History Creator / CLAMP

* ''The Grimm Variations'', in collaboration with Creator/{{Netflix}} and WIT Studio

* An untitled anime project based from ''[[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm Grimms' Fairy Tales]]'', in collaboration with Creator/{{Netflix}} and WIT Studio

* RecurringElement: Mokona is frequently seen in several works. And now, Watanuki is present in [[Manga/LegalDrug their]] [[Anime/BloodC most]] [[Manga/{{Kobato}} recent]] works, even beating his predecessor, Yuko, to boot.

** ''Manga/CardcaptorSakuraClearCard'' (2016-present)

* {{Bishounen}} and {{Bishoujo|Series}}: A staple of their style. ''Everyone'' looks good in a CLAMP work.

''X'' is the most contentious, in that it ''was'' on the road to being massively influential - its movie version famously won over Roger Ebert - but its indefinite hiatus on a cliffhanger has largely worn away the affection it once inspired, and it has faded from the public consciousness significantly (with many born in the [=21st=] century not even knowing it exists). When it was running, however, it was a ''massively'' influential work for its blend of UrbanFantasy and the apocalypse, and its ''visual style'' remains an all-pervasive influence on modern Japanese UF (it is very easy to draw a through-line from ''X'' to ''VideoGame/Persona5'', for example). Finally, ''[=×××HOLiC=]''... more or less defies classification. It's this strangeness and flexibility, however, that has left its mark on wider culture.

The question of "which of their works is Most Important" can be difficult and contentious; virtually all of their works from TheNineties and the turn of the millenium have very devoted fans. The ones with the best arguments, however, are ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic''. ''Rayearth'' was one of the first MagicalGirlWarrior stories to really escape the shadow of ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', mostly by way of injecting some SuperRobot and HighFantasy elements into the proceedings, and its influence is still felt to some degree today. Much ''more'' influential (and for many, the "best" candidate for importance) is ''Sakura'', which became ''the'' final TropeCodifier of MagicalGirl anime in the [=90s=]; virtually everything produced in that genre in its wake owes something to it.

''X'' is the most contentious, in that it ''was'' on the road to being massively influential - its movie version famously won over Roger Ebert - but its indefinite hiatus on a cliffhanger has more or less obliterated any affection it once inspired. When it was running, however, it was a ''massively'' influential work for its blend of UrbanFantasy and the apocalypse. Finally, ''[=×××HOLiC=]''... more or less defies classification. It's this strangeness and flexibility, however, that has left its mark on wider culture.

* Character designs for ''Anime/{{Kabukibu}}''

* TangledFamilyTree: Sakura and Syaoran in ''Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-''. See MindScrew for more details.

A theme that runs through CLAMP's works is that love transcends everything, [[EveryoneIsBi particularly that pesky little thing called gender]]. Note that this is not a "[[ThePowerOfLove love conquers all]]" kind of thing, as gender/age/being a robot/being a ruthless assassin/etc can be insurmountable barriers to having a functional relationship. No barrier can stop people from falling in love but it may very well prevent that love from reaching a happy resolution. (See the relationship between Tomoyo and Sakura in ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', or the one between Sakurazuka Seishirou and Sumeragi Subaru in ''Manga/TokyoBabylon'' and ''Manga/{{X|1999}}'', or between Kazuhiko and Suu (or Ora) in ''Manga/{{Clover}}'' as prime examples.)

Their manga work is characterized by a highly-detailed [[Main/ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]] art style, though for budget reasons the designs are often simplified for animation. Their style underwent a noticeable change in the late 1990s when Mokona starting ceding more design responsibility to Igarashi and Nekoi. Nekoi's distinctive character designs are responsible for the "{{noodle people}}" description common in fandom. CLAMP also errs on the shojo side thematically (despite being published in an unusually wide range of magazines, including Shounen and Seinen), and thus are very prone to [[TrueArtIsAngsty drama]] and painful HardTruthAesop. Their work also runs the spectrum with some being extraordinarily [[Manga/{{Kobato}} cutesy]] and [[Manga/CardCaptorSakura lighthearted]], others being horrifically [[Manga/{{X1999}} gory]] and [[Manga/RGVeda violent]], and others still being a mix of the two or everything in between. Being former doujinka, their work is also notable for a deliberately high degree of fanservice. Aside from that, CLAMP loves [[TheCameo inserting alternate versions of previous characters into other works]], a concept somewhat connected to the fact that their works [[TheVerse take place in a large, interconnected multiverse]].

''X'' is the most contentious, in that it ''was'' on the road to being massively influential - its movie version famously won over Roger Ebert - but its indefinite hiatus on a cliffhanger has more or less obliterated any affection it once inspired. When it was running, however, it was a ''massively'' influential work for its blend of UrbanFantasy and the apocalypse. Finally, ''xxxHolic''... more or less defies classification. It's this strangeness and flexibility, however, that has left its mark on wider culture.

** ''xxxHolic Rei'' (2013-2017, 2023-present)

* ''Manga/{{Gate 7}}'' (2011-2013; on hiatus)

* AllDeathsFinal: By WordOfGod, there is no way to [[BackFromTheDead bring back the dead]]. Ever. That being said though, [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnation]] is possible and has occurred in a few of their works, with stress on the fact that even if the soul is the same, they aren't the same exact people as who they were in a previous life. However, in ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'', [[spoiler:if a certain EvilPlan is successfully carried out, apparently it will become possible to negate this trope... Even if it costs the stability of the whole of space-time.]]
* ArtStyleDissonance: CLAMP’s art style is usually cutesy with a hefty dose of [[{{Bishonen}} good-looking men]] and can be commonly associated with [[Main/ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]], but not all of their works are aimed at young girls. Several examples are ''Manga/{{Chobits}}'' (published as {{Seinen}} and has a fair amount of {{Fanservice}} and existential themes), ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' (the later arcs went DarkerAndEdgier with heaping dose of MindScrew), ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'' (published as [[Main/ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]] but it deals with the apocalypse and contains violence and tragedy) and ''Anime/BloodC'' (the BloodierAndGorier spinoff of the Blood franchise). Even ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'' gets in on this, as the original deals with themes that were, at the time, uncommon to MagicalGirl shows, and the Anime/RayearthOVA is just full-on seinen.

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Hitsuzen, a concept introduced in ''Manga/XxxHolic'' though its general themes appeared in earlier works. In particular, ''Cardcaptor Sakura'', ''Tokyo Babylon'' and ''X1999'' touch on the inevitability of fate and prophecy.
* {{Bishounen}} and [[BishoujoSeries Bishoujo]]: A staple of their style. ''Everyone'' looks good in a CLAMP work.

* FantasyKitchenSink: The CLAMP multiverse features all kind of fantasy and sci-fi elements coexisting with each other, including [[GodTropes Gods]], AngelsDevilsAndSquid, RitualMagic, HermeticMagic, {{UsefulNotes/Onmyodo}}, {{Magitek}}, SoulPower, PsychicPowers and even MagicFromTechnology. Some of them share the same setting, and rarely if ever is a clear line drawn between them.

* HighSchoolAU: The ''Horitsuba Gakuen'' omakes, which sics the ''entire'' CLAMP universe in an ElevatorSchool, but focuses on the cast of ''Manga/{{Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle}}'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic''.

* MindScrew: Deserves a special award! ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic'' have fried brain cells across their fandom and leaving a probable legacy of several decades worth of forum discussions, all of which add to the confusion even more. After overdosing on this trope, things have reached a point where, after the end of ''[[Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle Tsubasa]]'' & ''Manga/XxxHolic'', even WordOfGod has admitted that [[HoistByHisOwnPetard they too are rather confused over how everything turned out and want to re-read it]].

** In ''Manga/{{Wish}}'', all angels are explicitly genderless (because of, well, being angels, there is no need for having a traditional dichotomy), although many international translations incorrectly used gendered pronouns, with the {{Creator/Tokyopop}} translation in particular making them all female.

** Hana from ''Manga/{{Gate 7}}'' is strongly implied to be genderless - Sakura calls into question whether or not Hana is female, and then, in response to Chikahito's confusion, neither confirms Hana's masculinity nor offers any form of clarification.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Depends of the work, but their most notorious works (Such as ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'') tend to be on the idealistic scale. Other works, such as ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'' tend to be more cynical.
* StealthSequel: ''Drug & Drop'' turned to be one to ''Wish''. ''X[=/=]1999'' also concludes Subaru and Seishirou's story from ''Tokyo Babylon''.
* TangledFamilyTree: Sakura and Syaoran in ''Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles''. See MindScrew for more details.

** In ''Chobits'' [[spoiler:Hiromu Shinbo falls in love with his cram school teacher Takako Shimizu and ends up eloping with her, and later marrying her.]]
** In ''Suki: A Like Story'', main character Hina has a crush on her substitute teacher, though he rejects her feelings out of guilt from his past.

* YaoiFangirl: They were originally a yaoi {{doujinshi}} circle (with much of their doujinshi focusing on series such as ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' and ''Manga/SaintSeiya'') before they became professional manga artists. While none of their professional works are officially in the YaoiGenre, many of them feature at least a bit of ShipTease between two male characters, as seen in their [[ShipTease/{{CLAMP}} own Ship Tease page]]. One of their more infamous works is a doujin of [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Jotaro and Kakyoin]] having a son that [[MisterSeahorse hatched from an egg that Kakyoin somehow laid]]. They're also [[YuriFan Yuri Fans]] and some of their works also have ship tease between female characters, though their doujinshi doesn't focus on yuri as much and their only true yuri work is ''Manga/MiyukiChanInWonderland''.

** ''Tsubasa World Chronicle'' (2014-2016)