Tokyo Babylon
Tokyo Babylon (東京BABYLON, Tōkyō Babiron) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the artist collective CLAMP, serialized irregularly in Shinshokan's South and Monthly Wings magazines from 1990 to 1993.[1] The story centers on Subaru Sumeragi, a 16-year-old onmyōji and head of the Sumeragi clan, who exorcises malevolent spirits and resolves supernatural disturbances in modern Tokyo, often with assistance from his twin sister Hokuto Sumeragi and the enigmatic veterinarian Seishirō Sakurazuka.[2] Collected into seven tankōbon volumes by Shinshokan between December 1991 and March 1993, the series blends episodic case files with an overarching narrative exploring interpersonal bonds, moral dilemmas, and predestined tragedy.[1] The manga's plot structure features standalone supernatural incidents—such as hauntings tied to human regrets or urban isolation—that Subaru addresses through traditional onmyōdō rituals, gradually revealing deeper conflicts involving Seishirō's hidden identity as the Sakurazukamori, a clan of assassins who kill using supernatural means.[2] Themes of unconditional love, the inescapability of fate, and the ethical burdens of empathy permeate the work, culminating in Subaru's personal loss and emotional devastation, which directly influences the character's portrayal in CLAMP's later series X.[3] Originally targeted at a shōjo audience, Tokyo Babylon incorporates elements of boys' love dynamics between Subaru and Seishirō, contributing to its cult following among fans of dramatic, character-driven storytelling.[2] Adaptations include a two-episode original video animation produced by Madhouse and released in 1992 and 1993, which condenses key story arcs, and a 1993 live-action film titled Tokyo Babylon 1999 focusing on post-manga events.[4] A television anime adaptation announced for 2021 by studio GoHands was cancelled amid plagiarism controversies involving production materials, with plans for a restart unfulfilled as of the latest reports.[1] The manga's enduring appeal lies in CLAMP's early mastery of visual symbolism—drawing from Shinto, Buddhist, and Western occult motifs—and its unflinching portrayal of psychological trauma, establishing narrative foundations for the group's subsequent apocalyptic sagas.[3]Plot Summary
Overall Narrative Arc
Tokyo Babylon follows Subaru Sumeragi, the 16-year-old head of Japan's premier onmyōji clan, as he conducts exorcisms across 1990s Tokyo to dispel malevolent spirits spawned by human vices including greed, familial abuse, and urban isolation.[2] These supernatural incidents, often tied to the era's economic bubble aftermath and societal anonymity, form episodic cases that Subaru resolves using traditional yin-yang magic, frequently with assistance from his twin sister Hokuto Sumeragi.[5] The narrative underscores Subaru's empathetic approach, where he addresses the underlying human failings fueling the disturbances rather than merely banishing entities.[2] Interwoven through these exorcisms is Subaru's evolving relationship with Seishirō Sakurazuka, a veterinarian who conceals his identity as the Sakurazukamori, a hereditary assassin wielding onmyōdō for lethal ends.[6] Their encounters begin casually but deepen into romantic tension governed by Seishirō's secretive "bet," promising to cultivate Subaru's love before claiming his life, creating a fatalistic undercurrent amid Subaru's routine duties.[2] This dynamic shifts the story from standalone supernatural interventions toward personal stakes, as Subaru grapples with trust and affection in the face of Seishirō's duality. The arc culminates in tragedy with Hokuto's murder by Seishirō—arranged at her own behest to protect Subaru from a prophesied doom—prompting Subaru's vengeful pursuit and a brutal confrontation that costs him an eye and shatters his worldview.[5] Serialized from August 1990 to winter 1993 in Shinshōkan's South and Monthly Wings magazines, the manga ends unresolved, with Subaru's grief and quest for Seishirō bridging into CLAMP's X, set nine years later.[5] This open conclusion reflects the series' serialization constraints, leaving Subaru's fate and Tokyo's spiritual perils hanging.[5]Key Story Episodes
The Tokyo Babylon manga employs an episodic structure, with each major case presenting a self-contained supernatural disturbance in 1990s Tokyo that Subaru Sumeragi resolves through onmyōdō rituals, such as sealing spells and spirit exorcisms, while uncovering causal human factors like exploitation or emotional neglect.[7][8] These incidents empirically link moral failings to spiritual unrest, often set against the backdrop of Japan's post-bubble economy collapse around 1991, where rapid urbanization amplified isolation and ethical lapses in corporate and personal spheres.[9][10] For instance, early cases in volume 1 involve hauntings tied to unresolved personal betrayals, including a spirit at Tokyo Tower manifesting from an actress's grievances and curses afflicting three sisters due to familial discord.[7] Subsequent episodes build on this pattern, emphasizing Subaru's empathetic interventions that prioritize restoring balance by addressing root human culpability rather than mere symptom suppression. In volume 2, a representative case explores a young woman's trauma from assault, where supernatural backlash arises from suppressed rage, resolved via rituals that compel accountability from perpetrators.[11] Another volume 1 incident features Subaru probing a new religious cult exploiting a bullied individual's vulnerabilities, revealing how social alienation fosters malevolent entities.[8] Hokuto Sumeragi supports these efforts with intuitive spiritual detection and custom talismanic costumes that enhance ritual efficacy, while Seishirō's intermittent involvement introduces motifs like a sakura-themed vow, symbolizing elusive personal bonds amid professional duties.[12] These episodes avoid disconnected filler, each empirically advancing Subaru's growth by contrasting onmyōdō's traditional causality—where spiritual disorder mirrors societal decay—with Tokyo's modern anonymity, such as overwork in neon-lit districts evoking summoned resentful spirits.[13] Serialized from 1990 to 1993, the cases reflect verifiable 1990s urban pressures, including economic fallout from the asset bubble burst, where corporate greed and family breakdowns precipitated real-world spikes in social isolation reported in Japanese studies of the era.[9][14]Characters
Protagonists
Subaru Sumeragi serves as the central protagonist, depicted as a 16-year-old onmyōji and the 13th head of the Sumeragi clan, Japan's preeminent family of traditional exorcists specializing in yin-yang practices.[15] His character embodies a profound commitment to aiding others through spiritual interventions, often prioritizing communal welfare over personal boundaries, which manifests in his routine handling of supernatural disturbances in urban Tokyo.[16] This dutiful empathy stems from his inherited role, where empirical observations of spiritual imbalances compel him to act as a mediator between the living and ethereal realms, reflecting a causal linkage between ancestral obligations and his self-imposed vigilance.[3] Hokuto Sumeragi, Subaru's twin sister and slightly older counterpart, contrasts his introspection with her extroverted demeanor, frequently injecting levity via her passion for avant-garde fashion design and intuitive perceptiveness.[17] At 16, she supports her brother's endeavors not through onmyōdō expertise but by fostering emotional equilibrium in their shared household, using playful teasing and creative pursuits to mitigate the isolating demands of his vocation.[18] Her motivations arise from familial loyalty, driving actions that underscore themes of protective intuition, ultimately culminating in a sacrificial resolve to preserve Subaru's path amid encroaching personal perils.[19] Seishirō Sakurazuka, a 25-year-old veterinarian based in Shinjuku, presents a dual persona as both a compassionate animal caretaker and the inheritor of the Sakurazukamori title, denoting the pinnacle of assassin-onmyōji within Japan's esoteric "Ten Masters" hierarchy.[20] His interactions with the Sumeragi twins initiate a complex dynamic, where his outward affability masks a predestined adherence to lethal imperatives, motivated by an unyielding interpretation of free will unbound by moral constraints.[21] This lineage-enforced detachment causally propels narrative tensions, as his veterinary facade facilitates proximity to Subaru, enabling manipulations that test the boundaries between predestination and autonomous choice in spiritual confrontations.[22]Supporting Characters
Hokuto Sumeragi serves as Subaru's twin sister and primary familial ally, lacking innate onmyodo powers but actively participating in his exorcisms through moral encouragement and logistical aid, such as procuring ritual materials or accompanying him to sites of supernatural disturbances. Her playful teasing of Subaru regarding his bond with Seishirō underscores the interpersonal tensions within their circle, while her unwavering faith in positive human connections contrasts the clan's stoic traditions.[17][23] Members of the Sumeragi clan, including elder figures like Lady Sumeragi, enforce adherence to ancestral protocols on the adolescent clan head, Subaru, by dictating the scope of his interventions and emphasizing duty over personal sentiment. This dynamic highlights the tension between inherited obligations and individual agency, as elders prioritize ritual purity and clan preservation amid Tokyo's modern encroachments on spiritual practices.[24] Episodic clients drawn from Tokyo's populace—such as victims of domestic abuse manifesting vengeful spirits or salarymen ensnared by work-induced hauntings—complicate Subaru's quests by embodying societal fractures that summon entities, requiring him to address underlying human frailties before exorcism. These figures, exemplified by individuals like Mirei Hidaka in specific cases, illustrate how ordinary civilians' unresolved traumas interface with the supernatural, prompting Subaru's empathetic resolutions without institutional support.[25][26] Seishirō's associates at his veterinary practice, including unnamed colleagues who interact with him during routine animal care, subtly reinforce his constructed normalcy, oblivious to his clandestine assassinations and onmyodo pursuits, thereby facilitating his dual existence through everyday professional camaraderie.[26]Antagonists and Supernatural Entities
Supernatural entities in Tokyo Babylon emerge causally from human-induced traumas, including suicides stemming from betrayal, neglect, or social isolation, rather than originating from independent malevolence. These spirits, often resembling traditional Japanese onryō—vengeful ghosts fueled by unresolved passions such as jealousy, rage, or hatred—manifest in modern urban settings to perpetuate cycles of harm until exorcised.[27] For example, the ghost of a woman deceived by a celebrity attaches itself to his living space following her suicide, embodying the direct consequence of interpersonal deceit and emotional abandonment.[12] Similarly, other yokai-like presences arise from incidents of bullying, assault, or familial disregard, linking ethereal disturbances explicitly to verifiable real-world catalysts like psychological distress in 1990s Tokyo's high-pressure environment.[11] Seishirō Sakurazuka functions as the central human antagonist, inheriting the Sakurazukamori mantle—a hereditary role as Japan's premier onmyōji assassin tasked with neutralizing existential threats to societal equilibrium through occult killings.[28] This position demands emotional detachment, with its wielder suppressing personal attachments to execute duties marked by illusory cherry blossoms and inverted pentagrams, reflecting a mechanistic inheritance that prioritizes systemic preservation over individual ethics.[20] Posing outwardly as a compassionate veterinarian in Shinjuku, Seishirō's amoral framework stems from this lineage's imperative to act without moral qualms, positioning him as a counterforce to the protagonists' empathetic interventions and underscoring chaos arising from institutionalized detachment.[3] Additional antagonistic elements include spirits affiliated with cult-like occult groups, which exploit societal disconnection to summon or amplify supernatural disruptions, as seen in narratives involving ritualistic abuses tied to urban alienation during Japan's early 1990s economic shifts.[11] These entities symbolize aggregated human failures in communal bonds, generating poltergeist activity or possessive influences that demand onmyōdō resolution, without attributing intrinsic evil but rather feedback loops from collective neglect.[12]Creation and Production
Manga Development
Tokyo Babylon originated as a concept developed by CLAMP in 1990, expanding from an initial one-shot written by group leader Nanase Ohkawa for a magazine featuring dōjinshi works, into a serialized exploration of Tokyo's hidden social and spiritual underbelly through the practices of onmyōdō.[29] The series was planned from the outset as a structured seven-volume narrative, allowing CLAMP to incorporate darker social themes absent in Ohkawa's prototype, reflecting the group's intent to address contemporary urban pathologies like isolation and moral decay via supernatural episodes.[30] Serialization commenced that year in Shinshokan's shōjo magazines Wings and South, continuing irregularly until winter 1993.[29] Artistically, the manga marked CLAMP's evolution toward maturity, departing from the raw fantasy aesthetics of their concurrent series RG Veda to adopt a more restrained style suited to modern Tokyo's duality of glamour and despair. Mokona, responsible for primary character designs, altered features such as removing double eyelashes from prior works to achieve a cleaner, elegant look that underscored the androgynous poise of protagonists like Subaru Sumeragi, preventing the narrative from appearing contrived in its urban-spiritual context.[30] This shift blended lighthearted gag elements with abrupt, shocking conclusions, heightening the tonal contrast and emphasizing causal consequences of human failings— a deliberate choice informed by the group's growing experience in balancing levity and gravity.[30] The chapters were compiled by Shinshokan into seven tankōbon volumes between 1991 and 1994, preserving the episodic structure while building toward a conclusive arc on fate and sacrifice. Later reprints included omnibus editions by Dark Horse Comics in 2011–2013, aggregating content for accessibility, followed by deluxe premium collections from Yen Press starting in 2021.[29][31][32]CLAMP's Collaborative Process
CLAMP's collaborative process for Tokyo Babylon centered on Nanase Ohkawa's role as lead writer, where she developed the narrative script emphasizing psychological depth and character motivations, originating from a comedic doujinshi novel that evolved into serialized stories addressing societal realism intertwined with occult elements.[33] Ohkawa outlined the plot, often working backward from key endings, and facilitated group brainstorming sessions to refine scenes, ensuring the story's causal structure aligned with verifiable influences like contemporary news events—such as scandals involving organ transplants and brain-dead patients—which grounded supernatural occurrences in plausible human contexts.[34][33] The artistic division leveraged the strengths of Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi, with Mokona handling primary character designs and illustrations to capture expressive, folklore-inspired figures like onmyōji practitioners and their shikigami familiars, drawing from traditional Japanese esoteric practices for authenticity.[33][35] Nekoi and Igarashi contributed to backgrounds, effects, and detailed conte (storyboards), with roles fluidly assigned per project needs; for instance, Nekoi managed computer coloring, while Igarashi assisted in inking and layout.[34] Early creation of character charts standardized attributes like proportions and abilities, preventing inconsistencies in supernatural mechanics, such as the consistent rules governing shikigami summoning rooted in onmyōdō traditions.[34] Iterative feedback loops reinforced fidelity to occult realism: the group discussed Ohkawa's scripts collectively, incorporating reader correspondence—particularly on episodes involving bullying and cults—to adjust emotional impacts without altering core causal logic, while Ohkawa explicitly prioritized "a sense of realism" over pure fantasy in depicting occult phenomena influenced by urban legends and historical folklore.[34][33] This methodology, akin to animation studio workflows, allowed CLAMP to maintain narrative coherence across the series' episodic structure, verifying supernatural rules against cultural precedents like onmyōji rituals rather than fabricating arbitrary elements.[34][36]Serialization and Publication History
Tokyo Babylon was serialized by CLAMP in Shinshokan's Monthly Wings magazine from 1990 to 1993, with chapters appearing monthly without significant hiatuses.[5] The series concluded in 1993 after CLAMP prioritized their ongoing serialization of X in Monthly Asuka, resulting in an open-ended finale that transitions into the prequel events of X. Shinshokan published the compiled chapters in seven tankōbon volumes between 1991 and 1993.[37] The manga saw re-editions in Japan during the 2000s, including premium collections by Shinshokan.[38] For English-language release, Tokyopop licensed and published all seven volumes from May 2004 to May 2005.[39] Tokyopop's edition went out of print following the publisher's restructuring. Dark Horse Comics later re-released the series in two omnibus volumes, with the first appearing on March 13, 2013, collecting volumes 1–4 and the second following thereafter.[6] Yen Press issued a hardcover CLAMP Premium Collection edition starting in the 2020s, reprinting the original seven volumes in an expanded format.[38] No comprehensive sales figures specific to Tokyo Babylon are publicly available, though CLAMP's overall manga circulation exceeds 100 million copies worldwide as of 2007.[39]