Alternative TitlesJapanese: XXX ホリック
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 24
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 7, 2006 to Sep 29, 2006
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.241 (scored by 32268 users)
Ranked: #2422
Popularity: #101
Members: 63,207
Favorites: 1,695 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
clamp comedy fantasy mystery supernatural |
SynopsisWatanuki Kimihiro can see spirits and other assorted supernatural creatures, which is quite a bothersome ability he strongly dislikes. On the way home one day, while plagued by some spirits, he is inexplicably compelled to enter a strange house. There, he encounters Yuuko, a mysterious woman who claims to be able to rid him of the ability to see and attract the troublesome creatures – for a price. She demands that he work at her “store” that grants wishes to people, and thus begins Watanuki's adventures through weird and wonderful events.
[Written by MAL Rewrite] |
Related AnimeAdaptation: xxxHOLiC, xxxHOLiC: AnotherHOLiC
Side story: xxxHOLiC: Manatsu no Yoru no Yume
Sequel: xxxHOLiC Kei
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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templar132
69 of 91 people found this review helpful
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24 of 24 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Prepare to be taken on a tour de force through the world of the supernatural. Or maybe just a regular tour. I wouldn't know. Having only recently experienced the genre of "supernatural" anime, xxxHOLiC (hereby referred to as simply "Holic") was a breath of fresh air from my usual action/fantasy fare.
The story behind Holic is intriguing and interesting, revolving around spirits, ghosts, and the very strange. Geared towards an older and more sophisticated audience, there's little action, but loads of thought-provoking and amazingly insightful dialogue. Holic is the kind of anime that gets your mind pumping about topics such as fate, destiny, and one's purpose in life. Plus, there's a side to it that makes statements about how people live and society in general. Not to mention that it's educational as well. Holic offers an insight into a part of Japanese culture that most people rarely see.
Concerning the plot, however, Holic is another anime that is driven by episodic events. There seems to be no real overall direction for the story. Normally, this would leave me feeling slightly cheated and unsatisfied, but after surviving through the likes of Ouran and the Wallflower, I've come to accept that the episodic plot system is a genre on its own and it's here to stay.
Unfortunately, a plot that doesn't know where it's going hurts any character development. The characters are well made, with their own distinct personalities, but stay relatively the same throughout the course of the plot. No one shows very much significant growth. Granted, everyone is wiser and better, having learned the lessons distributed throughout 24 episodes of madness. Perhaps that's the elusive character growth that I've been looking for?
In terms of artwork, the artistic foundations were laid down in the manga by the increasingly popular mangaka group CLAMP. And they've done a very good job. Yuuko's wardrobe is definitely something to pay attention to (ahem), and though everyone has ridiculously long arms, legs, and necks, it actually provides a sense of levity in a serious setting (that, and the alcoholism). Alas, there's a slight issue with the fact that only the characters important to the plot are actually drawn in. Any bodies that are only required to be "fillers" (like a bunch of random people at a supermarket) are not colored and lack faces. In my opinion, it has symbolic meaning, but it could also be attributed to pure laziness. Dunno which to choose.
Oh, and speaking of laziness, the sound was great. Loved the opening theme, but didn't really pay attention to the background music. Voice-acting was top notch, especially with all the high pitched and slightly unique voices coming from characters like Mokona, Maru, and Moro. That is all.
In the enjoyment section: I finished Holic in the space of a week, and indeed, I was completely hooked. I savored every bit of supernatural strangeness, and I'll be looking for more with the second season.
Finally, Holic certainly isn't unique, for there seems to be an ever-growing list of anime that deal with the supernatural, the occult, and just really weird stuff in general. But as a starter series for the newly-converted, it's definitely worth watching. read more
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jet2r0cks
111 of 146 people found this review helpful
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24 of 24 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Funny, creepy, dark, interesting and clever. Those would be the words that could describe this anime.
It’s funny – thanks to Watanuki’s wild antics as well as Mokona’s drunkenness. Creepy – mostly because it scared the heck out of me sometimes (especially episode 10, 12 and 24). Dark, because it presents the world in a way that people rarely see. It’s interesting – you get hooked into it and you actually become an xxxHOLIC-holic. Finally, it’s clever because it doesn’t take the viewers for fools.
The characters are just great. Doumeki and Watanuki are yin and yang. They always seem to have this love-hate comedy routine wherein Doumeki says one thing then it annoys Watanuki right off the bat, then Himawari comments on how close they are. I also like Yuuko. I am always amazed by her wisdom and how she takes on her job. I think the concept of just compensation in something other than money is very clever. I like her here more, instead of the Yuuko from TRC. The black Mokona cracks me up as well even though I’m a tad bothered that he’s not as well mannered as the white Mokona.
Production IG’s work was a bit interesting. The visuals seemed off to me sometimes, but there’s something about it that keeps me watching. I didn’t like the colors though, since most of it was concentrated on the main characters/elements. The background elements seemed a bit dull sometimes. I did like the demon parade episode, because the scenes were more vivid than usual. As expected of CLAMP, the characters have slightly deformed body types and tall and stringy characters. I guess it’s what separates them from others.
I’m not familiar too with the three main seiyuu, but I think they did a splendid job. Jun Fukuyama was very entertaining as Watanuki. Sayaka Ohara’s mature, sultry and womanly voice fit Yuuko’s personality really well and Kazuya Nakai’s voice was also well suited to Doumeki’s character. Of course, Mika Kikuchi was very entertaining as Mokona as well.
The music was very much like the plot – a bit dark, but contemporary. I like the catchy opening theme (19sai), the cutesy first ending theme (Reason), and the j-rock second ending theme (Kagerou). The BGM really helped in making things a lot more creepier too.
I’m really glad that I found the time to watch the series. I have to say that this is my favorite CLAMP series by far – mostly because the CLAMP series I’ve seen haven’t impressed me as much as xxxHOLIC. I’ll end this review with Yuuko’s words that resonated throughout the series – There is no such thing as coincidence in this world. There is only the inevitable. read more
Recommendations
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Same basic idea - a guy that can see the supernatural. Natsume Yuujinchou is little more touching and lighter, while xxxHolic is a bit funnier.
Both are about ayakashi and yokai, share a bit of story and they both have a Zashiki-Warashi in it. xxxHolic is pretty dark, while Natsume Yuujinchou is lighter and uses more colours.
The character of Watanuki (xxxHolic) is very similar to Natsume (Natsume Yuujinchou). Even though the stories of the two series are different except for the boy-who-can-see-spirits thing, the "feel" is the same. Also, Nyan-ko sensei is kinda like a cross between kuro-Mokona and the Kudakitsune.
Both series start out very similarly, both of the main characters are being chased by spirits which only they can see. Both are fairly episodic though xxxHOLiC definitely links more episodes together.
Both main characters are the only one's in the story that can see spirits. They also share the same sense of loneliness that comes with it. There's a few episodes in both Natsume Yuujinchou & xxxHolic that go into true detail about their feelings of being alone. It's drama unlike i've ever seen before, and i love that part about each of these shows, so much. If you've seen one of these shows, then i highly recommend you check out the other.
natsume yuujinchou is a watered-down cross between xxxholic and mushishi
there are some episodes in xxxholic that really remind me of Natsume Yuujinchou
Both series are about an introvert boy trying to deal with seeing spirits.
Well, as already many ppl said:
both series have main character really similar: Watanuki Kimihiro & Natsume Takashi. They are good guys, with a special ability: they are able to see spirits/ghosts/demons.. They also share the 'loneliness' side, b'cuz of their capacity they are usual to be alone.. Maybe watanuki's personality is a bit more 'funny-comic' than that natsume, but anyway they are both real good ppl with a "golden heart" that help others.
About the story, well both stories are really similar b'cuz of the *oriental japanese tradition* in them, about the traditions to believe in something like typical japanese spirits and about all the atmosphere!
The way how both stories are showed, is simply awesome: delicated, sweet and loveable.
About Natsume, the anime it is really full of amazing colors, and also graphic design is exelent^^
Well, from Holic's side, it's an anime from CLAMP so char design is obviously great.
What else i have to say? they are both awesome. Holic is more known than Natsume, so i suggest you: don't lose that gem that NY is! believe me, watch it ;3 they both worth it!^^
Both of these shows feature a leading male character who can see demons/spirits. They both hope to get rid of their ability, but start to realize how useful it is once they start using it. They also start to figure out who they can trust with their secret. Overall, the plot is fairly similar.
Both main character can see spirits, even though both animes are quite different, they both are wonderful o^.^o
about japanese folklore, ayakashi and youkai, art, and a lot of other things
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while the direct links in XXXHOlic have been eliminated, Tsubasa still has reference to XXXHolic itself. many things are brought to light by watching both.
Although XxXholic and Tsubasa Chronicles are different from each other both stories still have character connections meaning that the characters from the anime also make appearances in the other anime and vice versa. Both animes are from CLAMP.
Alternate universe kind of feeling. Yuuko, Watanuki, Black Mokona and White Mokona are there too
The plot of xxxHoLic is not similar to Tsubasa chronicle. However, they share the shame character called Yuuko. In the manga, the plots of xxxHoLic and Tsubasa Chronicle interwine with one another. You'll find it so amazing that the items from xxxHoLic is often used to trade with the characters in Tsubasa Chronicle to help Syaoran and his group for the search of Sakura's feathers.
you'll find the same character in those series. and the story is related. so if you don't watch both of them, you won't understand the next OVA/OAD of those anime.
both of them are made by CLAMP
This 2 animes realise for CLAMP is great and a good story. I find this personnages in Tsubasa and Xxx Holic. This music and generics is beautiful.
When you watch xxxHolic must watch Tsubasa because stories is linked
Both the series are made by clamp and both interwine
The two are remotely related
Tsubasa Chronicle is similar to XXXHolic because Yuko the dimensional witch is the main character. You get to see Sakura and Syaoran occasionally and it lets you into so much more detail about Yuko's powers and things so its defianately similar, you would like it. Tsubasa Chronicles has Yuko in it. So you meet her, and get to wonder about her
holic and tsubasa conected more than once. both have great anime/manga links which are diference with something else
holic and tsubasa are connected together because holic characters show up in tsubasa so i guess if you watch holic you should watch tsubasa too
and after watching both alot of things will become much clearer for both animes
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Opening Theme"19sai" by Shikao Suga
Ending Theme#1: "Reason" by Fonogenico (eps 1-13,24)
#2: "Kagerou" by BUCK-TICK (eps 14-23)
Fansubbing Groups
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