xxxHolic
Anime DVD Review
No, it's not about being addicted to porn. Get your mind out of the gutter, this is from CLAMP after all, so it's got a level of taste and sophistication, style and sensibility, as do all CLAMP creations. But in this case, it also has a definite sense of irony, dark humor, and horror.
It's about obsession. And once an obsession becomes overwhelming, it's an addiction. Or, it could simply be you're possessed by a bad spirit. Either way, if you can find yourself at Yuko Ichihara's shop, she might be able to help you. Yuko is a witch, got a problem with that? And she'll help you out of any addiction, for a price. But the secret to her success is that you'll end up doing most of the work yourself. And the cure might ultimately be worse than the disease.
 xxxHolic walks a fine line between comedy and horror, sometimes falling too far to one side or the other, so you're never sure what it's trying to be although it certainly succeeds at being entertaining. Production I.G. pulled out all the stops for this one however, as the art-deco stylings and the unique look of Yuko's shop pull you into this universe that otherwise simply looks like modern day Japan.
 But, the demons and spirits are all too real here, often causing more than one of Yuko's clientele to try and off themselves. And of course, those unrepentant sometimes find themselves at the wrong end of Yuko's peculiar brand of justice, in which case, death starts to look like a vacation.
And of course, Yuko herself has an addiction... to food and booze, and she also seems to have an addiction to causing grief for her servant, Watanuki.
Of course these addictions are never addressed by Yuko, which leads this reviewer to ask if she can heal thyself. But, with a second season on the way, and a movie in the works, as well as crossovers to other CLAMP series, who knows... Maybe Yuko will make amends, or maybe she's just having a big joke at our expense.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, May 2008
Below: Promotional artwork from
xxxHolic.
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