Review: TOKYO BABYLON

 Since we have been mercifully spared the anime adaptation of this series until the spring, now's the time to talk about one of CLAMP's most underrated works.

TOKYO BABYLON, by CLAMP.  First published in 1990, and first published in North America in 2004.

PLOT:

In the bustling city of Tokyo, there are mysteries too strange for any detective and too personal for any doctor.  In those cases, they need the help of young Subaru Sumeragi.  The latest in a long line of onmyoji, he serves as as sort of exorcist to save people from dark, nebulous forces around and within them.  Subaru achieves this not only with his power, but with his inexhaustible kindness and empathy for others.  In turn, Subaru's stylish, vivacious twin sister Hotaru looks out for him, along with family friend/local vet Seishirou.  Yet Subaru can't help but find himself drawn to Seishirou, for reasons he can't quite remember...

STORY:

Tokyo Babylon is kind of fascinating when you look at it in the context of CLAMP's larger library of works.  While there is a monster-of-the-week sort of format, its structure is a little more free-form than your average CLAMP manga.  Chapters go on longer than most manga, which is why there's only 3 chapters in the first volume and even fewer in later ones.  Yet that space does not go to waste.  When CLAMP isn't using it to stage some creative and interesting supernatural struggles, they're using it for character-building time with Subaru, Hotaru, and Seishirou.

It's not unusual to find a CLAMP manga starring a kind, earnest ingenue of a protagonist, but this is one of the rare instances where said character is a boy.  Subaru is the goodest of good boys, the ultimate cinnamon roll, a boy all too ready to sacrifice his own well-being for the sake of others.  Luckily for him, he has Hotaru to look out for him.  She's more of a regular teen, easily distracted by fashion and fun, but she clearly loves her brother and looks out for his health and well-being even when he can't be bothered.  As for Seishirou...well, you should be getting warning signs from a grown man who pals around exclusively with teens, and that's even before the last chapter where CLAMP all but bonks you on the head with "this man is deeply suspicious."

Tokyo Babylon's most interesting quality is also its most ephemeral: its atmosphere.  In many ways it's a snapshot of urban Japan at the very peak of their economic bubble.  Everyone has crazy money, technology, and fashion, but all that decadence can't stop people from suffering and disconnection, and that's the service that Subaru helps to provide.  Just like those economic good times, you know this isn't going to end well, but the characters and the modern (at the time) twists on supernatural phenomenon make it interesting enough that you don't want to look away.

ART:

Tokyo Babylon is not as visually over-the-top as some of CLAMP's later works from the 90s, but that just makes it easier to appreciate what they bring to this one visually.  The artwork is shadowy and moody, and sometimes it's downright dream-like in its use of imagery and shifting faces.  It's a noticeable difference from the everyday scenes with our main trio, which are more straightforward and focused mostly on their faces.  There's not a great deal of scenery beyond the odd cityscape, so most of the spectacle comes from the fashion everyone is wearing.  This is most obvious with Hokuto, but even Seishirou sports a sharp suit and Subaru's flat hat and long coat not only show off his sister's influence, but also evokes a sort of holy uniform.

PRESENTATION:

Like most of the re-releases handled by Dark Horse, the more recent omnibuses for this series are a vast improvement over the previous single volumes from Tokyopop.  The translation is better polished, the image and paper quality are a vast improvement, and all the color artwork (the highlight of any CLAMP manga) is preserved.

RATING:

Even now, Tokyo Babylon is still probably one of CLAMP's most underrated works.  Maybe it's simply overshadowed by its connections to the far more messy and epic X/1999, or maybe it just got lost in the sheer amount of classics that CLAMP pumped out in the 90s.  Regardless, it manages to take a very small cast and a fairly vague concept and make it work thanks to good character writing and a lot of atmospheric art.  Enjoy it now before anime fandom at large associates it with failure and wonky CGI.

This series was published by Dark Horse and formerly by Tokyopop.  This series is complete in Japan with 7 volumes available.  All 7 volumes have been released in 2 omnibuses, and are currently out of print.