The last few volumes of Tsubasa have been only so-so, but now we get a most definite payoff as the guys' multi-volume ultimate battle with Fei Wang Reed begins.
Before it starts, Syaoran finishes his full disclosure, and in a touching segment receives his "punishment" from his caring foster parents. It's also a red-letter volume for Holic fans, as we finally learn the connection between Syaoran and Kimihiro Watanuki - and it's worth noting that the guys are not yet aware at this point of the monumental events which have just taken place over in Holic.
But what this volume is really all about is the guys finally, finally catching up to Fei Wang Reed - and it delivers in full as Syaoran faces his newly-arrived clone and Kurogane and Fai have a go at making mincemeat out of the big bad himself.
This is not the sheer poetry of the Acid Tokyo arc, but it's exactly what we want at this point. Kurogane and Fai's one-liners as they close in make you want to shout and cheer, knowing what this monster has put them through and seeing them face him down, no longer the boys whose lives he ruined. We get a few frames of Fai in full vampire mode compensating for the loss of his magic (and for the first time in the series actually scarier than Kurogane!), and the look on Kurogane's face says everything we know about how long he's been waiting for this. The volume ends with the conclusion of the Syaoran clone storyline, which ends, perhaps, the only way it could have.
As opposed to the last volume of Holic, after which we need some time to collect ourselves, the next volume of Tsubasa can't come soon enough.
