Xxxholic by CLAMP

Title: Xxxholic
Author: CLAMP
Volumes: 19 (completed)
Volumes (English): 19 (completed)


Watanuki Kimihiro is haunted by visions of ghosts and spirits. Seemingly by chance, he encounters a mysterious witch named Yuuko, who claims she can help. In desperation, he accepts, but realizes that he’s just been tricked into working for Yuuko in order to pay off the cost of her services. Soon he’s employed in her little shop—a job which turns out to be nothing like his previous work experience!

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For the cliff notes version, skip to the bottom of the page for final thoughts.

What can I say about Xxxholic? Seriously, what can you say about a series that takes it in equal turns hurting your heart and mind? This is a series that will take you through a range of emotions, one moment laughing and in the next crying uncontrollably. This series is a crossover with its companion series Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. While many of the same themes are present in both series, Xxxholic is the darker of the two.

There is an atmosphere of languid mystery surrounding Yuko, the Time Witch, and her very unusual shop. Watanuki trades his servitude to the Time Witch for relief from the spirits that constantly hound him. From this agreement several absurd and even eerie events unfold. For most of the series Watanuki acts as comic relief, especially while interacting with Doumeki and Yuko. For all of his hamming he also has a naive earnestness that lends the series some of its more poignant moments.

Working for Yuko brings Watanuki into contact with a host of unforgettable characters. My favorite character is Doumeki. Doumeki is Watanuki's opposite in most ways. He's completely calm and unflappable regardless of the situation. He's also incredibly comfortable with himself. He's a true friend and devoted to Watanuki even as Watanuki, out of jealousy, denies their connection and friendship during most of the series.


A pivotal moment in the growth of their friendship is in volume 7 (Spider (Spiderweb) in the anime) when Watanuki sacrifices his right eye to restore Doumeki's eyesight. In return Doumeki shares the sight in his right eye with Watanuki. (At this point their friendship is pretty much sealed, regardless of Watanuki's protestations.) Watching the progression of their friendship is one of the more satisfying elements of Xxxholic. While the ending of the series is jolting, you never doubt the rightness of their friendship and the depth of feeling between them.


Yuko is perhaps the most intriguing character in the series. She's cloaked in mystery that none of the other characters are able to fully see through. She's crude, sexy and outrageous at times, but she has a quiet dignity that comes across when she's performing her Time Witch duties. Her story arc is one of my favorites in the series. Of course the majority of her arc is unveiled in the last few volumes.
[VIEW SPOILER]

[Xxxholic's overall ending left me feeling cheated, confused, heartbroken, dissatisfied and maybe just a little awed. Yuko's ending is quite satisfying however. Her revealed back story is both romantic and compelling. The best part is that even when the big reveal happens CLAMP doesn't reveal all, still maintaining an aura of mystery.]

Himawari is the character I like least. She's not a fully developed character and her primary purpose in the series is to act as Watanuki's unrequited crush and cause friction between Doumeki and Watanuki. She's not a terrible character; she just doesn't really add to the series. [VIEW SPOILER]

[She does lend a bit of tragedy to the events surrounding Watanuki's ultimate decision to replace Yuko and remain in the shop indefinitely. Otherwise she's an forgettable character.]

The premise of the series is that people visit the shop to have their deepest wishes and desires granted. As the Time Witch would say:

"For everything you wish, you have to pay an equal price in return. You can't get more or give more. You can't get less or give less. It must be in balance, or else there will be chaos."

This leads to some interesting consequences for the shop's patrons. My favorite story is in volume 7 (Atonement in the anime) and involves a photograph. Like photographs in the Harry Potter universe, this photograph has captured a moment in time and the people in the picture are moving. Unlike Harry Potter, the moment caught in the photograph is both sinister and disturbing. The consequences from this wish is not only just, but diabolically clever.

While I loved the ending of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Xxxholic's ending left me feeling uncertain. [VIEW MAJOR SPOILERS - SERIOUSLY FUCKING MAJOR SPOILERS]

[I loved Tsubasa's ending! Even with the atypical ending, it's essentially a happy ending with everyone remaining together (or at least with easy access to each other). Xxxholic's ending transcends time and generations. In the last volume you realize that most of the characters you grew to care about are dead and gone (in Tsubasa, as well as Xxxholic, which makes it doubly horrifying). Watanuki is the only major character still alive and he's spending his life waiting for something that's never going to happen. We then discover that generations of Doumeki's family are in this codependent relationship with him. While in one sense it's touching that Doumeki's depth of devotion and feelings endured even after death, it's also an unhealthy situation for all parties.

It's bad enough that as you're reading the last volume it gets progressively more depressing as everyone around Watanuki is aging and moving on with their lives; Himawari is married, Doumeki is starting a family with Kohane. The worst though is when it's revealed in the last chapter that Watanuki has been conversing with Doumeki's great grandson. At that point I had to re-read the last volume to determine when Doumeki exited the narrative and his decedents took his place. The ending is powerful, but not at all satisfying. Especially for someone who likes happy endings.]

Final Thoughts

Xxxholic has a well crafted intricate story and has a dramatic artistic style. The chapters range from the haunting to the surreal with a little creepy thrown in for effect. I recommend reading Xxxholic and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle together. While you could read one series without reading the other, each compliments and enriches the other. There are other CLAMP series tied in with these series, but you don't have to read them to enjoy Xxxholic and Tsubasa. The obvious one is Cardcaptor Sakura, but you may want to checkout some of their other works like Chobits, RG Veda, Magic Knight Rayearth and Tokyo Babylon. (This is by no means the entire list.)

If you liked Xxxholic, you may also like Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Library Wars, Black Butler, Death Note and Orphen.

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Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP

Title: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Author: CLAMP
Volumes: 28 (completed)
Volumes (English): 28 (completed)

Sakura is the princess of Clow - and possessor of a mysterious, misunderstood power that promises to change the world. Syaoran is her childhood friend and leader of the archaeological dig that took his father's life. They reside in an alternate reality...where whatever you least expect can happen - and does. When Sakura ventures to the dig site to declare her love for Syaoran, a puzzling symbol is uncovered - which triggers a remarkable quest. Now Syaoran embarks upon a desperate journey through other worlds - all in the name of saving Sakura.

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Skip to the bottom of the page for final thoughts.

CLAMP is notorious for creating a story that will fuck with your mind and wrench your heart strings before tearing out the weeping organ, using it as a sponge to mop up your tears only to shove it back in your chest to repeat the process again in the next volume. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, along with its companion series Xxxholic, is the crowning achievement of this process.


Tsubasa has one of the most complex story lines I've come across in a manga series, even without adding in Xxxholic. While the driving force moving the plot, collecting Sakura's memories (in the form of feathers), is simple enough the relationships and character development are quite complex and involved. The world building is epic, spanning several alternate worlds and uniting CLAMP's beloved characters from previous series together. If you've read Xxxholic, Cardcaptor Sakura, X, Chobits, Tokyo Babylon or Magic Knight Rayearth, many of the characters will be familiar to you even as their situations or personalities may be new to you.

The central story follows Sakura, Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona as they travel through several dimensions to collect Sakura's memories. What starts out as strangers being thrown together by happenstance, or as the Space-Time Witch would say "Hitsuzen", the relationships that these characters forge during their travels is enduring.

Syaoran's selfless love for Sakura is bittersweet. With every feather collected, Sakura's memories of Syaoran are lost forever. His willingness to continue the quest regardless of his own pain as his past is forever severed from Sakura's is tragically beautiful. During the quest, Sakura's growing feelings for a Syaoran she no longer knows is endearing. The optimism in this relationship, that love will win out, has a kind of innocent hope that leaves one remembering first loves.  

The friendship between Fai and Kurogane is a mixture of playfulness and faithfulness. There's a self sacrificing element to this relationship as well. Both of them are willing to sacrifice for the other, Kurogane his arm and Fai his magic. They begin to depend on each other further cementing their friendship. For Fai, this is a difficult process as he has a past he's concealing and running from. Fai is my favorite character and without Kurogane he wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. Part of Fai is Kurogane and vice versa.

There are some crazy plot twists, which goes back to CLAMP fucking with your mind, that leaves you asking yourself what just happened? I won't go into the details, because I wouldn't want to ruin the series for anyone, [VIEW MAJOR SPOILER AT YOUR OWN RISK]

[and really how do you explain the plethora of Syaorans, Watanuki's realationship with Syaoran and Sakura, or the Clow Reed connection to all of them without people thinking you're mad?]

but the last few volumes are especially thrilling and just plain entertaining. You won't be able to put it down until the very end. 

Speaking of the ending, I loved it! It's not a typical ending, but it's satisfying. (The opposite of Xxxholic's ending, which while atypical, is not at all satisfying.) Tsubasa's ending plays a pivotal role in Xxxholic's ending, especially with regards to Watanuki. (More on that in my Xxxholic post.) [VIEW SPOILER]

[I love how choice plays an important role in the ending of both of these series. Syaoran's choice to continue traveling, and Watanuki's choice to never leave is powerful. I also love that Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane decide to continue to travel together. There's a bond that won't be broken. At the same time they have direct access to Sakura's dimension, so that they can visit anytime. It reminds me of Star Trek the Next Generation (my nerd is showing). At the end of TNG you knew they'd be friends forever, and that's what you get from the ending of Tsubasa. Friendship and love triumph. It's a beautiful way to end the series.]

 

The artwork in Tsubasa is beautiful, as all of CLAMP's artwork is. I love how their wardrobe changes to conform to each new world they visit. I especially love the Goth/BDSM look they have during the Infinity arc.

My favorite world has to be Infinity, where Sakura becomes a Chess Master and Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane are living pieces who have to fight to the death. A close second, is the ruined city of Tokyo. Part of it is that I really like post apocalyptic stories, but I also think this had one of the best story arcs in the series and some of the best secondary characters. (The vampire brothers were especially interesting.)


One disappointment I have with Tsubasa, is Chi's role. (Chi is a character from CLAMP's Chobits.) In both series she isn't truly alive, rather she's an automaton, in Chobits from technology and in Tsubasa from Fai's magic. I think my disappointment stems from my wanting her to be truly alive. Something I wanted when reading Chobits and hoped for in Tsubasa when she made a brief appearance.

Final Thoughts

I love this series and I recommend reading Tsubasa and Xxxholic together, especially the later volumes. I wouldn't read Cardcaptor Sakura first, if you're over the age of twelve, as it might put you off of CLAMP entirely. I read Cardcaptor after Tsubasa and Xxxholic and I think I would never have read them if my only experience with CLAMP, as an adult, had been Cardcaptor Sakura.

People who like Kimi ni Todoke, One Piece, Bleach, or Pandora Hearts would like Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.