Tsubasa Series Profile - All About the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Anime Series

The Gist:

While standing on a mysterious symbol in some ancient ruins, Princess Sakura is pulled into a strange vortex. She is saved by her friend Syaoran, but her soul and her memories have been transformed into feathers and scattered across the Universe. Syaoran must find the feathers and save the princess.

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The History:

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is based upon an ongoing manga by Clamp that debuted in Weekly Shonen Magazine in May 2003. The manga was licensed by Del Rey Manga for North American release and adapted into an anime series by Bee Train.

The series premiered on NHK in Japan on April 9, 2005, and concluded Season 2 in November 2006 with a total of 52 episodes. It was licensed by FUNimation for North American distribution and was released on DVD on May 22, 2007.

The series also spawned a short movie, Tsubasa Chronicle the Movie: The Princess of the Country of Birdcages, and three-part OVA, Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations.

Manga vs. Anime:

The Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle anime series relies loosely on the manga, but also contains several episodes that are exclusive to the anime only.

The anime also includes a few extra worlds not found in the manga -- Ghost Island, Lagosta and Tirol.

How to Watch:

Seven volumes of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (plus starter sets) have been released on DVD so far by FUNimation with volume 8 released on September 30, 2008.

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Genres:

Romance, supernatural, adventure, drama, fantasy

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Studios:

FUNimation & Clamp

Rating:

TV-PG

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The Review:

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is perhaps the "twistiest" of twists that we've seen in anime and manga in quite some time. In true Clamp fashion, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle features a collection of characters from the illuminating ClampVerse such as Princess Sakura of the Clow Kingdom (Card Captor Sakura) and Seishiro (Tokyo Babylon, X).

But what really makes this one fun is that Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is also a cross-over with xxxHOLiC, another Clamp baby and the two series intertwine throughout both storylines.

The animation is, of course, exceptionally done, and the story takes us from world to world, each with its own mystery to solve as Syaoran continues his search for Sakura's memory feathers. This allows each episode to work almost as a stand-alone, while also tying them all together with the underlying plot.