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I am one of the few who do not enjoy Tokyo Babylon. When I read this manga over ten years ago, I was not feeling it. My understanding of the story’s content and direction is limited. I disagree on certain aspects. To begin with, the jokes are not funny, and I tire of them pretty quickly. Also, I do not enjoy the art, especially the action scenes. CLAMP does not depict events; instead, they apply speed lines to their pages. While manga encourages readers to use their imagination, there is not a lot for them to engage with.



It helps neither that the characters are not very interesting. Subaru Sumeragi is pleasant, but he is a pushover and has no real character and lacks depth. He often appears passive, responding to events instead of leading the story. Because of this, it’s tough to connect with him or feel invested in his journey.



The romance between Subaru and Seishiro is disgusting. Why is a 20-something-year-old romancing a sixteen-year-old? It has an unsettling dynamic. It damages any chance of depth in their relationship. The weak development in their interactions creates an exploitative and unconvincing romance. This damages the overall story. Having Subaru’s sister cheer for their relationship makes the situation worse.



Clamp’s early works irritate me for this reason. How they portray romantic relationships between adults and children. These portrayals can make unhealthy and inappropriate relationships seem normal. This is especially true for younger audiences, who are more impressionable. They may reinforce harmful stereotypes about love and consent. This can damage viewers' understanding of healthy relationships. Also, these stories can numb audiences to bad behavior. So, it’s important for creators to handle sensitive topics with care and responsibility.



World-building cannot enhance the story’s progress. It often discovers as a distraction. This slows the story and detracts from the main plot. Readers may lose interest if world-building does not connect to character growth or main themes. They might also question how it fits into the story. In this situation, as it pertains to me.



Do I recommend this manga to someone who is new to CLAMP? I would not suggest this manga to anyone. I dislike series that do not balance world-building, character development, and plot progression. A new reader might feel overwhelmed by this manga, especially if they are not familiar with CLAMP’s style. It might not engage them fully, making it a poor starting point for their work.

Sakura Kinomoto discovers an intriguing book in her father’s library—a book made by the wizard Clow for storing dangerous spirits intertwined with magical cards. As Sakura opens the book, there is nothing but Kero-chan, the book’s cute little guardian beast … Kero-chan tells Sakura it is now her job to capture the escaped Clow cards!

From my perspective, the plot left something to be desired.

This book felt very episodic because it was mostly Sakura battling the newest Clow Card. By half-way through, she had already found all the cards, and she spent the next quarter converting them all to Sakura cards. It felt excessively prolonged, and I wanted her to resolve everything.

The number of things I completely missed as a kid or that were completely glossed over in anime surprised me. Also, CLAMP is a big fan of taboo relationships. It is clear in the manga that Tomoyo’s mother, Sonomi, had feelings for Sakura’s mother, Nadeshiko, and that they were cousins. Toya had an ex-girlfriend who was a student teacher at his middle school. Also, there are many relationships between underage characters and adults. The most obvious one is Sakura’s friend and classmate, Rika. She is engaged to their homeroom teacher.

There are also Sakura’s parents, who married when she was 16 and he was a student teacher at her high school. As well as Kaho Mizuki, who loves Eriol. Despite being the reincarnation of Clow Reed, he is still an elementary school student. His physical form could at least have reflected that. Last but not least is Sakura and Syaoran’s crush on Yukito, who is a high school student. Also, I will let it slide since Yukito does not reciprocate their feelings.

The artwork in Clamp manga is gorgeous, and the omnibus edition contains a lot of gorgeous color artwork.

My overall impression is that this series has not always aged well. While it is marketed to kids, it contains some questionable content. After reading it again, I am surprised because I did not enjoy it as much as I expected. I hope this does not become a trend as I read more of CLAMP’s manga.

I've been avoiding this manga for years. Due to SpyxFamily's popularity, I was afraid I wouldn't like it. However, after finally giving it a chance, I was pleasantly surprised by its unique storyline and captivating characters. It's now one of my favorite series.

The synopsis reveals that all the main characters are exciting and interact in interesting ways. Twilight is a mysterious perfectionist whose skills are so good that no one knows who he actually is. Yor is brilliant, strong, and highly talented, but she tends to be awkward and shy. Anya is the cutest, most outgoing, and kind telepath you will ever meet.

The story plays with well-known tropes, like the fake dating trope, but turns it into a phony family trope. It gets even better when you remember this is an action sci-fi manga full of quality dialogue and good comedic timing. Having three main characters - one a spy, one an assassin, and one a telepathic child - makes everything much more enjoyable. Any situation they're in together is way more interesting.

With each chapter, I found myself becoming more and more intrigued and curious about this borderline-dystopian world. In this issue, you only know what you need to know, and a lot remains mysterious, which is smart since this is only the first issue. As for the main characters, you get snippets of their past and who they are, enough to intrigue you but not enough to spoil any significant epic reveals!

Overall, this manga promises an exciting and engaging read, filled with intriguing characters and a captivating storyline.

Yasha, once a mighty warrior king, is now the lord of a slaughtered people he could not save in this lush, sprawling epic. As a companion and protector of Ashura, Yasha travels the land with Ashura, knowing his fate will bring doom to many. In their quest for the other four “Six Stars” who will defeat Taishukuten, the evil usurper of Heaven’s throne, they join forces. However, there are different ways to interpret all prophecies...

Despite all the hype from Clamp fans, this is a disappointment. It has a half-baked plot with flat characters. It’s hard for me to connect with any character. I do not understand why this guy was working for this person he hates, or why he keeps harboring this kid who causes him misery and periodically goes all evil-possessed and is supposed to kill him. I accept that this could happen, but give me a reason (even one that is emotional!) for him to do such a thing. An interesting story requires more than pretty illustrations.

This series is not for me. He needs to have some motivation or justification for why he would do such a thing. Otherwise, it’s just a nonsensical story. Unless the writer can present an interesting reason for it, I am not interested.

As much as I enjoy His Christmas Pleasure, I do not love it. Based on the library’s Christmas recommendations, I chose this book. I rarely read romance novels. Despite that, I would like to expand my reading genres.

The book tells the story of Abigail’s decision to elope so that she would not be married to a man twice her age. Andrés, a man notorious for his reputation, is the man she has chosen as her groom. Andrés thinks he is in a marriage of convenience with a charming, very wealthy young woman. As they discover the truth about one another and old wounds are revealed, he will do anything to earn her love.

The book was not what I had hoped for. It’s important to note that the heroine was completely airheaded. She acted like a spoiled brat and behaved foolishly. After standing up for herself, she made a foolish choice. She eloped after her father refused to change his mind. Abby was determined to elope, so she made it hard for them to leave. She got in Andrés’ way while he tried to get them out.

I saw her main flaw as her refusal to share with Andres. She expected him to open up completely. She also had awful and inconsiderate parents. Before she took such drastic measures, they would have forced her into the marriage they had planned for her. Only after she eloped did they say they would have allowed her to avoid the marriage they arranged for her.

Sometimes, Abby appeared to understand Andrés’ feelings. But her selfishness made her seem worse. She came across as callous and immature. The grand gesture occurred on Christmas Day, but it fell short of the heartwarming story I expected.

In romance stories, I favor the girl, but in this situation, I favor the guy. Andrés, despite his poor reputation, genuinely worked to connect with Abigail. He sought to be open and vulnerable with her. He entered the marriage with no expectations of affection, yet he made repeated efforts to bridge the emotional gap between them. His openness and patience with Abby’s immaturity made me more sympathetic to him.

The limited time we spent with Andrés and Abby while building a home was filled with enjoyment. The couple teamed up to make things work for them. I noticed their feelings for each other were growing, and that made me happy. I was here to watch these two grow up, and it was finally happening. Then came the Christmas party and that ridiculous love test, which messed everything up. Although I applauded Abby’s parents for admitting their mistakes, I do not believe they would have forced her to marry the man with thirteen children, based on their behavior.

Also, I do not think her father’s manipulation of her and Andres after their marriage was justified or acceptable, since it was just another instance of Andres being judged by his circumstances and appearance rather than being given a chance. After enduring that sort of treatment his whole life, getting this ridiculous love test from the woman he had fallen in love with made me feel so bad for him. I did not expect this, nor look forward to it.

Overall, this was an okay book. I had hoped for a more satisfying ending. Yet, the drama felt forced, and the characters did not change, leaving me disappointed. The story had potential, but forced conflicts and unanswered questions made it feel flat.

The book looks so good, but it is not making me feel anything. I first thought it would focus on women’s gatherings full of fun and friendship, enjoying little seasonal treats like cookies and recognizing life’s highs and lows.

I saw that there were too many characters to fit into one chapter. I also felt overwhelmed by the number of facts presented immediately. It was hard for me to remember everything that had happened and who had done what.

I appreciated the recipes at the start of each chapter. Yet, the dialogue was predictable and flat, which made it less enjoyable for me.

I was hoping for a more engaging narrative that would draw me in and make me feel connected to the characters. The story did not have enough depth or emotion, so it was tough to stay interested.

Overall, the book had potential. But its shallow emotions and dull narrative made it tough to connect with the characters and their stories.