xxxHOLiC

Synopsis:

Watanuki may seem like your average everyday high school student however, he has a slight problem. He is able to see spirits and because of this they usually have a strong attraction to him, constantly bothering poor Watanuki making each day a chore just to get through. On his way home from school while being pestered by yet another spirit, Watanuki comes across a strange house and upon closer inspection, the spirits that were bothering him disappear. Curious, he decides to inspect house and is greeted by the mysteriously sexy Yuko and she explains that this is her shop and she can grant any wish... for payment. Yuko tells Watanuki that she can rid him of the spirits that plague his existence but in exchange she wants something of equal value and tells him that he must become her part-time employee performing all sorts of odd jobs from cooking, cleaning, running errands, and... banish the occasional spirit. Before Watanuki realizes what he will be getting himself into he regrettably... agrees.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 24


Review:

xxxHOLiC is a supernatural anime that prides itself on being extremely bizarre, not just in terms of story but it's odd form of animation. While watching xxxHOLiC I was thinking to myself "So this is what anime looks like if I was trippin' on doobies." However, for me, this wasn't enough to keep this series from coming across as a bit bland in terms of story. Almost every episode was self-contained where you'll follow Watanuki as he is sent on some odd job and accompanied by either Yuko herself or by his emotionless rival Domeki as they set off to grant some wish or look into disturbances in the neighborhood. This is where I have to give the show some credit for it's characterization as Yuko is a tall, slender, extremely sexy woman that exudes an aura mystery but yet will catch you off guard sometimes with her unexpected child-like behavior. Then there is Domeki, the completely emotionless, stedfast guy with his mono-tone style of speech that always has you wondering just what is going through this guys head but at the same time might have you laughing at his complete lack of any emotion to anything he says or does. Unfortunately, two great characters can't carry the story as I found the supernatural and psychological elements somewhat lacking and uninteresting save for a few episodes that really stood out and listening to Watanuki yell and bitch 50% of the time, didn't help.

Let me sum it up like this, it's a good show but not one that should be taken in large doses. A plot that can go from interesting one moment to yawn-inducing the next, a strange cast of characters that range from remarkably original to just plain annoying as hell and put with head-tripping animation... xxxHOLiC is a show that demands attention, just not all at once.

xxxHOLiC (opening)

Recommendation: |Average|