xxxHOLiC

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: xxxHolic Rou, xxxHolic Cage

Japanese: xxxHOLiC

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 19

Chapters: 213

Status: Finished

Published: Feb 24, 2003 to Feb 9, 2011

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Young Magazine (Weekly)

Authors: CLAMP (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.37¹ (scored by 33,739 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #246²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #189

Members: 90,417

Favorites: 5,154

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Kodansha USA

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8.37

Ranked #246Popularity #189Members 90,417

MangaYoung Magazine (Weekly)CLAMP (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /19

Chapters: /213

xxxHOLiC Omnibus

Volume 1
$19.99

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Synopsis

Living alone after his parents passed away, Kimihiro Watanuki is a high school student who can see otherworldly creatures that are attracted to him. His days are plagued by these nuisances, and he wishes to rid himself of this inconvenience. One fateful day, as Kimihiro is being chased by a horde of spirits, his feet bring him into a mysterious store to seek shelter. Here he meets Yuuko Ichihara, the mistress of this supposed store, who claims to be able to grant wishes. Yuuko offers to grant Kimihiro's, as long as he pays an appropriate price.

Thus begins Kimihiro's time working in her store to earn the payment necessary for his wish. In Yuuko's employ, he must become further involved with spirits and the supernatural before he can leave that world behind. How will he fare in the inexplicable encounters that await him?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

xxxHOLiC was published in English by Del Rey Manga from April 27, 2004, to February 21, 2012. Kodansha Comics USA republished the series in omnibus volumes from March 18, 2014, to September 8, 2015, with the final two volumes being 2-in-1 while the rest being 3-in-1. It was also published in Spain by Norma Editorial from July 2004 to October 2011; in Brazilian Portuguese by Editora JBC in 38 volumes from March 2006 to October 2011; and in Mexico by Editorial Kamite from October 27, 2018, to April 19, 2024.

The series was adapted into a Japanese live-action TV series that aired from February 24, 2013, to April 14, 2013. It was also adapted into a Japanese live-action movie that premiered on April 29, 2022.

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Characters

Ichihara, Yuuko

Main

Watanuki, Kimihiro

Main

Doumeki, Shizuka

Main

Modoki, Mokona

Main

Kunogi, Himawari

Main

Tsuyuri, Kohane

Main

Flourite, Fai D.

Supporting

Syaoran

Supporting

Sakura

Supporting

Kurogane

Supporting

Reviews

Sep 17, 2025

Cynthesia

Recommended

“Self” is one of those words that’s self contradictory. What we refer to as yourself or your self is really the culmination of every experience that you have had up to that point. As much as your biological makeup, the things which surround you and, more importantly, what interact with you, make up your “self”. As such the concept of an individual self is contradictory, because what we call the self is really a unique near infinite culmination of information. xxxHolic is a story about the self and an exploration of how the interactions we have make up who we are and who we will ... become.

xxxHolic is an extremely subtle story. This statement might be a little odd to anyone who’s actually read it as the overwhelming bulk of it is made up of in your face gags which have the nuance of a baseball bat colliding with your face. But it’s true, the actual story which unfolds is extremely subtle and I believe the only reason why these abrupt moments are needed are merely to reiterate the point which had already been made clear to the attentive reader up to that point. Think of it as catching the weakest link up to the rest of the class. The primary subject of xxxHolic is Watanuki, a lonely boy who has entirely succumbed to the whims of fate. Through his meeting with Yuko, who grants him the wish of no longer being able to see spirits, he enters a contact and his world gradually opens. Watanuki is a deceptively simple character, I’m not going to state that he isn’t extremely simple but there’s more to him than what he portrays on the surface. Almost all of his interactions are him playing the straight man, either to Yuko or Doumeki, or openly gushing over Himawari. In this way it’s easy to say that he’s a somewhat obnoxious and one note protagonist but this isn’t the case. Through interacting with many people/spirits as a proxy for Yuko, Watanuki’s web of connections begins to grow. For better and worse he gains a reputation in the spirit world although it should be noted that there are very rare cases in which he’s actually in any danger. All of these interactions gradually cause a shift in Watanuki. He comes to understand many things about himself. Both through the observation and resolution of people who, just like him, were willing to forfeit control over their life in order to have their wishes granted by some higher power, as well as the eventual gratitude and impact that his existence has on them as a result. The change in Watanuki is the subtle part of xxxHolic, because while on the surface his interactions with others contain the same dialogue and actions, there’s an observable gradual change in his mannerisms which takes place over the course of the entire story.

xxxHolic is a story which subscribes to the principle of equivalent exchange. What you put into life is exactly what you get out. The most obvious case of this comes in the form of Yuko’s shop, which allows its guests to have their wishes granted for something of equivalent value. Most of the time these wishes end up being things which are generally within the person's control but they are unable to follow through due to some personal weakness. By giving up and instead deciding to seek instant gratification, they are only able to get so much out of their wishes. In this way, the shop is, obviously, analogous to the monkey’s paw (which also makes an appearance in the story). It’s those who are willing to take charge of their life and put in the effort which reap the eventual benefits, this is the lesson which Yuko wishes Watanuki to understand.

As stated earlier, Watanuki is one such person who was willing to sacrifice anything in order to release himself from the problems in his life. Only through his interaction, and gradual contraction, with Yuko is he able to break free of this wish and become a person of his own. Yuko is an enigmatic entity and for the most part her purpose in the story is unclear. She solves the problems of others but when she’s not doing so she’s shifting labor onto Watanuki and lazing around while eating snacks and drinking booze. Much like Watanuki, this could cause her to become one note or repetitive, but it’s the lessons which she gradually unveils which make her purpose clear. By forcing Watanuki to do grunt work and interact with Doumeki, she’s teaching him the value of the self. It’s not something which can be built up in a moment, it’s an ever expanding symbiotic entity which feasts on interaction with others and requires effort to maintain. While this is bluntly reiterated a number of times, typically whenever Watanuki ends up utilizing self sacrificial tactics, there is no actual moment of significant behavioral change. The recontextualization of the everyday interactions between Watanuki and his friends is something that happens over a gradual period of time and generally lies beneath the surface as the surface level content of their conversations remains fairly similar. Yuko, being the person that Watanuki interacts with the most, is the one who bears the greatest influence on him and oversees his gradual development while ensuring that he stays on the right path. He’s only able to stay so carefree and one note because he’s been under her carefree and one note care all this time, and the peaceful days which he takes for granted are actually something that are cultivated through strenuous effort beforehand. The exchange for his efforts is the capacity to enjoy life and this is a perpetual lesson which xxxHolic would like the reader to understand.

If I could point to a major flaw in xxxHolic, it would be its attempts to attach itself into the greater clamp universe, most notably Cardcaptor Sakura/Tsubasa Chronicle. While these inclusions generally don’t take up too much time, they do end up being some of the weaker moments in the story and don’t contribute much outside of convolution and enticing the reader to read another work which happens to take place simultaneously. It could’ve been fine as a cameo, but the fact that they actually have significant impact on the overarching plot is where I draw the line as those who did not read the accompanying work will likely be either lost or at least slightly frustrated at the gap. xxxHolic is generally a little vague already so introducing more noise to the equation only does it harm rather than working towards its benefit.

That said, the rest of the work is profoundly beautiful. Even discarding the philosophical elements, what you get in xxxHolic is a beautiful story which understands and taps into the crux of humanity masterfully. The cast of characters is lovable, there are endless pages of beautiful art, and while somewhat vague the story actually feels properly planned out in advance (a rarity in the manga industry which is notoriously unkind to the plans of the creator). xxxHolic provides insight into the contradiction of the self, and supplies a loose roadmap onto how to best cultivate it. And whether you like it or not, even if you only read one chapter and put it aside forever, xxxHolic is a part of your “self” too.

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Nov 8, 2022

Animelover875

Mixed Feelings

To start with, I'll state that I watched the anime of xxxHolic first, and will be judging the manga on its own terms, rather than as a comparison/contrast between the two. To start with, xxxHolic seemed to have an unfortunate issue where chapters would frequently repeat themselves and be listed out of order (which thankfully stopped near the halfway mark/ending of the series.) That aside, how does the plot of xxxHolic hold up? I'd like to preface this by saying that I am not Japanese and despite my interest in Japan, there is much in Japanese culture that doesn't translate very well to western media. ... For instance, certain things in the manga may have crucial implications or symbolism necessary for understanding the writer's intentions, but they're not visible due to the assumption that the viewer is privy to these already. That said, if this was the case, then that would be a dangerously misguided assumption; the series often hints at what appears to be symbolism, so wrapped up in a cloud of philosophy that it becomes a nearly incomprehensible, if well-thought-out, mess to a casual audience. Chapters are somewhat repetitive and fillery, unfortunately; several chapters are centered around meaningless moments (for instance, several pages of a chapter devoted to Mokona and Doumeki drinking) or the characters being exposition machines, simply stating exactly what happened in previous chapters. This can be partially excused if they used it to fill in exposition (which they sometimes do), but more often than not, the following chapter feels more like a recap of what you've just read than anything to advance the plot. One missed opportunity may have been showing Fei-Wang Reed directly intervening, furthering the need to protect the shop and its guests later in the series. These aside, the series clearly had some level of talent into the writing, foreshadowing to hidden and double meanings, or revealing events to be more misleading than they initially seemed.
Plot twists are anoher aspect xxxHolic does well, and while no spoilers will be covered in this review, chapters that advance the plot (specifically, those featuring Doumeki, Yuko, or Tsubasa Chronicles crossover characters) typically do well, illustrating somewhat clearly to an untrained eye the message they wish to get across. Watanuki undergoes the most character development in the series, though unfortunately there are negatives to the series as well. One story arc depicts graphic violence and hate crimes toward an elementary schooler, part of which is due to her mother, who receives nearly no repercussions by the end of the series. This was an aspect of the series I wasn't able to let go, and I was perplexed and irritated as to why nothing was done to stop the woman who was clearly losing her mind, and instead decide to have audiences forgive her. This wasn't nearly as bad as how the anime portrayed this arc ending; however, the anime was mercifully concise on the aspects of abuse and so the manga's quality is detracted by focusing more on it, good writing aside. Doumeki and Watanuki's relationship also progresses remarkably slow, and seems to perform a 180 almost out of nowhere by the end of the series, only hinted at subtly early on and nearly dropped. I'll be giving the series a 5/10, as unfortunately the flaws are not able to balance out the benefits, nor vice versa.

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Dec 18, 2013

arielphf

Not Recommended

I get very tired of CLAMP.

All of their offerings feel the same; insipid, juvenile and tedious. Perfect fare for a toddler, but rather boring for an adult and as I've gotten older, I find myself disliking their works more and more. xxxHolic has a little bit more of an interesting feel, but the male characters don't act like men and the enigmatic female makes me want to slap her.

Like other Clamp offerings, you never really learn what is going on in the story - you never really learn who the characters really are and why they are doing what they ...

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Poll: xxxHOLiC Chapter 3 Discussion Ciran - Dec 17, 2009	4 replies	by otakuweek »» Sep 13, 1:17 PM
Poll: XXXHOLiC Chapter 1 Discussion nehnehneji - Jun 17, 2008	5 replies	by eztel »» Sep 2, 11:45 PM
Poll: xxxHOLiC Chapter 213 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) tsubasalover - Feb 9, 2011	116 replies	by monder_Killer17 »» Aug 11, 4:19 PM
Poll: xxxHOLiC Chapter 2 Discussion KitaTsuki - Apr 16, 2011	2 replies	by otakuweek »» Aug 5, 9:39 AM
How many chapters does this have? Zaldun - Aug 22, 2018	7 replies	by StewedBeefHaunch »» Apr 7, 2024 10:38 PM

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