Clover

I've read the Clover manga except for the fourth volume (it went out of print before I had the money to buy it), but one thing about it is that it features what I consider to be the most spectacular art in manga I've seen to date. Even the way the panels are laid out are unique and are tailored to meet the story's and art's need rather than the other way around. While I'd love to see the Clover manga turned into an anime, I'd be terribly afraid for the art quality - it would have to be top notch, all the time. Otherwise, it would just ruin the entire thing.

This special doesn't really focus so much on the story or character development, which is where this special falls short. It's only a few minutes long, after all, and you really have to have an idea of what the manga is about if you want to understand it. Still, this special literally brought the manga to life. A haunting, melancholy voice sings the Clover song constantly throughout the piece, just like it does in the manga. The animation is smooth and the action scenes, while short, are brilliant. No expense seemed to be spared to re-create CLAMP's breathtaking artwork, from the little details on Suu's wings to the giant, animated fairy statue in Fairy Park.

Overall, I loved it and I wish this kind of quality could be carried over into a full-length anime. Unfortunately, I doubt anyone would be willing to budget that kind of project, but I'd rather leave it animation-less than have it turned into a cheap, poor quality anime.

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This six-minute music video covers the first-two volumes of a shoujo manga by the (in)famous team of mangaka named 'CLAMP'.

The manga 'Clover' was not particularly good in my opinion. The plot was hopelessly divided between being a 'sweet' love story and an 'edgy' dystopian thriller and the art was rather messy when CLAMP actually bothered to draw some. Seriously, you don't wanna know how many pages were nothing but speech-bubbles with the occasional portrait of one of the protagonists.

One could consider it pointless to rush through key events of two volumes of manga at lightspeed, and they'd be right as far as I'm concerned.
People who haven't read the manga will undoubtly be puzzled about the how and why of the story revolving around an imprisoned girl with special powers and the man who tries to free her. Those who did read the manga (such as myself) will find the events unfolding on the screen slightly more meaningful but it still remains nothing but an incomplete 'Greatest Hits'-compilation completely devoid of any decent narrative flow. Disappointing really, there's plenty of music videos that can tell some kind of story so it's unacceptable that this tailor-made one can't manage to do so.

The visuals and audio are pleasing enough to distract from the awful storytelling; special mentions should go to the background-singer whose soothing voice captures the mood of the video perfectly, and the ever-wonderful Maaya Sakamoto for voicing Suu, the imprisoned girl the whole story revolves around.

The entire thing still ends up being pointless though; recommended only to die-hard CLAMP-fans or those who are desperate to pad their Anime List.

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The right music video can inspire anyone. This is case when it is magical, engaging and entertaining enough to leave an impact on the viewer.

Story: The story isn't to complicated, which makes it good. It's simple enough in the sense that it doesn't over complicate itself, but it is still engaging to watch. Despite the lack of development in the story, it has no trouble building up the suspense and making you want to watch it all the way though. It feels right. That being said, they could have developed the story a little more. The lack is nice and all, but they could have expanded it a little more.

Characters: Like the story, the characters lack development, but it's not necessarily bad. The characters are simple, but we care about them as they escape and go though what they do. It works because these are characters you want to care about. It does have the same weak spot as the story though. Some more development is in order here as well. Again, it works, but it could be just a little bit better.

Art: The art is simply amazing. It has a well mixed tone of light and darkness. It is just pure eye candy. It enhances the story, the character and the music while still being artistic as it can be. It really make it shine, even with its dark features.

Music; The music is also amazing. It fit the tone of the story and makes the art pop out even more that it already does. It grasps the viewer as if it was the viewers plaything. It fits the atmosphere of the scenery and the story at the same time. It is just awesome.

Overall: Clover really is something worth checking out. It's not that long, but it is worth every second. You may find a few things off here and there, but for the most part, it is entertaining. 8/10

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