REVIEW: Tsubasa: Those with Wings (manga, vol. 3) by Natsuki Takaya, translated by Adrienne Beck

Tsubasa: Those with Wings is a sci-fi series by Natsuki Takaya, who's best known in the US as the creator of Fruits Basket. I bought my copy used and, since the series was originally published by Tokyopop and never got a license rescue after the company imploded, used and library checkouts are pretty much the only ways to get it these days.

This review includes spoilers (both the major series ones - go back and read the earlier volumes if you haven't yet - and a few that I consider more minor, a little info on how things turn out for some of the characters).

Review:

Kotobuki and Raimon are still separated, I believe due to the bomb in Raimon's head (if I remember right, it would go off if he went with Kotobuki on her trip to what was left of Japan). Kotobuki has spoken to the last living Japanese person, a neurosurgeon who tells her the true form of the Tsubasa: they were actually genetically engineered bodiless brains. Only two brains were ever successfully created, and one day those brains spontaneously became a boy and a girl, Rikuro and Kayo.

Kayo has been missing for a while, and Rikuro can't function as the Tsubasa without her, but the neurosurgeon should be able to remove the bomb from Raimon's head. Unfortunately, there's one big problem: Raimon has been captured. Colonel Hil Gil plans to use him to awaken Kayo and, with her, the power of the Tsubasa, which he plans to use to grant his own secret wish.

REVIEW: Tsubasa: Those with Wings (manga, vol. 2) by Natsuki Takaya, translated by Adrienne Beck

Tsubasa: Those with Wings is a short SFF manga series with romantic elements. It was originally licensed by Tokyopop and is no longer in print. I bought my copy used.

Review:

Kotobuki has finally found a decent job helping out at an orphanage. Since she's an orphan herself, it's even work that she truly cares about. However, Raimon's father and others are trying to get the orphanage shut down, and no one seems to care because orphans are "nameless" and viewed as barely even human by a lot of people. 

Kotobuki finally learns more about the hold that the military has on Raimon and becomes determined to help him. However, that will definitely require the power of the Tsubasa, and potential clues to its location are all located in dangerous places, such as a cursed forest and an island that may no longer exist.

REVIEW: Tsubasa: Those with Wings (manga, vol. 1) by Natsuki Takaya, translated by Kinami Watabe

Tsubasa: Those with Wings is technically sci-fi, but it feels like fantasy. It was originally licensed by Tokyopop and is now out of print.

This review includes slight spoilers.

Review:

This takes place in the 22nd century, after repeated wars have polluted the land and oceans. The only people who live comfortably are the wealthy, politicians, and the military - everyone else is forced to scrape by with nearly nothing, and crime is rampant.

Kotobuki is an orphan who turned to thievery because her lack of parents gave her even fewer options than most. She isn't a very good thief, but she's nimble, and somehow she catches the eye of Raimon, an officer in the army. He never puts much effort into capturing her, but one day he tells her that he'll finally go after her seriously, and he'll make her his when he catches her. It turns out he was serious - some time later, he catches up to Kotobuki and tells her that he quit the military so that he could be with her.

While Kotobuki tries to sort through her feelings for Raimon, the two of them go on a journey to find a job for Kotobuki that she can actually keep, and to find news about Tsubasa, a mythical thing that is supposedly hidden in the ground and can grant wishes.