XxxHolic

Infobox animanga/Header
name = xxxHolic


caption = "xxxHolic" logo
ja_name = ×××ホリック
ja_name_trans = Horikku
genre = Supernatural, ComedyInfobox animanga/Manga
author = Clamp
publisher = flagicon|Japan Kodansha
publisher_en = flagicon|United Kingdom Tanoshimi
flagicon|United States Del Rey Manga
publisher_other = flagicon|Brazil Editora JBC
flagicon|France Pika Edition
flagicon|Italy Star Manga
flagicon|Mexico Editorial Vid
flagicon|South Korea Seoul Media Group
flagicon|Spain Norma Editorial
flagicon|Sweden Carlsen Comics
demographic = Seinen
magazine = Weekly Young Magazine
first = February 24, 2003
last = Ongoing
volumes = 13 volumes (166 chapters)Infobox animanga/Movie
title = A Midsummer Night's Dream
director = Tsutomu Mizushima
licensor = flagicon|United States Funimation Entertainment
flagicon|France Kaze
studio = Production I.G
released = August 20, 2005
runtime = 1:00:00Infobox animanga/Anime
director = Tsutomu Mizushima
studio = Production I.G
licensor = flagicon|Australia Madman Entertainment
flagicon|United States Funimation Entertainment
flagicon|France Kaze
flagicon|United Kingdom Manga Entertainment
network = Tokyo Broadcasting System
first = April 6, 2006
last = September 28, 2006
episodes = 24
episode_list = List of xxxHolic episodesInfobox animanga/Novel
title = ANOTHERHOLiC Landolt-Ring Aerosol
author = Nisio Isin
illustrator = Clamp
publisher = flagicon|Japan Kodansha
publisher_en = flagicon|United States Del Rey Manga
first = August 1, 2006
last =
volumes = 1Infobox animanga/Anime
title = Kei
director = Tsutomu Mizushima
studio = Production I.G
network = Tokyo Broadcasting System
first = April 3, 2008
last = June 26, 2008
episodes = 13Infobox animanga/OVA
director = Tsutomu Mizushima
studio = Production I.G
episodes = 2
released = 2009

nihongo|"xxxHolic"|×××ホリック|Horikku, [The title is officially rendered as "×××HOLiC" in Japanese publications such as the [http://shop.kodansha.jp/bc/comics/tsubasa_holic publisher's Web site] and [http://www.kimihiro.net/images/index.php?spgmGal=CLAMP_and_manga/color_illustrations&spgmPic=61&spgmFilters=t#pic on the spine] of the books themselves; "xxxHolic" has been used here to better comply with Wikipedia's guidelines on and .] pronounced "holic", [This pronunciation can heard, for example, in trailers for the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcEccsXx_Ig film] and [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5i47w_xxxholic-kei-trailer_shortfilms TV animation] (characters such as × and ◆ are used for a variety of purposes in written Japanese but are not pronounced).] is a seinen manga series planned and presented by Clamp. It has been serialized in Kodansha's "Young Magazine" periodically since 2003 and published in volumes under the KC Deluxe label. It is currently published in the United States by Del Rey Manga and in the United Kingdom by Tanoshimi.

The plotline concerns a high school student, Kimihiro Watanuki, who can see spirits and demons. He enters a wish-granting shop run by a powerful witch, Yūko Ichihara, who agrees to grant Watanuki's wish to stop seeing sprits and demons in exchange for working as her hired hand. Her errands expose Watanuki and his friends to the diverse paranormal and metaphysical situations around them. The plot differs slightly between the manga and anime adaptation, but the general plotline is consistent between the two.

The animated movie "xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream" was released in Japan on August 20 2005. The DVD of the movie was released on November 24 2006 and a TV animation series began airing on TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) on April 6,2006 in Japan. Both the movie and TV series have been licensed by Funimation Entertainment for distribution in the United States. A second season of the TV animation, entitled nihongo|"xxxHolic: Kei"|xxxHOLiC◆継 aired from April 3 to June 26, 2008.

After the end of the second season, a special episode was announced for a DVD-only release, confirmed to be a bundle release with volume 14 of the manga on January 16, 2009.

Similar to the announcement in its sister publication "" months earlier, on April 28, 2008, in chapter 157 prior to beginning a five week hiatus, it was announced that "xxxHolic" is approaching its conclusion.

Although not actually confirmed on the Manga Entertainment website, the first television series is to be released in the United Kingdom by them, and not Revelation Films. It is however confirmed in the August Edition of the Manga Entertainment Newsletter, [ [http://www.manga.co.uk/newsletters/2008/august/mangazette2/newsletter.jpgManga Entertainment Newsletter (The Mangazette, 27.08.08, Issue: 37).] 10 September 2008] with the first part of the series to be released on 27 October 2008. It is unclear if Manga Entertainment plan to also licence the movie for UK release.

Plot summary

Kimihiro Watanuki is a high school student plagued by yōkai, spirits with a strong attraction to him. The spirits are invisible to others and encounters with them are extremely troublesome. When he stumbles into a shop that grants wishes, however, events in his life promise to become more unusual.

The shop is owned by Yūko Ichihara, a mysterious and beautiful witch of many names and esoteric renown. For a price, she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to be rid of the spirits. The price, according to Yūko, must be of equal value and so, as payment, he temporarily becomes Yūko's part-time employee.

Watanuki's job consists of small errands dealing with the supernatural and household chores. His love interest, Himawari Kunogi, and "rival," Shizuka Dōmeki, occasionally join him in his work as per Yūko's request. The three become increasingly close despite Watanuki's annoyances with Dōmeki.

Characters

nihongo|Kimihiro Watanuki|四月一日君尋|Watanuki Kimihiro is a typical high-school student living on his own. He is down-to-earth and selfless, but also very irritable, especially when it comes to Yūko's lavish demands and Dōmeki's stoic attitude. Watanuki begins working for Yūko in exchange for the fulfillment of his wish: to never see spirits again. Despite the fact that he hates his ability, Watanuki often goes out of his way to help people that he comes into contact with because of his power, even when he is not required to do so by his job. Apart from Dōmeki and Himawari, Watanuki does not seem to have any friends at school; in fact, Yūko teases him about being unpopular.

nihongo|Yūko Ichihara|壱原 侑子|Ichihara Yūko is a very powerful witch, mostly known for her ability to send people to other dimensions and times, and for her ability to grant any wish in exchange for an equal cost. She knows many different people, including Clow Reed together with whom she created the Mokonas. Despite her seemingly immature and free-spirited attitude, Yūko is also sage-like and serious when the time calls for it.

nihongo|Shizuka Dōmeki|百目鬼 静|Dōmeki Shizuka is Watanuki's classmate and one-sided rival. He is part of the school's archery club and often participates in school competitions. He lives in a shrine owned by his late grandfather. Dōmeki's personality sharply contrasts with Watanuki's, as he is calm and often sarcastic. Dōmeki has the ability to rid evil spirits and be immune to most curses, mostly due to his ancestry and how his grandfather taught and raised him in a temple.

nihongo|Himawari Kunogi|九軒 ひまわり|Kunogi Himawari is Watanuki's main love interest. She is a kind and caring girl, but inadvertently brings bad luck to everyone she comes into contact with, with the exception of her parents and Dōmeki.

Adaptations

Movie

A movie adaptation titled nihongo|"xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream"|劇場版 xxxHOLiC 真夏ノ夜ノ夢|"Gekijōban Horikku: Manatsu no Yoru no Yume" premiered on August 20, 2005. The subtitle is a reference to William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

In the film, Yūko receives a request from a woman to help her back into her mansion which for some reason does not allow her to enter. Yūko says since Watanuki was the one who brought the client to her, Watanuki should be the one to grant her wish, and therefore brought along. Dōmeki is also brought along to help and Yūko attends not only to grant her client's wish but also because she is invited to the mansion where many famous collectors were also invited with the same letter. Inside the mansion are strange rooms and mysterious letters telling its guests what to do in place of a host. Though the collectors think up the theory of a mysterious auction being held like in an urban legend, it becomes apparent that something more sinister and mysterious is going on. One after another, each collector disappears and a number of other strange occurrences happen during the night. The real reasons behind the invitations must be discovered in order for Yūko and company to get to the bottom of this mystery.

The film was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2006 in the Feature Films category with other four nominees: "Asterix and the Vikings", "", "Wallace and Gromit", and the award winner, "Renaissance".

It's released together on the same date with Tsubasa Chronicle movie, nihongo|"Tsubasa Chronicle the Movie: The Princess of the Country of Birdcages"|劇場版 ツバサ・クロニクル 鳥カゴの国の姫君|Gekijōban Tsubasa Kuronikuru Torikago no Kuni no Himegimi which was produced together by the same studio.

TV series

The first season of TV anime adaptation of "xxxHolic" began airing on TBS on April 6, 2006 in Japan and ended on September 28, 2006, with 24 episodes in total. Both the movie and the anime series are directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. Ageha Ohkawa, Clamp's director and main scriptwriter, is executive producer of the TV series. Due to differing studios licensed for the anime, the plot is not as complete as the manga, mainly with the "" and "Cardcaptor Sakura" references being removed (though Sakura's staff from "CCS" and Fay's staff from "Tsubasa" are seen in episode 18 when Watanuki is in the storage room, and Fay's staff is also seen in Episode 8 being used as a rug beater).

The second season, nihongo|"xxxHolic: Kei"|xxxHOLiC◆継|"Horikku: Kei", began airing on TBS on April 3, 2008 in Japan and ended on June 26, 2008, with 13 episodes in total. "Kei", in Japanese, means "sequel" here. The main staff and cast remains the same as in the first season [ [http://www.production-ig.com/ Production I.G] , Release Info [http://www.production-ig.com/contents/news/2007/08/xxxholic_second.html "xxxHolic second season announced!", August 17, 2007] ] . In Chapter 154 of the manga release, there is a section offering readers preview of the second season. It shows episodes correspond to both the anime and its manga arc counterparts like the Spider Grudge arc, Kohane Tsuyuri and Haruka.

The first season of the "xxxHolic" anime was relatively loyal to the comic's timeline, whereas "Kei" has episodes which concentrated on the backgrounds of some of the smaller arcs in the "xxxHolic" manga. The most notable alternation in "Kei" is in the Kohane Tsuyuri arc, as she was introduced earlier in the anime and she was able to enter Yūko's shop without having a wish. Episode 10 of the anime changed and closed the Kohane arc in which Kohane was able to resolve her differences with her mother on her own while in the manga Kohane's role is still active to the ongoing series.

Connections with "Tsubasa Chronicles" were also seen in "Kei". In episode 7, a connection with "Tsubasa"'s "Tokyo Revelations" OVA occurs with the water containers, which are the same as those used to fill the underground reservoir in the Tokyo Government Building. Also, in episode 11, the egg given to Watanaki by Yuuko is the same egg retrived by Sakura from the caves in "Tokyo Revelations" OVA.

OVA

A two DVD OVA has been announced for xxxHOLiC. The first DVD for this OVA will be released on January 16, 2009 with the 14th Volume of the manga. Another two DVD OVA which will crossover with this one was also announced for the Tsubasa series. Its first DVD will be released in February of 2009. It is not known if the OVA will continue on after the Himawari story arc to the next story arc, or if it'll be an anime-only ending.

Novel

Nihongo|"×××HOLiC ANOTHERHOLiC Landolt-Ring Aerosol"|×××HOLiC アナザーホリック ランドルト環エアロゾル|Horikku Anazāhorikku Randoruto-Kan Earozoru, [http://shop.kodansha.jp/bc/books/topics/project-n] a novel set within the series was written by Nisio Isin and published in Japan on 1 August 2006.http://shop.kodansha.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=2135094] . The first chapter of the novel, "OUTERHOLiC," was the basis for episode 17 of the animated series. The novel includes original artwork by Clamp. Del Rey has announced that the novel will be published in English and will releasing it on 14 October 2008. [ [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-12-07/del-rey-announces-new-manga-fiction Del Rey announces "xxxHolic" novel] ]

Design

Themes

Watanuki's growth and change caused by his experiences from meeting one person is a recurring theme. According to a fortune teller in volume 2, Yūko is the one that will change Watanuki. However, it is implied that he will be linked to both Yūko and Dōmeki and that all their connections were foreseen.

Recently in the story, adding to the theme of change, there is a reference to X/1999, as Yūko mentions something similar to what Kakyou Kuzuki says in a certain part of the story: "To change the world, you have to change yourself".

One such theme is the concept of nihongo|"hitsuzen"|必然, first introduced by Yūko. "Hitsuzen" has no direct translation into English (which is why Del Rey has opted to keep the Japanese term whenever it appears in "Tsubasa" or "xxxHolic"), but can be interpreted as referring to inevitability, destiny, or fate.

Interpreting hitsuzen as "fate" is not inaccurate, but in the context of the story, "fate" is implied as something that is immutable and definite, giving the idea that whoever is bound by fate is nothing more than its puppet. Instead, "hitsuzen" is the idea that an action is inevitable because without it, other related events in the future could not happen. Therefore all decisions and actions are related, and there can be no coincidence, only "hitsuzen". Other English translations of the remark have rendered "hitsuzen" as "inevitability."Fact|date=August 2008

Another theme present in "xxxHolic" and other Clamp works can be observed in the first volume of the series. When Watanuki introduces himself to Yūko, he gives her his real name as a common courtesy. Because his name is also an obvious reference to the date of his birth (April 1, shared by "Cardcaptor Sakuras Sakura Kinomoto, the incarnations of herself and Syaoran in '), he has given her two key bits of information that will inevitably give someone the power to discover everything about him (based on his birthday) and control his destiny (from his name). This theme has previously appeared in "Tokyo Babylon", where Subaru Sumeragi made a similar mistake revealing his true birthdate to Seishirō Sakurazuka.

Relation to other series

Clamp related

One major factor in "xxxHolic" is the connections between Clamp's other manga; many of Clamp's characters outside of "xxxHolic" appear in this manga. In Chapter 3, Yūko tells Watanuki about a girl living in this world with her boyfriend: Sakura Kinomoto, the protagonist of "Cardcaptor Sakura". In the 12th and 13th chapter, characters from ', one of Clamp's other series, make their first appearance in the story. "xxxHolic" character Yūko Ichihara likewise appears in a corresponding chapter of "Tsubasa". In the 13th chapter, Watanuki meets Mokona which Yuuko says was created as a model using the original Mokona from "Magic Knight Rayearth". In Chapter 8, when Watanuki goes to a drug store, he meets Kazahaya and Rikuo, characters from "Legal Drug". A fortune teller friend of Yuuko's appears in Kobato and also appears in Chapter 16 of xxxHolic, though the old lady has a bigger significance in xxxHolic. In addition, various items, like headphones resembling Persocom ears (from "Chobits"), or Sakura's wand from "Cardcaptor Sakura", and also the first book Chi reads in "Chobits" appear. Yūko's use of "hitsuzen" has also been mentioned in "Cardcaptor Sakura" by Kaho Mizuki as she remarks that "there are no coincidences, only "hitsuzen". [Toya: There are no coincidences… Mizuki:"'Only "hitsuzen." "Cardcaptor Sakura, Episode 44"] The link between other series is one of the focal points of "xxxHolic", and the two series "Tsubasa" and "xxxHolic" are intimately linked and frequently crossed over.

Additionally Yuuko makes references to other characters from different works of Clamp but rarely calls them by name.

Clamp has stated that "Tsubasa" and "xxxHolic" are meant to tie all of their works together, yet still stand alone as their own stories.

Non-Clamp related

Other, non-Clamp anime and manga series are often referenced by various characters, usually Yūko. These works tend to be older anime.

In manga

In chapter 8, Yuko uses a marker to write "Zantetsuken" (The Sword That Cuts Iron) on a baseball bat. She then goes through a bunch of action poses and cuts a laptop ending with Goemon Ishikawa's trademark phrase from Lupin III by Monkey Punch. Another reference, made by Yuko, is in chapter 42 of the manga is to Cat's Eye. Other references include Urusei Yatsura by Rumiko Takahashi in chapter 46, etc.

In animation

In episode 1 of the second series, "xxxHolic Kei", Yūko is seen reading an issue of Ōkiku Furikabutte (nihongo2|おおきく振りかぶって), a baseball manga; earlier in that episode the characters were seen watching a baseball match in which the player had the same uniform as the characters of that manga. There are two common links between "Ōkiku Furikabutte" and "xxxHOLiC" – the comics they are based on are both published by Kodansha, while their animated adaptations are both directed by Tsutomu Mizushima.

In Episode 3 Maru and Moro are seen playing with a Tachikoma plamo, the spider-like mecha of "" and a Yamamoto battleship plamo, both built by Yūko and company while waiting for Watanuki to return. The "Ghost in the Shell" and "xxxHolic" franchises are both animated by Production I.G.

In episode 4 of "xxxHolic Kei", Yūko is seen holding a copy of Weekly Young Magazine (in which the "xxxHolic" comic is serialized).

Media

Books

Several fanbooks have been released in Japan.
* – Released 17 August 2005, ISBN 9784063720495 [http://shop.kodansha.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=3720497]
* "TV Animation ×××HOLiC Extra Official Guide" Released 17 May 2006, ISBN 9784063721515 [http://shop.kodansha.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=3721515]
* – Released 17 November 2006, ISBN 9784063722260 [http://shop.kodansha.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=3722260]

Videogame

An adventure game by Marvelous Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 video game console was released in Japan on 9 August 2007, [http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000PX53GS] named Nihongo3|"Watanuki's Sixteen-day-old Moon Grass Story"|×××HOLiC 〜四月一日の十六夜草話〜|"×××HOLiC ~Watanuki no Izayoi Sowa~". [http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/game/ps2/xxxholic]

Notes

External links

*
* [http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/manga/series.html#xxxholic "xxxHolic"] (manga) at Del Rey's Official site
* [http://www.productionig.com/contents/works_sp/22_ "xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream"] and [http://www.productionig.com/contents/works_sp/43_ "xxxHolic"] TV series at Production I.G's Official site
* [http://funimation.com/yuko "xxxHolic" and "Tsubasa"] anime at Funimation Entertainment's Official site
* [http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/game/ps2/xxxholic "xxxHolic ~Watanuki no Izayoi Sowa~"] official game site ja icon