NK: Yep. We're watching it in anime club now.
Ak: Is it good?
NK: I enjoyed it the first time around. Now that I'm rewatching it, I'm noticing some parts are still pretty funny, and others aren't as funny as I remember them.
Ak: But, this is in Japanese, right?
NK: Yeah. The first time I watched it in English, so it's interesting to compare the two.
Ak: Whaddya think of the voices so far?
NK: Hmm...I liked a lot of the English voices better because they brought out more of the character. Yuuko's especially. The lines in the Japanese version seem to be a bit funnier, though.
Ak: Did that change your favorite character?
NK: Nope. I never really had a single favorite character to begin with. The interactions between the characters is better than each character individually. Mokona and Yuuko especially.
Ak: You like the art?
NK: I'm not especially fond of the art. The characters look...strange, to say the least. Even Mokona looks weird when it opens its eyes. Kinda creepy, actually.
Ak: What about the music?
NK: Never really paid attention to the music the first time. It's actually pretty good. I like the theme now that I've listened to it a few times.
Ak: You think I would like it?
NK: Not sure. It has a lot of dark moments amongst the funny ones, being a story about the supernatural and all. Plus, it explains a lot of things in a very strange way that just leaves more questions unanswered. It's still a good series, and even if you watch it for the funny moments, there's enough there to keep you humored.
Ak: Wait, why'd you watch it in the first place? It doesn't sound like something you'd normally watch...
NK: The story's by CLAMP, the same group that did Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. It's a pretty long story as to why I actually started watching it, but I'm sure I'll explain it to you eventually.
Ak: If it's CLAMP, then why doesn't it look the same?
NK: That's because xxxHolic has a different artist, even though it's the same group of people. The interesting thing is that there are a lot of objects littered throughout Yuuko's shop from other CLAMP series. Fai's staff makes an appearance, and I believe you see Kinomoto Sakura's staff at one point as well. The headphones Watanuki uses in episode 3 should also look quite familiar to CLAMP fans.
Ak: Should I watch those other series then?
NK: You don't have to, though technically xxxHolic runs parallel to Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. It never directly references TRC, though. Just a few random objects here and there.
Ak: Where do you rank it? Is it your favorite?
NK: Not by a long shot. I enjoyed it, but not on the level of a 9 or a 10. It's one of those good-not-great series. Some people will like it, some people won't. I'm one of the ones that does like it.
