xXxHoLic Vol 4-6

[meganbmoore]

Ok, seriously, "making gods?"  What on Earth is that woman, anyway?

I have to say, in this case, at least, I'm glad I listened to the f-list, instead of going with the "well, I can see why people like it and thought I would, but I'm not sure it's for me" initial reaction I had.  Generally, that instinctive reaction pans out, but every once in a while it doesn't(and on the off chance that it doesn't, I have wasted endless hours of my life of a few things, but we won't dwell on that...)  i was told that the book finally came into it's own and laid off with the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles crossovers and constant mentions after volume 4, and both are true.  Though Tsubasa still comes up often enough that I twitch...I mean, I'm interested in Tsubasa, but the constant intrusion into xXxHoLic was almost enough to make me swear off it.

The often grating "aren't I so cool even though I'm not as cool as I think I am" of the book has been replaced with "I'm cool and I can say that because it's true."  Yuko doesn't come across as preachy now, but just as someone who knows her stuff.  I still want someone to show up to annoy her and her not be able to do anything about it, but there isn't really any malice to the wish now, just the knowledge of how amusing it would be.  The twins, wonder of wonders, actually don't annoy me at all anymore, I think there was just too much of them and Clamp's "Aren't they great?" opinion of them in the first volume.  Domeki remains awesome.  I wish Watanuki would take a chill pill and stop fangirling over Himawari so much, but that's ok.

We're also moving away from nothing but Tsubasa crossovers and episodes about people with nasty habits coming to a bad end, and moving more towards a mytharc, and to a lot of focus on japanese mythology(surefire way to make meganbmoorehappy:  include lots of mythology...I was particularly fond of the  Hyakki Yako.)  Also, the episodic addiction/fault stuff is starting to be less "this person has a BAD habit they makes them a BAD person and they have a BAD fate as a result,"  and more "this person/spirit needs help and after will be able to have a better life/be at peace" which I vastly prefer.

In other words, thank you certain people for making me stick it out.

Now when does this "eye loss as declaration of love" I've been promised take place(what is it with Japan and eye fetishes?)

Comments

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought about it before, but there's got to be xxxHolic/Pet Shop of Horros crossovers where Yuuko and Count D get all oily and mysterious at each others.

And then if Mr. Yang from Antique Gift Shop showed up, there would be MYSTERIOUS FIGURE OF JUDGEMENT IMPLOSION!!!!!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I have been wondering if there was a xXxHolic/Pet Shop of Horrors x-over ever since I first tried out xXxHoLic I think 2 years ago(at the time, there was no support system to order me to stick with it)

I haven't read Antique Gift Shop...is the Antique Cake Shop live action based on it? If so, is Mr. Yang the mysterious and enigmatic baker who doesn't talk much?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Antique Bakery is a totally different series. :) Antique Gift Shop is similar to PSOH and xxxHolic in the way that there's a shop that sells mysterious things that force the byers to onfront their past or atone for their sins or whatnot. It's a manhwa, and the shop is owned by a girl whose grandmother was a shaman but who doesn't belive in that sort of stuff. Mr. Yang - a tall, longhaired mysterious bishounen type - shows up, and he knows something more about the girl, and he can hear the objects. :) Pretty typical in that genre, but I like the linework.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Sounds like my thing. Is it licensed?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yup - books 1-4 are out, although book 5 has fallen into limbo somewhere. The manhwaga is Eun Lee. I pretty much had t get them all from Amazon.com because they only show up in Borders if I've already purchased them. :)

[chomiji]

See, Yuuko does know best!

;-)

I forget just at which point things stop being episodic and start being a cohesive plot - including the eyeball things - but you should be almost there. And I love the mythology notes. I wish other series had more of that type of thing. It's odd, because I just started Legal Drug, and it has no notes at all! Not even the quick little notes about the honorifics that most of the manga have.

Watanuki is doing the best he can - he's an orphan, so he's got no one to go "there there" except Yuuko - and that's just not her style.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I actually like the interactions w/ Yuko and Watanuki now that Yuko isn't annoying me, I just wish he'd tone it down w/ the rages about Domeki and the fangirling over Himawari.

Legal Drug is published by Tokyopop, right? They rarely include those things unless the mangaka originally did.

[springgreen.livejournal.com]

Yay you liked it! Bwahaha, just wait until the next volume, I think.

I particularly love the little oden foxes and the balloons.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I anticipate the eyes loss. Japan seems rather fixated on blindness and one-eyed men.

I love the foxes. And Yuko's clothes. And Domeki.