xxxHOLiC, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

CLAMP (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: April 27, 2004

Watanuki Kimihiro is haunted by visions of ghosts and spirits. Seemingly by chance, he encounters a mysterious witch named Yuuko, who claims she can help. In desperation, he accepts, but realizes that he’s just been tricked into working for Yuuko in order to pay off the cost of her services. Soon he’s employed in her little shop—a job which turns out to be nothing like his previous work experience!

Most of Yuuko’s customers live in Japan, but Yuuko and Watanuki are about to have some unusual visitors named Sakura and Syaoran from a land called Clow. . . .

XXXHolic volume one crosses over with Tsubasa volume one!
Don’t miss it!

Includes special extras after the story!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although it contains many familiar manga elements, this tale's goth sensibilities, stunning art and nonstop philosophizing sets it apart. Watanuki Kimiharo appears to be an ordinary guy, but he's able to see spirits, who are following him around and causing trouble. One day Watanuki finds himself unwillingly drawn to the shop of Yuko, a beautiful witch. She helps him, but there's a price: he must become her servant. As things progress, Yuko extracts bargains from other damned souls, such as a woman whose constant lying is symbolized by a cloud of black smoke around her, and Hana Hana, an Internet addict whose attempts to ditch the monkey on her back may resonate with many readers. Throughout, Yuko expounds endlessly on fate, predetermination and self-control. Created by Clamp, the all-female artists' collective behind the hit Chobits, this work avoids the more obvious sexual aspects of Watanuki's situation, instead plunging readers into an Edgar Allen Poe-esque world of melting candles, castles beyond time and doomed protagonists. Although the story can be garbled, the art is exquisite, possessing a stunning Pre-Raphaelite sensibility. This book should greatly appeal to teens, especially those with a goth bent.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (April 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345470583
• ISBN-13: 978-0345470584
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clamp, stylized as CLAMP, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader Nanase Ohkawa, who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively, and three artists whose roles shift for each series: Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi. Almost 100 million Clamp tankōbon copies have been sold worldwide as of October 2007.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars CLAMP "Trick" Works! June 6, 2005

By AstroNerdBoy

Format:Paperback

Ordinarily "xxxHolic" is a title I would have passed over despite being done by the four-woman manga-ka known as CLAMP. Del Rey's superior translation work would be a winning vote, but only if I were desperate for some manga to read. However, I had purchased CLAMP's other title which just happens to be running concurrently with "xxxHolic" AND be published in English by Del Rey -- "Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-". I had purchased that because the lead characters were from "Cardcaptor Sakura" and I love that series. However, CLAMP made sure that "xxxHolic" and "Tsubasa" were linked via the space-time witch Yuuko. I found her so interesting in "Tsubasa" that I quickly went out and purchased this first volume of "xxxHolic". It was a good purchase.

Volume 1 covers the first seven chapters of the manga. We are introduced to Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school boy who's being hounded by "spirits". Through no act of chance, he comes upon the house of one Yuuko Ichihara, a powerful magic user who sells wishes for a price. She was a companion of Clow Reed ("Cardcaptor Sakura") and knows a great deal. She also has two small children in her care named Maru and Moro. In exchange for helping Watanuki, Yuuko makes him work for her until he's earned enough credit to pay her fee.

The manga covers two stories dealing with two customers of Yuuko's. One has a problem telling lies and it is affecting her life greatly, though this woman is unaware of it. The other tells of a woman's addiction to the Internet, especially chat rooms and message boards. Through these two stories, Yuuko appears to be teaching Watanuki, but what she's preparing him for is unknown. The manga ends with Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun from "Tsubasa" arriving from another dimension seeking Yuuko's help.

I found this first volume very facinating. Yuuko is such a great character -- fun and manipulative. Watanuki is a complainer, but as Yuuko says, he's a good worker and doesn't get on one's nerves. I liked the hint of romance as Watanuki has a crush on the cute Himawari-chan and she appears to at least like him a bit. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Del Rey gets MUCH love with their use of Japanese honorifics in the text. They get MORE love with the inclusion of translator notes and notes informing the reader of references to other CLAMP titles. Del Rey's work in the manga buisiness is impressive to say the least and makes my purchasing this manga VERY easy. Thanks Del Rey!

Bottom line: If you started reading "Tsubasa" by CLAMP, you are going to want to check out this title. If you liked Seto-sama from "Tenchi Muyo! GXP" or "Tenchi Muyo! OAV 3", you'll love Yuuko-san! If you are a CLAMP fan, you are going to like thier latest venture. And if you like an interesting, fun manga, you are going to like "xxxHolic".

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "Hitsuzen" October 23, 2004

By Thomas Lent

Format:Paperback

"A naturally fore-ordained event. A state in which other outcomes are impossible...."

Such is the wisdom of Yuko, the female lead of this series. I was drawn to this book by the look on her face on the cover artwork. To me the look in her eyes was a glare as if to say "I dare you to guess how old I am and all that I've seen." The story places her in the position of mentor for the spiritual newbie Watanuki Kimihiro, a guy who seems to be carrying a cursed ability to see spirits.

While there doesn't seem to be any single cohesive story yet, the random encounters and episodal nature still pulls me in to the characters' lives. Many scenes play out as an educational process for Watanuki. The events revolve around the spiritual nature of habits, desires, and the Yin-Yan nature of granting wishes. Many things that would appear iconographic or symbolic become incarnate and wield real power in the hands of Yuko.

I found the TsubasaRC crossover a little distracting to the flow of the story as it was presented a bit more abruptly than the other encounters. Then I decided to buy TsubasaRC vol-1 to see what was going on. I probably wouldn't have been interested in TRC otherwise. But by now, I've bit the baited hook. The combination of the parallel yet individual story lines, Japanese mysticism and an almost metaphysical nature with a twist of String Theory makes XXXHolic my new addiction.

Clamp does it again...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Kinda chaotic... Just the way I like it! May 1, 2004

By Litwolf

Format:Paperback

A great manga with humor but no set plot.

Watanuki Kimihiro has been haunted by ghosts and spirits all his life. While on a walk, he is pulled mysteriously to a strange house. There he meets a witch named Yuko. She says she can make his wish come true (make the ghosts and spirits leave him alone) if he gives up something of great value to her. And that is how Watanuki ends up working at Yuko's shop. Everything's normal for a while, people come in and get their wishes granted, or sometimes they get advice. It seems that Watanuki will be able to pay off his debt in no time... that is, until he gets an omen that speaks of people from another dimension coming to theirs and they actually do.

This series crosses-over with another series called Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE. This is a really good series so far, with lots of humor and all, but I do hope a plot appears soon.