XxxHolic
From CLAMP Wiki
xxxHolic (×××ホリック, Horikku), pronounced "holic", is a seinen manga series planned and presented by Clamp. 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 since 2003 and 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 animated movie xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream was released in Japan on August 20, 2005. The DVD of the movie was released on November 24, 2006 and a TV animation series began airing on TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) on April 6, 2006 in Japan. Both the movie and TV series have been licensed by Funimation Entertainment for distribution in the United States. A second season of the TV animation, entitled xxxHolic: Kei (xxxHOLiC◆継, xxxHolic: Kei) aired from April 3 to June 26, 2008.
After the end of the second season, a special episode was announced for a DVD-only release, confirmed to be a bundle release with volume 14 of the manga on January 16, 2009. Similar to the announcement in its sister publication Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle months earlier, on April 28, 2008, in chapter 157 prior to beginning a five week hiatus, it was announced that xxxHolic is approaching its conclusion.
Although not actually confirmed on the Manga Entertainment website, the first television series is to be released in the United Kingdom by them, and not Revelation Films. It is however confirmed in the August Edition of the Manga Entertainment Newsletter, with the first part of the series to be released on October 27, 2008. It is unclear if Manga Entertainment plan to also licence the movie for UK release.
[edit] Plot
Kimihiro Watanuki is a high school student plagued by yōkai, 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 and beautiful 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.
[edit] Main Characters
Kimihiro Watanuki - (四月一日君尋, Watanuki Kimihiro) is a typical high-school student living on his own. He is down-to-earth and selfless, but also very irritable, especially when it comes to Yūko's lavish demands and Dōmeki's stoic attitude. Watanuki begins working for Yūko in exchange for the fulfillment of his wish to never see spirits again. Despite the fact that he hates this ability, Watanuki often goes out of his way to help people that he comes into contact with because of his power, even when he is not required to do so by his job. Apart from Dōmeki and Himawari, Watanuki does not seem to have any friends at school leading Yūko to tease him about being unpopular.
Yuuko Ichihara - (壱原 侑子, Ichihara Yūko) is a very powerful witch, mostly known for her ability to send people to other dimensions and times, and for her ability to grant any wish in exchange for an equal cost. She knows many different people, including Clow Reed together with whom she created the Mokonas. Despite her seemingly immature and free-spirited attitude, Yūko is sage-like and serious when the time calls for it.
Shizuka Doumeki - (百目鬼 静, Dōmeki Shizuka) is Watanuki's classmate and one-sided rival. He is part of the school's archery club and often participates in school competitions. He lives in a shrine owned by his late grandfather. Dōmeki's personality sharply contrasts with Watanuki's, as he is calm and often sarcastic. Dōmeki has the ability to exorcise evil spirits and is immune to most curses, mostly due to his ancestry and how his grandfather taught and raised him in a temple.
Himawari Kunogi - Watanuki's crush and friend of both Watanuki and Doumeki who is cursed with bad luck that only does not effect her parents and Doumeki. With a caring and sweet personality, her biggest fear is harming Watanuki because of her curse.
Mokona - A small black rabbit-like creature who was created by Yuuko and loves sake. Mokona also has the ability to contact the other Mokona that is currently travelling in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.
[edit] Publication
xxxHolic is released weekly in 'Weekly Young Magazine', although it often misses a lot of weeks whenever CLAMP needs Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle to catch up to the xxxHolic storyline. There are currently 185 chapters released and 16 volumes.
In English it is released by 'Del Rey'.
