katikat | Entries tagged with manga: x

Kimihiro Watanuki, xxxHolic

Choleric, irate and always pissy, Watanuki's preferred way of communication is yelling and hissing like a cat. That is, it was until... something spoilery happened and he gave himself over to the magic of Youko's shop and became aloof and detached - so much so that his friends, and especially Doumeki, became really worried about him. The manga ends on a very open note so we don't know if Watanuki achieved what he set up to do but I really hope so.

Current Mood: working

It's very difficult for a manga to keep your interest when you don't like the main character. I mean, I understand where Kamui's hatred is coming from, don't get me wrong, but it's hard for me to identify with him when I don't agree with most things he does. If he just curbed his reactions and thought things through first, so many tragedies that happened and will happen could have been avoided. Three books in and I like Sorata and Fuma much better than Kamui.

Also, it's unfortunate that in this manga, the form takes precedence over content. The art is beautiful, that's true, but the manga's mostly all dramatic poses and dramatic visions and the story suffers for that. The plot moves along very slowly, nothing really happens - oh, don't get me wrong, there heaps and heaps of dead bodies already, that's true, but it's all about the impact, not about the plot. Three books in and all we know is that the end of the world is near and there are two groups of people that will/should fight against each other. And that's it. I'm not sure it's enough...

Current Mood: indescribable

"xxxHolic Vol. 19" by Clamp

4 stars out of 5

I did love this volume but with a good conscience, I couldn't give it 5 stars because the ending was too open and nothing was really solved. Sure, we did find out that Watanuki's powers got so strong that he could leave the shop again and there were some small revelations, like, that Himawari-chan got married, but that was pretty much it as the overall story went. Watanuki didn't meet Yuko again and Domeki didn't use the egg she had given him... The stand-alone stories were beautiful, though.

I think, and that's just my opinion, that Watanuki didn't meet Yuko-san ever again. She was dead and as she herself said, dead people couldn't come back to life. I also think that Domeki never married and stayed with Watanuki. He sacrificed so much for his friend, after all, he went to study folklore because of him, he focused on helping Watanuki instead of working in his family temple, he kept refusing women who asked him out... I don't think there ever was anything sexual between them, they just seemed like two halves of a whole.

Now that I've finished both series, "Tsubasa Chronicle" and "xxxHolic", I have to say I liked "xxxHolic" better. It wasn't as epic and huge as "Tsubasa Chronicle" but I liked its quiet intimacy better.

Current Mood: chipper

"xxxHolic Vol. 18" by Clamp

5 stars out of 5

Fantastic. There are no words that could describe just how much I love this series. This volume - just like volume 17 - is set after the ending if "Tsubasa Chronicle", the manga series that ran parallel to this one. Volume 18 takes place five to ten years later but where Domeki is aging, Watanuki is not and as Watanuki's powers are growing stronger, Domeki can't help but feel more and more protective of him because Watanuki seems to be more and more disconnected from reality since he can't leave the shop and travels only in his dreams. I love, really love the current setting - the story takes place almost exclusively in the shop and it focuses on Watanuki and Domeki and on the choices they make and it's truly, truly wonderful! There's only one more volume left and that knowledge's breaking my heart...

Current Mood: enthralled

"xxxHolic Vol. 17" by Clamp

5 stars out of 5

Wonderful. I just love this manga. It isn't all that exciting, there are no big fights or anything like that, it's more of a string of emotions, an atmospheric piece, it feels so quiet and intimate, taking place in Yuko's shop, with just a handful of characters. I adore the friendship between Watanuki and Domeki. The last part of this volume, Watanuki's birthday gift to Domeki, was amazing!

Current Mood: enthralled

"xxxHolic Vol. 16" by Clamp

I love "xxxHolic" because of its magic realism. Not much happened in this volume, still, reading it, it felt like reliving a dream. Clamp has an amazing ability to draw you into the story.

So, Watanuki decided to keep up the shop and wait for Yuko-san - even if it meant he would never grow old and he could never leave the shop again. Domeki's look when Watanuki told him about his decision. And while Domeki is growing older, he keeps coming back to the shop, day after day, to watch out for Watanuki. It's too bad that Clamp didn't include Watanuki's early days as the shop owner. We were only told that accepting a lower price for the fulfillment of a wish from a customer hurt Watanuki, we haven't actually seen it. It's too bad, I think it would've had a bigger impact if we were shown, not just told. But I'm glad that Watanuki still has Haruka-san who remains unchanging just like he...

One thing - I wonder about the egg Domeki received from Yuko-san. How will he use it?

Current Mood: headachy

This volume actually made me cry. Watanuki's determination to help the girl who felt disgusted with herself. Domeki's determination to save Watanuki no matter what. Watanuki's determination to fulfill Yuko-san's wish. And then Yuko's wish... The shop slowly disappearing and realities fracturing/merging even further... The story is so confusing - hey, it's Clamp, after all - but so beautiful at the same time, all about friendship and selfworth.

Current Mood: enthralled

Wow, that was... amazing. Confusing as ever, even more than usually, to be honest, but still amazing. I didn't expect so much exposition in the last part. We finally found out a bit about Watanuki, who/what he really is. Wow, I didn't expect that. But I probably should have. In the light of Tsubasa, it makes perfect sense. And it explains so much, all the loose ends are coming together. And I'm loving the friendship between Watanuki and Domeki more and more with every volume. I loved the part where Domeki told Kohane why he became friends with Watanuki. Though I have to say that Watanuki, his whole life and his fate, it's really tragic and it makes me pretty sad...

Current Mood: enthralled

Wow, I'm simply smitten. Who/what is Watanuki?

( Spoilers for this manga... )

I'm so intrigued! I wonder if CLAMP planned that from the very beginning. I just loved the way that Domeki cared for Watanuki in this volume. This is a real masterpiece!

Current Mood: impressed

* The Olympic Closing Ceremony was beautiful. Not as beautiful as the Opening one but still impressive. I loved the human torch best. But London's introduction was... bland compared to that, to be honest. I hope that the British do better in 2012.

* I ordered the Tropical Heat series box set (the whole series for 26.99$!) and the novelization of SGA's pilot episode, "Stargate Atlantis: Rising" by Sally Malcolm from Amazon.

* I'm staying strong. I'm spoiler-free for Supernatural's S4 and I resisted and didn't download the ripped gag reel. I will wait for the official DVDs to arrive *nods* I feel so proud of myself :P

* And something shocking! Last night, I finished another fic for my charmedprompts table, this time using the prompt: "The more things change, the more they remain... insane." - Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Wyatt's falling...

* Psych, ep 3x06! ( My spoilery thoughts... ) Happy, happy :)

* I finished reading Ariel Tachna's gay vampire book "Alliance in Blood" and I must say that it was the most sugary, the cheesiest book that I've read lately, with poor, fragile men and tortured souls *snorts and rolls eyes* Luckily, I got rid of the awful after-taste by reading vol. 8 of Clamp's "xxxHolic". Watanuki and Doumeki rock my socks. I think this is one of the best manga by Clamp - the right amount of angst and humor!

Current Mood: lazy

I've finished all the seven books of the xxxHolic manga and I must say that I liked the 6th and 7th book best. Not because there were new, not yet animated stories there, but because of how they depicted the relationship between Watanuki and Doumeki. It wasn't just about fighting and yelling anymore, it was about what they were ready to sacrifice to save the other. Amazing. Other than that, the stories are mostly the same like in the anime. Sometimes, the wording is a bit different and there are more x-over scenes with Tsubasa Chronicle but that's it. The manga is still fantastic and I don't regret buying it!

On a completely unrelated note: I find myself loosing interest in various anime - Saiyuki Reload Gunlock, Angel Heart, Kyou Kara Maou, Cluster Edge, Noein and Black Lagoon are just some of them. Why? Not because the anime is bad. No, they are really good, some even excellent. But because of the lack of new releases by fansubbers. When I have to wait weeks, sometimes even months for one episode a) I completely forget what happened in the previous one and b) I start not looking forward to it anymore since I've turned my interest elsewhere. I'm NOT bashing the fansubbers since I know that RL can be a real bitch (trust me, I know how hard this sort of stuff is - I translated all the 7 books of FAKE for a friend of mine). But that's why I happily turn to fansubbers who maybe don't produce such a quality stuff, but at least they release the eps regularly. Enough of a rant!

Current Mood: rushed

Paint me obsessed but I ordered all 7 volumes of the English version of the xxxHolic manga from Amazon. I, who never buys manga to anime...

This anime totally got me and I'm not even sure why. It must be Watanuki. He is such an incredible character. He is always trying to do the right thing and fighting, even though everything seems to be against him. I find his choleric nature so amusing. And his relationship with Doumeki is so funny! Oh, and we mustn't forget the seiyuus of course... XD

Current Mood: crazy

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don't be dull, be fannish

Entries tagged with manga: x

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30 Day Character Meme (Anime): #6

Reading Clamp's X/1999

Book #73

Book #72

Book #71

Book #25

Clamp's "xxxHolic Vol. 15" (manga), #81

Clamp's "xxxHolic Vol. 14" (manga), #18

CLAMP's "xxxHolic 12" (manga), #16

Like a bunny on crack!

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March 2019

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