Tokyo Babylon

Sixteen-year-old Subaru Sumeragi is a very powerful Japanese magician, often referred as a modern onmyōji. He is the thirteenth head of the foremost family of onmyōji in Japan, which has served the Emperor for centuries. As a result, he is called upon to solve various occult mysteries. He sometimes stumbles on people his kind nature compels him to help. He lives in Tokyo with his twin sister Hokuto, an exuberant girl, whose chief occupations are designing eccentric clothing for herself and her brother, and their mutual friend Seishiro Sakurazuka, a kindly, 25-year-old veterinarian, who often declares his love for Subaru. There are early hints of Seishiro's true nature. Hokuto jokes about him being a member of the family of Sakurazukamori, a clan of assassins who use onmyōjitsu to kill and are said to be the Sumeragis' opposite. Seishiro met Subaru as a kid and was impressed with the child's purity. Rather than killing him, Seishiro made a bet with him instead: He would meet Subaru again, and would spend one year with him, protecting him and trying to love him. If, at the end of that year, he felt something for Subaru which distinguished him from a thing he could easily destroy (as he could not with any other person), then he would not kill him. To recognize him, he marked him with inverted pentagrams on both hands, the sign of the Sakurazukamori's prey.

When Seishiro loses an eye protecting Subaru, the teenager realizes he is in love with him. As the year is over, Seishiro declares himself the winner of the bet. He breaks Subaru's arm and tortures him, but fails to kill him, as Subaru's grandmother breaks his spell - an action which leaves her crippled. Subaru's shock leaves him in a catatonic state. Hokuto feels guilty for promoting Seishiro, whom she knew to be dangerous, but believed to be the only one who might touch Subaru's heart. As a result, Hokuto asks Seishiro to kill her instead to protect her brother. Seeing her in a dream, Subaru is shocked out of his catatonia by her action. He vows to find Seishiro and take revenge for his sister's death, abandoning his present life. The manga ends with an adult and distant Subaru still searching for Seishiro.

Seishiro Sakurazuka, Hokuto Sumeragi, and Subaru Sumeragi

Subaru Sumeragi (皇昴流, Sumeragi Subaru)

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (OVA) (Japanese); Ben Fairman (English)

The 13th Head of the Sumeragi clan, a family of onmyōji. He tends to be rather shy, but is extremely kindhearted. He constantly wears gloves over his hands for reasons known only to his grandmother.[3]

Hokuto Sumeragi (皇北都, Sumeragi Hokuto)

Voiced by: Miki Itō (OVA) (Japanese); Jenny Baker (English)

Subaru's eccentric twin sister. She is quick-witted, bold and impulsive, the polar opposite of Subaru. While she lacks most of Subaru's strong spiritual abilities, she is still able to cast unique spells. She always means well and acts in Subaru's best interests. Hokuto designs the outrageous outfits she and Subaru often don.[3]

Seishiro Sakurazuka (桜塚星史郎, Sakurazuka Seishirō)

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (OVA) (Japanese); Dean Fenton (English)

A veterinarian who claims to be romantically interested in Subaru. He is secretly the Sakurazukamori, a murderous onmyōji who first met the him seven years ago.[3]

The series was written by Clamp based on their experience with Tokyo

Tokyo Babylon is based on a one-shot that Clamp head writer Nanase Ohkawa wrote for a magazine that featured dōjinshi. After Clamp got to illustrate the cover of the same magazine, Wings, with Subaru and Hokuto, the magazine proposed Clamp turn it into a series for their special edition South. Initially, the series was going to be called "Tokyo" but Clamp wanted to change it to give a more modern tone with the inclusion of Babylon according to them; the series was titled Tokyo Babylon reflecting how the city of Babylon resembled Tokyo, according to Clamp. The one-shot's characters, most notably Seishiro, were changed slightly when the series began.[4]

Subaru and his twin sister Hokuto, and Seishiro, were conceived by the series' creator Ohkawa for a dōjinshi novel about an onmyōji who hunts elves. Only its beginning remains. The characters were drawn twice for covers, and when South asked Clamp to create a new series for them, these characters were used. Originally, the twins were conceived more as mascots, with Subaru being a penguin called Leone, named after the Subaru Leone car. Both Subaru and Hokuto were modified from the original art, whereas Seishiro was completely redesigned. Ohkawa remembers having trouble writing Subaru as she was not used to writing kind-hearted characters. Like Kero from their other manga Cardcaptor Sakura, the staff thought about drawing a pet, with Subaru and Hokuto originally being considered as one. Since Subaru and Hokuto were the protagonists, whenever the magazines required an image for Tokyo Babylon, both Subaru and Hokuto were used together.[5]

When Tokyo Babylon's serialization began, Clamp was also writing RG Veda for the monthly magazine Wings. While the authors found this complicated, the series' quarterly publication of sixty pages resulted in the authors making several changes. The length of each chapter led the authors to write a darker story rather than a soft one as originally planned. Based on their experience in Tokyo, Clamp incorporated dark social themes, making the series realistic despite its focus on occultism. This also gave each chapter its own theme. Ohkawa believes their young age when writing the manga also influenced most of the series' negative messages. Although when the series began, the ending was already planned, it was not until the Tokyo Tower chapter that Clamp set the general atmosphere, with the pilot being perceived as a comedy. The next chapter involving Subaru's past meeting with a man, later revealed to be Seishiro, then sets the stage for the series' future. Since his introduction, Seishiro was written with the idea of him having a different agenda in contrast to his actions and dialog with the other leads. Seishiro was the easiest cast member to write while Subaru was the most challenging based on his good nature. In retrospect, Ohkawa believes that while RG Veda was their first series, Tokyo Babylon was their most original first work as they did not use other people's materials for this manga and it was influenced by their way of living. Though a 1990s manga, the narrative was influenced by the 1980s.[4]

In creating the art, colored weft and light colors were used for the main illustrations. This proved to be difficult for the authors. Ohkawa believes the art was influenced by the years when the manga was published. This is reflected in how Clamp's artwork changed, particularly the clothing and, most notably, Hokuto's dresses.[4] Mokona's works have been drawn with increasingly thicker lines across the serialzation of the manga. The character's faces have much thicker lines in the third volume of Tokyo Babylon compared to when the story first got serialized in South. This was made because the story had a serious, heavy theme, fine lines simply cannot bring out enough power to convince readers of the gravitas, so we make thicker lines when it fits the work. Such work caused Mokona to rely more on her stamina to properly draw the series.[6]

The series focuses on several social themes, such as faith, organ donation and the treatment of middle-aged men. However, the main philosophy seen across the storyline is individualism, the stance that emphasizes the moral worth of an individual. Subaru and Hokuto believe that nobody can fully understand another person's suffering. Despite his belief in this philosophy, Subaru is a resigned individual who worries more about others than himself.[7] Subaru believes he can hurt others because he will never understand them. The same problem comes from Subaru and Hokuto being twins and trying to see each other as different people.[8] Across the plot, Subaru develops as an individual. Seishiro deems his actions as arrogant for assuming the guilt.[8] In addition, Subaru begins to take actions he believes are immoral, despite his good intentions, such as lying to a mother about her daughter's wish to stop her from taking revenge.[7] Zona Negativa stated that despite the series is serialized in a shōjo magazine for young women, Subaru's hero journey felt more like that of a manga serialized in a shōnen magazine for young men, due to the many types of enemies he faces while finding his foes' deep nature.[9]

Due to the dark nature Seishiro hides from Subaru, the two can be regarded as the yin and yang as the former contrasts his the latter's kind self even when interacting about his job. Subaru's hidden romantic feelings towards Seishiro become obvious as the manga progresses as he becomes astonished when Seishiro keep professing his love towards him.[10] The character's relationship with Seishiro led novelist Yoshiki Tanaka to call it tragic and striking, despite his early thoughts that it was a use of a relationship to appeal to female readers.[11] When Subaru realizes his feelings towards him, his state can be compared to that the one of a hatched bird egg as a result of the maturity he shows in the process.[12] Anime Feminist claims that while Subaru's characterization heavily relies on empathy, Clamp appears to send a message to the readers using Subaru as an audience surrogate that it is important for everybody to value themselves too although empathy on itself does not qualify as a negative trait.[13] Manga Bookshelf focused more on how Subaru lost part of his identity as he saw Hokuto as another part of him leading to his lonely finale persona.[8][14]

The Tokyo Babylon manga series has been popular, with its English releases often appearing on Diamond Comic Distributors' lists of best-selling comics.[45][46][47] It received generally positive critical response with the writers from Manga Bookshelf and Mania Entertainment referring to it as one of Clamp's best works based on the social themes reflected in the main cast whose traits, are developed across the story.[8][48][49][50][51] Besides its focus on supernatural events, the series is famous for exploring young homosexual romance, shonen ai, seen in the interactions between Subaru and Seishiro.[52][53] In Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson commented that the manga is well known in the West for being one of the most famous and first portrayals of a homosexual relationship.[14] Comic Book Resources regarded Tokyo Babylon as one of Clamp's most famous works despite lacking an anime. They also cited the tragic relationship between Subaru and Seishiro as one of its biggest strengths.[54]

When the series was reaching its climax, Wings editor Miki Ishikawa remembers receiving several letters from fans asking for a happy ending. Once the series ended, more letters expressed sadness and shock over the tragic ending; fans wanted more explanations of Hokuto's fate. Regarding this character, Ishikawa considered her popularity an exception, considering most readers tend to be more attracted to the series' male characters.[55] The writers from Manga Book Shelf noted that the series' open ending has also been a subject of controversie with fans, but Seishiro's dark revelation, despite how it seems, had a major impact on the reader.[8] The tragic ending portrayed in the final volume made Anime News Network comment that Subaru is, "treated like absolute crap despite being one of the purest boys in anime and manga".[56] Regarding Subaru's darker characterization in the finale, Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network says he "became" Seishiro. Silverman commented that this change is paralleled in their next work, xxxHolic, where its lead character Kimihiro Watanuki, began to act like his former boss Yuko Ichihara.[57]

The artwork was praised for its appeal despite Publishers Weekly reviewing it nearly twenty years after its original release.[49] Most of the reviewer's compliments referred to the landscapes and the atmosphere, while Mania Entertainment also praised its simple state created by Mokona.[48][53][58] Anime News Network liked the clothing the cast wears.[52] Jason Thompson enjoyed the background details. The city of Tokyo is well illustrated, giving it a realistic look.[14] Manga News, felt the artwork had the appeal of other Clamp series, most notably RG Veda, even though both series were published at the same time. Furthermore, the characters designs were praised for their uniqueness.[59] In another overview of the series, Manga News felt that the artwork had a charm in the way it was executed through the storyline's style such as how different the secondary characters are from the main characters .[51]

The OVAs were the subject of positive response thanks to its animation, which has been called "stunning". Furthermore, reviewers had positive opinions with its dark images.[60][2] They have been recommended to X fans for Subaru's appearances as well as to female viewers.[61] The story of the OVAs were described as "complex", and has been praised for its focus on horror even though the violent imagery may bother viewers.[60][2]

• Tokyo Babylon 2021 official anime website (in Japanese)
• Tokyo Babylon at IMDb
• Tokyo Babylon (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia