The first season of Tsubasa proved to be a worthwhile excursion for fans of CLAMP. Comprising many elements from some of the manga group's most popular series Tsubasa quickly became a successful staple in FUNimation's catalogue. Pulling material from Chobits and Cardcaptor Sakura there are other tidbits and morsels tossed in for good measure as well. In my opinion the show isn't quite as enjoyable or creative as xxxHolic, but that's par fort he course I suppose and by the end of the first season it was clear that this particular series had some good legs to stand on.

I'm going to proceed from here on assuming that you know what the show is all about. If for any reason you don't then by all means go check out one of the previous reviews for a synopsis of the plot. Honestly, if after eight installments you haven't heard about it, then chances are good you don't need to know what happens in this review. At any rate, this installment features the second season of the show in full swing, with the events of the seventh leading right up to this point.

Like every volume that preceded it, the seventh continued to offer a straightforward story with episodic material and some arching plotlines. Five episodes were featured on the previous installment and three of them focused on a race that Syaoran and company found themselves involved in. It was fun while it lasted, but two standalone episodes after it definitely felt a little on the tired side. Despite that, the eighth volume continues on its merry way and features another leg in the journey to acquire more feathers.

The first episode here is episodic once again, and it involves the ascension of a king to a new throne. It's interesting enough because in this world everyone can use magic of some variety, and everyone dreams about this particular person becoming king. They are reluctant though, and it's up to Syaoran and crew to get involved and work the situation out for the best. There are few surprises here, and in all honesty I felt that the episode was a little dry.

The rest of the four episodes here follow a single story and take the group to a new country. The twist here is that during transport, Syaoran and friends are split up into two groups and fall onto two different sides of a war of sorts. On one side there is a Goddess known as Ashura and her followers, and on the other is Yasha and his people. During this time it definitely seems like something is amiss and after a while Mokona reveals that there actually isn't a feather in this realm. After a while they are taken to another place and time, but it still follows the same world, it's just in the past. Ashura and Yasha were once lovers and not necessarily gods at the time. Tsubasa explores their story through the rest of this installment and though some elements in the plot aren't exactly smooth, the arch proved to be a fun little exercise for the series.

Throughout its run Tsubasa has had many ups and downs with regards to the quality of its storytelling. Sometimes the tales stood out and offered entertaining adventures, while other episodes just fizzled and didn't really take the show anywhere. Thankfully this installment has a nice finish after a meandering start, and in the end it continues to live up to the namesake of CLAMP. This isn't the breakout success it was touted to be, but there's plenty to appreciate about it to make it worthwhile for fans of the manga group.

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. Like the first season I found much of Tsubasa's second season fuzzy at times, but in all honesty it was less noticeable with this installment. The show's production and transfer were definitely spruced up a notch to offer better all around quality. Some compression artifacts still pop up from time to time, and grain continues to be an issue, but overall the show looks better at this point than it did in the past.

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.

Unfortunately the second season of Tsubasa doesn't spruce things up in the bonus feature department. The same Character and World Guides make a return as well as textless animation and trailers.

With the second season of Tsubasa well underway, it is quite clear that the show still offers more of the same in terms of expectations. The well-developed characters continue to travel from place to place with different worlds offering unique obstacles to overcome. The standalone episode here is forgettable, but the four-part storyline stands out more than other episodes have recently. If you've been following the show to this point then consider this another recommendation.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!