I have no idea what it's doing but it is cute and has nonbinary characters. And I adore CLAMP. ( )

Review originally found on Looking Glass Reads.

Some of the first manga I’ve ever read was from CLAMP. I’ve read (and watched) the usual stuff – Tsubara: Reservoir Chronicle, Cardcaptor Sakura, xxxHolic. But I never even heard of Wish before I found it tucked away in a used book sale at my local library. I stared at the cover, and wracked my brain, but nothing came up. So I did what any other fan would do – purchase it immediately and worry about details like plot and why exactly I never heard so much as a whisper about this manga afterwards.

Wish is a four volume manga by CLAMP. Originally published in the magazine Mystery DX in 1995, it was released in four volumes the following year, 1996, before coming to America via TokyoPop in 2002.

And, well, there’s a reason Wish was overlooked in comparison to some of CLAMP's other work.

Honestly, I picked this manga up because it said CLAMP on the side, not for the cover art or description. I’d not gotten a recommendation. I went into this book completely blind. I didn’t even read the summary on the back. The plot is, for the most part, been done before. Perhaps not exactly, but there are enough similar manga out there. Suichiro, a doctor, saves an angel named Kohaku from an attacking crow, and the angel then grants the human one wish. But Suichiro doesn’t have anything he wants to wish for. In order to thank Suichiro for his kindness, she stays at his home and helps with chores as she continues on her own, prior mission which is revealed in later chapters.

The first two chapters follow this well-worn path. The angel can do little in the way of cooking or cleaning, isn’t very good at household chores. She’s a bit clutzy, and feels badly for not being very helpful. Suichiro doesn’t seem to mind one way or another that she’s taken up residence. There’s a demon, the opposing force to the angels, whose day is taken up with the sole intent of antagonizing our heroine for the fun of it. And that’s the way I assumed the rest of the manga would go – a bit of a slice of life with some decent character development but little in the way of an overarching plot.

Then, all of a sudden, it was like someone flipped a switch and said ‘by the way, here’s the plot.’ The pacing is all over the place. The book starts slow, introduces the plot, and then gets slower by the end again, breaking into some long exposition. Much of what we learn in the second half of the manga isn’t necessarily hinted at in the first half.

As far as character designs go, I have some mixed feelings. The use of chibi art style and the more everyday manga art style is quite clever, even with explanations of why within the context of the story. There’s even an entertaining line or two on it in the beginning when Suichiro finds Kohaku and she’s in her chibi form. I admired the attempt at this, and it worked well, at least within the first half of the story. But, mostly, the art style doesn’t feel like CLAMP.

Some people might find this to be a good thing. Their art style is highly stylized, with limbs so long and thin that they can reach the point of absurdity. But the style is distinctly their own, and marks their work. The only place where their art style really shined was during transformation scenes when the angels or devils turned from chibi to normal again. These large, two page transformations show the usual CLAMP art style rather well, and are some of the best art the manga has to offer. The image on the cover also reflects their usual art style rather well.

This is a series that falls decidedly into mediocrity. It isn’t bad by any means, but there isn’t much to make it stand out from the crowd. It has its good points. It has its flaws. Was I interested enough to keep reading? Yeah, I suppose. But I probably won’t go out of my way to find the rest of the series. There’s some interesting lore about the demons and the angels. But, for the most part, a lot of the story felt like things we’ve seen before (and after).

If you happen upon Wish, give it a try by all means, especially if you’re looking for a shorter series. But CLAMP has better work out there that is more reflective of both the art style and story they are capable of. ( )

The story is about Kohaku the angel and Shuichiro the human, who meet and fall in love. Well, not quite yet, but they are clearly the central couple in this small CLAMP series, destined for true love. Shuichiro finds Kohaku crying in a tree one night. She is in her chibi form, and looks like a child or a doll, but with wings. He saves her from a crow, and she declares that she must stay with him until she has repaid the favor by granting him one wish, even though he can't believe at first that she is an angel and thinks he must be dreaming. In the morning, however, she is still there. Kohaku transforms into her full size form (later on explaining that she can only maintain that shape during the day). Shuichiro quickly comes to accept her story, and seems content with her staying in his house, in his unemotional way. He doesn't make wish, though, because he says his life is good the way it is. His life is complicated, though, when the demon Koryu, who delights in tormenting Kohaku (he is always in chibi size during the day, and full form at night), arrives. Then, Kohaku reveals that she came to Earth to find Madame Hisu, a master angel who is very important to her. Together, they do find Hisui, only to learn the she has fallen in love with a very powerful demon (Lucifer's son) and decided to run away with him.

This manga has a sweet and subtle feel to it, which is at odds with its grand background of heaven and hell. Although, to be honest, the mythology in this world is an interesting thing, not at all Christian or emulating the Bible, but rather taking the character tropes of angels and demons and building their own mythos for them. The angel and demon type give CLAMP the excuse to draw extremely beautiful people, although that is their pretty standard MO. Kohaku is adorable, and I understand why all the characters are smitten with Shuichiro, because he is one good looking doctor, also good with children and cooking and has a great house. Even without a dramatic plot, where the action is restricted to some squabbling between Kohaku and Koryu, the book is engaging. CLAMP is excellent at crafting stories about relationships, with domestic scenes that are warm and inviting. Wish is a cute little story with a lot of heart, one of CLAMP's quieter series that is often overlooked, but certainly deserves a read. ( )

Mariel wrote: "Maybe you should make it gayer?"

No problem!:




this is gay*! This is really really really gay**! I mean seriously! I thought that movie Bruno was the gayest*** thing I’ve ever seen! But this is even gayer**** than that! is like the color pink and a rainbow had a baby! God damn! This is gay*****!!!! But the Clamp did it… I swear they are trying to turn me gay*****!!!!! It’s adorable too! And funny! I will be reading the rest of this!!!
*:no that there is anything wrong with gay of course!
**: seriously! Nothing wrong!
***: it’s a free world! If something is gay I say let it be!
****: I’m not joking! Nothing wrong with gay!
*****: do I really need to repeat myself???
******: fine I will! Nothing wrong with gay stuff!!!
( )

Clamp's Wish four book series is a perfect example of why this group of authors has such a huge following. In this urban fantasy a new version of the dynamics between Heaven, Hell and those of us on Earth is presented. God and Satan, although obviously not friendly and at odds with each other have regular "bridge" meetings to hash out issues between them. One huge issue that has arisin that neither Heaven nor Hell know or want to know about is the disappearance of the devil's son and one of God's four elemental Master Angels. For God's part he sends his favorite angel in search of her master, the eternally optimistic, slightly air headed angel, Kohaku. Unfortunately Kohaku winds up stuck in a tree where she is attacked by a crow and saved by the human, Shuichiro. Kohaku is determined to grant Shuichiro a wish in return for saving her but Shuichiro wishes for nothing, being content with his job as a doctor, his home and life. Kohaku decides that she will wait until Shuichiro comes up with something to wish for and in the meantime she tries to help him in any way she can. Unfortunately Kohaku has some problems, one is that she becomes a tiny cherub at night, she is being tormented by a demon from Hell that seems obsessed with her and is hopelessly clumsy. But, as odd as it seems the angel and the human strike up a friendship which steadily grows through the series until a climactic scene in Volume 4 which I would have never guessed.

This is certainly a lovely little series which gives us twists, turns and surprises along with liberal tugging of the heartstrings. I would highly recommend this one for those who enjoy fantasy manga with a romantic twist. ( )