<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

CLAMP is an all-female Japanese manga (comics) studio formed in 1989. CLAMP is the source of some of the most popular manga series, including Cardcaptor Sakura, Tokyo Babylon, X, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, xxxHolic, and Legal Drug.

There have been several animated films and television series based on works by CLAMP. X was made into a 1996 film by Rintaro, a director well-know for his work on Kimba the White Lion and Astroboy, then an animated television series beginning in 1998. They have established a successful relationship with the Japanese animation (anime) studio Madhouse Studios, which has adapted many of the manga series into animated television series and feature films, including Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Tokyo Babylon, and X. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle has been made into a 2005-2006 television series and a feature film in Japan, and the brilliantly illustrated xxxHolic has also been adapted as a 2005 feature.

Originally an 11-member group, they began as fan artists, then made their first sale with the series RG Veda, which appeared in the magazine Wings Monthly beginning in 1989, and was ultimately collected in ten book-length volumes. Their second series, Tokyo Babylon, remains one of their most famous, and their first breakthrough series was Magic Knight Rayearth. Most of their work is shoujo, or "girl," manga, targeting a female audience. Each of their series appear first in periodicals in serial form, then are collected into books of roughly 200 pages per volume. These, too, are released regularly, lasting as long as the source material allows. As of January 2006, CLAMP is publishing three series in Japan: Tsubasa and xxxHOLiC with Kodansha and Gohou Drug with Kadokawa.

Currently there are four members of the studio. Mokona (from Kyoto) has from the formation of the studio been the lead artist, and is responsible for the coloring of the artwork. Ageha Ohkawa (from Osaka) is considered the team leader, responsible for stories and scripts, and she handles negotiations with the publishers. Satsuki Igarishi(from Kyoto) is the art assistant responsible for design and inking, and Tsubaki Nekoi (from Kyoto) is the art assistant and chibi artist who is the lead illustrator on Wish, Legal Drug, and other series. The group does not employ assistants, and produces all of the artwork themselves.