurogane's story was also heartbreaking. During his teenage years, he lost both of his parents from the deadly invasion in his former homeland. His father's final words allowed him to grow emotionally strong; by all means, to protect the people Kurogane highly values. Kurogane had his share of losing his loved ones, but he didn't appear to suffer most of his childhood life. The story also offered hilarious, heartwarming moments to keep the atmosphere from getting dark. The Trokona scenes were always a delight for readers to have a laugh. I loved how Trokona performs one of her 108 secret techniques in each world the group visited. When she said the other 107 techniques were a secret, this quote allowed us to guess what other techniques Mokona could do in creative ways. The KuroFai teasings bring in the laughter (funny how Sakura and Syaoran were like WTF? when watching the two grown men behaving like naughty grade-schoolers during recess), as well with the ridiculous nicknames Fai always called Kurogane before the Tokyo Arc. CLAMP's use of emotions in each of their stories never ceased to amuse and touch me (as always), so I give them another perfect 10.

Art: 10
From drawing glossy shoujo characters to saucy shonens, CLAMP topped this classy-creative artstyle with a notch. The world and clothing designs were aesthetically unique. The clothing and architectural style were perfectly fitting for each world the group stopped by. The characters' facial expressions appeared romantic depending on the mood of the story was pacing. I happened to notice that the character designs were boldly detailed until the group traveled to Celes. The eyes appeared much lively compared to its earliest character designs. The battle scars the characters suffered were realistically painful, especially when each of the main member had to sacrifice all of the blood to achieve a certain objective. The artwork still maintained its grace despite the noodle-like human structures CLAMP designed.

Overall Score: 9.8 (or 10)
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles was one of the most grandeur manga series I was indulged since high school. I found the crossover idea extraordinary. Growing up reading most of the CLAMP-made mangas, CLAMP always had the knack to put some of their old work elements into their newly created series. Tsubasa was no exception. All of the worlds the Tsubasa gang traveled had all of the old CLAMP characters you could find in any of the older CLAMP series. As for the characters I had discussed, all of the main cast were almost lifelike. The way CLAMP portrayed their raw emotions throughout the story felt genuinely realistic. Each of the main protagonists had done their good and "evil", just like most of us do. The story got freakishly confusing during the Clow Country Arc. So new and former Tsubasa readers! Brace the mindfuckery! Despite the clone confusion, this manga was a definite must-read to manga fans who grew up with Cardcaptor Sakura and other CLAMP series before Tsubasa's birth <3 It's also perfect for those who enjoyed reading adventure mangas during their spare time!