Introduction

What is the purpose of this page? To discuss the latest developments of X, the parts that haven't been translated into english or just aren't common knowledge yet. In other words, the Asuka issues. With all that's been happening on the Sorashi front lately I decided I needed a place to rant. This is it, and hopefully the spoiler warnings will keep away those who don't want to be spoiled.

Anyway, here it is in big black letters: SPOILERS! Beware!

What exactly am I going to talk about? Well, I'll go through the latest happenings of X and comment on them. Arashi/Sorata parts will get a lot of attention, as well as Seishirou/Subaru. There's been a lot going on there lately.

So, time to move on to....
 

A Miko and Her Asuka

Keiishi and ... the Asuka, with a particularly gorgeous Fuuma-wet-in-the-rain cover. *settles into a comfortable chair and starts reading*
 

2001

December

Yes! After months and months of waiting we finally see Subaru again. He and Fuuma both look gorgeous here. He will obviously become the Sakurazukamori, but I thought he was already serving Tree-san. I did not expect to find out that Seishirou's final gift would be...an eye. That twisted Sakurazuka sense of the romantic. The good thing about that is the fact that now Subaru gets to make a choice. If he chooses to keep the eye, I think it's clear he loves Seishirou enough to want to hang onto him any way he can. If not, the Subaru x Kamui fans will rejoice.

This might mean we find out more about the sakura. Does it have a mind of its own and twist Subaru into a murderous sexy s.o.b? Or is it just a tree that conveniently allows the magical energies to find something to focus on?

And Dark Hinoto directs Karen and Seiichirou to a kekkai. I have a bad feeling about this, considering her earlier talk about ' a Seal who will die soon.'
 

2002

January

CLAMP continues to provide Sorashi fans with pages to worship. Arashi wakes up in Sorata's bed. The most adorable of scenes, as she kisses the sleeping Sorata. But...then she looks at her palm, seeming troubled. Of course CLAMP cannot pass the opportunity to torture Sorashi fans, as well.

Perhaps it has something to do with the customs/laws of Ise. We can be certain ( as certain as it is possible to be with CLAMP's works) that Sorata and Arashi made love. I doubt the other priestesses would think kindly of such behaviour. They have not been visible in X, however, so is she worried about something more severe than punishment by her order?

I have heard suggestions that falling in love with Sorata might do something to Arashi's powers. She is, after all, a shrine maiden. I believe that Arashi has created her kekkai because she has wanted to protect Ise. Perhaps Sorata has now taken so much of her devotion that she cannot find the necessary will to create a kekkai. The solution to that would be for her to make Sorata her special person, the one she wants to protect with enough devotion to create a kekkai from that feeling. Things are worse if this has affected her fighting abily. How much of Arashi's power comes from herself and what from her position?

We now have to...Wait. And wait. And wait. Karen and Seiichirou will probably take up the next half year of Asuka, with the way CLAMP works, and there are still those Subaru issues to deal with.

Speaking of the onmyouji...It seems he is now the Sakurazukamori. Oddly enough, I find that terribly romantic. But Kakyou's explanation was a little confusing.

March

No February Asuka this year, since CLAMP took a break. What we do get now is Karen and Seiichirou arriving at Ginza and having a little talk. Karen looks very beautiful when drawn in this new style of CLAMP's. She does seem to have feelings for Seiichirou, judging from how she looks at him, but family man is clueless to that. Well, soon enough Nataku arrives...and the Asuka ends.

Karen seems to end up fighting Nataku again, as in Volume 13. I personally rather like the idea of Nataku fighting Seiichirou, who is now conveniently with Karen, as they are opposites: Seiichirou is a loving father/husband and has a normal job while Nataku supposedly cannot feel and is about as unusual as they get. One of the Seals is going to die soon (Hinoto's words in one of last spring's issues) but which one? Karen's fans should worry, since she insists on Seiichirou creating a kekkai that will protect the area if hers fails. I'm not sure if CLAMP would foreshadow her death so obviously. Perhaps they will both die, and even take Nataku with them.

April

Nataku and Karen both look utterly gorgeous in this issue. In true CLAMP style the fight doesn't really go on, but we get an adorable Karen/Nataku bonding scene. Karen does seem to have a talent for understanding others, one prior meeting and a few moments of fighting are all it takes for her to understand Nataku well enough to see that it doesn't really want to hurt her and Seiichirou. She would make such a wonderful mother, and a much better parent figure for Nataku than Fuuma. Sadly, it won't happen. CLAMP likes angst too much.

Our androgynous bioroid does have some feelings. And just to point it out again, Nataku looks gorgeous.

There seems to be a hidden Karen/Seiichirou fan in me. It's a shame he has a family. She's been through a lot of terrible things and when she finally does meet a nice, gentle, caring man...he's married. And she won't interfere there. All this probably means that soon enough Karen gets to die protecting Seiichirou and will be so noble she won't even upset him with a dying love confession.

But if Nataku has problems attacking them who will show up? Yuuto perhaps, as he makes a perfect opponent for Karen.

May

More of Karen's motherliness. I have to say I like her more now than in the beginning of the series. She hasn't had as many pages devoted to her as the other Seals but she's slowly revealed her own personality. Sadly these Karen-centric issues probably mean that she'll be dead before next year. Considering the recent episodes of Xtv and Seiichirou having a family it seems more likely that Karen, with 'less' to lose, will be the DoH casualty. A pity, since she continues to be wonderfully kind and understanding towards Nataku here.

And it seems Nataku is destined to die again. It could hardly have been avoided but it's sad to see we're finally heading for massive casualties in the manga. Poor thing.

Someone told Nataku's family about the End of the World, and of course the issue ends right before it can say who. I suspect Dark Hinoto.

June

Of course Nataku is interrupted by Fuuma showing up before telling the secret. CLAMP loves torture.

Fuuma looks good, but that's nothing new. *grin* Nataku gets its own family crisis. Should it protect 'daddy' Fuuma or Karen, who treats it as if it were human? If it decides to protect her it may mean Fuuma will end up killing them both, which would be just too heartbreaking. Over these last few issues I've developed a fondness for Nataku.

In other words, it's dead. They give us character development just before tragedy, and Nataku doesn't have much to live for. *sigh* The wait is going to be painful.

At least we got a beautiful Subaru cover. He looks younger, more like Tokyo Babylon Subaru. It seems that he's standing against a background similar to the one Seishirou was staining in blood in his volume cover.

*pause* And all the Nataku action lately is really making my head spin. He/she/it? Pretty confusing in a conversation.

July

*sobs* I didn't expect it to happen this soon, nor did I think I would be this affected by Nataku dying. It just turned into an adorable confused sweetheart during the last issues.

Nataku did see Karen and Fuuma as its mother and father. Its Wish being to protect mommy...just too sad. I'm mad a Fuuma right now, but I suppose he's meant to fulfill the wishes of others and couldn't get out of killing Nataku. I just hope we'll find out what drives him. I don't know if he's a selfish bastard or is it something else. I'll probably keep on being angry until we get an explanation.

Nataku does tell that Hinoto told about the End of the World, as I suspected. Aoki at least should live through this to tell Kamui.

I can't see the battle being over despite Nataku having protected Karen. If she and Aoki leave freely now where will they find the time for another dangerous situation before the (supposed) final volume?

August

How are CLAMP going to deal with all all the storylines in less than ten volumes?

Karen and Aoki are fine for the time being. They'll last a few more volumes, I'd guess, since the story will now probably center aroung other characters. Karen has shown such concern for Nataku lately that I'm really starting to care for her.

And...Subaru! Looking gorgeous! The Sakurazukamori and a Dragon of Earth. He looks very much like his TB self all grown up. Very pretty. I wish the story would center on the DoE side for a while. Fuuma and Subaru have reasons for their actions, those could be dealt with. Yuuto and Satsuki could get development. And it's been a while since we saw Kusanagi and Yuzuriha.

Speculation: Seishirou's death allowed Subaru to become a DoE and fill his place. Now Nataku has died, leaving room for a Dragon of Heaven to turn. I have a feeling Arashi might end up in Nataku's place. But would CLAMP copy the anime in this? We've seen it once already.

September

So I was right about Arashi back in January. I wish I hadn't been, but...this means more angst. Well, at least they were happy for a moment. I'm confident enough about my guess that I'll say it here: she'll become a DoE. We may have seen it in the anime already but perhaps CLAMP told them to end Sorashi like that? They got the bed scene there so the rest might hint at the manga's ending too.

Karen looking beautiful. I think I may have become a fangirl. But she's a caring person and if she does spend the early volumes walking around in lingerie, well, she sure looks good.

...it suddenly seems like I adore almost every X character. The end (and the death toll) of this series is going to hit me hard.

And find out about Hinoto, dammit! Dark Hinoto/Good Hinoto is the plot thread I have the least appreciation for right now. I'm happy that it seems we're making some progress in that direction.

Back to Ise no Miko
- the Arashi shrine

Back to Miko Keiishi's Sanctuary
- my main index, with shrines to Arashi, Nakago, Satsuki, etc.