Wish:
Manga-ka: CLAMP
Translated by originally- Tokyopop in 2002. Dark Horse took over the licensing in 2015.
Rating: 14+ (Language, Devils/Angel, Mature Relations Mentioned, LGBTQ+, Death)
First Published: 1995
Genre: Spiritual, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance, Comedy, Heartfelt/Heartbreak, Celestial and Domonic Lore.
Cover Price: It was originally $9.99 back in 2004. Sadly, you can only find it used now. 🙁
Blurb: “Walking home from work one day, handsome young doctor Shuichiro notices an adorable little thing trapped in a tree…not a cat, but an angel, Kohaku. In gratitude for rescuing it, Kohaku offers to grant Shuichiro a wish–but to the angel’s surprise, Shuichiro says no thanks…everything in his life is great! But little Kohaku isn’t going to give up that easily and moves in with Shuichiro. Soon they’re joined by the demons Koryuu and Kokuyo, and the household becomes an earthly haven for love that’s been lost–and a sanctuary for love that can’t be run away from…”
“If you save an angel, you get a wish. But what do you give a man who has everything?”
I wish, I wish, my dreams will come true.
What would you do if you saved a little deformed creature with wings from being attacked by ravens? This is exactly what happened one evening when Doctor Shuichiro Kudo was walking home from work. After recusing the little one, Kohaku reveals they are an angel, sent to Earth from God on a mission.
But now also, Kohaku must stay with Kudo so she can grant him a wish since he saved an angel. Seems like a dream scenario for a mortal! Alas, Kohaku finds the one guy who is fully happy with his life and doesn’t want or need anything.
What’s a clumsy, kind, adorable angel to do?
Live with him until he decides what he wants! Luckily also, Kudo is very chill.
Amongst trying to be of use to Kudo at his home until then and working on their mission, Kohaku has to deal with the meanie devil Koryu and his black kitty kat minions. Koryu loves to be cruel to innocent Kohaku, even though he has his own mission on Earth.
One that may connect to Kohaku’s.
This story is endearing and pulls you in. But also tragic. I’ve always been fascinated with Heaven/Hell lore and this one has some inventive ones. Such as angels absorb sunlight to eat and they can’t eat any animals or plants (living things) so seeing little Kohaku drinking milk only is oddly precious.
Devils get their energy from moonlight, but they feed off human souls too. Novice/apprentice devils are small during the day and angels are tiny at night. Both can learn spells too.
The angels have four grandmasters, one for each element. And Kohaku, being the purest angel, sings to hatch the baby angel eggs. Awww! We also know Satan has sons.
Another key component to the story is once a year, God, the Angel masters, Satan, and his high ranks meet at the bridge between Heaven/Hell to have a meeting. They cannot go to the other’s domain or they will literally burn and vanish. But what is a being using the bridge for something other than a meeting…?
Something unique about this manga is that the angels or devils do not have genders. In the Tokyopop version, which I have, they call the angels she and devils he just so they do not have to say they or it all the time or cause confusion. But, they do explain in the first volume about them being genderless. Clamp was not afraid to smash norms and I believe it’s one of the reasons they are so beloved.
This manga is more than just angels and demons. There are variants of love. Sacrifice. Light-hearted comedy. Paranormal elements. Mystery. Which, ironically, is what the magazine “Wish” went in wanted when they first submitted it.
I am curious about the dialect. There are a lot of shortenings of words, such as the blurb against volume 1. And contractions. I feel it’s more of a southern Japanese way of speaking (don’t quote me on that,) but it adds depth to the world.
The art is pretty and clean. The ladies admitted they used a decent amount of blank space (although not nearly as much as “Clover.”) The characters are all engaging fitting into this twister of a story, one-moment gentle breeze and the next hurricane devastating to your heart.
And now we know God has plush bunnies who hold flowers as his messengers!
When doing research for this pen-drawn tale, I was shocked to learn our manga muses said this is the one story they wish they found change! They felt they had a lot more to add (although they were happy with it at release.) “Wish” was made into four volumes, but they had ideas for the story up to ten! I’d love that!
This probably explains why many of the characters or elements of its universe are In “Legal Drug” and “Kobato.”
Sadly, no anime was made. But there was a six-minute animation and drama CD.
I wish I could dive more into why I like this manga so much, but it would give away several spoilers with how it’s paced. But this charming story soars. My wish for you is to give it a chance.
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Educator of young minds by day, super nerdy savior of justice, and cute things by night, Morgan Straughan Comnick has a love for turning the normal into something special without losing its essence. Morgan draws from real-life experiences and her ongoing imagination to spark her writing. In her spare time, she enjoys doing goofy voices, traveling to new worlds by turning pages, humming child-like songs, and forcing people to smile with her “bubbliness.” It is Morgan’s mission in life to spread the amazement of otaku/Japanese culture to the world and to stop bullying; she knows everyone shines brightly.
For more information about Morgan and her works, check out her website, which also has links to all her social medias: http://morganscomnick.com
