"If you find a four-leaf clover,
It will bring happiness.
But don't tell Anyone
Where its white flower blooms
Or how many leaflets from its stem extend.
The four-leafed clover.
I only want your happiness, knowing
I can never be yours to share it."

Thus begins CLAMP's latest endeavor, CLOVER. This work stands out compared to the quartet's other current serials, especially the cute CARD CAPTOR SAKURA or the heart-warming WISH. CLAMP fans who preferred the more dramatic works like X and TOKYO BABYLON will be pleased to see that CLOVER proves that CLAMP is still capable of providing readers with fast-paced drama (and angst).
In a futuristic world, an old sorceress by the name of Kou asks a retired soldier, Ryuu Feye Kazuhiko, to "transport a top-secret item" somewhere. She places a tattoo of a green leaf on the palm of his hand and gives him a weapons-summoning glove, which makes Kazuhiko realize that this is no ordinary job. He proceeds to pick up the "item" — and is surprised to find out that the "item" is a girl with wings. The girl, Suu, asks, "Are you the one that will take me?" And the adventure begins.
Suu wants to go to Fairy Park, an amusement park now in shambles. Kazuhiko's order is to take her anywhere she wishes, while attracting as little attention as possible. Therefore, Kazuhiko asks Lan, his friend Gingetsu's roommate, to teleport Suu and himself to Fairy Park; Lan agrees. However, during the teleport, someone gets in the way and the couple becomes stranded en route. Promptly, a group of armed men greet them with an attack. Along the couple's way through the mess to Fairy Park, they encounter, among other people, a mafia group known as the Xiao Mao and the Azurite army led by Bulz, the "white leopard" who calls Kazuhiko "Prince."
The story revolves around Suu, and the term "clover." As the story enfolds, it focuses on the reason why Suu is a top-secret item of the government and what it means to be a "clover." The link between Suu and the meaning of "clover" seems to be in a song that appears at key points in each chapter. Each verse tells the readers about the singer wanting and searching happiness for her escort and herself, which will only be attained when she reaches "a true Elsewhere." All of the mysteries start to unravel and point towards the story's inevitable end when Suu tells Kazuhiko the truth behind the song, and who she really is.
Mokona Apapa, back as the lead artist, tries something new with the presentation of Ohkawa's plot in CLOVER. Unlike her previous works, including RG VEDA and MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH, Mokona chooses to present the story in a cinematic fashion where the frames break out of the typical "grid" appearance. The resulting effect is a movie on paper, with each frame showing one shot from the camera. Despite the intense detail of Mokona's art, the spaces between many of the frames keep the pages from being too dense. Another thing to note is that all sounds are typeset, creating a cold, cyberpunkish feel distinctly different from that of the hand-lettered sounds in CLAMP's other works. Moreover, the story is in small segments as opposed to long sequences often observed in the past, to create more of the scene-by-scene presentation of most movies.
This is not the longest, the shortest, nor the cutest series of CLAMP's career. However, if you want something dramatic and beautiful, yet different from most other manga you have seen before, give it a try, even if you are not a big CLAMP fan.

CLOVER Copyright © CLAMP / AMIE(Feb '97 cover date) June 7, 1997 (July '97 cover date) Side story to be in the Jan. '98 issue of AMIE Vol. 1 — Kodansha Comics AMIE #1 ISBN4-06-340001-8 C9979, Kodansha, 6 June 1997 ¥600 Vol. 2 — Kodansha Comics AMIE #2 ISBN4-06-340002-6 C9979, Kodansha, 22 Aug 1997 ¥600