No matter what anybody says, we’re all addicted to something in life. Be it something as innocuous as kittens and lollipops to more sinister addictions, such as drugs and alcohol, everyone has something they can’t live without having or doing. In CLAMP’s manga turned anime, xxxHolic, people’s bad habits come to frightening light. What’s your xxx-holic?

Plot Summary

xxxholic Season One Review

Ever feel like someone, or something, is watching you? That’s what Kimihiro Watanuki feels, and knows, every day. This eccentric high schooler has been plagued by spirits his entire life, and the poor guy can see them as well as feel them. Unfortunately, Watanuki is pure catnip for ghouls and attracts them in droves.

One day, as Watanuki is being chased by an especially noxious entity, he stumbles into the shop of Yuko Ichihara, a mysterious woman who promises she can put an end to Watanuki’s spirit woes. But there’s a catch to Yuko’s offer- everything given in her shop must be paid with something of equal value, and Watanuki must pony up payment by working for her part-time.

xxxholic's Watanuki

Keeping house for Yuko involves much more than just airing out the rugs or dusting the mantle. Watanuki must also play cook as well as maid for Yuko, and he must cater to her alcohol and snack cravings as well as cleaning the shop. That and avoid all the magical objects and creatures roaming about Yuko’s place, which alway seem to latch onto Watanuki.

Watanuki’s days, and nights, are filled with more paranormal happenings than ever before, but at least he has his crush, Himawari Kunogi, and his quasi-rival cum casual buddy, Shizuka Domeki, to keep him company. Watanuki puts life and limb on the line to fulfill his end of Yuko’s bargain. Will he ever see a day without ghouls or is his destiny more entwined with the spirit world than he knows?

Review

In xxxHolic, people’s bad social habits come back to infect them in a physical way via the spiritual world. Yuko acts as mystic counselor to those wanting to ditch their lingering problems. But Yuko’s advice can come with a hefty price to those who aren’t willing to give up their habits easily.

It’s entertaining to watch as Watanuki struggles in his own way to help out the shop’s customers, but even more entertaining is how Yuko tells these same customers to help themselves. The episodes center around these visits to the shop by both humans and spirits alike.

xxxHolic is an honest anime which details the life of a haunted, but altruistic teen trying to untangle the meaning of his relationship to spirits and the world. The episodes connect on an emotional level by grasping basic human sentiments and tugging relentlessly. You know that feeling you get when you watch someone close lose something precious? Tug. Remember when you met your first real friend? When you lost them? Tug, tug. How’s about that time you realized you were alone in the world? Yank! xxxHolic is more than just an anime about a wacky, over-stimulated teen with physic powers. The true charm of xxxHolic is its complex nature as an entertaining and emotional drama laced with moral lessons and the paranormal.

Yuko and Neko!

There’s also a hefty amount of traditional Japanese folklore and cuisine references throughout the series. While anime isn’t the best place to learn about Japan’s bountiful culture, it represents a starting point for newbies and seasoned fans alike. The culinary references in the series are a real bonus for someone into the native cuisine. Keep your eyes and ears peered for a taste of Japan hidden in the series!

The pacing for the series was good overall, but a little slow in some episodes. It seemed as if almost every other volume had one episode that meandered around and made little to no sense. Out of twenty four episodes, three were worth skipping while all the rest were must-sees.

Episodes of the series had a slightly repetitive feel, but not one large enough to detract from the story. The repetition presented itself with Yuko handing out help to those looking for it. However, the story moved forward in each episode in the way of story and character development by highlighting how Watanuki reacts to these new clients. His interactions with the spirits and humans around him are the main plot line, but in the peripheries are moral lessons about self-reliance and addiction to bad social habits. It’s not a formula for non-stop, go-go action, but the mixing of traditional Japanese mysticism, teen angst, moral dilemmas and self-discovery are more than enough to entertain.

Character Development

The anime did a great job connecting people with the characters:

Watanuki is an oddball who gets worked up over the most minute instances, yet is a stalwart friend and all-around good guy. He can get a bit annoying when he screams and hops around whenever Domeki makes an appearance, but turning on the Japanese audio seems to dampen that significantly. Throughout the anime Watanuki is built up and rounded out until we get a good sense of who he really is. His character is the most straight forward and likable. He has nothing to hide and is an honest and decent human being. Watamuki is a character many people can connect with.

Domeki is more a mysterious and intriguing guy. Not much background is offered up as to who he is, except in odd instances when he brings up his grandfather. He doesn’t say much in the series and is more of a doer than a thinker.

Yuko's hair goes wild

Yuko is a fantastic character, filled with girlish antics and a profound fashion sense. She’s a contradiction of sorts- what with her heavy drinking, smoking and eating, she’s the last person who should give advice on kicking harmful habits. Yet when it comes down to it, she’s a serious practitioner of her art and the anime paints her in a complex light.

The cast is an all-around good set of characters who play well off each others personalities.

Character Design

Designs for xxxHolic come from the manga and are exquisitely unique. Characters are drawn in an overly-elongated fashion, with long arms, spindly legs and almost grotesquely lengthy necks. Over exaggeration is used in defining xxxHolic’s cast, and the effect is shocking at first. After an episode or two, the fantastic designs blend with the spiritual themes of the story and become another part of the storytelling.

An interesting design element are the blank people populating the anime. Masses of unknown and inconsequential people are drawn as delineated white outlines. Most of the time only main and secondary characters are fully drawn and detailed. The blank people give the anime a feel that the material world is an empty and meaningless place.

Yuko is given the star treatment in the anime and is drawn with a new hair-do and wardrobe for every episode. Her fashion sense adds a touch of high style at odds with her ancient profession. It adds more contrast to Yuko’s character.

xxxHolic takes place in modern Japan, but most of the the spirits’ designs are straight from feudal legends. From the kimono-clad kitsune, to the long-haired female apparitions, many of the paranormal characters are modeled after Japan’s rich spiritual past. The exceptions are the gothic lolita rain sprite and a few others, which are nonetheless, evocative of Japan.

Domeki

Animation

Production IG, the studio behind xxxHolic, did an average job with the animation. The anime had a grainy, unfocused feel, which wasn’t completely out of place with the otherwordly nature of the series, but still felt sub par in places. Some scenes could have been drawn better than they were, and the the series deserved better animation than what it received. xxxHolic didn’t look so much as an anime than characters from a manga that were cut, propped and shot.

Music

19-sai, the opening theme by Sugo Shikao, is a perfect fit for the anime and is good song in itself. It has a bit of an underground feel along with mainstream appeal. I’m reminded of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult by the first strains of the song. Anyone familiar with the band would agree their supernatural themes and riffs are a good match to an anime about the same.

The ending for the first half of the season is a slightly sassy number called, Reason, by Fonogenico. It’s soft, with a bit of a beat. The second half of the season closes with Kagerou by BUCK-TICK. Kagerou is straight up rock and has some great vocals reminiscent of enka. The two songs are apropos EDs for the anime.

Voice Acting

Both the English and Japanese voice casts are well done, with the Japanese being somewhat better. Yuko’s English voice actress, Colleen Clinkenbeard, nailed Yuko’s lazy airs. Some people may find Kimihiro’s character annoying in English. If that happens, switch to Japanese.

Conclusion

xxxHolic has a lot going for it as a series- charm, sincerity, magic, drama and the odd bit of hilarity. The anime takes great plot, blends it with strong storytelling, adds a generous dash of Japanese culture and mixes it all with a stylistic twist. It’s a recipe that spells win for the first season of this enchanting drama.

Rating

xxxHloic, Season One gets 4 outta 5 Hammies!

Retail Info

• Publisher: Funimation
• Release Date: March 25, 2008- October 21, 2008
• Retail Price: $29.98
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Rating: TV-PG
• Language: English, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Yuko has big plans in store for Watanuki in Volume Two of xxxHolic!

plot summary

Watanuki has fallen into cooking, cleaning and exorcising spirits for Yuko as if he’s done so his whole life. He doesn’t seem to mind the hours upon hours of culinary drudgery for a demanding mistress, but when it comes to the more supernatural aspects of his indentured servitude, Watanuki is less than enthusiastic.

Which is why Watanuki’s quasi-nemesis cum friend, Domeki, accompanies him occasionally on his tasks. Other times, it’s Yuko or Mokona who takes Watanuki in hand for his esoteric errands.

Each time Yuko gets the reluctant boy involved in a supernatural quagmire, she makes sure he learns something from the experience. Just what kind of plans does Yuko have for Watanuki?

review

While one of the episodes, “Indulgence” didn’t make much sense, the rest of the volume carried its weight and entertained. Not all the cases Yuko involves herself in pertain to people with bad habits or addictions. She sometimes lends a helping hand to beings from other realms, namely the Spiritual. But she always manages to drag Watanuki into the supernatural equation, whether he wants to or not.

With all the frequent binge eating Yuko does, Watanuki is usually cooking up a storm of traditional Japanese food. The culinary references in the series are a real bonus for someone into the native cuisine. Keep your eyes and ears peered for a taste of Japan hidden in the series!

Even though the nature of the series is that of solving case after case, the series so far doesn’t seem repetitive. Each episode builds slightly on the last to further the story, and the characters are also built upon as well.

Character Development

Watanuki is being shown to be a truly compassionate person, so although he may not like a situation, he still does what it takes to resolve it. He even stomachs having his “rival”, the stolid Domeki, around.

Yuko is still a mystery, but it seems she has something up her stylish sleeve when it comes to Watanuki’s supernatural education.

Character Design

It’s amazing that in every single episode, Yuko has on at least one different outfit. As odd as it seems, the fact that the studio took the time to draw and animate a new set of duds for every episode is impressive. Little details like this in the character designs really adds a dimension to the visuals. It’s a newness which is appealing.

Animation

The animation is still not up to par. Shots and scenes are frequently hazy or out of focus, two things which I don’t think are intended. It’s unfortunate, especially since the series deserves something better from the studio.

Conclusion

Volume Two of xxxHolic is a decent volume with good balance of visuals and story. However, it could have been much better with cleaner animation and more solid pacing.

Rating

xxxHolic, Volume Two gets 3 outta 5 Hammies!

Retail Info

• Publisher: Funimation
• Release Date:May 6, 2008
• Retail Price: $29.98
• Number of discs:1
• Episodes:5-8
• Run Time:100 minutes
• Rating: TV-PG
• Language: English, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

No matter what anybody says, we’re all addicted to something in life. Be it something as innocuous as Care Bears and lollipops to more sinister addictions, such as drugs and alcohol, everyone has something they can’t live without having or doing. In CLAMP’s manga turned anime, xxxHolic, people’s bad habits come to frightening light. What’s your xxx-holic?

plot summary

Watanuki Kimihiro has been plagued by spirits his entire life. One day, Kimihiro is assaulted by an unruly batch of spirits, when suddenly, Poof! They disappear in an instant.

The reason for their disappearance is the presence of dimensional witch, Yuko, whose shop Kimihiro was passing by. Kimihiro unwillingly enters Yuko’s shop and suddenly finds himself indebted to her in return for eventual banishment of the spirits.

Poor Kimihiro must now work for Yuko until his labor equals the price of the spirit banishment. He soon realizes Yuko is much more than your average fortuneteller!

review

I had high hopes for xxxHolic after watching the xxxHolic movie, Midsummer’s Night Dream. While the anime didn’t disappoint, it wasn’t as grand as I thought it would be. I think I actually did the series a disservice by watching the movie before the anime since the movie had all sorts of bells and whistles. The series is watered down in comparison, but is nonetheless highly entertaining.

The pacing so far, is a bit on the slow side, the reason being the focus is on Kimihiro and his development, and not necessarily the dealings of Yuko’s shop. While there were “cases” for Yuko to cure, they revolved around the sympathetic Kimihiro and served to further enhance his character. The cases moved the story forward instead of stalling at them, which is a failing many anime have that incorporate individual stories.

Character Development

I got the distinct feeling Kimihiro is no pushover slouch, despite easily falling for Yuko’s dubious offer. Like Yuko says, Kimihiro’s (Yuko calls him Watanuki-with no honorific) fate is inevitable, so why fight it? When it comes to other matters, though, Kimihiro doesn’t hesitate to get involved and challenge the outcome. He’s a truly likable character with a tragic past he’s struggling to come to terms with. It makes him sympathetic, despite his crazy mood swings.

Yuko is a bit of a very stylish mystery. She appears outwardly lazily and hedonistic, what with her smoking, downing bottles of sake at noon and ordering Kimihiro to make plate after plate of food. For someone who claims to help people rid themselves of vices, she appears to have quite a few herself. Her seemingly hypocritical ways give her a human quality. But nothing is given as to how she became as powerful as she is.

Other characters, such as Shizuka Domeki and Kimihiro’s crush, Himawari Kunogi make appearances and are entertaining additions. Domeki, is vastly more interesting than Kunogi, however.

Character Design

xxxHolic’s character design can be summed up in one word: funky. Funky can be good and bad, and in this case it’s both. Ultimately, funky when taken as whole is a good thing.

The funkiest bit of design in the anime is the way the characters are drawn, which is gangly and overly long. The arms are too long, the necks are too long, the fingers are freakishly long, but when combined with the way the characters move, all the long-ness isn’t as weird as it first seems.

There’s a lot of exaggeration in the character designs, aside from the lankiness. Eyes are hooded and too long or too wide. The hair has no details, shading or highlights. It’s a huge departure from typical anime design.

Yuko is a fashion plate, changing costumes and hairstyles throughout episodes. Her stylish appearance really adds some oomph to the already stylized series. Her get-ups are highly detailed affairs, complete with jewelry and lace.

The spirits are represented as anthropomorphic piles of smoke and various eyeballs. Is their design a commentary on the way people superimpose their beliefs and fears onto ghosts, making them more fearsome than they are?

The anime also doesn’t take itself too seriously as many shots have trademark symbols of anime: sweat drops, stress lines, pulsing asterisk-veins, etc.

xxxHolics designs are truly unique in a medium awash with sameness and blah.

Animation

Production IG, the studio responsible for the xxxHolic movie, animated the series as well. The series, however, was animated in a poor to average manner, whereas the movie was superb. There weren’t many detailed shots, the animation was out of focus in some shots and overall the animation was slightly hazy and grainy.

Music

“19-sai“, the opening theme by Sugo Shikao is a perfect fit for the anime and is good song in itself. The song has a bit of an underground feel along with mainstream appeal. I’m reminded of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult by the first strains of the song. Anyone familiar with the band would agree their supernatural themes and riffs are a good match to an anime about the same.

The ending is a slightly sassy number called, “Reason“, by Fonogenico. It’s soft, with a bit of a beat.

Voice Acting

Both the English and Japanese voice casts are well done, with the Japanese being somewhat better. Yuko’s English voice actress, Colleen Clinkenbeard, nailed Yuko’s lazy airs. Some people may find Kimihiro’s character annoying in English. If that happens, switch to Japanese.

Conclusion

Though the animation isn’t as good as it should be, the story itself is still solid and interesting. The lighthearted moments, supernatural tones, intriguing character designs and human drama in the series are an entertaining combination.

Rating

xxxHolic, Volume One gets 3 outta 4 Hammies!

Retail Info

• Publisher: Funimation
• Release Date:March 25, 2008
• Retail Price: $29.98
• Number of discs:1
• Episodes:1-4
• Run Time:100 minutes
• Rating: TV-PG
• Language: English, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

The Princes in the birdcage kingdom

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is an anime based on the CLAMP manga of the same name. It highlights the journey of young Syaoran as he gathers the “feathers” of his beloved Princess Sakura’s memories. Sakura’s memories have been scattered far and wide through various dimensions. With his companions Kurogane, Fay and Monokone, Syaoran journeys through space and time with the help of the dimension witch, Yuko, in order to help his beloved regain what’s precious to her.

plot summary

Tsubasa, The Princess In the Birdcage Kingdom

Syaoran and his companions fall from the sky into a beautiful kingdom surrounded by a massive glittering birdcage. Within this country is one of Sakura’s memory feathers. Syaoran and Sakura land near a village and are found by one of its young inhabitants. He takes the two to meet the princess of the country, who’s in hiding from her evil uncle. The girl’s uncle reigns as a tyrannical king as she cowers in hiding. The princess wields a mysterious power her uncle needs to plunge the kingdom into everlasting night. This same uncle has also kidnapped the bird companions the people of this country all possess and perverted them to his dark purpose.

Meanwhile Kurogane and Fay are taken captive by the evil king’s royal guard and placed in birdcages. The group must find a way to defeat the nefarious king in order to free this beautiful country from darkness and to gather one of the remaining feathers of Sakura’s memory!

review

The movie didn’t feel at all like a movie, despite the gorgeous animation and abundance of beautiful detailing. It viewed just like a lengthy episode of the series and was a continuation of the anime instead of a side story or conclusion. I don’t know why this extended episode was dubbed a movie, but it’s something fans of the series will nonetheless want to see and possibly own.

I’ve only seen one volume of Tsubasa, but I was still able to follow the story and get some enjoyment from the “movie”, especially as a small portion of the beginning is devoted to a minute bit of explanation. Anyone who hasn’t seen any of the series will likewise get some enjoyment from it.

Character Development

There was no development for this movie as its target audience is established fans. However, there are enough comments about Sakura and her plight to cobble together a rudimentary understanding of the series if not enough to understand who these people are.

Character Design

There’s no background on Syaoran and his friends, yet the movie is pleasant as a travelogue of this so called Birdcage Kingdom. The designs are beautiful, flowing and organic and the backdrops are all fully detailed. This kingdom is positively glowing in its verdant beauty. I wanted to visit this country it was represented so well. The jewel tone pallet of the movie captivated the lushness of the place.

The details made the anime a rich experience. The tiny facets of a jeweled mosaic, the brilliant flash from a bit of sapphire, and the tinkling sound of beads as they gently clink together were icing on an already pretty cake. It seemed as though nothing wasn’t given an extra shine, a bit more sparkle, an added dose of detail.

Animation

Production I.G. did a fantastic job with the movie. The animation was top-notch and action scenes flowed like water.

Music

The OP “aerial“, by Kinya is unremarkable. The soundtrack was light and felt Celtic, a good accompaniment to the organic feel of the anime. The ending theme, “Amrita“, by Yui Makino was as unremarkable as the OP. The music in between the OP and ED was better than either.

Voice Acting

Both the English and Japanese voice casts for Tsubasa are well done. I still watched the movie with the Japanese voice cast, but either is good.

Conclusion

While the Tsubasa movie isn’t much of a movie, it does get credit for making a beautifully enhanced and vibrant thirty five minute episode. As a movie it gets two Hammies, but as an episode it gets three and half Hammies which averages it out to:

Rating

3 outta 4 Hammies!
————————————————————————————————————————————-

A Midsummer’s Night Dream

xxxHolic is also a CLAMP manga turned anime. xxxHolic features the dealings of the dimension witch, Yuko Ichihara, and her reluctant indentured servant, Kimihiro Watanuki. Watanuki was plagued by swarms of ghosts and spirits who are irrestibly attracted to him. One day he makes a deal with Yuko to be her servant if she’ll get rid of the spirits. Now he must work off the debt, and only then will Yuko banish the spirits.

plot summary

xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Yuko receives a young visitor one day who claims she can no longer enter into her own house. She begs Yuko to help her and Yuko agrees, for a price. Watanuki is less than thrilled at Yuko’s acceptance of the job as it means he has to go with her. As they draw near the house Watanuki senses spirits but is safe from their harassment thanks to Dōmeki (a young man able to banish spirits with his mere presence) who was also invited to come.

Upon entering the house, the three meet a group of people who have gathered at the mansion. They’re all various collectors and are at the mansion to finish their collections, or so they believe. A sinister force, not yet apparent, is orchestrating something behind the scenes and it’s up to Yuko, Kimihiro and Dōmeki to discover what it is.

review

Unlike Tsubasa, xxxHolic did feel like the movie it claims to be. This anime has a surprising charm to it, one I don’t encounter much in anime. xxxHolic has a light feel and isn’t dreadfully serious, despite its supernatural and dark overtones.

The story for the movie has great pacing and a good plot. Twists, turns, foreshadowing, development, all were seamlessly interwoven. I didn’t have any inkling what might happen next, a rarity in many anime. What I thought were obvious ploys, morphed into more mysteries, keeping my attention engaged the entire time, another rarity.

Character Development

xxxHolic, the series, isn’t even out on DVD here in the States yet, but I could still grasp the story from the skillful background hints dropped throughout. It wasn’t a distraction the way characters were introduced as being related in this manner or that, or having this power or another. The storytelling was impressive in this regard.

There wasn’t character development for the main characters per se, but the antagonists were told with a sympathetic voice, connecting the story even further to audiences. I was drawn deeply into this anime before I knew I had been.

Character Design

Yuko and her companions are drawn with overly exaggerated limbs and look slightly freakish at first, second and third glance. Long arms, slim narrow waists, overly hooded eyes and elongated fingers punctuate the characters. It’s an odd thing to see at first, but the stylistic art of the anime grows on you. Everything which is potentially odd to begin with, is accentuated even further, almost to the grotesque. The art never really crosses the line from bizarre into grotesque, except to draw attention to evilness and wrongdoing.

The buildings, the grass, the carpet, almost everything has some type of texture in the movie. Details abound in xxxHolic and its style is unique and as pleasing as the storytelling, if one is a fan of the unique. Despite the ominous and sometimes threatening style of the anime, the characters are quite lighthearted. It’s a dichotomy of the characters versus their surroundings which results in delicious creepiness. I’m struck by how xxxHolic is strongly reminiscent of a very dark and eerie Alice and Wonderland, and Watanuki is Alice.

Animation

The animation, by Production I.G., was as exceptional as the style, with interesting camera angles and perspectives. Everything about this anime is surreal and would make Renee Magritte green with envy. C’nest pas un anime.

Music

Listening to the soundtrack is like listening to a dark yet simultaneously bright orchestra. The extremes are fascinating and give xxxHolic an added touch of the surreal. At times, the music can truly be called mood music in it’s evocativeness.

Voice Acting

The English cast is just as good as the Japanese voice cast, if not slightly better. I recommend either, and you’d be set with great voice work.

Conclusion

A Midsummer Night’s ending was beautiful and touching. This movie has me determined to watch the xxxHolic series. The storytelling, pace, and style is an extreme and weird departure from overly pretty anime with more style than substance. In thirty five minutes it connected with me better than most series which last nine long hours. xxxHolic could be something I find myself getting addicted to….

Rating

xxxHolic: A Midsummer’s Night Dream gets 4 outta 4 Hammies!

Overall Double Feature Rating

3.5 outta 4 Hammies!

Retail Info

• Publisher: Funimation
• Release Date: February 19, 2008
• Retail Price: $29.98
• Number of discs: 2
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Rating: TV-PG
• Language: English, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen