Clover

Clover debuted in the premiere issue of Kodansha’s experimental shoujo magazine, Amie, which released on February 2, 1997, and would continue until the magazine ceased publication in the summer of 1999. The manga ran for a total of 116 chapters, which were later published into four volumes. Remarkably, this was just one of four manga that CLAMP were releasing at the time: X/1999 (May 1992 to March 2003), Wish (November 1995 to August 1998), and Cardcaptor Sakura (May 1996 to June 2000) were all ongoing during this same period.

The story is set in a futuristic, dystopian world, at a time in which the military are conducting searches for children nicknamed 'clovers,' i.e., children born with magical powers capable of manipulating technology. Each clover is classified according to their strength. They are given a tattoo of a clover, with the number of leaves correlating to their strength. These clovers are then imprisoned out of a fear that they may develop feelings for humans and be used as weapons, thereby jeopardizing the country’s national security. The plot of Clover opens with Kazuhiko, a former solider, who is tasked with delivering something for the government – a task issued by one of the five wizards, General Ko. This ‘something’ turns out to be Su, the only known four-leaf clover, who is to be delivered to some undisclosed location. The first part of the manga, then, details their journey to this location and the various obstacles they encounter. Subsequent parts jump back and forth in time to flesh out certain characters, their relationships, and offer a new perspective on the core narrative.

Clover, Chapter 5

While there are some neat concepts at work, the overall narrative suffers from a severe lack of development, leading many to charge it with being all style and no substance; however, I would argue that – on the contrary – Clover’s style is its substance. Unlike other CLAMP titles, Clover is a manga in which how the story is told is more important than the content of that story. CLAMP have imbued Clover with a sort of poetic quality: from their careful paneling, use of negative space and abstract imagery, to the frequent lyrical refrains woven throughout the story like the chorus of a song; taken together, these elements create a strong mood which engages readers at an emotional level. In this way, I would argue that even if it falls short in terms of its narrative, the unique experience it offers by way of its presentation makes it worth reading alone. This does not make it any less valuable than a more narrative-heavy manga; rather, it is simply just another kind of experience that one can have through a manga, and one that I recommend we all try at least once.

Clover, Chapter 18

That being said, there is one issue that may worry potential readers: as I previously alluded to, Clover’s serialization was unfortunately cut short when Amie ceased publication just two years after its launch. However, rest assured: Clover still offers a complete experience. Indeed, CLAMP revealed in an interview that the story was meant to be divided into four parts, with volumes one and two comprising the first part, volume two comprising the second, volume three the third, and what would have been volumes four and five comprising the fourth. Although we will likely never see those final two volumes, the story is structured such that each part offers a somewhat completed experience. The first part largely focused on Kazuhiko and Su’s journey, from their initial meeting to Kazuhiko’s attempts at bringing Su to her destination. The second part focused on Ora, highlighting her various relationships and influence on other characters. The third and final part then shifts focus to Ran: his origins as a three-leaf clover, how he met Gingetsu, and the problems he encounters with another three-leaf clover. While there is a common thread connecting each part, they can all stand on their own and be appreciated as such. Thus, the issue of Clover not having a proper ending is no issue at all.