What the CLAMP

[salinea]

So I finally succumbed to shiinabambi's arguments and caught up on Tsubasa.

And... I neither like nor dislike it. I'm just... way, way confused @_@ and kinda dazzed.


It's a good thing I'm good at the "wait_and_see_before_I_judge" reader. Possibly, it'll make more sense when I'll read the French translation comfortably in the bed. I bet I just missed a lot of plot points & character motivations.

You know what I liked? The idea of Fuuma as Yuuko's delivery boy. *imagines Fuuma in a cute little uniform and cap, doing the "telegramme, sir, urgent!" routine from lucky luke*


Now I'll go back to watch 12 Kingdoms.

Comments

[a-white-rain.livejournal.com]

I was shipping Yuuko/Fuuma before it became even more canon!

[a-white-rain.livejournal.com]

They can both see Wishes and destinies are intertwined with that. I find it interesting. And yes they are both pretty.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

Ooooh. Yes. Point taken.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

.... ah? WHAT? Why? Beyond the fact that they're both prettypretty people?


I've shipped Yuuko with Kujaku at first. Still kinda fond of the idea although Clow/Yuuko too precedence. Poor Kujaku still hasn't appeared in Tsubasa wait maybe that's a good thing

[sakanagi.livejournal.com]

Delivery boy!Fuuma is one of the very best things in Tsubasa. It's just so appropriate. And actually it means there's a lot of potential for interesting fanfics, though I haven't seen very many capitalising on that yet. Of course, in my headcanon, X!Fuuma and Yuuko already know each other. I think X Fuuma would be amused by his other self's job - it's probably a step up from delivering eyes.

Twelve Kingdoms! I like that series. Particularly the second story arc, and any episodes with Enki and Shouryuu, Enki being my favourite 12K character nowadays. The novels are good, too.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

And actually it means there's a lot of potential for interesting fanfics
Yeah, I was thinking of that too. It's a bit like a portable!Yuuko in a way, for the crossover wonder.

it's probably a step up from delivering eyes.
Hahahahahaha! How true!

12 kingdoms is very interesting. Lots of intriguing themes and sets up. I don't always like the execution, but lots of that may be that I just need to wait and see what they'll do with it. I agree with you, Enki and Shouryuu are the most likeable characters so far. But the fact that so many characters aren't that likeable is one of the interesting thing in 12 kingdoms.
I'm very curious about how different the novels are.

[sakanagi.livejournal.com]

Yep, it is interesting that the characters aren't all instantly likeable. (Well, except for Enki, Shouryuu, and the main character of the second story arc.) I do like the way that the charas are presented as being flawed - that being, not all in appealing sorts of ways.

I've read the Tokyopop translations of the first two novels, as well as various online translations. The novels are better than the anime in some ways, but it's good to see the story get animated. Though there are some things that were added to the anime - for example, Sugimoto never went to the Twelve Kingdoms. She and whatshisname were added to make up for anime not being able to focus on Youko's state of mind as much as books could. Anyway, apart from all the online translations, only the first two books have been released in English, but I've heard that at least the first three books are already out in French.

[luminaire.livejournal.com]

Can I ask you to lj-cut that? I actually started reading TRC this week and, while I know that wasn't exactly a spoiler, it was a little disappointing to have that revealed since I'm nowhere near that far yet. :(

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

I'm very sorry for spoiling you. I hope it won't waste too much your enjoyment of the story.

[luminaire.livejournal.com]

s'okay. ♥ Thanks for doing that, I appreciate it.

[shiinabambi.livejournal.com]

If it comforts you any, there are HUGE HUGE surprises in Tsubasa, so much so that you probably won't even notice that mini-spoiler.

[luminaire.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm powering through the chapters right now and I'm finding that out. XD

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

where are you up to? ^^

[luminaire.livejournal.com]

Chapter 65. They're in...Shurano/Sharano country? They're battling on the moon. XD Don't think I've quite reached all the crazy huge twists and surprises, but I think they're coming up.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha, I don't even remember that!

[heavensgardener.livejournal.com]

Mm, Twelve Kingdoms.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

I'll post on that when I'm done :)

[solesakuma]

Just replace the dialogue with ABBA lyrics. I swear to God it works. :D
And yeah, Fuuma was WIN in a sea of FAIL.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

LOL!

It's not so much that Fuuma as such was win. I just love the idea of him as a delivery boy. Appearing in random worlds (crossover, yay!) to give random items.

[shiinabambi.livejournal.com]

The way CLAMP presents it is a bit confusing, I admit. Let me know if there are any points in there you'd like to discuss.

(Wasn't Fai's backstory only like the most tragically awful thing in EVER?)

I love the Twelve Kingdoms novels, but found the anime somewhat lacking. I can give you links the the novel translations free online if you like.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

I... am just confused in general, about how things work and don't, and I'm afraid I might be forgetting a lot of details already. If you know a website that makes a good summary in technical terms, with diagrams and pictures (heehee), I might get less confused. If, that is, it actually makes sense.

Kujaku can give Fai a run for his money I believe. RG Veda in general is rather similar to Tsubasa in terms of crackistic angst.

Ooh, I am interested in the novel translations, yes!

[shiinabambi.livejournal.com]

....Wikipedia?

The whole plot is pretty straightforward, once you learn to think crazy. *g*

12K Novel Translations:

Mashou no Ko. First book, Taiki's story in this world. Complete.

Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi. Second book, Youko in the world of Twelve Kingdoms. This is the first arc of the anime. Complete.

Kaze no Umi, Meikyuu no Kishi. Third book, Taiki's story in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms. This and Mashou no Ko read kind of like two halves of a whole. Complete.

Kaze no Banri, Renmei no Sora. Fifth book. Continues Youko's adventures. This and Tsuki no Kage also work together as parts of the same story. Complete.

Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora. Seventh book. Youko and Taiki finally meet. Complete.

There's also a short story or two floating around, and there are several books which deal with other characters that never made it into the anime in any significant way, that have no translations or very incomplete translations. It seems these were the books that were translated because fans of the anime wanted to see how it "really" happened.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Coolness!