Seinen xxxHolic by CLAMP

[ZaCloud]

Re: Doumeki Smiling?

Heh, yeah, it's pretty much the way to tell him and Haruka-san apart. Doumeki never smiles, Haruka ALWAYS smiles.

At least Doumeki has mischief and humor though. Just that he's the type with deadpan delivery.

 

[idlemind009]

Re: Doumeki Smiling?

what ive noticed is that watanuki may be the only person who can make him smile on the inside. Doumeki has a very important choice to make. Subconsciously I believe he has already decided, but right now he is trying to understand his choice.

 

[harmaa]

Re: Doumeki Smiling?

In the original sketches for Doumeki's design, he's smiling a lot, smirking, and making other faces. It's pretty interesting. You can see them in the guide that was published in the US, not sure of the Japanese equivalent.

 

[ZaCloud]

Re: Doumeki Smiling?

Heh, that's quite understandable; he's a dynamic character with a wide range of emotions. So they drew his "spirit" first. But then later decided that it'd probably be best for Watanuki to be the one to externalize his feelings more, as the main character who would have a lot of internal/spiritual conflicts.

So they made Doumeki's outward reactions more subtle, but he still gives away "clues" as to his personality actually being vibrant and snarky. The subtlety actually adds to him a lot; his emotions are "hidden", but his actions show his sincerity

Example: The fact that he keeps seeming to pick on Watanuki and seems all irritated himself, yet keeps protecting and helping him despite that, only further emphasizes how unconditional his loyalty is, like a samurai serving his lord.

And it acts as a good contrast to Watanuki's open honesty. Yin and yang, balancing each other out. When Yuuko-san teamed them up, she knew they would balance each other perfectly to get through future troubles.

 

[Cedde]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

The glasses are the ones Clow used to wear.

Watanuki's true name is still hidden from us, maybe he is Clow...
Yet, making him be Clow wont be so nice, as CLAMP already used this plot on the other manga.
Better if he becomes something more
(But i do have the feeling he will become Clow)

The Egg could be rebirth, not a bad idea, and it is fitting.

I got the feeling the egg was there to prevent watanuki from doing something, like wishing for something he should not etc.

I want more xxxholic chapter's now!!!

 

[ZaCloud]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

1.) When Watanuki tells Doumeki "If you are in danger, you will shoot..with no hesitation" and Doumeki asks "Even if its you?" and Watanuki replies, "Most especially if it's me" what is he referring to? As Watanuki as the target or the one who needs to be safe from danger?

I have no idea, and that really does intrigue/worry me. But, a lot of the translation seemed super confusing in this chapter, not just that part. So when I have time I'm gonna look for alternates so hopefully we can get a better idea of what was truly said at several points.

2.) A long tine back, I think in chapter 131, the group celebrates Watanuki's birthday and Yuuko tells him that the only transaction that doesnt need a price is the transaction of feelings, yet Watanuki gives Doumeki a ring with no price. Eh?

Well it's obvious: He wanted to give his friend a birthday present too. A gift based on feelings, thus no price was needed.

3.) Glasses - I have no doubt that those are Clow's,but I hope Watanuki doesn't become Clow like what they did in TRC. I can see a reincarnation,but I'd prefer Watanuki being Watanuki and no one else. After all, isn't that one of the story's main themes: to be yourself?

Yeah, I'm both worried and accepting of the possibility that Clow is involved in some way or another. We just don't know the extent of that involvement yet. I guess I have a kinda zen approach to this series and accept things as they come, but I can definitely understand the concern and still have some lingering myself.

I guess only time will tell...

 

[xxxfeather]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

Watanuki's true name is still hidden from us, maybe he is Clow...
Yet, making him be Clow wont be so nice, as CLAMP already used this plot on the other manga.
Better if he becomes something more
(But i do have the feeling he will become Clow)

If he becomes Clow... well, since he's already appeared in 3 different stories it'd be sooo repetitive... but at least we'll know his story.

What bothers me, and I think it's necessary to have a major idea of what's happening now, is to know Watanuki's timeline. I mean, not only the part that appears in Tsubasa, but his full timeline. We don't know if he really had "parents", maybe his memories of them were fake memories created by Yuuko/FWR. What if he appeared out of nowhere one day, just like Kobato (there's a place where I want to go...)?

Because :

http://www.onemanga.com/Tsubasa_Reservoir_Chronicles/192/21/

It seems that he existed in some way before everything happened...

http://www.onemanga.com/Tsubasa_Reservoir_Chronicles/201/17/

and when he appeared in the story he looked like a seven-year-old.

 

[ZaCloud]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

Well, if you consider what happened in Tsubasa and the timeloop... Ugh, if my memory weren't so bad I'd analyze this better...

But if I remember right... (Spoilers for the end of Tsubasa Chronicle)

Spoiler

1, FWR created the impossible cycle of the Tsubasas (ex-C!Shaoran and C!-Sakura) being the parents of Shaoran, who then found Sakura in the other world, and then were subsequently cloned.

2, This means the Tsubasas were the existing Shaoran's parents, and also Watanuki's parents.

3, Watanuki had been formed to fill the gap left by Shaoran's departure and the time ripple. He was around 7 years old because that's when Shaoran left. He was there to fill the void.

4, To close the time loop, when FWR was defeated, elements of both sides of the loop were merged. The Tsubasas' physical existences were lost. This now made both Shaoran and Watanuki into anomalies; their parents had been erased. They still existed, but not in a way that lines up with reality anymore, now that time has become linear again.

So that's why Shaoran travels and Watanuki suspended himself in a different timeflow... because neither of them have an explainable anchor to reality anymore. They carry the evidence of a reality that has been lost. They carry parts of the world that few else know ever existed.

The convolution begins with the fact that rebirth/reincarnation can take many forms. A soul can sometimes be reborn in a new body and not remember its past, so while it's the same person by nature, by nurture they can become completely different. At least that's one way that Watanuki could potentially contain Clow's "soul", but still be different from any Clow iteration that has existed. Though who's to say how CLAMP would do that.

But, the fact that Watanuki is such an anomaly, and Clow is one as well, makes a lineup likely. But not necessarily the case. Watanuki's got so many unknowns that the possibilities are endless as to how he came to be, and what will become of him.

Makes my head spin. Just when I thought the twists were over when Tsubasa closed, xxxHolic now carries the suspense. I'll just keep guessing and waiting for the next clues.

 

[Snowolf]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

@ZaCloud: Well, what I mean is that a transaction of feeling is one without any materialistic gain. Yuuko-san could only wish Watanuki the best of his life, but couldn't give him technically anything- a chain, a ring, anything materialistic- because it went against the laws. That's why I'm confused when Watanuki did it- we know that he feels for Doumeki and that's great, but to give something that is substantial seems to be going against the rules, unless I read the translation wrong. (xxxHolic is so damn hard to figure out! GAH!)

Yeah, IKR? I'm so confused about that too...luckily, I did some research, and cnet13 has a really good translation. It seems that Watanuki is the recipient/target unfortunately? I still don't know.

The whole timeline thing with TRC- so the clones/parents are gone then? I thought they lived on....and didn't the fortune teller say that Watanuki would see them again one day? I understand that both Watanuki and Syaoran/Tsubasa had to pay the price of defying time by staying/continously moving (respectively) forever, but there are still two questions:

1.) This kind of works out, because if Watanuki died, wouldn't time rip itself apart and the dimensions collapse? So Watanuki techincally can't age, but that means he can't die. Hence, Clow I guess? I mean, Clow splits his soul into two guardians of the cards (CCS) so he technically doesn't die...but does CCS happen after or before TRC/xxxHolic?

2.) Watanuki's original price, the fact of him going to the shop in the first place, was for his power of seeing supernatural beings to stop. Since this transaction was 'stopped', what is the price he has to pay for working at the shop anyway? We understand that Watanuki's acceptance of himself and the inevitable along with taking control of the shop has allowed his power to grow considerably, but what was his price if his original price never was fully transacted?

So confusing, but CLAMP will probably answer these questions. They're good at closing holes in the story...but until June, we'll have to wait.

 

[ndulzky]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

In CCS, Clow splits himself into two: Sakura's father (Fujitaka) and Eriol, not into the two guardian of the cards.

While Fujitaka does not remember anything about Clow, Eriol did keep all the memories as Clow. However, when Yue (one of the two guardians of the cards) were having a hard time accepting that Clow is actually still alive as Eriol but he (Yue) had to become Sakura's guardian instead, Eriol said that he is not Clow. His past life was Clow, but he is now Eriol, not Clow. Maybe this was the way he sort of "ended" the life of Clow? By splitting in two, since he couldn't technically die in a normal way??

About giving Doumeki the ring... I know that xxxHolic is all about equal price... but it's Doumeki's birthday... so, wouldn't he entitled to get something (bday present) without having to give something back of equal price? You know... usually when we have a birthday, we get bday gifts, right?? Hahaha...

One more thing... I'm also not sure where CCS would happen (before or after TRC)... but in a way, I kind of like to think that CCS is in a different world altogether... CCS Sakura gave her star staff to the clone Sakura (when she has already become a mother) through a dream because CCS!Sakura knew that the clone!Sakura would need something as valuable as this staff to be given to Yuuko as a price for her requests.

Oh, and I just remembered one more thing.... this is again TRC and Holic crossovers... when time was rewounded back because Syaoran wanted to, we know that the actual Sakura's mother (Nadeshiko) died and Fujitaka, who was actually Sakura's father, became clone!Syaoran's father, and then Clow became Sakura's father. When we learned about this, I thought there was a theory that the Clow in CCS actually left that dimension to be Sakura's father in Clow country instead? And then Clow died in Clow Country, right??

Arghh... now I'm confusing myself...lol...

 

[xxxfeather]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

Well, if you consider what happened in Tsubasa and the timeloop... Ugh, if my memory weren't so bad I'd analyze this better...

But if I remember right... (Spoilers for the end of Tsubasa Chronicle)

Spoiler

1, FWR created the impossible cycle of the Tsubasas (ex-C!Shaoran and C!-Sakura) being the parents of Shaoran, who then found Sakura in the other world, and then were subsequently cloned.

2, This means the Tsubasas were the existing Shaoran's parents, and also Watanuki's parents.

3, Watanuki had been formed to fill the gap left by Shaoran's departure and the time ripple. He was around 7 years old because that's when Shaoran left. He was there to fill the void.

4, To close the time loop, when FWR was defeated, elements of both sides of the loop were merged. The Tsubasas' physical existences were lost. This now made both Shaoran and Watanuki into anomalies; their parents had been erased. They still existed, but not in a way that lines up with reality anymore, now that time has become linear again.

Spoiler

Yup, I understood that, but I got the theory idea from here:

Situation A:

http://www.onemanga.com/Tsubasa_Reservoir_Chronicles/201/19/

Situation B:

http://www.onemanga.com/Tsubasa_Reservoir_Chronicles/225/12/

If we assume that A and B happened in the same time (timeline x), that both situations are part of the same "loop", and that the people involved in them (clones + real! Syaoran) were "frozen" in time; then that means that those people don't "exist" (or at least not in their current state/age) in the current timeline (timeline y). And Watanuki's life takes part in timeline y, so there was "nobody" to care of him (current theory).

I hope you understand (I don't know how to explain it better T-T), plus, the timelines are kinda crazy.

Final note: and... who knows if FWR was lying in scene A ...?

 

[frostmourne4]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

My theory for the what world is what is that Holic and CCS take place in one world while Sakura and Syaoran were reincarnated into another. I also believe that Yuuko essentially confirms in one of the early chapters that Holic takes place after CCS when Watanuki asks about the replica of CCS!Sakura's first staff.

As for Clow's reincarnations and which one is which, Clow Reed faked his death in the CCS/Holic world and traveled to Clow Kingdom where he became King Clow and eventually died (in the alternate timeline). In the original timeline, he actually died in the CCS/Holic world. After either of his deaths (depends on the timeline), he was reincarnated as Fujitaka and Eriol.

The timelines are very confusing and I have a thread over here where I worked them out if you would like to see them. The thread is kind of empty though

 

[skye_4444]

Re: Doumeki Smiling?

I don't think Doumeki has ever smiled, but I think the reason you hardly ever notice is because there are a lot of instances where he's smiling on the inside...like when he's ordering Watanuki to make him more food.

 

[harmaa]

Re: New xxxHolic-Rou OAD

I wonder how long it will take for this to get online.

 

[xxxfeather]

Re: New xxxHolic-Rou OAD

The raw is out!!! (no subs)

http://www.jokeroo.com/user-content/videos/animation-film/2010/4/37884-ana-hori-rou.html

 

[Asahina]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

Finished catching up...
Still miss Yuuko in the series. And Watanuki sure has one hell of a role. Now I wonder if I have to read Tsubasa to get what's really going on...What a pain xD

I think, for CLAMP, it was difficult keeping track of both mangas and also considering the facts that each manga had to reveal. xxxHolic had the least background information, that's for sure.

Mhm, xxxHolic isn't quite the same without Yuuko there.
/sniffles a sob.

 

[Snowolf]

Re: New xxxHolic-Rou OAD

wow...that was different.

****SPOILERS****

Okay, so basically what i understood was that the anime takes place 10 YEARS after Watanuki becomes teh shop owner. We basically understand his loneliness, the 'gist' of Yuuko's death (we just know that she...dies...but for no reason, and that Watanuki can't leave the shop....for no reason). We see Doumeki and everyone BUT Himawari chan, and yadiyadiya. Then we get a tape of a girl who demands to speak (i think?) to Watanuki, and she offers him a job, and the price will be that someone will speak using her voice/mouth. Turns out that the job is reuniting the pipe fox with his lover, and they get happy,( and this is all done through a video cam) and then Watanuki goes to the end of the cam, and YUUKO' SAN'S VOICE COMES THROUGH and says 'I'm home' and Watanuki, looking sadly, replies 'Welcome back'. (Doumeki at this time is speaking to Himawari through the phone, and it's inferred that she's married of sorts and she's going to visit Watanuki on his birthday).

I WAS VERY CONFUSED. I hope this isn't going to be the ending of xxxHolic, because not only was the girl NOT a reincarnation in any way, like most people think, she just left Yuuko's predicament to be completely....unseen? What the hell is that supposed to mean, 'I'm back'? She's dead! Is she at rest? Is she coming back? We don't know. It was beautiful and depressing- very dark compared to all the other episodes we've seen, but jeez, there were too many plot holes there. The kudakitsune thing was a mess and we were left with only getting a gist of what the hell happens after TRC but WITH NO EXPLANATION. Don't get me wrong, it was fantastic in sorts of character development, but in terms of plot, it went haywire. And that ending.....*sighs*

 

[zenakumk]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

Hi ~S.a.k.u.r.a. no HaNa~ , ZaCloud, watanuki01/04
So surpise and somewhat delighted to see you are still on this site!!!

Haven't been on this site since Tsubasa has ended!!!!!!
Miss Tsubasa SOOO MUCH T____T

Sorry for being slow to point out but, I WAS SO Heart warmed and EMOTIONALLY TOUCHED when I saw the Watanuki + Syaoron appear in Kabato. Such a nice surpise too, I was not aware of it when I watched the series. The moment Tsubasa gang showed up was a GREAT GREAT EPISODE!!!!!
Anyone else felt that?

Too Bad they didn't have Sakura in that episode (Like for example, when Syaoron mentioned to Kabato that there is someone waiting for Syaoron to return, I reckon CLAMP could of did a brief few second moment of Sakura in Clow Country with only half her face showing? something like that, waiting for Syaoron patiently)
That would make that Episode Perfect


When is 205 caming out (T____T)? Somehow.......Watanuki is Clow Reed really is not a surpise to me..................

 

[watanuki01/04]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

Hello!!!

XXXholic is moving to a new magazine called ' bessatsu Shonen' so chapter 205 isn't going to be released until June 9th.

However we will not have to endure completely without holic during that time!

Holic One-shot is release on May 19th and a Horitsuba One-shot is out May 20th.

Plus the OAD has just been released which i just Love!!!!

 

[daman246]

Re: xxxHolic 204 Discussion/205 Predictions Thread

so xxxholic is having a 2weeks break or something?