Another volume, another world for out motely crew of adventurers. This time they've landed in a pseudo-feudal world where people who weild magic are healers and shaken, but the village that they land in has come under the sway of an evil magician. He has enslaved other magic users in the area and killed many, all to serve his own greed for money and power. His magical abilities are not his own though, and Sayoran and company end up facing him down to regain another of Sakura's memory-feathers (which is the real source of his magic). Without the feather, the villagers are freed from his influence, andthe balance of magic in the area is restored. ( )

Now we know why CLAMP is drawing everyone with such freakish'ly long legs, so they can have leg battles and not have to worry about drawing more indepth whole body battles.

At first I thought the imprisoned magical entity was another version of Yuko, ultra-thin, ultra-bust. ( )

This collection starts with a few pages to wrap up the Hanshin Republic arc. The action of the story was concluded in the last volume, but Syaoran and team still need to say goodbye to their new friends. We even get one final scene where Shogo asks Masayoshi to join his team. Awww. Then Mokona sucks everyone up in his interdimensional vortex mouth, and spits them out in a new world. The adventurers have arrived in Koryo. They are immediately caught up in trouble. People are surprised at their sudden appearance, and the Ryanban's evil son grabs Sakura. Syaoran responds by taking him out. Unfortunately, the brute's father owns the town through his magic and corruption. A young girl, Chu'nyan, takes them to shelter in her house. She reveals that her mother opposed the Ryanban when he first came to their village, but he killed her. Now no one can successfully overthrow the man. Obviously, the group would have helped these people regardless, because they are protectors. But when they hear that the Ryanban suddenly came into enormous power he never had before, they suspect the man is in possession of a feather.

They command Chu'nyan and Sakura to stay behind, and head to his castle. With a little help from Yuko (they pay another price for her magical aid) they break the protective seal on his castle. The trio are confronted by a kiishim, a powerful spirit that is trapped in the Ryanban's service. Fai and Kurogane aid Syaoran in escaping her lair, and then face off against her and her burning rain. Syaoran takes out the Ryanban's son and then encounters the father, while Kurogane and Fai defeat the kiishim and break the jewel in her headdress. The jewel is what detained her, and once she is free, she encourages Kurogane and Fai to destroy the miserable Ryanban. They arrive in time to see Syaoran defeat him, with some assistance from Chu'nyan and Sakura - who did not obey their instructions. Good for them! They decide not to take further vengeance on the Ryanban, but at the very end of the volume, the kiishim's nails wrap around his face. I am thinking she won't be as forgiving as Chu'nyan.

Another great volume. The adventures are high adrenaline, with lots of fights - but the fights are awesome. I still love Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai. Mokona, who I haven't spent much time on in these recaps, is hilarious. He has a feisty personality that is fluffy and clever beneath his deceptive simplicity. Also, although Sakura is not the center of this series, CLAMP does not write weak women. Now that she is awake, she is already adding her presence to the team. We saw her warm and bright personality in the first volume, we have learned more in some of Syaoran's flashbacks, and now we are seeing her indomitable spirit rise up despite a lack of memory. She is also completely adorable, and I love the way she randomly falls asleep. Chu'nyan is herself a strong-willed woman, and the kiishim is scary but powerful. Hooray for empowered female characters. I am still totally invested in the series, and like where it is heading. Bring on volume four! ( )

Syaoran and crew move on to the next world in their journey and find themselves dropped directly into the middle of a bully's tirade as he takes over the town. They are taken in by a young girl with an attitude who is trying to follow in her sorcerer mother's footsteps and save her town. As the travelers search for Sakura's next feather they decide that freeing the town and taking down the bully might not be a bad idea.

In this manga I had a bit of a hard time with the dark confusing fight scene panels, but I'm getting used to it. I love the storyline and the characters are so wonderful. Most of the time my favorite is Fai whose unusual ability to find amusement and serenity in everything is intriguing. But, it is hard not to also love Kurogane's grumpiness, Syaoran's bravery, Sakura's kindness (even if she doesn't have all her oars in the water) and Mokona's...Makonaness.

Another thing I wanted to mention is I finally broke down and purchased the first volume of the Tsubasa anime on DVD. Although it seemed dreadfully short for the price it cost, the anime is very much like the manga, except it is in color and I could actually understand what was going on during the fight scenes. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with a fondness for this manga series. ( )