Tokyo Babylon (東京BABYLON), also known as Tokyo Babylon: A Save Tokyo City Story, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Clamp. It follows Subaru Sumeragi, the head of the Sumeragi clan, and his sister Hokuto, as they work to protect Tokyo from a myriad of supernatural perils while living with a man named Seishiro Sakurazuka. Shinshokan serialized it in their shojo manga magazines South and Wings from 1990 to 1993, and the series was collected into 7 tankōbon volumes.
Tokyopop first distributed the English-language version of the manga; this is now handled by Yen Press. The series is based on a self-written work, dōjinshi, writer Nanase Ohkawa created. Clamp decided to add dark social themes to the serialization because of the chapters' lengths. Clamp found it difficult to write the manga because it was being serialized alongside their first work, RG Veda. Between 1992 and 1994, Madhouse studio adapted Tokyo Babylon into a two-part original video animation series focused on the original storylines. PDS also produced a live-action feature film sequel, Tokyo Babylon 1999, which was released in August 1993, which is set after the events of the manga. A full anime television series adaptation, Tokyo Babylon 2021, was announced in 2020, but was cancelled in the wake of accusations of plagiarism.
The series has been well received for its focus on occultism and social themes. It is also famous in the West for including a homosexual relationship, explored through the characters of Subaru and Seishiro. The writers' heavy focus on Subaru's character development stood out alongside the art produced by Clamp. The manga is notorious for its open and tragic ending which is followed in Clamp's next work, X.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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