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xxxHOLIC - Manatsu no Yoru no Yume is mystery, horror, fantasy movie of the series xxxHOLIC. This movie does not follow the storyline of the series, which is to say it also does not have ties to the story in the manga. I would suggest watching the first season of xxxHOLIC before watching this.

It starts with Yuko receiving an invitation stating that her 'collection' is incomplete and is inviting her to an auction at his house. This story is something we've all probably seen before. Main character gets invited to creepy old house, weird things happen, they solve a mystery, the end. Even with a ... common plot, it's still a good story. They keep a fair amount of mystery and there are scenes that make your heart skip a beat.

The characters aren't something new. We have the same main characters, Yuko, Doumeki and Watanuki. One thing worth mentioning is the crossover scene at the end. This movie crosses over with Tsubasa Chronicle: Tori Kago no Kuni no Himegimi.

The sound is something I would expect out of a Final Fantasy game. It has that mysterious tune that helps build up the climax and is perfect for this movie's theme. Once again, Shikao Suga does a great job with the ending song.

The animation is, as expected of Production I.G., superb. The animation is smooth, their movements precise and has great quality. The details were really improved. I liked the art in the xxxHOLIC series, but this is a step up from that. You will also notice that Watanuki is also more flexible, thus being able to perform more of his weird movements, which we all enjoy.

-This is my first review so please bear with me-

School Days is an anime which is based on a visual novel by 0verflow and is infamous for it's tragic endings. When I watched the ending of the anime, and I'm guessing a lot of people also did this, I laughed. Not a amused laugh, more like a crazy, evil laugh. That is how messed up the ending was.

Anyway....on with the review.

The story is about a trio of friends, Makoto, Sekai and Kotonoha. Makoto appears to be a normal high school boy. He has a crush on the girl he rides the train to school with ... and one day decides to take a picture of her, believing in the "Cellphone Charm", which states that if you take a picture of someone you like and nobody finds out, then you will be together with that person. Makoto's new seat mate, Sekai, see the picture and decides to help Makoto. She introduces him to Kotonoha, and continues to support him, but soon she starts to develop feelings towards Makoto as well.

One of this anime's biggest flaws is it's characters, and more specifically, Makoto. He is like poison in that he hurts everyone who gets involved with him and he, most of the time, doesn't even care. He is apparently popular with the females and I don't see a reason why. He's worthless, uncaring, perverted and other things. To quote some guy who commented on some site, "Makoto just wants more sex." The two female leads are the only ones who make this anime worth watching.

The ending was satisfying. In this anime, there is divine retribution. "You reap what you sow". Throughout the series, you can see whats coming and it will eventually come. It is a disturbing ending, and does not seem to be the ending of an anime with the title "School Days". The last part, however, creeped me out a bit.

In the end, everyone gets what they deserve. It's KARMA. This anime really shows how relationships can mess up your mental state and that the heart is really fragile. School Days hides under the guise of innocence and eventually shows it's true nature. It is a very interesting anime in that I've never seen an anime like this, but be prepared when you watch it.