This review is spoiler free. 220https://m.mediaamazon.com/images/I/91KVQ5hiXRL.jpg Clover debuted in the premiere issue of Kodanshas experimental shoujo magazine Amie which released on February 2 1997 and would continue until the magazine ceased publication in the summer of 1999. The manga ran for a total of 116 chapters which were later published into four volumes. Remarkably this was just one of four manga that CLAMPhttps://anilist.co/staff/96877/CLAMP were releasing at the time: X/1999https://anilist.co/manga/30027/X/ May 1992 to March 2003 Wishhttps://anilist.co/manga/30109/Wish/ November 1995 to August 1998 and Cardcaptor Sakurahttps://anilist.co/manga/30106/CardcaptorSakura/ May 1996 to June 2000 were all ongoing during this same period. The story is set in a futuristic dystopian world at a time in which the military are conducting searches for children nicknamed clovers i.e. children born with magical powers capable of manipulating technology. Each clover is classified according to their strength. They are given a tattoo of a clover with the number of leaves correlating to their strength. These clovers are then imprisoned out of a fear that they may develop feelings for humans and be used as weapons thereby jeopardizing the countrys national security. The plot of Clover opens with Kazuhiko a former solider who is tasked with delivering something for the government a task issued by one of the five wizards General Ko. This something turns out to be Su the only known fourleaf clover who is to be delivered to some undisclosed location. The first part of the manga then details their journey to this location and the various obstacles they encounter. Subsequent parts jump back and forth in time to flesh out certain characters their relationships and offer a new perspective on the core narrative. 220https://i.ur.com/amUk1uO.jpg Clover Chapter 5 While there are some neat concepts at work the overall narrative suffers from a severe lack of development leading many to charge it with being all style and no substance however I would argue that on the contrary Clovers style is its substance. Unlike other CLAMP titles Clover is a manga in which how the story is told is more important than the content of that story. CLAMP have imbued Clover with a sort of poetic quality: from their careful paneling use of negative space and abstract imagery to the frequent lyrical refrains woven throughout the story like the chorus of a song taken together these elements create a strong mood which engages readers at an emotional level. In this way I would argue that even if it falls short in terms of its narrative the unique experience it offers by way of its presentation makes it worth reading alone. This does not make it any less valuable than a more narrativeheavy manga rather it is simply just another kind of experience that one can have through a manga and one that I recommend we all try at least once. 220https://i.ur.com/0XaR9hg.jpg Clover Chapter 18 That being said there is one issue that may worry potential readers: as I previously alluded to Clovers serialization was unfortunately cut short when Amie ceased publication just two years after its launch. However rest assured: Clover still offers a complete experience. Indeed CLAMP revealed in an interviewhttps://chibiyuuto.com/clampinterviews/clampinterviewclampnokisekivol2cloveroctober2004/ that the story was meant to be divided into four parts with volumes one and two comprising the first part volume two comprising the second volume three the third and what would have been volumes four and five comprising the fourth. Although we will likely never see those final two volumes the story is structured such that each part offers a somewhat completed experience. The first part largely focused on Kazuhiko and Sus journey from their initial meeting to Kazuhikos attempts at bringing Su to her destination. The second part focused on Ora highlighting her various relationships and influence on other characters. The third and final part then shifts focus to Ran: his origins as a threeleaf clover how he met Gingetsu and the problems he encounters with another threeleaf clover. While there is a common thread connecting each part they can all stand on their own and be appreciated as such. Thus the issue of Clover not having a proper ending is no issue at all.