Airing from April 6, 2006, to September 28, 2006, XXXHolic tells the story of Kimihiro Watanuki, a young man with the unfortunately ability to attract spirits (he can see them as well). This spirits hound him all of the time, and he’s pretty much sick of it. On one fateful day, he happens to stop right in front of a strange house, and is mystically compelled into the building. Within, he meets Yuko, a witch with the power to grant wishes, Maru and Moro, who are Yuko’s servants, and Mokona, the “mascot” of the shop. After some talking, Watanuki asks for Yuko to have the spirits stop following him. This she does, but asks for payment in return for her service, namely becoming an employee at the shop. As he works at Yuko’s place, Watanuki has numerous encounters with the supernatural, as well as some troubled individuals that populate the city he lives in. It’s all one big, mystical adventure for him, and one that he doesn’t necessarily enjoy.
Starting off the positives, XXXHolic’s first is the fact that it was created by CLAMP. Since their birth, the all-female group has produced some of the anime & manga world’s most iconic series, including Tsubasa, Chobits, and Cardcaptor Sakura. Every single one of the titles they’ve created, even their more unknown titles, have been met with nothing but praise. With such a pedigree, there’s very little way for a series from them to fail.
The next positive of XXXHolic is the way the show is animated. Let me say, in simplistic terms, that this is a very artsy looking show. In particular, they way that the spirits are animated is done very vividly, almost beautiful even. The people that also populate the world of XXXHolic are also very nice to look at. In a strange way to focus on a single character, or a small group of characters, any people in the background are portrayed as solid white figures so the attention payed towards the focused characters isn’t directed towards anyone else. Another strange thing about the people within XXXHolic is that they have very long arms and legs, and this portrayal gives them a marionette/spider-like feeling.
The third positive of XXXHolic is the mix of genres. We have the standard anime genres of comedy, drama, suspense, and horror (to a limited extent) but XXXHolic also has the more unique genres of metaphysics and supernatural. So, when all of these are put together, we have show that’s very original, and one in which the genres are all relatively balanced, save for the moments in which a particular genre is required (a supernatural scene requiring the supernatural genre, for example).
The show’s fourth & fifth positives are the voice acting and characters. Although the secondary characters (the majority of them, to be more specific) are forgettable in terms of voice & character, the meat of the show focuses on the primary characters. We have Todd Haberkorn given his all as the akward yet kind Watanuki, while Colleen Clinkenbeard gives Yuko the sultry, sexy voice that she deserves. The other primary voice actors (J. Michael Tatum, Cherami Leigh) also do a great job with their assigned characters (Domeki/Himawari), giving some great performances.
Like I said in the above paragraph, the primary characters are XXXHolic’s bread & butter. Each of them have a distinct personality that meshes with the others, as well as contrasts with one another. Watanuki and Domeki, for example, are complete contrasts. Watanuki is very outgoing and goofy, while Domeki is very reserved and normal. Whenever the two cross paths, something happens. Yet, there are times when the two work quite well together, even though Watanuki often complains about it.
XXXHolic’s sixth positive is how long the show is. Coming in at 24 episodes, XXXHolic is a very hefty show. It took me close to a week to watch this series, as I wanted to pace myself when I watched this, but if you’re a hardcore Otaku (and that’s most of you) you can probably press them into four or five days. The episodes run at about 22 minutes each, so they’re not short by any stretch. Simply put, XXXHolic is a nice long show that really shouldn’t be rush.
XXXHolic’s seventh & final positive is it’s availability. Coming out in 2010, the complete first season is fairly availability in both the new & used sections (more so in the new section). Problem is, the pricing is a bit on the steep side. New copies of the complete collection on the site start out at 52 dollars, which is a somewhat big blow to the wallet. The few used copies that exist start out at 37 to 38 dollars, which is a more reasonable amount to pay for.
I actually had a hard time finding anything bad about XXXHolic. I watched through all of the episodes, and I didn’t see anything wrong...save for one thing (apart from the pricing), and that’s the horror. Despite my mood sometimes, I’m not necessarily a big horror fan. Hell, I can’t watch the original Alien movie without experiencing some wicked chest pains. The horror within this series is particularly potent, so much show that anyone who gets scared easily may not want to watch this.
XXXHolic gets a 9.5 out of 10. CLAMP created the source material, the animation style is unique, the mix of genres is interesting, the voice acting and characters are top quality, the show is lengthy, and it’s readily available, but the horror within the show could be very strong at times.
See you all later this week, when I’ll review a game that had a lot of potential going for it. Until then, stay Otaku!
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