From July third to September twenty third of 2024, The Nationwide Artwork Middle in Tokyo held the CLAMP Exhibition, a serious exhibition devoted to the well-known manga artist collective, showcasing round 800 authentic manuscripts in one of many largest exhibition areas in Japan. In 2024 CLAMP are celebrating their thirty fifth anniversary as skilled manga artists and this exhibition is a end result of that milestone.
CLAMP is a inventive group of 4 girls who’ve produced a spread of iconic manga throughout a wide range of demographics, from shoujo to seinen. A few of their most notable works embrace Tokyo Babylon, X, Magic Knight Rayearth, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Tsubasa – RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE – and xxxHolic. They began as a bigger group of 12 girls within the late Nineteen Eighties producing doujinshis of standard works comparable to Saint Seiya and Captain Tsubasa. They made their skilled debut in 1989 on the pages of the third version of South journal (Shinsokan) with their authentic story RG Veda. By that point, the collective had shrunk to 6 members, finally resulting in its final formation with its 4 present members: Igarashi Satsuki, Ohkawa Nanase, Nekoi, and Mokona.
The thought to carry a devoted CLAMP exhibition first took place in September 2019 from considered one of CLAMP’s most important publishers, Kodansha, after the profitable run of the Cardcaptor Sakura Exhibition – the Enchanted Museum exhibition on the Mori Arts Middle Gallery, which might later journey to different cities in Japan and Asia. Quickly after, different publishers and corporations associated to CLAMP and their works fashioned a committee and began planning the exhibition. It took 5 years of planning however, in keeping with one of many exhibition producers from Kodansha, from the very starting there was a need to do the exhibition at The Nationwide Artwork Middle, a grand museum with spacious, eight-meters excessive ceiling exhibition rooms which have hosted exhibitions of legendary artists comparable to Salvador Dali, Caravaggio, and Monet. So far as I’ve been capable of uncover, that is the primary time the Middle has placed on an exhibition of this scale specializing in girls artists.
There had been a number of exhibitions showcasing CLAMP’s authentic manuscripts previously 35 years, significantly for his or her hottest works comparable to Magic Knight Rayearth and Cardcaptor Sakura. As for exhibitions centered on CLAMP’s complete physique of labor, maybe essentially the most vital one had been the CLAMP Su exhibition, which was held on the Kawasaki Metropolis Museum from January twenty second to April tenth of 2005, on the event of the group’s fifteenth anniversary. This 2024 exhibition is, nevertheless, CLAMP’s largest one up to now.
I’ve been carefully following CLAMP’s actions since November of 2000, when the Cardcaptor Sakura TV anime began airing in my house nation, Brazil, the place I nonetheless dwell. Since then, not solely have I learn all their works and watched all of the anime diversifications, however I’ve additionally been actively concerned in fandom, created a weblog which later developed right into a web site devoted to them, and commenced a group that now has over 1000 objects. I had been fortunate and privileged sufficient to see CLAMP’s authentic manuscripts for the primary time in 2009 when an exhibition was held on the now completely closed La Galerie des Bibliothèques, in Paris. As if that itself wasn’t an distinctive expertise, the CLAMP members themselves had been there in particular person through the opening, which made it much more particular and unforgettable. Nonetheless, the Paris exhibition was a small one, in a small venue. When this CLAMP Exhibition was first introduced, I knew I needed to be there in particular person, particularly after it was introduced it will be their largest exhibition. Planning a visit to Japan from Brazil is just not an off-the-cuff affair. The quickest journeys often take not less than 30 hours of lengthy haul flights and layovers, however I used to be positive it will be value it.
The exhibition itself was divided into seven themed areas: “COLOR,” “LOVE,” “ADVENTURE,” “MAGIC,” “PHRASE,” “IMAGINATION,” and “DREAM”. The customer is guided by means of every space in that order. The “COLOR” space featured round 100 authentic coloured artworks from the entire 23 works created by CLAMP over time, showcasing the number of methods utilized by the gifted workforce. From the daring and lavished strokes in RG Veda and X, to the color-blocking aesthetics made nearly solely utilizing coloured screentones in Tokyo Babylon, going to the favored copic markers in Magic Knight Rayearth and Cardcaptor Sakura, the coloured pencils in ‘Suki. Dakara Suki’, the acrylic gouache in Chobits, the digital coloring in Authorized Drug/Drug & Drop, up till the manuscript paper shade used as pores and skin tone in xxxHolic, simply to call a couple of.
Particular consideration is given to the number of artwork supplies, papers, methods, and kinds used to characterize every work’s worldview, highlighting CLAMP’s creative versatility. That is attainable to expertise due to the captions detailing the artwork supplies used for every bit and the elective audio information that, amongst different issues, brings consideration to the truth that CLAMP are probably the one manga artists in Japan which are capable of persistently swap kinds between works, generally whereas serializing a number of sequence concurrently. The introductory textual content on this room and the audio information tracks each spotlight to guests that such creative versatility is strictly linked to CLAMP’s skill to provide numerous manga works throughout varied genres and demographics together with boys’, women’, and younger males’s comics.
The 2 highlighted items from this room had been a large, over one meter excessive paintings that was used for a RG Veda poster through the time of its OVA launch and the total illustration featured on the spines of the X manga compiled books, together with a by no means earlier than seen portion of the illustration that’s supposed to come back out on the spines of the yet-to-be-published previous few volumes left, if and when the sequence ever returns from the hiatus standing that began in 2003.
“No emotions are ever neglected
The varied types of love drawn by CLAMP.”
These are the phrases that introduce guests to the LOVE space. CLAMP are recognized for exploring and depicting a number of varieties of affection by means of their works, whatever the style and target market. On this space, dozens of monochromatic authentic manuscripts in no specific order are displayed, every portraying a key scene representing CLAMP’s views of affection in all shapes and varieties: love between pals; father or mother and a baby, siblings; human being and a non-human being, comparable to an angel, an android or a pet; unrequited love and different numerous sorts of relationships are represented. Similar-sex relationships are frequent in CLAMP’s works since their early days and people should not solely current however highlighted within the LOVE space—one of many audio information tracks accessible on this space is solely devoted to a key scene that’s on show between two feminine characters in love with one another through the climax of RG Veda.
An enormous A-shaped archway adorned with components from CLAMP manga takes guests to the ADVENTURE space, the place authentic manuscripts from RG Veda, Tokyo Babylon, X, Magic Knight Rayearth, Cardcaptor Sakura and Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- are on show in that order, respecting the chronological order wherein they had been revealed in Japan.
Though the older manuscripts have yellowing and the occasional darkish spots attributable to particular glue varieties utilized by manga artists greater than 30 years in the past, the manuscripts on show had been all in excellent situation.
One side that was very spectacular and constant to nearly all monochrome manuscripts was the usage of “whiteouts,” that are the white dots which are fastidiously splashed on prime of the completed manuscript that add depth, affect, lightness or heaviness, or perhaps a sense of drama. Many manga artists use this method, however CLAMP have used it persistently of their works, making it one other side of their signature fashion. Within the printed pages in publications, the whiteouts develop into flat and two-dimensional, whereas within the authentic manuscripts, one may recognize their embossed and three-dimensional points, appreciating that the manuscripts are actual and hand-made.
Within the X part, specifically, regardless of being safely secured behind a glass in lovely white frames, one may nearly really feel the thickness and heavy weight of the overly toned manuscripts by the a number of layers of screentone utilized on prime of them, a few of which had been even beginning to barely peel off because of the impact of time and the logistics concerned in showcasing them for an exhibition. Nevertheless these a number of layers of screentone and slicing and pasting work is exactly what makes X… effectively, X. CLAMP have acknowledged in previous interviews that ending an X manuscript took twice as lengthy because it does for his or her different sequence and that was noticeable by the gang lining as much as verify its manuscripts up shut. The “X nook” was all the time crowded with guests paying shut consideration to each element on the busy pages of X.
Different standard displays had been for Magic Knight Rayearth and Cardcaptor Sakura, a few of CLAMP’s hottest works not solely in Japan but additionally internationally. Referring again to the audio information, the monitor for Magic Knight Rayearth highlighted the truth that it was a daring resolution so as to add robots in a shoujo manga and the way the ending of the primary sequence was uncommon for {a magazine} focused for younger women, however that it was effectively obtained sufficient to greenlight a sequel, exhibiting that CLAMP understood the project even throughout their first time drawing for that individual viewers. As for Cardcaptor Sakura, the monitor highlighted its position as CLAMP’s breakout hit on a nationwide stage, in addition to the truth that Sakura herself absolutely respects and accepts a spectrum of various identities, approach earlier than phrases comparable to range and representativeness had been en vogue.
Admiring the unique manuscripts of a manga is an invite to the inventive course of behind its creation. As an example, it thrilled me to study that the Clow and Sakura playing cards that seem in Cardcaptor Sakura had been every drawn individually and later downsized with the assistance of a duplicate machine or pc to then lastly be pasted onto the manuscripts, assuring their consistency no matter what number of instances they seem. An identical methodology was used with the advanced magic circles that seem in each Cardcaptor Sakura and Tsubasa. If you concentrate on it, that strategy is the one which makes extra sense, however one can solely be successfully positive when wanting on the authentic manuscripts. The identical goes for all of the guiding strains, small corrections and edits that may be solely seen in an authentic manuscript.
The MAGIC space, the one space with out authentic manuscripts on show, was an audiovisual expertise with three massive screens dealing with one another in a triangle. Their screens confirmed a loop of nonetheless illustrations drawn by CLAMP coming to movement utilizing the bone animation method.
CLAMP’s visuals are a deal with for the attention. That goes with out saying. However the collective can also be recognized for his or her compelling narratives and impactful phrases. That’s the most important theme of the PHRASE space, divided into one room exhibiting authentic manuscripts from xxxHolic and xxxHolic Rei and one other with an interactive ingredient the place guests may select a spherical mirrored sticker containing a phrase spoken by a CLAMP character. Guests had been then invited to stick the mirrored sticker in one of many partitions within the room wherever they wished. Quickly sufficient, the complete room turned one large, four-sided mirror stuffed with significant phrases spoken by sturdy characters by CLAMP. One may spend hours studying by means of all of the completely different phrases and digesting their which means when analyzing them in such an remoted, out-of-context kind.
Persevering with the journey, the subsequent cease is the IMAGINATION space, which delved into the group’s 35 years trajectory in creating manga and a few of their collaboration works with different artists or manufacturers. Two complete partitions had been used to visually show a timeline chronicling CLAMP’s manga releases over time. Due to the best way it was composed, it’s straightforward to see which title they had been engaged on on the similar time at any given second. As an example, the years of 1999 and 2000 had been the busiest, wherein CLAMP labored on a powerful complete of 5 sequence concurrently.
There’s a particular consideration given to CLAMP’s involvement within the e-book design of their compiled volumes (tankoubon), which is famous to be one thing uncommon for a manga artist to be concerned as they often go away that solely as much as the editorial division. Nevertheless, as a consequence of CLAMP’s roots within the doujinshi scene, again within the day they used to provide their very own books together with the binding and total design. A few of their doujinshi have extraordinarily elaborate packaging and deluxe ending, due to this fact it is sensible that they’d become involved within the design of the ultimate compiled e-book. On this similar part, consideration is given to the truth that CLAMP’s shounen sequence Tsubasa – RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE – was the primary title to incorporate a restricted version bundled with an OVA overlaying one of many sequence’ hottest arcs, which began a pattern within the manga business. This is only one instance of CLAMP’s affect, affect, and legacy on the manga and anime business.
One wall of the IMAGINATION space was devoted to a few of CLAMP’s collaboration efforts: authentic character idea arts for Dawn’s standard Code Geass franchise had been on show, in addition to tough sketches from BLOOD-C and The Grimm Variations. Different collaborations showcased included the one with determine skater Yuzuru Hanyu and Hiya Kitty, wherein CLAMP offered a particular design in celebration of the character’s fiftieth anniversary. A number of Magic Knight Rayearth TV sequence script books (with episode scripts written by CLAMP’s Ohkawa Nanase) had been additionally on show, exhibiting that CLAMP are additionally concerned within the anime diversifications of their very own works.
These are solely a really small portion of all of the collaboration works achieved by CLAMP over their 35 years profession, however it will require not less than one or two further rooms to point out all of them. This spectrum of labor explains why they outline themselves not simply as manga artists however as a “inventive group.”
Within the very center of the IMAGINATION space stood a desk with an interview printed on its floor entitled “4 Inquiries to CLAMP” (English translation accessible right here) that centered on their inventive course of and the long run. It was printed in such a approach that guests wanted to circle across the desk to be able to learn all of it.
Goals play an vital position in lots of CLAMP works, usually as a serious character motivation, so it’s no shock that the final space of the exhibition is named DREAM. Lengthy, white curtains enhance either side of the room and a single paintings is displayed within the center on the very finish of the room: an illustration that CLAMP drew specifically for this exhibition that includes Ashura (from RG Veda) and Kinomoto Sakura (from Cardcaptor Sakura) in mirrored positions, characters from their first and newest works, respectively.
Going previous the paintings and simply earlier than leaving the exhibition, the very final thing guests see is a quote initially spoken by CLAMP’s character Ichihara Yuuko (and later, Kimihiro Watanuki) that claims “Might your journey be stuffed with happiness”.
Every time I am going to an artwork exhibition, as a lot as I attempt very onerous to give attention to all the pieces, often my consideration is given to a choice of specific artwork items that talk to me. I can’t keep in mind ever being so centered, studying all of the captions and all of the artwork items intimately, like I did within the CLAMP Exhibition. I’ve waited years for a possibility like this and I wished to grab it since I knew it would take a really very long time earlier than I’ve this chance once more—in truth, CLAMP have acknowledged of their official podcast that this may need been the final time that their actual manuscripts had been displayed as they’re apprehensive that transferring them round would possibly compromise their integrity.
Talking of studying captions, I need to contact on the multilingual side of the exhibition. All texts had been translated to English, together with the caption for every manuscript. The one exception was the interview, which was solely accessible in Japanese. The audio information was accessible in English, Korean and Chinese language along with Japanese (which was narrated by voice actor Fukuyama Jun, who has voiced a number of CLAMP characters, most famously Watanuki within the anime diversifications of xxxHolic). As a foreigner and somebody who can’t converse Japanese fluently, I may have a way more inclusive expertise due to the English translations. It made me really feel seen and like I used to be a part of a neighborhood. This shouldn’t be taken without any consideration as it isn’t a typical apply for exhibitions in Japan, sadly. On this similar journey, I additionally had the possibility of visiting a Ito Junji exhibition and going to the Sailor Moon Museum in Nagoya, however neither of these had been as bilingual as CLAMP’s. I have no idea whether or not this can be a customary coverage of exhibitions held at The Nationwide Artwork Middle or a requirement that got here immediately from CLAMP, contemplating their worldwide attraction, but it surely was positively the precise resolution. I visited the exhibition a complete of 5 instances and in all of them I may determine non-Japanese guests who might have benefitted from the translations to be able to have a greater expertise on the exhibition.
Public attendance numbers had been spectacular. Over 250,000 individuals visited the exhibition throughout its 72 days run (3,472 guests a day on common), which is greater than the 200,000 guests for the exhibition devoted to the French designer Yves Saint Laurent that was additionally held at The Nationwide Artwork Middle in 2023.
Going ahead, an tailored model of the exhibition with a choice of artworks is deliberate to journey to completely different cities in Japan, which is being referred to as as CLAMP Exhibition -SELECTION-. With a view to protect the integrity of the unique manuscripts, solely reproductions shall be on show. The primary metropolis to host the “-SELECTION-” variation of the exhibition shall be Osaka, from November 2024 to January 2025. Different cities in Japan are anticipated to comply with and seeing how the Cardcaptor Sakura Exhibition – the Enchanted Museum remains to be touring round a number of cities exterior Japan in Asia, there’s a probability that the CLAMP Exhibition -SELECTION- variation will comply with the identical path.
This exhibition was lengthy overdue. CLAMP have been persistently creating hit manga and anime for over 35 years which have influenced thousands and thousands of individuals around the globe and the truth that they’re a collective of 4 girls must be overly acknowledged and celebrated. The truth is, maybe that’s the very purpose why they’re so profitable.
This exhibition’s whopping catalog made from 800 items is just a small fraction of CLAMP’s spectacular monitor file, but it surely’s a good illustration of how gifted and competent they’re. I sincerely hope it would assist much more individuals to get to know CLAMP and their works and permit themselves to be blown away by their compelling tales, sturdy characters and breathtaking artwork.
