Kadokawa‘s Shonen Ace magazine is celebrating its 30th Anniversary next month and to celebrate it, the December issue will come with a “Memorial Illustration Book” featuring several artists, including CLAMP.
ANGELIC LAYER was published in Shonen Ace from 1999 to 2001. Should we expect a new ANGELIC LAYER illustration? Ten years ago, on the occasion of the magazine’s 20th Anniversary, CLAMP drew a new ANGELIC LAYER illustration for it.
The December issue of Shonen Ace magazine will be released on October 25th.
The obi coming with the CLAMP PREMIUM COLLECTION edition of Chobits volume 8 is announcing that the next series will be CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan (CLAMP Campus Detectives)!
Once again, instead of the usual 2-volumes per month schedule, only one volume will be released each month, with the first volume coming out in January 10, 2025.
Very happy about this! We still don’t know the full extent of the CLAMP PREMIUM COLLECTION series. We don’t know if some works will be left out (GATE 7 is still a mystery) and I was worried if the shorter series would get a release. CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan is the shortest work so far to be released in CLAMP PREMIUM COLLECTION so that gives hope for shorter series. I did think they would combine all three CLAMP Gakuen works into one 7-volumes series, but no.
This time, we are having a 2-months break between one series and another, which is less than the 3-month break between X and Chobits. But the one volume per month worries me a little. I wonder if they will keep 2 volumes per month schedule for longer series… can you imagine 28 months for Tsubasa? 😅
Also, it won’t take long before we know which Kodansha title will be picked up next.
I can’t wait to see the new covers and which color they will choose! Orange, green and pink, like the original?
Here’s the upcoming schedule for the CLAMP PREMIUM COLLECTION of CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan:
Vol. 1: January 10, 2025 Vol. 2: February 10, 2025 Vol. 3: March 10, 2025
Special thanks to CuteSherry for letting me know about this!!! ♡
UPDATE: The bonus for those who purchase all volumes and submit the seals to Kadokawa will be a “CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan Membership Card”.
Aaaand I guessed it right once more, it’s Hideki! ♡
Beautiful wedding illustration with both bride and groom wearing white.
This is one of the best covers of the entire series (my favorite along with volume 1). It’s the only one featuring a male character and one of the few color illustrations of Hideki (maybe only the 3rd time, if you count that one where he is in bed and we can see his back).
The eighth and final volume is coming out on October 4th.
This concludes Chobits‘ run in CLAMP PREMIUM COLLECTION! I’m excited to know which Kadokawa title will be next!
Which one do you think it is? Leave it on the comments. I think it will be RG Veda.
Episode 17 of CLAMP’s podcast, CLAMP Kanbukai, is out! You can listen to it on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.
This episode’s theme is “Mascot Characters”.
Introduction: They started the episode reading a message that was sent from an X user who asked the CLAMP members about what clothes they like to wear when attending parties. They used the recent CLAMP Exhibition launch party as an example (there was one after the pre-opening day). Satsuki-sensei and Mokona-sensei were both wearing yukatas. They mentioned that they both really like kimonos and they usually get the same items around the same time. Nekoi-sensei was wearing all black top, trousers and shoes but they weren’t new, she’s had them for about 20 years now. Ohkawa-sensei was wearing a dress from MURRAL. She said she ordered it online and it arrived it just in time for the party, but she also mentions she almost forgot to bring the dress with her on their trip to Tokyo.
The first mascot they talked about was the CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan blowfish (in Japanese, fugu). It’s a mascot that first debuted in their early doujinshis, along with the “toast penguin” that appears in some Tokyo Babylondoujinshi stories. The “toast penguin” (it has a square shape, like a toast) didn’t appear in their professional manga so they talked about the blowfish instead. Ohkawa-sensei took inspiration from a Kansai restaurant called Zobu-ya. They also mentioned the crab, which is Mokona-sensei’s creation (also based off the Kansai area) and the pink pig that sometimes appear with Ashura — they even mentioned the recent LINE wallpaper with Ashura that included a piggy plush. They said that at that time mascots were not proper characters and that they would be mostly used in illustrations as a decorative element.
For Rayearth‘s Mokona, I didn’t understand a lot of it, but the design was done by Nekoi-sensei (as we know), as well as Mokona=Modoki that appear in XXXHOLiC and Tsubasa. She mentioned she made the conscious decision to make the designs different (the ears of Mokona=Modoki are longer and the body is more egg-shaped than the Mokona from Rayearth). If I understood well, Nekoi-sensei doesn’t really remember how she came up with the original design but the fact that it looks like a rabbit has to do with the fact that Ohkawa-sensei told her that Mokona would jump up and down a lot, like a rabbit.
Wish‘s Usyagi was also created by Nekoi-sensei, but it originally appeared before Wish. It came from a doodle drawn by both Nekoi-sensei and Satsuki-sensei. Satsuki-sensei drew the flower and they wondered why it was flying around carrying a flower and Satsuki-sensei suggested the flower might have a message in it. And that’s how Usyagi came to be.
For Kero and Suppi from Cardcaptor Sakura, the designs were inspired by the cats that CLAMP used to have years ago, Kakyou (Kero) and Kogane (Suppi). They also appear in Satsuki-sensei’s illustration book, Kakyou’s Earth Conquest Diary, which collected short stories originally published in CLAMP-NET.COM. (This is brand new information to me! I did not know Kero and Suppi’s designs were based off Kakyou and Kogane and that makes total sense!). Mokona-sensei mentioned that she realized the other day that Kero’s true form is of a lioness and not of a lion (since it doesn’t have a mane), but Ohkawa-sensei was quick to add that since it’s a magical creature created by Clow Reed, it doesn’t have to necessarily be like a real animal. Same goes with Suppi’s true form which Mokona-sensei said that its neck is too long. Ohkawa-sensei was like “that’s totally fine!”
For ANGELIC LAYER‘s Piffle Princess, it was designed by Satsuki-sensei but it seems like the idea came from a doodle that Ohkawa-sensei did (not sure). She told Satsuki-sensei she wanted it to be the toy manufacturer for ANGELIC LAYER. The name was Ohkawa-sensei’s idea. She couldn’t remember where she got “piffle” from but “princess” was because of Takara Tommy (toy manufacturer in Japan). She explained why but I couldn’t really understand.
Chobits‘ Atashi was created by Nekoi-sensei. She was trying to make it look like Chii (the long ears resemble Chii’s split hair). But they also think it looks a little like a rabbit and it seems like at one point it had a tail but it was dropped in the final design. They talked about using different shades of pink to distinguish Atashi from “the other Atashi”.
Kobato.’s Ioryogi was also created by Nekoi-sensei. She originally drew it as doodle, including a seal/sticker that was used in her travel bag. It did not have a name back then (it was just “blue dog” at that time). The name Ioryogi came only later by the time Kobato. started.
Momo from Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card was also Nekoi-sensei’s creation, but for that one she received very specific instructions from Ohkawa-sensei (she wanted a rabbit). It seems like Momo’s true form was a last minute decision. They didn’t from upfront if it would be humanoid or more like a beast (like Kero and Suppi).
Next, when talking about original mascots, they mentioned Sweet Valerian! Those were designed by Mokona-sensei. Then, there was some slight confusion because for Mokona-sensei, she sees Kobato.‘s Ginsei as a mascot and Ohkawa-sensei says she doesn’t see him like that at all in her mind. She gives her reasoning, which basically has to do with how they turned into animal versus stuffed toys. Much like the Baumkuchen’s bear, she doesn’t see Ginsei as a mascot. Apparently Mokona-sensei understood after the explanation. Interesting! It’s hard to put into words and maybe I am not doing a good job but I can see where Ohkawa-sensei is coming from!
I had a really hard time understanding the following segment, I apologize. But they will upload a picture later on the CLAMP Kanbukai instagram account and I think it will be easier to understand. It seems like they drew a lot of their mascots for a custom pattern but I could be wrong. Update: It was for a custom fan that was given to the party guests. See update at the end of this post.
Lastly, they talked about the new batch of goods for the second half of the exhibition. Mokona-sensei and Satsuki-sensei really liked the paper knifes. They explained that the Shinken was made for the BABEL event so this time they have different swords. Ohkawa-sensei really liked the cookie can box (me too!) with the Ashura&Sakura illustration embossed on it.
I did not expect a post about mascots to be this long! haha
It’s really amazing how their work really is a joint effort. Not only because specific mascots were made by individual members, but sometimes the same mascot was created in collaboration with more than one of them. Also very impressive how sometimes new mascots were created just for fun on a creativity spur.
Thank you for reading this post!
Before going, I have been unable to access the X platform since it was banned in Brazil (which is where I live). I am not able to post anything or interact with its users and I don’t know for how long this will last. In light of such circumstances, I have created a BlueSky account and I will be updating from now on there. You are of course more than welcome to follow me there. Needless to say that I am already missing interacting with the fandom on a daily basis!
Hello CLAMPers!Thank you for following me! Thank you for your trust 🙇🏼♂️I was surprised to find out CLAMP created an account 6 months ago (@clamp-official.bsky.social) even though they are still not active here.I will do my best to share CLAMP news here as well 🫡
Just for how long this will last? I honestly don’t know. I will re-evaluate my staying on X depending on when and if access is re-established in Brazil. Until then, I appreciate your support in not only following me on my other social media accounts but also leaving comments on my posts (remember comments? Nobody leaves comment anymore! ;_;).
Starting in Osaka, this exhibition is expected to run across different cities in Japan and will display selected works off the CLAMP Exhibition held in Tokyo with some rearrangements depending on the location.
To preserve the original artworks, the “-SELECTION-” exhibitions will display reproductions of the original manuscripts.
According to the organizers, “this exhibition was born out of our desire to allow as many people as possible to see the numerous works and exhibits on display there”.
The first stop in Osaka will run from October 11th to January 13th, 2025 at the Hirakata Park Event Hall.
Curious about the “rearrangements” for each city. Maybe CLAMP will do a new illustration for each city similarly to what they did to some of the cities which the Cardcaptor Sakura exhibition traveled to.
It’s a pity the original manuscripts cannot travel everywhere, though it’s understandable. At least this will be a great opportunity to showcase CLAMP’s amazing work. Fingers crossed this will also allow the exhibition to go beyond Japan borders and reach other countries!
This website now offers an ongoing comprehensive (yet surely incomplete) record of past CLAMP events since their debut in 1989.
This is something that I have been working on for quite a while and I finally feel comfortable in sharing it.
From the very first event, CLAMP ARTWORK ORCHESTRA, held in 1990, to this year’s CLAMP Exhibition.
Video preview.
The main criteria used in the curation of this list is events with a high involvement from CLAMP, including, but not limited to, exhibitions and events in which the members of CLAMP attended in person.
I’m aware there are many side and related events, which I would be happy to add, but some curation was needed otherwise it would take me even longer to share it.
I hope this list becomes a helpful resource for those looking for a record of the main CLAMP events held in the past.
You can now access the CLAMP Events page or from the top menu:
As expected for the Freya cover, we have a mirrored illustration. Curvy dress vs Pointy dress. Angel vs Devil.
I think both Elda (Chii) and Freya look great! I only did not understand the black color on the lettering. Don’t get me wrong, black looks great since it’s Freya, of course, but none of the original edition volumes had black at its main color. So they broke the pattern?
This seventh volume is coming out on September 5th.
All hints are now pointing towards Hideki on the cover of volume 8, but maybe CLAMP will surprise us again?
Just one volume left for the CLAMP PREMIUM COLLECTION of Chobits!
I guessed it right once more, it’s Chitose! ♡ Chitose is my favorite character in Chobits and this is actually the first time she appears in a colored illustration ever, even though she appeared in Chobits, Kobato. and Tsubasa.
This volume’s color is light purple, almost pink, which is the same shade of volume 6 in the original series. But I thought that color already appeared in volume 2 of the CPC series. I am a little confused with the colors ^^;
This sixth volume is coming out on August 6th.
My guess for volume 7 is Freya!
Here’s the upcoming schedule for the CLAMP PREMIUM COLLECTION of Chobits:
I am currently in Tokyo for the CLAMP Exhibition so I could not post this earlier (although I did make a post about it on X), but the official Magic Knight Rayearth account on X announced today that a new anime project is in the works in celebration of its 30th anniversary!
◤Launching a new project for Magic Knight Rayearth!◢
In celebration of "Magic Knight Rayearth”anime’s 30th anniversary, a new animation project has been launched!https://t.co/qeRzp1O1wy
The full PV and Key Visual will be shown at the CLAMP Exhibition, which opens tomorrow in Tokyo.
Given that the preview video was posted on TMS’s YouTube channel, it is safe to say that the new anime will be animated by the same studio that animated the original series.
Stay tuned for more info!
I am not sure at this point what to think about this. I am not exactly surprised as there were some rumors and speculation that this could happen (the official X account was one big hint, plus all the recent wave of goods). I just don’t want it to be worse than the original series. Hopefully this will introduce CLAMP to a new and younger audience.
This is the first CLAMP anime adaptation to get a remake, and that is quite something. Similarly, Rayearth was CLAMP’s first anime adaptation for the TV. I’ll be watching closely the next announcements as they come!
I guessed it right again, it’s Yumi! They are mirrored, but back to back to each other, because I think when Freya appears they will be front to front.
This volume’s color is orange, which is the same shade of volume 4 in the original series.
Yumi’s face looks pretty okay to me, but I think Chii’s face looks a little off =/
This fifth volume is coming out on July 5th.
My guess for volume 6 is Chitose!
Here’s the upcoming schedule for the CLAMP PREMIUM COLLECTION of Chobits:
Vol. 5: July 5th Vol. 6: August 6th Vol. 7: September Vol. 8: October
Chibi Yuuto's CHRoNiCLEs 