I was drawn toward this massive volume of manga, partly because of its cover, partly because of the acclaim of the writers (CLAMP is a highly-tutted group responsible for such series as X, Chobits, xxxHolic, and more), and because this is a series that went out of print for the longest time, and was finally assembled in full by Dark Horse Manga. This volume is also notable for presenting the complete series in its proper back-cover-to-front-cover, right-to-left format as was originally intended. It also contains a number of pages with bonus full-color artwork on glossy paper, making the volume even more worth the money.
The manga itself is a pretty decent and fun read. It's not too dense or complicated at all; it took me just a couple of hours to read all five hundred pages. Most of the action will be in the first volume, which represents the main bulk of the story's conflicts. It portrays an interesting universe that's highly futuristic, but also very retro, like a cross between cyberpunk and steampunk. There are quite a few pursuits and fights in the first volume, building up a a simple yet thrilling storyline. I found it a little tricky trying to understand the characters and what was going on, but then the remaining volumes of the manga goes backwards to reveal the full background of the events. The action dies down substantially as the drama increases in the later volumes; it makes for a rather anticlimactic story arc.
However, it does prove to be a rather strong story, thanks to the flashbacks provided. The later volumes provide so much to the characters, story, and concepts that it makes the first action-packed volume all the more compelling. Above all, I realized that the characters are compelling, and I grew to care for them by the end of the book. It helps make the more tragic scenes stand out stronger, so the manga does have a fair amount of emotional punch. It also helps that the story boasts a number of interesting concepts and ideas, and plays off of them to support the overall story.
My only real complaint is that the story could have been arranged differently. I felt it would have been more prudent to provide the flashbacks either before the main story, or intermixed with it. As it is, with all the background shoved at the end, it left me feeling a little lost during the main conflict, and it felt like it trailed off at the end.
The manga has decent writing. It gets a little melodramatic, especially with its constant repeating of the clover song sung by the main characters, and the constant repeating of phrases like "I want happiness." Still, the book does strike an appropriately poetic and dramatic tone, which I suspect could be adapted into a really awesome anime or film. Artwork is phenomenal, featuring plenty of fantastic-looking scenes and settings. Characters are well-drawn and quite distinctive.
Overall, I was quite happy with this compilation. Recommended.
4.5/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Very Good | Book: Very Good)
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