#I promise I think about characters that aren't Defoe

[sportabrite]

Huntik X Pokemon crossover!!!

...The outfits are a little goofy because I wanted to do something to make them pokemon specific but I didn't have many ideas lol but enjoy! And maybe one day I'll have the motivation to draw some more heh

[noa-ciharu]

Hello! I hope it's okay to ask, but as somebody that's been CLAMP-curious for a while now, where do you think is the best place to start with their manga, specifically? (No triggers or squicks to speak of!) I've considered just going in chronological release order so I'm better able to understand all the tie-ins and references, but I'm intimidated by the sheer amount and kind of stuck in analysis paralysis, haha. I'd appreciate your insight, thank you and no pressure if you'd rather not!

Hi :D

Yea Clamp is sort of infamous for complex connections between their works but I promise situation isn't as grim as it seems. Not all mangas are connected and even if some are it's not always the "you must read xyz first or you won't understand a thing" type of situation. Also chronological order of their mangas isn't necessarily the semantically order of what's going on in their multi-verses so I defo wouldn't recommend that approach (also RG veda, their debut manga, isn't something I'd rec to beginners)

I made a badly organized graph about connections in their works. It's not 100% accurate but I don't think some side character from other manga appearing on 10 pages would cause such confusion to ruin whole experience

Let's start with Separate universes first:

Those 3 aren't all of separate universes but they are the most famous ones. For beginner I'd recommend only Magic Knight Reyrarth. It's a magical girl shojo isekai manga, some humor, romance and drama to it with nice plot twists. Nothing too heavy or hard for understanding so nice for beginners. There are 2 parts, each 3 vols long so you can check out first part to see if it's to your liking.

Universe 1:

You've probably heard of cardcaptor sakura and I've recommend it in similar fashion to magic knight rayearth (except it's even lighter and fluffier and imo better written). Ofc there's always a question of what sort of manga you're looking for, so something so fluffy and cute might not be to everyone's liking. You needn't prior knowledge of any other clamp mangas for ccs.

Tsubasa and xxxholic are whole different thing however.

Out of all clamp mangas, those are most deeply entwined; to the point where it's probably the best to read them at the same time (they were released during same period as well, 2003-2009/2010). Also characters from almost all clamp works appear in Tsubasa; but think of it as alternative universe since even if characters from let's say Clover do appear in tsubasa there's no requirement to read clover in order to understand happenings in tsubasa.

xxxholic you can read without tsubasa up to certain point, then you'd probs be confused without any references to tsubasa. All in all, those are two amazingly done mangas and I'd recommend: 1) tsubasa if you're more into adventures, plot twists, slow burn and found family trope and shonen-ly type of story 2) xxxholic if you're more into gothic josei, philosophy and deeper themes

Legal drug is sequal to Wish and those take same place in xxxholic universe but you don't need to read them to understand xxxholic. Similarly even if some of characters form xxxholic do appear in legal drug it's not rly necessarily to read xxxholic to understand it. Still I wouldn't reccomend legal drug or wish to beginners on simple principle that there are way better written clamp mangas out there

Universe 2:

I'll preface this by saying I never read Angelic Layer so I can't say anything about it rly.

Those 3 are very light mangas and definitely beginner-friendly. Some characters are shared but you won't be too confused by that so no prior knowledge required. I'd rec Chobits here. Looks can be deceiving and that's the case with that manga cuz it's way deeper than it seems ar first glance. Psychological themes along with light plot, romance, comedy and some little echii done in very vanilla way.

Universe 3:

Clamp school Detectives, Duklyon and Man of 20 faces are 3 very short (each is 2 vols long) lighthearted humor mangas. They're connected but since there's 0 serious plot it's not rly a bafflement to read one without another. They just happen to take place in same universe as Tokyo Babylon and X and reading those isn't necessary. I'd rec those 3 if you're looking for crack-y humor and a way to relax.

X is sequal to Tokyo Babylon and it spoils almost all happenings in Tokyo Babylon so I can't rly reccomend it (also it would traumatize beginner for life lol). Tokyo Babylon is social criticism tragedy drama with psychological elements added to it; as well as some comedy, drama and romance. It's 7 vols long and defo leaves a lasting impression so I'd rec it to beginners.

All in all, I'd say go with Magic Knight Reyearth, Cardcaptor sakura, xxxholic and/or Tsubasa (but if you read one read another tok cuz it'll be confusing otherwise) or Tokyo Babylon

[skunked-up-kicks]

okay so, firstly, andrew doesn't actually stick to his promises as much as he would have you believe... we all know about his promise to aaron (there was a part of the ec which said it exactly but i tried searching for it and honestly the ec is too big :/ it's annoying to try and find)

anyway, aaron and andrew made a promise that they would 'stick together' and have 'no girlfriends. no friends. no nothing' (if i remember correctly- something along those lines lol). andrew is breaking this promise right from the very beginning of the series due to his obvious friendship with renee.

andrew would deny and say they aren't friends but it's very obvious they are, i mean there's literally a scene where they talk about getting brunch together.. if that's not friendship, i don't know what to call it.

you can also argue that andrew is clearly friends with kevin and then later makes friends with neil, again, breaking the promise. though andrew would tell himself he only hangs out with these people due to the promises he made with them.. it's kinda clear that there's more to it than that.

so if andrew had broken his promise to kevin, this would not have been so out of character and erasing key points/development of characters as you think it is. it would have actually been surprisingly in character of him.

secondly, andrew doesn't actually break his promise at all.

see -> "andrew promised kevin he could stay at psu, and that he'd stand between riko & kevin."

the question asked was about what if kevin had died, but the important part here is the specifics of andrews promise.

andrew choking kevin doesn't break this promise they made. now, andrew does defend kevin when matt and seth go for him, but this isn't so much as to keep a promise as it is to likely make kevin more assured of his ability to protect him. ultimately, andrew wasn't bound by his promise to protect kevin in these instances. he could have chosen not too and still been a 'man of his word'.

when it comes to andreil supposedly being the focus of the books... i just don't see it? neil is the focus as the main character, and that remains true to the end. the series doesn't end when andreil get together, cause it's not actually about that. don't get me wrong, they get a fair amount of focus, but of course they do- they are the main couple after all, this isn't something exclusive to aftg. but having a good amount of focus on them doesn't make the series as a whole about them specifically.

i understand that the upperclassmen defo get less attention, but there's less to do with them in terms of development. there's still some stuff that can be done, sure, but they've already developed pre-series after joining the foxes and being there a while. besides, it would have really difficult to put equal focus and development on all the foxes while dealing with the craziness that is neils story. and tbh, kevin gets a lot more narrative focus than the upperclassmen do, and i don't think this is set back by the choking scene or that it erases his character development, given the fact that he still goes on to defy riko and get his tattoo covered up.

also, i'm curious: what subplots and plot lines did nora not complete as a consequence of supposedly making the focus on andreil?

i do 100% agree though that there should be room for all voices in this fandom, and more than that, i honestly think we need more discussion- from people from opposing sides especially.

Whenever people are mad that Andrew ended up making Neil a priority over so many other things I’m just like… I think it’s really smart and valid and sexy of him to prioritize Neil’s safety and wants over everything and everyone else, I don’t see an issue there. If anything his flaw was taking the time he did to get there

anon... i am begging you to slide into my dms for this, i need to follow you this instance 🙏

the thing that makes it Ultra Sexy + Valid is that it's reciprocated!!! i can't iimagine looking at a couple that is devoted to each other and fantastic at consent and communication and being like "ugh they need to be less intense about their love :/". i honestly don't see an issue with neil being the most important person in his life (and vice versa) because this does not mean that they are the only important people in each others lives, or that they don't value themselves highly either.

it just means they see each other at someone they can spend the rest of their lives with, trust with anything, get some cats with, someone who understands them more than anyone else- i won't start lol. honestly, if what andrew did in the books was putting neil above everything then it seems like that was the best thing ever did. he chooses neil over aaron and ends up with the chance to fix his relationship with his brother *and* gets to keep neil at the same time.

by andrew choosing neil and 'putting him above everything else', he's also valuing himself. and choosing what's best for himself. finally letting himself entertain the idea that maybe he could have something permanent. he's letting himself be vulnerable for the first time :') and allowing himself to fall despite being terrified.

besides, neil wants what's best for andrew, but not what he personally thinks is best, instead he listens to andrew. and let's him decide. neil would never ask andrew for something he can't give.

alright alright, i NEED to stop myself before i carry on. i've already wrote too much and it's barely coherent 😭 i just spent the entire time being a sap. anyway! i love andreil to death <3 and thank you sm for this ask anon!! 🧡