Tokyo Babylon

Subaru is an onmyoji and the 13th head of the Sumeragi clan. Subaru, along with his beloved twin sister, Hokuto, and their friend Seishiro, fight evil spirits and help lost spirits find their way. Solving one paranormal mystery after another, Subaru deals with his sister's teasing about Seishiro and him being a couple. Not that Seishiro ever denied it, but he's just playing along with her&ldots;right? That's what the adorably innocent and oblivious Subaru believes. If that wasn't enough for a teen to deal with, Subaru, also, has a bet with mysterious assassin, which could decide whether he lives or dies.

CLAMP strikes again. Though the art is nice, I don't think it's as detailed as in some of CLAMP's other works. There are quite a few surprising twists, although some of them are expected. Tokyo Babylon takes place a few years before X/1999. In X Subaru and Seishiro once again make an appearance as main characters and problems that were not solved in Tokyo Babylon are solved in X. I really enjoy seeing the differences in Subaru in Tokyo Babylon in X. The development was great, CLAMP knew how to make Subaru seem more changed in X, without totally flipping around his personality in the two manga.

Tokyo Babylon was created by the artist group, CLAMP. The manga is 7 volumes long and has been published in English by Tokyopop. A short, one volume, anime has been made, which has also come out in English.

I would recommend it rated 13+ due to shounen-ai (boy/boy) and dark themes (like death).

Characters

Subaru Sumeragi- Innocent, unbelievably cute, and exceedingly sweet. Subaru is the young teenage boy who stars in the lovely manga. Subaru hates to see people suffer and is always trying to be helpful and polite. He is the 13th head of a powerful onmyoji clan. He has special powers and uses them to help spirits as well as save humans from evil paranormal beings. He cares about Hokuto very much and cherishes, along with Seishiro, her above all else. He always blushes when Hokuto teases him about being romantically involved with Seishiro, even more so when Seishiro plays along with her and agrees. Subaru isn't sure of Seishiro's true feelings for him, but is just happy being close to him. The only time we see Subaru truly upset is when Seishiro is hurt. Subaru is a cheerful and friendly person, full of naivety. Events at the end of Tokyo Babylon shape Subaru's character into who he is in X. The changes are impressive as it shows development and that he how deeply he was affected by the tragic incidences.

Hokuto Sumeragi- Subaru's dear twin sister. The look very much alike. Hokuto is more outgoing and loud, but is still cute. She is constantly trying to throw Seishiro and her brother together and loves to tease him about it. Hokuto cares just as deeply for Subaru as he does for her. She will risk everything, even her life for him to be happy. Hokuto loves fashion and has fun dressing up Subaru in all kinds of outfits. Even though she has no special powers like Subaru, Hokuto is very strong-willed and cares for others very much.

Seishiro Sakurazuka- The kind veterinarian who is friends with Subaru and Hokuto. He joins in Hokuto's teasing, pretending he and Subaru are deeply in love. Though, he never truly states his feelings, it is clear he cares about Subaru. It is obvious Seishiro is not who he seems. He, too, has powers and is in fact a very dangerous and mysterious person.

 

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