Customer Reviews

xxxHOLiC: First Collection

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

CLAMP always delivers an intriguing story. XxxHolic is no exception.

First of all let me get one thing off my chest. The anime is drawn strange because it's an adaptation of the manga. For some reason over the past few recent manga series CLAMP has released you can tell they are slowly changing their art style. While they've always drawn their characters a little 'lanky' it seems they are taking a more simple approach to their normally over-the-top details. It was pleasing to the eye in Chobits but seems to be going downhill in XxxHolic. (and Tsubasa as they are essentially tied together)However, since the details are tapering off we can now see the true structure and anatomy of their style of character. It's still the same CLAMP we know and love but simplified.
Even so it doesn't seem to translate well into anime. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle is the same way. Seeing the lanky structures in still images, black/white, and with CLAMP's gorgeous detail is okay but once they start moving they have to tone down the details and it starts to show it's flaws.
All that aside the anime is basically a moving picture version of the manga. The story stays the same, albeit shortened as it's just the first season, and is just as interesting.
I love the Manga and I've watched the entire first season of the anime. While I am striving to collect all of the Manga a simple 1 time watch-through of the anime was enough for me.

PROs- Very close the manga, all the humor is there, it just wouldn't be the same Watanuki if he wasn't lanky (c'mon admit it!), and it's still the same great short-story style.

CONs- Oversimplified style of animation, Ending is abrupt and open-ended, doesn't explain the characters background (such as what is up with Himawari?!!), and does not even hint at the fact there is 2nd season. (The Manga does though :) Xxxholic Kei)

End thoughts - It's a good story, likable characters, but the animation is severely lacking and it ends up coming across as a short story sitcom of creepy stuff rather than the adaptation of the Manga (which DOES have a story believe it or not).

In my honest opinion it's a good 1 time watch if you're a fan of the Manga but even then...you could just watch "Kei" and you'd be just as happy.

This is the first set of episodes, so the viewers need to be a little forgiving of the necessity to spend extra time introducing all of the characters and providing adequate background so that subsequent episodes can actually get on with the story. However, there is a thin line between holding the viewer's attention and doing back work.

I just cannot get excited enough about this series after watching the first collection to watch any of the follow ons. The art is interesting in the overly tall, thin caricatures of people (almost like walking stick figures). The personal interactions of the main characters is almost stereotypical in the adolescent and more mature woman formula with its oedipal implications. Add to that the excessive use of cartoonish emotional outbursts by the male lead (Watanuki), and this is just a little over the top for me. While the female lead (Yuko) is drawn with a little more curve than the rest this is no fan service series either. I would have to say that this is primary fare for those that already know and like the series.
P-)

The name of this anime series is Holic. The xxx in front of the name is a variable to insert your addiction. This is the first DVD from the TV series and contains 4 episodes.

Watanuki is a high school student who is cursed with the ability to see spirits who torment him. One day he is mysteriously pulled into the shop of a beautiful witch/ fortune teller named Yuko. She says she is in the business of granting wishes. She gets him to admit that he wishes to stop seeing spirits. She says she will grant the wish once he has paid her by working in her shop doing chores and cooking. Thus starts their relationship which is the basis for the episodes of the series.

I enjoyed it, but was also annoyed by all the yelling and whining that Watanuki does. That gets very old very fast. The plots of the first 4 episodes were not that involved. Overall I think this is a series geared more for teen girls. I really like the opening theme and will be looking to get a copy of that.

Attracted by the product description and being a fan of anime I decided to order Holic: First collection.

First of all, and like many other examples around, this collection contains only 4 episodes, with the complete season already aired and the second one currently showing in Japan you would expect a set containing the complete season 1. Instead, this release shows to be another attempt to sell separate groups of chapters rather than selling a complete set at a more reasonable price (which will surely be released after all the collections are available)

The story is about a kid cursed to have spirits not visible to others attracted to him, one day he stops by a shop where a mysterious character named Yuko offers him to get rid of his curse, in exchange, he will have to work for her. The first episode was slow-paced and kind of boring, once it's been established which course the series will follow I found the following chapters to be entertaining, I particularly liked the story about the girl with the "bad habit". Among the extras there is a trailer for the movie and the rest of the volumes, the glimpses of the following chapters look promising. Being from the same creators (Clamp), in the following episodes characters from other anime series make special appearances (i.e. characters from Cardcaptor Sakura and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle), so if you've seen those other series you know what to expect from "Holic"

There were two things I didn't like: one was the character designs; this is the type of anime in which according to the character's expressions or feelings their drawing will change style to reflect that; the other thing I thought could have been better is the animation, while not bad, it is not too well elaborated; for example, everytime a character walks on the street all the people around him are gray silhouettes, at first I thought it was an artistic choice to reflect something but being this a constant in all episodes I assumed it was not, this type of things make the animation look cheap.

Extras include an image gallery with screenshots from the show (not even concept art or the like), the Intro and Outro songs from the show without the credits and trailers from other DVDs from Funimation.

When I ordered this product through the Amazon Vine program, I knew very little about it -- only the copy from the DVD case, which was pretty vague. However, when one of my students saw the DVD on my desk, she got very excited. Apparently, xxxHOLIC is one of her favorite manga. This made me even more curious to see what it was about.

xxxHOLIC is the story of Watanuki, who sees spirits. When he meets Yuko, she offers to take away the burden these spirits create -- for a price. Watanuki must work for Yuko in order to receive his reward, and his employment puts him in a variety of strange situations, most of them involving the paranormal.

The stories here are interesting, and ultimately what glued me to my seat through all four episodes. Yuko is a fascinating character with a fantastic wardrobe. Watanuki, unfortunately, was a bit too high-strung and annoying for my taste, but I was able to work past that and enjoy the show. Overall, I'm intrigued enough to want to see the rest of the series, but only if they fall into my lap like the first collection did; I don't see myself seeking them out.

I have been waiting 4 this series 2 get DUBBED for a few years now. As soon as i saw CLAMP attached to this i knew it was going to be amazing. CLAMP always churns out the HITS. These characters were also apart of the Tsubasa world and vice versa. Makona from Magic Knight Rayearth is also in this series as well. I'm glad to see that it's finally released in the states and can't wait to finish season 1. The male voice characters dubbing was a bit annoying at 1st when he yells but just let it settle in after the 1st episode and you will find that his yelling is part of the allure and actually gives Watanuki more character besides it helps to add to the comedic atmosphere. I'm already beyond addicted as i saw the movie before the series and hope that season 2 makes it state side as well. Of course this and Tsubasa are on 2 different levels. One series is about people with magical mutant like powers and this one isn't so much so. The story is about a boy name Watanuki who sees spirits in his everyday life, spirits that haunt and torture him but he doesn't know why and nobody else can see them but him. One day on his way home he passes by a shop that grants wishes and by some force of nature he is pulled into the shop not willingly but by some magical force. He meets Yuko and she offers to grant him a wish but she only grants it if he submits payment and payment is that he becomes her employee does housekeeping choirs etc. In each episode there is someone who has a wish that needs to be granted and it only gets interesting. Hopefully more will be explained soon. But i heard CLAMP wasn't impressed with this series so season 3 might not be happening. As for Tsubasa we all know the production company messed that series up and CLAMP decided to pull the plug so we might not even see season 2 here in the US. Great series overall, i just wish the soundtrack for xxxHolic pronounced simply HOLIC with all the X's ignored was produced by Yuki Kajiura who always does a splendid job with her Japanese techno opera.

Since I have read the manga that this anime is directly based on, I had some expectations going in. The anime follows the manga quite closely. It is about a boy, Watanuki Kimihiro, who is plagued with visions of ghosts and spirits. His own two feet drag him into the shop of Yuka, a mysterious witch, who promises to help. In return for her services, Watanuki ends up doing menial chores for her around the shop. This premise sounded like it could be cool, and as I am a huge fan of Clamp (I love Chobits!) I expected more. This volume is more a random series of events wherin our boy helps the witch with some "issues."

If you enjoyed the Manga, xxxHolic the Anime is sure to be pleasing as well. However, I found the manga to be much less objectionable than the Anime. The main character is annoying and he seems to be much more of a whimp than some of Clamp's other protagonists. Plus, Yuka can be a little bit "touchy-feely" with Watanuki. This is kinda creepy. Though he's supposed to be 19, his characterization is much younger (the "boy" description is on target), and she's a grown woman. A little bit of a shota vibe that bothered me.

The twins...they are waaaay over the top and beyond (way, way beyond) cute. I can put up with all of this to a degree, but not all at once, not all in one show. In a book, you can overlook the annoying factor, it's not literally screaming in your ear. On screen...well that's a different matter. The characters that are supposed to intersperse some humor just grate on the nerves. I think this may appeal more to teen fans than adults.

The art work is not some of Clamp's best, but it is still above and beyond some other production companies. Overall, this anime is okay, but there are much better choices for spending my hard-earned money on. If you like Clamp - buy Chobits instead.

I had some serious 1980's flashbacks going on as I watched this. Some reviewers have said that this series is about a boy who is plagued by contact with the spirit world, but unfortunately that's just the setup to introduce Watanuki to Yuko, who is a sort of Morticia Adams meets Yoda meets the master from Kung Fu or the Karate Kid. She dispenses worldly wisdom from her "wish shop" in exchange for payment that isn't very clear up front, but in Watanuki's case consist of his watch and his part-time services as a chef and personal shopper (don't be surprised if you find yourself thinking "wax on/wax off" when you see Watanuki' attempts in the kitchen). Watanuki yells and whines almost constantly (showing bizarrely shark-like teeth in the process), while Yuko smokes, calls for more sake, and slinks around in lingerie. Throw in a Pokémon-type one-eyed stuffed bunny thing that jumps up and down and demands food constantly, two annoying little girls, who don't do much other than shout, giggle and refer to Yuko as their mistress, a possible love interest and a rival for Watanuki, and you've got -- wacky wisdom!

It's hard to say exactly who the intended audience for this program is. My first thought on watching it was that it's very similar to the cartoons my preteen nieces and nephew watch on television. Only those don't have a lead character that smokes and drinks sake to excess. And the xxx in the title, though not pronounced, might lead one to believe this is anime for adults. But the messages in the episodes are definitely not for grown-ups -- we have only one past, there are many possible futures, you have to learn your own lessons, etc., so I'd say this DVD is best for teens who are kind of into goth and anime and haven't seen and heard all these new-age messages before. If I were that age, I'd probably think this was pretty cool, but as an adult my response to it was just lukewarm.

I'm pretty hard to please when it comes to anime DVDs, but I try to keep an open mind and am always willing to try out new series. Sometimes that pays off (I never would have discovered Escaflowne otherwise) and other times I wish I hadn't bothered. Unfortunately xxxHolic, the latest Clamp series falls into the latter category.

The Story: Our protagonist Watanuki is a high school student (big surprise, right) who is cursed to see dark spirits everywhere. One day while fleeing the sprits he encounters a strange shop run by the mysterious witch Yuko, who is able to help him with his problem. In return she enlists his aid at the shop, where all manner of supernatural problems are dealt with.

This is an interesting enough concept, and if handled well it could have worked. Unfortunately the things I find most annoying in an anime are all present here - super-exaggerated facial expressions, cutesy pets, high school drama, and weird child characters. I never quite get Japanese humor, and this verges on slapstick at times, taking what might otherwise have been a promising series and making it unwatchable.

Character Design/Animation: This is your typical Clamp fare, which means very stylized characters, but not much else. Anime is such a visual medium, so it's frustrating when so little apparent effort is made to make this series look good.

Contents: This DVD contains the first four episodes in the series.

DVD Extras: This is pretty much a bare bones release as far as special features go. You get an image gallery, trailers, and textless songs.

The Verdict: Unless you really love - and I mean love - that quirky Japanese humor, super-exaggerated facial expressions, etc., you'll want to avoid this one.

xxxHOLiC: First Collection

I love the xxxHolic book series, which can best be described as philosophical anime with a dash of high school angst and the supernatural. I think most people who are drawn to this TV version will be fans of the books xxxHOLiC, Volume 1. While I still like the writing that has made its way to the show, not all hard-core fans will be pleased with the DVD version.

The Story

Our main character Watanuki can see spirits, who seem to be drawn to him. He stumbles upon Yuko, who seems to already know his problem and is willing to solve it for a price. Yuko's ability to grant wishes is reminiscent of many stories about the devil, who always has a price. Watanuki's price is that he becomes her servant, and a series of adventures ensue.

Like all high school boys, Watanuki has a crush, Himawara, and a nemesis, Doumeki. In an ironic twist, he is forced to join with both of them to complete his tasks.

Once again, hard-core fans will already be familiar with the basic story.

The Good

The writing includes a lot of riddles and philosophical dialogue to make you think. So in that sense this is a thought provoking anime. Still, there's a lot of childish elements too, including the two girl helpers and the talking doll which I personally might have toned down. In that sense, this anime can appeal to younger and older fans alike.

Still the core elements of the books are here. That includes some beautiful character silhouettes and beautifully done art sequences for the opening.

There are some funny and clever double entendres here, one in particular to open the second episode. In that sense, this anime is perhaps more engaging than many others. Still, the high school themes highlight the fact that just like most anime this one is geared towards kids too. Precocious kids, but kids nonetheless.

While the first episode is somewhat light, laying the foundation, the other three get progressively better.

The Bad

The first negative I have to note isn't about the episodes but rather the extremely small amount of content on this disk. These episodes are meant to last 30 minutes with commercials, making the DVD versions about 20 minutes. I just feel that they could have either included more episodes or priced these better.

There are no real special features to think of either. The disk includes some images and the opening and closing themes to the show without the credits. They are both catchy Japanese pop, but I have a feeling that most Japanese people would not consider these the best music they have to offer.

Another thing I was not happy with, which I noticed on another Clamp release as well, is the lack of Japanese character subtitles. I find original character subtitles helpful in deciphering some questionable translations.

I also like to read subtitles even with the English dub just to make sure I catch everything. Strangely, the English subtitles are only activated when Japanese is spoken, which isn't very useful. In order to access subtitles, you have to choose the Japanese option and then the English subtitles come up. I personally always like to see subtitles even with voice-overs.

Comparing the japanese translations to the voice over dialogue reveals some interesting variances and some cultural differences that were certainly lost in translation.

As far as the animation goes, like I said I love the opening sequence and several elements. But they seem to have done too many direct transfers from the book series, which sometimes leads to two-dimensional images of characters. While some characters, particularly Yuko, always seem to be animated with great detail, Watanuki looks like more time could have been spent enhancing his character for the screen.

Conclusion

I think the starter set is a better value than the first collection, because at least you get a box to hold the disks xxxHOLiC: Starter Set. No doubt, if you're a hard-core fan of Holic, you will be buying all the coming collections anyway. The second collection is soon to be released in May and the third collection is due in June. While I think this series is cool and will still please many hard core fans, it may only appeal to a small audience beyond those core fans.

Enjoy!