I’d Rather Review | XXXHolic

XXXHolic| 24 Episodes | DUB | VRV

Verdict: It’s interesting but it won’t rock your world.

When I first started watching XXXHolic, the first thing I noticed was the intro music. I usually don’t think very highly of first episodes with intros, but this one did a good job with it. The intro was catchy and smooth and just really enjoyable. I actually enjoyed listening to the intro and the outro, instead of skipping through it, which is rare for me.

This series is about a boy named Watanuki, who can see and is often harassed by spirits. He wanders into a shop one day, owned by a woman named Yuko, who claims that she can help him because her shop is one that grants wishes. He says that he walks in by accident, but she tells him that nothing happens by accident. Everything is inevitable, including their meeting. She ends up granting him a wish and takes his pocket watch from him. His real wish is to be left alone by spirits, and she says that she can grant it. However, she also lets him know that the world demands balance and that if something is given, something of equal value must be given in return. He ends up working in her shop and going on some interesting adventures in return for her granting his wish — which we technically never actually see come to fruition. He doesn’t get chased by them, but he still sees them, and they are still attracted to him and it leads him to get into more trouble than not.

This anime is full of life-lesson-wisdom-nuggets and I thought that was pretty cool. Watanuki learns a lesson of some sort in almost every episode, but it’s in such a way that it can be applied to anyone’s life. The adventures are interesting enough, but the story isn’t very serialized. The stories aren’t connected in such a way that if you watch it out of order you’ll feel lost. That being said, I didn’t feel the need to binge watch this and could go several days without watching it all.

I liked that Watanuki is a regular person really. He lost his parents at a young age, which sucks, but it’s also one of his defining points. He’s a first-year in high school (I think) and he has a crush on this girl named Himawari. He freaks out over her in every episode. His friend Domeki isn’t really his friend? They have a love-hate relationship, but Domeki comes from a family of priests and has the power to get rid of spirits so Watanuki ends up needing him around more often than not, despite not wanting him to be around. He’s complex but also very simple in ways. I liked that.

Overall it’s a good anime. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over not ever seeing it, but if you stumble across it, it’s a generally good find. If you’ve seen it, tell us what you think in the comment section below.

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The Otaku Couple