Tokyo Babylon

The two OVAs don't relate to the amazing manga so the storyline isn't really there to what Tokyo Babylon is really about which is what the manga is about. Overall I give it a 7/10 because it was still quite fun to watch, but I highly recommend the manga, it's brilliant!

Despite being a huge fan of Subaru and Seishirou, I never got around to see the OVA up until now. It's an extra story for the ones that read the manga and has two pretty good episodes, but can never reach the level of the manga. The bond between Subaru and Seishirou are almost non-existent in this adaption. It's fun to see the characters coming to live in early 90's setting. And to see Subaru and Hikoto wearing their various (flashy fashion) outfits of the manga in the anime. Overall, the two stories were interesting as a stand alone, but nothing too special.

If you are a huge Tokyo Babylon fan, see this episode. If not, just read the manga and you'll be happier. Or watch some episodes of Tsubasa and X if you want to see Subaru and Seishirou come to live in anime style.

Helpful

read more

I remember watching this as a ten-year-old girl (I was just getting into anime at the time thanks to the Toonami and Adult Swim blocks on cartoon network). After being thrusted into the world of anime, I began looking for more "animes" or cool "cartoons" as I thought anime as way back then when I stumbled upon Tokyo Babylon playing on what used to be the Action! channel on Directv. At first, I didn't quite get the storyline or the theme of "romance" or love between Subaru and Seishiro (the very little bit there was compared to the manga), but that didn't matter because the art was amazing and I thought it was a bit funny that Hokuto wore all these crazy fashions and I didn't even know that she was a girl (I honestly thought she was a boy because she and Subaru were twins and were exact clones of each other in terms of looks). But this ova has stayed with me over the years, despite me only remembering a vague part of the ova where Subaru summoned some doves and unleashed them on some guy that was chasing a psychic girl.

Years later, I finally remembered this anime and after finding out that it was made by one of my favorite manga artists (Clamp), I immediately set out to rewatch an anime that allowed me to keep a solid foothold in the world of anime.

Story:
The story is of a boy named Subaru Sumeragi, who is the head of a clan called Onmyoji(?) (Spirit Mediums as the English dubbed called it) and his sister, Hokuto, who designs all the cool and sleek outfits that she and Subaru wear throughout the anime. And let's not forget their friend, Seishiro who is a veterinarian with some supernatural powers of his own. Anyway, this two-episode ova series is about Subaru solving some Supernatural mysteries and phenomenon around Tokyo, but that's pretty much it.

I've never really read the manga so I can't really compare it to its manga counterpart in terms of how close or accurate it is but I can tell you that what I used to think of a "wow" factor as a kid didn't quite age well. Don't get me wrong, I still loved the story and I like the idea behind it but it didn't really hold my interest very well. Just from the first ova episode alone, the plot seemed to be all over the place and while it did manage to tie up all the frayed plot points tossed into this first "case," I found the very little screen time Subaru shares with his sister and Seishiro to be a little distracting or maybe there wasn't enough? I mean, Hokuto and Seishiro's personalities didn't get to shine through and it was hard for me to figure out what was going on. But it wasn't too bad if everything was resolved nicely.

Art:
If it's anything to go by, the art is Tokyo Babylon's biggest draw. I've always been a big fan of Clamp's works and art style so watching Subaru in action as he chased after or ran from the bad guy was very enthralling. And Hokuto definitely seemed very expressive in the very few scenes I saw of her. The scenery of Tokyo is something to look at but sadly, old 90's animes don't seem to age that well sometimes. But I still enjoyed seeing the art in this ova.

Sound:
Considering i watched an English Dub, I have to say that the song that played somewhere towards the middle (or a bit closer to the end) was a bit distracting but then again, 90's English dubs were always (in)famous for taking out the original Japanese songs (Which were often superior!) and putting in their own weird out of place songs. But other than the odd out of place English song, everything was beautiful and clear and the sounds set the emotions during the more serious scenes.

Characters:
Like I said before in the story, I didn't think there was much to the characters. Given that I didn't read the manga (which I should go read it soon), the characters didn't seem to have enough time to develop properly. I mean the interactions between the Sumeragi siblings and Seishiro felt a bit... awkward? and maybe a bit forced. If you don't mind very little character development (besides the side characters because the side characters like the main villain and the victims got the best development) then you might enjoy this.

Enjoyment:
I still got some enjoyment from watching Tokyo Babylon, I mean I didn't feel the magic and awe factor I felt when I was a kid, but I still enjoyed the show overall and it's prompting me to check out the manga.

Overall:
I give this series a 6/10 because it's still one of Clamp's earlier works and it does work as an introduction to the manga so that's all! A decent series that hasn't aged that well, but I still recommend it if you want to take a peek at what Clamp has to offer in one of their darker animes and mangas.

Helpful

read more