Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles Volume 21 Summary and Review

A long time ago the only way I knew how an anime/manga series ended was to actually BUY said anime or manga. It was frustrating to wait so long for each new installment and sometimes it would take FOREVER to get an entire series together.

Then my father bought a computer and suddenly I could research any anime/manga ending I wanted! With a simple click I could see if my favorite character was going to bite the dust or if my favorite pairing was going to make it to the end. When my friends would talk about a current series I would just smile and say I already know what is going to happen. And for a while it was fun.

But after a while I realized I was spoiling the series for myself. And possibly others. It was no longer surprising when things happened on shows or in mangas. It was almost pointless in a way. So I decided to only spoil series that I have given up on or things that I probably wouldn’t see/read anything.

So what does this have to do with Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles? It is probably going to end up being my favorite mangas of all time and as such I was determined to NOT spoil the manga for myself. It became more and more difficult due to my love for yaoi fan fictions and their LACK OF LABELING STORIES SPOILERS. So over time I started to learn more and more about events that haven’t been released in America yet. That and XXXholics is much further ahead that Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles so that was a natural spoiler in itself.

Despite all these spoilers and information leeks I tried to remain strong….or stubborn. I got up to Volume 20 with only reading the mangas I personally bought in the store and enjoying them in the comforts of my own home. But then I sat down and did the math on how long it would take for all the volumes of Tsubasa to make it to my neighborhood book store.

Then I cracked into a million pieces. There was no way I could wait three plus years to know the ending of this awesome story. There was no way I could just NOT read any more fan fiction about my lovely yaoi pairing. It would be impossible for me to even try to wait it out.

The source of all my crazy...but I love this kind of crazy.

So I went insane and stayed up until 6:30 am one night (morning) and read every single “new” chapter until I was eventually caught up on the entire series. And then my brain exploded with all the WTFNESS. I could barely sleep as I was trying to piece together all the information and force it to make sense. I am still not quite sure about EVERYTHING that went down but most of my brain has repaired itself.

Since it would confuse everyone (and me) if I tried to explain like 75 chapters at once, I have decided to do Volume posts instead. So yes, there are going to be tons of spoilers for that specific Volume number. This post will be the review of volume 21 so I will attempt to keep all spoilers contained up to 21 (despite the fact that MOG yaoiness in volume 22). So if you have decided to be weak like me enjoy the happy little spoilers that I am about to unleash! Happy reading.

:( Sakura! :( Just why....WHY?!

Fai sits there in shock as Kurogane, Syaoran, and Mokona are showed even more pieces of his past. Everyone witnesses Fei Wong Reed explaining more of the curses that he placed on Fai. Fei Wong Reed states that after someone rescues him from this land he will one day go on a journey with a clone and a princess. Fei Wong Reed has a pissed off moment when he thinks back to how his plans to get Kurogane on his side were ruined by Yuko. Fai is told to kill Kurogane if he ever gets in the way of their deal. Baby Fai asks Fei Wong Reed if the reason he is doing all of this is because that his (Fei Wong Reed) special person died too. Fei Wong Reed almost admits to this and then goes back to explaining his plan. Fai is told that he will find two feathers and should put one with his brother's body (the real Fai) and give the other to Sakura when he meets up with her. Fei Wong Reed gives Fai another curse which is blocked from his mind. Syaoran and Mokona collapse on the ground and Kurogane is looking pissed. More of Fai's memories escape and everyone sees Fai arriving in Ashura's home of Celes (going with that spelling because it looks the prettiest to me) and how Ashura helped take care of Fai and his fallen brother. Everyone then learns that Fai promised Ashura that he would protect Celes from anyone who threatened it harm no matter what and Ashura points out that now Kurogane is that threat. Kurogane pulls his sword to kill Ashura but Fai ends up fighting Kurogane because he still needs to bring his twin back to life.

I don't want to fight you....

During the fight more of Fai's memories are shown. They include Fai finding the feather, Fai pretending he won't care about his future traveling companions, and Ashura trying to "save" Fai from his curse by placing a seal on his back making sure his power does not grow. Fai also learns how to fake smile to make people happy and that Ashura would find him no matter what world he ended up in. Finally the events of Fai's past are almost to the point where he met the others. Something in Celes was running around killing innocent people. Fai promised he would find out what was behind this and runs off seeking answers. It turns out that it was Ashura all along. Ashura apparently has a crazy side and knew one day he was going to start killing all his people. He found Fai and planned to use his curse (the kill anyone who is stronger than him) to make Fai kill him. He also made Fai promise that he would kill anyone who was threatening Celes and well that is him. Fai goes into shock and refuses to kill his King. He instead seals the King up and flees, not wanting to go through with the promise or the curse. Kurogane overpowers Fai but does not injury him. He instead forces him to the ground and makes him think about how something is not adding up. He then yells at Ashura for showing Fai's past and the real point of it all. Ashura then shows how he changed Fai's memories to make him forget about the reasoning behind the seal. Fai's curse was only good the first time he came in contact with someone stronger than himself and Ashura wanted that person to be him. So he had to stunt Fai's growth to make that possible.

The forgotten truth..

Even knowing the entire story Fai still won't kill Ashura. Ashura says that's okay and pulls Sakura's body out from a random area. Both Fai and Kurogane leap in to action to protect Sakura and Ashura flings them away pretty easily. Fai uses his magic to protect his friends as best as he can while trying to rescue Sakura. Kurogane tries attacking again but Ashura injuries Kurogane gravely and Fai loses his mind. He attacks Ashura and manages to get back Sakura's body. He gives Sakura to Syaoran to protect and Syaoran begs him to not...do something. Fai walks up to Ashura and decides to end this madness. Despite Fai trying to stay strong in his resolve he is still missing an eye and half his magic. Ashura is able to overpower him and taunts that perhaps if he kills all his friends Fai will be able to get emotional enough to kill him. Before Ashura is able to squish Syaoran and Sakura an injured Kurogane deflects the attack. His seal glows on his head and Ashura smirks. Kurogane wastes no time in stabbing Ashura in the chest. Fai has tears in his eyes as Ashura tells him he is not worth crying over. Ashura seems sad that Fai's curse won't be lifted now but thinks that with Syaoran and Kurogane he will be fine. Then he dies on the floor.

Fai needs a hug. :(

Kurogane and Fai share in a glance and Fai seems to accept things. Then Sakura's body flies into the sky and Fai's brother is released from his grave. The feather leaves his body and merges into Sakura's. Fai reaches out for his disintegrating body but Kurogane tells him it is too late. But the feather does show that all along Fai's brother had decided to die to save Fai and it was never Fai's fault. Fei Wong Reed is pissed off things weren't going as planned but it does not matter as the second curse kicks in. Apparently is anyone besides Fai kills Ashore the entire world would be sealed/destroyed by Fai's magic and no one would be allowed to leave. Fai realizes that the eye he has left is the eye that loses power every time he uses magic while the one clone Saran has will gain power. He doesn't think he has enough power to send them all out but tries anyway. Fai is able to save Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona. Mokona uses the power of its earring to make a hole for Kurogane to escape. Fai is unable to due to the fact it is his magic creating this problem. Fai tells Kurogane to let him go and live. Kurogane lets him go...AND CUTS OFF HIS ARM! Fai looks on in shock as Kurogane manages to pull him from the spell thingy and everyone manages to leave the world before it is destroyed! (deep breath) The End!

The end of a world...

Okay that was a lot of summary. X_X I didn't mean for it to go on so very long but this volume covered a LOT of information. Mainly it clears up all of Fai's history and the reasons behind his lies.

The entire truth for Kurogane to see....

Not that I see them as true lies. Fai has to be one of the most tragic characters in the history of manga. Not only did horrible things happen to him, he was forced to do terrible things as well and suffer with the guilt on thinking he was a terrible person. In reality he was born and lived for other people his entire life. He never really made a decision on his own. Well, besides the one where he wanted to save his brother. Besides that, it was curse here and promise here and you better do this or else!

Well...he lied about caring for his future friends..but that doesn't count!

But the back story with baby Fai and him growing up was beyond cute. He was such an innocent child who saw the good in everyone. Even Fei Wong Reed! Fai didn't think Fei Wong Reed was a bad person, just someone sad because they lost someone too! What kind of kid is able to think like that? An amazing one named Fai of course!

The innocents is overwhelming!

Fai was extremely loyal to Ashura. Even though Ashura came off as VERY creepy Fai did his very best to work hard for his King. He wanted to bring his brother back to life and was willing to do anything for that. So he made promises to the nice man he thought was on his side and of course got screwed over in the end because everything in Fai's life is UNFAIR!

Must not die from cuteness...

But then after Fai found out the truth, that Ashura had been essentially using him this entire time...Fai still couldn't bring himself to kill Ashura. Even though Ashura is a murderer Fai still spares him and instead sends him to sleep next to his brother and starts his journey in volume one. How can Fai not think he is a gentle and kind person? Everything he does is out of concern for other people, even those who are cold hearted murderers!

He has sorrow for one who has killed so many...

So basically everything about Fai is explained at this point. Almost everything he has done and said is a lie but it was never a lie to hurt anyone. He lied about the feather which he gave to help Sakura anyway. He lied about knowing what Syaoran clone really was which...he never looked at C Syaoran as a clone but a real person. He was PROTECTING everyone from using his magic. He smiled his fake smiles in an effort to make people feel more at ease. And he knew that he would probably have to kill Kurogane so he tried to distant himself from the man. :( All this suffering and yet he was pegged as the happy fun type.

The first of many fake smiles. :(

I am not really sure that Fai had his heart in the battle with Kurogane. Given the fact the last few days had been pretty traumatic I doubt he knew what was going on. I am sure he thought since he was SO close to achieving his goal he had to do something, even if that something was attacking Kurogane and not really trying.

I don't want to fight you....

I think deep, deep down Fai learned a long time ago he was never going to bring his brother back. If nothing he realized that if he wanted to bring his brother back Sakura would have to suffer. I think that on this journey he learned that once a life was gone it was gone. And if you did try to turn back time...well you ruined the whole world. So I think in this volume he wasn't really TRYING to bring back his brother but acting out of guilt. :(

Now normal I would get mad at Kurogane for attacking my (his) Fai. But again I don't think his heart was in it either. I think Kurogane knew he had to snap Fai out of the CRAP that is his entire existence and that it was safer for Kurogane to attack Fai at that moment in an effort to protect them both. His true anger was directed at Ashura and how Fai's entire life was manipulated from the start.

I will save you!

Part of me thinks that Kurogane feels guilty about being hard on Fai all this time. He has called Fai a coward and that he needs to get over his past. I would hope that Kurogane knows now how impossible that would be for Fai and that every single part of his past affects how he is now. Kurogane did say a few times in this chapter that Fai's past didn't matter, but it didn't matter to Kurogane. I think he could go either way in either feeling guilty about being hard on Fai or being angry that Fai didn't tell him the truth sooner.

Even though Kurogane is a little harsh he just wants to protect Fai.

In any event Kurogane is usually the one who picks up on small details. In the past both Fai and Kurogane do the whole MMMM something is going on here but Fai is too emotional distressed to figure all this confusion out. So it is up to Kurogane to save Fai and tell him that he has been used all along and that Ashura was using the curse to his advantage. Since Kurogane is so mad at Ashura I think it deflects the anger he probably should have had towards Fai.

Kurogane being the voice of reason?!

Now here is where my mind partial explodes. Okay so Fei Wong Reed has set up EVERYTHING that has happened in Tsubasa thus far (except Sakura allowing herself to get stabbed and Kurogane getting calmed down). So when he cursed Fai to kill the strongest person he did so with Ashura in mind. He is probably the one who made Ashura insane too. Anyway, was Fai meant to kill Ashura at that moment or was he meant to seal him and still go on this journey with the others? Because he could have killed Ashura due to his curse and still wanted to save his brother. His promise was with Fei Wong Reed. But then he wouldn't have had a reason to NOT return to Ceres......

But Fei Wong Reed wanted Fai to kill Syaoran. So he was really counting on Fai to run away from his problem and use the curse on someone else. Syaoran was not expecting Sakura to go to Ceres so none of that was factored into his plan. So how is it he had it set up if Ashura was killed by anyone other than Fai the entire place went up in smokes? Why do I over think these things?! I am reconfusing myself.

Insert the confusion.....

Fai and Kurogane only became serious with the fight when Sakura's body was in danger. Fai really didn't want to hurt Ashura and I think Kurogane didn't want to further upset Fai by getting in this battle. I think he was all for protecting his little family but he would stop short of actually killing Ashura. That is until Sakura came out. Fai might not care about himself but that is his Princess after all.

Time for action!

But oh boy. OH BOY when Kurogane got injured. Fai lost his mind. And do you know why he lost his mind? BECAUSE HE LOVES KUROGANE! Sure he was upset when Ashura threaten Sakura but he was more visibly upset when his precious person was hurt. Something snapped in Fai and if he could he would have killed Ashura at that moment. This alone validates my yaoi pairing.

My Kurogane...injured?!

And then he loses his mind...

Kurogane wasn't down for the count though. No matter how magical and special Fai is he still needs to be saved. And I am okay with that. Because I want Kurogane to save him. That is Kurogane's role in this all and I want it to happen like that! That and I think if Fai had killed Ashura it would have depressed him even more. Kurogane took that burden for him even though Fai was ready to accept that fate.

Don't touch what is mine!

In the end I really can't hate this Ashura. He seems to be a puppet in this all just like Fai and the others. Fei Wong Reed must have done something to him to make him lose control and seek out Fai to end it all. I think deep down Ashura cared about Fai and really wanted him to be happy with his twin brother. This manga isn't really having a clear cut enemy as I am sure Fei Wong Reed will turn out to be a semi good guy too or at least a bad guy with good intentions. But as it stands...I just feel sorry for Ashura.

The victim count is really adding up...

I just loved the look that Kurogane and Fai gave each other after Ashura died. I think Kurogane was expecting Fai to be pissed off at him but Fai was just tired and broken. He knew it had to end and he couldn't be the one to do it. And since Fai and Kurogane hadn't been on good terms for months this was the starting point to mending that bridge. A bridge that needs more yaoi on it but a bridge none the less.

Yeah, I saved you. SO WHAT?!

This slight happy moment lasts about six seconds before everything hits the fan AGAIN. The second curse kicks in and it happens to be if Ashura is killed by anyone else besides Fai the world is destroyed. I am sure this meant a lot more when there were actual people living in Ceres but meh. So there is panic and a sudden explanation of Fai's waning powers. It's not looking good for our heroes as Fai decides he is going to die anyway.

Not looking good for our couple!

After losing his brother Fai might have had nothing to live for anymore. But even if he did think his life had meaning he still wanted to protect his friends. He used the rest of his powers to try to send his friends out but since everything is going according to Fei Wong Reed's plan Kurogane and Fai are now expendable. Yuko had planned for this to happen and had a magical backup plan. Yet Fai has suffered too much lately and has nothing left to save himself.

This time Kurogane doesn't look TOO mad about Fai's desire to die...Kurogane knows he just has to work harder to save them both.

INSERT THE STRONGEST EVIDENCE OF THIS PAIRING EVER!

"I'm not letting you go!"

HE CUT OFF HIS ARM! Do you see that? He didn't even think about it for half a second. Well, it seemed like he was going to save himself and allow Fai to make that sacrifice for him. But then Fai remembered that Kurogane is Kurogane and he is the one who does the sacrificing.

HE SLICES IT OFF LIKE NOTHING?! X_X

Kurogane CUT OFF HIS ARM! They were looking at each other like lovers who knew only one of them was going to make it out alive and Fai wanted it to be Kurogane. Kurogane decided that he rather live the rest of his life missing an arm and unable to fight properly than lose the man he loved. If this is not the ultimate sign of proof for this show well...I don't know what is!

In tradition CLAMP style...

I don't think that Fai looked shocked over the fact that he was going to live. It was more like WTF you cut your arm off? I think at this point in time Fai realizes that Kurogane does have his back and would protect him no matter what but Fai didn't think it was possible to save his life. I don't think he is shocked that Kurogane injured himself. Fai has been through so much lately.

I think I would shocked too due to all that blood. X_X

This very event is what caused me to read all the chapters in one night. I knew Kurogane was going to lose his arm. I just wanted to know how. I thought that Ashura cut it off when Kurogane was protecting Fai but this is 14905 times better. He made the decision that Fai was more important than his arm and that he would give anything to save that man. That almost made the yaoi girl in me pass out and die.(Of course I just kept on reading after learning this fact...)

My mind is on yaoi overload!

So as it stands we have a "dead" Sakura, a slightly weak/tired Syaoran, a emotional and physically scarred Fai, and an armless Kurogane. Things are not looking so hot for our heroes but at least they are together and alive. And there is always hope. Hope for my scary fangirl mind that even though things are going to get worse, Fai and Kurogane are actually a couple and no one can tell me otherwise.

A small tiny sliver of hope.....but hope none the less?

Um...yeah...this got long. XD But I get caught up in things I really like so I can't help but go on and on about such a wonderful manga. I am sure when things get less Fai and Kurogane centered I will be less wordy. That and things are going to get confusing in upcoming chapters so I might be too X_X to type. But thanks for reading my craziness!