xxxHOLiC Vol. 1 – 5 Overview
Author: CLAMP
Publisher: Dey Rey Manga
“Watanuki Kimihiro is haunted by visions of ghosts and spirits. Seemingly by chance, he encounters a mysterious witch named Yuuko, who claims she can help. In desperation, he accepts, but realizes that he’s just been tricked into working for Yuuko in order to pay off the cost of her services. Soon he’s employed in her little shop—a job which turns out to be nothing like his previous work experience!”
Plot & Characterisation
A slow, but genuinely interesting start. And in the world of manga that’s perfectly acceptable and even expected; not the mention that xxxHOLiC is a quite casual and easy-going manga in terms of plot progression when compared, say, to its sister-series Tsubasa. Rather than having a strong sequential narrative that follows directly from one chapter to the next, staying within that timeline, each new chapter (or sometimes a couple or three chapters) of xxxHOLiC is like a new day with a new story. There’s been no ‘arch-villain’ identified yet either, which I found refreshing. Although, the latter part of volume five suggests something may be on the horizon with Yûko dropping hints in her typically ambiguous way, but still it took five volumes to get to this point and the story doesn’t suffer at all because of it.
Of course, there are unifying plotlines that run throughout the entire series such as Watanuki and Dômeki’s complimentary powers of visionary and exorcist of spirits respectively (a set-up that aggravates the envious and irate Watanuki no end) that is often at the centre of most xxxHOLiC’s stories. The enigmatic Yûko, the inter-dimensional space time witch with rather dark ad sinister undercurrent, strictly enforces her policy of a price equal and matching of her services even when it seems inappropriate or unfair. And the ending is not always happy, and sometimes fatal and gruesome. These unconventional aspects of xxxHOLiC are what make it a truly outstanding manga; the moral ambiguities and shades of grey that subtly and lightly (never heavy-handedly) explore the human condition maintain a lot of ground in real life, regardless of the supernatural subject matter.
But there are a few downsides that sadly revert to typical manga conventions. These mostly revolve around Watanuki, the protagonist. While I definitely enjoy that he’s not the typical manga hero (see Syaoran from Tsubasa for a good example of that), bespectacled, irritable and never afraid to point out the bizarreness of a situation, Watanuki still remains at the centre of a couple of aggravating stereotypes. First is the love-triangle between Watanuki, Himawari and Dômeki. It is actually possible to not have a love-triangle somewhere in manga or anime? Perhaps because it’s such a staple for the category it isn’t worth complaining about, but in the context the otherwise different and unconventional xxxHOLiC it disappoints me a little. Himawari’s wafer-thin, inoffensive character strongly supports she isn’t much more than an object for Watanuki’s affection (although I found it hilarious that she buys all her cooked presents rather than being a master chief and uber-wife-to-be most of these characters tend to be). The second stereotypical element is Watanuki and Dômeki’s rivalry, which bugs me more for a lack of a decent reason rather than anything else. It serves as a nice contrast in character, especially as they’re both inextricably linked, but it isn’t really properly explained beyond Watanuki’s general dislike of Dômeki (who is completely indifferent to most of this in his typically cool, relaxed way). Still, there’s plenty of time for a more robust explanation to appear in later volumes. These two quibbles are very minor in the grander scheme of things, and people familiar with manga and anime probably won’t even think twice about them.
Artwork
First, I need to gush about the covers (see images): they are truly beautiful pieces of art that I would bend over backwards to get in a poster form. Everything from the composition to the colouring is lush and aseptically beautiful and every one of these five volumes is fantastic (volume 3 being a personal favourite of mine).
The interior keeps up this standard in line-work form with simple but effective layouts and lots of wonderful spreads (usually involving Yûko being sultry and/or mysterious with lots of swirly lines and mist). Out of all the CLAMP mangas I’ve read, which I admit is only currently three, this is definitely my favourite in terms of artistic style. And that’s just it; xxxHOLiC is simply stylish.
(Side note: I actually almost cried from the intense cuteness of the Pipe Fox Spirit (the clue’s in the name for a visual – sort of like a tiny version of from Falkor The Neverending Story, only more fox-like than Chinese dragon) in volume five. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever gone ‘SQUEE~~!’ over a comic. It’s a slippery slope, I know. CLAMP manga is just inherently cute. It’s inescapable.)
Presentation
Del Rey will continue to get numerous brownie points for their translation notes in the back of each of their mangas. It’s helped me enjoy xxxHOLiC even more and I’m actually learning interesting things about Japanese culture at the same time. Trust a publisher known for it’s non-fiction (Del Rey is owned by Random House, a huge publishing house that deals with every genre) to be educational as well as fun, eh? It also means their translation is fantastic; Random House being very capable with their translations of Japanese book authors like Haruki Murakami.
Production quality is generally good, with those lovely covers getting a nice textured paper, but I did get a pretty crappy volume four in terms of paper quality. I get the impression recycled paper is used, which more than fine by me as it only means the whites are slightly less than say a Tokyopop book and it’s helping the environment, but I suppose it opens things up to the occasional bum-note. It was probably just as much my fault for not finding a better copy. Otherwise the blacks are vivid and I haven’t had any printing smears or errors so far.
A quick note of the colour pages included: I agree they are strangely positioned at the beginning of the book and then reprinted in black and white sequentially, but I’m happy to have them if only for those kick arse spreads.
Conclusion
I don’t mind admitting to bias, xxxHOLiC is certainly a favourite of mine. From its mature story-lines to its effortless, undeniably cool style there’s endless things to praise about the manga, with only a few minor quibbles that ultimately serve to underline the majority of brilliant points. People who weren’t particularly impressed with Tsubasa shouldn’t over-look xxxHOLiC because of its heavily advertised crossover moments. Those are few and far between and xxxHOLiC stands independently in being exceptional and unique. Interested in the occult and supernatural, but value humanity and subtly in your stories? Time for a purchase, I think.