xxxHOLiC Rou

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: xxxHOLiC Rou: Adayume

Japanese: xxxHOLiC 籠

Information

Type: OVA

Episodes: 2

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 23, 2010 to Mar 9, 2011

Producers: Kodansha

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: Production I.G

Source: Manga

Genres: Drama, Mystery, Supernatural

Demographic: Seinen

Duration: 34 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 8.19¹ (scored by 32,365 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #380²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #2599

Members: 69,663

Favorites: 186

Available At

Official Site

Resources

AniDB

ANN

Synopsis

Ten years after the events of xxxHOLiC Shunmuki, a melancholic Kimihiro Watanuki has taken over the shop formerly run by the mysterious Yuuko due to a promise he made to her. His companions Maru, Moro, and Mokona live together with him in relative contentment, and some familiar faces arrive every now and then: former rival turned-steadfast friend Shizuka Doumeki, and the former psychic prodigy Kohane Tsuyuri. While Kohane studies folklore under Doumeki at university, they encounter a case that is perfect for the master of the shop.

Eventually, Watanuki receives a visit from Doumeki's grandfather, Haruka. He requests that Watanuki investigates his grandson's dreams. While inside the dream world, he discovers how their past adventures played out from Doumeki's perspective of view, leading Watanuki to discover truths from 10 years ago and secrets about the ties that bind their friendship.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Bundled with the limited editions of the 17th and 19th volumes of the xxxHOLiC manga.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	xxxHOLiC
Prequel:	xxxHOLiC Shunmuki

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Watanuki, Kimihiro

Main

Fukuyama, Jun
Japanese

Doumeki, Shizuka

Main

Nakai, Kazuya
Japanese

Tsuyuri, Kohane

Main

Hidaka, Rina
Japanese

Ichihara, Yuuko

Supporting

Ohara, Sayaka
Japanese

Modoki, Mokona

Supporting

Kikuchi, Mika
Japanese

Kunogi, Himawari

Supporting

Itou, Shizuka
Japanese

Maru

Supporting

Kojima, Kazuko
Japanese

Doumeki, Haruka

Supporting

Nakai, Kazuya
Japanese

Moro

Supporting

Mochizuki, Hisayo
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Kawaguchi, Tooru

Producer

Mizushima, Tsutomu

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Wakabayashi, Kazuhiro

Sound Director

Hiiro, Yukina

Episode Director, Storyboard

Edit

Opening Theme

"Adayume" by Shikao Suga (eps 2)

Edit

Ending Theme

	1: "Kaza Nagi" by Shikao Suga (eps 1)
	2: "Gomen ne" by Tiara (eps 2)

Reviews

May 5, 2010

8thSin

Recommended

OVA "xxxHOLiC Rou" is set 10 years after Watanuki's part-timer years in the anime series.

The story begins with Ghibli-evil-assimilation-like disappearance of Yuuko, whether a dream or reminiscence, we are not certain. Watanuki makes a promise that he will wait for her return, and that he believes dream will come true as long as he believes in it. Watanuki was the new master at the 'shop' when he opens his eyes. No longer a jumpy and clumsy high school kid, Watanuki has an air of authority and confidence. However, there's the same care-free atmosphere in the 'shop' with Maru, Moro, and Mokona running around the house, ... and his role as the cook has not changed. Doumeki is now an assistant professor at nearby university, but runs errands and goes on missions on behalf of the 'shop' (like Watanuki in his high school days), but still shows Watanuki no respect. From what I've read in Japanese blogs, the setting is similar to manga, except more time has passed. The story in "xxxHOLiC Rou" is about a request for a mission brought by Doumeki to find a hidden relic in an old mansion.

Animation has not improved much from the previous OVA, but character proportions are much more realistic compared to "Kei", and much easier on my eyes. Music was very nice, and effectively used to create the eerie and suspenseful mood in certain scenes. Voice acting, once again, is very well done. Although the technical aspects of this OVA definitely lacked the wow-factor, it was incredibly well-directed. The pace and the setting was clearly established in about 10 minutes, and the plot flowed wonderfully to the very end. A number of poignant moments between Watanuki and Doumeki are abruptly interrupted by Mokona or Maru/Moko, which carries the thought to the ending, which was an 'interpret-by-yourself' conclusion. The OVA had a true Japanese cinema feel with excellent use of silence and pauses, as well as effective utilization of camera footage taken by Doumeki and viewing by Watanuki to advance the story.

I have not been following the manga series, but the setting of "xxxHOLiC Rou" was very easy to follow (although it raises a lot of questions to Yuuko's disappearance and what happened in the last 10 years). The mission this time is an unremarkable one, but it's themed around Yuuko's return, and a showcase of 'how the ship is ran' by Watanuki's as the 'shop' master. Once again, there is a lot of Japanese mythical references that were very interesting if you're into that stuff. The characters weren't given much space for development in the actual show, but it is rather a display of how the characters had developed in the 10 years without Yuuko. Character depiction was done exceptionally well as a half-feature-length-OVA.

Unlike the previous disappointing OVA "Shunmuki", "xxxHOLiC Rou" is nearly a flawless episode that uses the 40-minute run time very efficiently and a story well told. It doesn't necessarily bring a closure to the "xxxHOLiC" series or the "Rou" story arc, but I personally think it would serve as an excellent precursor and intro for another season of "xxxHOLiC" series since it really stirred my curiosity to events transpired in 10 years, and made me crave for more.
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The second OVA episode is titled 'Adayume' (Empty Dream). This time, the mission is brought in Watanuki's dream by Doumeki's grandfather Haruka, who appeared in 'xxxHOLiC Shunmuki' OVA. The premise is still the same as the previous episode, most of the play duration takes place in the dream that Haruka wants Watanuki to change, and follows a series of past events from Doumeki's perspective. Once again, it's pretty heavy on folklore with references to Baku, the dream eater, and Houjou Masako, who is said to have purchased her sister's dream to become the shogun's wife (her sister could not interpret the dream).

The second episode felt a bit lacking, both in length and depth to the story, but it has some nostalgia value in revisiting past events. There is also an upcoming conflict foreshadowed by Yuuko, so perhaps there will be more episodes. 'Adayume' have only added more questions what happened in 10 years' time. It'll be interesting to see how everything will be summed up.

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Nov 14, 2010

kingdomclow

Recommended

So my format I set this out in is that if I skip a line, that means its a new paragraph. If I have a new line, its the same topic; just a different point.

and.....I might include spoilers without me knowing it so.....As a precaution, I'll apologise now.

So the story takes place 10 years after yuko's 'death' or 'disappearance' and it show how much the characters have changed. Hiwamari is married, doumeki is a professor and kohane is a student in the same university.This setting is the same as the manga yet the story is well, a side story since there isn't anything like this ...

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Jul 27, 2010

vongolaxsora

Recommended

Preliminary (1/2 eps)

xxxholic Rou
this sequel show us what happens after yuuko disappear for some unknown reason, and also give us a new prospective of how things are now that she is gone and watanuki who takes over the shop, as he seems more matured and focused on what he does this anime in particular is without a doubt a masterpiece which give us a piece of what one should pay for what one wants and also show that if u believe in that illusion of yours it may be able to come true and also that "there are no such things as coincidence in this ...

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Recent News

Second OVA of xxxHOLiC Rou Announced

The second OVA of xxxHOLiC Rou was announced in the short anime DVD distributed to those who enrolled in Kodansha's special campaign. The OVA will be released i...read more

Aug 28, 2010 9:07 AM by dtshyk | Discuss (46 comments)

New OVA of xxxHOLiC Announced

According to the official website, a new OVA of "xxxHOLiC" was announced. It will be bundled with the volume 16 of the manga. Director Mizushima Tsutomu an...read more

Jun 23, 2009 6:25 AM by dtshyk | Discuss (88 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Status poll about XxxHOLiC: Rou Episode 1 KingSunWukong - Dec 15, 2023	0 replies	by KingSunWukong »» Dec 15, 2023 6:29 PM
Poll: xxxHOLiC Rou Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) minimiau - May 9, 2010	100 replies	by KingSunWukong »» Nov 6, 2023 6:00 PM
Did the Anime adapt all the manga? MoonPhos - Aug 10, 2019	6 replies	by MoonPhos »» Aug 7, 2023 3:41 PM
Poll: xxxHOLiC Rou Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) tsubasalover - Mar 11, 2011	92 replies	by Niveen_Sleem »» Oct 25, 2022 2:00 PM
Watanuki in blood-c the last dark (2012) movie 14theparadox - Feb 11, 2018	1 replies	by nahnah07 »» May 19, 2019 5:10 AM

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xxxHOLiC Rou

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Characters & Voice Actors

Watanuki, Kimihiro

Doumeki, Shizuka

Tsuyuri, Kohane

Ichihara, Yuuko

Modoki, Mokona

Kunogi, Himawari

Maru

Doumeki, Haruka

Moro

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xxxHOLiC Rou

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Information

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Characters & Voice Actors

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Ending Theme

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