I'll admit: I'm no fan of BeeTrain. So, when I first learned the studio would be handling Tsubasa Chronicle, I was filled with dread. Could BeeTrain do CLAMP? Could they take something with such a strange premise and origin and make it work in animated form? For that matter, could any studio pull it off?

Somehow, they did.

First of all, the show has the CLAMP feel, no doubt about it. The character designs, the fanciful setting, the narrative structure - it's all very familiar. What BeeTrain brings to the table is some incredible animation (it surpassed my expectations, really) and solid direction. Tsubasa Chronicle seems "more" than a simple TV series. It's practically theatrical in presentation.

Furthermore, Yuki Kajiura is on fire. She's a perfect fit for the mood and setting of the show. Kajiura might not be the most versatile composer in the industry, but given the right kind of show, she can work magic with her music. Such is the case here.

Now, I suppose it's necessary for me to comment on the voice acting, given the familiar characters and lack of seiyuu reprising previous roles. To be honest, everything is so different that it's not much of an issue for me. Even so, with the exception of Shaoran, the changes aren't particularly dramatic. With him, I suspect it's more a matter of uninspired, weak acting. In fact, the whole cast sounds as if it's simply "going through the motions" much of the time - Shaoran just stands out, for some reason. It's the only thing I can truly complain about at this point.

I'm more than satisfied with how things have turned out. I'm excited, really. The CLAMP fanboy within me is stirring.

It's been awhile...

The animation was great, especially the fighting scenes - they have stuck to the manga very closely - and the music was also a nice touch.

I guess CCS is still too ingrained in my mind - have to get used to that seiyuu...

Omgomgomg! How did I not hear about this sooner? @_@

*forces self to resume breathing*

Now I'm excited again. I heard about this, and actually dreaded it. It's rare for me to find an anime based on a manga I'm previously a fan of to be worth my time at all (especially with recent trainwrecks like Negima and Bleach), so it seems Tsubasa should be looking up. I'm anxious to see how things shape up if it keeps close to the manga, especially if they do the battle between Shaoran and Primela.

The seiyuu issue should be a fairly easy one for me to overcome, since I never really equated the characters back to their original counterparts, but that doesn't mean it's going to be any less weird hearing Yukito, Toya, and (eventually, I assume) Sorata and Arashi with different voices.

To me CLAMP has always been a kind of hit-or-miss deal. I did enjoy the X Tv series, though it dragged a bit. I've avoided the manga as I can't imagine how slow it must be, stringed across so many volumes. Their art has gotten better lately, but I've never been a fan of their anorexic style. The early volumes of X I saw many years ago struck me as poorly drawn, another reason why I've avoided it.

But to Tsubasa. I read what the fan translators managed to do before the manga got licensed. The premise of the story didn't strike me as particularly original, nor did the execution. The Pokemon-esque first story arc didn't very much fill me with confidence either.

Further, I didn't fully understand the need to run a gauntlet of cameos when the characters are the same mostly in name and looks only (one can speak about parallel universes, but more often than not it is what authors use when they run low on fresh ideas). That is why voice actors won't register as an issue to me. But like I said, I didn't see much of the manga, so how well this works out remains to be seen.

I'm still very willing to give this show a chance though. I'm checking it out mostly for two reasons: Bee Train and Yuki Kajiura. Judging by the first episode, both appear to be doing a good job. I liked the other recent CLAMP manga, xxxholic, so I'm hoping this show will tell me if I should check out further volumes of Tsubasa manga.

I like the exoticness of the show. The music during the show is great too. Iunno about the opening song. Already love the show.

my gosh... they have created this anime.... *shocked*
my gosh... this is good news

I feel the soundtrack is very Noir- / Madlax-esque, but as you said it fits the show perfectly and I want to have the OSt even after only one episode ^^

I love the music but it gives me .hack flashbacks when coupled with the costumes. I love Sakura's outfit. Though if she doesn't get frequent outfit changes I'll be sorta disappointed. (But she's unconcious now so none of that, Shaoran!)

It's all so pretty... I think I turned into a fangirl.

I've been a fan of CLAMP art. The backgrounds have always been well done, albeit at times over the top. The character designs however do take some time to get used to, especially if you are accustomed to the well endowed fanservice stuff. As you can tell, they are a bit "flatter", should I say?

It's not a bad start, but I am having a deja vu of .hack ...

I find it weird viewing CLAMP stuff made by BEE-TRAIN and music but Yuki Kajiura.

The result is very stylized and funny stuff does not seem funny.

The voices doesn't seem like it is spoken by the characters, strange feeling.

The faces look a tiny bit weird sometimes (looks best in the ED to me).

The characters are drawn in the same lanky tall manga style.
(I miss the thick bold lines in the manga)

Seiyuu of Mokona is DekaPink from DekaRangers!!