20 Mensou ni Onegai!!
Man of Many Faces

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I'm surprised there aren't more reviews on here! Man of Many Faces is a story that will end up putting a smile on your face. It's one of CLAMP's more obscure and quirky titles. The plot can be downright absurd at times. There are unanswered questions (nothing crucial to the plot) that are even acknowledged by CLAMP. But, in the end you'll get a "it's just this way and you won't know why." You'll be happy with the ending, though!

The plot revolves around two strangely mature children, a master thief and an aristocrat, that end up falling in love. What's unusual about this story ... is that near the end you actually get to see the characters as adults.

Wrap this all up in CLAMP's wonderful art style and you have an enjoyable quick read.

Art: 10/10
Story: 7/10
Character: 7/10
Overall enjoyment: 8/10

Honestly ? It's far to be the best CLAMP work. This kind of story has already been used and there's nothing original in here. 20 Masks outfit reminds me too much of Kaito Kid which is also a bad point and well, I think the relationship between the two maincharacters is simply unbelievable. It just seems weird... The art isn't really the best either.

That apart you have the typical characters : one chara who ALWAYS want to catch the thief, the thief always being able to escape; and overall each chapter seems the same, there's not the slightest surprise, so I do not get the ... feeling anything is happening at all. In other words : boring. Kaito Kid, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Cat's Eyes and DN Angel are far better mangas of this genre.

For those who are lazy to read : not worth reading.

The first in the "Clamp School Trilogy", Man Of 20 Faces purports to be a phantom thief thriller, but it's actually a romance manga between two elementary schoolers. And for whatever reason, these children and their friends and family are fascinated with the philosophy of love. Characters will monologue for pages on end about what true love really means, with the youthful thievery only an afterthought.


This is all well and good, but the central ideas presented in this manga are just plain terrible. It screws up so badly that the very happy ending left me more cynical of love then when I started. Oops.





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They didn't even have the guts to make Santa Claus real in this universe. Cowards.