×××HOLiC

×××HOLiC (pronounced -holic as in alcoholic, as the '×××' denotes a variable) is a manga series planned and presented by CLAMP. It has been serialized in Kodansha's Young KC Deluxe periodically since 2003 and currently published in the United States by Del Rey Manga.

The animated movie was released in Japan on August 20, 2005. The DVD of the movie was released on February 25 2006 and a TV animation series began airing on TBS on April 6,2006 in Japan. The movie has been licensed by FUNimation for the USA but the TV series is still unlicensed.

Title spelling

CLAMP has recently taken to using some unusual titles in their work. ×××HOLiC may not be the most complicated of these, but its capitalisation can cause some confusion. It is widely accepted that in the 'HOLiC' part, each letter is capitalized except for the 'i', but the preceding crosses can be both in small case form or capital X's. Del Rey has chosen to use 'xxx', but 'XXX' can be seen just as commonly. This is because in the original Japanese title, they are not letters at all but multiplication signs, which can resemble either small or capital X's depending on the font they are viewed in. In Japan, this character is used to indicate a relationship or crossover between things, while in the west an 'x' is traditionally used to represent something unknown or omitted. Those who have read the manga will therefore know that 'HOLiC' refers to the unhealthy habits, addictions and compulsions etc. that Yũko's customers suffer from, and '×××' as both a place holder for the various types of "holics" (alcoholic, workaholic, etc.) and a reference to the accompanying theme of peoples' relationships with objects. FUNimation, who hold the American license for the anime, have chosen to call it just 'HOLiC' because even though CLAMP and the director have stated that the intended audience is in their 20-30's, FUNimation does not want it to be mistaken for hentai.

Plot

The series' protagonist, , is a high school student who is continually plagued by supernatural monsters and spirits which are magically attracted to him. The creatures are invisible to all but himself, and as a result he feels extremely burdened by them. When he quite literally stumbles into a shop that grants wishes, his life changes drastically.

Within the shop is the seductively beautiful , a witch of many names and esoteric renown. The seemingly all-knowing witch soon gets right down to business: she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to be rid of his ability to see spirits. However, a price equal to the power required to grant the wish must be paid. Yūko discovers that Watanuki is very skilled with his hands and a hard worker. As a result, Watanuki soon finds himself forced to perform housework and odd jobs for Yūko until he has done enough work for his wish to be granted.

Shortly afterwards, other characters become involved with Watanuki's position, including his love interest Himawari Kunogi, and his 'rival', Shizuka Doumeki. The three become increasingly 'friendlier', despite the amount of times Watanuki gets annoyed with Doumeki's unflappable attitude. .

Plot elements

One major factor in ×××HOLiC is the connections between CLAMP's other manga; many of CLAMP's characters outside of ×××HOLiC appear in this comic. In the beginning, Yūko tells Watanuki about a girl, Sakura, the protagonist of Cardcaptor Sakura, and Sumeragi Subaru of Tokyo Babylon and X/1999. In the 8th chapter, characters from RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, one of CLAMP's other series, appear in the story. ×××HOLiC character Yuuko Ichihara likewise appears in a corresponding chapter of Tsubasa. In the following chapter, when Watanuki goes to a drug store, he meets Kazahaya and Rikuo, characters from Legal Drug. In addition, various items, like headphones resembling Persocom ears (from Chobits), or Sakura's wand from Cardcaptor Sakura, appear. The link between other series is one of the focal points of ×××HOLiC, and the two series Tsubasa and ×××HOLiC are intimately linked and frequently crossed over.

CLAMP has stated that Tsubasa and ×××HOLiC are meant to tie all of their works together, yet still stand alone as their own stories.

Recurring Themes

Because ×××HOLiC partly serves to unite CLAMP's works together, some recurring themes from their previous works are prominently featured.

One such theme is the concept of , 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. Hitsuzen has been mentioned in Cardcaptor Sakura by Kaho Mizuki as she remarks that "there are no coincidences, only hitsuzen". Other English translations of the remark have rendered hitsuzen as "inevitability".

Another theme present in ×××HOLiC occurs only the first volume of the series. When Watanuki introduces himself to Yuuko, 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 1st, shared by Cardcaptor Sakura's Sakura Kinomoto, the incarnations of herself and Syaoran in Reservoir Chronicle), 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 name and birthdate to Seishirō Sakurazuka.

Characters

An orphaned boy cursed with the ability to see spirits, Watanuki entered into an agreement with Yuuko to work for her in exchange for the fulfilment of his wish - to never see spirits again. However, 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. He is also very independent, because he has had to live alone for most of his life, and is an excellent cook and housekeeper.

Watanuki is infatuated with his classmate, Himawari, and frequently tries to impress her in any way he can. He looks on his other classmate, Doumeki, as a potential rival for Himawari, even though the other boy has never really expressed an interest in her. Because of Doumeki's ability to repel spirits, Watanuki must spend increasingly more time in his presence, and this has begun to alter their relationship to a sort of grudging friendship. Despite this, Watanuki outwardly reacts in a very hostile way towards Doumeki, though his actions towards him often speak differently than his words.

Being one extremely experienced in her industry, Yuuko is not foolish enough to give away her real name like Watanuki. That aside, Yuuko has served as a major catalyst for Watanuki's transformation, acting somewhat as his mentor. She loves to drink and eat Watanuki's wonderful cooking and dragging Watanuki on crazy outings at the drop of a hat.

Despite this immature and free-spirited attitude, Yuuko has been known to be sage-like and serious when the time calls for it. Yuuko seems to know the true 'hitsuzen' that Watanuki will follow, and has often offered cryptic messages to warn him of impending danger or a folklore that he should take a bit more seriously. She also seems to truly care about him, making sure he is safe at night, sending the Kudakitsune with him for extra protection, or calling Doumeki when he needs saving.

While Watanuki is monster bait, Doumeki is monster repellant, due to his grandfather's exorcism abilities that were passed down to him. The fortune teller from Volume 2 foresees Doumeki's arrival into the story, stating that Watanuki will gain a friend that he'll constantly fight with, but their relationship will "run deeper".

Yuuko advises that Watanuki stay close to Doumeki because his very presence drives away the spirits that attack Watanuki, but Watanuki's jealousy and general annoyance with Doumeki's mellow, laid-back demeanor keep him from liking Doumeki — or at least admitting that he does. The fact that on several occasions Doumeki has had to come to Watanuki's rescue doesn't help, especially since most of these situations involve Watanuki passing out and Doumeki having to carry him somewhere to rest, or Watanuki falling from a building just to have his wrist caught by Dōmeki at the last second. As payment for his services, Watanuki makes him bento lunches (sometimes with Yuuko's nudging, sometimes without), and Doumeki often demands really difficult or impossible lunch requests for the next day just to irk him.

In volume 7, Doumeki invokes the wrath of a spider when he destroys its web and in revenge, his right eye is sewn over with a spider web. Upon learning that Dōmeki will eventually lose the sight in that eye, Watanuki decides to divert the spider's anger to himself instead. The spider's ringleader steals Watanuki's right eye, leaving it completely blind. When Doumeki realises what has happened, he asks Yuuko to take out half of his own right eye, and give it to Watanuki. This is only one of the many situations in which the two lend each other a helping hand, and then some, and it's obvious that their futures are tightly intertwined.

The love interest. Watanuki has been doting after Himawari ever since the beginning of the series, and even some cryptic remarks from Yuuko "are you sure she's good luck?" haven't deterred him. Though she appears to be an ordinary human, there is something about Himawari that seems to bring the wrong kind of luck to Watanuki.

It seems even other spirits can tell there is something different about Himawari — Amewarashi (the rain spirit) would not even approach her (though it might just have been her name, considering Himawari means "sunflower" and a rain spirit's worst enemy is the sun). All supernatural issues aside, Himawari is caring and kind towards Watanuki, but always seems busy, and so far has only been friendly, nothing more.

A spirit girl (not a ghost) who has a crush on Watanuki. On Valentine's Day she searches for the best chocolate she can find to give him, but ends up giving him the chocolate that Dōmeki has eaten. Unfortunately, when she takes the chocolate out of his stomach she takes his soul with it, and Watanuki has to track her down and retrieve it. On top of that, he made the chocolate in the first place. Zashiki Warashi are prone to mischievous thoughts, though this one is actually quite shy and sweet and very prone to crying (those who make her cry will be attacked by her tengu-karasu). She lives on a mountain with pure spiritual energy and is, as a result, vulnerable to evil energy.

Watanuki gives her a present on White Day to thank her for the chocolate (albeit late). In Volume 8 the Zashiki Warashi is held prisoner by a spider queen for trying to retrieve Watanuki's right eye, and he decides to go rescue her.

The Kudakitsune, a pipe fox spirit, was the payment given to Yuuko by the Amewarashi for Watanuki's help. It became attached to him right away and often accompanies him on trips of the more dangerous type, but will go with him anywhere if he lets it. It used to annoy him at first, but Watanuki has warmed up to the wormy furball. The Kudakitsune has two forms, a snake-like mini version, and the traditional Kyuubi when it reveals its true power - it is able to create gigantic fireballs or streams of fire, and also being able to detect evil beings like the wing parasites and the spider lady in the volumes. It takes a large amount of pure spiritual energy to revert the traditional kyuubi back into its portable snake-like form. When that happens, Watanuki is forced to take the Kudakitsune to Zashiki's mountain.

Maru and Moro (short for Maru-dashi and Moro-dashi) are the two girls that led Watanuki into Yuuko's shop. It isn't stated whether they were created by Yuuko, Clow Reed, the both of them, or someone else entirely, but since they have no souls and cannot leave the shop, it can be assumed that they were created there.

They help out around the shop, but mostly act as the cheer squad. They almost always speak in unison, or close to it. Watanuki seems to get along with them most of the time, at least when they are not dragging him into one of Yuuko's plans.

It is noted that Maru and Moro, when translated, mean "Flashing" and "Streaking" respectively, something that is quite possibly a pun on the XXX part of ×××HOLiC. Even though ××× is intended to act as a variable in the title it is almost synonymous with pornography, which given the target seinen audience is probably intended.

Maru voiced by: Kazuko Kojima

Moro voiced by: Hisayo Mochizuki

While the white Mokona left to travel the worlds with the TRC group, the black Mokona stayed behind to act as a liaison between the TRC group and Yuuko. Mokona likes to be around Yuuko, drink with her and eat the meals that Watanuki has made, and mostly chirps in with Maru and Moro. Yuuko has mentioned that the Mokonas were created a very long time ago, in preparation for a future event—the arrival and subsequent journey of the TRC group. As a side note: in the xxxHOLiC anime, the RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE crossover, does not occur (however we do not know if it will occur later in the anime), since Mokona is not brought by Watanuki to have the Mokona assist the TRC group, rather Mokona is found by Watanuki when asked by Yuuko to bring one of her "drinking buddies" for a party.

Syaoran and the TRC characters : Since xxxHOLiC and RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE's plots are intertwined, the characters sometimes appear in each other's series, acting out the same event only from different perspectives. Watanuki has only met the group once, but said he felt as if he knew Syaoran for a very long time. He is sometimes around when Yuuko talks to them through Mokona, but for the most part they do not communicate much. This relationship isn't closely stated or revealed in the anime (this is largely due to their connection with Mokona which has been removed), although in episode 8, Morodashi can be seen using Fay's staff as a carpet beater.

Anime

Both the movie and the anime series are directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. Nanase Ohkawa, CLAMP's director and main scriptwriter, is executive producing the TV series. The anime is not as complete as the manga is largely due to the RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE references and the Card Captor Sakura references being removed. At some points the anime is more warmer and lighthearted than the manga. For example the lying woman in first volume is not killed, instead she is hospitalized and comforted by Watanuki.

Movie

xxxHOLiC - A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(劇場版 ×××HOLiC 真夏ノ夜ノ夢 Gekijōban Horikku - Manatsu no Yoru no Yume)

Premiered: 20 August 2005

Yūko receives a request from a woman to investigate a mansion which belongs to her but by some reason she can't get inside anymore. Taking Watanuki and Doumeki with her, she discovers an auction being held there to fanatical collectors but the auctioneer doesn't make an appearance.

One after another, each collector disappears and a number of other strange occurrences happen during the night. The real reasons behind the auction must be discovered in order for Yuuko and company to get to the bottom of this mystery.

The movie had been officially selected for the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2006 in the Feature Films category with other top four nominees: Asterix and the Vikings, Gin-iro No Kami No Agito, Wallace and Gromit, and Renaissance, in this highly competitive field. It did not win in its category.

Episodes

The series began airing on TBS on April 6, 2006 in Japan and is currently in progress. For a list of episodes see List of ×××HOLiC episodes.

Theme songs

Movie

Opening: "サナギ〜theme from ×××HOLiC the movie〜" (Sanagi, Chrysalis) by Suga Shikao

TV series

Opening: "19才" (Jũkyũ-sai, 19-years-old) by Suga Shikao
1st Ending: "Reason" by Fonogenico
2nd Ending: "蜉蝣-かげろう-" (Kagerou, Mayfly) by BUCK-TICK

External links

Official sites

Fansites

]

Gourt Home::Gourt :: ×××HOLiC

Title spelling

Plot

Plot elements

Recurring Themes

Characters

Anime

Movie

Episodes

Theme songs

Movie

TV series

External links

Official sites

Fansites