Tokyo Babylon - CLAMP

Tokyo Babylon is a manga by the wonderful girls at CLAMP. It is one of their earliest publications, done back in 1991, but even back then their art is breathtaking with vivid backgrounds and beautiful characters and their story is well worth the read. Set in the 1980s, the story revolves around 16 year old Subaru, a descendant of the Sumeragi clan who uses the ancient art of onmyoujitsu to protect the living and give peace to the dead in the cursed city of Tokyo. It's a story that's closely tied to the time and setting. Tokyo is not just a stage where the action takes place, it is given its own personality as though it were a character all on its own. Time and time again do characters state their feelings for the city - how they love it and how they hate it.

In terms of plot, Tokyo Babylon does not quite have one, so it's hard to explain what genre it is or what people should expect from it. The plot has no linear structure; instead, different events revolve around the same characters of certain circumstances, so you can easily pick up book 5 without ever having read book 4. The characters develop over the course of the story. They fall in love, they bond, they explore the mysteries of their city, and they overcome the angst that CLAMP is still so fond of. I have only read the first three and I am already in love with the series and its characters. Highly recommended, along with most of CLAMP's other works.

Weishan Chin

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