Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
dr_axd
(ENGLISH/PORTUGUESE REVIEW / FREE OF SPOILERS/LIVRE DE SPOILERS.)
PT:
Esta é a minha primeira vez assistindo algo da CLAMP, e posso dizer com firmeza que tive uma experiência maravilhosa. Em xxxHOLIC acompanhamos um jovem estudante chamado Watanuki, um rapaz responsável que vive sozinho, é muito responsável, educado, e cozinha muito bem. Entretanto, Watanuki costuma ser perseguido desde que nasceu por espíritos, ou monstros que somente ele enxerga. Certo dia, Watanuki é atraído para uma certa loja, do qual mesmo sem sua vontade, ele entra. É nesta loja que Watanuki conhece uma figura que mudará sua vida; Yuko.
Yuko é uma mulher empoderada, inteligente, e muito sábia; ela possuí uma experiência espiritual muito forte e grande, da qual usa para sua loja de realizações de desejos. Watanuki a…
Read at the sourceKroliczaNora
This had the potential to be one of my favourite series but sadly some things tainted the experience a bit.
It uses my favourite storytelling structure where every episode is about something entirely different and there are also elements binding everything together, mainly the characters and the overall theme. Similar to Mushishi. So that fact alone made me appreciate xxxHOLiC quite a lot.
The soundtrack is also pretty great. There aren't many tracks but they all have amazing atmosphere, some of them are worth listening to separately.
The reason why I gave it a score of "only" 7 is because of the characters and the humor. The main heroine Yūko basically carried the whole show for me. Every time she was on screen I was overjoyed. Not only she looks great (in the scope of the show's iconi…
Read at the sourceBl4ckqu1ll
This is such a beautifully made and one of my most fav animes of all time , but do I think people would really enjoy this? Hard to say... as well it's how someone would like their animation , limb length and sometimes not following the order or pages from the manga are completely gone from the story. Though if you're also looking for LGBTQ+ rep that's so implied you'll think ' why don't they just kiss ' then this would also be good also.
Story -
The story of xxxHOLiC is basically about a highschool student named Watanuki Kimihiro , due to his blood he can see spirits. One day when he was being chased down the street by one he comes across a shop. The shop stops him from seeing spirits while he's around it and get's forced inside where he meets the shopkeeper , Yuuko. Watanuki wishes that…
Read at the sourceConnoisseur5910
WELL,
xxxHOLiC (the original first season, often considered the prequel to xxxHOLiC◆Kei) is the enchanting entry point into CLAMP's supernatural world, and I've rewatched it twice before sitting down to write this review—just to soak in all the layers again.
It introduces us to high schooler Kimihiro Watanuki, cursed with the ability to see and attract spirits, who stumbles into the wish-granting shop of the mysterious witch Yūko Ichihara. In exchange for her help removing his "affliction," he becomes her reluctant assistant, handling bizarre client wishes that involve spirits, curses, fate, and the consequences of desire. The series is mostly episodic at first, with standalone supernatural cases, but it weaves in subtle ongoing threads about Watanuki's growth, his relationships, and hints…
Read at the sourceGamiKhan
Certainly not bad, character design is really good, stories themselves arent bad but it leaves you wanting something with a more continued story, little mysteries are planted around but nothing is really tackled at all in these 24 episodes which can lead to people leaving it with a bad taste.
Still not bad 7.5 or 8 out of 10, watch if you like mushishi style mysteries.
But like I said if this was something else rather than yokai of the week, it would be much much better, the story just sorta dissapoints a little bit. No major arc or anything of that sort.
Read at the sourceAragoto
10/10 easily. xxxHolic is a gem of an anime. I've seen both in English and in Japanese, and both the dub and sub hold up well. I prefer the English dub for its character, but Japanese is good too.
Story-wise, I love it. Each episode focuses on a new plot and issue for Watanuki to learn from. It all connects. It is based on the manga.
I like the characters. I do wish at certain times that Watanuki would show more depth, or Yuuko, but it does happen, especially in S2 and the OVAs. This show builds up his growth, just slowly. There isn't a single character I don't like in this show.
The art and animation are great and hold up to my high standards, and this series is from the early 2000s. The characters ARE lanky, and have large hands at some points, but that is a stylistic choice. Have y…
Read at the sourceSerial_Exp_Lain
'xxxHolic' was a very pleasant surprise. I have no idea how & when I had shortlisted this anime for watching many years back,but boy am I glad I did so. Watanuki Kimihiro is a 19 year old who sees spirits but has made his peace with it and lives a pretty normal life. He's an orphan & lives alone. One fine day he runs into a mysterious,wish granting shop owned by a witchy 'Yuko-san'. Each episode follows the same pattern: there is a person struggling with something due to a spirit that is feeding on some character flaw of the said individual,Yuko knows or figures out everything worth knowing about the person & proceeds to 'cure' them. But these cures are part placebo & part human psychology. You see Yuko understands people so well that she knows what will work for them. Soon we are introduc…
Read at the sourceArichan66
I agree with the rest of the comments that XXHOLIC is not as good as it appears to be, there are better chapters, and other very boring ones where barely anything happens, I don't know exactly how to explain it but it is as if the story was not written at all, It reminds me of other unfinished works by Clamp.
For me, what kept me going the most were its characters, I think that is the strong point, each one has their personality and they are very different from each other, but the main plot barely comes to light, therefore it is an entertaining series to watch time, with paranormal episodes like any other series of this style, reminded me of the zack file. There is a chapter that reminded me of Fushigi Yugi. I don't know if more viewers have noticed.
It also has connections with other s…
Read at the sourceJastereich
xxxHolic is the story of Kimihiro Watanuki and his contact with a strange witch named Yuuko. It has 24 episodes and each episode tells a different story about fate, love or the supernatural. It also includes the humorous aspect to balance out its tone, dark as it may be.
It has a variety of supernatural topics from Japanese mythological creatures to divination and ghost stories. The characters are interesting, with Yuuko’s fun-loving but enigmatic nature being the highlight. Watanuki is an interesting protagonist because his past was lonely and he has supernatural abilities. His friendship with Doumeki makes both characters more complex.
The visual design may not be to everyone's taste, with its elongated and skeletal frames sometimes creating awkward movements. However, the voice cast,…
Read at the sourceAeroGunz
“xxxHOLiC” is what happens when You have a pretty nice premise but only surface level execution.
One day a high school student named Kimihiro Watanuki is assaulted by an apparition. Trying to get away he stumbles upon a strange house whose fence seems to save him from the attack. Inside he finds a mysterious store with an even more mysterious proprietress. She’s willing to get rid of the spirit that attached itself to the boy… for a price. Watanuki agrees and soon enough is freed from this burden. In exchange he becomes a part time worker in the mysterious shop that deals in wishes. His life, already full of the supernatural, is going to get a lot more fantasmal.
Despite having a few recurring characters the main cast consists of three characters:
Kimihiro Watanuki - our protagonist. The…
Read at the sourcemisamiss
If you like old anime and japanese mythology, this is for you! It surprised me in many ways, not only because of the very peculiar style, but also because of the kind of story that is told. It's very funny and entertaining, the relationships between the characters are well built and the plot is very good. The fact that it is intertwined with another anime does not affect the understanding. I just love it so much!!
The episodes can be watched separately and each one has a moral at the end, but the plot is very well developed. Watanuki annoys me at times, but that makes him a very funny character. It's light anime and easy to watch. It is very satisfying to see the development of each character.
Read at the sourcesakurateabunny
The good: you really fall in love with these characters. They’re endearing, silly and dramatic and they fight sometimes (a lot of times) but they’re ultimately good people with unbreakable bonds. The story is incredibly touching and emotional, but with enough funny and cozy moments that it doesn’t bring you down too much- even though it’ll make you think a lot about your own life and bad habits.
The light horror elements and featuring of so much traditional Japanese culture is amazing. If you’re into Japanese supernatural elements, you’ll love this.
There’s also so much additional ‘lore’ and backstory to be discovered (especially in reference to other CLAMP works) but you won’t have any trouble following the anime if you’re not familiar with the extended CLAMP universe, it just adds ano…
Read at the sourceromzanalimohon
Humans have problems. Some can be solved in a normal way while others follow the paranormal way. And those who have second kind of problem can visit the shop where a woman named Yuuko grant any kind of wish of her customer. Although their wish is granted, while giving a certain price.
I would like to recconmend this anime to those who loves deep psychological anime. Though the anime is dark, our main protagonist Watanuki's presence made this anime in a slightly comedy. At first you may dislike the mc because of his weird movement and his loud voice. But as the show progress you may start to like the mc.
plot:
This show will create many mysteries. And each process yuuko take to solve their problem is quite unique. At end of the show you may have many questions. But XXX Holic won't give you…
Read at the sourceAnimelover875
xxxHolic is, to say the least, an extremely interesting series to dive into; most series of its type, focusing on spiritual encounters, would view them similar to how Watanuki does early in the series: as simply terrifying, and misunderstood. However, as the series progresses, the impression of spirits slowly begins to change. They are shown to not always be malicious, but sometimes simply like us: misunderstood, perhaps holding onto their regrets, and yearning for acceptance. While this is interesting enough in itself, the series adds yet another layer by introducing Doumeki, whose spiritual power to repel spirits mirrors that of Watanuki's to attract them. I believe that while the bickering between them may become annoying, it helps the viewer to understand their dynamic and why they wor…
Read at the sourceCrustyMustard
xxxHOLiC is one of my childhood favorites, I loved it so much I swear I've watched it over 5 times (the entire series). Tip: watch it at night, it gives the most amazing vibes when watching it at night, especially the first season. Now onto the rating~~!
Story: I LOVED the first seasons story line and the second one was really good too although I still prefer the first season, the movie was very good as well. 9/10
Art: GAWD I have a love-hate relationship with the art. Everyone is so.... long. Its amusing most of the time and its very satisfying to watch them move. I do really love Yuukos clothes tho. 7/10
Sound: The intro and outro of the first season will forever be in my heart as the best anime theme song. 10/10
Characters: They're all so... well made. Their personalities are alway…
Read at the sourceJoe_Devaney
Overview:
"xxxHolic" is a series set in the same multiverse as "Tsubasa Chronicles", with supporting characters from that series serving as main characters in this one. Despite this, the two share virtually nothing in common, to the point that they are of entirely different genres, meaning that liking one is not a guarantee that you will like the other. While I personally enjoyed it, and found it to be very original and interesting, I also found it to have a lot of major issues, though none that were enough to completely break it.
Story (7.5/10):
While "Tsubasa Chronicles" was a dimension-hopping action-adventure fantasy, "xxxHolic" is more of a psychological dark fantasy with a side order of comedy. The story follows Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student who somehow has the ability to…
Read at the sourceFunnyCartoons
xxxHolic is a show that I'm never sure I've spelled correctly. The most succinct way to describe it is as a collection of independent stories, centered around a psychically gifted young man and the owner of a magical problem solving shop. I choose to keep it vague, but honestly one doesn't need much more than that. There is no overarching story, per se: one could watch any episode out of order and the canon more or less stays intact. This does give the authors leeway to tell some interesting and fun to think about stories, but on the flip side it means that what you're going to get is a mixed bag. Personally speaking, I think two or three episodes of the show are *fantastic* in terms of writing and plot and remain my runaway favorite stand-alone stories, while other episodes come and go in…
Read at the sourcedeli_
"Shall I grant your wish?"
xxxHOLIC is about a High Schooler named Kimihiro Watanuki who can see spirits. He has been trying to avoid them since forever and what seems to be a normal day of running away from these entities turns into an encounter with the eccentric owner of a shop that grants wishes; that owner being Yuuko Ichihara. This encounter begins Watanuki’s journey into the supernatural, filled with many conflicts that are wrapped around a supernatural layer but are very human at its core.
You see, xxxHOLIC uses its supernatural world to not only give glimpses into Japanese folklore and mythology, but it also uses it to tackle very human issues. Themes such as guilt, obsession, and a lack of self-confidence are injected into the anime in meaningful ways. It introduces these ideas…
Read at the sourcecameronrb24
Quick Thoughts:
This show did not need to be 24 episodes. A premise is established early on regarding the main character's (Watanuki) ability to see spirits as well as his destiny in relation to his boss Yuko, but the show hardly delved deeper into it. Instead, xxxHolic follows an episodic format whose formula grew stale just several episodes in.
Story:
Yuko runs a shop that "grants" wishes, and these wishes are usually linked to something spiritual. Each episode generally involves Watanuki using his ability to see spirits to help Yuko fulfill those requests. There are some variations; such as more slice-of-life centered Watanuki's friend group, or episodes with more lighthearted interactions with spirits, but Yuko's requests are the main focus. Episodes conclude with the wishes being f…
Read at the sourcemouthpiece
NOTICE: This review covers the whole franchise; not just the first season. No need to make different reviews for the exact same show.
THE STAFF
- Animated by Production I.G. which means it will have a good budget but the characters will behave like robots, or in this case like string puppets.
- Directed by Mizushima Tsutome, who has some fame for his fondness of making comedies with cute chibi girls who act all erotic and/or violent (Hare+Guu, Dokuro-chan, Punie-chan, Squid Girl). Other than that, he is not good in anything else he was part of (especially with the crap he did in Blood-C and Another) and since this show is not about chibi girls it is not one of his better works.
- Based on the manga by CLAMP, one of the most famous team of mangaka in the 90’s. Most of their numerous works…
Read at the source
