xxxHOLiC◆Kei

Kimihiro Watanuki's life was never really normal. But in addition to his ability to see spirits, this sequel to xxxHOLiC finds him still slaving away for Yuuko, the bizarre owner of a strange shop, who promised to rid him of this ability. However, this otherworldly woman can only do so when he has worked enough to earn his wish. Such is the way for anyone who finds their way into the shop to have their request granted: a compensation equal to their wish must be paid.

In this odd shop that straddles the world of the living and the dead, Watanuki finds himself doing household chores for the seemingly lazy Yuuko and her companions, while also helping out clients. Along with his classmates, supposed romantic rival Shizuka Doumeki and his crush Himawari Kunogi, Watanuki deals with the many misfortunes surrounding Yuuko's customers, as well as those that closely follow him and his friends.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ichihara, Yuuko Main

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Watanuki, Kimihiro Main

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Doumeki, Shizuka Main

Nakai, Kazuya Japanese

Kunogi, Himawari Main

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Modoki, Mokona ing

Kikuchi, Mika Japanese

Zashiki-warashi ing

Mutou, Sumi Japanese

Mugetsu ing

Maru ing

Kojima, Kazuko Japanese

Tsuyuri, Kohane ing

Hidaka, Rina Japanese

Ame-warashi ing

Yajima, Akiko Japanese

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Tanaka, Junichirou Producer

Morishita, Katsuji Producer

Kawaguchi, Tooru Producer

Reviews

May 12, 2009

game8910

Recommended

***I have decided to change the format of my reviews to provide more to-the-point ups and downs of the subject in review. I hope people like this new style since the old essay style reviews are tl;dr and just take too long to write. Anyways here is the first anime I'll review under this new format***

xxxHOLiC - Kei is the sequel to the first xxxHOLiC anime which is an adaptation of the CLAMP manga of the same name.

Story:
+ A great plot that leaves you wanting to know what happens next
+ Very deep symbolisms and philosophy are presented
+ A bigger focus on character development
+ An actual ... sense of continuity unlike the first season's more episodic format
+ Great mix of supernatural elements into a slice of life anime

- Fans who prefered the episodic format might be let down
- Less freakish supernatural situations (in comparison) to the first season
- Fans of the manga might be let down at the lack of references to Tsubasa Chronicles this far into the story.

Art:
+ Flawless animation
+ No quiality fluctuations throughout the series, solid and stable all the way
+ CLAMP art (for those who love it)

- CLAMP art (for those who hate it)
- A little spoilerish but I wish they had kept "a certain person'" eye colours like they should have been

Sound
+ Very awesome soundtrack that fits the atmospheres perfectly
+ Very good use of the soundtrack making scenes more powerful
+ Great performance by all the seiyuu's they did an awesome job

- Watanuki's voice can get irritaring sometimes (but thats me)

Character
+ Yuuko is amazing....very deep and mysterious character that just makes you wanna know more about her
+ Watanuki, despite being annoying sometimes, is a great and likeable character
+ The rest of the cast both main and ing are very likeable
+ Great character development that actually makes you care for them

- Watanuki's short temper irritates me sometimes (but thats me)
- Mokona is also annoying

Enjoyment: xxxHOLiC - Kei was really an incredibly fun anime to watch, I just didn't feel like stopping, mainly because I loved the characters and the plot.

Overall: xxxHOLiC Kei is a great sequel to a great anime that is adapted from a great manga. But even as great as the anime is I highly recommend you read the manga since there is a lot of IMPORTANT material that was left out of both anime adaptations. If you like slice of life and supernatural animes, then by all means watch xxxHOLiC, its one of the best at doing both at once.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 18, 2020

cameronrb24

Mixed Feelings

Quick Thoughts:
The less episodic format led to improvements in some areas, but ultimately this season still suffers from many of the issues I had with the first season, like character designs and the repetitive interactions between characters.

Story:
Instead of being mostly episodic like its first season, xxxHOLiC Kei is presented in loosely connected arcs 2-4 episodes. This should've helped by allowing more time for developing more in-depth stories and settings, but outside of one arc towards the end the arcs felt mediocre. The couple plot twists they attempted were too predictable, and most the new characters introduced weren't interesting enough to carry the story.

Character:
I think ... they dropped the ball in their attempts to develop Watanuki's friend group. In the first few episodes it seemed like the relationship between Doumeki and Watanuki would develop past the very stale, one-dimensional interactions they would have in the first season, but their dynamic hardly changed. The end result is basically an ability that's used sparingly throughout the season. Himawari's development was strange and almost nonsensical, that's all I can say without spoiling. Even with these developments though, nothing really changed with their interactions. Watanuki's still unreasonably antagonistic towards Doumeki, and swoons over Himawari any times she's mentioned.

Enjoyment:
I enjoyed just one arc, which was about 4 episodes. Everything else mildly enjoyable at best and boring/repetitive at worst.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Aug 27, 2008

chinaboat

Not Recommended

First let me say I truly enjoyed the first season and the art is just as striking but Kei is a total waste of characters with tremendous potential. - Try this out: the rain sprite, the Ame-warashi, standard mood is bad but she always sees the good in people; the vestal sprite, the Zashiki-warashi, is innocent and virginal she lives on pure, as in virginal, energy and is very susceptible to evil energy; the beautiful human spider, Jorougumo thrives on that evil energy; almost all the other secondary characters are just as vivid and unique - and CLAMP doesn't do a damn thing with them. ... To top it off the lead female, Yuuko, could have been one of the great females in anime but they turn her from the super dominant, supernatural witch of the first season into an insipid drunk whose only purpose is exposition.

Almost every episode had the making of two or three story arcs. The writers of "xxxholic kei" seem to be the type who when asked, "How did you like that elephant that just walked by?" reply, "What elephant?"

To someone who watched all the first season episodes at least twice the second season is an insult.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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