Man of Many Faces
Encyclopedia
is a manga
by CLAMP
about a nine-year-old boy named Akira Ijyuin who steals beautiful and valuable objects to please his two mothers and is known to the public as the dashing, clever thief named the Man of 20 Faces. The manga took inspiration from the works of Edogawa Rampo
, most notably from the Rampo character of Fiend of Many Faces.
The storyline of Man of Many Faces occurs simultaneously with both CLAMP School Detectives
and Duklyon
. As demonstrated by a conversation between Nokoru and Suō which also takes place in CLAMP School Detectives
, while in Duklyon
Akira and Utako appear at their age as they do in Man of Many Faces.
The manga was published in English
by TOKYOPOP
, retaining its right to left format, but is now out of print.
Although the pair shares a four year age difference, they find themselves quickly falling for each other even as Akira finds himself being increasingly more involved with thefts, some of which include Utako's family. This as well as several other obstacles give the young couple's budding relationship a fair amount of difficulty.
He is an elementary-school boy with a double life. During the day, he is a fourth-grader of the elementary division of the CLAMP school campus, and also the Treasurer of the Elementary Division Student Council. At night, he becomes a mysterious thief who steals things in order to please his two mothers.
Although he is only 9 years old at the beginning of the story, he has already mastered the great skills in disguise and thievery. Our protagonist is the successor of the renowned thief 20 Faces, who was also Akira's father. After his father disappears, Akira takes his place and inherits the name 20 Faces.
Akira is so pure that he still believes in Santa Claus
– this fact really surprises Nokoru and Suō. Akira is also very good at cooking and housework. His cooking is said to be equivalent to the top cooks of the world, while his grace in housework makes him the most wanted bachelor.
He is also said to be the top student in his grade. However good he is, Akira is still an innocent boy in love. Akira proposes to Utako when he is 20 and marries her at the age of 22. He is trying to become a pediatrician like his uncle, who happens to be the doctor at CLAMP school's infirmary.
The only time Akira gets angry is the time his mothers try doing something risky in order to help him.
In the two last chapters, and the cover of volume 2, Utako and Akira are shown in their adult form.
The second daughter of the Zaibatsu Okawa. When she meets Akira at the beginning of the story, she is heartbroken by her kindergarten teacher who refuses her love confession because of their 22 years difference in age. However, she quickly finds herself attracted to the mysterious thief who just breaks into her room to hide from the police. Akira's kindness helps ease Utako's anger. And that's when Utako decides that Akira will be the man of her life.
Utako is not good at cooking and housework – she even mistakes salt for sugar, for example. However, she has been trying her best ever since she met 20 Faces, because she wants to be the best wife in the world.
Utako seems to be more mature than those at her age, even more mature than those that are older than she is. She gets engaged to Akira at her 16th birthday and claims that his proposal is the best birthday present she ever had. She marries Akira at the age of 18.
Her future career is a kindergarten teacher.
In the next-to-last chapter is the only time in any CLAMP manga or anime that Nagisa Azuya – a friend of Utako, and girlfriend of CLAMP School Detectivess Suoh Takamura – is shown in her adult, as opposed to her child form.
They are referred to, when it is necessary to differentiate, as "Mother A" and "Mother B". They seem to be identical twins. They are said to be extremely wealthy and very beautiful, however, their personalities are childlike. The reason on why Akira has two mothers is still a mystery that CLAMP has yet revealed.
Although seemingly very rich, they have always coerced their husband – the original 20 Faces – and, later, their son Akira – to steal anything they like by claiming that they desperately need it.
Although they seem selfish, they really care about Akira. Once they even attempt to help by arriving at the scene in disguise (as bunny girls); however, they only mess everything up and this results in angering Akira, though their sincere apology makes him unable to remain angry for very long.
They also seem to be playful, and make Akira clean up most of their mess. They also seem to be extremely unskilled, or at least extremely unwilling in housework, makes Akira the only one to do all the cooking and cleaning.
A high school student in CLAMP School's year 1, Z division. His dream is to be a police detective and to capture 20 Faces. As such, he's always at the center of every heist 20 Faces, commanding police officers despite the fact he's in high school. He's unaware that Akira is in fact 20 Faces, though he gets along with the boy very well otherwise.
In his later years, Ryūsuke succeeds in becoming a detective though his personality didn't change much since high school.
Akira's uncle. He works at CLAMP School's infirmary as a pediatrician. A kind-hearted individual, he seems to be fully aware that Akira is in fact 20 Faces. He'll often show up at the crime scenes to give out half-hearted advice to Ryūsuke and the police, but for the most part cheers Akira on.
The cast is:
Note: Akira's mothers do not appear in the drama CD.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by CLAMP
Clamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
about a nine-year-old boy named Akira Ijyuin who steals beautiful and valuable objects to please his two mothers and is known to the public as the dashing, clever thief named the Man of 20 Faces. The manga took inspiration from the works of Edogawa Rampo
Edogawa Rampo
, better known by the pseudonym , was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogorō Akechi, who in later books was the leader of a group of boy detectives known as the .Rampo was an admirer...
, most notably from the Rampo character of Fiend of Many Faces.
The storyline of Man of Many Faces occurs simultaneously with both CLAMP School Detectives
CLAMP School Detectives
is a manga series by Clamp, which was adapted into a 26-episode anime series, produced by Bandai Visual and Pierrot. The manga series was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka manga magazine between January 1992 and October 1993, spanning three tankōbon, while the anime premiered in Japan...
and Duklyon
Duklyon: CLAMP School Defenders
is a manga created by Clamp, a Japanese artistic group of four women.The story features two teenagers on Clamp Campus, Kentarou Higashikunimaru and Takeshi Shukaido, who are called upon occasion to become monster-battling superheroes while wearing armored outfits in this comic parody of typical...
. As demonstrated by a conversation between Nokoru and Suō which also takes place in CLAMP School Detectives
CLAMP School Detectives
is a manga series by Clamp, which was adapted into a 26-episode anime series, produced by Bandai Visual and Pierrot. The manga series was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka manga magazine between January 1992 and October 1993, spanning three tankōbon, while the anime premiered in Japan...
, while in Duklyon
Duklyon: CLAMP School Defenders
is a manga created by Clamp, a Japanese artistic group of four women.The story features two teenagers on Clamp Campus, Kentarou Higashikunimaru and Takeshi Shukaido, who are called upon occasion to become monster-battling superheroes while wearing armored outfits in this comic parody of typical...
Akira and Utako appear at their age as they do in Man of Many Faces.
The manga was published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by TOKYOPOP
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
, retaining its right to left format, but is now out of print.
Plot summary
By day nine year old Akira Ijuyin is a normal student at Clamp School, but at night he becomes the mysterious thief 20 Masks. His thefts are usually subject to the whims of his two stepmothers, which Akira pulls off without any true objections or interactions. One night Akira ducks into the room of five year old Utako Ōkawa in an attempt to hide from the police.Although the pair shares a four year age difference, they find themselves quickly falling for each other even as Akira finds himself being increasingly more involved with thefts, some of which include Utako's family. This as well as several other obstacles give the young couple's budding relationship a fair amount of difficulty.
Akira Ijyuin
- Gender: Male
- Age: 9
- Birthday: December 24
He is an elementary-school boy with a double life. During the day, he is a fourth-grader of the elementary division of the CLAMP school campus, and also the Treasurer of the Elementary Division Student Council. At night, he becomes a mysterious thief who steals things in order to please his two mothers.
Although he is only 9 years old at the beginning of the story, he has already mastered the great skills in disguise and thievery. Our protagonist is the successor of the renowned thief 20 Faces, who was also Akira's father. After his father disappears, Akira takes his place and inherits the name 20 Faces.
Akira is so pure that he still believes in Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
– this fact really surprises Nokoru and Suō. Akira is also very good at cooking and housework. His cooking is said to be equivalent to the top cooks of the world, while his grace in housework makes him the most wanted bachelor.
He is also said to be the top student in his grade. However good he is, Akira is still an innocent boy in love. Akira proposes to Utako when he is 20 and marries her at the age of 22. He is trying to become a pediatrician like his uncle, who happens to be the doctor at CLAMP school's infirmary.
The only time Akira gets angry is the time his mothers try doing something risky in order to help him.
In the two last chapters, and the cover of volume 2, Utako and Akira are shown in their adult form.
Utako Okawa
- Gender: Female
- Age: 5
The second daughter of the Zaibatsu Okawa. When she meets Akira at the beginning of the story, she is heartbroken by her kindergarten teacher who refuses her love confession because of their 22 years difference in age. However, she quickly finds herself attracted to the mysterious thief who just breaks into her room to hide from the police. Akira's kindness helps ease Utako's anger. And that's when Utako decides that Akira will be the man of her life.
Utako is not good at cooking and housework – she even mistakes salt for sugar, for example. However, she has been trying her best ever since she met 20 Faces, because she wants to be the best wife in the world.
Utako seems to be more mature than those at her age, even more mature than those that are older than she is. She gets engaged to Akira at her 16th birthday and claims that his proposal is the best birthday present she ever had. She marries Akira at the age of 18.
Her future career is a kindergarten teacher.
In the next-to-last chapter is the only time in any CLAMP manga or anime that Nagisa Azuya – a friend of Utako, and girlfriend of CLAMP School Detectivess Suoh Takamura – is shown in her adult, as opposed to her child form.
Akira's Mothers
- Gender: Female
They are referred to, when it is necessary to differentiate, as "Mother A" and "Mother B". They seem to be identical twins. They are said to be extremely wealthy and very beautiful, however, their personalities are childlike. The reason on why Akira has two mothers is still a mystery that CLAMP has yet revealed.
Although seemingly very rich, they have always coerced their husband – the original 20 Faces – and, later, their son Akira – to steal anything they like by claiming that they desperately need it.
Although they seem selfish, they really care about Akira. Once they even attempt to help by arriving at the scene in disguise (as bunny girls); however, they only mess everything up and this results in angering Akira, though their sincere apology makes him unable to remain angry for very long.
They also seem to be playful, and make Akira clean up most of their mess. They also seem to be extremely unskilled, or at least extremely unwilling in housework, makes Akira the only one to do all the cooking and cleaning.
Ryūsuke Kobayashi
- Gender: Male
- Age: 16
A high school student in CLAMP School's year 1, Z division. His dream is to be a police detective and to capture 20 Faces. As such, he's always at the center of every heist 20 Faces, commanding police officers despite the fact he's in high school. He's unaware that Akira is in fact 20 Faces, though he gets along with the boy very well otherwise.
In his later years, Ryūsuke succeeds in becoming a detective though his personality didn't change much since high school.
Shigetaka Akechi
- Gender: Male
- Age: 25
Akira's uncle. He works at CLAMP School's infirmary as a pediatrician. A kind-hearted individual, he seems to be fully aware that Akira is in fact 20 Faces. He'll often show up at the crime scenes to give out half-hearted advice to Ryūsuke and the police, but for the most part cheers Akira on.
Crossovers
- This is one of CLAMP's earliest original works and is a predecessor to CLAMP School DetectivesCLAMP School Detectivesis a manga series by Clamp, which was adapted into a 26-episode anime series, produced by Bandai Visual and Pierrot. The manga series was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka manga magazine between January 1992 and October 1993, spanning three tankōbon, while the anime premiered in Japan...
, in which Akira is also one of the three main characters. - He also makes cameo appearanceCameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s in Duklyon: CLAMP School DefendersDuklyon: CLAMP School Defendersis a manga created by Clamp, a Japanese artistic group of four women.The story features two teenagers on Clamp Campus, Kentarou Higashikunimaru and Takeshi Shukaido, who are called upon occasion to become monster-battling superheroes while wearing armored outfits in this comic parody of typical...
, X and the video CLAMP in WonderlandClamp in WonderlandClamp in Wonderland is a series of music videos produced by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Ageha Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi and Mokona ....
. - Akira also appears as Man of Many Faces in episode 11 and 12 of the CLAMP School DetectivesCLAMP School Detectivesis a manga series by Clamp, which was adapted into a 26-episode anime series, produced by Bandai Visual and Pierrot. The manga series was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka manga magazine between January 1992 and October 1993, spanning three tankōbon, while the anime premiered in Japan...
anime.
Media
There was 2 drama CDs released.The cast is:
- Akira - Kappei YamaguchiKappei Yamaguchi, better known by his stage name of , is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Fukuoka, affiliated with Gokū and 21st Century Fox.He is best known for the roles of Ranma Saotome , Jackson Neil , Tombo , Yattaro , InuYasha , Ryuichi Sakuma , L , Usopp...
- Utako - Chieko HondaChieko Hondais a Japanese voice actor.-Notable voice roles:*After War Gundam X *Akihabara Dennō Gumi *Bosco Adventure *Devil Hunter Yohko *Dragonball *Dragon Century...
- Ryūsuke - Takeshi KusaoTakeshi Kusaois a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.Among his many roles, he is best known as the voices of Future Trunks , Hanamichi Sakuragi , Lamune , Ryo Sanada , Cless Alvein , Yukimura Sanada , and Dororo is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.Among his many roles, he is...
- Shigetaka - Kōichi YamaderaKoichi Yamaderais a Japanese voice actor, actor, tarento, narrator, master of ceremonies and impressionist from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school, and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's...
Note: Akira's mothers do not appear in the drama CD.