Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #815816 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

This is adorable! I love it!
I personally think that the characters of Clamp School Detectives are the anime version of Alvin and the Chipmunks. This book, however, does a little bit to discourage that notion.
For one thing, I like the Detectives better than the Chipmunks. Nokuru, Suoh, and Akira are not half as annoying as their furry counterparts, and they don't sing. Actually, the list could go on.

Anyway, the art in this (like in all CLAMP works) is top-notch, cream-of-the-crop, absolutely perfect. The story is cute (unbelievable at some parts, kinda goofy at others), and the characters are likable (most of them).

Here's a quick rundown of the plot of this first book. Akira Ijuyin works as the youngest member of the Student Council and Detectives at Clamp School. By night he is the master thief 20 faces, who steals strange things at the whim of a pair of crimelords--his beautiful young mothers! Yes, he has two mothers. Don't ask me, I'm still trying to figure that one out. Anyway, while hiding from the cops, he meets a pretty kindergartener named Utako. He carries on a secret friendship with her by sneaking into her room to visit her every week.

The second book will explore the depths of the relationship as they grow older.

This book is not to be missed, Clamp fan or not!

The Thief with 20 faces
Akira seems like your normal 4th grader. He goes to school, participates on the student council and cooks breakfast for his moms every morning. But he really is the mysterious 20 Faces, a "gentleman thief" who steals whatever his parents ask him to. One night while hiding from the police he meets a young girl who instantly falls in love with him. But can a thief really find true love?

CLAMP has a wonderful knack for coming up with unique stories, and this is no exception. The characters are very memorable and the art is beautiful. However, it lacks some of the reality and depth of their better works, making this seem weak compared to their other books. A good read, but if you are looking for something exciting I would try Cardcaptor Sakura.

Meh.
Some of the stuff Clamp does is just wonderful, and some of it not so much. This falls into the latter category.

Females are always portrayed in this book as needing a male - the mothers have their son do all the work AND have him steel for him. The kindergarten aged girl in the book is obsessed with having a boyfriend and settles on a thief (who's a forth grader). The females are clingy, whiny, and useless.

The males aren't any better. They do whatever they are told, coddle the females, and all but one don't seem to have any moral backbone. The one teenager who says that steeling is wrong is portrayed as a food obsessed bizarre person.

The artwork seems very juvenile to me. It's not even close to the beauty in XXXholic. It's the kind of artwork I'd expect from a late seventies animae (think Voltron).

All in all I'd skip these books and go for something with more plot and more depth like Angelic Layer.