Cloth Road

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Cloth Road

Cover of Cloth Road Volume 1
クロスロオド
Genre Action, Adventure
Manga
Author Hideyuki Kurata (script) & Okama (art)
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Ultra Jump
Original run 2003 – ongoing
Volumes 6

Cloth Road (クロスロオド?) is a manga by mangaka Hideyuki Kurata, author of various manga such as Read or Die, and illustrator Okama. Cloth Road is 5 volumes in length in Japan (as of December 19th, 2007) and is serialized in the monthly manga magazine Ultra Jump.

The premise of Cloth Road is that with the increased miniaturization of computer technology, it becomes possible to integrate computers into clothing, creating clothes which are manipulatable by their wearers. Among other effects on society, this greatly increases the influence of clothing brands, and leads to the development of "War King", an event which mixes elements of a fashion show and a duel, with the models using clothes to fight one another.

Contents

[edit] Introduction

Fergus is an orphan raised by clothes designer Gustav. For most part of his life, he has lived in the impoverished slum in the city of Colonet. Longing to leave this state of despair, he teams up with second-class model "8823" and competes in fashion tournaments known as "War King" to save money as well as hone his skill as a designer. His dream is shattered when 8823 is defeated in the tournament, resulting in his firing, as well as Gustav falling ill because of out-dated nanomachines.

In frustration, Fergus starts to throw things around Gustav's workshop, and a ball of red yarn strikes a girl who just walked in the store. This is when Fergus meets his twin sister, Jennifer, for the first time.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main Characters

  • Fergus
Fergus, one of the two protagonists of the story, is a clothes designer from Colonet. He was raised by master clothes designer Gustav and studied under him. After the death Gustav, he begins the journey to cities in search for he and Jennifer's parents. Their only clue is a piece of special fabric wrapped around both of them when they were found abandoned.
Currently, Fergus is unwillingly under the employment of Royal Castrato, the number one top-brand in the world. This is where he discovers the identity of his parents. He is now attempting to duplicate (or even improve) the special fabric invented by his father, Garment, in an effort to save his mother, Argence.
  • Jennifer
Jennifer, a naive, carefree, but determined girl, is the second protagonist of the story. Twin sister of Fergus, she often disputes which one of them is older. Brought up by Closh, she studied mostly in church, and therefore lacked knowledge about the Textile Revolution.
After the death of Closh, she visited Fergus in Colonet. There, she learned basic knowledge of modeling from Perline, and subsequently competed in the Colonet War King. She then joins Fergus on the journey to see the world as well as searching for their parents.
Currently, Jennifer is training her modeling skill under June May, the top model of Royal Castrato.

[edit] Companion

  • Pochette
  • Panther

[edit] Pre-Colonet/Colonet

  • Closh
Closh was the one who took in and raised Jennifer after she and Fergus were found abandoned. He died in the beginning of the story.
  • Snood
A worker of "Life Improvement Organization", she found the twins abandoned in front of their building. After the death of Jennifer's guardian, Closh, Snood told Jennifer about his twin brother Fergus, and the two set off for a reunion.
  • 8823
8823 is a second-class model in Colonet, who used to team up with Fergus to compete in War King. 8823 managed to win several tournaments until he came face to face with a real model, Bi-Bi-Suke. After his devastating defeat, he blamed his own incompetence on Fergus. When Fergus snapped, 8823 had his bodyguard beat him up, and fired him.
  • Perline
Tall and dark-skinned Perline is a former model. While under the employment of Royal Castrato, she used illegal drugs to possibly enhance her performance. When discovered, she was fired from the company. She currently resides in Colonet, where she engages in prostitution.
As a former model, Perline has a great deal of knowledge about modeling. She also owns an official dress from Royal Castrato, which she later gives Fergus as a template for Jennifer's dress. She also helps with Jennifer's training for the Colonet War King.
She is Fergus's first love.
  • Gustav
  • Bi-Bi-Suke/Vivian
  • Juliet

[edit] Bis Cose

  • Pacatello Mouliné
  • Quentin Mouliné

[edit] Royal Castrato

  • June May
As the top model of the top brand Royal Castrato, June May has every right to be proud of herself. She is seen as selfish, manipulative, and even narcissistic. While being kind and attractive to the commoners, her private demeanor changes completely.
Having already won 3 consecutive Cloth Road tournaments against the other top brands, she looks forward in competing in the upcoming tournament. Unfortunately, Royal Castrato has other hidden agendas in mind. By conveniently "forgetting" to renew their contract, Royal Castrato replaces June May with a new star of their own--Juliet.
To counter Royal Castrato's plot, she decides to train Jennifer (whom she believes to have great potential), and later interruptes the on-going Cloth Road tournament.
  • Scoop
  • Toga
  • Garment
  • Argence


[edit] External links

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