CLAMP stories tend to be very... unique. And Man of Many Faces is no exception. The protagonist has two identical mothers who encourage him to lead a life of crime for goodness sake. Ive heard this was intended to be a gag manga and its definitely aimed at a younger audience which explains all the overthetop silliness. And yet it has a lot to offer in terms of relationship advice. Does all the advice make sense? Not in the slightest. But its heart is in the right place and thats what matters. Akira Ijuuin is the phantom thief known as the Man of 20 Faces. However hes also just an ordinary 4th grader who attends the Clamp school. He may have two identical mothers and an absent father and was trained as both a gourmet chef and acrobat but hes a completely average child moonlighting as a phantom thief. And as his mothers lead him on his life of crime and thievery he steals something else the heart of kindergartener Utako Ookawa. https://clampcastinwonderland.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/manofmanyfacesgroup.jpg?w=570h=383zoom=2 As I said this manga is ridiculous. It begins as a story of a young phantom thief going on capers but it becomes a love story about a 9yearold and a 5yearold. As someone who has a 5yearold sister Utako is not an accurate representation of a child that age. She and by extension the other children in this manga are as wise and mature as adults. In stark contrast Akiras moms who are named Mom A and Mom B are easily the least mature characters in the series as they do not do much parenting and beg Akira to steal the valuables they want. I think Akira takes care of them more than they take care of him since he does all the housework Im pretty sure. Akira himself was rather bland. Hes just your average nice boy who sometimes steals things. Utako is more complex having fallen in love with Akira for his kind appearance. She knows what she wants out of life and she knows what she wants out of her relationship with Akira. She is incredibly wise and bright for her age showing a lot of emotional maturity. Her sister Mako is the same. The age gap in this series is weird but they both have the minds of 20yearolds and mature discussions about the meaning of love and relationships. Utako is concerned with remaining distinct people despite being in a relationship. In CLAMPland I guess the two have similar maturity levels despite their age gap being ridiculously weird. Though if Utako were an actual 5yearold shed be like my sister who cant even grasp the idea of romantic love. Its a weird but strangely healthy relationship even if its 100 unrealistic. It would have made more sense if they made the characters their mental ages since 5yearolds and 9yearolds dont have philosophical conversations about love and what it means to be in a romantic relationship. Im not even going to go any further about this just because its weird and only makes sense in CLAMPland where children are wise and teachers are creepy. Im not going to try and defend this since its just plain weird. Nothing makes sense in CLAMPland especially early CLAMPland. And since I mentioned creepy teachers Im going to go on a tangent about some minor parts of the story that really scream early CLAMP. Its not early CLAMP without the pedophile teachers am I right? Im sorry. I know there are some early works that do not include weird age gaps but this isnt one of them. Im talking about this panel: 220https://i.post.cc/Qt3Z220v/ScreenShot20230308at45210PM.png And this line: Im fond of you Utako. But our age difference is too large. Which the grown man says to his 5yearold student after she confesses her love to him. He could have just turned her down normally but he had to go and make it weird. Unfortunately this is the golden standard for CLAMP teachers from what Ive gathered. The only one Ive found who wasnt creepy was the kindergarten teacher from Kobato and she had a husband already. Fortunately that isnt dwelt on thank goodness. Im glad I didnt have to watch Utakos intelligent older sister be groomed by her firstgrade teacher. I also feel obligated to talk about Akiras family situation. He has two identical mothers. Whether theyre sisters or clones is up to interpretation since CLAMP refuses to explain any of this just teasing that theres something mysterious going on. His dad is alive but hes never at home and I think hes also a thief and trained in the art of cooking. They also never explain his dad and why hes always gone and doesnt live with them even though it doesnt seem like its marriage problems with his identical wives... Theyre all terrible people who take advantage of this kid and behave childishly and I dont like them. They do care about him since they ran around in bunny outfits to lure the police away from Akira and Im not even going to try to explain that because I dont know what was up with that scene. https://bringthetea.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/minitokyomanofmanyfacesscans296554.jpg?w=584 The art was super cute. The kids character designs were all very adorable with the big eyes and Utakos puffy dresses. It also has a certain type of elegance and charm. Im certain that the bright colors used on the colored pages drew in the elementary school audience that CLAMP was aiming for. I will say that the proportions for the characters were a bit weird but that would only be offputting if you arent familiar with CLAMP beforehand. Man of Many Faces was very weird but it could also be super cute. While Akira was bland and didnt have much going for him Utako and her intelligence made up for it. Its unapologetic in its weirdness but it also succeeds in creating an adorable and weirdly wholesome story despite being problematic. I had my issues with it but it wasnt horrible by any means.