Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Tokyo Revelations - Reviews

Well, even though I do like the manga of Tsubasa Chronicle and think it quiete got it's own personal charm and note. I never liked the anime adaption. Yes, I dropped it. The adaption was kinda boring and ... well, don't worry. I'm not gonna make a TC review lol. I'm just drifiting away. OK, back to topic. That's the reason why it really took a while till I gave TC: TR a try. Thanks god to my fried, who told me to do that lol.

 

Story:

As usual Shaolan and Co. are searching for one of Sakura's memory fragment, they ended up in one of those many parallel universes again. This time it seems like they land on an apocalyptical world. The precise location: Tokyo(yes, the title already hinted that lol). They will meet two groups(our buddies from X/1999 just in their parallel world lol), who are fighting over one of the last water resorts.

The story is a more darker, serious and progressing part here by TR. Due the 3 episodes it's quiete compact and dynamic. One of the more riddle/surprise of the main story plot will be also revealed. So intead the daily journey, TR is giving some twists. While you are watching TR with interest, you will get a roller-coaster ride with highs, but also some downs. I do thought that the last part with Sakura was kinda well boring and plain compared to the rest.

Personally I'd say you don't need to have to watch the anime or read the manga to watch the OVA. But you will of course be confronted with some questions and confusion sometimes, because of the lacking knowledge of the background. But overall it's not very drastically and you still would be able to keep up. I'd recommend to read the manga instead of watching the anime, if you don't want to jump at the deep end.

 

Animation:

The animation is quiete splendid, the backgrounds aren't in HD or movie niveau, but they are still detailed enough. I especially have to point out the awesome fighting scenes. The cheography and animation of those fights are really good and I'm really strict, if it comes to the animation of fights. The fight between Kamui and Kurogane at the first episode is the most outstanding from the OVA. 

 

Sound:

I'm a Yuki Kajiura fan, so the scores/BGM is of course appealing to me. Fast and ostentatious strings for the action scenese and besides of that most time fitting pieces for the fantasy setting. Yuki Kajiura understands how to make her job totally, but it's maybe only due my bias lol. 

The seiyuus all got fitting voices for their chars. Some voices I like more (Kamui, Shaolan, Fye), some less (Kurogane: too deep for me, Makona).

 

Characters:

 With only 3 OVAs you can not expect that the viewer be completely taken by the characters. The time just surely is not sufficient for it. But TCTR still manage to arouse the interest for some chars like Fye, Kamui and Syaoran.

Conclusion:

A well-made OVA in comparison to it's TV counterpart. A must for a fan either if your are disappointed from the anime adaption or not.  And I would still recommend for those, who are not a fan (yet). 

I'm still asking myself why I chose this as my first-ever review on this site, as it is rather tricky to review a series where many people would completely disagree with my opinion. However, I've chosen to ignore that fact and present this review to the best of my ability.

Tsubasa Chronicle is probably one of the most debated CLAMP works to date, be it the manga, anime or OVAs. Former CLAMP fans and readers/watchers new to the CLAMP universe (or CLAMPverse) are divided in their opinions - some praise it for the art and complexity of the plot, while others criticise it for the same reasons. However, this review deals only with the Tokyo Revelations OVA.

First off, if you haven't read the manga up until this point, stay away. Many people may look upon this OVA as a continuation of the anime series (which is what I thought it to be as well before watching) but in reality, it continues from where the plot of the anime deviated from the plot of the manga. I also warn you, this is not a happy arc, so if you are used to the overall optimistic side of the series and cannot see it from this perspective, do not watch this OVA.

As far as the story goes, it is a direct adaptation of the manga arc in question. The world of Tokyo and the events concernng it were interesting, and a particularly large revelation was made here (which I won't reveal, for those who haven't seen it yet). Overall, the storyline of this arc is good and well laid out in the anime as well.

The animation, as expected of Production I.G., is fabulous. I.G. is known for its high-quality animation and as this is an OVA, the budget spent on it was larger than on the anime. And it shows. The action is more pronounced, the backgrounds well-illustrated and the characters show much more emotion, as compared to the dull emotionless eyes in the anime before it. A perfect score in this department.

Yuki Kajiura's music brings the right amount of tension to dramatic moments, and slows it down perfectly during moments of sadness. The music of this series lives up to her reputation, so there is nothing more that needs to be said. The opening theme is Synchronicity, sung by Yui Makino (Sakura's voice actor). The ending theme, Saigo no Kajitsu, is sung by Maaya Sakamoto, who has featured prominently even in past CLAMP works. Both suit the series well.

The really tricky part of this review is the characters. On one hand, if you consider the personalities of Syaoran and Sakura in Cardcaptor Sakura, they are almost completely different in Tsubasa (regular readers/watchers will know this). This is one reason as to why they have been criticised repeatedly. On the other hand, this change was required for the Shonen demographic and it adapts quite well if you are able to consider them as two almost-separate sets of characters. Or according to the CLAMP principle, "people who have been raised under different conditions but retain the same souls."

In my experience, I happened to find Tsubasa before Cardcaptor Sakura, and as a result, the 'change in personality' did not affect me significantly. The main characters are likeable to me in both series'. As for original characters, Kurogane and Fai may be seen as 'the grumpy one who likes fighting' and 'the ever-optimistic one who always smiles', but their characters run deeper than that. Both have troubled pasts, each one choosing to keep his concealed in his own way.CLAMP does a good job of gradually revealing said pasts, although that doesn't happen in this OVA. However, there is a fairly good amount of character development all the same.

The supporting cast comprises of characters recycled from previous' CLAMP series', the majority being from X/1999 as it appears to be set in the same (or similar) world. I'm not familiar with this series so I did not pay any special attention to them, however, fans will probably appreciate them a little more.

Overall, this OVA adapts the Tokyo arc brilliantly and is almost-completely faithful to the manga that provides us Tsubasa fans with a much-needed improvement from the anime. If you are a fan of CLAMP and/or Tsubasa in particular, I highly recommend it. If you have not seen the preceding anime series, it doesn't matter as long as you are familiar with the manga. In fact, you're better off not watching the anime at all.

How do I explain the transition from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Season Two to the first of the two OVA’s meant to offer some sense of resolution, Tokyo Revelations?  Think along these lines.  Have a simple plot just walking along, minding its own business.  A gang of hoodlums swing into the attack.  The plot is  turned on head, beaten and  bloodied a little ... no, make that bloodied a lot.  With a violent body-slam the plot writhes in pain.  The plot-referee happens to pass by and says, 'No foul here.  Play on!’  This becomes the best metaphor of what I could explain the passing of TRC to Tokyo Revelations.

With a humble air of befuddlement, I present to you Tokyo Revelations, or the answer to the question, with whom has Sakura been out on a quasi-date for those two seasons of TRC?  If you thought Syaoran … hah!  And the boy floating in Fei-Wang Reed's bubble-machine?  Syaoran's clone?  Foooooooool!

Thanks to darciel who noted that anyone could get lost in this resolution if they don't read the manga for the portions that happened beyond season two.  Tokyo Revelations seeks to unify the group who will now discover the basis for their common destiny.   The quest for Sakura's feathers binds the four more closely than one would expect.  Kurogane seeks his mother’s killer.  Fay would escape the man who would exploit his magical powers.  Syaoran wishes to regain Sakura’s memories, even if his part will be purged from them.  Sakura would love being less of that helpless amnesiac.

Setting is important in any story, and, as you might guess, this time it’s Tokyo.  But this city is in ruins, destroyed by a harsh apocalyptic world where acid rain erodes everything and resources as water are in scarce supply and viciously protected by the survivors.  In the first two episodes, Sakura is fighting to emerge from a coma-like state.  In this world Sakura sees faces from unknown places, her father, brother, friend Yukito, Clow Reed, Tomoyo ... but to her, all unknown entities.  Yet she can't escape her coma even though a friendly voice prompts her to do so.

The boy from Fei-Wang's booth escapes and invades this God-forsaken world of Tokyo devastated.  In the melee which his clone causes, Fay becomes a special victim, losing an eye so that the clone can reclaim vision in his lost eye.  The clone would have dispatched Fay completely, except for the appearance of Kurogane.  The clone batters the ninja and is finally driven off by the vampire Kamui who has come to Tokyo to rescue his brother Subaru.  The one they thought was Syaoran was on the search for the magic feathers to aid Fei-Wang's efforts to travel across the realms.  Now that he has been discovered, he retreats to Fei Wong's lair.  The true Syaoran, fresh escaped from Reed's den, wears clothes which bear the markings of the sword which slew Kurogane's mother.

Sakura emerges from her coma to see the two Syaorans battle, and she appeals for them to stop.  The clone departs, leaving the sanctuary where the survivors of the ecological onslaught are now imperiled.  Their security was based on the power of the Sakura-feather, now taken by the clone.  Sakura agrees to go on a hazardous journey to reclaim the power which will preserve the frail supports for the beleaguered Tokyo.  This is a quest which Sakura must go on alone, thanks to the terms of the Dimensional Witch, Yuko.  The effort nearly destroys Sakura, but, led by the vision of the fourth-grade Sakura Kinomoto, Sakura staggers back to her friends.  With the new Sakura-feather, the hopes for a restoration of a viable environment can begin.  But for the TRC gang, their quest continues.  Kurogane knows the identity of his mother's killer.  Fei Wong Reed.  Fay is drained of a good share of his magical power, but being powerless would make him free of Reed's schemes to keep him captive.  Knowing that any further jumping about the realms could assist Fei Wong's plans, the party is still ready to take the quest forward.

The plot becomes overly complicated and confusing, but such is the tight, intricate storylines of CLAMP.  Ingenious story-telling.  If nothing else, this could be a recommendation to read the manga.  Animes have their inspirations, and this OVA, perplexing as it was, was beyond inspired.