Del Rey completed the first wave of its manga launch by nabbing two hot new titles from Clamp, the four-woman manga and artist team responsible for Chobits, Cardcaptor Sakura, X, Magic Knight Rayearth, and numerous other major series.  The two new Del Rey acquisitions, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and XXXHolic are both recently created series with just one collected edition (tankoubon) out in Japan (the second volumes in each series will debut on October 17).  Like the two other Del Rey manga titles, Gundam Seed and Negima, which were announced at Comic-Con (see 'First Two Del Rey Manga Titles Announced'), Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and XXXHolic are published by Kodansha in Japan.  Random House, Del Rey's parent company, has formed a 'strategic alliance with Kodansha (see 'Random House Preps Manga Releases'), and that agreement has born fruit in the form of what should be a very promising line of manga releases.

Clamp's Chobits (published by Tokyopop) is quite possibly the hottest manga series currently in U.S. bookstores, having reached #17 on Bookscan's adult trade paperback bestseller list, and #1 on the graphic novel bestseller list.  Both Tsubasa and XXXHolic will feature crossover characters from Chobits and Cardcaptor Sakura, which should help them garner new readers from the legions of American fans, who have made those previous Clamp series hits in American bookstores.  The addition of these two Clamp titles to the previously announced Gundam Seed (based on the one of the top current anime series in Japan) and Negima (from Ken Akamatsu, the creator of the Chobits-size hit, Love Hina) demonstrates Del Rey's strategy for entering the increasingly crowded U.S. manga market.  It is a conservative approach based on acquiring just the 'cr?me de la cr?me' of the most recent additions to the Kodansha line -- all four Del Rey titles have the potential to become major hits.