I’m scared! Flavor: Sweet In my last xxxHOLiC post, I recall saying something like “This show is awesome, I’m so blogging this every week!”. Well, for some reason I didn’t… and the show’s almost over. *gasp* I really enjoy this series so I’m not sure why I haven’t written anything about it yet, but w/e. Here’s [...]
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Synopsis: Watanuki, without knowing it, buys a dream from Himawari and Doumeki. I know this entry is already late. By now, those who are watching xxxHOLiC Kei have probably read gazillions of summaries for this episode from gazillions of anime blogs. So if a detailed summary no longer interests you, dear reader, you can skip the sordid details and go to the end of each post, where I will be writing my thoughts on each episode.
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Synopsis: Watanuki is sent by Yuuko to rescue the Zashiki-warashi. With the use of the tengu fan, Yuuko transports Watanuki and the Karasu-tengu to where the Zashiki-warashi is being held captive. Watanuki and the others find themselves in front of an abandoned building reeking with malicious energy. Watanuki walks towards it. The Karasu-tengu warn him that the one who held the Zashiki-warashi isn't someone that Watanuki could go up against. Watanuki says he thinks so too but Yuuko sent him so there must be something he can do.
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Synopsis: Doumeki continues to search for a way to restore Watanuki's eye. Although it is already late at night, Doumeki continues to search for a way to restore Watanuki's eye. Watanuki arrives bringing food for him. Doumeki explains to Watanuki that the storehouse contains books collected by his grandfather. His grandfather was careful not to let anything bad enter the place. Watanuki notices that protective wards have been set up. Watanuki thinks that in stuffy places like the storehouse, there are always some spirits but he couldn't sense any there except for something he can't quite explain.
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Sorry for the lack of larger-size images. I got a crappy raw and besides, I intend on replacing most of the screenshots with the widescreen ones later on. If you're wondering if this episode contains some kind of crossover to Tsubasa Chronicle, you're setting up yourself for a big disappointment. As I thought, several changes have been made to the storyline. To begin with, this story was meant as a follow up to Himawari's arc but since that arc has not happened yet, Watanuki ends up going to the cake shop only with Doumeki. In addition to this, the writers completely scraps the part of the story where Moro and Maru are essential to keep the store intact. In this episode, both spirits are perfectly fine, changing the storyline in a big way. This particular story made the manga slightly more tense but at the same time, it also made things feel all over the place. It was weird to read a story that is interconnected to Tsubasa Chronicle on several pages and then seeing the story back talking about case-of-the-week on other pages. It often makes me wonder if those two stories are connected but in most cases, the answer is no. As a result, it just creates confusion. But now that the writers scrapped Tsubasa-related plot out, I wonder if they'll ever explain the purpose behind Yuuko's store.
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Synopsis: Doumeki bears a spider's grudge after destroying a web that Watanuki got caught into. Ah, it has been a while since I last set foot here. The scrumptious anime blog has started to become usagijen's realm in the other bloggers' absence. Well, I have been terribly busy at work, having no time to watch anime, much less blog them. In that busy-ness, at least I got to go to Japan, the motherlode of all that is anime and manga. Got to stay there for almost three months too and when I left, it was spring already. Time flies fast, doesn't it? And speaking of spring, the second season of xxxHOLiC Kei is one anime that I have been eagerly anticipating. xxxHOLiC is one of my favorite anime and I find Watanuki's antics amusing. And then there's the sultry Yuuko Ichihara who makes granting wishes here business. One thing I like about xxxHOLiC is its supernatural theme, drawing upon Japanese folklore and CLAMP's imagination. The black Mokona is simply icing on the cake.
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This is one of my favorite HOLiC stories because it's a straight up horror stories that the series often do a good job of. I can't help but being creep out everytime I see the figure that Watanuki see from outside the house. Although realistically, how many people would actually go in and investigate said figure in real life? I'd personally leave it alone. This is one thing that characters in horror stories like this one can't seem to grasp or understand. Instead of just staying away from it, they have the need to investigate it, which of course, leads them to experiencing the horror. Of course, if they didn't go in, then there wouldn't be a horror story in the first place. In a way, horror stories relies on its characters to investigate the very thing that terrorize them, in the process, they get terrorized even more. Anyway, to celebrate another creepy story, I decide to recycle the idea that I used in Episode 10 of xxxHOLiC. I basically told a horror story and asked others to do the same. You don't have to if you can't but it'd be good if you can because sharing horror stories is fun in that creepy kind of way.
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I'd guess that the only way I can fully enjoy this episode is if I have a full understanding of the games' rules. Otherwise, it feels like I'm only watching half of the story since I have no idea why certain things seem funny to the characters. This also makes me realized that there are several Japanese cultures that I can't connect with on a personal basis. Mahjong is one of them and Shougi, which I mistook as mahjong last week, is another. I think the same thing can be said about Pachinko. I remember sleeping at a nearby chair while my friends were busy trying to get more money out of Pachinko machines at an arcade in Japan. I do wonder if it's wrong that I don't want to understand them a bit more. It's just not in my interest to do so even though in general, I do like Japanese cultures. I just think that just because you like a culture, it doesn't mean you have to pretend that you like every single facet of said culture.
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If you're interested to see the difference between the pan/scan version and the widescreen, I've changed all of the screenshots from the first episodes into widescreen version. As you can see, it doesn't make much of a difference since washed out colors would stay washed out even in widescreen mode. The framing of the scenes are slightly better but it's nothing extraordinary. Maybe it'll be more apparent in episode 2, which has better, warmer color in comparison to episode 1. This episode itself is rather pedestrian in terms of animation. As I said before, the animation does make it harder to like this series. Sometimes I wish this series look more like Soul Eater (quality-wise) while still keeping the story similar. This episode itself is not too bad although it's certainly not a reference episode either. What stands out in this one, however, is the soundtrack, which is really good and in a way, is wasted on such poor animation/character design.
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I thought the animation quality will take a nosedive here but thankfully that's not the case. I actually like that the animators tried to express the characters' emotion through different animation styles. It gives the otherwise boring and noodle-thin character design some variations. The music is pretty good as well. I don't usually pay much attention to the music used in this series apart from the OP and ED but I like the carnival-like BGM that was used during the introduction of the Yumekai. I also appreciate some of the cross-reference scenes included in the episode. For example, the shot of Himawari/Watanuki is done in an upside-down manner, similar to how CLAMP normally draws their X characters when they want to show characters with two conflicting interest. I don't think that's the case in here though. It's most likely just a symbolism for Himawari's incompatibility with Watanuki. If you're a manga reader, you'll also spot Young Jump reference here. In fact, the magazine is displayed so prominently that it's a bit annoying at times.
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Episode 1 Spider`s WebWatanuki’s left eye has a clear view of Himawari walking to school, he yells to her and she turns and smiles. He awakes to find it was only a dream, first angry then happy because he saw Himawari in his dreams, so he believes that he’ll have a good day. The twins come in and chant breakfast, breakfast to get him up. Yuko is watching TV as she eats her breakfast, a story about a spiritual seeker, but Watanuki switches off the TV and telling her she shouldn’t watch TV while having her meals, and because he wants to tell her about his dream of Himawari. Yuko tells him again that Himawari isn’t lucky for him. But he replies that just by seeing her he overflows with happiness. Yuko wonders aloud if Himawari feels the same way. Then she asks for saki, but Watanuki’s mad and refuses her. On his way to school he greeted by his nemesis Domeki as he passes by his temple, and dragged in to help with the cleaning.I loved the first season of xxxHolic and the first two episodes of this current season are as good as those so if you’re a fan of the first season I’m pretty sure you’ll like this or a Kitaro fan. It’s got a nice connected storyline and interesting characters, it quickly changes from comedy to creepiness and back again and never seemed forced. The little touches are terrific as well, like when Yuko’s watching TV about the psychic the two twins are hugging each other in terror in the background, even though they work for a witch and see creepy all the time.Download the first two English hardsub episodes here.
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Sorry for the late review but it's been a rather busy week at work and this is such a dialogue-heavy episode. Overall, however, this is an excellent episode that is marred slightly by the inconsistent animation. I wish the animators can be a bit more consistent with the character animation. They have the tendency to draw Watanuki and otherworld creatures pretty well. However, when it comes to drawing Yuuko, Doumeki or Himawari, they sometimes slack off. This episode is a good example of the inconsistencies I am talking about. When Doumeki talks to Yuuko in front of her house, the long shot of him looks really bad. Jourougumo, however, looks fantastic no matter which angle you see her from. Not that I'm grateful for this because Jorougumo looks great (as long as you don't remember that her hand and legs probably transform into hairy spider legs at night) but I wish the animators would put the same attention when drawing other characters as well. Thankfully any deficiencies in the animation is offset by the fantastic story, which this episode delivers in spades.
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Mada Mada Dane. Summary: Watanuki arrives at Doumeki’s place with some food while Doumeki is busy reading through a book. Once inside, Watanuki notices the magic seals against the wall to keep away bad spirits. After rummaging through a box, Watanuki accidentally causes a plank from the wall to fall off. However, [...]
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