In the blink of an eye, "Magic Card Girl Sakura" has been broadcast for 24 years.
Ah ~ growing up sentimentality
The children who kept their eyes on the children's channel and couldn't leave each other at that time have basically grown up.
From watching Sakura bravely go to the end of the world, to taking over the burden of life and taking on her due social role.
Douban nearly 90,000 people opened a high score of 9.1
But what Shu wants to talk about today is not Sakura, but Sakura's mothers, the legendary Japanese manga creation team CLAMP.
Today's article is also the first article in the new series "Beauty Power" opened by Shu.
The power of beauty lies in beauty, and even more lies in strength.
The fine penetration of beauty in the invisible is itself a powerful and irreversible force.
Shu hopes that by combing through the lives of these big women, he will provide a reference for everyone's future life path.
Speaking of CLAMP, the team consists of 4 women – more accurately described in harsh secular aesthetics, four "middle-aged mothers" who are no longer young.
After the 60s, they are all over 50 years old.
But, so what?
As a legendary evergreen tree that never falls in the comic book industry, he has money and leisure, and is unmarried and childless.
Some are immersed in love, and some choose to live alone, but they all enjoy life according to their own wishes.
Compared with the aesthetic world they created that is extremely beautiful and dreamy, and has become a precious memory of millions of people;
The life of these four women in reality, the excitement has only increased.
CLAMP's versatile and dreamy style
Uncle today came to the plate, four aunts, how to hand in hand into a super printing machine that sucks countless gold;
And how to create a cool life that can't stop.
01
Beauty power, can be condensed
The sisters broke into the life of the big hostess together
1. From 12 to 4 people, we will carry through the poor entrepreneurial years together
In the poor youth, CLAMP got together with a common hobby, and most of the members later chose a more secure career direction and left one after another.
The team gradually decreased from 12 people at the peak to the last 4 people, which is now Okawa Nanase, Maoi Minomiya, Mokena and Igarashi Langao.
These four women who created the legends of the comic book industry each have irreplaceable personality charm.
Nanase Okawa, a graduate of the University of Tokyo, is responsible for script writing and team public relations planning, and the perfect fusion of literary and economic acumen in this intellectual and capable woman;
Catii Sannomiya, who is responsible for details such as frame line, background and coloring, maintains a crisp and neat short hair style all year round;
Mokena, who is in charge of the storyboard and the sketches of the characters, has a gentle and shy Yamato Fuzi style, and wears a traditional kimono almost every time he appears in public view;
Igarashi Langao, who is responsible for the binding design and the support of the original manuscript, prefers to dress up as always, and loves the exquisite and modern urban girl style.
It's not hard to imagine how difficult it was to connect to scare away two-thirds of the members in the early days of entrepreneurship.
Several people crammed into a cramped two-bedroom apartment in Tokyo, with a worktop and kitchen, and sometimes had to go to the closet.
But the four of them insisted on it bit by bit with an indelible enthusiasm and hope.
I thought about working part-time to make a living
The creation is arduous, and the future seems to be slim, but the four people who are close as sisters pity each other.
Share the bittersweet and bittersweet in life with each other, hand in hand to fight monsters and upgrade, and break out of a piece of their own world together.
2. From obscurity to popularity, independence and sobriety have made CLAMP stand in a legendary position
After its debut in 1989 with "Sacred Biography", CLAMP successively launched works with different themes and styles, such as "Tokyo Babylon", "X-War", "Magic Card Girl Sakura", and "Wings".
The total sales of single books have already exceeded 100 million copies.
Debut as "Holy Biography"
After becoming famous, CLAMP rejected the olive branch thrown by major publishing groups, did not sign up for any institutions, and maintained independence and sobriety as much as possible.
Although this self-operated and self-collecting business method can ensure that the creation is completely autonomous and undisturbed, it also especially tests the division of labor and cooperation and trust relationship of the four people.
Facts have proved that the working mode of each performing its duties and the strong trust and cooperation between each other are more flexible in grasping market trends and upstream and downstream industry chain dynamics.
In addition to the manga itself, CLAMP also published a variety of peripheral products, from the initial posters, calendars, notebooks, to the gradually upgraded animation, costume design...
Variations of Sakura series clothing peripherals
The CLAMP business empire gradually took shape, and the result, of course, was to make a lot of money.
After the economic ability to improve, the four still choose to work together, but retain independent space for each other.
They are comrades-in-arms who fight side by side in their careers, and they are also close and respectful to each other in life.
Big girls who are buried in serious work
This state of close solidarity and mutual achievement among women not only conveys inspiration and encouragement to us, but also breaks the stereotypes of women for thousands of years:
Four women in one play, this drama is not synonymous with jealousy and noise, but represents the trust of relatives, wisdom and talent, and the brave and fearless pursuit of ideals.
Questions! Guess who the four handkers are in the foursome?
02
Beauty power, can last forever
Girlish feelings can be arbitrary
The word "eternal girl" does not only refer to the skin phase, but also the inner mental state.
After reading too many examples of young people whose hearts are numb to ashes, I feel that the women who draw comics seem to never grow old.
Even if they are over 50 years old, they can still hold on to the love and hate preferences of 16-year-old girls.
With all the young people who are in their youth, they always maintain the same frequency pace.
Xiada, who had just celebrated her 41st birthday two days ago, was full of youthful looks
1. CLAMP's eternally active girlish heart is first and foremost and intuitively reflected in the work
One is the eternal gorgeous visual element.
Cherry blossoms blooming in full bloom, magnificent and dreamy feathers, exquisite and dazzling accessories, beautiful and vast story background...
CLAMP, while persistently maintaining a gorgeous and charming, aesthetic and romantic style, often gives the story a fatalistic tragic color.
The extremely beautiful petals rained down, hiding an empty sad face
The second is to insist on portraying genderless love.
CLAMP often ignores the shackles of gender for characters.
Love is either poignant or dark, but both pursue pure feelings and pure love romance, and have never stopped the in-depth exploration of "love".
"Tokyo Babylon", Hoshiro and Emperor Pleiades who love and kill each other
His debut novel, The Sacred Biography, is based on an ancient Indian Vedic mythology, and is prophesied to destroy the entire world, but encounters the Night Fork King, who promises to protect him for the rest of his life.
Enemies and friends are also lovers, old enemies love each other, fate is helpless, and enmity and resentment are endless.
The Night King and the Asura
2. CLAMP's girlish feelings are more firmly reflected in the career and life attitude
In the career, we never stop innovating and progressing, and continue to introduce different styles of works to adapt to the changes of the times:
The complexity and magnificence of "Sacred Biography", the cuteness and sweetness of "Magic Card Girl Sakura", the end-time depression of "X-War", the classical material lament of "Bai Ji Copied"...
But no matter which style, CLAMP's paintings are finely brushstrokes, lines are swirling, and they are good at using swirling curves to create the ultimate atmosphere of mystery and beauty.
The Legend of the Holy Spirit
Magic Card Girl Sakura
X-Men Chronicles
"White Ji Copy"
In real life, they do not regard marriage as a necessary goal in life, and always maintain the girlish second-year enthusiasm and the curiosity of daring to try.
Nanase Okawa, who is the core of the team, even has a favorite phrase: "When you die, even if you are in the mud, you must insist on your dignity and die!" This slightly middle-of-the-road, rationalistic sentence.
Okawa Shichi
Even at the age of aunt and grandmother, they still have a virgin heart and live for sincere ideals.
In a Japanese society where men are respected and there are few strong women, CLAMP women have personally implemented the dashing life principle of "men can have or can not have, but career and happiness must have".
03
Beauty power, can be transmitted
Softly and firmly conveys feminine strength
In terms of deep influence, women who draw comics are the most dream-making women.
They not only created the dream childhood memories of many generations, but even shaped the value cognition of truth, goodness and beauty from the perspective of women.
CLAMP's work not only shapes the representative of dreams, but also points directly to the topic of reality.
In the Book of The Holy Spirit, brave young men crusader against tyrants and uphold justice;
In "Tokyo Babylon", many sentient beings and low-level people in real life are portrayed, focusing on social topics and full of critical colors;
In Magical Girl Sakura, Sakura and her friends grow up and struggle to reclaim the Kulo card that will bring disaster to the world.
In the face of danger, Sakura's strongest spell is the sentence "Absolutely no problem, there must be a way!" ”
Overflowing with the innocent courage to bravely move forward.
In addition to the sad story of heartbreak, CLAMP also guards the children's innocent character with a gentle and healing side.
This group of avant-garde, sober and independent women highlights the unique influence of women:
Women can not only achieve wealth and freedom in life on their own, but also pass on the idea of goodness from generation to generation.
Generations of women have also been warmly encouraged to continue to grow into new women who can deliver their own strength to the world.
To face up to the beauty and power of women is to face up to the future of human beings themselves.