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Posts Tagged Reservoir Chronicles Tsubasa

Year In Review: Lissa’s Favourites of 2011

Lissa’s Favourites of 2011

There are no shortage of ‘Best Of’ lists this time of year. While I like popping around to different peoples’ sites and seeing what they thought, it’s a bit of a frustration that I can’t seem to write one myself. How people choose a solid list containing five or ten favourites, from across different genres and subject matters, is just something I can’t seem to muster the brain power for. Not enough conviction I suppose? There’s just so much to love!

But I can’t overlook the perfect chance to look back at all the great titles a year had to offer and 2011 had some really fantastic ones. So then where is this going, oh rambling one, you ask? My semi-traditional equivalent to the yearly best of – the random Lissa’s favourites and best-ofs list! Which really just means you get a lot more titles broken into a lot more categories so I can remain a lot more loving to a lot more series. And in some cases not so loving… From the Best Release Quality to the Favourite Fan Service and even to the most Gag Worthy – here are a bunch of my favourite titles from 2011!

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Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (Vol. 27)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo
Tsubasa (Vol. 27)

Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: DelRey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2010

Synopsis: “The restart of time! Cut off by time, the travelers have arrived in Fei-Wang Reed’s dimension to get Sakura back. But Fei-Wang has been waiting for them, and they’re in for the ultimate fight. The witch Yûko finally brings into play that odd cylinder she’s had in her keeping, and what’s inside gives Syaoran the shock of his life!”

It’s time for another new volume of Tsubasa, and the penultimate chapter at that. It’s exciting, it’s dramatic, it’s mostly one giant magical showdown and… it’s downright confusing. It’s tough having a story so artistically engaging and brimming with emotion when it’s also one hampered irrefutably by a story that just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense at times.

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Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (Vol. 24)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: Novmeber 2009

Synopsis: “Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona are returning to the Kingdom of Clow – and toward an ultimate showdown with the ruthless Fei-Wang Reed. But entering a world the is cut off from time endangers ther very existence of the once happy villagers, as the final story arc of the Tsubasa epic beings!”

There’s plenty to get excited about in this volume, though perhaps a little more so if it was a little more coherent. It’s not that the events are difficult to follow individually but try to mentally fit them into the woven web of CLAMP’s Tsubasa and you may find some of your enthusiasm dampened. Still, with plenty of gorgeous artwork and moments that strike déjà vu in all the right ways, there’s a still lot of good to be said for Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles as it climbs towards the finale.

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Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (Vol. 22)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo


Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “In the Country of Oto, Syaoran fought his former mentor, Seishiro, and lost badly. Now Seishiro is back, and this time Syaoran is determined not to allow him to escape with Sakura’s feather. Many things have change since their first battle, but is Syaoran now strong enough to withstand Seishiro’s vampire-killing skills?”

Old faces return to stir up some new trouble, including the vampire hunter Seishiro, mentor to Syaoran and possessor of one of Sakura’s powerful memory shards. The end of the previous book saw another climatic fight for survival that this book offers only momentary respite from for the series’ band of weary travellers but its time well needed to fill in small gaps in the plot and prepare for the danger that’s followed them there, to Kurogane’s home country of Japan.

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Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (Vol. 21)


Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: DelRey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: May 2009

Synopsis: “Fai’s secret past is revealed in horrific detail, and all his lies laid bare. Now Fai must face the rage of Kurogane, and the one person who showed Fai kindness as a child is now his mortal enemy. Can Fai survive Kurogane, Ashura-ô, and Fei-Wang Reed’s final curse?”

This entire volume consists of two things: Fai flashbacks, which serve to finally fully flesh out the smiling sorcerer’s tortured past, and then overlapping present-time fight sequences. Thanks to the number of speedline intense, dialogue-scarce action panels, don’t be surprised if you fly through this volume quicker than most. Ultimately, however, all this speed does is induce longing for the next volume to happen sooner than later.

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Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (Vol. 20)


Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: DelRey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: January 2009

Synopsis: “The princess has been betrayed and her body sent to Fai’s frozen home world of Seresu. In order to follow Sakura, the wrecked remains of the band of travellers must pay their price to the witch. And once they arrive, Fai will have to confront the one he’s been fleeing – and the horrific truth of his past!”

Volume twenty of Tsubasa is a big eye-opener for the series as readers learn just how layered all these overlapping foreshadowed plans really are. After the dramatic climax of the last volume, the characters have a lot to deal with, and even more to take in, when Yuuko appears before them to help explain what transpired. The series continues to delve into darker and darker territory with some disturbing revelations about Fai’s past and their climatic effect on his life now (and the lives of his companions). With a new perspective and altered task at hand, that which remains of the title crew bands together to travel to Fai’s country.

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Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (Vol. 19)


Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: DelRey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: December 2008

Synopsis:
“The Mafia-run world of Infinity would be a dangerous place even without the death-defying “chess” tournament that Princess Sakura and her companions have entered. But Sakura has decided to risk everything – even her friends’ lives – for the contest’s secret prize.”

While several books ago you may’ve thought this series was getting rather repetitive, the last few couple of volumes have certainly gotten the ball rolling in a big way. Here in volume nineteen, its one revelation after another as Sakura puts her own friends’ lives on the line in order to win a mysterious prize in the warrior chess game they find themselves battling in.

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Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (Vol. 18)


Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: August 2008

Synopsis:
“In the world of Infinity, Princess Sakura has become a Chess Master and the other travelers are her pieces. But the Mafia is running the game, and they don’t care if Sakura’s opponents break the rules or murder Sakura’s companions! Why is Sakura so determined to risk everything?”

After the drama in the previous volume, Yuko feels its time for the band of travellers to finally know what’s going on. The results of previous events still affect everyone harshly, including the world around them, before Mokona transports them all to a new dimension for more trials ahead.

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Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (Vol. 17)


Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: DelRey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis:
“In mere minutes, Fai will be dead, and Kurogane’s only hope to save him is to make a deal with Yuko the Witch, a women he has never trusted. The deals sends Kurogane – alone – into the worst danger he has ever faced.”

Everything gets upped a notch in volume seventeen of Tsubasa. Fai is on his deathbed, with no options left to save him – short of asking for Yuko’s help. Reluctantly Kurogane makes a deal with the Witch, a deal that, through a few different passes of payment from character to character, leads to Sakura (unlike what the book’s summary would lead you to believe) embarking on a dangerous mission all on her own.

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