Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young archaeologist who is her childhood friend, goes on a quest to save her. Dimensional Witch Yūko Ichihara instructs him to go with two people, Kurogane and Fai D. Flowright. They search for Sakura's memories, which were scattered in various worlds in the form as feathers, as gathering them will help save her soul. Tsubasa was conceived when four Clamp artists wanted to create a manga series that connected all their previous works. They took the designs for the main protagonists from their earlier manga called Cardcaptor Sakura.
It was serialized in the Kodansha publication Weekly Shōnen Magazine from May 2003 until October 2009, and was collected in twenty-eight tankōbon volumes. The manga was adapted into an anime series, Tsubasa Chronicle, animated by Bee Train, which aired 52 episodes over two seasons during 2005 and 2006. Production I.G released an interlude film between the first two seasons titled The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom, as well as five original video animations (OVAs) between November 2007 and May 2009, which acted as a sequel to the second season. Various video games and drama CDs based on the series have been released. The manga was licensed for English language release by Del Rey Manga, who has released all of its volumes since April 27, 2004. Funimation Entertainment licensed the anime for English release. They published all the TV episodes in DVD volumes as well as the film. The OVAs of Tsubasa were released in North America in January 2011.
The series has been well received by Japanese and English readers, and it reached high positions on various best-seller lists; the series has sold over twenty million manga volumes in Japan as of September 2009. Both the manga and anime have had positive response from critics, who praised its connections to previous works and its artwork. The plot twists in later parts of the story have been generally praised for how they affect the overall plot as well as for being surprising. However, they have been criticized for being confusing.
Tsubasa explores the fragility of human relationships through Sakura losing all of her memories involving Syaoran. Despite this tragedy, Syaoran forms new bonds across his journey. Furthermore, Sakura once again develops feelings for Syaoran who at the same time starts falling for her again. The development of the characters' relationship demostrates how while modern society depends on already existing one, a severed one can be reformed if people have the will.
Another theme in the series is the use of identical people as a result of the characters travelling to parallel worlds where they find alternative versions of people they met before. Despite sharing the same physical appearances, these identical versions have been through different experiences earning their own identities. Syaoran also has his own doppeldanger commonly referred as "The Other Syaoran" who at the same time shares the same identity as the protagonist from xxxHolic, Kimihiro Watanuki. Across the series, these character are developed and choose their own paths to earn their own identites.
It was serialized in the Kodansha publication Weekly Shōnen Magazine from May 2003 until October 2009, and was collected in twenty-eight tankōbon volumes. The manga was adapted into an anime series, Tsubasa Chronicle, animated by Bee Train, which aired 52 episodes over two seasons during 2005 and 2006. Production I.G released an interlude film between the first two seasons titled The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom, as well as five original video animations (OVAs) between November 2007 and May 2009, which acted as a sequel to the second season. Various video games and drama CDs based on the series have been released. The manga was licensed for English language release by Del Rey Manga, who has released all of its volumes since April 27, 2004. Funimation Entertainment licensed the anime for English release. They published all the TV episodes in DVD volumes as well as the film. The OVAs of Tsubasa were released in North America in January 2011.
The series has been well received by Japanese and English readers, and it reached high positions on various best-seller lists; the series has sold over twenty million manga volumes in Japan as of September 2009. Both the manga and anime have had positive response from critics, who praised its connections to previous works and its artwork. The plot twists in later parts of the story have been generally praised for how they affect the overall plot as well as for being surprising. However, they have been criticized for being confusing.
Tsubasa explores the fragility of human relationships through Sakura losing all of her memories involving Syaoran. Despite this tragedy, Syaoran forms new bonds across his journey. Furthermore, Sakura once again develops feelings for Syaoran who at the same time starts falling for her again. The development of the characters' relationship demostrates how while modern society depends on already existing one, a severed one can be reformed if people have the will.
Another theme in the series is the use of identical people as a result of the characters travelling to parallel worlds where they find alternative versions of people they met before. Despite sharing the same physical appearances, these identical versions have been through different experiences earning their own identities. Syaoran also has his own doppeldanger commonly referred as "The Other Syaoran" who at the same time shares the same identity as the protagonist from xxxHolic, Kimihiro Watanuki. Across the series, these character are developed and choose their own paths to earn their own identites.
