Clamp
Ōkawa Nanase 大川七瀬
[born: 2 May 1967; Ōsaka, bloodtype: A]
Mokona Apapa もこなあぱぱ
[born: 16 Jun 1968, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]
Nekoi Mick 猫井みっく
[born: 21 Jan 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: O]
Igarashi Satsuki 五十嵐さつき
[born: 8 Feb 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]
CLAMP originally began in 1989 as a twelve-member dōjinshi circle, but by 1990, the circle had diminished from twelve to seven. Of the remaining seven, Tamayo Akiyama, Sei Nanao, and Leeza Sei left the group during the production of the RG Veda manga. Other former members of CLAMP also included Soushi Hishika, O-Kyon, Kazue Nakamori, Yuzuru Inoue and Shinya Ōmi. Currently, there are four members in the group.
In 2004, CLAMP's 15th anniversary as a mangaka group, the members changed their names from Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona Apapa, Mick Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi to Ageha Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi (her name is pronounced the same, but written with different characters) respectively. The August 2004 issue of Newtype USA, a magazine specializing in events of the anime and manga subcultures, reported that the members of CLAMP simply wanted to try out new names. In a later interview with Ohkawa, it was revealed that initially Mokona wanted to drop her surname because it sounded too immature for her liking, while Nekoi disliked people commenting that her name was the same as Mick Jagger's. Ohkawa and Igarashi, wanting to go with the flow of Nekoi's and Mokona's name changes, changed their names as well.
In 2006, they made their first USA public debut at Anime Expo in Anaheim, California. They were well received at the convention, with 6,000 fans in attendance at their panel.
“I do not lie to you, Watanuki.Because you are a very important person to me.”
“Did that high-and-mighty attitude of yours come attached to you when you were spawned?!Was it a bug your programmer couldn't fix?!”
“Wanting someone else to eat the things you have cooked is the same as wanting that person to know you.I figured eating your own cooking is a way of getting to know yourself.”
“But it is a very difficult thing to change the future.The slightest turn of phrase…action and the human soul.The future changes direction based on those things.”
“However, there is something stronger than an unaccomplished future someone saw in a dream and that is a wish of a human heart.”
“There is no such thing as coincidence in this world. The only thing is hitsuzen.Hitsuzen...A naturally fore-ordained event. A state in which all other outcomes are impossible.”
“Ruri: Is it possible that Shuichiro gets more cuddly every day?Hari: Indubitably...”
“Kurogane: You just said "Buu" with your mouth, right? That isn't whistling.Fai: I don't know how to whistle.”
“Truth is one, the sages speak of it by many names.”
“Only with a clear mind will you be able to see who is truly in your heart.”
“Why do I keep thinking of her alluva sudden?! Especially when the only time my face gets red and my heart starts puonding...is when I see him! -Syaoran Li”
“Kurogane, to Fai: You, shut up!! If you want to die that much, I'll kill you myself! But until that day, you're going to live!”
“Fai: *punches Kurogane* That was payback, Kuro-sama!Kurogane: *grins* You're gonna get punched out, you creep!”
“Kurogane: For all my life... I've wanted strength. I didn't want those things precious to me to be taken away from me anymore. But, to have strength means to invite disaster to come to you. And strength alone can't really protect you.”
“There is no such thing as coincidence, only hitsuzen.”
“Mokona: Please! Fai is about to die! Yûko! Fai: Y... You... can't... While I'm still ailve... Syaoran-kun's magic still lives. Even half of that power is too much... Nothing... will be able to stop him.Mokona: Fai!!Kurogane: *punches hole in wall* Who told you to make that decision now?!Mokona: No! Kurogane!! *Kurogane grabs Fai by the collar*Fai: Sorry... *Fai collapses*Kurogane: Witch... Is there any way to keep him from dying?Yûko: Yes, there is.”
“Kurogane: That's what you want, isn't it? Underneath that constant grin, you're keeping everyone away. So that nobody gets involved with you. But look. Just now you checked to see if the kid had a fever, and you're relieved that the princess doesn't see the wretched condition of this world. And in the last country, you used your magic.Fai: *smiling* I said it, didn't I? I wasn't going to die. And so...Kurogane: Yeah, but that was all about you not dying on your own account. Dying for somebody else... That's a whole new question. Back then, if you hadn't done anything, we would have been captured, and if we handled it wrong, we might have died. But you decided to use magic on your own. You involved yourself in their lives.Fai: *no longer smiling, looks depressed* I... I don't want to make anyone unhappy because of their involvement with me. ”
“Fai: But... Don't you think they've changed? At the start of our travels, Syaoran-kun never smiled at all. Like he was suffering. And maybe it was because Sakura lost all of her memories but she always seemed so unsure of herself. And Kuro-run, you were always angry. And now you're exactly the same.Kurogane: Huh?Fai: But... During our travels, there are a lot of painful spots, but there are also fun times. And when I see those two giving it their all and smiling... I can't help but think they've changed.Kurogane: If you think that, then you've changed too. ”
“To get mad at being called a “little boy” is a proof that you indeed are one”
“Because we knew you were waiting, we did our best so that we'd return.”
“No matter how painful it might be...I'll do everything in my might! So please, you too, act according to what you believe in!”
“Because I wished for everyone to live, I did everything I could.”
“If I can protect, I want to protect.”
“Humans create terrible things. Why do they make things that only bring them pain? It’s because they don’t know what’s comfortable anymore. So perhaps they don’t know that they are in pain…”
“Yuuko, speaking to Fai: To all the young ones in your group, you are no longer someone who passes through their lives and is forgotten. You have become someone very important to them. Your hardships are their hardships too.”