I really like this series. However, I have no easily explainable
reason for why, but I will give it a whirl anyhow. First of all, CLAMP
Campus Detectives lacks any deep themes. But what are you to expect
from a story that is based on the concept of hyper-elite elementary school
students who run a detective agency for the sake of helping women in
distress. The only way that I can describe the charm of this show is: the
ultimate triumph of style over substance. So with this in mind, here is a
brief recap of the background provided in episode 1.
The CLAMP Campus
The setting for this series is the CLAMP School, rather narcissistically
named after the creators of this series. This school has a large
pentagram-shaped campus and contains not just an elementary school, but also
education all the way through the university level. The instructors are the
best in the world, and the students are all super-talented. The school also
ensures that there will be adequate funding for any student to attend if he
has been accepted. The most important source of funding for this
monstrosity of an educational institute is the Imonoyama Conglomerate.
The Detectives
There are three main characters in this series: Imonoyama Nokoru, Takamura
Suoh, and Uyuujin Akira. They comprise the elementary school's student
council and are all very good students. In addition, each one has his
personal talents. Nokoru is their leader and the president of the student
council. He is a smooth talker, an excellent detective, and always carries
a fan. This young investigator is also the son of the president of the
powerful and wealthy Imonoyama Conglomerate. Suoh is the secretary of the
student council and has great athletic talent. He is also very good at
judo, aikido, karate, and kendo and is the most levelheaded of the group.
Akira is the treasurer of the student council and has immense powers of
cuteness. He is also a master chef and is good for comic relief.
The Authors
This series was created by a group of four women called CLAMP. They have
done many titles and always produce great-looking art, though their stories
are sometimes suspect. Other titles done by CLAMP include RG Veda,
Tokyo Babylon, Magic Knight Rayearth, and X.
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