Part 1 (RG Veda) | Part 2 (Man of Many Faces) | Part 3 (Tokyo Babylon) | Part 4 (Duklyon) | Part 5 (Clamp Detectives)| Part 7 (X)| Part 8 (Chunhyang)|Part 9 (Miyuki-chan)|Part 10 (Rayearth)| Part 11 (The One I Love| Part 12 (Wish)| Part 13 (CCS)| Part 14 (Clover)
I'm constantly saying in this early era of CLAMP, "here's one of their most obscure works", but this really is CLAMP's most obscure work. It has no anime, no drama CDs, I daresay beyond Shirahime herself, none of the other characters who appear have been remembered by CLAMP or their fans. Not to say this work is bad - the opposite! It's simply beautifully self-contained (what a rarity).
This exists because a magazine that would soon go out of print requested a series from CLAMP. Published in 1992, Shirahime was finished in just 10 days and marked a departure from CLAMP's style and tone. A hardcover volume was published in English by Tokyopop in the 2000s, collecting the 3 chapters, prologue and epilogue. Happily, I was able to snag a copy of this evocative, atmospheric work. Finally, some good food after the CLAMP School downturn!
Synopsis: Legend tells that the falling snow is the tears of the snow princess, Shirahime. Across three interconnected stories in ancient Japan, CLAMP explores human grief and folly, isolation, and the anthropomorphism of nature.
The Story: This is a manga written in 10 days in the best way possible. There's a frame story to the whole manga, where a man unknowingly encounters Shirahime and gives us her legend, warning of the snow's dangers. The epilogue returns us here to wrap up the thematic elements. The three chapters are each self-contained stories centered around snow and despair, and they feel ephemeral in some ways. But this works beautifully with the entire theme of bleak melancholia of snow covered mountains.
CLAMP admits there's no specific time period as they had no time to do adequate research, but we get enough sense of a pre-modern Japan. There's a very folktale feeling to the entire piece that lingers in the mind, giving just enough information to each vignette to convey themes and emotions. I was especially moved by the first story where a girl goes after a wolf she believes killed her father, only to grow attached to it. The girl's mother kills the wolf, telling her that it would only kill her in the end. We're left wondering if this is true or not - can we escape our natures? Do we cause our own grief?
The Themes: Which ties beautifully into the themes of the story. Shirahime ends the book by telling the man that snow is not her tears but the tears of man's grief and suffering. While seemingly rather banal, even edgy, it works within a narrative that explores how different characters anthropomorphize nature and ascribe human characteristics to it in an effort to push aside their own pain or make sense of the universe.
Is the wolf caring for the little girl out of guilt or is it just a wolf without human morality, and there is no rhyme or reason to its cruelty and mercy? Are two herons lovers, or are they just birds who must mate by their natures, just as our protagonist is drawn to war? Is it right to envy a frozen flower, or will it only lead to destruction? There's such an interesting concept here about trying to make sense of a cold and uncaring world through story, the human need to narrativize and personify, which is such galaxy-brained thinking for something literally made on the fly. It's so utterly early CLAMPian in its melancholia, and yet so poignant.
The Characters: As each story is self-contained, no characters reappear beyond Shirahime, who exists as a framing device (she is wonderfully mysterious and otherworldly). The thinly written, archetypal characters work in a folktale setting. We don't need to know beyond Fubuki, brave young girl, or Kaya, heartbroken lover.
The Art: Unlike their other works, CLAMP did this entire manga with a brush, using ink wash instead of their usual screentone. It's a very smart choice given the time limit they had, and it's clear they picked snowy barren landscapes so they could crunch those backgrounds fast. The result is hauntingly beautiful, with grays that feel cold, and visceral emotional moments reminiscent of ink paintings. That panel of Kaya frozen in the ice, or Inuki getting shot? Will live rent free with me forever. Shirahime's design is also gorgeous. While the paneling is definitely simpler, it works so well with the art that I can't complain. The art carries the stories so far that it is part of the narrative.
Questionable Elements: There is none, shockingly. A woman does die to fulfill a man's narrative but every other fairytale does this really.
Overall: A haunting atmospheric read. I knew I was going to enjoy the artwork because I love soft traditional brushwork pieces, but I didn't expect to really be moved by it, and I was. It gave me the sense of reading particularly haunting folklore that cuts to something true in humanity: that nature doesn't have a reason or morality, it just exists, but it is in our nature to try to make sense of it, to tell story and create myth and legend. We are storytelling creatures, to our wonder and our doom. This is a theme that I am an absolute sucker for, a meta-textual story that reflects upon their own work in many ways and their own place as storytellers. It's a short read, and I do highly recommend it to non-fans, if nothing else for how beautiful it is.
