The anime series xxxHolic and its sequels are based on Clamp's manga series with the same name and were developed by Production I.G.[1] It revolves around Kimihiro Watanuki, a high-school student disturbed by his ability to see the supernatural. He meets Yūko Ichihara, a powerful witch, who owns a wish-granting shop. Watanuki requests to have his ability to see spirits removed and as payment, Yūko hires him to work in the shop, resulting in his encounter with various supernatural adventures.
The first season of TV anime adaptation of xxxHolic began airing on Tokyo Broadcasting System on April 6, 2006 in Japan and ended on September 28, 2006, with 24 episodes in total.[2][3] 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.[1] The second season, xxxHolic: Kei (xxxHOLiC◆継 Horikku: Kei, lit. "xxxHolic: Sequel"), began airing on TBS on April 3, 2008 in Japan and ended on June 26, 2008, with 13 episodes in total.[4][5] The main staff and cast remains the same as in the first season.[6] The first season's episodes were also collected in eight DVD volumes published between July 26, 2007 and February 21, 2008,[7][8] while two DVD boxes were released on August 25, 2010 and October 27, 2010.[9][10] The second's ones were released in seven DVD volumes between June 25, 2008 and December 17, 2008,[11][12] while a DVD box will be released on January 26, 2011.[13]
The first season was licensed by Funimation Entertainment in July 2007.[14] A total of six DVDs were released between March 25, 2008 and October 21, 2008 featuring the first season's episodes,[15][16] while a DVD box was released on July 28, 2009.[17] On January 26, 2009, the series made its North American debut on the Funimation Channel.[18]
A two-DVD original video animation (OVA), entitled xxxHOLiC Shunmuki (xxxHOLiC 春夢記, lit. "xxxHOLiC Spring Dreams Chronicle") was also released. The first DVD for this OVA was released on February 17, 2009 with the 14th volume of the Japanese manga. The second one was released alongside volume 15 on June 26, 2009.[19] Another OVA titled xxxHolic Rō (×××HOLiC・籠, lit. "xxxHolic Cage") was shipped with the 17th volume of the xxxHolic manga on April 23, 2010.[20][21] A direct sequel OVA titled xxxHolic: Rō Adayume (×××HOLiC・籠 あだゆめ, lit. "xxxHolic Cage Selfish Dream") was released in March 9. 2011,[22] and was included with the nineteenth volume from the manga.[23]
Contents |
This season uses three musical themes: one opening themes and two ending themes. "19sai" (19才 Jūkyū-sai)" by Shikao Suga is used as the opening theme. The endings are "Reason" by Fonogenico for the first thirteen episodes and "Kagerou" (蜉蝣 Kagerō) by BUCK-TICK for the following ones.
| # | Title | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "The Inevitable" "Hitsuzen" (ヒツゼン) |
April 6, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki Kimihiro has been able to see spirits ever since he was small. One day Watanuki's life changes completely when he meets Yūko for the first time. Watanuki is given a job at Yūko's shop, paying off his debt. Mokona, Maru and Moro all make their first appearance in this episode. | ||||
| 02 | "Falsehood" "Kyogen" (キョゲン) |
April 13, 2006 | ||
| A client seeks Yūko's aid because she has problems with her right little finger; Yūko tells her that it is happening because of a bad habit of hers. Watanuki learns more about Yūko while becoming the shop's cook. Himawari and Dōmeki both make their first appearance in this episode. | ||||
| 03 | "Angel" "Enzeru" (エンゼル) |
April 20, 2006 | ||
| Himawari asks for Yūko's help to solve a series of mysterious incidents occurring at the school, involving a game called angel. Yūko meets Himawari, and Watanuki is forced to work with Dōmeki. Dōmeki begins to learn about his true nature. | ||||
| 04 | "Fortune Telling" "Uranai" (ウラナイ) |
April 27, 2006 | ||
| Yūko decides to show Watanuki what a real Diviner can do. Watanuki learns more about Yūko's powers, while his past is explained. The important butterfly symbolism found throughout the series is also explained. | ||||
| 05 | "Game of Letters" "Shiritori" (シリトリ) |
May 4, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki encounters an uncommon oden shop in the middle of the night, while engaging in a dangerous task with Mokona's aid. Watanuki meets the fox family and later gives the little fox an arrow of virtue. The full moon brings new life to Yūko's shop. | ||||
| 06 | "Indulgence" "Tandeki" (タンデキ) |
May 11, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki and Yūko visit Yūko's customer, a housewife who is addicted to the internet. The customer wants to leave her addiction, hence the reason why Yūko helps her. | ||||
| 07 | "Hydrangea" "Ajisai" (アジサイ) |
May 18, 2006 | ||
| A rain sprite, named Ame-warashi, seeks Yūko's help to save a friend of hers. Watanuki and Dōmeki go to the place directed by Ame-warashi. Watanuki finds a little human girl amongst the Hydrangea. | ||||
| 08 | "Contract" "Keiyaku" (ケイヤク) |
May 25, 2006 | ||
| A teacher in Watanuki's school gets her hands into a dangerous item from Yūko's shop, the monkey's paw. The teacher's discovery eventually leads to her downfall and of the monkey's paw choking her. | ||||
| 09 | "Pinky Promise" "Yubikiri" (ユビキリ) |
June 1, 2006 | ||
| Yūko receives a pipe fox as payment from Ame-warashi, while another client arrives at the shop having problems with her right little finger; Yūko tells her that it is happening because of a bad habit of hers. | ||||
| 10 | "Lamplight" "Tomoshibi" (トモシビ) |
June 8, 2006 | ||
| Yūko decides to arrange a meeting to tell ghost stories with Watanuki and his friends. Watanuki, Dōmeki and Himawari are invited to the meeting and are told to prepare a ghost story and share it during the meeting. | ||||
| 11 | "Confession" "Kokuhaku" (コクハク) |
June 15, 2006 | ||
| When a vestal sprite, named Zashiki-warashi, accidentally steals Dōmeki's soul, Watanuki has to go after her to get it back, aloof to what are her true intentions. | ||||
| 12 | "Summer Shade" "Natsukage" (ナツカゲ) |
June 22, 2006 | ||
| It's summer and the gang decides to spend some days in a house by the beach. For some reason Dōmeki keeps asking Watanuki why he doesn't ask for help, but he can't figure out why. Unbeknown to them, there's a ghost lurking inside. When Watanuki discovers this, will he investigate alone? | ||||
| 13 | "Transfiguration" "Henbō" (ヘンボウ) |
June 29, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki investigates a classmate of his who started to behave strangely since a pair of wings started to grow from her back. | ||||
| 14 | "Seal" "Fūin" (フウイン) |
July 6, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki and Dōmeki meet a pair of twin sisters and even go to a date with them, but Watanuki can't shake the feeling there is something strange about the older one. | ||||
| 15 | "Release" "Kaihō" (カイホウ) |
July 13, 2006 | ||
| The situation involving the twin sisters start to get dangerous as one of them starts to bleed for apparently no reason. | ||||
| 16 | "Reunion" "Saikai" (サイカイ) |
July 20, 2006 | ||
| In order to make the pipe fox revert to its original form, Yūko sends Watanuki to purify it in a mystical mountain, where he meets Zashiki-warashi again. | ||||
| 17 | "Self-Mutilation" "Jishō" (ジショウ) |
July 27, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki brings a woman to the shop with an urge to always take irrational decisions in her choices. | ||||
| 18 | "Ground Cherry" "Hōzuki" (ホオズキ) |
August 3, 2006 | ||
| Yūko receives a magic lantern, also called a "ground cherry", and asks Watanuki and Dōmeki to take it to a very uncommon festival. | ||||
| 19 | "Unreasonable" "Rifujin" (リフジン) |
August 10, 2006 | ||
| Yūko invites Watanuki and his gang including Ame-warashi and Zashiki-warashi to the park. Yūko tells them to make a snowman and then she makes them alive which is followed by an interesting snowball fight. | ||||
| 20 | "Atonement" "Aganai" (アガナイ) |
August 31, 2006 | ||
| A desperate customer seeks Yūko's help because she is being haunted by a strange photo that she can't get rid of, a photo that tells of a terrible secret. | ||||
| 21 | "Nail Clipper" "Tsumekiri" (ツメキリ) |
September 7, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki ignores some old superstitions like, if somebody buys new shoes the person shouldn't wear them at night or if somebody sleeps after eating, the person will become a cow. Watanuki then takes on a superstition about if somebody cuts their nails, the person will not be with their parents during their death. He ignores it and gets into trouble, he is then saved by Yūko. | ||||
| 22 | "Temptation" "Yūwaku" (ユウワク) |
September 14, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki meets a beautiful woman and starts to see her every day hoping to soothe her loneliness, but somehow he starts to get sick and can't figure out the reason. | ||||
| 23 | "Choice" "Sentaku" (センタク) |
September 21, 2006 | ||
| As Watanuki has more encounters with the mysterious woman, his condition worsens and Dōmeki decides to intervene. | ||||
| Sidestory (24) | "Reminiscence" "Tsuioku" (ツイオク) |
September 28, 2006 | ||
| Watanuki reminisces about his childhood, when he was saved by a boy who became a precious friend of his. | ||||
The opening theme is "NOBODY KNOWS" by Shikao Suga and the ending theme is "Honey Honey" by Seamo.
| # | Title | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Spider (Spiderweb)" "Kumo no Su" (蜘蛛 クモノス) |
April 3, 2008 | ||
| Watanuki meets Doumeki at the temple where he lives. While helping Doumeki clean the yard, Watanuki is caught in a large spiderweb hanging from a tree. Doumeki clears the spiderweb away. The next day, Doumeki experiences pain in his right eye, which later becomes covered in a substance similar to a spiderweb. Watanuki turns to Yuuko, who explains that the spider whose web Doumeki cleared away has taken its revenge by taking something of similar value to its lost web, Doumeki's eye. Watanuki feels that the spider's grudge should be directed at him, even when Yuuko points out that grudges aren't reasonable. That night, Doumeki goes outside and is engulfed by some winds, before emerging with his right eye restored. The next morning, Watanuki comes to school with a bandage over his right eye. When Doumeki later rips it off, it is shown that Watanuki's right eye has become blank and lost its vision. He has made a wish with Yuuko to return Doumeki's eye to him in exchange for his own, an act which angers Doumeki. | ||||
| 02 | "Left Eye" "Hidarime" (左眸 ヒダリメ) |
April 10, 2008 | ||
|
While walking home from school together, Himawari gives Watanuki a book to loan to Doumeki. When Watanuki arrives at the temple, something strange happens to him; Doumeki comes upon him and Watanuki gives him Himawari's book and sees that Doumeki is carrying a large number of old looking books. Doumeki has been studying the occult books in his family temple's vast storeroom, looking for a way to restore Watanuki's sight. Later that evening, Watanuki unexpectedly drops in on Doumeki's storeroom with a bento and miso soup, which he insists are simply leftovers. Doumeki is irreverent, causing Watanuki to flare up. When Doumeki tells Watanuki to go home due to the late hour and to the increased risk of Watanuki encountering a ghost, Watanuki insists on staying and helping Doumeki with his research. Through an accident on Watanuki's part, Doumeki finds a hidden book written by his grandfather in writing so complicated that Watanuki can't read it (though Doumeki can). Doumeki finds a spell for getting back an eye stolen by a spider, but before he can read it fully, a book on the table comes alive. The kanji on the page form a snake-like creature, which jumps onto Doumeki's grandfather's book. Watanuki panics and stops Doumeki from confronting the creature, and calls for Yuuko instead. Yuuko suddenly appears in the storeroom, much to Watanuki's shock. The storeroom is protected in all four directions by mystic wards written on paper; because Doumeki's grandfather crafted the wards, they are very powerful, and Yuuko feeds them to the creature. Upon eating all four wards, the creature is suddenly bound up in a ball of string. Yuuko explains that it is a bookworm, a type of spirit that likes to eat highly valuable or important words, and that the magic in Doumeki's grandfather's paper wards have neutralized it. Doumeki opens his grandfather's book to find that the entire restoration spell has been erased, eaten by the bookworm. Yuuko asks who the owner of the book from which the bookworm originated is, and Watanuki says it is Himawari's book, before panicking over Himawari's damaged book. When pressed by Watanuki, Yuuko reveals that she came to see Doumeki's storeroom hoping to find treasure. To Watanuki's ire, she asks him to cook food to go with sake she brought, also revealing that the bento brought by Watanuki for Doumeki was specially made for him, causing Watanuki embarassment. |
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| 03 | "Friend's Half (Half)" "Hanbun" (朋分 ハンブン) |
April 17, 2008 | ||
| Watanuki lurches into school after staying at Yuuko's all night drinking session with Doumeki at his storehouse. After school, Watanuki comes upon a curious girl who mentions something cryptic about his eye. Yuuko reveals that he must hurry or he will not be able to get his right eye back. After learning that the Zashiki-Warashi (a protective spirit who is fond of Watanuki) disappeared while looking for his right eye, Watanuki rushes to help her. Upon finding her, he also discovers the creature who possesses his stolen eye. Watanuki ends up escaping with the help of the pipe fox, but also ends up losing his right eye completely. In the end Doumeki gives him half of his right eye. | ||||
| 04 | "Dream-Buying" "Yumekai" (夢買 ユメカイ) |
April 24, 2008 | ||
| Watanuki describes a dream involving Mokona and the eggplant with Himawari, leading to a discussion of their dreams. Watanuki later experiences the dreams of Himawari and Doumeki, when he is chased by a monster and saved by Doumeki's grandfather on a horse. He and Yūko later sell the arrow which Domeki's grandfather shot to the Dream Buyer, a creature who deals in dreams and the items that come from them. | ||||
| 05 | "Affinity (Kohane)" "Kohane" (由縁 コハネ) |
May 1, 2008 | ||
| Watanuki meets Kohane Tsuyuri, a little girl who is a famous medium, and he discovers that they have much in common. | ||||
| 06 | "Peace (Konohana)" "Konohana" (平和 コノハナ) |
May 8, 2008 | ||
| Even without knowing the rules, Watanuki is dragged by Yūko and friends to play some mahjong at Doumeki's place, unaware of their true purpose. | ||||
| 07 | "Water Cat (Water-Drawing)" "Mizukumi" (水猫 ミズクミ) |
May 15, 2008 | ||
|
On a hot summer's day, Yuuko, Maru and Moro are bathing in the garden with a shower faucet hand-operated by Watanuki, who is irked by the work. The Neko-Musume (cat-girl) appears and makes a request of Yuuko, giving her an egg in exchange for Watanuki collecting water for her from a well. On his first visit to the well, Watanuki is forced to trespass into a private garden of a house and notices a woman sitting at a high window. She does not move, but the sight perturbs Watanuki. When he returns for more water with Doumeki, the woman is in the same place in the same clothes. Watanuki establishes that the woman is not a spirit, because Doumeki can see him with his normal eye, but Doumeki later says that she reminds him of something he's seen before. Himawari and Watanuki both comment that Doumeki is being cryptic, unlike his usual self, but he doesn't reply. Later, Watanuki 'pinky-promises' Himawari that he won't overwork himself. When he next collects water, his little finger hurts and the wrapper of his water container is blown into the window of the woman in the house. Doumeki and Watanuki enter the house, which is empty and silent. Watanuki is spooked. Doumeki and Watanuki find the woman, who falls inert to the floor in a gust of wind. Watanuki assumes she's a doll, but Yuuko, who appears, asks Doumeki to give his view. Doumeki says it is something he has seen many times since childhood, a corpse. When Watanuki protests that a corpse would have putrefied in the summer heat, Doumeki points out that, according his grandfather, corpses of the modern age do not rot because of the preservatives that people consume. Meanwhile the Neko-Musume retrieves a dead kitten from the almost-emptied well in the garden. She thanks Yuuko for helping her, but comments on the miasma around Watanuki's little finger. |
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| 08 | "Ring (Whisper)" "Sasayaki" (鈴音 ササヤキ) |
May 22, 2008 | ||
| A girl claiming her house is filled with scary and strange noises seeks Yūko's aid. | ||||
| 09 | "Rumor" "Fūhyō" (流噂 フウヒョウ) |
May 29, 2008 | ||
| After learning that Kohane is being harassed by the public as many believe her powers are a fraud, Watanuki pays a visit to her. | ||||
| 10 | "No Return (Awareness)" "Kizuki" (不戻 キヅキ) |
June 5, 2008 | ||
| Tired of seeing Kohane being harassed by the media and mistreated by her own mother, Watanuki takes her to the shop. | ||||
| 11 | "Secret (Alone)" "Hitori" (秘事 ヒトリ) |
June 12, 2008 | ||
| Watanuki's little finger continues to hurt and he becomes more suspicious of Himawari. In the following day, he suffers a serious accident just after she touches him. | ||||
| 12 | "Truth" "Hontō" (真実 ホントウ) |
June 19, 2008 | ||
| Watanuki learns that Doumeki and Himawari became Yūko's clients in order to save his life and hears from Himawari the truth about her. | ||||
| 13 | "Repayment" "O-kaeshi" (報恩 オカエシ) |
June 26, 2008 | ||
| All is well now and Watanuki is now doing his regular errands for Yūko. Upon coming home from grocery shopping, he meets the Fox who is the son of the oden shop owner. He wanted to thank Watanuki so he offered him fox oden. After eating the fox oden Watanuki wanted to thank to fox so he asked Yūko to grant him the wish to be able to meet the fox spirit again. | ||||
The opening theme is "Sofa" by Shikao Suga and the ending theme is "Cherish" by Azu.
| # | Title | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "First Part" "Zenpen" (前編) |
February 17, 2009 | ||
| Watanuki and Dōmeki enjoy meal and drinks with the fortune teller, where Kohane is staying. There, it's explained that everyone changes with every meeting they experience with others, and that all four there, and even Yūko, have changed from meeting Watanuki. Later on, Haruka and Watanuki meet in a dream, in which Haruka asks Watanuki to look for something in the temple's storeroom. However, as they look around, they seemed to have stepped into the realm within the book by accident. | ||||
| 02 | "Last Part" "Kōhen" (後編) |
June 23, 2009 | ||
| Watanuki and Dōmeki continue to search for the four items that Haruka requested. There is a notable change in Watanuki, as he acts like he appreciates Dōmeki for once. Watanuki manages to find and unlock the items as Haruka had requested, which leads to an encounter with someone close to him. Later, Watanuki finds Yūko and vows to grant her wish. | ||||
| # | Title | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "xxxHolic Rō" (×××HOLiC・籠) |
April 23, 2010 | ||
| Watanuki finds Yūko being swallowed by shadows from the Dream World, as she states her death was halted a long time ago and thanks to two people's decision, she is able to pass on. Upon dying, Yūko tells Watanuki her wish is for him to go on existing. Several years later, Watanuki has become the new proprietor of Yūko's shop, taking care of Maru, Moro and Mokona. Domeki has taken a position at a university to study folklore while also assisting Watanuki and Kohane has become a student at the same university studying under Domeki. Due to Domeki's position, a series of events have occurred that requires Watanuki's services. As part of the request, Watanuki hears a recording from a girl that says "I'm back Watanuki" with Yūko's voice. Watanuki continues listening it as the screen fades to black and he replies "Welcome back, Yūko". The ending theme is "Kaza Nagi" (風なぎ, lit. "Calmed Wind") by Shikao Suga. | ||||
| # | Title | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "xxxHolic Rō Adayume" (×××HOLiC・籠 あだゆめ) |
March 9, 2011[25] | ||
| Watanuki is requested a job by Haruka which involves him investigating Dōmeki's dreams. As he enters into the dreams, he starts seeing events that happened across the series from Dōmeki's view, but starting from when he was a child. As Watanuki gets to the part Yuko gave Dōmeki his magical egg, shadows within the dream start attacking Watanuki. He is able to destroy them and goes to meet Haruka. Haruka comments how he always protected Dōmeki and knew of the problems occurring within his dreams. Taking Haruka's constant teachings as his payment, Watanuki leaves the dream wondering about what Yuko told Dōmeki when giving him the egg. Watanuki then meets Dōmeki who gives him an invitation to his and Kohane's wedding, although Dōmeki states Kohane loved Watanuki. The opening theme is "Adayume" (あだゆめ, lit. "Selfish Dream") by Shikao Suga and the ending theme is "Gomenne." (ごめんね。, lit. "I'm Sorry") by Tiara.[24] | ||||
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