Tag Archives: CLAMP

xxxHOLiC Roundtable: A Rambling Review in Four Points

Posted on by

The roundtable round-up: Vom Marlowe posts a favorable review, Kinukitty is less kind, Adam Stephanides follows up, Ng Suat Tong goes on the attack, but he also posts examples of Ukiyo-e for comparison.

1. That is a very misleading title.

When you read a title like “xxxHOLiC,” what’s your first thought? Porn addiction!

When Noah first proposed a xxxHOLiC roundtable, I was a little surprised that we were starting off the new year with a discussion of Japanese porn (I don’t know why I was surprised, as this blog is all about the Japanese man-love). But apparently the “xxx” is silent, and the manga is appropriate for teens. That is false advertising.

2. The art is fantastic.

A great deal of manga art leaves me cold. The common style (large eyes, angular features, spiky hair, etc.) doesn’t repulse me, but at the same time I’ve never been drawn to it. This is less an aesthetic judgment than my cultural prejudices, as I grew up reading comics with (relatively) more realistic art.

But strangely, the art in xxxHOLiC appeals to me precisely because it frequently veers further away from realism. The story is set in a universe that’s superficially similar to our own, and the use of the typical manga style for the majority of each chapter reinforces that. But the existence of magic provides a contextual excuse for surreal deviations from the typical. Sometimes these are obvious, as when Yuko is casting a spell.

Other times, the surreal touches can be more subtle, such as Yuko’s cat-like pupils or the heavy use of black.

This panel is reminiscent of a noir-ish crime comic, but the darkness is purely thematic; the other panels on the page establish that the conversation takes place in a well-lit room. In a different context, these artistic flourishes might come across as tedious, but within the world of xxxHOLiC they seem appropriate and are arguably necessary for the story and characters to have the desired effect on the reader.

The surreal elements mix well with the influence of Ukiyo-e, which Vom Marlowe discussed (and Ng Suat Tong generously provided examples of). Yuko frequently lounges about in traditional Japanese (and occasionally Chinese) clothing decorated with intricate patterns.

But while the interior art is impressive, the chapter covers (or whatever they’re called) were the highlight for me. Characters and environment merge, and patterns on costumes shift into the background as aesthetic harmony trumps reality.

3. Add a laugh track and xxxHOLiC would be a sit-com.

The writing left me unimpressed. Other posters have commented on the anticlimaxes, the one-dimensional characters, and the contrivances that are conveniently explained away as “destiny.” When Yuko stated that coincidence does not exist, I was reminded of Star Wars. Enjoyment of the series is dependent on your willingness to just accept that characters will always be in the right place at the right time for the plot to advance. That’s just the way the Force (or hitsuzen) works.

But easily the weakest element of the story was the setup. Sad-sack teenager Kimihiro Watanuki stumbles upon a shop owned by the one woman who can solve his ghost problem. And as payment, he agrees to work for her. Yuko turns him into a maid (but he’s a guy!), and he complains about it, but the two clearly enjoy each others company. And wacky hi-jinks ensue. You can practically hear the creaking of the plot as it gets all the pieces in place.

But the pieces never quite fit. Watanuki’s whining never feels genuine, because he has so little to whine about in this situation. A gorgeous woman wants to spend her day with you, solve your biggest problem, and teach you about magic, and all you have to do in return is some housework? That is not a bad deal. And why does Yuko take so much interest in Watanuki at all? Other than his issue with ghosts, he’s a fairly boring kid, and yet he seems to be at the center of Yuko’s world. Perhaps later volumes will explain her motivations, but I’m not interested enough to find out.

4. Crossovers aren’t just for superheroes anymore.

The crossover with Tsubasa and the references to Cardcaptor Sakura surprised me. I know all those books are produced by CLAMP, but I tend to think of manga as stories operating in self-contained universes, as opposed to the shared universes of American superheroes. Perhaps I’m mistaken, and there are actually a lot of manga crossovers. If anyone wants to list some examples in the comments, I’d appreciate it.

Is it a big deal? I suppose you could characterize the crossover as fairly insubstantial. As far as I can tell, it doesn’t have any long-term consequences on xxxHOLiC, and it only factors significantly in one chapter of volume 2. And while I haven’t read either Cardcaptor Sakura or Tsubasa, I wasn’t confused as to what was going on. We’re still a far cry away from the never-ending, ‘bleed our customers dry’ crossovers that characterize DC and Marvel publishing.

On the other hand, the crossover is more than just a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moment. It serves as the climax to volume 1, a way to entice readers, who are presumably fans of Tsubasa and Cardcaptor Sakura, into reading the next volume of xxxHOLiC. And it ties Yuko to the prominent characters of the Tsubasa storyline, leaving the door open for more crossovers in the future.

And then there’s this page, where Yuko explains that the concept of alternate realities to Watanuki.

This explanation could have easily come from a DC comic in the 1960s. In fact, the classic story “Flash of Two Worlds” (1961) first introduced the idea that events in a one world might be recorded as fiction in a parallel world. I would be surprised if the CLAMP creators weren’t at least aware of the DC multiverse.

So what does this mean for CLAMP’s output in the future? Perhaps this crossover is just an aberration. Or maybe CLAMP is prepping its readers for more crossovers. Like the superhero publishers, CLAMP owns several properties that appeal to roughly the same demographic. And given the popularity of crossovers in the U.S., it’s not a stretch to imagine that there are loyal readers in Japan who would be happy to see the characters of various CLAMP titles interact more frequently. Maybe 2010 will be the year of CLAMP United.*

*as dreadful as that sounds, it couldn’t possibly be as bad as that thing Image publishes.

_____________
Update by Noah: You can read all posts in the xxxholic roundtable here.

xxxHolic Roundtable: Calling a Spade a Spade

Posted on by

(A longish comment on xxxHolic Vol. 1-3 and the roundtable so far)

The roundtable so far: Vom Marlowe, Kinukitty, Adam Stephanides on xxxHolic. All posts on the roundtable here.

It’s not difficult to admire the gentle artistry of CLAMP. It’s easy on the eyes and doesn’t deviate significantly from the style readers have come to expect from manga. Still, while there are individual illustrations of some interest every so often in xxxHolic, my eyes were flitting through most of the pages with a general lack of enthusiasm.

My primary feeling upon completing the first 3 volumes of xxxHolic was that of boredom.

An uncomfortable amount of the drawings and panel to panel transitions here function solely as tools to move the story forward, failing to form any sort of pleasant and unique narrative voice. The sparse backgrounds and general lack of variation in page compositions are all typical of deeply commercial stories bound to rapid serialization schedules. These elements are also perfectly suited to the needs of the inevitable anime adaptations. Reading this series was not unlike listening to a relatively agreeable narrator delivering a quick recital of a very forgettable story; no different from the multitude of disconnected, languidly paced, by the numbers dramas we might find on television today.

Continue reading →

xxxHOLiC Roundtable: Art Nouveau Meets The Twilight Zone

Posted on by

This post is part of a week-long roundtable on xxxHOLic. Vom Marlowe’s kickoff post is here, and Kinukitty’s post is here.

In a comment thread on The Hooded Utilitarian that I don’t seem to be able to find now, in which the discussion had turned to CLAMP, I remarked that xxxHOLiC was pretty good. When Noah said that he liked CLAMP mainly for the art, I suggested he try xxxHOLiC, on the grounds that it had “lots of swirly stuff.” On that point, my memory had not played me false: xxxHOLiC does indeed have lots of swirly stuff, some of it quite pretty. However, upon rereading volumes one through three, I realized that my memory of these volumes as a whole had been rose-tinted. Or maybe I’ve become jaded with supernatural manga with formulaic, Twilight Zone-ish plots and one-dimensional characters. Actually, my feelings about the writing are much the same as Kinukitty’s, so I may wind up repeating some of her points.

xxxHOLiC is a cross between the “magical shop” and “supernatural detective” genres. Like these genres, it is episodic, and it stands or falls largely on the quality of its individual episodes. In these three volumes, however, the episodes are often simplistic morality tales (the habitual liar and monkey’s paw episodes) or end in anticlimaxes (the ghost storytelling and “angel-san” (a Ouija-like game) episodes). I think Kinukitty’s first instinct on the habitual liar episode was correct: it really is thuddingly moralistic. The wages of habitual lying are generally not death, and especially not death in such a contrived fashion as here: becoming completely paralyzed at the exact moment a truck is bearing down on you. (And what was the point of giving her the ring? It appears to have made matters worse, if anything.)

The monkey’s paw episode is even lamer. To anyone who’s read the short story the monkey’s paw comes from, it’s obvious that things will end in disaster for its user, so there’s no suspense. (When I first read this volume and got to the introduction of the monkey’s paw, my reaction was “You’ve got to be kidding.”) And because the paw’s user/victim is so dense, I couldn’t even feel any sympathy for her. Again, why does Yuko give her tube with the monkey’s paw inside in the first place? (Maybe her strategy is to give the “unworthy” enough rope to hang themselves.)

I said the angel-san and ghost storytelling episodes end in anti-climaxes. In the latter, it turns out that Yuko set the whole thing up and Watanuki was never in any real danger. And as for the angel-san episode, WTF? A giant snake appears out of nowhere and saves Watanuki and Domeki? Talk about a deus ex machina. We can add to the list of bad episodes the thirty-odd pages devoted to the crossover with Tsubasa. It may pay off later in the series, but for now it just takes up space.

Not only is the plot weak, there are problems with the storytelling as well. Many of the episodes feel padded, not because of decompression-style techniques but because of the lengthy, dull, and sometimes nigh-incomprehensible explanations Yuko is in the habit of giving. There are also some storytelling glitches. The most conspicuous is during the ghost story-telling episode. After Himawari, Domeki and Watanuki have told their stories Yuko announces that it’s her turn and says: “Now, that thing showing on the shoji paper door behind me: what do you think it is?”* Her words are illustrated by a two-page splash panel depicting said paper door, and on it a silhouette of an enormous ghostly-looking figure. It’s undeniably an effective moment — except that, as far as we see, none of the characters react to it at all. And while Watanuki is attacked by spirits shortly afterward, there’s no indication that this particular spirit is among them, leaving the reader to wonder what the point of the splash panel was.

On to characterization. Of the recurring characters, only Yuko and Watanuki receive any real characterization. But these characterizations are little more than sets of quirks: Yuko is capricious, loves booze and exploits Watanuki; Watanuki has exaggerated reactions to everything, is infatuated with Himawari and irrationally hates Domeki. Apart from these quirks, Yuko and Watanuki are pretty much empty shells as far as character is concerned. And while the quirks are amusing at first, they become tiresome long before the end of volume three. (Maru and Moro, Yuko’s almost identical child assistants, are annoying from the first.)

Throughout volumes one through three, Yuko stresses that you must take responsibility for all your actions, and that you are the only one who can change your behavior. This theme could have served as a means of deepening Watanuki’s character. But it’s weakened by the fact that Yuko’s actions towards Watanuki completely contradict it. She magically compels him to enter her shop against his will, and virtually coerces him to make a “contract” with her, high-handedly overriding all his protests. And I see no indication that we are supposed to notice the discrepancy between her words and her deeds.

I’d be more inclined to share Vom Marlowe’s love for Yuko if she were more of a character and less of a plot device. Also, she really doesn’t look middle-aged to me, especially when I look at her bare-midriffed figure in the Internet addict episode. Of course she could be middle-aged and extremely fit — though she doesn’t seem to be big on exercise — or magically preserved.

In general, xxxHOLiC’s writing is best when it’s most restrained. Largely for this reason, the Internet addict episode is the best episode in these volumes. There’s a wordless two-page sequence showing the addict, who has agreed to never touch her PC again, trying to resist temptation. This sequence is extremely well done, and all the more welcome for its contrast to all the talking and yelling in the rest of the volumes. In fact, these are my favorite two pages, despite their lack of “swirly stuff.”

This segues neatly into the subject of xxxHOLiC’s art, which is far superior to its writing. Vom Marlowe already pointed out the Art Nouveau influence, which is obvious and strong, but at the same time integrated into the volumes’ overall style. I suspect that Yuko’s appearance, in particular, was inspired in part by Mucha’s depictions of women. I don’t really see much of an ukiyo-e influence, but then I’m less familiar with that tradition (and haven’t really had time to bone up on it since Vom Marlowe sprung it on me). In addition, the pages flow well visually; and while I’m not sure what Vom Marlowe means when she praises the “ink,” the solid blacks are well placed on the pages. A nice touch which I just noticed is the visual rhyme between Himawari’s hair and the black smoke CLAMP sometimes uses here to represent malignant spirits.

I don’t hate xxxHOLiC, although I’m not sure I’d say, as Kinukitty did, that I don’t dislike it. It’s a decent enough time-killer, if you can put up with most of the episodes ending disappointingly. (Come to think of it, based on the other CLAMP series I’ve read, they seem to have a problem with endings in general.) And the art is good, although you might be better off getting your Art Nouveau directly from the source. But if you’re looking for a good supernatural mystery series, I recommend you look elsewhere.

*I’ve inserted my own punctuation because if I used the ellipses used in the book, Yuko would sound like Swamp Thing.

_____________
Update by Noah: You can read all posts in the xxxholic roundtable here.