xxxHolic

xxxHolic
Japanese cover of xxxHolic volume 1 published by Kodansha
×××ホリック (Horikku)
Genre	Supernatural, Comedy, Psychological
Manga
Written by	Clamp
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	Tanoshimi Del Rey Manga
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Weekly Young Magazine
Original run	February 24, 2003 – ongoing
Volumes	17 (List of volumes)
Anime film
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Directed by	Tsutomu Mizushima
Produced by	List Toru Kawaguchi Shuichi Machida Junji Seki Tetsuya Watanabe Tsuyoshi Yoshida
Written by	Yoshiki Sakurai Junichi Fujisaku
Music by	Tsuneyoshi Saito
Studio	Production I.G
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment[1]
Released	August 20, 2005
Runtime	60 minutes
TV anime
Directed by	Tsutomu Mizushima
Produced by	List Toru Kawaguchi Shuichi Machida Junji Seki Tetsuya Watanabe Tsuyoshi Yoshida Nanase Ohkawa
Written by	Nanase Ohkawa Michiko Yokote
Music by	S.E.N.S. Project
Studio	Production I.G
Licensed by	Madman Entertainment Manga Entertainment Funimation Entertainment
Network	Tokyo Broadcasting System
English network	Animax Asia FUNimation Channel
Original run	April 6, 2006 – September 28, 2006
Episodes	24 (List of episodes)
Novel
ANOTHERHOLiC Landolt-Ring Aerosol
Written by	Nisio Isin
Illustrated by	Clamp
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	Del Rey Manga
Published	August 1, 2006
TV anime
xxxHolic: Kei
Directed by	Tsutomu Mizushima
Produced by	List Toru Kawaguchi Shuichi Machida Junji Seki Tetsuya Watanabe Tsuyoshi Yoshida Nanase Ohkawa
Written by	Nanase Ohkawa Michiko Yokote
Studio	Production I.G
Network	Tokyo Broadcasting System
Original run	April 3, 2008 – June 26, 2008
Episodes	13
Original video animation
xxxHolic: Shunmuki
Directed by	Tsutomu Mizushima
Written by	Nanase Ohkawa
Studio	Production I.G
Released	February 17, 2009 – June 23, 2009
Runtime	27 minutes
Episodes	2
Original video animation
XxxHolic: RO
Directed by	Tsutomu Mizushima
Written by	Nanase Ohkawa
Studio	Production I.G
Released	April 23, 2010
Anime and Manga Portal

×××Holic (×××ホリック, Horikku^?, in-universe officially typeset xXxHoLic^[2]),^[3] pronounced "holic" is a manga by Clamp which has also received a TV anime adaption. The storyline of xxxHolic crosses over with that of a number of other Clamp series, the most notable of which are Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle which was written in tandem with it, and Cardcaptor Sakura, whose history it draws on at several points.

xxxHolic has been serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine periodically from 2003 until March 2010 before moving to Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in June 2010. The manga is 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 art style of the manga draws on the influence of ukiyo-e wood prints.^[4][5]

Plot

Kimihiro Watanuki is a high school student plagued by yōkai and ayakashi, 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 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 annoyance with Dōmeki.

During the climax of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Yūko sacrifices her life to help Syaoran and Sakura achieve their goals. In order to both stabilize the shop's existence and break free of Fei Wong Reed's trap with Syaoran, Watanuki offers up the remainder of his existence and becomes the successor to the shop until the day he can grant Yūko's wish.

Media

Manga

xxxHolic has been serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine since 2003 and published in volumes under the KC Deluxe label. It is currently published in the United States by Del Rey Manga and the first nine volumes were published in the United Kingdom by Tanoshimi.

Anime

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 film 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 Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and Cardcaptor Sakura references being removed.

The second season, 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.^[6] 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.

On February 5, 2010 Kodansha's official website for xxxHolic posted a trailer for a third anime adaptation of the series titled xxxHOLiC Rō.

On January 26, 2009, the series made its North American debut on the FUNimation Channel.^[7]

A two-DVD OVA, entitled xxxHOLiC Shunmuki (xxxHOLiC 春夢記, xxxHOLiC Shunmuki^?) (xxxHOLiC Spring Dreams Chronicle) has been announced for xxxHOLiC. The first DVD for this OVA was released on February 17, 2009 with the 14th volume of the Japanese manga. Another two DVD OVA which will cross over with this one was also announced for the Tsubasa series, entitled Tsubasa Shunraiki (ツバサ春雷記, Tsubasa Shunraiki^?) (Tsubasa Spring Thunder Chronicle).

A second OVA was distributed with the limited first edition of the 17th manga volume.^[8]

The xxxHOLiC Rō OAD was shipped with the 17th volume of the xxxHOLiC manga on April 23.

TV Themes

Opening theme:

1. "19sai (19才, Jūkyū-sai^?)" by Shikao Suga^[9]
2. "Sanagi" by Shikao Suga (xxxHOLiC: A Midsummer Night's Dream)
3. "NOBODY KNOWS" by Shikao Suga (xxxHOLiC: Kei)^[10]
4. "Sofa" by Shikao Suga (xxxHOLiC OVA Shunmuki)

Ending themes:

1. "Reason" by Fonogenico (episodes 1-13,24) ^[9]
2. Kagerou (蜉蝣, Kagerō^?) by BUCK-TICK (episodes 14-23) ^[9]
3. "Honey Honey" by Seamo featuring Ayuse Kozue (xxxHOLiC: Kei)^[10]
4. "Cherish" by Azu (xxxHOLiC OVA Shunmuki)
5. "Kaza Nagi" by Shikao Suga (xxxHOLiC OVA Rou)

Film

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 alongside Tsubasa Chronicle the Movie: The Princess of the Birdcage Kingdom.^[1] The DVD version was released on November 24, 2006.

In the film, Yūko receives a request from a woman to help her back into her mansion, which does not allow her to enter.^[11] Yūko says that since Watanuki was the one who brought the client to her, he should be the one to grant her wish and therefore is brought along with her and Dōmeki. Yūko also attends because she has been invited to the mansion with many other famous collectors by the same letter, with the mansion filled with strange rooms and mysterious letters telling its guests what to do in place of a host.^[11] Though the collectors come to the theory of a mysterious auction being held, as in some urban legends, it becomes apparent that something more sinister and mysterious is going on as the collectors begin to disappear and a number of other strange occurrences happen.

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

Other

There were also several other releases in the franchise:

×××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^?),^[12] a novel set within the series was written by Nisio Isin and published in Japan on August 1, 2006.^[13] 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 published an English translation of xxxHOLiC: AnotherHOLiC,^[14] released on October 28, 2008.^[15]

Several fanbooks have been released in Japan, with the last being released in English as "The Official xxxHOLiC Guide" by Del Rey.

• Gekijōban ×××HOLiC Official Fanbook (劇場版 ×××HOLiC OFFICIAL FANBOOK^?) – Released August 17, 2005, ISBN 9784063720495 ^[16]
• TV Animation ×××HOLiC Extra Official Guide Released May 17, 2006, ISBN 9784063721515 ^[17]
• Shinpan ×××HOLiC Dokuhon (新版 ×××HOLiC読本^?, "Brand New ×××HOLiC Reading-book") – Released November 17, 2006, ISBN 9784063722260 ^[18]

An adventure game by Marvelous Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 video game console was released in Japan on August 9, 2007,^[19] named ×××HOLiC ~Watanuki no Izayoi Sowa~ (×××HOLiC 〜四月一日の十六夜草話〜^?, "Watanuki's Sixteen-day-old Moon Grass Story").^[20]

Reception

In 2008, the Japanese copy of manga volume thirteen of xxxHolic claimed 43rd in the top 50 manga sold in Japan with 451,942 copies sold.^[21] Volume 13 also hit #6 on the New York Times list of bestselling manga shortly after its launch in April 2009.^[22]

Carlo Santos of Anime News Network finds that the series "has often been about the interaction between humans and the spirit world, but this time the series outdoes itself by breaking into the world of dreams".^[23] He also added that, "no matter where the story heads next, some things remain constant: the unique artwork, the reflective mood, and Yûko's ruminations on life and what lies beyond ... all of which add up to one of the shining examples of the supernatural genre."^[23]

References

External links

• xxxHolic (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• xxxHolic (manga) at Del Rey's Official site
• xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream and xxxHolic TV series at Production I.G's Official site
• xxxHolic and Tsubasa anime at Funimation Entertainment's Official site
• xxxHolic ~Watanuki no Izayoi Sowa~ official game site (Japanese)