Wish Omnibus Manga Review

-Written by: Will

I have a confession to make: I have never read a book by CLAMP. The creative team has gotten praise for series like Cardcaptor Sakura and X, but I have never read them. Luckily, I got my hands on the omnibus release of Wish. After 4.5 hours and 800 pages I can finally say: it’s okay.

The story starts out with our main man, Shuichiro, saving what appears to be a cat from a tree. Turns out it’s not a cat, but our main woman and divine angel Kohaku. Wanting to repay the favor, Kohaku tells Shuichiro she can grant him one wish. The catch? Shuichiro doesn’t want a wish. This guy is the most eligible of bachelors: A good job, a spacious pad, excellent pay. What more could a person want? Not deterred by this, Kohaku stays with Shuichiro until he comes up with one wish. But sometimes, “a wish can’t be granted by one alone.” What does that mean? What do you think it means, this is a romance manga!

Despite a unique premise, the story is very traditional. The male protagonist is thick-headed? Check. The female does everything to appease the male protagonist? Check. Forbidden love? Check. God’s messenger portrayed as a cartoon rabbit? Che- wait, what? Despite being traditional, CLAMP throws in unique flourishes that come with angels and demons. They even add more characters to the story, including the son of Satan. But then it settles back down into those tried-and-true story beats. At least it’s pretty to look at. Drawing angels and demons can be complicated (those wings must be a pain to ink), but the artists make it look easy.

In the end, this is a good book. CLAMP obviously know what they’re doing, and I hope to read more from them. But this particular story doesn’t do anything to stand out from other high-concept romances.