xxxHOLiC

10/10 easily. xxxHolic is a gem of an anime. I've seen both in English and in Japanese, and both the dub and sub hold up well. I prefer the English dub for its character, but Japanese is good too.

Story-wise, I love it. Each episode focuses on a new plot and issue for Watanuki to learn from. It all connects. It is based on the manga.

I like the characters. I do wish at certain times that Watanuki would show more depth, or Yuuko, but it does happen, especially in S2 and the OVAs. This show builds up his growth, just slowly. There isn't a ... single character I don't like in this show.

The art and animation are great and hold up to my high standards, and this series is from the early 2000s. The characters ARE lanky, and have large hands at some points, but that is a stylistic choice. Have you seen Code Geass? It's the same thing. I personally love it and I think it helps this show stand out from many others.

I love the music. I could hear any one of the tracks from this show a million times and I'd never get tired of it. They easily make me feel emotional. Additionally, the openings for season 1 and season 2 (kei) are unique and sound great.

Overall, I love this show, it is one of my favorites and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

There are some dark episodes, feel-good moments, and plenty of humor.
This show is funny, I think you'd have to be emotionless not to laugh.

Also, the reviewer talking about yuri in this show?? Huh? There is literally no yuri in this show, whatsoever. I assume they're referring to Yuuko holding people's faces with her hands, and she does this with nearly every main character. I guess if a woman is in the same room as another one it constitutes yuri? what horrible logic haha

I agree with the rest of the comments that XXHOLIC is not as good as it appears to be, there are better chapters, and other very boring ones where barely anything happens, I don't know exactly how to explain it but it is as if the story was not written at all, It reminds me of other unfinished works by Clamp.

For me, what kept me going the most were its characters, I think that is the strong point, each one has their personality and they are very different from each other, but the main plot barely comes to light, therefore it is an entertaining series ... to watch time, with paranormal episodes like any other series of this style, reminded me of the zack file. There is a chapter that reminded me of Fushigi Yugi. I don't know if more viewers have noticed.

It also has connections with other series such as Tsubasa reservoir chrnicles but it barely takes advantage of this coincidence. In short, I think that xxxholic is a series that has good ideas but in the end is not able to translate them onto the screen.

Quick Thoughts:

This show did not need to be 24 episodes. A premise is established early on regarding the main character's (Watanuki) ability to see spirits as well as his destiny in relation to his boss Yuko, but the show hardly delved deeper into it. Instead, xxxHolic follows an episodic format whose formula grew stale just several episodes in.

Story:

Yuko runs a shop that "grants" wishes, and these wishes are usually linked to something spiritual. Each episode generally involves Watanuki using his ability to see spirits to help Yuko fulfill those requests. There are some variations; such as more slice-of-life centered Watanuki's friend group, or episodes with ... more lighthearted interactions with spirits, but Yuko's requests are the main focus. Episodes conclude with the wishes being fulfilled, usually in a monkey paw type of way, and then Yuko monologues about the theme of the episode. This episode structure isn't bad, I think the elements supporting it (characters, art) were too weak too carry for 24 episodes.

Art:

Visually, xxxHolic is underwhelming at best. It seems like they were trying to go for a dark, mysterious vibe, but things like most of the background characters being grey silhouettes made the art seem flat and lazy. I never got used to the characters designs either; they're ridiculously lanky. It didn't seem consistent either. They would look fine in closer shots, but it seemed like as camera zoomed out, their heads would shrink and their limbs would extend. Animation-wise this show was fine. nothing notable.

Sound:

The soundtrack was simplistic, but pretty good overall. In particular, it worked well with the parts of the show that were more eerie in tone. Voice acting was solid as well. I did find Watanuki's voice a bit annoying, but it seems like that's the kind of voice they were going for.

Characters:

I think the characters and how they interact were a large part of why the show got stale so quickly. The main cast reacts to each other in very predicable ways. An example could be Watanuki's friend group: Watanuki either overacts to other character's antics in his shrieking voice or swoons over his love interest Himawari, Doumeki eggs him on by reacting nonchalantly, and then Himawari giggles and says Doumeki and Watanuki look like great friends or something. That's basically the slice-of-life portion of the show in a nutshell. The more serious side isn't much better. Having someone as goofy as Watanuki be the main character takes away a lot of the tension they try to build. Yuko helps mitigate this when she's actually on screen, but she's usually in the background playing a more supportive role for Watanuki.

Enjoyment:

I kind of enjoyed the show for what was in the first several episodes, but it dragged on too long and got repetitive in the latter half. Can't say I enjoyed it that much overall.