Tokyo Babylon: CLAMP Premium Collection Volume 6 Review
With the previous volume of Tokyo Babylon appearing to have death as an overarching theme, the sixth volume appears to cover the topic of disability. This relates to something all die-hard CLAMP fans will know about: that there is a recurring motif that certain characters will end up losing an eye.
This is what happened at the end of the last edition, when Subaru Sumeragi was about to donate a kidney in order to save the life of a boy named Yuuya. However, Yuuya’s distressed mother was so desperate that her son should have a kidney immediately, she grabbed a scalpel and attacked Subaru. However, his friend Seishiro Sakurazuka got in the way and he got stabbed in his right eye instead.
We begin this volume learning that Seishiro has indeed lost all sight in his right eye. As he already wears glasses, there is a danger his left eye will become strained and over time he might lose the use of that one too. The selfless Subaru says he is to blame for what happened and goes to apologise to him, but Seishiro says he has no need to do so, as he was acting of his own accord, not wanting Subaru to get injured. While Seishiro decides not to press charges against the mother, partly because it would mean Yuuya being on his own, the media eventually discovers what happens, leaving Subaru and his twin sister Hokuto to comfort Yuuya.
Later, Subaru comes to the assistance of a blind man after some ruffians mess around with his guide dog. Subaru befriends the man and asks him about the possibility of getting a guide dog for Seishiro. Subaru goes to visit Seishiro once more, realising that he is truly in love with him, but when they meet, things take a dramatic turn once more.
Of all the volumes of Tokyo Babylon, this is the one that speaks to me the most directly. This is partly due to me being on the autistic spectrum, so the discussions of not just blindness, but disability in general, have an impact. One key piece of dialogue spoken by the blind man is: “In more ways than one, Japanese society is not very kind to the disabled.” (p. 143) Things appear to have changed in some aspects when it comes to how disabled people are at least depicted in anime, whether it be with series like the autism-focused With the Light in the 2000s, the deaf-themed A Silent Voice from the 2010s, and even CLAMP’s own depiction of disability, with characters such as Shuko in Angelic Layer who has different conditions, depending on whether you read the manga or watch the anime.
The other big way this volume speaks directly is in terms of the theme of sexuality. I have stated in previous reviews of the series my belief that Subaru and Seishiro are gay despite comments from other critics. Near the end of this volume, just before Subaru goes to see Seishiro again in hospital, Subaru talks to himself about the eye-loss incident, ends up crying and says: “I’ve been in love with Seishiro-san.” (p. 159) How on earth that can be interpreted in any other way than it being clear that Subaru is emotionally and deeply in love with Seishiro?
As for the production, we continue with the team we have had since the third volume, with translator Amanda Haley, letterer Phil Christie, and editors Jacquelyn Li and Won Yong Seo continuing to produce great work. Once again we get translation notes and a fold-out colour page. We also get some more great outfit designs from CLAMP themselves, especially for Hokuto, whose get-up ranges from tennis gear to a catgirl costume. The last of these seems to be referenced in the cover of the “Premium Collection” volume with the Sumeragi twins having cat ears on their hats.
All of this material is building up to what is the finally volume in this series. It has so far been highly enjoyable to relive Tokyo Babylon, and it is a shame it will soon end… or at least this part does.
Our review copy was supplied by Yen Press
