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Syaoran would do anything for his princess Sakura, whom he loves deeply. Her memory has been taken away, the pieces of it divided into magical feathers that he must travel through different worlds to regain. He is accompanied by Kurogane, a tall, crabby warrior who has patience only for action, Fai, his sweetly smiling, loquacious opposite, and Mokona, a small, chubby bunny-like creature whose powers of detecting the feathers and translating languages make him invaluable. They travel to the Hanshin republic, where they discover that everyone has a Kundan, spirits of differing powers that are meant to protect the person to which they attach themselves. Syaoran has already discovered, at the beginning of the book, his Kundan, a fire wolf of impressive power. This very power makes Syaoran and his friends a target. There are different gangs who fight, using their spirits, for control of different parts of the city. Some of these people are good, and some, well...

As you may recall, if you read my review of xxxAholic Volume 2, Tsubasa is half of a larger story. I didn't know how the ladies of Clamp were going to handle this, but it's actually quite simple. The stories are actually two separate entities with some minor (at least in this volume) connections. We know, if we've read both, that the Mokona is a gift from a powerful witch. Syaoran has sacrificed his relationship with Sakura in order to pay for this help. But we also know that the witch isn't an evil person and she's using Mokona's twin to keep tabs on them. It's far more important to have read all of the volumes of Tsubasa, let's say, than it is to have read xxxAholic. I found that Tsubasa was much more exciting than xxxAholic, though there are some really exciting fight scenes in here, including one between Fai and a pop star who uses tongue twisters in her attacks. (All these comparisons should have the words "so far" added to them. It's early in the series, and to be honest, I missed book one of both.)

You also learn some really fabulous facts about Japanese culture. In the back of the book, some of the things that go on in the story are explained, such as why Kurogane flipping his own food was such a bad thing, or why the endearment filled way Fai addresses Kurogane is actually him being funny. It's illuminating and interesting.

I genuinely liked the characters. Syaoran is what you come to expect from a hero, fair, open minded, willing to fight, determined. His love for Sakura is very sweet, and you know that, even when things seem lost, he won't stop. What really breaks things up is the interaction between Fai and Kurogane, who, as I said, are very different. Also, Mokona, who liked to use Kurogane as a perch, is very funny and adorable. The art helps in this. Sometimes it's very simple, but mostly it flows beautifully. The action scenes are very exciting, and the people are well characterized by it.

Cindy Lynn Speer loves books so much that she's designed most of her life around them, both as a librarian and a writer. Her books aren't due out anywhere soon, but she's trying. You can find her site at www.apenandfire.com.