Subaru Sumeragi
Subaru Sumeragi is the fictional protagonist of Clamp's manga series Tokyo Babylon. The head of the Sumeragi clan, Subaru is a young onmyōji in charge of exorcising demons and helping spirits reach the afterlife, while living with his twin sister Hokuto and love interest Seishiro Sakurazuka. Following the events of Tokyo Babylon, an adult Subaru appears in the live-action film Tokyo Babylon 1999 investigating a murder case. He becomes one of mankind's seven protectors in Clamp's series X, and Seishiro is his new rival. Subaru's fate in the battle of the end of the world has differed across Xs multiple animated adaptations. An alternate version of the character appears in Clamp's crossover series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.
Clamp writer Nanase Ohkawa first created Subaru as a mascot for a fancomic, dōjinshi, about onmyōji. Clamp found it difficult to engage a writer for Subaru because their authors were not used to writing kindhearted characters. For X, he was given a more tragic characterization meant to contrast with the lead Kamui Shiro. Multiple voice actors have provided their talent for Subaru's animated appearances. Tonesaku Toshihide portrays him in the live-action film Tokyo Babylon 1999. Critical reception to the character has been mostly positive. Manga and anime publications focused on Subaru's caring personality and his growing relationship with Seishiro such as during the narrative of Tokyo Babylon. Critics also praised his return in X to face the man he loves as a rival, resulting in him being one of the series' most interesting characters.
Creation and development
Subaru Sumeragi originated from a dōjinshi novel by Clamp headwriter Nanase Ohkawa. It involved a Japanese exorcist, onmyōji, who hunts elves. Subaru was present along with the original cast of whom only Hokuto Sumeragi and Seishiro Sakurazuka remain. The characters were twice drawn for covers, and when the members from the manga magazine South asked Clamp to create a new series for them, these characters were used in Tokyo Babylon. Originally, the twins were conceived more as mascots with Subaru being a penguin called Leone, a reference to the Subaru Leone car. Both Subaru and Hokuto were modified from the original art in contrast to Seishiro, who was completely redesigned. Ohkawa remembers having trouble writing Subaru, as she was not used to writing kindhearted characters in contrast to Seishiro. Like Kero from their work Cardcaptor Sakura, the staff thought about drawing a pet with Subaru. Hokuto had originally been considered as one. Had Subaru become the pet rather than the protagonist, Clamp would have written him as a penguin, though Clamp scrapped that idea. Since Subaru and Hokuto were the protagonists, whenever the magazines required an image for Tokyo Babylon, both Subaru and Hokuto were used together.Subaru and Seishiro's respective designs pay homage to Yasunori Katō, the protagonist of the fantasy novel Teito Monogatari, widely credited with starting the "onmyōji boom" in Japan. At the beginning of the Tokyo Babylon manga, Kato even has a cameo appearance as Subaru's "helpful ambassador".
The Clamp News 2 newsletter lists Subaru's birth as taking place in Kyoto at 12:20pm on February 19, 1974, with Hokuto being born at 6am. Subaru's incarnation from the series' chapter "Call A" with "Vol 6." have been called completely different incarnations of the same characters in order to avoid a contradiction in the setting. Mokona designed most of Sumeragi's clothing, but sometimes Ohkawa, Mick Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi pitched in with ideas, too.
Following the end of the production of Tokyo Babylon, film director George Iida asked Clamp to help with a sequel movie. The main idea was for Subaru and Seishiro to clash again. For this live-action sequel, Tokyo Babylon/1999, Toshihide Tonesaku played Subaru. Subaru was the first character Tonesaku portrayed as a leading man. Because of production issues, Subaru and Seishiro's interactions were reduced and used only in a Drama CD. To promote the movie, Mokona drew illustrations for both characters.
Subaru and Seishiro reappear in Clamp's manga X because their relationship parallels that of the lead Kamui Shiro and the main antagonist, Fuma Monou. They serve as an example to Kamui and Fuma. One of Xs most important developments is the question of what these two will do, so as not end up like Subaru and Seishiro. Clamp has compared the bond between Subaru and Kamui with that of siblings. A common theme involves the series' fate; Subaru expresses no interest in the future of the Earth, but he and his counterpart are still drawn to Tokyo on the Promised Day. As a result, a fatalistic atmosphere persists in the series. Although Subaru and Seishiro are written as rivals, illustrations from the series tend to show the bond the two had. Clamp believes the red thread of fate they share in an image was drawn in a forced manner in restrospect.
A common trope Clamp enjoys exploring in their work is the use of identical characters. When the manga Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle manga was made, Subaru was envisioned as Kamui's twin brother. Clamp had fun writing this take on this pair of characters despite them not being identical twin brothers. Furthermore, Subaru was meant to have a larger role in Tsubasa mentoring the protagonist Syaoran; he was replaced by Seishiro. Subaru was also meant to chase Seishiro instead, but because this event had been used previously in both Tokyo Babylon and X, the change was made.
In November 2020, the anime GoHands production of the Tokyo Babylon 2021 was accused of plagiarizing outfit designs for Subaru and Hokuto; Subaru's onmyōji outfit was thought to closely resemble a 2017 doll created by Volks. After an investigation, on 4 December 2020, the staff expressed their apologies and gratitude to the costumes' rights holders, and revealed that they plan to form a more effective compliance team to prevent future situations like this.
Casting
Multiple actors have voiced Subaru:- In the first OVAs of Tokyo Babylon, Kappei Yamaguchi portrayed Subaru in Japanese while Ben Fairman did the job for the English dub.
- In the X film Issei Miyazaki took the role in Japanese while William Dufris did the English dub. Miyazaki portrayed an adult Subaru.
- In X television series the character is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in Japanese and Dave Wittenberg in English. Like Miyazaki's work, Sugita had to voice a more adult Subaru than the one from the OVAs.
- In the Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations OVAs, Subaru was voiced by Hiro Shimono in Japanese and Micah Solusod in English. Shimono expressed his difficulties with voicing the young Subaru.
- For the 2021Tokyo Babylon anime, Shouta Aoi would voice the character. Aoi expressed his pleasure in adapting one of Clamp's most famous works and hoped the audience will enjoy his portrayal of Subaru.
Characterization and themes
The relationship Subaru has with his twin Hokuto also places a heavy emphasis on Subaru's identity as Hokuto often supports him in regards to his job. Due to the dark nature Seishiro hides from Subaru, the two can be regarded as the yin and yang as the former contrasts his the latter's kind self even when interacting about his job. Subaru's hidden romantic feelings towards Seishiro become obvious as the manga progresses as he becomes astonished when Seishiro keep profressing his love towards him. When Subaru realizes his feelings towards him, his state can be compared to that the one of a hatched bird egg as a result of the maturity he shows in the process.
Subaru's personality changes when Hokuto is murdered by Seishiro, becoming a distant and lonely adult in the timeskip. He becomes a smoker as it reminds him of Seishiro and his past which he used to enjoy. In the finale, Subaru once again sympathizes with the people who committee evil deeds to the point of believing that he is also similar to Seishiro. When meeting the young Kamui Shiro, the previous distant Subaru shows a more comforting side as he helps him to face reality during the events of X. His past persona is also hinted more when Fuma Monou grants him one of the wishes he had in the past, hinting that the bond between Subaru and Seishiro is still prominent. When Seishiro dies in battle, Subaru tells Kamui that there is not a single path that might make everybody's dreams come true, something that heavily affects him. However, when Fuma offers Subaru to transplant Seishiro' lost eye, Clamp wrote it in a way so the bond between Subaru and Seishiro will never be destroyed.