xxxHOLiC Review
Jan 10th, 2008 by lordgoth
Story: 10/10-Overall I find xxxHOLIC to be a rewarding show. It’s a bit episodic, because most of the episodes follow the main format, but each episode has its own theme and the series seems to be slowly getting the main plot, which, coupled with the characters, makes the series interesting enough for me not to mind the format.
Music: 9/ 10-I’d give the backgroud music a good rating, because it accents what goes on very well, but I personally didn’t care for the first ending theme. The second ending is a much better song, but the closing animation is rather bland.
Characters: The main and supporting characters are all very distinct, and up to the most recent episode I’ve seen, 24, their in-depth ’stories’ have remained mostly unexplained, which I normally would dislike, but with the progression of the story doesn’t bother me so much. They don’t seem to change much throughout, although Watanuki seems to be “growing up” with each episode’s lesson. The random characters that show up at the shop aren’t very memorable, but their accompanying stories are all very interesting.
Artwork: 9/10-Most people seem to think it detracts from the story, but I disagree. The style may seem simple, but the main characters are all well-designed to suit their personalities. I used to dislike how stick-ish the bodies are (as seems to be the general consensus), but over time I’ve grown to like it and consider it a break from the normal boring designs that are becoming more and more anatomically correct. The simple design meshes well with the special effects.
Overall, I give xxxHOLIC a 9/10. My personal favorite parts of each episode are the skirmishes between Watanuki and Doumeki.
