xxxHOLiC

Information of Anime

Kimihiro Watamuki isn't a normal school student.  He has an ability to see evil spirits & they are attracted to him.  While escaping the spirits one day, he stumbles upon an old place & meets Yuuko Ichihara.  Yuuko proclaims that she can help him remove his ability.  But it comes with a price.  For it, Watamuki is to work as a part-time employee in her store until it covers his cost.  As he works in the store, he learns about the world differently.

Storyline (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Below is a summary of the storyline I've seen.  This section does contain some spoilers.  If you haven't seen the series yet & don't want to be spoiled, skip this section.  If you want to know the story & want to see how I viewed it, read on.

Watanuki basically works for Yuuko for a number of tasks.  Whether it be helping her with her work, cooking her meals, or playing with her.  He sees the world differently with the many encounters he has with her.  It can be something supernatural like haunted ghosts or something simple like internet addiction.  There are times he teams up with Shizuka Doumeki, a classmate that he hates a lot.  Even though he hates him, he is compatible with Watanuki as he can repel evil spirits.

The show ends with a side story of Watanuki's childhood years where he meets a boy by the riverbank.

My Personal Review

xxxHOLIC is a mysterious anime show to watch.  Although it doesn't have a main plot, it's mysterious & supernatural ideas really keeps this interesting.  Even if you aren't a fan of the series, it's something you should watch.

Animation

If you have seen xxxHOLIC: A Midsummer's Night Dream, then you know what to expect since the TV show is made by the same production company.  The drawings have that CLAMP touch.  The characters are very thin with long bodies, arms & legs.  CLAMP fans will really love these designs as they are true to the manga designs.

The backgrounds are pretty good.  However, there is very little 3DCGs here like the movie.  But they are still good.

The colours are very dull with very little brightness.  The colours tones are very good & sets the mood well.  However, the balance between the characters & the backgrounds stands out quite a bit as you can see the characters being in bold colours.

The animation movements are very smooth.  The movement isn't realistic due to the long body parts.  However, the movements of it is very fluid; especially when Watanuki moves around in strange positions.  Nevertheless, it's very well done & I was impressed again like in the movie.

Sound

The sound effect have that dark touch.  This is a good thing since it helps sets the mood in the dark mansion.  However, there are quite a number of cute & silly sounds; mainly to setup the comedy bits.  Overall, they are crisp with no fuzzes & the 5.1 effects really help the mood a lot.

The voices are pretty good as they match each character's personality.  Also, they are the same ones from the movie.  So, you don't need to adapt to anyone new. 

The music isn't too bad.  It helped create the mood, but not to a level that I was expecting.  It was still eerie & mysterious.  Also, there are quite a few silly songs to get the show going.

Story

I'm not too familiar with the xxxHOLIC series.  It's mainly a show that shows supernatural mystery stuff.  The show is dark & eerie; containing some supernatural stuff from the Japanese culture.  It's almost like it just a bunch of short stories.  They are very little stories were they need to expand to two or more episodes.  They are quite interesting really.  Because of the lack of a storyline, it ended quite suddenly at episode 23.  Episode 24 is more of a filler to make it a 24 episode show.  It could be used as a DVD bonus really since it's a side story on a different timeline.

Overall Conclusion

xxxHOLIC is pretty interesting to watch. I'm watching it out of interest & the comedic jokes it has.  It doesn't have a main plot & I don't see how you could make one based on the pace it was going at.  But, its theme really draws me in.

xxxHOLIC gets an eight out of ten from me.  The show is quite entertaining with the Japanese supernatural content.  Plus, it's funny on the side.  However, it lacks a descent plot as it mainly a bunch of short stories.  It should be watch for pure entertainment really.

Last updated on January 22, 2008