Overall Rating:

With White Day come and gone, Yuko is obsessing over how Syaoran and friends haven’t yet sent her otherworldly goodies as payback. Watanuki has his own obligations to worry about – he has no idea how he’ll hunt down the Zashiki Warashi spirit.

In the meantime, an ame-warashi (a rain maker) asks Watanuki for help on a rescue mission by some unnaturally bright red hydrangers. The mission sucks Watanuki into the spirit world where he meets a lonely little girl who tries to convince him to come with her into the underworld, effectively killing him. With some help from the hydrangers and a dedicated 10-hour stand by Domeki, Watanuki eventually finds his way back to the living.

The story arc provides some great tidbits of Japanese lore on the afterlife while offering a harsh criticism of how humans aren’t the only (or most important) living beings in the world. Being human, Watanuki is thankful he was able to help the little girl, while helping the girl was the last thing the ame-warashi wanted. However, their end goals were the same so her rescue mission was accomplished.

Watanuki doesn’t have much time before his next adventure begins. A girl in his class has started sprouting wings. As her wings grow, she becomes more irate and Watanuki quickly becomes her prey, despite Yuko’s cryptic warning that he be careful around her. Luckily, Watanuki has made friends in the spirit world, including a pipe fox spirit (a gift form the ame-warashi) which has taken a liking to him and the spirit comes to his rescue before the girl can do much harm.

Watanuki is beginning to become more appreciative and respectful of Domeki’s help, though he still sees Domeki as his rival for Himawari’s affections. Their comedic banter is hysterical. Domeki is a master of the deadpan sarcastic comment, which annoys Watanuki to no end. Though he’s growing, Watanuki is still blind to his major flaws, something Yuki tries to point out when she explains he’s not so different from the girl with wings and alludes to his relationship with Himawari. The volume closes with a cute opportunity for Watanuki to present a White Day present to the Zashiki Warashi spirit.

I’m really enjoying how xxxHolic includes just the right amount of seriousness, comedy, and philosophy in each of its volumes. These story arcs tackle the weighty issues of death and self restraint yet leave you with a lighthearted, feel-good ending. Yuko continues to impress me. Sure, she’s a hard bargainer with her own best interests in mind, but she genuinely seems to care for Watanuki’s best interests. I’m so curious how he fits into the overall plan she’s set up – and what relationship he might have with Clow.

Overall Rating:

xxxHolic 4 provides a nice blend of character development on Watanuki’s part, some interesting customs surrounding Valentine’s Day and White Day, and a few spirits of Japanese mythology.

Like in the US, Valentine’s Day in Japan is all about chocolate – however, instead of guys shelling out money for candy, it’s up to the girls to confess their love by buying their favorite guys chocolate. Guys aren’t let off the hook that easily, though, as they must return the favor with an obligatory gift on March 14, White Day.

This volume begins with Yuko asking Watanuki to make her chocolate fondue for Valentine’s Day. After she’s had her fill, there are still a few pieces left, so she divvies them out. Some go to Syaoran and friends while Watanuki gets the last piece to give to Himawari.

Things don’t go quite as planned when Himawari is out sick from school and Domeki gobbles down her chocolate. Worse, as the boys make their way home, a well-intending Zashiki Warashi spirit stops them, pulls out the chocolate Domeki just ate from his stomach along with his soul and flies off. It’s up to Watanuki to go after her and save his rival.

The second story arc is a tale of a verbally abusive relationship between two twin sisters. The older one lacks self confidence while the younger one adds insult to injury by suggesting the older one is accident prone and shouldn’t bother trying. When Yuko explains to Watanuki that words can cut deeper than physical scars, he takes her advice to heart and has a talk with the older twin.

There’s also some nice character growth on Watanuki’s part. While he admits he doesn’t want to help his rival, Domeki, regain his soul, he knows he’d never be able to live with himself knowing he’s responsible for Domeki’s condition so he pays his price to Yuko to help. This growing perception and awareness of others continues as he interacts with the twins and starts to realize that if he doesn’t at least try to help out, he’s just as bad as the older twin who has already given up before she started.

Keeping in sync with previous volumes, there are two crossover scenes with Syaoran and friends that shed light on the time differences between Tsubasa and xxxHolic. On Valentine’s Day, Yuko sends them chocolates, coinciding with their time in the Country of Jade. By White Day, a month later, Team Syaoran is in the Country of Oto, where Mokona reveals they just set up a coffee shop and need a name. Yuko suggests one based on her favorite manga.

Overall, this is a solid volume. As I was lamenting Watanuki’s cluelessness in the last volume, it’s really nice to see him do something other than whine about Domeki or drool over Himawari. Yuko continues to add depth to the story with her wisdom, knowledge of human nature, and of course, her self centered, comedic anecdotes that involve more presents for her.

The volume also contains color panels of the first few pages, extensive translation notes on Japanese Valentine’s and White Day customs and mythology, and a Japanese preview of volume 5.

Overall Rating:

Volume 3 provides greater insight into the supernatural elements of the xxxHolic universe with two paranormal tales. In the first, Himawari is worried about a friend who has gotten mixed up in the game of Angel-san, which is a lot like playing with an Ouija board. A group of students ask spirits from other dimensions questions, and those spirits, allegedly, move their hand to point to the correct letters and symbols to reveal the answers. Apparently, the more you get caught up in the game, the more susceptible you are to become prey for otherworldly spirits.

Because Watanuki is still obsessed with Himawari, he’s willing to do anything in his power to help her out – though that means he’ll be paying for Yuko’s advice himself. Armed with a pair of ears like Chi from Chobits, Watanuki navigates his way to the school’s rooftops where he sees three girls immersed in Angel-san and tries to help.

In the second tale, a college student spots a mysterious canister at Yuko’s store. Yuko allows her to take it so long as she promises not to open it. Of course, she does and soon learns that the wishes she’s been granted come with a steep price to be paid.

Throughout the volume, Yuko adds some philosophical points that add to the xxxHolic worldview. For instance, she explains that good and evil are concepts that only mean something to humans – non-humans aren’t governed by such principles – when describing the nature of guardian spirits. She also tries to get Watanuki to see Domeki’s good qualities.

Unfortunately, much of Yuko’s advice falls on deaf ears. Watanuki still falls into the comedic, dimwitted assistant role who takes people at face value. His crush on Himawari blinds him to Domeki’s positive side – he only sees Domeki as a rival for her love. It also doesn’t occur to him that the college student will try to open the container since Yuko told her not to.

This volume also has a short crossover with Tsubasa 3 where Yuko provides Syaoran and friends the means to break the castle’s magic spell. There’s even a Star Wars reference that made me laugh. Like previous volumes, this one contains extensive translation notes and explanations of honorifics.

Overall, I’m enjoying this series. I like the combination of comedy, supernatural and philosophical elements that makes for a really interesting world. The story feels more mature than Tsubasa, and I like the character driven focus and storytelling. Watanuki still has a long way to go to become a sympathetic character in my book but Yuko is such a strong mentor – and comedian – that she and the other characters help balance his zaniness.

Overall Rating:

Picking up in the Country of Recort, a world in the style of Victorian England, Team Syaoran discuss the secret behind the Memory Book. The marking on the book is a copy of the original and bears a striking resemblance to the markings on Sakura’s feathers. Fai and Sakura were able to track the original book that probably contains a feather to the Central Library but Fai thinks the book will be heavily guarded. Of course, Fai’s right and they can’t just check out the book so they decide to break into the library and steal it.

Most of this volume is dedicated to navigating the library’s magical defense system guarding the central vault which contains Sakura’s feather. Along the way, they see artifacts from Sakura’s memories including the ruins of Clow and a sundial that she and Syaoran talked about but we don’t learn much we didn’t know. We get a few more hints that Fai is quite a magic user, but he brushes it off when Kurogane asks and Clamp chooses not to fill in the gaps.

The climax of this volume is a hand-to-hand combat fight scene between Syaoran and Kurogane and the library’s guardian beasts that protect Sakura’s feather. Since the boys left their weapons behind to avoid suspicion, it’s short but there is a moment where Syaoran’s dark self awakens. Again, unfortunately, Clamp leaves us hanging here as well.

After a narrow escape, the travelers hop in Mokona’s mouth and are taken to a post apocalyptic world where dead bodies lie out in the open and rain has worn away building foundations. And surprise, another of Clamp’s main characters appears.

After the last volume which delved into Kurogane’s past, this volume feels weak – with little character development and not much action. I was hoping they’d pick up the pace after the last few volumes with the Fei Wang Reed/Yuko/Ashura story arc and how the death of Kurogane’s mother might be related to this, but this arc just seemed like filler. Perhaps, volume 15 will provide more answers.

Overall Rating:

Aside from a brief dream about Syaoran’s dark half and a cute moment between him and Sakura, this volume is primarily about Kurogane. The world they enter is the Country of Recort, a world in the style of Victorian England filled with magic schools and huge libraries. As our travelers investigate the potential whereabouts of Sakura’s feather, they discover a book with the ability to take the memories of the person who opens it first and show them to the person who opens it second.

While the last story arc was more fluff and cuteness than story, this arc is much darker and takes us to the core of Kurogane’s childhood scars. Kurogane’s father was a warrior who protected their land of Suwa from monsters while his mother was the land’s priestess. A tragic incident sends Kurogane into a violent rage where only the priestess of Shirasaki Castle can calm the boy down. That priestess turns out to be his beloved Tomoyo, the one who saved Kurogane from himself.

Much of this volume is told as a flashback, but the events allude to references in Sakura’s current quest to regain her feathers. Though Kurogane never found the people responsible for his village’s demise, Syaoran recognizes symbols on their weapons and relates them to the Country of Clow. Clamp is obviously building up to a spectacular climax or showdown but only gives us pieces of the puzzle here and there and this volume leaves more questions than answers. Still, an arc devoted to Kurogane’s back story helps flesh out his character considerably.

For his part, Syaoran feels horribly guilty for looking into Kurogane’s past without his permission. Kurogane takes it in stride, telling Syaoran that this is his quest and Syaoran doesn’t need to take up his baggage along with the burden he carries for Sakura. He’s also grateful that Syaoran could give him more information about those he seeks.

To lighten up the volume, there’s an omake with a dialog where Yuko asks Mokona about the sleep patterns of the four companions. Mokona explains each but is most concerned about Kurogane and Syaroan who it perceives to have similar wounds. Mokona hopes that they’ll start to feel better soon.

Like with other volumes, there is an extensive translation notes section that helps to explain social interactions during the Sengoku period as well as two introduced characters.

Overall Rating:

Tsubasa Volumes 11-12 are a welcomed change from the previous 10 because Sakura is actually awake and actively participating in getting her feather back. Our travelers are now in Piffle World where a girl who looks exactly like Kurogane’s Princess Tomoyo is holding a Dragonfly Race. The prize is one of Sakura’s feathers, which acts as a super energy batter in this world.

To enter the race, Syaoran and co. must qualify by flying in the preliminary race. The first 20 to cross the finish line will be eligible for the final race. All four travelers qualify but there is evidence of foul play when strange particles appear in the clouds. Tomoyo sends a team of investigators to look into it, but they don’t find anything before the final race is to begin.

These two volumes are action packed, with several chapters devoted to the race. Clamp does a great job showing speed, motion, and the obstacles the ships must overcome to obtain their required badges from each of the three checkpoints and cross the finish line. Like with the preliminary race, someone has rigged the flying field and before the race ends, virtually all of the pilots are knocked out. I know Clamp was trying to build suspense here, but since we all know one of Team Syaoran will win, it felt a bit contrived.

Still, before the feather is awarded, we meet a familiar character from a previous story arc that also has the ability to travel through dimensions and is searching out Sakura’s feathers. We also learn who else has been sabotaging the race.

These volumes spend a lot of time developing Sakura’s character. Feeling more energetic, she’s willing to give her best effort to win the race and she makes friends with Tomoyo in the process. Tomoyo even sows Sakura a pilot costume to add to the cuteness.

Yuko pops in with another reminder she wants something for White Day – this time threatening to sell their original clothes, Fai’s magical markings, and Kurogane’s sword Ginryu if they make her wait too long. While Fai and Kurogane aren’t too happy with Yuko’s demands, Sakura remains grateful to the Space Time Witch and wishes to express her appreciation.

Fai and Kurogane don’t have too much of a role in this story arc, but they do have some behind the scenes chatter that reveals they are still paying attention to the behind-the-scenes drama. There is one rather odd scene where Kurogane’s ship violently crashes yet he manages to walk away practically unscathed – which is strange because Clamp alludes to if that had happened to Sakura, she’d be dead. There’s also some nice interaction between the Tomoyo of this world and Kurogane, who still pines for his Princess.

Volume 12 wraps up with an omake chronicling Kurogane’s obsession with a ninja manga series he’s been keeping up with while traveling through the different worlds. When he can’t read the language, Mokona acts out the parts.

Overall Rating:

In volumes 8-10, Syaoran and friends make a brief pit stop in a bizarre tropical world filled with superstitious rabbit-like inhabitants. While they are quickly able to retrieve Sakura’s feather, the world raises more questions about the nature of dimension traveling. Fai and Kurogane have already questioned whether someone is watching their every move. This new world defies logic – why would tropical inhabitants have fur coats? And why couldn’t Mokona sense Sakura’s feather though it was in the rabbit colony’s possession? Perhaps someone is setting them up?

They don’t have much time to ponder before they are dropped into the Country of Shara, based on the Edo period of Japan, where the group is split in two. Sakura and Syaoran end up with a group of traveling stage performers called the Suzuran Troupe in Yuka-ku. Fai and Kurogane end up with their rivals, the Jinja clan.

Both clans are in charge of protecting a sacred god statue reminiscent of Shinto culture. The Jinja protect the statue of Yasha, the god of night and death, while the Yuka-ku protect the statue of Ashura, the god of war and calamity. Mysteriously, once a year in autumn, Yasha cries tears of blood from its scarred right eye coinciding with the day when the Suzuran Troupe returns from their travels and settles in Yuka-ku.

Not long after they arrive in Shara, the sky cracks open to reveal another dimension. Syaoran and co. are sucked into the Country of Shura, which turns out to be Shara’s past. Like Shara, there are two rival clans, lead by Ashura and Yasha respectively, who battle fiercely. Sakura and Syaoran come to Ashura’s aid while Fai and Kurogane fight on Yasha’s side. Of course, Sakura’s feather is a main reason the clans continue to fight, but this world offers some interesting character and plot development.

Since the groups are split and in different worlds, Syaoran can’t be sure that the Fai and Kurogane he meets are, indeed, his friends. Kurogane uses this opportunity to push Syaoran to his limits in battle and further train him in swordplay.

Also of note, we are finally introduced to the characters watching over Syaoran’s travels. We’ve seen them in previous novels, but their names are revealed as well as some of their intentions. Specifically, they see Syaoran’s journey through worlds as the way to unlock the powers of the ruins on Clow. We also see how vast Yuko’s powers are and that they do have limitations – she can help people cross dimensions and travel through time but much of her power is limited to whether people wish for it and offer her the appropriate payment. Finally, the arc also reveals there’s more to come of Syaoran’s mysterious past and that his watcher may be able to “wake up” that part of him he doesn’t remember. Syaoran has had glimpses of this alternative personality in the past but he’s showing up in Syaoran’s dreams more frequently.

We also see more of Yuko’s personality revealed. In the last volume, she sent over a large arrow with a note reminding them to send her something for White Day. She also has an interesting discussion with Ashura over what wishes can be granted and the fate of Syaoran and friends after this point, now that her client’s request has been fulfilled.

Once the storyline has been resolved in Shura, Syaoran and friends are transported back to Shara where they learn they’ve changed the future, something that bothers Syaoran. Can they be forgiven for meddling with the time continuum? And who’s to say they won’t change the future of other worlds in their quest to obtain all of Sakura’s feathers? Syaoran doesn’t have long to ponder such questions as a new world awaits – and Sakura’s feather is the grand prize of the Piffle Princess Corporation’s big race.

Overall, this story arc adds some comedic elements to the storyline – like Yuko’s White Day request and cross dressing Syaoran – as well as foreshadowing events to come. Chapters 8-9 primarily focus on Syaoran and Sakura, so they’re a bit slow without Kurogane and Fai’s ongoing banter.

I also feel like I’m a bit out-of-the-loop with some of the character references. I didn’t read RG Veda (Ashura and Yasha were main characters there) and I watched part of Cardcaptor Sakura so long ago I forget most of it, so I feel somewhat lost with all the crossover characters. I find I’m relying heavily on the excellent translation notes Del Ray includes with the manga to understand the plot crossovers and inside jokes. As an added bonus, there are also some cute omake in these volumes including a scene where the group decides to eat at a sushi bar and their reactions to raw fish are priceless.

Overall Rating:

Syaoran and friends have now taken up jobs in the country of Oto, which is a lot like early 20th century Japan, while they explore the whereabouts of Sakura’s feather. Syaoran and Kurogane are oni (demon) hunters who make money whenever they kill oni (in typical RPG fashion) while Fai and Sakura set up and run the Café Cat’s Eye. Unfortunately, they must do so under the silly names Fai registers them as – Syaoran and Kurogane are Little Doggie and Big Doggie while Sakura and Fai are Little Kitty and Big Kitty, much to the annoyance of Kurogane.

The story up until now has been fairly episodic and predictable. Syaoran and co. morph into a new world and must overcome obstacles to retrieve Sakura’s feather. These two volumes add a few new elements to the mix, but basically feel like the point in the story where the hero fails at something, realizes he’s not yet strong enough to continue his journey, and must continue training so that one day he will be strong enough to complete his quest.

The Oto arc combines lots of fighting with a fair amount of background on Syaoran’s fighting skills. When he was younger, he met a guy named Seishiro (yes, that Seishiro from X) who was looking for information on two vampires. Syaoran was impressed that Seishiro could fight so well, though like him, he had an artificial right eye and made a deal – if Seishiro would teach him to fight, he’d translate his book on vampires for Seishiro.

Now years later, Syaoran asks Kurogane to teach him how to use a sword and master his fighting reflexes. Like Luke Skywalker, Syaoran has a scene where he is blindfolded and must “feel the Force” or in this case, sense the difference between living and non-living auras around him.

While this world gives Syaoran plenty of time to learn new fighting techniques, there’s still no sign of Sakura’s feather. There are a few strange things – like the oni in this world are only supposed to attack oni hunters, not civilians, yet now they’ve started attacking anyone they come across. There are also rumors about oni who can control other oni.

The biggest surprise for Team Syaoran comes when they learn that another dimension traveler has entered the world and he’s not willing to make nice. At points, he challenges each of the boys to a no-holds-barred battle to the death, revealing a bit more about each of the characters’ world views. In the face of death, Fai tries his hardest to remain cool and collected while Syaoran seizes the moment to take a one-in-a-million shot at victory with little concern for his own well being. Kurogane lives for the challenge of battle and is willing to go for the kill, even if that means his abilities will weaken under Tomoyo’s curse.

Like with volume 3, Clamp still hasn’t mastered active battle scenes. We still see large swooshing movements and characters knocked into walls or just been hit but it’s tough to decipher exactly what happened to cause such grand scale destruction. And unfortunately, after some shocking moments, I was disappointed with how Clamp resolved the story with a cliché reset.

Overall Rating:

When Syaoran made his deal with Yuko, he gave up his place in Sakura’s memories. We see just what that means when Sakura receives her third feather and remembers a birthday party. At the party, Sakura is so happy everyone could attend, yet there is an empty chair at the table where Syaoran sat. She seems to sense that something is wrong and that the chair shouldn’t be empty, but before she can ponder it further, she falls asleep. Later, she reveals to Syaoran her memory and that she was so happy talking to the empty chair.

Sakura isn’t the only one suffering from amnesia. Syaoran also has a mysterious past. He was taken in by his adopted father years ago but can’t remember anything that happened before then. We see some nice character development in these volumes with flashbacks to Syaoran’s past and how he and Sakura met.

The main adventure in these volumes is a fairytale mystery. Several children have gone missing from 18th century European-style Country of Jade and the towns folks believe it has something to do with the old legend of Princess Emeraude. Three hundred years ago, a princess received a feather from a black bird. After that, her mother and father died suddenly. Then, one by one, the children of the village went missing, never to return.

Of course, as soon as Syaoran and co. show up, they are immediately suspected of kidnapping, even though 20 kids have already gone missing over the last few months. Even stranger, Sakura claims to see a golden haired princess leading the children away at night. Hoping to get to the bottom of things – and possibly find one of Sakura’s feathers in the process – Syaoran digs up old books about the legend including the makeup of the castle where she allegedly kept the children and after some investigating, the team cracks the case.

Once the fairytale mystery has been solved, the travelers drop into Oto country, where they take up jobs for money. Here, we start to see Kurogane is more than just comic relief or the party’s battle tank when he notices Syaoran’s biggest weakness. We also get a crossover from xxxHolic when Yuko delivers some delicious homemade chocolates (baked by Watanuki) through Mokona.

The beginning of volume 4 made me wonder if Sakura will be able to piece Syaoran back into her missing memories as the story movies forward, despite Yuko’s attempts to remove him from her memories. By the end of volume 5, however, a scene occurs where Yuko makes it quite clear how steep her price is. She’s a hard bargainer – but can they really end Tsubasa with Sakura and Syaoran not together? (Not that the end is anywhere in sight. A lot can happen in 18+ volumes.) But will Yuko protest if Sakura falls in love with Syaoran despite losing all childhood memories of him?

I’m also guessing that it’s significant that Syaoran has a mysterious past that will probably be revealed in later volumes. I’m sure we’ll learn more about Syaoran’s weakness, and I suspect Kurogane may even help him overcome it to become a better fighter.

Tsubasa keeps getting better with each story arc and I love the curve balls they keep throwing with character development.

Overall Rating:

With Sakura now awake, the group teleports to the town of Ryonfi in the medieval fantasy world of Koryo. There, they meet a young girl named Chu’nyan who mistakes Syaoran and co. for Amenosa, government agents who travel the land investigating how each region’s Ryanban (ruler) treats his people. According to Chu’nyan, the village has been waiting for Amenosa to save them from the current Ryanban, who is a tyrant.

Last year, a father/son team of traveling mages came to their village, overthrew the region’s Ryanban and took over. They killed Chu’nyan’s mother in the process and now tax the villagers heavily. The villagers have tried to fight back, but the new Ryanban has a magical wind he uses to punish anyone who stands up to him. He has also locked himself safely away in a castle protected by an unbreakable magical barrier.

Syaoran quickly suspects the Ryanban possesses one of Sakura’s feathers so the team bargains with Yuko for a way inside the castle. Once inside, Team Syaoran faces a number of battles with baddies true to shonen form.

Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of how CLAMP artists draw battle scenes. There are lots of big movements, sweeping gestures, blurred strikes and sound effects but I never really grasp exactly what’s going down other than a character was hit hard or there was a big explosion. I don’t need the full Naruto explanation of exactly what’s happening at all times, but sometimes I wish they’d explain the fighting system in a big more detail.

Regardless, the bottom line is that Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane kick butt and presumably will retrieve Sakura’s feather in the next issue – which hopefully will help Sakura stay awake for longer periods of time. In this story, she has been chronically fatigued but she did manage to stay awake long enough to win cash in a dice game and to console Chu’nyan while the boys were off fighting. Hopefully as the series progresses, she’ll take a more active role in regaining her memories because right now, she’s a pretty boring character.

Fai and Kurogane are much more interesting now that we can see a bit of what they can do and why they may have been chosen to accompany Syaoran on his mission to regain Sakura’s feathers. Fai is quite perceptive of how others think/feel but he seems to like taking an outsider’s role rather than getting personally involved unless he has too. Kurogane, on the other hand, is the less perceptive, brute force guy. He’s the one they ask to knock down walls and fight in hand-to-hand combat.

Overall, this was a good arc for character development and to introduce us to the fighting system, though as I mentioned above, I wish it had been fleshed out a bit more.