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Reviews for xxxHOLiC (6.74) 115t38

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summoner Mizushima Tsutomu Note: This review applies to all - xxxHolic: Kei, Shunmuki and, of course, this season of the show. It is based, first on E-D, later on SHS and finally on ACG fansubs. SHS and ACG were ok... Home Twitter - Approval: 76.6% (6 votes) 3e2967

- rs7081)
Rating
Vote 4
Average 5.16
Animation 6
Sound 7
Story 4
Character 6
Value 4
Enjoyment 4

5n3a2n

Note: This review applies to all - xxxHolic: Kei, Shunmuki and, of course, this season of the show. It is based, first on E-D, later on SHS and finally on ACG fansubs. SHS and ACG were okay, but the video quality and translation of E-D was somewhat lacking.

Quote:
You don't belong only to yourself, you know? There isn't anything in this world that belongs to only himself. Everyone has connections to someone else and shares something with them. That is why you can never be free. That is also why it is so amusing, sad and dear.


Originally created by Tsutomu Mizushima (Genshiken) xxxHolic[/b] is a semi episodic show telling a story about a high school student Watanuki Kimihiro who is unfortunate enough to possess one of the most troublesome super powers I have ever seen, ability to see and attract loads of flesh hungry ghosts, monsters and similar kin to himself wherever he goes. One day he accidentally wanders into a weird shop whose ever-mysterious master Yuuko proposes him to get rid of his "power" in turn for having him work part-time for her. And so starts the new life of Watanuki, an assistant of a witch who can grant any wish.

I can't believe I actually had high expectations for this show. I guess the pretty colors of Yuuko's eccentric clothes' designs and allegoric-like opening animation fooled me into thinking this anime had style and backbone that of Boogiepop Phantom, hell, was I wrong. Rather than to something stylish or allegorical, or even novel, I was treated to a bunch of below-average been-there-seen-that monster-per-week episodes in the first season and some half-assed character fleshing episodes in the second. Not to mention the Shunmuki arc which proved to be just an another filler with cameos of Tsubasa Chronicle characters. Though I guess the word filler is not completely correct in the context of this anime, as though it does indeed move in a line, it neither does nor shows any intent to go anywhere. Frankly, it has been awhile since I have seen such a pointless show, virtually doing nothing about nothing. The plot is like damp paper, fragile enough to be teared by your breath alone. The only redeeming factor of xxxHolic is its attractive character cast, especially female characters with Yuuko at the front are interesting to observe. Unfortunately, however the character potential, it gets boring when plot doesn't care to give back-stories or even flesh out majority of the cast, mostly concentrating on short youkai-driven stories which are laughable when compared to Mononoke, Mushishi or even Ghost Hunt. I must say that the only things I have genuinely enjoyed in this show were the few philosophical lines from Yuuko's mouth and some character interactions which unfortunately led nowhere in the end.

Animation: 6/10

If you are familiar with other CLAMP shows you should know what to expect in this department. Extremely tall and paper thin characters run amok, it takes some time getting used to, but once you do you notice that they aren't so bad after all. Especially the facial animation of females is well done, though characters still lack detail when their faces are not up-close. The tremendous amount of different apparels Yuuko and some other female characters tend to wear in this anime is commendable. I mean, I feel it is "many" when I see character change his clothes three times in the period of a show, but Yuuko does it way over fifty times. The character designer in CLAMP certainly has some interest in fashion. Backgrounds on the other hand are bland and barren for the most time, though they get better in the following seasons. Blank color palette, which fooled me to believe this show actually had genuine style seems to have been means to save money for animation production, as it doesn't look that good. Motion fluidity is not the best either, you can see characters going choppy there and there. Ultimately I'd say the animation has more style than substance, it's too bad that "style" didn't go together with the plot.

Sound: 7/10

The only part of the show which is actually somewhat good is sound in xxxHolic. Particularly the first opening emo-like song 19sai by S.E.N.S. is dominated by classical instrument tunes, which get quite eerie or emotional when the show calls for it. Particularly some Yuuko-philosophical-lecture scenes at the end of some episodes are well-fitted.

Voice-acting is also pretty good, though I must say it took me more than 20 episodes to finally notice Mutoh Sumi (Voices of a Distant Star) who managed to give Zashiki-warashi a really cute, yet somewhat non-human voice.

Story: 4/10

The setting of the plot is actually pretty average. It's normal your every day Japan, except for the fact that Watanuki tends to become involved with various spiritual things and meets many Japanese mythological creatures in the run. In a sense the setting is pretty much the same as in Ghost Hunt and Natsume Yuujinchou, not the most interesting and innovative of ideas, but still with potential.

Unfortunately the plot itself is barely there. More than two-thirds of the show are episodic stories about how people are affected by various ghost phenomena and Watanuki trying to save them. Unfortunately, none of the stories are really interesting and have laughable depth when compared to other shows of the same nature. There is no suspense like in Ghost Hunt, there is no artsy presentation like in Mononoke, and though there are attempts at philosophy those are toddler level when compared to Mushishi. Actually in of completion and fleshing out, these stories are even worse than the sleep-inducing ones in Natsume Yuujinchou, which I certainly didn't enjoy either. Well, anyway, the other one-third of the show is about Watanuki's uncertain state of mind and people around him, the better part. Though you never get any insight in Yuuko, you at least get five minutes of backstory and resolution for Himawari, while some episodes at the beginning of the second season flesh Doumeki out pretty well. Unfortunately the romantic vibes which go around Watanuki, Zashiki-warashi and Himawari never get past the state of vibes and just as in the first episode, none of the relationships progress in the last. What was the point of this show is completely beyond me. It's like a sandbox with pretty characters and story potential, but all that happens is wind blowing minor and random crisps of sand around.

Characters: 6/10

Lots of unused potential, that's what the characters of this show are. Watanuki and Doumeki are virtually the only two characters who are completely fleshed out and develop, unfortunately, they are also the least interesting of the bunch. I'm really getting tired of those uber altruistic main characters in these kind of shows, all they can think of is how to save and help others while forgetting themselves, not to mention that every single on of them have the same state of mind. Doumeki is slightly more interesting than Watanuki because of his emotionless outward attidude. Unfortunately, both of their simplistic barely two-dimensional natures get old pretty soon.

Yuuko is certainly the coolest character in the show, unfortunately, rather than a full-fledged character she is more like of a narrator. You never learn her back-story or her state of mind or anything. What appears to be the main heroine, Himawari, is kept completely static through the whole show, up until the ending episodes of Kei, were she suddenly is fleshed out, concluded in a time-span of five minutes and thrown away aside again. Zashiki-warashi seems like a character with potential, unfortunately even during her short cameos she basically repeats the same action pattern all the time. Have I mentioned that some of the lines are repeated over and over and over again in this show? Like when Doumeki and Watanuki are arguing and if there is a female character nearby she will most definitely say "you are such good friends", it really gets painful after the twentieth time, seriously. Oh yeah, almost forgot spirit-seer child prodigy Kohane, who is probably second best character after Yuuko in the show. She seems to have her outwardly cool yet caring personality fleshed out pretty well and even has few episodes dedicated specially for herself, probably the best moments of the show.

There are also some useless mascot characters in this anime like Maru, Moro or that annoying black critter Mokona. Not to even talk about personality traits, all they do is making life harder for the main character and annoy the viewers. It's not even explained who those three are, none seem human to me.

Miyers-Briggs personality type indicator:

Zashiki-warashi - ISFP (D)
Tsuyuri Kohane - INFP (D)
Ichihara Yuuko - ENTP (C)
Doumeki Shizuka - ISTP (D)
Kunogi Himawari - ENFP (E)
Kimihiro Watanuki - ESFJ (E)


Value: 4/10

Shows of this nature have little value, because, really, it's not as fun to watch something like this again. Jokes suck, there is no action and plot doesn't offer anything new even through the first run. I'd rather re-watch Mushishi or Mononoke three times in a row than watch this show again. This show is not really that bad, it's just one of the weakest additions to genre which already has some really cool stuff floating around.

  1. Conclusion[/u]: Unless you are desperate to watch something episodic weakly dealing with Japanese mythology and you have already stormed through the better shows like Ghost Hunt
 I'd recommend to stay away from xxxHolic as it's simply not worth your time. It's rated for ages 13 years and older if you care.[/i][/ol]

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