Magic Knight Rayearth Omnibus Edition Volume 1 [Paperback]

Magic Knight Rayearth is the newest of Dark Horse's CLAMP releases, after many many delays.

The story itself is described as being "Swords and Sorcery Shojo Action", and there's not really a better way to sum up what it's about: there is an excess of swords, sorcery, and shojo-y girl themes. There's plenty of action, but from the way the girls think, talk and act, it's obvious this book was made for girls. There's also the issue of the ending, which is surprisingly dark for shojo. Of course, there's a MKR 2 to follow up the original story, but the sequel doesn't and couldn't possibly undo the events of the first story. The conclusion of the story gives it some much needed depth that helps it stand apart from competing shojo action series, but the dark nature (as well as the blood strewn throughout the story) means that the story is meant for girls of a certain maturity. If you can't handle an ending that isn't exactly happy, you probably shouldn't read MKR just yet.

The important question comes down to what form the omnibus takes... whether it's a flimsy like DH's Chobits releases, or a heavier, more quality release like DH's Clover and CCS. Obviously, I've named my review thus because DH has gone back to Chobits format. This book is characterized by being entirely too big for it's spine to support, with flimsy covers. Like Chobits, it needs to be handled with care, and I'm disappointed to see that despite there being only 3 volumes in the release, the thickness of the book hasn't really decreased by that much, and is still likely to give you hand cramps just supporting the book while reading.

Ultimately, the format that DH has chosen is disappointing, but the release is still plenty of fun.

Before I begin, please understand that I'm not reviewing the story or art of this book. If you are a CLAMP or Rayearth fan then you already know. CLAMP is famous for cute, endearing stories accompanied with excellent, clean artwork. Rayearth is not different. The only problem is that you may want Tsubasa or xxxHolic because CLAMP is also famous for interwoven series.

Onto the review . . .

After a long delay, Dark Horse has reprinted the entire series Magical Knight Rayearth in one oversized volume. (But don't forget that there is a sequel to reprinted as well.) The book is standard size for manga which is a bit of a shame. I was hoping for a larger paper size like the Cardcaptor reprint. Still the paper quality is good with nice inking (but again not as nice as Cardcaptor). Both are standard fare for a DH comic.

The real joy in this reprint is the abundance in color pages. There are color pages at both the beginning and end of the book. Additionally, all bonus content is in color! That made the book worthwhile. The color pages are beautifully done with heavier stock paper with a faint gloss. It is also funny to note that the ads at the end of the book are in color as well. If only DH cut those pages and upped the paper stock for the rest of the volume *sighs*.

Overall the reprint is well done with plenty of pretty color pages. The draw back is the standard size, paper and inking that makes the volume a might difficult to hold.

Magic Knight Rayearth had to be one of the first series I rented a long time ago when anime was first making it's impact in the US and even to this day I still remember the dub opening song. However I never got a chance to read the original manga by the famous group CLAMP and so picked up the omnibus to remedy that.

MKR is unique to me as a story in that instead of being summonsed to be Earth's protectors Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu are whisked away to be the protectors of another world. In Cephiro they learn their purpose, meet memorable characters along the way, and grow their powers for the ultimate showdown with an expected foe. The manga seems to end abruptly but it's the perfect ending, one that even brought tears to my eyes, and I can't wait to pick up Magic Knight Rayearth 2 to continue the story.

As always CLAMP each page with gorgeous artwork and I enjoyed the color illustrations spread throughout the book. My only complaint is that the book is a bit small for being an omnibus and I wish they had made the pages bigger to prevent it from being such a small, thick book. It's not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the story however!