I have enjoyed a wide variety of manga for years, from Ken Akamatsu's Love Hina and Negima to Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin and Buso Renkin, even Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. Although I have not taken such a keen interest in CLAMP's work, there is one work that has brought me to take a second look.
Anyone who has read Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle knows that it is technically one-half of a crossover with another CLAMP title. I tried reading Tsubasa, but I will admit it does not appeal to me. What has impressed me, however, is it's crossover, xxxHolic. The story behind Kimihiro Watanuki and his antics have been very enjoyable for me. It is currently at Volume 11, while Tsubasa has almost two dozen volumes of manga. And while I have been content to wait months ( gonk ) for the next volume of xxxHolic, I am beginning to feel that I am being left out on large sections of plotline which develop outside of the story.
So my current dilemna is whether or not to get past my dislike of Tsubasa and read the crossover, so I can enjoy the full story? Or should I continue devoting my time to xxxHolic and simply accept that there are parts of the story that will remain vague? I don't really like crossovers...not so much because of the increased budget costs, but because I feel I'm being taken for a ride as a reader.
PS: A terrible event has occured in my life. Well, not my personal life, but definately my gaming one. Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons & Dragons and Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), passed into immortality on March 4. The man created two of the greatest game systems I have ever played. For an intensely introverted young nerd before High School, playing AD&D with friends after school gave me one of the few social outlets I could claim for myself. And although I have played around, claiming that Gygax was my very own savior, I have always had a respect for the man. I never got to meet the man, but I wish I could have.
Patton · Sat Mar 08, 2008 @ 01:49am · 0 Comments |