Now then, I'm in a CLAMPing mood. (I apologize for that pun, readers) Recall back to last year. I watched the anime version of Cardcaptor Sakura, and I loved it. Shortly after that, I started reading Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. And I also tried watching its anime version, which left a bad taste in my mouth after having read Tsubasa vol 1. However, I waited to read Tsubasa on purpose. According to my research, Tsubasa wasn't just a mere mega-crosover series; it was actually a sort of sequel to CCS, only Darker and Edgier. And guess what? That's true. Hence why I also started to collect XXXHolic, because the two series interact with one another.
Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, and XXXHolic all have two things in common. One, they're by the same authors and artists obviously. Two, they all revolve around a character named Clow Reed. Unofficially, I like to refer to the three series collectively as The Clow Reed saga. (No, you can't trademark that.) CCS takes place at least several years before TRC and XXXHolic. It's much lighter in tone, there are no villains, nobody dies, (although Sakura's mom died in the past) and everyone lives happily ever after . . . . . . .
OR DO THEY!?!?!?!?!?!!?
Oh, sorry. You see, the Clow Reed saga is unfolding the same way Harry Potter did. CCS is like the first Harry Potter books; the characters are kids, nothing too bad happens, and life goes on. Then we get to the early volumes of TRC and XXXHolic. Characters are a little older, things are a little more serious, but people manage in a way. Then you get to the later volumes, and holy shit, they're like the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and everything that happened afterwards in HP. Also, keep this in mind; J.K. Rowling intended her readers to grow up with the book series, hence why Harry is a child in the first book, and eventually matures into his late teens in the end. The first volume of CCS came out in 1996. Sakura and Shaoran are 10 years old. The first volume of TRC came out either in 2004. Sakura and Shaoran, or rather, the TRC Sakura and Shaoran, look like they're in their late teens. This strategy worked really well for Rowling, and it seems to be working for CLAMP too.
But, where does XXXHolic fit in all of this? Yuko claims to have met Clow when he was alive. Not only that, but she always speaks of a concept called "Hitsuzen", which means that certain events are pre-ordained, but what people decide to do with said events is all up to them. Since CCS existed before TRC and XXXHolic did, the term, "Hitsuzen" is never mentioned, but the way things play out would obviously allude to that. The fact that Cerberus chose Sakura to collect the cards, that he and Yue would watch over her, Kaho's gift to Sakura, and the fact that she eventually became Master of the Clow Cards would all be examples of Hitsuzen. None of these things were acts of coincidence.
And now, the central character in all of this, Clow Reed. First of all, who is he, really? We don't really know that much about him. All we know is his father was English, his mother was Chinese, he was superbly gifted in magical powers, and he created the Clow Cards. Other than that, we don't know much about him. Shaoran, or, the CCS Shaoran, said that Reed had an eccentric personality. Yuko said Reed was a creep. And also, what exactly is he trying to accomplish? He could do magic yeah, but did he have an underlying goal of any kind? And what of Fei Wong Reed? He has the same last name as Clow Reed, and his first and middle name would allude to Clow's Chinese background. How are they connected? I can't say.
But still, in my mind, the Clow Reed saga is CLAMP's masterpiece, even though it's still not finished. I have seen Chobits and part of Angelic Layer, but I didn't enjoy them as much. And while Tsubasa does reference other CLAMP works, most of these involve alterate realities as opposed to the "real" versions of most of their characters and worlds.
Is your mind blown yet?
