Synopsis:
Subaru Sumeragi comes from a family of powerful psychics. In Tokyo Babylon Vol. 1, Subaru is hired to look into a string of fatal accidents occuring at a construction site. A mysterious force seems to be causing these "accidents"... a force that must be countered before more people die. Subaru must find out who is behind it and why, and he has to do so quickly. In Vol. 2, a serial killer is victimizing women in the subway. Enter Mirei Hidaka, a "post-cognitive". She can see how the women died just by feeling the surroundings with her fingertips. Mirei works with the police in investigating the crimes, but soon, she herself is in jeopardy. It's up to Subaru to save the day...

Review:
Tokyo Babylon has a plot that is both intriguing and easy-to-follow. Things develop at a good pace, and Tokyo Babylon succeeded in keeping the suspenseful feel intact throughout.

However, none of the main characters are particularly appealing. The hero, Subaru is such a fruitcake that he looks like he could be either male or female. He's not very likeable because he's wishy-washy, and he has a tacky sense of style that could cinch a spot in any worst-dressed list. His twin sister, on the other hand, seems like some sort of retard. I don't know if she's just plain weird or if she has some sort of mental / psychological deficiency. The most attractive character would probably be Seiichiro -- the problem is, it's unclear what his role in Tokyo Babylon is supposed to be. I'm not even sure if he's good or evil, thanks to the vague portrayal of his character.

The art and animation are pretty good, as is usual of a Clamp anime. The English dubbing is satisfactory, except for the part where Subaru had to chant in Japanese during the English dub -- it was simply horrid! The accents and pronounciations were all wrong, and they would have done a better job had they just come up with an English version of that part.

Overall, Tokyo Babylon is above average. While some things need explaining, this 2-volume OAV can definitely stand alone. Additional background info would have made it a better anime though. Perhaps if I had read the manga...?

Miscellanies:
Want a non-fruity and more formidable Subaru Sumeragi? See "X the Movie".

Screenshots:

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Amazon Tokyo Babylon (DVD)
AnimeNation Tokyo Babylon (Graphic Novels)
Rightstuf Tokyo Babylon (Grpahic Novel Vol. 1)

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