This review only applies to the first three volumes not the later ones that make up Magic Knight Rayearth II. Thatll be its own review Lets face it: anyone who has even the slightest knowledge of anime has at least heard of CLAMP or if you dont youve seen one of their anime/manga without knowing it. They were the queens of manga back in the 90s. They made famous titles like Card Captor Sakura XxxHolic Tsubasa Chronicles X Angelic Layer etc. My first manga by them was Wish and I still own all four volumes to this day. People still love their work even now though as of late CLAMP doesnt seem to be as wellloved now as they were during their heyday what with all the drama regarding Tsubas and the low quality of their newer works among other things. One of their most wellliked manga is a little title called Magic Knight Rayearth famous for having three female main characters wielding swords and magic going to another world deconstructing the typical destroy the evil villain and save the princess tropes in unexpected ways and just being allaround cool. Ive seen the anime version and have read the manga the first three volumes make up 20 episodes of the anime series which technically counts as the first season and...well to be honest I feel the anime told the story a little better. So the premise in and of itself isnt much to write home about. Three middle school girlsHikaru Shidou Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououjiare suddenly whisked away to the magical land of Cephiro where ones choices and belief are the strongest power of all. But Cephiro is in a global crisis as Princess Emeraudes trusted high priest Zagato has kidnapped her and whisked her away to his secret lair and because Princess Emeraude keeps Cephiro alive and thriving with her prayers he basically is the cause of everything. With the help of some allies both human and nonhuman the three girls are tasked to become the legendary Magic Knights and save Princess Emeraude and Cephiro from certain doom. I really dont think I need to say much about the artwork that hasnt been said about CLAMP by now. Its freaking beautiful. Everyones outfits are meticulously detailed sometimes even excessively so the battle scenes are full of action that really feel like they come alive sometimes taking up whole pages and all of the characters have unique designs that are distinctly their own so not once do you feel like everyone looks the same. Need I mention the setting and weapon designs as well? You have to admit CLAMP has a real knack for making their own fantasy worlds and weapons that really look unique. Magical flying fish fountains that only exist in two dimensions weapons that evolve when their characters grow up mentally a princess whose very life is used for making the entire world peaceful and nothing else? You have to admit those are pretty original especially for their time period. Unfortunately this leads to what I feel is one of the mangas biggest flaws. Since the story only takes up three volumes it moves at a very fast breakneck pace that doesnt leave much time for the characters to just sit down breathe and learn more about Cephiro what its like its customs the people living on it etc. This is one flaw that the anime managed to rectify. Since the first season of the anime consisted of 20 episodes it had more time to add more episodes that not only expanded on Cephiro and its plight as a whole but added new situations that really allowed you to relax and get to know the characters and the setting more. The manga doesnt have that luxury and its basically just Learn stuff from Clef go to the forest meet Presea get weapons fight monsters go to castle etc with nothing in between to even the pace. The mangas short length and extremely strict but fast pacing also effects the characters as well. Since 98 of the story takes place in Cephiro we know little to nothing about what the girls are like outside the main story and they arent given the opportunity to truly blossom and become fully realized characters. Hikaru is still a happygolucky tomboy whos extremely determined Umi starts off as an annoying rich girl who complains a lot but then mellows out Fuu is the smart one etc. There isnt much else to them. One minor character Ferio is the biggest victim of this since he barely gets any plot relevance outside helping the girls out of a forest and fighting off one of Princess Emeraudes brainwashed guards. The anime rectified this by giving him more character more screentime and a far more active role in the grand scheme of things even a fleshed out backstory. On the other hand I did like some of the details added in the character bios and omake sections such as Hikaru wanting to be a seeingeye dog trainer Umi being good at fencing which helps her grow as a Magic Knight and Fuu being good with computers things I really wish had been explored in the manga or even a sidestory if CLAMP had the chance to expand on those aspects of them. So yeah the mangas not perfect. Nothing is. It could have been so much better if CLAMP made more than just three volumes of it. But for the purpose of not being an edgy killjoy heres some more positives: the girls themselves are pretty decent characters overall and they get off to a rough start but gradually become friends and work together not once falling into the catty girl stereotypes and superficial friendships you see in most trashy teen romcom TV shows nowadays and even back in the 90s. Plus they use swords and magic How cool is that? Also I absolutely LOVE the twist ending. I wont spoil it for you but the ending is an absolute masterpiece in that it completely eschews typical save the princess cliches and doesnt coddle the reader whatsoever. The anime keeps the twist too so dont worry about it not being adapted. Not one of the best mangas ever but its still a pretty fun ride if you want something cool to read to kill time.