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CLAMP Crossover Tracker
Before the Tsubasa Chronicle episodes become too many for me to handle, I better start this now.
The thing I like about CLAMP works is that somehow, each of their series can be connected to each other! Be it cameos of other characters, themes and places that are similar, and even pseudo-sequels and other worlds, they present some sort of CLAMP universe. I call them CLAMP Crossovers.
So far, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle seems to be the ultimate in all crossovers, because almost all of CLAMP’s works are being represented in the series, in one way or another. This is an attempt to track down all the crossovers of the Tsubasa Chronicle anime.
Tsubasa Chronicle is an adventure anime where our heroes travel through alternate worlds. With the worlds being alternate, there is possibility of characters doubling their roles. A character in one world may also appear in another world. It is said that though the character’s soul is the same, he/she may be be living different lives in each world. With that kind of setup in Tsubasa, it seems that the possibility of all CLAMP series being all connected is rapidly coming true.
This is gonna be an ongoing project, and I admit that I only know a few of the series by CLAMP. Just because Cardcaptor Sakura is my eternal favorite anime, I became interested to see the rest, but not all of course. Anyway, please do post a comment and inform me if you find some other crossovers that I haven’t mentioned or known.
The crossovers represent the Tsubasa Chronicle anime only.
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Clow Country (episode 1)
The first world in Tsubasa.
Characters:
Shaoran (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Sakura (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Fujitaka (Cardcaptor Sakura) – In Tsubasa Chronicle, he is Shaoran’s father. In CCS, he is Sakura’s father.
Touya (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Yukito (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Clow Reed (Cardcaptor Sakura) – In Tsubasa Chronicle, he is Sakura’s father.
Themes:
– The name Clow is from Clow Reed of Cardcaptor Sakura.
Ancient Japan (episode 1)
The world in Tsubasa where Tomoyo and Kurogane came from.
Characters:
Tomoyo (Card Captor Sakura)
Themes:
Celes (episode 1)
The world in Tsubasa where Chii and Fai came from.
Characters:
Chii (Chobits)
Themes:
Modern Japan (episode 1-2)
The world in Tsubasa where the dimensional witch Yuuko is located.
Characters:
Yuuko (XXXHolic)
Kimihiro (XXXHolic)
Mokona (Magic Knight Rayearth)
Themes:
– If it’s the same Yuuko in XXXHolic, there is possibility that this is the XXXHolic world.
Hanshin (episode 2-6)
The first world where the group travelled.
Characters:
Sorata (X)
Arashi (X)
Miyuki-chan (Miyuki-chan in Wonderland) – In the TRC manga, Miyuki-chan seems to always appear in every world. I only saw her here so far though.
Shougo (X Movie)
Masayoshi (CLAMP School Detectives)
Touya (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Yukito (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Primera (Magic Knight Rayearth)
Themes:
– Hanshin seems reminiscent of the world of [Chobits->tsubasachobits-inn], and in effect Angelic Layer, but no direct crossover has been established.
– Hanshin’s Kudan system gave Shaoran a fire element, represented by Rayearth from Magic Knight Rayearth. I am not sure if Shougo and Primera’s Kudan is indeed from MKR as well.
Koryo (episode 7-11)
The second world where the group travelled.
Characters:
Chun Hyang (The Legend of Chun Hyang)
Sorata (X)
Arashi (X)
Nokoru (CLAMP School Detectives)
Suoh (CLAMP School Detectives)
Akira (CLAMP School Detectives)
Themes:
– The story in this world seems similar to The Legend of Chun Hyang.
Unknown Lake Country (episode 12)
The third world where they travelled. Nothing much was seen here.
Characters:
Themes:
July Anime Season (Summer 2005)
This month, many of the series I’m watching will end. That gives me the right to add more new anime series to watch this July right? Wrong.
I’m lessening my load on watching anime, due to this thing called board exams, my road to go professional on my college diploma thingie. Hopefully, the fun should never stop in this blog (well at least for the summer season), because I’m gonna watch some anime this summer season.
Though I’m trying to lessen my watching load, the list looks so great, I’m having a hard time choosing what to watch.
It’s summer over there in Japan but actually it’s rainy season over here, so to avoid confusion (just my own confusion) I’ll call this the July Anime Season. Here are some of the series that interest me so far:
Da Capo Second Season – One of my favorite bishoujo game series has yet another anime! This time, I think it will be based on a manga serialization. A new character will be introduced, along with Nemu, Sakura and Kotori. I’m wanting another 26-episoder, but I think this will run for only 13.
Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid – Well, I watched both FMP series but I’m still thinking if I’ll follow it immediately. For one, this should be another great FMP because Kyoto Animation is gonna do it, so expect eye candy. On the other hand, this looks like your regular mecha action rather than the extreme Fumoffu comedy which I liked very much.
GUN x SWORD – I always skip action. I prefer to watch them in batches and marathons.
Ichigo Mashimaro – Been hearing good things about this from blogs and forums, so I’ll give this one a try. The girls are cute, in a unique way.
Just watched a prologue video. Looks like a slice-of-life comedy about the girls’ normal and weird personalities, kinda like Azumanga Daioh. This is exciting. Plus, it has a stellar seiyuu cast for the 5 girls. I’m hyped now! Better read the manga!
Kamichu! ~Kamisama wa Chuugakusei~ – Looks nice.
Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken – This looks like harem and samurais.
Okusama wa Mahou Shoujo – Okay, so your wife is a magical girl. Big deal. Many anime guys have magical girls as wives or lovers. I wonder what will make me want to watch this.
Petopeto-san – Wow! The artwork looks extremely moe~! Some kind of welcome surprise this is, coz I’ve never heard of it.
SHUFFLE! – Oh, it’s this bishoujo game based series I was talking about a [while back->shuffle]. See my reactions over there.
Suzuka – Never heard of this before but some are saying that Suzuka is an excellent manga series.
DELIBERATION
Absolute Watch
Da Capo Second Season
Watch
Petopeto-san
Ichigo Mashimaro
SHUFFLE!
Watch Later
Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid
GUN x SWORD
Suzuka
Watch Maybe
Kamichu! ~Kamisama wa Chuugakusei~
Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken
Okusama wa Mahou Shoujo
ufotable and gainax
Futakoi Alternative animation studio ufotable seem to like spoofing, or paying homage, to Gainax’s works. Makes me wonder if some of the Gainax staff is actually doing behind-the-scenes work inside ufotable. Makes me wonder even more if those Gainax staff is getting frustrated with all the maid anime their own studio produces nowadays, and opted to work in ufotable for now. Nah, I’m just thinking too much. Homages are common in anime.
There may be more spoofs and references in Futakoi Alternative that I didn’t notice. Yup, it takes a keen eye to get more. I don’t have a keen eye.
Rentarou singing Yume no Naka e. (episode 7)
Is Yume no Naka e really just the Karekano ending song? Or is it a generic Japanese popular folk song of some sort? I’m not sure if it’s an anime original or just a revival of a popular classic Japanese song. S.O.S. (another song featured in Karekano) is a revival though.
Rentarou doing the FLCL thing (episode 7)
Someone has just gone FLCL crazy. I miss that show.
The three doing the Karekano OP flying sequence. (episode 9)
Can’t get any similar than this.
Anime On Location: Reverse
This is the reverse of my [Anime On Location->anime-on-location] feature.
So this time… how visible is anime in real life? How often would you see your favorite anime drawings in normal streets?
This post is a collective of links and images which feature some real pictures where animated art blends with our normal lives. Be it posters or anime-related places, I will try to see if anime is visible anywhere else aside from TV and movie screens.
This is gonna be an ongoing collective so if anyone wants to contribute other material related to this, just comment in this post. Please do also contact me if some of the links are already down. It’s kinda hard to find this kind of content though.
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Comic Market 68
http://www.galge.com/galge/nomember/sbp/topics/05/08/12/index.html
It’s one of Japan’s biggest and most popular comic conventions. Everything otaku-related can be seen, heard, felt, and ‘sold’ there. They definitely wouldn’t want to miss being there…
Sights of Akihabara
http://www.akiba-bound.net/?p=36
http://www.jefflawson.net/anime/archives/002411.html
http://www.tyth.net/wordpress/?p=115
Fellow bloggers visit Akihabara. Exponentially better than our local Chinatown, but a lot more expensive of course. This is the real stuff.
He is My Master Promotion Gig
http://www.livejournal.com/users/pedolicious/71859.html
http://blog.livedoor.jp/geek/archives/24932011.html
This is possibly one of the anime marketing gimmicks where I can never comment to negatively nor positively. A TON of girls wearing HiMM maid cosplay gives promotion cards for the anime’s recently released DVD volume. Sure, Akihabara otaku folk will be shouting with oohs and aahs while armed with their top-of-the-moe-line digital cameras. The rest of the regular Japanese walking public, however, may be disgusted.
Moe-bus
http://oki2.jp/bus/index.html
This link shows a lot of Japanese public transportation buses which were painted with anime and bishoujo game related pictures as advertisements. Sure it’s nice, but don’t dare take a picture with your favorite bishoujo, lest other commuters label you a weirdo.
Metal Gear Aya
Taken from Comic Party Revolution 9:
Aya-chan, you rock! The quiet and usually unnoticed doujinshi author becomes a tactical espionage specialist in this episode. Go figure.
Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru
Koi Kaze not enough? Enjoy the dangerous world of incest with Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru.
Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru is a one-shot OVA based on a shoujo manga of the same title. It tells the story of a taboo incestual relationship of brother Yori and sister Iku. Yori is the first to break down. He starts to keep secrets and ignore Iku, and yet sometimes he’s being too overprotective of her, even fighting someone in class who made her embarrased. Iku wonders why she’s being mistreated lately. One night, Yori confesses to Iku, and of course rejection is abound, because it is indeed weird. Yori even realizes it himself, that this is wrong, but he can’t stop his feelings towards his sister. He does a lot of things to make himself go the right path somehow, by planning to go to a faraway college to stay away from Iku, and even trying to have a normal relationship with another girlfriend. By this time, Iku herself is starting to waver her own feelings. She starts to become jealous of Yori and his girlfriend, and so she also developed feelings towards her brother.
Treading into dangerous territory eh? These are the kinds of stories that are very interesting to me because a person like me could barely understand the emotional pains of having this feeling. This is the kind of storytelling that makes the [onii-chan complex->w-wish] seem light-hearted. Deep inside, the pain of an impossible relationship exists within the lovers involved. Yup, Yori and Iku, despite their extreme intimacy, continually remind themselves that this is wrong. Towards the end, they still try to find ways to move on and forget their impossible love somehow (through separation), and yet we still see a tease, because somehow it’s very hard to let go.
There are scenes of intimacy in this anime, but nothing too graphic. The animation and color tone reminds me of Marimite, the atmosphere similar to fellow incest-themed anime Koi Kaze. This is well-animated and well-paced, staying true to many scenes in early volumes of the manga. Of course, other events are omitted. In the manga Yori and Iku are extremely intimate, they express it almost anywhere. I wonder when they’ll be caught…
Anyway, I recommend you watch this with an open mind. In the real world people may be guilty of this, but while society abhors this, do not be discriminative. Love is really more complicated than we think.
Update: It’s going to be a live-action movie! Boku wa Imouto Ni Koi Wo Suru the movie will be starred by Jun Matsumoto (of Gokusen/Hana Yori Dango fame) and one hawt babe Nana Eikura, a magazine model. Nice, I hope to catch it soon.
HCD Series: Fruits Basket Drama CD
I just can’t believe there is a new drama CD about Fruits Basket! Moreover, this features basically the same stellar cast… and much more!
Okay, so I didn’t understand some parts at all, so please bear with me on this.
About the drama
This drama CD is composed of 2 stories, the Cinderella play, and a story about the student council. While I understood the Cinderella play, the student council part really boggles me up to now (complex Japanese conversations), so I can’t describe it.
The Cinderella play is loosely based on a couple or more chapters in the manga. Garten over at Memento’s blog has a summary for those chapters (87 and 88), among others.
Cinderella play gone totally wrong
The school play Cinderella is composed of the following cast:
Cinderella = Hana-chan
Prince = Kyo-kun
Fairy Godmother = Yuki-kun
Evil stepmother = Minami Kinoshita (Prince Yuki fanclub member)
Evil stepsister = Tohru
Friend of Prince = Uo-chan
Notice something? Yup this play is up for disaster! The only remotely decent casting was that of Minami, because her attitude is like that. A denpa-Cinderella who loves tea parties and food, a prince who doesn’t even care about girls, a fairy godmother who cross-dresses (to the delight of Yuki’s fans), an evil stepsister who is definitely not evil at all, and a royal friend who is a Yankee. Because of this, the script radically changed, and it even has a narrator continually doing improvisations whenever the dialogue screws up. Kyou actually speaks Tohru’s name while in the play, then the narrator reminds him not to do that… that gave me a big laugh. Also funny is the part when Cinderella appears in the ball… with a black dress. Everyone in the audience
Seiyuu
Hearing the generic Yui Horie voice feels like a dream. The main three guys of the juunishi are the only Soumas that appear in the drama, because this is basically some school comedy stories. Momiji is mentioned but I didn’t hear him (too bad, he’s my favorite). The biggest surprise is that Tamura Yukari is actually in this drama, as new character named Kimi (who doesn’t appear in the anime). I love the rapport of the student council parts even though I didn’t understand it much, so I guess it’s time for me to follow the manga again.
All in all, this drama CD served me like a teaser… I want a second Fruits Basket anime season!
Shuffle!
Shuffle Preview
Be whatever this July!
Before you say this is just another bishoujo game based anime… well… nothing… say it now, it’s really just another bishoujo game based anime. In this one, there seem to be three races, humans, gods and demons. These three races live somewhat in harmony for now. So when two new neighbors arrive, one god family and one demon family, and they have a respective cute bishoujo girl each with matching elf ears, a boring male’s life will never be the same again. Not only that, you still have your childhood friend, a spunky girl next door, and a mysterious quiet girl too. Better love those cliches…
Anyway, looking forward to this, but from the prologue video I’ve seen, the designs look… inconsistent. There were shots of greatness and other shots of mess. The animation seems to flow smoothly though, due to a lot of in-between frames, which make it look OVA-style. What’s better is that it’s in WOWOW, so not only will we get high-quality raws, I could even have a chance to watch it myself direct from WOWOW! (some cable TVs here have WOWOW)
Here are some shots of the girls, along with their respective CG from the original game.
This is a [Summer of Bishoujo->] feature
School Rumble Live!
I watched on video a certain School Rumble Live Concert, and it was quite good! Seiyuus, singers and some bands sang numerous songs featured in the anime series and also the drama cds as well. Too bad no sign of Yuko Ogura was found, maybe she’s too mainstream to be in such an otaku-filled event. Instead, we get all the girls singing her Otoko no Ko Onna no Ko ending theme.
One performance in particular, School Rumble 4 Ever, was so great! Four of the girls danced and sang that incredibly catchy female rap song.
I enjoyed this one better than the Love Hina live concerts, probably because there are more cute and young seiyuu here. The songs are great too. [Yui Horie->horie-yui] may have stuttered a bit during her Scramble performance, but the live rendition of that School Rumble OP is as catchy as ever. Maybe my only complaint is that there is too much unicorn table, while too less Mamiko Noto.
Anyway sorry that I can’t bring you the songs nor the concert video itself, so I have boring screenshots. Spicing it up a bit is the seiyuu’s respective character that they voiced in School Rumble, and a bit of other anime info.
.jpg "She looks so young...")
Ami joined Yui also as the Ichijou twins in both Futakoi series.
.jpg "As cute as ever!")
Yui Horie, she’s appearing in so many series these days.
.jpg "Okay.")
She currently plays Kanade-kaichou in Gokujou Seitokai.
.jpg "Okay.")
You would probably know her as the legendary “Lain.”
.jpg "If she'd lose some more weight she'd be more beautiful you know...")
Mamiko, another seiyuu with an unmistakable cliched voice working in many series these days.
.jpg "No comment.")
Nao in My Hime. Different style, eh?
.jpg "No comment too.")
You guys would probably know her as Nono in Top wo Nerae 2 but I didn’t watch that.
.jpg "You're too cute to be in the anime business... go mainstream jpop girl!")
I dunno how she belongs to School Rumble, maybe a minor seiyuu, featured in a drama cd/ost, or maybe a guest. Anyway she is also one of the singers in the Mahoraba OP.
.jpg "Their ska style is very catchy.")
.jpg "They do nice songs.")
They have a lot of songs scattered around the drama cds of School Rumble. Because of this, they had the most songs performed in the concert.