The Clamp School

—by Mark L. Johnson

Of AnimeVillage.com's initial lineup, THE CLAMP SCHOOL (or CLAMP GAKUEN TANTEIDAN / CLAMP CAMPUS DETECTIVES) certainly stands apart from its other titles. Targeted a bit more towards the shoujo market (and definitely towards fans of the works of the all female manga writers CLAMP), the plots and adventures of this TV series tend to focus more on character development and interactions than violence and babes. This probably is one of the least-known titles of their lineup as well.
The world itself is a CLAMP utopia. Most of the series takes place within the CLAMP Campus, which is a huge school established to promote education for the best in the world, regardless of race or wealth. From kindergarten to university, this is a paradise for overachievers whether it be in academics and science or athletics and art. It also happens to have many links to other CLAMP works such as TOKYO BABYLON or X, and many of the school uniforms and designs will look rather familiar. Created by Japan's Imonoyama conglomerate (the largest company in this world), the campus is fully self-sufficient with banks, hospitals, and a very advanced security system. With this world of large grassy fields, rivers, and grand architecture, it's understandable why the main characters rarely leave.
Which brings us to the heroes of this tale. Not exactly standard anime guys (or age for that matter), each is portrayed as a true genius in their own way:
Sixth grader Imonoyama Nokoru is the Elementary Division Student President and also a progeny of the founding Imonoyama group. His intelligence is amazing, and his style and grace get him hounded often by hordes of girls in awe of his presence. Nokoru truly loves a party or new adventure. He also founds the CLAMP Campus Detective group in order to assist any lady in trouble or in need of assistance.
Fifth grader Takamura Suoh takes the role as Nokoru's bodyguard and Student Body Secretary. He is also popular with the girls in his own right. Often calm and realistic, he is a check for Nokoru's ability to avoid work. And since he comes from the Takamura family, he has been very well trained in many forms of martial arts and is a superhuman athlete.
The youngest member, fourth grader Ijuuin Akira is the Student Body Treasurer, and is portrayed as very cute and innocent. An amazing cook and also very agile, he possesses a secret past he keeps concealed from even Nokoru and Suoh.
These three boys form the Elementary Division Student Council, and also work part time as the CLAMP Campus Detectives.
The stories themselves are often more to show off the school and characters than to be epic adventures. Most finish within an episode, and rarely is Suoh required to beat up hordes of bad guys.
The first episode deals with the formation of the Campus Detectives, as Nokoru comes to the rescue of an old lady with a large estate who is being forced into giving it up. Then the group gets the task of finding a missing data disk within the school campus. I enjoyed the third episode where the ever-popular Nokoru struggles to satisfy a girl who cannot stand the fact that Nokoru is so popular with all the female populace. And the fourth episode has Akira working to help a university cooking student deal with a relationship problem.
Later in the series, cute romance interests for Akira and Suoh are introduced from the Kindergarten divisions, and become more major characters.
The production values are rather good for a TV series in my opinion, as the character designs, movement, and backgrounds are very consistent. The introduction song "Peony Pink" is incredibly cute (and catchy), as is the ending theme "Welcome to the Metallic Party." The subtitling and translation are very well done.
However, this series will probably not be for everyone. If you are looking for comedy like TENCHI MUYO or SABER MARIONETTE J, THE CLAMP SCHOOL is probably not fast enough. Not enough action happens in an episode to keep fans of fighting or adventure anime satisfied.
Perhaps the best comparison to THE CLAMP SCHOOL would be a series like DETECTIVE CONAN: really cute kids that have more adventures in elementary school than most people do in an entire lifetime. Many of the stories use events or people within its imaginary campus for the driving plot.
THE CLAMP SCHOOL is a well done series. While I enjoy this series because it is different, this genre may not be the standard anime consumer's cup of tea. Fans of CLAMP in general might pay special attention to it, although be warned to not expect the action of a series like X. The conflict between characters tend to be light, and the general coolness factor of Nokoru and friends will always win the day. I only wish I could have been this active when I was in elementary school.

Released in North America by AnimeVillage
English subtitled
98 minutes (Vols 1-2)
70 minutes (Vols 3-8)
$29.95

Box Set $160
Available now
Where to buy