xxxHolic

Writer: Tsutomu Mizushima
Director: Tsutomu Mizushima
Production House: Production I.G
Review Type: Anime
Status: Completed
Genre: Seinen, Supernatural

Synopsis

Kimihiro Watanuki is more than a normal high school student. He possess the ability to see spirits. However, more often than not, he meets with malevolent ones that are likely to chase him and give him the time of his life. One day, he wonders into a shop owned by a mysterious woman named Yuuko, who grants people's deepest wishes and desires. She can free him of his 'ability'. However, she demands a huge price in return - he must work for her. Thus, begins Watanuki's new job in a shop that is not quite what it seems...

Chibi's xxxComments

Now, I'm not usually a big fan of horror and super-natural anime, but I think xxxHolic had achieved something that most series in this genre have not. xxxHolic's story is based on japanese superstition and folklore, rather than another dose of vampires, zombies or psychos that seem to define said genre these days. By using superstition and folklore as the basis of the series' plotlines, it effectively strikes the viewer as believable as all of us had been superstitious at one point of our lives (mine was no sex before a big match back then), especially when we were still young. Now that we are older and wiser, we tend to dismiss it all as hogwash.



Chibi's xxxReview

xxxHolic in essence makes me feel that it is trying to bring back the traditional way of storytelling, with tales of folklore and japanese culture, in a world of anime where most plots are either science-fiction or typically shonen fare, where stories is nearly always centered on angst or finding one's identity and individuality or WORLD PEACE. In this light, xxxHolic is very original in its direction. Every episode contains a meaningful lesson behind it, whether it's the price to pay for lying, greed, or murder, to name a few. And given that it deals with the super-natural, some episodes are pretty creepy and watching it alone at night can seriously induce paranoia on the viewer, where the anime leaves you hanging at the edge of your seat in anticipation of something bad to happen, but is usually subtle enough to not scare you away from finishing an episode.

The most distinctive feature of this anime is the character design. The long limbs of the characters takes a little getting used to (fans of Code Geass won't have a problem with this as both animes came from Clamp, hence the similar character traits) and how extras are never given any features or colours beyond an outline. This in my opinion is a brilliant idea, since the extras are so unidentifiable one's focus will be emphasized on the main characters' prominence. Given this, the anime is also produced by one of the top animation studios in Japan (Production IG of Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex fame, on par or perhaps better than the country's previous animation top dog Sunrise, of Gundam and Cowboy Bebop fame). The eye-candy will really take one's breath away, especially if you have seen the movie as well. I just love the smoke swirling around Yuuko and how the wind always seems to give Yuuko that mysterious aura.

The characters in xxxHolic aren't as numerous as other animes, which makes them really well developed. There's our long suffering protaganist Watanuki. He may be bogged down by his unnatural ability but that does not stop him from living a more or less normal life of a high school student. Watanuki is a very accessible character, and more often than not you'd find yourself rooting for him, especially when he is up against Yuuko who always seems to give him the oddest chores to do. Then, there's the highly unpredictable and sarcastic Yuuko who I suspect still have tons of tricks up her sleeve that she has yet to reveal. There's the stoic Doumeki who shares a deep bond with Watanuki (emphasis on the stoic, he never belts out long sentences) and the cheerful Himawari, the object of Watanuki's infatuation.



All been said and done, I first stumbled onto the manga for this anime during my usual manga run, and had always thought that it looks pretty interesting, although the title made me think it was a hentai manga or something. After seeing the DVD on sale on one of my usual monthly anime shopping, i decided to pick it up. Needless to say I was hooked immediately, since the superstitions over at the land of the rising sun are pretty similar to mine, and it was a definite change of pace, as i was being overdosed by mecha and shonen animes at the time to the point of nausea. A great anime to watch if you want to pass the time with uncomplicated storylines, or simply would like something different instead of the usual anime violence.

The first season of xxxHolic began airing on April 6, 2006 in Japan and ended on September 28, 2006, with 24 episodes in total. Both the film and the anime series are directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. Ageha Ohkawa, Clamp's director and main scriptwriter, is executive producer of the TV series.


Chibi's Review



Storyline: 4/5
Character Development: 4/5
Art: 4/5
Originality: 5/5