Tokyo Babylon

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Japanese: 東京 BABYLON

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 7

Chapters: 18

Status: Finished

Published: 1990 to 1993

Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural

Demographic: Shoujo

Serialization: Wings

Authors: CLAMP (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.01¹ (scored by 7,103 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #708²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #858

Members: 19,405

Favorites: 794

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8.01

Ranked #708Popularity #858Members 19,405

MangaWingsCLAMP (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /7

Chapters: /18

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Synopsis

Subaru Sumeragi is the thirteenth head of his powerful onmyouji clan. Until the time comes when he must succeed his grandmother fully, Subaru is allowed to live in Tokyo with his fraternal twin Hokuto. While Subaru is kind and shy, Hokuto has exuberance to spare, and her favorite pastime is designing bold matching outfits for the two of them to wear. Her next favorite thing to do is try to set up Subaru with their veterinarian friend Seishirou Sakurazuka who, oddly enough, is always readily available to accompany the Sumeragis throughout the city.

Subaru has to resolve a variety of spiritual conflicts in Tokyo: some are cases formally brought to him by clients, and others are matters in which he decides to involve himself. A selfless teenager, he empathizes with others to the point that their pain may as well be his own. This leaves him vulnerable in a city where nearly everyone makes decisions that only benefit themselves as individuals. Hokuto hopes that if Subaru develops feelings for Seishirou, their relationship will be the one thing that he never gives up for the sake of anyone else. However, is Seishirou the best candidate for her brother's love, or is he hiding sinister secrets?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Tokyo Babylon was published in English by Tokyopop from May 11, 2004 to May 10, 2005. Dark Horse gained publishing rights to the series after Tokyopop was dissolved and republished the series in two omnibus volumes published on March 26 and July 23, 2013, respectively. It has also been published in Spanish in Aizoban format by Editorial Kamite since September 23, 2016.

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Related Manga

Sequel:	X
Adaptation:	Tokyo Babylon, Tokyo Babylon 2021

More characters
Characters

Sumeragi, Subaru

Main

Sakurazuka, Seishirou

Main

Sumeragi, Hokuto

Main

Kaburagi, Mitsuki

Supporting

Sachiyo's Father

Supporting

Yuuya

Supporting

Yuuya's Mother

Supporting

Sachiyo

Supporting

Blind Man

Supporting

Nagi, Kumiko

Supporting

More reviewsReviews

May 2, 2011

Suzuhana

Recommended

My love of CLAMP spills out again. Tokyo Babylon is another beautiful tragedy that every CLAMP follower, and manga reader should try.

Story: Find yourself in Tokyo, the 90s, following Subaru, a young progeny onmyouji. Exorcist for all who don't know what that is. Sounds so ordinary, so very relative. You can't even begin to understand how absolutely tragic and emotional this manga is. Subaru's companions, Seishirou and twin sister Hokuto accompany him as he travels throughout Tokyo and what is ultimately the setting for X/1999. There's plenty of humor here, parallel with tragedy and drama.

If you're uncomfortable with shounen ai, you may not ... like this as well, although nothing outright is done. But there is always something alluded to it in Tokyo Babylon. Personally, I love CLAMP most for this fact alone. Their mantra, of someone's most precious person, no matter what gender, age or color has always been a redeeming quality. I support them alone for this factor in all of their work.

There isn't really much I can say without revealing spoilers for the manga and I can't ruin this beauty. The story will truly bring you in and you'll want to know just why Seishirou is always there for Subaru and you'll want to see more of Hokuto's deliciously charming fashion. This is certainly a twist of a story and you'll never guess it. Enthralling and completely CLAMPesque.

Art: It's a CLAMP classic and I love their older works. The artwork of their older ones is so beautiful and so rich in texture, I always feel like I'm watching it move. There's a sensual feeling to the older works of CLAMP and this one definitely has it. Especially when you see Hokuto's outfits that she makes for her and Subaru. It's highly detailed and dark, which adds to the effect of the dark tones to the story. It's so elegant that it amplifies that tragic atmosphere to the story, making it all so much more impacting.

Character: I love Subaru and Hokuto. Hell, I even loved Seishirou despite certain things. There's certain character development that happens, that is significant to the story and what happens after the story that makes it all so...tragic. God how many times have I used that word in this review? Subaru is the absolute representation of purity and good. Watching how he changes throughout the manga is wonderful (which means you must then read X/1999-you really must. I've written a review for that as well so check it out), and Hokuto is the sweetest sister ever. She's fiercely protective of Subaru and I loved that about her. And Seishirou is like an enigma. Their interactions throughout the story are what make it all and how everything comes together in the end makes it all so much more...
Just read it guys.

Enjoyment: If you can't see it now, you're blind. I love Tokyo Babylon. I fell in love with it in volume 1. Something about self-sacrificing Subaru just made me want to love him. I think, as humans, we can identify with tragedy because we all experience it in one way or another. And this is what makes us connect to what we read or watch. I can feel these characters and I can connect with the story and I love that I am pulled into this story not of my own volition. There wasn't one second where I thought, "Nah, I'm just going to put this book down and go wash dishes or something." This book gripped me by the heart and squeezed me for every tear that I had.

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May 19, 2013

marusamarento

Recommended

“Love is just a blood-match, to see who can endure lash, after lash…” – St Vincent

Though the title "Tokyo Babylon" evokes a contrast between the urban sprawl of 1980s cityscape and the ancient city of desolation, perhaps Sodom and Gomorrah would be a better allegory for the cold and corrupt city that lends itself to the scenery of Tokyo Babylon.

The city’s influence on our main character, Subaru Sumeragi, is undeniable. Thirteenth in the long line of onmyouji (spell-casters, mediums, or exorcists), he is employed as a kind of spiritual psychiatrist to relieve Tokyo’s residents, past and present, of their emotional baggage. Despite his obvious power ...

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Feb 20, 2015

misacchin

Recommended

Well damn...
This is not the kind of manga a read every day. I typically read adventure shounen or horror/ mystery type of stuff and Tokyo Babylon is pretty much on the other end of the scale HOWEVER it is worth the read, surprisingly, and here's why;
(PS. If you just want the short version of it skip to Overall :p)

Story: 9/10
I was extremely confused at the beginning. Not only was the wording terrible but what was happening in the story made no sense. I really have no idea why I kept reading because I felt like dropping t right there HOWEVER I am grateful I kept ... reading on. It went from "is this series a joke/I seriously don't expect anything out of this series" to "well damn me....".
If you have read some of Tokyo B. and thought what a joke I order that you go back and keep reading. It will get better as the story goes on; trust me.

Art: 8/10
I'm not very familiar with the shoujo typical kind of art so I'm not sure how it would score if you take that into consideration but overall it wasn't that bad. It is better than what I can draw so I can't really complain haha. At first I thought that the author would use the same face for all the characters but once you keep reading you see that all the characters have different facial characteristics and I appreciate that.

Characters: 9/10
You may think Subaru should just man up and stop being such a wimp but as you go on you appreciate his character and personality. You also begin to appreciate the characters and how they go on throughout the story and I really like Sei's development too. If you're a character development kind of person, this may be something you should add to your reading list.

Enjoyment: 10/10
To be honest with you, when I started reading I was prepared to spend the whole time laughing at the artwork and the characters and how terrible it was but as I kept reading I kept getting sucked in until I finished. I enjoyed that. I have really never had this kind of experience before so I applaud it for fooling me like this. After finishing it I wanted more ;n;. It seems like X is the sequel but I see no Subaru in it ;A;.

Overall: 10/10
I did give an 8 for the art but that is just me being picky, therefore I give11/11 7s for this. If this ends up in your list because of some kind of randomizing tool, read it. If you like this genre, read it. If you don't like this genre, read it (ok maybe don't but just give it it try >83), If you don't like shounen ai, read it. The is no ai in there what so ever apart from Sei being odd with his 'I love you' teases. I surprisingly enjoyed it and I bet you will too. It is not a long series and worth if you have the time to spare. My final comment on Tokyo B. is "damn that ending though"

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Poll: Tokyo Babylon Chapter 11 Discussion linkjoker - Jul 9, 2016	2 replies	by UfolyCloud »» Oct 4, 2021 2:27 AM
Poll: Tokyo Babylon Chapter 18 Discussion Trequartista - Nov 20, 2014	6 replies	by Jim_Heart »» Nov 18, 2019 7:02 AM
Poll: Tokyo Babylon Chapter 16 Discussion Trequartista - Nov 20, 2014	2 replies	by JeremiahOrange »» Aug 9, 2018 10:57 AM
Poll: Tokyo Babylon Chapter 15 Discussion linkjoker - Jul 10, 2016	1 replies	by JeremiahOrange »» Aug 9, 2018 10:51 AM
Poll: Tokyo Babylon Chapter 13 Discussion linkjoker - Jul 9, 2016	1 replies	by JeremiahOrange »» Aug 9, 2018 10:48 AM

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