Tokyo Babylon 1

Rating:
Summary: For those of you who've read it before....
Review: Be prepared to be stunned.

Tokyopop actually did a wonderful job with the translation of this thing. I am one exceptionally happy camper! They've FAR outdone Viz; the horrible butchering of CLAMP manga that's occuring with poor, abused X is not repeating itself here.

That's right! All the perversion that makes Seishiro Seishiro is here. All the blushing, stammering, sweatdropping of Subaru in his 16-year-old wussiness and the horribly loud laughter, mile-long speeches and 'Sei-chan's of Hokuto are properly done, in their full and untarnished glory.

Those've you who've read the scantalations will be tremendously pleased.

Those've you reading this for the first time, I pray you enjoy it - this series is CLAMP at it's best. Angst, cuteness, 8 million different hats, a terribly deep trio of original characters and terrific plotline underlaying the insanity! Tokyo Babylon's a fabulous series. I'm trying my damnedest right now not to spoil it...

*jumping around* I want volume 5!!!! My favorite! And volume 7! *bawls like the angst-freak she is*

Anyway, this volume's a great intro to the fun to come.

'Bout time this work got it's due and got translated! And THANK GOD it's Tokyopop pulling all the stops and doing it justice instead of Viz.

Won't ruin the storyline. Will just say that while this one's good, it gets MUCH better. Stick with Tokyo Babylon, and you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: I didn't know what I was getting into
Review: I absolutely loved this manga. It was the first time I'd read anything by Clamp, and I can't say that I was disappointed! Don't let the somewhat bland covers or common "Save Tokyo City" summary fool you - inside is an absolutely brilliant work of art.

You've read the summary already, so I won't bore you with the details on that. I will tell you, though, that it is definitely worth the read - and that shounen-ai, or boy love, plays a fairly large role in this. I would still recommend this to almost everyone, even if you're uncertain on whether to pick up a manga in which men love men.

Anyway.

The artwork is absolutely, positively beautiful - the characters are distinctive and wonderfully done, and the backgrounds and scenery are startlingly realistic. Some may not like the blacks, but I personally rather like the high contrast. It was quite a surprise to see that the twins were so similar in appearance but you could still tell them apart easily - something that can't be easy. And Subaru may be distinctly feminine, but Seishiro is definitely not - something that isn't extremely common in this type of manga. Panels with artwork in colour are on the inside of the front cover and are absolutely wonderful.

The plot is very nice. Subaru is an onmyoji who seeks to aid souls of the dead and the living. Doesn't seem too exciting yet? Throw in his overly exuberant twin sister, Hokuto, and his suitor, Seishiro (who happens to be the heir of the rival Sakurazuka Clan), and events in his past that he can't quite remember, and you've got quite an interesting story going on!

The characters are wonderful. Subaru is the innocent, almost naïve protagonist who is willing to do anything to help others; Hokuto is wonderfully different, loud and enthusiastic; and Seishiro is the one you can't be too certain about, for his family - for the Sakurazuka Clan is one of assassins - belies is kindly and amicable nature. When you take Seishiro's romantic advances, Hokuto's consistent attempts to get her brother and Seishiro together, and Subaru's embarrassment at the whole ordeal into consideration, you've got plenty of comic relief. And yet, the main plot - Subaru's attempts to ease wounded souls - overshadows a more serious and sinister secondary plot involving Subaru and Seishiro, their onmyoji powers, and that mysterious event that Subaru can't remember all too clearly and that is hinted at from volume to volume....

Left in its original, unflipped format, Tokyo Babylon is definitely quite a read. The translation doesn't seem to be all to bad, and suffixes and name order are left untouched, each of which is a definite plus. This series has, so far, gotten progressively darker, so be careful what you get into. The rating of 13+ is deserved, warranted by some violence, blood and gore, minor sexual references and dark themes, and while the first volume never gets too serious, these do show up in later volumes. You have been warned.

This is a manga that you definitely get into and can read over and over again; it's worth the money to buy it. Tokyo Babylon is definitely a manga to read.

Rating:
Summary: Just so plain...
Review: I do not like old-style Clamp as much as I like thier modern style. For those who are delighted with the vintage charm of one of Clamp's first manga, I say power to them. I, however, think its too bold. The art is as thick and striking as an old noir film. I'm not sure how many books are in the series, but I am hoping that the first book is not a sign of things to come. While I love some series-of-antics manga such as Ranma 1/2, the omninous blurb (A saving tokyo story) set me up to expect some elements of good and evil, conflict, something close to that. There's none of that in Tokyo Babylon, just some odd stories that made me wonder how the characters could possibly maintain thier serious tone. Bad energy spawned by... envy over an outfit?! A specter haunting Tokyo Tower...becuase of a career setback?! It's fun to read, yes... but probably only because it's a classic and has nostalgic value. Otherwise it has waaay too many events that are repeated in all mangas over and over again. The characters were cute. Suburu was lovable, Hokuto charismatic, and the other guy (the vet) was mostly unnoticeable (see? I can't even remember his name!), but he has potential from the hints of his backstory.

Rating:
Summary: Tokyopop doesn't dissapoint
Review: I was thrilled to purchase this book. I have been a big fan of X(/1999) for about a year now, and I've heard from many people that Tokyo Babylon is a very good series. I researched a little on the series, and was intrigued by the plot and relationship between Subaru and Seishirou. I was really looking forward to reading this book, and I even counted down the days to it's release.
I had my worries, however. As with Gravitation and especially Fake, Tokyopop nearly destroyed the manga with it's inserts of slang words, such as "dude". Also, what if the translation was off or the word placing was simply horrible?
I am very pleased to say that neither of those problems are present in this book. A few color pages/poster are included in the book, as well as an introduction to the series (as there was in Saiyuki's manga). Honorifics are kept (which makes a big fan like me really happy), and sound effect translations are listed in the back of the book. I strongly believe this to be a smart move for Tokyopop and definitely a pleasing one for fans.
As far as the work done by Clamp, it's another great manga from this manga-ka quartet. The artwork, though it was from their early days (1991), is still very impressive. For those who have read X, I need to tell you that the art in this book is better than the first few volumes of it, which is saying something since X was started in 1993. Also, Seishirou and Subaru's interactions are downright hillarious and are made even more so by Hokuto's comments and urgings of Seishirou to try harder to seduce Subaru.
All around, this book is a classic for any Clamp fan or newbie to Clamp's work. I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant and Interesting Book
Review: I've read and enjoyed Clamps works before, but this is one of
their best works. It follows the story of Shubaru and his twin
sister in their adventures in excerising ghosts from Tokyo. I was surprised to find out that this book was a kind of prequel
to the manga series X-1999. After I learned this it made me yearn to read the rest of the Tokyo Babylon series. In this book you there are three parts. The first follows the story of Subaru helping a ghost who has a deep grudge against Toyko find peace with herself and Tokyo. The second on is very amusing and you will have to read the book to find out why! The third part tells about subaru's past and a mysterious man he met there. This is an excellent series. The only Clamp series that rivals it would be their first RG Veda. I highly recommend this series!