Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

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Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

The sixth and final volume of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle‘s inaugural season is surely a must have for pre-existing fans of the show. The question is however, is there enough here to bring in entirely new legions of followers. This critic says no.

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle follows the adventures of Princess Sakura as she and several companions, including protagonist Syaoran travel between multiple worlds in an effort to retrieve Sakura’s lost memories. This sixth, and final volume of the first season promises to be an epic ending to an adventure that has become a cult hit across the world.

Unfortunately, the entire experience seems rather familiar. The limited style of animation seems reminiscent of almost 2 decades of amine. Visually nothing has changed since Pok?mon, as detailed backgrounds still set the scene for characters with large eyes, triangular mouths and abstract hairstyles. Away from aesthetics, the audio, among other things, is a dissapointment. The critically acclaimed voice work from Vic Mignogna (Full Metal Alchemist) seems stale and lifeless with no sense of drama, peril or expression of any kind. For a series that obviously prides itself on its top-notch voice acting, this is frankly appalling.

Tsubasa appears to follow the anime conventions very closely, as characters in Tsubasa seem eerily similar to those in previous anime shows. Mokona, a white creature given to our protagonist to help him on his quest, is almost a carbon copy of Pikachu and holds the same level of pointlessness as Ash’s yellow pal did over a decade ago. Simply put, Tsubasa offers nothing new to the casual audience.

One saving grace is a plot that has the potential to be thoroughly enjoyable. It may require an cult level of devotion, but throughout this volume there is a sense that under the deja-vu there is a genuinely solid mythology. For those who can look past the mirror image of previous anime, Tsubasa might be worth the dedication.

Despite all the negatives, for fans of the programme volume six is surely a must-have. Featuring in-depth character and world guides, as well as the usual commentaries and trailers, this DVD promises to generate genuine excitement among those who have waited since September 2007 to complete their season one set.

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle ‘Volume 6 ? A Wish Upon Waking’ is available March 16th 2009 (R.R.P. ?15.99)

Also available is the ‘Limited Edition Season One Box Set’ (R.R.P. ?49.99)

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