Game

Manga Tokyo Babylon volume 5 continues to strike timeless chords


Not long after Yen Bao Started reissuing Tokyo Babylon manga is in the CLAMP Premium Collection, I have come up with the way The series still feels fresh despite being old due to the timeless nature of the scripts. The thing is, this isn’t just a passing, after-the-read thing episode 1 Once again, you realize how outstanding CLAMP is at integrating social concerns into the story. With episode 5once again it hits home from the beginning as history repeats itself, we will always face certain worries like debt and fleeting dreams of home ownership, and we need to be extremely careful when handling those types of stressors.

Editor’s note: The story “Old” in volume 5 contains spoilers. Tokyo Babylon comic.

So immediately, Tokyo Babylon’My “Old” story hit me like a ton of bricks when I started it. Remember, I read this CLAMP manga many years ago. But certain situations where Subaru faces a “monster of the week” can essentially sometimes blend together or disappear when remembering broader plot points. But looking back at it, yes Therefore A lot is going on when it comes to problems in society caused by things like the housing bubble, inflation, and other economic problems.

Like many Tokyo Babylon stories that focus on Subaru meeting and assisting people in a situation, he takes more of a backseat and often feels more like a supporting actor than a star. Instead, the focus is on a struggling family. They are living in the city in a small, cramped house. Even though the husband works full-time and the wife works part-time, they still barely make ends meet. Their two children are getting older, which means they are both more expensive. The couple is also supporting their father-in-law, who is retired and has no income of his own. There was constant screaming. Money is tight. That’s something any of us could be going through right now.

We even hear about the consequences of others having to deal with that debt and pressure. Subaru’s introduction involves him being called by a real estate company and cleaning a house. A family mentioned in the introduction committed suicide due to heavy debt, the victims were a couple and their young daughter. The head of the company even said that he couldn’t understand why things had become so expensive and argued that people couldn’t own homes in Tokyo. The places eventually found were overcrowded and expensive, and many people were pushed out to equally expensive suburbs and forced to commute.

Now, remember, at this point Tokyo Babylon is over 20 years old. The situations CLAMP references in the manga are still very relevant and even truer. Introducing the story of Subaru’s meeting with the family’s grandfather, a former employee of the Ueno Zoo, learning about his life becomes even more poignant. We’re still going through this, 20 years later. Everything remains unchanged. They don’t get better. Stress still causes people to mistreat those they love, leading to illness and death.

I won’t reveal what happens in “Old” in Tokyo Babylonbut it continues to be a storyline that leaves a strong impression. Especially when we are seeing history repeat itself 20 years later and people today, in 2024, are in similar situations. Again, I don’t know how many times I can say this, but CLAMP really has created a comic that sticks with you and stays current with Tokyo Babylonand rereading brings joy.

Volume 5 of Tokyo Babylon currently available and Yen Bao will release volume 6 of the CLAMP Premium Collection version of the manga on February 18, 2025.


Siliconera is supported by our audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Links Policy

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *