Oh thank goddess Fai didn’t end up dying! Whether his time as a vampire (yes, random twist, but I’ll accept it) will work out is up for debate, but I don’t think vampires in Clamp’s universe have it all that bad - especially when he has Kurogane as his dedicated blood donor. What surprised me most though in this story was that Sakura could choose to leave one of her memory feathers behind. She makes this sacrifice to save the people of this acid-rain riddled world, which is completely in line with her personality, but they’ve never hinted that this was even a possibility. I guess one feather won’t make that much of a difference though, as long as she gets all of the rest! ( )

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer Synopsis Volume 17 concludes the adventure on the Acid Rain world, where Sakura comes into her own, Fai becomes a semi-vampire dependent on Kuragane, the Clone Lee rampages across the multi-verse in search of feathers and the original Lee must come to grips that Sakura doesn't view him as "Lee" at all. Volume 18 and 19 deal with the crew on yet another world, where they are playing human fight chess and Sakura must be the Master. They think they are playing ot repay a village that the clone Lee destroyed, but Sakura is playing for deeper, darker and more important stakes. My Thoughts Where I've been complaining about Sakura being a non-character, in these volumes she almost becomes another person. She goes on adventures, becomes a wiser, but sadder, young woman. Things get complex at the end as Sakura plays things so that she can travel on her own to prevent 2 futures, both of which are repugnant to her. Thus a 3rd universe is born and Wei-Fang's plans to control everything is put in jeopardy. I added a 1/2 star because Sakura really takes charge and becomes a lot more like the Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura. This series needed this, because Lee was quickly becoming the main character and Sakura just a side-character. Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Artist & Author: CLAMP " ( )

I guess one could say this volume and the one before it represents the 'end of the beginning', as the story from here changes focus from being just a 'dimension of the week' story to one with a more personal focus for everyone involved. Choices are also made that will have far flung ramifications for everyone, as things will no longer be the same. ( )