Clover

Mar 22, 2013 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, manga-worth-checking-out

Beautiful artwork. Heartbreaking story divided into four fragments like the leaves of a four leaf clover. Whatever flaws in the storytelling, the art more than makes up for them. This omnibus edition is a keepsake unto itself.

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Mar 03, 2013 Alan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was drawn toward this massive volume of manga, partly because of its cover, partly because of the acclaim of the writers (CLAMP is a highly-tutted group responsible for such series as X, Chobits, xxxHolic, and more), and because this is a series that went out of print for the longest time, and was finally assembled in full by Dark Horse Manga. This volume is also notable for presenting the complete series in its proper back-cover-to-front-cover, right-to-left format as was originally intended....more I was drawn toward this massive volume of manga, partly because of its cover, partly because of the acclaim of the writers (CLAMP is a highly-tutted group responsible for such series as X, Chobits, xxxHolic, and more), and because this is a series that went out of print for the longest time, and was finally assembled in full by Dark Horse Manga. This volume is also notable for presenting the complete series in its proper back-cover-to-front-cover, right-to-left format as was originally intended. It also contains a number of pages with bonus full-color artwork on glossy paper, making the volume even more worth the money.

The manga itself is a pretty decent and fun read. It's not too dense or complicated at all; it took me just a couple of hours to read all five hundred pages. Most of the action will be in the first volume, which represents the main bulk of the story's conflicts. It portrays an interesting universe that's highly futuristic, but also very retro, like a cross between cyberpunk and steampunk. There are quite a few pursuits and fights in the first volume, building up a a simple yet thrilling storyline. I found it a little tricky trying to understand the characters and what was going on, but then the remaining volumes of the manga goes backwards to reveal the full background of the events. The action dies down substantially as the drama increases in the later volumes; it makes for a rather anticlimactic story arc.

However, it does prove to be a rather strong story, thanks to the flashbacks provided. The later volumes provide so much to the characters, story, and concepts that it makes the first action-packed volume all the more compelling. Above all, I realized that the characters are compelling, and I grew to care for them by the end of the book. It helps make the more tragic scenes stand out stronger, so the manga does have a fair amount of emotional punch. It also helps that the story boasts a number of interesting concepts and ideas, and plays off of them to support the overall story.

My only real complaint is that the story could have been arranged differently. I felt it would have been more prudent to provide the flashbacks either before the main story, or intermixed with it. As it is, with all the background shoved at the end, it left me feeling a little lost during the main conflict, and it felt like it trailed off at the end.

The manga has decent writing. It gets a little melodramatic, especially with its constant repeating of the clover song sung by the main characters, and the constant repeating of phrases like "I want happiness." Still, the book does strike an appropriately poetic and dramatic tone, which I suspect could be adapted into a really awesome anime or film. Artwork is phenomenal, featuring plenty of fantastic-looking scenes and settings. Characters are well-drawn and quite distinctive.

Overall, I was quite happy with this compilation. Recommended.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Very Good | Book: Very Good)(less)

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Jun 04, 2012 Miz Moffatt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, japanese, manga, science-fiction, shoujo

Full review posted on Across the Litoverse

Far in the future, children with special abilities have been collected and contained under a set of military directives known as the Clover Leaf Project. "Clovers" possess unusual, unexplained powers over various technologies, allowing them to teleport people and objects, to summon weapons from thin air, and more. In this world, Sue is the sole four-leaf Clover, and she has grown up isolated in a gorgeous, clockwork cage. She is barred from all human con...more Full review posted on Across the Litoverse

Far in the future, children with special abilities have been collected and contained under a set of military directives known as the Clover Leaf Project. "Clovers" possess unusual, unexplained powers over various technologies, allowing them to teleport people and objects, to summon weapons from thin air, and more. In this world, Sue is the sole four-leaf Clover, and she has grown up isolated in a gorgeous, clockwork cage. She is barred from all human contact as her attachments to and feelings for others could become weaponized, thereby jeopardizing the nation's security. Instead, she spends her days conversing with the disembodied voice of her "Grandmother" (one of the Elders) and the tragic one-leaf Clover, Ora, who lives out in the world as a singer.

Kazuhiko, a retired black-ops agent, has been called out of retirement to take on a special assignment—General Lee reminds the young agent of his previous court martial and the strings pulled to free him from terrible persecution. Kazuhiko has been instructed to escort Sue to a destination only she knows; however, as the pair move through the dangerous back alleys of the city and encounter the fearsome powers of military and gangster forces, Kazuhiko uncovers his deeper connections to Sue and discovers a greater heartache than he's ever known…

Clover demands great respect for its minimal, breathtaking art. Mokona uses white space to her advantage, and often uses that emptiness to reinforce the acute loneliness of Sue and her fellow Clovers. Sadly, I did find the writing repetitive in numerous places—Sue and Orha compose a song together that captures their shared isolation and their wish for escape and eternal happiness. I loved the lyrics the first few times around, but there came a point where the song became the entire plot line/dialogue and I found myself skimming over large sections of the text.

Overall, manga fans ought to check out Clover for its groundbreaking artwork, but do proceed with caution when it comes to those lyrics…

Ideal for: Science fiction fans who appreciate refined, elaborate technical designs; Steampunk kids looking for outfit inspirations; Manga readers curious about the genre's classics.(less)

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Aug 20, 2011 Susan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, playlist-then-someone-loses-an-eye, look-nay-lady-authors, blog-ladybusiness

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Ah, CLAMP. Your artwork is absolutely GORGEOUS, especially in this book. It has PAGES of CLAMP’s gorgeous, detailed artwork in COLOUR, and I freely admit to being way too distracted by that. If you like CLAMPs art and the combination of simple layout and detailed accessories/art, this might be relevant to your interests. The character designs are lovely by the way - Sue, Ora and Gingetsu have my favourite designs of anyone in the manga, and the weaponry designs are fantastic.

The story is told ba

...more

Ah, CLAMP. Your artwork is absolutely GORGEOUS, especially in this book. It has PAGES of CLAMP’s gorgeous, detailed artwork in COLOUR, and I freely admit to being way too distracted by that. If you like CLAMPs art and the combination of simple layout and detailed accessories/art, this might be relevant to your interests. The character designs are lovely by the way - Sue, Ora and Gingetsu have my favourite designs of anyone in the manga, and the weaponry designs are fantastic.

The story is told backwards, which makes more sense than it seems it should - the first two volumes deal with Sue and her journey, the third with Ora before that, and the last with Ran even before that. My favourite story arc has to be Ora’s, I’ll admit - she is my favourite character, just because she’s got a dream, and she’s got things that she loves and make her happy and regardless of what’s going to happen and when, she is going to live her life and her dream and enjoy it. She is my favourite. I would have loved to see more about the mystery plot that’s touched upon involving her as well - the plot of the main storyline doesn’t interest as much as that would. SPOILER, highlight to read: Although it IRKS ME TO ALL HELL that she is fridged. Although actually, I’m not sure whether it’s actually fridging at this point? She doesn’t seem to provide that much motivation for her boyfriend as it does for Sue - it seems more to be a motivation for Ora herself? It just annoys me that she’s killed and then it’s never explained, we don’t get to see it being investigated, NOTHING. Annoying.

Also, as an aside, CLAMP! I see you are keeping up your trend of having the relationships be a touch on the creepy side - Sue is a tiny girl who appears to be about twelve or thirteen (there is no proof that she is or isn’t, because apparently the place she and Ran lived halted their aging and accelerate it should they leave, which really DOESN’T HELP ANYTHING because Ran looks about six in his origin story and is said to only have around five years to live, and Ran doesn’t look that much older, and - well, there is love and suggestions that some of these relationships are intimate and my brain is still flagging this as creepy. ... On the other hand, still not as creepy as the guy who seems to want to kill Kazuhiko and keep his corpse for um. Personal use. Um.

BASICALLY, this is CLAMP being CLAMP in its usual “pretty but not necessarily wholesome mode,” and just. Yes. If you have read and enjoyed CLAMP you will probably enjoy this!

As an aside, if this is relevant to your interests, might I also recommend Stigma by Kazuya Minekura [GoodReads] - it’s the artist of Saiyuki doing a full colour manga that ALSO involves a bitter man guarding a small child on a journey and possibly loving them inappropriately, with 100% fewer girls with wings and equal amounts of creepy nemeses who seem to want to have sex with the hero, kill the hero and possibly do both of these things at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME. It is beautiful and about as messed up as you expect.)

(ORIGINALLY REVIEWED AS PART OF A GUEST POST AT LADY BUSINESS.)

(less)

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Apr 04, 2010 Skwerlie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I remember flipping through the first volume of this, years ago. I was intriugued by the art but even before it was taken out of print it was a bit hard to find. Imagine my surprise when I saw that it had been reprinted as an omnibus version including all 4 of the original books (as well as a bunch of nice colour art)!

It's hard to rate this as a book, because the story is not only incomplete (the magazine it was serialized in went out of publication) but a bit lacking at times (and I will admit,...more

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Sep 10, 2009 Smizily rated it 5 of 5 stars

"I love you, Sue. I wish we could have met. I would have held you in my arms." Each CLAMP story inevitably has a scene that reduces me to tears. This was the one.

I read Clover for the first time in what must have been middle school, when the separate novels were published in an especially artistic style, intricate covers with green translucent parts and color splash pages included. I'm afraid that at the time, I did not appreciate the manga at all. I read it once and then never picked up again u...more

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Sep 08, 2009 Lesley rated it 4 of 5 stars

This series was bittersweet. It was really, really sad, but somehow also uplifting, without being a total bummer. It was one of those series, though, that I kept thinking, "if only such-and-such had happened," and "why didn't they just...?" I guess that's the point of this type of literature.

Clamp is known for it's beautiful artwork, and this one is no exception. The full-color covers included in this edition were far and away the best part of the book. Absolutely amazing. Sure, the men are comp...more

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Aug 18, 2009 Starbubbles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga

for starters, this book is huge. but you soon discover the reason for its size; it contains 4 volumes. totally made the 20 bucks i spent on it, worth it. but regardless of its size, it only took a couple of hours to read, and was finished in one siting (not something i'm normally able to do with manga of this size).

i wish i would have started with clover as my first clamp read, it would have totally changed my perspective on their writing style. i had orginally picked this up a couple of weeks...more for starters, this book is huge. but you soon discover the reason for its size; it contains 4 volumes. totally made the 20 bucks i spent on it, worth it. but regardless of its size, it only took a couple of hours to read, and was finished in one siting (not something i'm normally able to do with manga of this size).

i wish i would have started with clover as my first clamp read, it would have totally changed my perspective on their writing style. i had orginally picked this up a couple of weeks ago because i have a rabbit named clover and thought that it was neat to see a book with her name. i flipped through a few pages, breifly glanced at the artwork inside and the back, then put it back down thinking that surely it could not have a fully developed story with so few pictures and words. boy was i mistaken! it is perfect in the form that it is in. it almost has a "metropolis" (the movie) feel to it. but i actually liked this, and didn't like the movie.

i was choked up the entire time i was reading this series, er book. the story is presented out of order, (the ending comes in book 2) but is done in way way where you are left wondering if that was really the end. as you continue to read you realize that you really did loop back in time to meet all four levels of clovers. i was left wondering if there was really only one four-leaf out there, or was she the only one found. you see people struggle to hold onto the power that they have fought to obtain and their tactics to use whatever means necessary to maintaining that power. i saw them ruling in fear instead of the other way around, which would have honestly been true to form of the machiavellian nature presented here. you see consequence of actions taken and how they affect others, even if you live all alone. it was a masterpiece through and through, and i'm glad they gave credit to the artists in the clamp group that created it: mokona and ohkawa (which is a first for me, i normally don't see credit given to any individuals inside of clamp). if clamp ever decides to add to it, i'll most certainly be one of the first in line to purchase, but it's also fine if it's never picked up again. the ending already there along with everything else, it's fine.

never fear if you've fallen in love with some of the characters in this book. ora appears again (in true clamp fashion) in their "tsubasa" series. plus, you also get to revisit fairy park in the same series. so it's not like the series ever really came to an end. (less)

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Jan 22, 2011 abatage rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga

CLAMP once again show why they are the powerhouse of manga. While this book collects the incomplete story of Clover, it manages to stand alongside the best in the genre for its originality and experimental nature.

The art and panel design takes a step away from a-typical manga illustrations and can sometimes be a bit confusing if you're somone familiar with the genre. It works though, and shows how CLAMP manage to push the medium beyond its usual limitations. There are many sparse pages in Clover...more

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Feb 22, 2010 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, fantasy, shojo

This was a reissue of a classic Dark Horse series, in one giant volume. I loved the art, and the story was a departure for me in my manga reading. I love sci-fi/fantasy as a genre, but rarely find it in the manga I select. As the story progresses, we learn that society is governed by 5 psychics. At some point, they initiated a program called "Clover" where they sought children with varying levels of psychic ability...mostly as a way to keep such psychics in check and to protect their own superio...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Annie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, 2012, 2012-04-apr

Clover's art and style design are amazing. The Dark Horse omnibus edition is extremely well-produced, with some fantastic full-color art inserts. I will definitely be looking to Dark Horse for future manga purchases because of how nicely done this book is. That said, I think it was a poor choice for me for what was basically the first manga I have ever read. Adjusting to the right-to-left reading format took some adjustment, but I felt fairly comfortable with it by the time I finished. However,...more

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Jan 01, 2011 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fairy-tales, dystopia, comics

Granted if I was writing this review when I was twenty I would have given it five stars.
Three is enough as I am thirty now and upon reading the English translation I as left wanting more story than I got. I was given this from my brother for Christmas, though he told me my sister picked it out. That didn't surprise me, as she was there with me when I first found the original Japanese Manga and just about lost it over how beautiful the art was. Ten years later the art holds up beautifully, thoug...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Kaion rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, graphic-novel

A triumph of style over substance, Clover was CLAMP's experimental foray, and it really shows. The plot is practically inexistent, the characters entirely one-dimensional (if that), and the writing darn insipid (particularly obvious through CLAMP's experimenting with the use of repetition). But the art is beautiful: their take on sci-fi steampunk design is a welcome addition to the well-mined genre, and the most surprising part of Clover is the use of paneling and white space. Sure, it's in serv...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Hat of Nikitich rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, comics, posthuman

My teenage years were heavily influenced by a steady diet of CLAMP. For whatever reason, I never got to read the Clover series while it was in its heyday and then I fell out of touch with manga in general. It wasn't 'till my husband bought me the omnibus edition of the volumes this winter that I finally got to see it. It was definitely worth the wait; I feel like I might not have appreciated it as much when I was a teenager anyway.

The artwork is very bold and stark. Negative space is king, and i...more

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May 07, 2011 Ryan Zimmerman Carstairs rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-graphics-art

This was on sale at Boarders ($4.99 is a great price for ANY Manga, mush less a large 512 page omnibus edition with dozens of full-colour images). I have never read a Manga before, but my youngest loves them. I have to say the reading from back to front is a bit disconcerting, but so far the story is enough to get me through. Not sure I am in love with the format – but I guess I can adapt.

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Well, finished – its not really all that good. Beautiful artwork, interesting concepts, but the s...more

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Jun 28, 2010 Mai rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, death-grief, friends, romantic-subplot, series-finished, sf-fantasy, to-buy, graphic-novels, favorite-book-covers

I normally don't include manga in my list of books read, but this is the omnibus edition, and the series needs reviewing. The art is gorgeous, detailed, and yet minimal. Clover is one of Clamp's earliest works, and in terms of art, it's arguably, the best. The story is short, focusing on four "clovers", especially strong psychics, and how they meet and how their lives are intertwined. The use of symbolism is consistent and beautifully employed.

This edition includes gorgeous color images from Cl...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Kay rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had such high hopes for this series. The premise is great and the artwork is excellent. Unfortunately, that's all there is to Clover. The plot never progresses past the premis/backstory and character development stage. Not to mention that the author keeps using song lyrics (the same two songs no less) as filler material over and over and over again. The first time worked as a plot device, but past then it kept repeating and it just got so irriating how the story wasn't going anywhere because t...more

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Feb 19, 2011 Ellen Shull rated it 4 of 5 stars

This one surprised me. My initial impression, based on the first few pages and a few reviews I'd skimmed, was that it was going to be a minimal story with "ooh, look at the pretties". And yes, the story isn't much... (view spoiler) maybe? But if you step back a bit, you realize that rather than all the elements being there to support the story, you realize that the story, along with everything else, is there just to build a mood, a feeling, an emotional...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Yuki0luv rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, supernatural, unique-and-beautiful-covers

I have never read anything close to what Clover is like--a blend of imaginative creativness, beautiful art, deep poetry in song, and a sweet anlysis of the simple desires of the heart that longs to be set free from its cage--literally. Each of the main characters has their own beautifully sad story that is told artfully and dramatically through the breathtaking artistry and story by the ingenious CLAMP. Nothing is like this! A must read!! (Plus within the version that includes the whole series,...more

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Jun 02, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

A manga by the collective of women artists and writers known as CLAMP, Clover takes place in a sort of fantasy/ steam-punk world. The art is absolutely lovely, but it doesn't really succeed as a shojo/ shonen cross-over. The focus is much more on the emotional aspect of the story, and I found myself wanting more information about the world these characters live in, and less sappy song lyrics. That said, it was an interesting story with a unique backwards moving narrative structure and very uniqu...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, favorites, alternate-earth, steampunk-ish, authors-cd, music, wish-i-owned, reviewed-books

Out of the handful of Clamp series I've read so far, Clover is by far my favorite. In fact, I must look into getting my own copy of the compilation book, as I've nearly ruined the one I checked out from the library. You're probably wondering why I've nearly destroyed the book (actually, it isn't that bad, but it's certainly not in the brand-spanking condition I checked it out in). I can't help reading it, for three main reasons.

First, it's one of those stories that needs to be read several times...more Out of the handful of Clamp series I've read so far, Clover is by far my favorite. In fact, I must look into getting my own copy of the compilation book, as I've nearly ruined the one I checked out from the library. You're probably wondering why I've nearly destroyed the book (actually, it isn't that bad, but it's certainly not in the brand-spanking condition I checked it out in). I can't help reading it, for three main reasons.

First, it's one of those stories that needs to be read several times to ensure you've captured all the details. Read it once, and you have a decent idea of what happened. However, the Clamp ladies came up with the ingenious idea to tell the story backward. Not completely backward; more like the Seinfeld episode with the wedding in India backward - in an episodic fashion. In a way this makes Clover even more tragic, blatantly foreshadowing death and destruction.

There are three "episodes" that make up Clover, told from the most recent then going back in time. Each involves the same set of characters, revealing how they die, part from each other, fall in love, the promises they make and meet one another. Because we read it in that order, nuances that made no sense in the first chapter make perfect sense by the last.

Another reason I keep rereading Clover is the art. Not only can the mangaka tell a story, they can draw one, too. And as I have the 20th aniversary (of Clamp) "omnibus" edition, there happens to be bonus color illustrations that are fantastic. I want to run to Kinko's to make full-sized copies and hang them on the wall. (Sorry, if you heard weird, school-girl-like giggling, it was probably me.)

Finally, each "episode" has a poignant poem, lyrics if you will, that flow throughout each chapter. My own brain has already been setting music to the first poem (I just need to find time to write it down). I imagine a soprano part with plenty of colloratura...well, never mind the technical detail, but every time I pick the book up, it's as though music floats into my mind.

What I didn't care for too much were certain unexplained minor characters and unexplained situations. It seemed like perhaps there should have been a fourth "episode" that involved some kind of background between one of the protagonists and one of the antagonists (ie, Kazuhiko and Bols). It would have been great to know the history between those two.

Also, sometimes it is difficult to tell who is speaking - yet another reason to reread and make sure you go over the dialogue carefully. Of course, it could have just been me that was confused, but personally I think maybe the editors had a dip in the bottle before OKing the book. (Joke! Joking! Don't sue me for liable or slander!)

Anyway, Clover is definitely a top-notch manga, full of food for thought, and certainly not your typical shoujo. The girls from Clamp definitely score an A for this piece!(less)

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Mar 22, 2011 Courtney rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, graphic-book, manga, misc-supernatural, series

I had figured that, since this was being reissued in it's complete form and that it was written by the now-legendary CLAMP team, that this would be an exceptional shojo manga. Unfortunately, it's merely OK. The artwork is exquisite, which is pretty typical for CLAMP. It's the story that's lacking. Told in a backwards narrative, there are far too many elements that are never explained. There's this thing called the Clover Project. All I could tell was that the more "leaves" a "Clover" has, the mo...more

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Jun 09, 2009 Espo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, favourites

I wish for happiness; I seek happiness; to find happiness with you.

Clover is a work by CLAMP that has long been out of print in English due to Tokypop's rather ridiculous, in my opinion, decision to stop printing it. I've been searching high and low for this manga for years, and it's taken at least six before I've finally been able to get my hands on it in the omnibus edition in the original format of right-to-left. I was a fan of Card Captor Sakura back when I was twelve and CLAMP was, of cours...more I wish for happiness; I seek happiness; to find happiness with you.

Clover is a work by CLAMP that has long been out of print in English due to Tokypop's rather ridiculous, in my opinion, decision to stop printing it. I've been searching high and low for this manga for years, and it's taken at least six before I've finally been able to get my hands on it in the omnibus edition in the original format of right-to-left. I was a fan of Card Captor Sakura back when I was twelve and CLAMP was, of course, one of the first manga-ka I looked into, and this is one of the series that has always had an elusive, mysterious aura around it and seems to have been largely forgotten. I've wanted it for a long time, and I can tell you, there's no words to describe how happy I was to actually have it in my hands and to be able to read it for myself. My first reaction was to smile - my second was to drop it, since this book should be labelled as being ridiculously heavy, even though I really should have expected that. That aside, I'd been promised great things about Clover from many different people; and I wasn't disappointed.

The one word to sum up Clover, is that it's different. The panels are different - it is more likely for the page to be empty with one block background colour over a screentone to reflect a character's mental state - a lot of the text is made up of the lyrics of the songs. This may immediately make you recoil, but only for the reason of Clover being the mystery of the unknown. I've read countless manga by various artists over the years, including others by CLAMP, which leads me to instantly think it's wrong - but it's not. If you persevere past those initial thoughts, you can easily see how wonderful it really, truly, is. The fact the art style and story telling is still unique after ten years from it's original publishing date is also a feat. CLAMP truly did make a masterpiece with this one.

Even if the pages may appear to be empty, the drawings that are there are smooth and intricately detailed when needed. Each character leaps out at you even with the most limited words. I, for one, truly felt for the story of each and every character, and even though at first some of it took a while to sink in, I felt each emotion that was meant to be conveyed through each sequence. Even by the littlest things like a black solid colour over a white one. A small box on a page. Ran staring out a window. Suu looking up at nothing in particular. Anything. I got the message. A lot of the dialogue is also limited - but a great story doesn't have to be told through lots of words. Simple, selective words get the point across and perhaps have more meaning than pages of solid text. And the use of the lyrics repeatedly was an off-putter at first, but really, it adds to the story and its sense of knowing that it's different. It really did provide it with individuality.

The story is fairly simple - a country set in a futurstic world, run by a group of people known as the Wizards. Children with powers have previously been taken and marked as Clover's - one to four leaf. Suu is the only four leaf. As time goes on, the other Clover's are revealed as well as their respective abilities. Clover goes through multiple twists that you may or may not guess that trip you at every turn. As for the plot.. if you want one word to sum up the entire set of each Clover's story, it would be happiness, or love. Each one just wants to be happy, which isn't that big of an ask. For CLAMP, this is usually shown by being loved, or being able to love. And this is shown here, too. And it's heartwrenching to see the happiness each long for either being taken away or limited or only having a set time limit.

Truly, I wish CLAMP would continue this and produced volume 5 or 6. It's typical for me to fall for the work they haven't finished; another of my favourites is also in a state of forseeably permenant hiatus. But I'll make do with what I have. For it's a story that holds a lot of meaning, and makes you appreciate those around you and what you do have whilst you have it. It's a beautiful story, and I would be giving it more stars if I could. Endless amounts.

If the story itself isn't a draw, or you already have the flipped Engish version, the ombinus is completely worth it for the coloured pages that have been included. Each respective book start has several coloured pages for the splash as well as a full page of lyrics, all in colour. At the back of the book, each coloured drawing of Clover ever produced by CLAMP is included. It's like a mini-art book in a way; but it's all absolutely gorgeous, so I have no complaints.

I only want your happiness but I cannot be yours to share it(less)

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Aug 08, 2012 Sean O'Hara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, science-fiction, dystopia, crapsack, steam-punk

This is CLAMP at their most experimental. What the means is, the artwork is beyond gorgeous, but there's not as much as you'd expect from a 500 page manga since CLAMP decided to be all avant-garde with the panel layout. There are some pages that are blank save for a single panel taking up maybe an eighth of the page. So even though this omnibus contains four volumes, it feels like a mere four chapters. Worse still, this is one of the few incomplete CLAMP series, so the story ends mid stream. Thi...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Fran rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga

The artwork is heartbreaking beautiful, but it left me wanting. I understand that more volumes were intended but never completed, and the ending, or lack of, shows that. Still, I'm glad I read this, though I think the four volumes could have very easily been one. I found myself flipping past pages, because they were repeat after repeat of the same lines. For dramatic effect, to bring out the emotions they wanted to evoke, but it was a bit too much for me. But gorgeous art, and although this was...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Aaron Glett rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ironically, I was most intrigued by the art, but here's what I enjoyed about the story: An isolated girl who is part of an elite group of mutants has a single wish before she dies, to find someone to be loved by. She knows she can't, but she's willing to risk it all. Is the man tasked with taking her to a remote place that only she knows, be the one that she was looking for? Great artwork, excellent non-linear story breakdown, makes you think.

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Jul 18, 2010 Damon rated it 3 of 5 stars

This would probably be a good 2 1/2 star book. The story was pretty scant, and pretty girly, mostly a lot of song lyrics. The art, however, was pretty nice - kind of a lush neo-Victorian futuristic style, like a more modernist steampunk kind of vibe. Not necessarily my thing, but when coupled with the really beautiful design of the book, it makes for a pretty impressive visual effect overall.

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Oct 03, 2012 Blu rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga

"Se trovi un quadrifoglio, ti porterà fortuna.
Ma non far mai parola con uomo o donna alcuna
del luogo dove sboccia il suo fiore bianco;
di quante foglie conti non fiatar nemmanco.
Quattro sono i petali di me, trifoglio raro:
la gioia dono solo se ogn'altro n'è ignaro."

Serie di 4 volumi. Incompiuta.

Per saperne di più:
http://chateau-ambulant.blogspot.com/...

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Oct 19, 2009 aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

clamp is as usual on top of their games as they have beautiful art and a way of writing that is second to none in the japanese manga community. i love this story...it is just an entertaining story about a girl who just happens to be a powerful sorceress and has been caged up her whole life. her only wish is to get out and meet her friend ora. it is a lovely story with beautiful art.

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Dec 10, 2012 Mykl rated it 3 of 5 stars

The art work is simple yet beautiful and would rate a 4 or 5. The story seemed like a rough draft and if fleshed out could have been a four. To many gaps in the story and interesting story lines that were left bare(the 5 wizards, death of sue, more on the clovers, Ran....). Story was told from end of story and then went back and gave background story which was a nice touch

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title link	preview: Clover
avg rating	preview: Clover Goodreads rating: 3.91 (835 ratings)
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Clover (Clover #1-4)

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