Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume 19 Book

This might just have been the most dramatic volume of Tubas since the early stories where the group was just settling in with each other on their quest. The ending was a cliffhanger that I don't think anyone saw coming (I mean, how on earth could the innocent Sakura betray her comrades in such a way), but throughout the entire story arc Clamp did a great job of building tension between the characters and providing ample opportunity for action through the "chess" competition. The game was introduced in the previous collection (along with the slightly sadistic and manipulative group behind it), but the action doesn't reach its peak until the finale battle where Sayoran and a battle mech go head to head. The game is clearly rigged against human combatants, but Sakura's determination (matched only by Sayoran's equally strong desire to protect her) to win the competition and earn her special prize allows Sayoran's magic to win the day against the expected superiority of technology. Our band of heroes is left without Princess Sakura when the dust clears, so the question becomes whether they continue on the quest for her memory feathers (and hope to meet up with her eventually), or will they fall apart and go their separate ways without her guiding influence?