The all-female manga artist group CLAMP has been quite successful in the anime industry. Several of their series have made the transition to animation from Chobits and Magic Knight Rayearth to Cardcaptor Sakura and Angelic Layer. The surprising thing is that there are still many more titles on their resume. The latest of which is Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.

Originally published as an on-going manga in 2003, the anime adaptation of Tsubasa contains a whopping 52 episodes. Many would consider the series as a form of homage to CLAMP's other works. Fortunately you don't have to be familiar with the intricacies of their other franchises in order to appreciate the show. Granted if you know most of the references it helps to tie everything together and it certainly enhances your experience but it's not necessary.

The main stars of Tsubasa are childhood friends Sakura and Syaoran, who you may recognize from Cardcaptor Sakura. They live in a fantasy-like realm known as The Kingdom of Clow and have an unspoken love for each other. Syaoran is the son of an archeologist and spends most of his days excavating ruins while Sakura is actually the princess of the land. Things seem to be going well for the two though one day something strange happens and changes their relationship.

Sakura is bestowed with special powers of unknown origin and when they manifest themselves she finds herself not in control of her body. Through a series of events she becomes unconscious and begins to lose parts of herself in the form of feathers. Syaoran is instructed to visit the Dimensional Witch and once there is introduced to Kurogane and Fay. The three essentially all seek the same thing and the Witch sends them on an adventure to restore Sakura's feathers.

In the previous volume of Tsubasa the demon filled world of Outo took the center stage as Syaoran and company became hunters while they were looking for Sakura's feather. Stalking the streets for demons gave the show the necessary amount of action that it needed to pick up the pace. It also helped to provide some interesting events as towards the end of the volume a villain became apparent. Tsubasa has been a show that grew more successful as it stayed in one location and thankfully the fifth installment offered just that.

Things pick up in the sixth and final volume of the first season right where they left off. Syaoran and Kurogane are heading to a café where a guy named Seishirou is at. Seishirou is essentially the villain of this storyline and our heroes have a lot to fight for. It would appear that Fay is dead and this recently revealed bad guy has orchestrated it all. Oh, it's also worth pointing out that he's using Sakura's feather to control demons and also for other aspects of his plans.

Soon enough we learn that things in Outo aren't quite as they seem. The demon-filled world our heroes have been battling in is actually a game and Seishirou is attempting to make it a reality. When a character dies inside of Outo they awaken in the real world and soon enough Syaoran, Fay, and Sakura do just that. From this point I felt that this particular storyline unfortunately unraveled. The Matrix-like plot became a mess and it wasn't handled as appropriately as it could have been. Still, things end favorably and the final episode sets up the next wave of Syaoran's adventures just fine.

This time around Tsubasa just wasn't quite as good as it was in the fifth volume. The Outo storyline got kind of out of hand with the whole game aspect though thankfully there was enough action and emotion in between to keep much of it in check. The first season does end on an interesting note and if you have been following it through to this point you'll definitely want to pick this volume up. Still, unless you're a CLAMP fan I can't really picture Tsubasa as being a treat. Sure it's a lot of fun but it's not the finest story ever assembled.

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is presented on DVD with a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer. The show features some downright fantastic character designs that while simplistic (and oddly proportioned), are very endearing and unique. Unfortunately I can't say that the video quality is as impressive.

I found much of Tsubasa to be hazy with a soft appearance and a distinct lack of contrast. Shadows were relatively flat and the palette didn't seem to be as vibrant as it should have been. There was also a fair amount of compression artifacts that cropped up in the darker areas of the image. This could have had a lot to do with the mastering process for the DVD but some of it could have also been a byproduct from the show's production. Overall this volume doesn't look "bad" but it certainly doesn't achieve high marks for quality. "Mediocre" is about the best that you could say for it.

Fortunately the audio for this release is far less problematic than the video. For options you'll find a 2.0 track for the original Japanese and 2.0/5.1 selections for English. For my first viewing I watched the show in Japanese and found it to be acceptable in terms of all around quality. The soundstage is noticeably subdued for this track but things improve once you turn on the 5.1 English language. The rear channels come to life with a fair amount of music, sound effects, and ambient noise making their presence known. It may not have been the most immersive track that I have listened to before but it was certainly acceptable.

While the fifth volume lacked in supplemental substance this one shines on somewhat. Once again we have the Character Guide, World Guide, Faces in the Crowd, trailers, and textless animation that each volume has had. Thankfully a voice actor commentary has been included as well for the last episode on this disc. If you have ever watched an anime commentary with the English cast then you are probably aware of how this track is. It's fluffy and a lot of fun but not entirely informative or interesting when you get right down to it.

The first season of Tsubasa closes with the sixth volume and it has left us with a feeling of "more of the same". The game aspect that is revealed during the Outo storyline was a disappointment for me despite the amount of action and character drama it offered. There was just something about it that felt like the show was taking the cheap way out. At any rate the finale brought us to a new location and proposed some interesting turn of events for the next installment. This is still proving to be an entertaining show but I'm not head over heals for it. Recommended

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