×××HOLiC 2

xxxHOLiC [xxx ホリック] #2

by Clamp

不思議コメディ！
霊感体質の持ち主、四月一日君尋（ワタヌキキミヒロ）はある日、吸い寄せられるように一軒の家に…。そこは、市原侑子（イチハラユウコ）という名の妖しい女性が主人をつとめる店で、どんな願いも、見合った対価をはらえばかなえるという。そこで働かざるを得なくなった君尋は、今日もコキ使われて…！？


突然、空から降ってきた2人。その願いをかなえるには驚くべき対価を必要とした…！『ツバサ』（週刊少年マガジン）と話がリンクし、まんが界話題騒然！待望の新CLAMPワールド第2弾、見参！！描き下ろしイラストによる『×××HOLIC』『ツバサ』特製しおり付き！
Includes chapters 9-15

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Seinen, Supernatural, Fiction

182 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2003

About the author

Ōkawa Nanase 大川七瀬
[born: 2 May 1967; Ōsaka, bloodtype: A]

Mokona Apapa もこなあぱぱ
[born: 16 Jun 1968, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]

Nekoi Mick 猫井みっく
[born: 21 Jan 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: O]

Igarashi Satsuki 五十嵐さつき
[born: 8 Feb 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]


CLAMP originally began in 1989 as a twelve-member dōjinshi circle, but by 1990, the circle had diminished from twelve to seven. Of the remaining seven, Tamayo Akiyama, Sei Nanao, and Leeza Sei left the group during the production of the RG Veda manga. Other former members of CLAMP also included Soushi Hishika, O-Kyon, Kazue Nakamori, Yuzuru Inoue and Shinya Ōmi. Currently, there are four members in the group.

In 2004, CLAMP's 15th anniversary as a mangaka group, the members changed their names from Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona Apapa, Mick Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi to Ageha Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi (her name is pronounced the same, but written with different characters) respectively. The August 2004 issue of Newtype USA, a magazine specializing in events of the anime and manga subcultures, reported that the members of CLAMP simply wanted to try out new names. In a later interview with Ohkawa, it was revealed that initially Mokona wanted to drop her surname because it sounded too immature for her liking, while Nekoi disliked people commenting that her name was the same as Mick Jagger's. Ohkawa and Igarashi, wanting to go with the flow of Nekoi's and Mokona's name changes, changed their names as well.

In 2006, they made their first USA public debut at Anime Expo in Anaheim, California. They were well received at the convention, with 6,000 fans in attendance at their panel.

Reviews

[Ray Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Al inicio de este volumen, Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane y Fay llegan de sus respectivos mundos y le piden ayuda a Yuuko. Todos entregan algo importante para ellos, por lo que la Bruja de las Dimensiones, les da la Mokona blanca y así, comienzan su viaje a través de los mundos.

La Mokona negra se queda con Yuuko y Watanuki, y actúa como portal: pueden comunicarse con los viajeros gracias al vínculo entre ambas Mokonas.

En los siguientes capítulos, Yuuko visita a una adivina que parece ser su amiga y quien de alguna manera le revela a Watanuki parte de su destino.

Después, Doumeki, Himawari, Yuuko y Watanuki cuentan historias de fantasmas y deja entrever la importancia de Doumeki en la vida de Watanuki, aun si él no lo quiere aceptar.

Este volumen fue un poco más lento que el anterior además de que en ciertos momentos se torna un tanto oscuro a comparación de Tsubasa. De cualquier manera, quiero continuar con esta historia y por lo poco que va, creo que Doumeki es quien más me gusta de esta serie.

Read it for the #48hourJapaneseReadathon.

REVIEWS ANTERIORES:
Volumen 1

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watanuki has become a servant to the eccentric fortune-telling witch, Yuuko. She drags him deeper into the world of strange magic, curses, alternate dimensions and all manner of mystical things relating to the occult. Joining them are a pair living dolls and magical talking rabbits that love drinking booze. Things get weird.

The first half of this volume has a bit of a rough start. It has a crossover with another manga series that I haven’t read so a lot of the references were lost on me. Tsubasa Chronicles I believe it was drawing connections to. The thing is the subplot was forced in out of nowhere and just made things unnecessarily convoluted and the subplot was resolved so quickly that it made me wonder what the point of including it even was in the first place.

After the random tangent in the story is over, the series returns to normal and becomes just as enjoyable as the first volume. The second half delves more into the complexities involving the sketchy morals and validity of fortune telling and the effects it can have on changing people's lives for better or worse.

I like some of the new side characters such as the goofy drunken rabbits and a nice old fortune telling lady that seems to be someone Yuuko respects. There’s also a funny romance subplot which adds some light humor to a business that can get dark at times.

xxxHolic: Vol. 2
My Rating: 3.4/5

***

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[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia continua y se complica dado que aparecen personajes de otros mangas por lo cual se enlazan historias y conoces más historias .

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I will be reading this whole series again, I am not sure if I want to write a review for each one of them, at least not a big one.
This was a fun and interesting volume. Once again talking about Watanuki and some mysterious foreshadowing (though I already know what is going on), we have ghost stories (very spooky ones even though I would have loved more), we meet the crew of Tsubasa Chronicle a few times, there are some crossovers, and oh yes the biggest story of it all, the fortune telling. I had a laugh how gullible Watanuki was when he met that first fortune teller and wasn't sure to believe Yuuko. The mokona's also make an appearance *cheers*. All in all a very interesting volume, uprating this one to 4.5 stars.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

It looks like this is one of those series that gets better the further you get into it. In this volume, the cross-over with Tsubasa is resolved pretty quickly (making me really itch to read that series, heh) and it jumps straight back into the story of Yûko and Watanuki.

I really enjoyed the ghost story session, and just how creepy this series can get.

[Pam Z (Pam's Shenanigans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how Watanuki's employment with Yuuko is transcending. It just proves that there's more to their employee-employer relationship. But the "more" is not what you're thinking of. They're really like good friends. And their relationship will blossom more in the upcoming volumes.

[MaguiWorld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este segundo tomo fue menos emocionante que el primero pero entiendo como va ir transitando la historia (lentamente pero contándonos de a poco ciertas cosas importantes) siento que varios tomos van a hacer así.

Entretenidos pero que no mucho sucede. Algo que no deja de sorprenderme es lo poco proporcional que es el cuerpo de algunos personajes 😂

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aside from the very beginning which features the main characters of Tsubasa, vol. 2 of xxxHolic focuses primarily on its own cast of characters, and on ghost stories and fortune-telling. This makes it feel less like an advertisement for CLAMP's other works, and more like its own thing.

I'm not 100% sold on the storytelling, but that's pretty normal for me and CLAMP. xxxHolic feels less rigid and preordained than some of their other stories, and as a result I've found it much more enjoyable to read. Its somewhat unfocused, episodic format will work well with my usual manga reading, since it's very rare for me to read more than two or three volumes at a time.

The translator's end notes offered some interesting basic information about Japanese fortune-telling. While I'm a complete skeptic when it comes to ghosts, the spirit world, and psychics, it's always fun to read about them in stories.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Similarly with the previous volume - I love the independent stories of this series, but I just don't know enough about the CLAMP lore to fully understand it all. I'm a big fan of the 100 ghost stories chapter, though, very cool stuff.

As much as I loved - and still enjoy - this anime, while the writing is excellent and it tells some super interesting stories with Japanese mythology, I think someone else can get more from these volumes than I can.
Next time I feel the urge to reread, I can always get them from the library or online!

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

CLAMP, xxxHolic vol. 2 (Del Rey, 2004)

Some new characters and a better idea of where the story arc is going make this a stronger volume overall than the first, but there's still something about it that bugs me. I can't quite put my finger on what, but it's something in the tone; too flighty? Maybe. But it's still enjoyable enough, and so I still keep reading it. ***

[Kosuke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vol. 2 has the chapter features fortune telling and the Monkey's Paw. The content was simple, but it's very thought-provoking. This book made me feel like I wouldn't use it if I had the monkey's paw.

[Child960801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has the first of the crossover sections with the manga Tsubasa. They visit a fortune teller and we are introduced to a new character who just rubs Watanaki the wrong way. Also, there are some ghost stories.

[Raina Lie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga contains many quote-able dialogue that stabs me to the heart. And I mean not only the second volume, but the entire series. Made me want to add this title to my collection.

[Fiebre Lectora · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com.es/...

[E.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watanuki is so fucking dramatic, I swear.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty interesting and really good manga so far! Really love the art style and story! Really addicting manga😻👻👻😁❤️❤️

[sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 — okay… this is getting interesting…

[suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

看到小狼的代價是關係性那段就流淚了。

「小狼，你的代價是……關係性！」
「小狼最重要的東西是小櫻！和小櫻共度的時間、靠著這些所累積起來的……兩個人的關係性！那就是他最重要的寶物。」

[VSP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y lo dicho: Gracias por el concepto de las Mokonas, esos datos no me los sabías :3

Aún quiero saber que es Himawari, pero me niego a spoilearme

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mokona, my loooooove.

[Fidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arah pikirannya Yuko itu misterius nan anggun. Menarik juga perbedaan ramalan dan prediksi 🤔

[Dieudonné Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

ICONIQUE.
Par contre depuis que j'ai vu les anciennes éditions je regrette qu'il n'ai pas garder le même style.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga is one of the most interesting and unpredictable series I have ever read. I cannot find words to describe how good this series is. Once again, CLAMP has created a wonderful series that is just beautiful and just a lot of fun to love. XXXHolic is very unique and has an excellent character cast. I’ll admit that I think that this manga may be one of CLAMP’s finest. Maybe not the best but one of the better ones.

The thing that stands out about Holic is the setting. It’s a paranormal universe with supernatural creatures from Japanese culture and folklore. Almost every single chapter deals with Watanuki and Domeki going on an ‘errand’ of some sorts and Yuko gives a little bit of information about the supernatural world around them.

The story in this manga is also very interesting. It’s about a student named Watanuki Kimihiro who has the power to see spirits. As he runs away from them he stumbles upon a shop that drives them away. He meets of the owner of the shop named Yuko Ichihara who tells him that she runs a shop that grants wishes. However for every wish that is made a price must be paid in equal value. As he makes a wish to be released of his curse for seeing and attracting spirits Yuko makes an agreement with him that he can work in her shop until he receives enough credit to pay the price. He then runs errands with a classmate named Shizuka Domeki who apparently has a pure aura that repels spirits. They encounter the supernatural and come across all sorts of different creatures.

So, for a story that is interesting and a lot of fun you would think that the character cast is not so good right? Well, that is not the case.

The character cast in Holic is great. They’re each memorable and have their own distinct personalities.

Yuko is a lot of fun. She is like a mentor towards Watanuki but she can also act immature and goofy at times as well. What’s interesting is that some of the decisions and her interference might not seem all that important at the time but it later materials it shows that everything she says and does has some sort of meaning and effect towards the plot.

Watanuki is a character that can be really funny or really annoying. He’s childish, immature, whines a lot but also has a good heart and he tends to place too much of a burden on his shoulders. I think he’s an amazing character. He’s not the generic hero that is usually in manga. He has a little bit of caring nature while also allowing his emotions to get the better of him. His crush on his classmate Himawari is kind of obnoxious and can get annoying at the same time.

Domeki is pretty cool for a side character. He’s quiet, serious, and is very observant to what’s going on around him. Even if he can’t see the supernatural creatures like Watanuki can. He also has a big appetite and has no problem bossing Watanuki around when it comes to food.

Himawari is also a good character. She’s nice, always has a positive attitude and there’s definitely something about this character that gives the feeling that she’s not all that the manga makes her out to be. But that’s for later volumes and spoilers.

Maru and Moro are fun side characters that don’t tend to do much except serve Yuko. It’s pretty obvious that they’re not human but they’re a lot of fun with their playful personalities and it’s very interesting to see them annoy the crap out of Watanuki.

And speaking of which, there’s also Mokona as well. He’s a lot of fun and I just find him absolutely adorable. He likes to tease Watanuki and acts very similar to Yuko when it comes to food and sake.


This manga is just simply wonderful. The characters are great, the story is fantastic, the setting is interesting and I’m just dying to read more.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world expanded greatly, into entirely new worlds! with the visit of four mysterious travelers to Yuuko’s shop. The Mokonas are revealed, when they’re brought out of storage with the White Mokona taking Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, and Kurogane to different worlds on their individual quests fused into one journey while the Black Mokona joins Yuuko, Watanuki, Maru, and Moro’s daily routine at the shop. Not that this routine is one Watanuki is going to be getting used to any time soon. Just as there’s a girl who brings Watanuki delight (Himawari-chan), there’s a boy that drives him crazy (Doumeki). A desire to impress Himawari leads Watanuki to seek out a fortune telling and participate in a 100-ghost ceremony. This leads Yuuko to reveal a deep connection between the two boys. For Doumeki has a power that be the solution to Watanuki’s wish, not that Watanuki is willing to admit it. Yuuko continues to observe and orchestrate the events around Watanuki, but is she only doing it for her own amusement? Or does she have a deeper motivation?

This volume brings in one of my favorite anime/manga tropes, the reluctant bond between two boys, beginning with mutual dislike. Doumeki is a marvelous contrast with Watanuki with his stoic, dead pan personality, and a tendency to stay calm in the face of about everything (Watanuki, on the other hand, easily looses his temper and gets lost in enthusiasm.) Plus Doumeki has an intriguing background and a way of stepping up to save Watanuki whenever he’s in trouble which is quite swoon worthy. Himawari poses more and more of mystery behind the cheerful, unflappable face she offers to the world, balancing off all of the other main characters. Black Mokona’s subtle differences to White Mokona are illustrated in some dramatic panels. Plus it was interesting to see a scene from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles done from a different perspective, including Yuuko’s private commentary to Watanuki about what’s going on. Throughout the manga, Yuuko continues to be our guide, leading Watanuki along with the readers through a maze of the hidden world, educating us about fortune telling, other worldly travel, and spiritual ceremonies, revealing more and more of her eccentricities and beliefs as a person, while keeping up the mystery and staying true to her purpose as ‘shop-keeper’, showing just how fascinating her particular role is. For all of this, I give this book four stars.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today's post is on XXXHolic volume 2 by CLAMP. As it is the second in the long series you need to have read the first one to understand the story. It is 178 pages long and is published by DEL REY. The cover is beautiful and has Yuko on it. The intended reader is someone who likes mythology, ghosts, and other things that do bump in the night. There is no sex, some mild language, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from Watanuki's perspective only. There Be Spoilers Ahead.


From the back of the book- Watch out for Witches.
Kimihiro Waranuki thought he had signed up with a bunch of weirdos, and he was right! He become the unfortunate indentured servant of a woman known as Yuko Ichihara, who was widely rumored to be the time-space witch. Now his voyage through the world of the occult are off and running, as he and Yuko go visiting fortune-tellers and horoscope readers. But can the future really be told?
Meanwhile, the romance is heating up between Kimihiro and cute Himawari-chan. Then fate throw's Kimihiro's old rival back into his life. Now Yuko invites all three to a temple to tell scary stories throughout the night. Is it just for fun or is there some deeper reason?


Review- We are now getting to the meat of the story. In this volume Watanuki's spiritual eyes do not cause him much trouble but Yuko makes up for that. In this volume we also meet more of the main cast of character's. Watanuki's rival is only a rival because Watanuki thinks that he is. In truth Domeki is a friend who likes to give Watnuki trouble. The ghost stories are fun, especially if you like mythology like I do. Again that index in the back of the book is very useful because it explains the finer details about Japan and its very unique culture. Of course the art is just wonderful. I love that in DEL REY gives full color inserts for the first couple of pages. It just makes the art really pop. More ghost stuff coming up soon!


I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money years ago.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall Rating: A-
Synopsis: xxxHolic by Clamp follows Watanuki, an orphan who is plagued by spirits. While being chased by spirits, Watanuki runs into a strange shop and meets a strange woman named Yūko. She turns out to be a powerful witch, and makes a deal with Watanuki to help him remove his "curse" in exchange for working in her shop and cooking for her. Hijinks and adventure ensue.

I can't remember now why I picked up the first volume of xxxHolic, but I'm glad I did. The series starts off innocently enough, with the main character, Watanuki, being chased by spirits. By chance, he touches the fence of a strange shop, and the spirits disappear. But wait! "There are no coincidences, only hitsuzen". Hitsuzen, or fate, is one of the recurring themes in xxxHolic, and Watanuki's "chance" encounter at the strange shop leads him to meeting the shop's owner, Yūko, and his life is changed.

She offers to help him lift his "curse" (being able to see and interact with spirits), but only if he can pay the price. Since he can't pay up front, he becomes her indentured servant, cleaning the shop and cooking for her. The series really picks up though after the introduction of Watanuki's "rival" Dômeki. I put rival in quotes because it's one sided. While Watanuki considers Dômeki his rival, Dômeki alternates between seemingly not caring about Watanuki and protecting him. Dômeki can't see spirits, but he can exorcise them, so even though Watanuki hates it when he's around, Watanuki often needs Dômeki's help.

xxxHolic combines Japanese folklore and mythology with humor to excellent effect. I definitely recommend checking it out.

For more manga and anime reviews, please check out Hobotaku.

[Lianne Burwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume continues in the vein of the first one, with Watanuki working for the witch Yuka (despite the fact that he doesn't want to, and there's nothing really forcing him to). He pines after a girl at school, who is really cute and slightly clueless.

The volume starts off with a crossover with Tsubasa: A World of Modern Mecha and Magic, Vol. 2, which is an alternate universe version of a number of other Clamp volumes, especially CardCaptor Sakura. We meet a black version of Mokona (originally from Magic Knight Rayearth I, Volume 1).

From there we go into a summer story with ghost stories, and are introduced to Watanuki's nemesis, a handsome man from the archery team who lives at the local temple and is far cooler than Watanuki can ever hope to be. Worse yet, it turns out that when Watanuki attracks a ghost, his rival would be able to banish them. If he can bring himself to ask.

Especially handy are the guides at the back of each volume, which explain characters, origins, and cultural backgrounds.

The art is very interesting, since it doesn't seem to be the usual artist from the group. However, it may also be a deliberate change of style to go with the story.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

XxxHolic Volume 2 by CLAMP is a time to set up the rules for how things work. Watanuki has been living with spirits for as long as he remembers but he doesn't know how the spirit world works or the specifics of Yuko's shop.

The book opens with an expanded scene of Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane and Fai arriving. This early on they're a distraction from what appears to be the main point (retelling of popular ghost stories and folklore) but they will become an interesting parallel to Watanuki's story. When I first started reading the series I poopooed the back and forth, seeing the the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle inclusions as a gimmic more than anything else. Now, being nine volumes into the series, I can see that there is more afoot.

Besides the crossover, there are three smaller stories that teach Watanuki how things work: a woman who has a bad habit which ultimately destroys her because she doesn't want to make the effort to change, visits to two fortune tellers: one fake and one genuine and finally the power behind ghost stories.

The butterfly is also introduced as a motif, one that connects Watanuki and Yuko. The butterfly will be expanded upon in later issues and used as a signature by Yuko in notes to the Tsubasa folks.

[Jody Mena]

Another great volume! Yuuko is a really fascinating character! I love how she is so mysterious one moment and a complete goof the next. The connection to the Tsubasa series is a fascinating twist, but they symbiosis between the two manga seems more incidental to this book's story, whereas it seems quite pivotal to Tsubasa's plot. I'm enthralled by they way that Yuuko twines her own motives in around the motives of the people she encounters, interweaving them with the occult rules and rituals of an only dimly perceived multi-dimensional world that we, the reader, are only introduced to intermittently (so that one feels sympathetically as out of their depth as Watanuki does within the story), as well as with moral and philosophical lessons. The artwork in this manga series is lavish and decadent, and definitely unique, with the characters having small heads and elongated bodies, and the line art very detailed and almost casually stylized. It is very visually pleasing, but in an off-beat sort of way. It's a very enjoyable book all around, I look forward to the next!

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teenaged Watanuki continues his service to the lovely witch Yuko, and continues to explode in fits of rage over the least annoyance. His relationship to his calm and all-knowing master is hard to categorize. She orders him around like a servant, teases him seductively, but also cares for him in a gentle, maternal, and protective way.

In this episode Yuko-san draws Watanuki to a temple with his maybe-girlfriend and a male classmate perceived as a rival, for a ghost-story-party. Yuko rounds out the party to an even "four" which in Japanese refers to death.

I am new enough to manga that I could not say if this is a particularly distinguished addition to the genre. I can only say that Yuko-san has shot me enough sideways glances that Vol. 3 is likely to magically fly off the library shelf and into my hands.

She has that power.