xXxHoLic, Volume 1

From the Witchy Books Network review blog:

When he bumps into a garden wall, Watanuki Kimihiro's legs get a life of their own and lead him inside. There, he finds an enigmatic witch known as Yûko, and she tells him their meeting was fated. She grants wishes for a cost, and she knows his-- she will take away his burden of seeing spirits after he works off her price. He grudgingly accepts, but he is not prepared for he methods...

This was a great first volume for another series by the legendary mangaka collective CLAMP. The set-up is a little cliché and rushed, but it's worth it to start exploring Watanuki's character and Yûko's work. Contrary to all expectations, Yûko turns out not to be the kind of witch that grants every shallow show more wish, requiring steep or ironic prices. Rather, she seeks out people who have wishes they're afraid to voice, and attempts to help them find the solutions they already know. This allows the creators to explore very down-to-earth problems and probe realistic psychological complexities, which I found very satisfying. And in seeing her work, I began to suspect she was offering Watanuki something else-- perhaps showing him what his powers can actually do.

A few peeves: CLAMP work in allusions to their other works that, while you don't need to know them to appreciate the story, do make the narrative hiccup. Also, there are a few Japanese puns that, rather than being explained in a footnote by the translator, are pushed to an appendix, leading to a delayed appreciation. But these are minor quibbles, and overall I would love to read the rest! show less

I had picked this one up some years ago, when I hadn’t yet read a lot of manga. I “didn’t get it” then. (Manga novices, take note: nothing to see here… ;)) This time, I enjoyed it very much. I know the tricks of the genre better and they make me happy.

I liked both Yuka the witch and Watanuki. Yuka runs a wish-granting shop and tricks Watanaki into working for her. Now stuff can happen, while Watanuki spends the rest of the volume reeling. Naturally, nothing is simple and nothing is what it seems when it comes to people’s wishes. Magic, horror, humour and slapstick were an enjoyable mix.

The drawing style is beautiful, with Art Nouveau influences. Sometimes it felt too pretty, but it’s not something to complain about in show more this case.

There is a cliffhanger at the end, it must be a sign that I’ll be reading more of this series :) show less

Overall a really good premise, with an art style I really liked, and the way the problems were solved in here as well as the establishment of the relationship between the two main characters. I liked the characters and the view of magic here, it was quite refreshing to me and this first volume definitely led me wanting to read more of this series.

A high school student plagued by the ability to see spirits, Watanuki wanders into the shop of Yuko, a witch who grants wishes for a price. Yuko talks Watanuki into working for her (mostly household chores) in order to grant his wish to no longer see the spirits. Premise set, the rest of the volume goes in 'plot/person of the week' form, dealing with Yuko's customers, whom she doesn't seem to so much grant the wishes of but rather attempts to help them break addictions they may have.

Besides a handful of episodes of Card Captor Sakura, this is my first actual experience with CLAMP. While I was sure CCS was not an all-inclusive representation of everything CLAMP is capable of, various other hearsay (though intended to be positive) left me show more with the impression that their works were likely very, very good at giving people exactly what they wanted and looking very cool while doing it, but not having a great amount of substance besides that. I'm cool with something just being entertaining, but unfortunately I often have to have, say, compelling, multi-dimensional characters with interesting or relatable motivations in order to be entertained, and I thought CLAMP series might spend more time making their character cool, sexy, and fun to cosplay as than on the things I was more interested in. So I avoided them. But hey, had to try it some time, right?

As of yet I am decidedly unentertained, verging on annoyed. Though that certainly has to do with a pet peeve of mine. I cannot stand so many manga's apparent love of mystical, often overly simplistic philosophizing about random 'plot of the week' characters' lives. xxxHolic SWIMS in this.

And its arguments as far as I can tell are either not overly sophisticated, or vague allusions to 'lessons' we will probably learn in the future but make little sense now. The first plot, for example, is about a compulsive liar. For some inexplicable reason this compulsive liar's lying magically manifests itself as a black cloud of smoke Watanuki can see around her, making parts of her body unable to move. She doesn't stop lying (understandable since no one ever actually tells her that's the problem and there's little to help her realize this since the problem only recently started yet she's clearly been a compulsive liar for some time, and it's clearly COMPULSIVE, after all), so the problem quickly gets worse and it ends tragically. Yuko then goes off about how someone with an addiction has to cure themselves, what's considered good or bad differing between people, and creating your own 'world.'

On the other hand, as mentioned, philosophizing like this seems to be common in many manga (though not usually quite at this level). Considering the amount of time xxxHolic devotes to it I still wouldn't consider it a minor quibble, but it's still prevalent in manga to a point that if I were to insist that any series that has it is bad, I'm really just kind of being a twat.

So far, though, there's not too much else to judge. Yuko is perhaps the most interesting element so far. She's cool, collected, manipulative and her character design does a lot to emphasize her mystical, slightly unsettling aura. She's a bit harsh, probably not evil, but we're not really sure what to make of her besides that. I'm not really intrigued by her yet, but I assume we'll learn more about her later and she could eventually become intriguing.

Watanuki, though, is so far just your usual manga high school boy thrown into supernatural surroundings, slightly confused and constantly exasperated. We barely learn anything about him besides that he bickers a little with Yuko, likes a girl, he's an orphan, and other random info that doesn't really help us *get to know* him. It's to the point where I feel like I can't even really fault his characters just because I know so little about what the series intends to do with him.

Thus, while this volume provided fairly low enjoyment for me and there were very prevalent aspects I disliked, I can't quite bring myself to give up entirely on the series just yet, considering its popularity and fairly good presentation. The pandering and shallow entertainment I was slightly afraid to see picking up a CLAMP series wasn't really so much there, so I can only assume there are other reason for people to like this. Till I read on and find out what those reasons are, and determine that those reasons still don't appeal to me, I can't honestly say I dislike it. Likable, interesting characters have gone a long way in the past to make me accept aspects of a series I've been less than enthusiastic about.

In the end, I guess the best suggestion I can give to others currently is that this volume may not be a sufficient introduction to this series, and that if you want to give it an honesty try out, you may want to have access to one or two more. show less

While many Americans are familiar with anime, most know little or nothing of manga, the print verison of Japanese comics. The books are similar in style and themes to the movies, not a surprise as the movies are often created from successful manga series. For those English readers interested in manga, Del Rey has release some titles and I found the XXXHolic by Clamp to be the most fun of the lot. The mix of a sultry shopkeeper, a bad-tempered teenage boy, two very cute yet annoying children, and a big dash of magic tempered with a touch of humor creates a wonderfully amusing read.
Kimihiro Watanuki seems like a normal young teen, but he is plagued by spirits that only he seems to be able to see. While trying to avoid them, he encounters show more a strange house in the center of the city, one that literally drags him in and holds him captive. There he meets Yûko Ichihara, a beautiful and mysterious woman who, with her two child companions, runs a shop that grants wishes. Tied by the bonds of fate and his desire to not be haunted, Kimihiro is gently railroaded in to joining the staff. His duties seem mainly as a cleaner and errand boy, but it is obvious he is learning a lot from Yûko and her other customers. The first is a young woman who recently has been unable to use her one of her little fingers. A strange ailment, but actually a symptom of a larger problem, one of character. Another customer is addicted to the Internet (something a few of us would understand), so much so that all other aspects of her life are being ignored. Yûko has means to grant all their wishes, if they are willing to take what is offered.
XXXholic is a story with many levels. There is the teasing relationship Yûko has with Kimihiro, which shows elements of a mentor teaching a reluctant student. Certain Kimihiro has to be dragged along at times. But these are not one dimensional characters: Yûko is mysterious, but also playful: Kimihiro’s haunting makes him a tragic figure, but his stubborn nature often makes him an easy target for Yûko’s little jokes. It is quickly obvious that she is trying to mold the young man, although her ultimate goal is not revealed in this volume. In response, Kimihiro sees his boss mostly as annoying and totally ignores her sultry side, but he is impressed her unusual and insightful advice to her clients.
Clamp, a group of four female Japanese manga artists, continue to produce the XXXholic series and Del Rey has plans to release English editions of all the volumes. Currently volumes 1 to 8 are available, with 9 and 10 to be released in 2007. The story touches on other Clamp creations, such as Tsubasa, but is designed to be a stand-alone story. I recommend you start with the first book in XXXholic, which is sure to hook you in a intriguing fantasy that touches on all the sides of human life, from dark tragedy to true friendship to silly pranks. show less

More like 3.5 stars. I did enjoy this but not quite as much as some of the other manga I've read. I wish the storyline with the girl who lied would have been a bit longer. I think it got cut short just a bit much. I'll read the others because I'd still like to see what happens.

In my great re-read slash finish for the first time I have just bought all of XXXHolic. I love the authors/artists CLAMP. The manga is full of Japanese lore and legends so I loved all the volumes that I had read. In this we get an idea about the world that Watanuki lives in. He is tormented by ghost and other spirits all his life. Yuko does explain that she can free him of this but she does not tell him how much that would cost. A lot of money but since Watanuki is a student without any family the way he can pay her is to work for her. Of course there is more going on than that and Yuko knows it. The art is some of the most beautiful of CLAMP's in my opinion. I look forward to going on this journey with Watanuki all the way to the end show more this time.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. show less