Dari: Here I am with another batch of xxxHOLIC chapter reviews, and i’ll have a special one for chapter 200 out soon.

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Dari: ok, now, I know I have anime series I should be blogging but am several weeks behind on, but when I see xxxHOLIC more then 10 chapters behind I can’t ignore it, and the reason I joined HSA in the 1st point was to blog on manga, so sorry Ric, and sorry Minnie for doing this instead of the ones I should be doing, I’ll stop if I receive death threats from either of those two.

Chapters 183-192: Chapters in a sentence style…

Dari: Chapter 183 saw the shop being restored, and Mokona telling Doumeki that he has to choose the time when he uses the egg he was given.

Dari: Chapter 184 is talking about the egg, and the choices that must be made, and Watanuki holding onto the robes that Yuuko used to wear.

Dari: Chapter 185 has Watanuki announcing that he’ll take over the shop, Doumeki thinking about the egg, and Watanuki starting to smoke.

Dari: Chapter 186 is chapter 1 all over again, no joke. it has the the same words on the 1st page, except in chapter 1 it was Yuuko saying them,
and now it’s Watanuki saying them, and Doumeki bringing offerings of food, and Watanuki has only just woken up at 5pm, and is smoking… and Doumeki is studying folklore at Uni.

Dari: Chapter 187 is Doumeki wanting to drink sake, and more importantly, Kohane visiting (and bringing beef shigureni). She is in middle school now, and should almost be in high school, as Doumeki is in his last year of Uni, and Obaa-san sent a message saying that a customer would come tomorrow, and Kohane is worried about Watanuki getting hurt, who says that he will grant any wish that he can grant, as he waits for Yuuko.

Dari: Chapter 188 is Watanuki waking up before 5pm, Mokana bragging about his txting skills, and the start of the shamisen arc, and the customer is a blind woman with a shamisen.

Dari: Chapter 189 is talk about cats and music, and Doumeki talking about cats having sex.

Dari: Chapter 190 is a cat dream, Mokona giving massages, Watanuki throwing Mokona, a plectrum with a butterfly on it, and everything being inevitable.

Dari: Chapter 191 is learning the shamisen has been played with the butterfly plectrum once before, and that the person who played it can not meet the shamisen owner again (and sounds alot like it might be Yuuko), and the shamisen being played again, and the plectrum crumbling into many pieces, and Watanuki liking animals.

Dari: Chapter 192 is the end of the Shamisen Arc, and is payment, and Watanuki is righteous, according to Mokona, and Watanuki getting used to getting the payment right, and thinking about Shaoran, and Watanuki not being alone.

Chapter 193: Return of the Ever 17 Grandpa

Dari: At last, we once again see the ever 17 (or younger) grandpa ghost. This of course means we have a dream world chapter. Watanuki is on the balcony, looking sad, when Haruka turns up.

Dari: They start off talking about Shizuka (Doumeki) and what he’s been doing lately, before the conversation turns to the work that Watanuki is now doing and how he’s finally getting the feel for it, and isn’t getting injured as often as he used to. Watanuki then thanks Haruka for everything that he’s taught him, but Hazuka says that it was nothing, as those abilities were already resting inside him.

Dari: He then goes on to say that Yuuko didn’t grant Watanuki’s wish of not being able to see spirits, and instead seems to have unsealed the power within Watanuki, power that she appears to have sealed when he was created by the time-loop. There is a discussion of how power can bring disaster, before Haruka tells of when Yuuko appeared in one of his dreams telling him to look after Watanuki.

Dari: Haruka tells Watanuki to take care of him self, and not to do anything that would make the witch cry before departing, leaving a sad Watanuki, longing for Yuuko. The feeling that Watanuki has towards Yuuko seem to be more and more like those of Clow Reed’s, and the talk of power not bringing happiness is also similar to Clow Reed.

Dari: All in all, there is not much to say about this chapter, as it is still early after the disappearance of Yuuko and the start of a new arc as the Shamisen arc finished with the previous chapter. So far though we haven’t seen any of the more notable spirits since Yuuko disappeared. Hopefully they will appear in one of the upcoming chapters.

Dari’s liking of this chapter: 7/10

Dari’s anticipation for the next chapter: 10/10

Ric: As the title and caption says, DAMN IT, CLAMP!

Okay, for those wondering what I’m on about, here’s the review.

Over the last two volumes we have seen Watanuki taken into a…room made entirely of darkness (Well, what else can you call it?) and confronted by the image of our lovely Yuuko…

…tied to a wall?! (Warning: May not be a wall.)

Of course, this can NEVER mean that good things are on their way for our protagonists (This being Clamp an’ all.).

Anyway, Yuko says that once she is gone, Watanuki will no longer be able to see spirits, nor will they be attracted by his blood. Watanuki doesn’t want this, saying that it’s far too sudden and that he doesn’t want her to leave (Not his exact words, but that was the general jist of things), that he made her the Umeboshi that she wanted as well as various other foods.

Unfortunately, Watanuki’s pleading is not enough to save our beloved Yuko as she continues to disappear into the darkness. Watanuki, being forced to watch her disappear cries out, wanting to be told that it was all a dream. (Watanuki, I feel your pain. ;___; )

Yuko looks down at Watanuki with sadness, saying that she won’t lie about what’s going on, because Watanuki is precious to her. (Y-Yuuuukooooo ;___;)

Watanuki pleads with her, saying that there has to be another way, a way that she would be able to come back.

Yuko says that she would like to be able to grant him that wish but that it isn’t within her power to do so.

Watanuki says that he hasn’t granted her wish (Yes, I know the image says this, but it’s gone midnight as I’m typing this, so…meh.), that he promised it to her.

Yuko says that he’s wrong, saying that he wish was for him to simply go on existing. (CLAAAAAAAAAAMP! ;_____; )

Watanuki responds to her tearfully, saying that he will grant that wish, and that if wishing can make dreams come true, that he wishes to see her again one day. That until that day he will stay at the shop, waiting for her to return.

Ooookay, now for my opinion.

DAMN YOU CLAMP! Stop making chapters that make me cry! (Just kidding, I love you guys<3)

Seriously, this was a very powerful chapter for a multitude of reasons, the loss of Yuko, the emotions of Watanuki and the hope that Watanuki will find a way to see her again all compounding to make an amazing chapter of this fantastic series that just makes me want to read more, so that I can see just what happens next with Watanuki.

Chapters like THIS are why I read xxxHolic.

Ric’s Overall Rating for Chapter 182: 10/10

Ric’s Anticip-O-Meter: 10/10

Ric: I’m back everyone, with some more xxxHolic for you all, sorry for the (Friggin’ huge.) wait.

Anyway, seeing as I’ve been gone for a while, it would probably be best to give a little recap as to what’s been going on in the realm of xxxHolic as of late. First of all, Yuuko has mysteriously disappeared, while Watanuki spent much of his time trying to get his own client to eat her own food, eventually succeeding around the time that Yuuko disappeared.

What comes next, in this chapter, is a bigger shock than Yuuko’s initial disappearance though.

We start out (Yes, I’m using 179 as a start point.), with some banter between Watanuki and his client, the unnamed wonder (If she has a name, I don’t know it! D=) in which T.U.W thanks Watanuki for helping her, saying that she has decided that she wants him to teach her how to cook, so that she’ll be able to find her own flavour (Yes, that’s what it said) , something that she believes she could never have done if not for Watanuki’s help.

Watanuki tries to give Yuuko some of the credit, only to be greeted with a question fragment that could only come from a no-name wonder that hasn’t read the script! What is this shocing question you ask? Only the most horrifying, frightening, thesaurus breaking question fragment known to humankind! It-it’s…

As it turns out, with Yuuko’s disappearance, she’s being forgotten by minor characters!

Watanuki tries to explain who Yuuko is, but to no avail as even the power of vague descriptions is not enough to bring back the memory of our beloved shopkeeper. After this, Watanuki and Doumeki leave; Watanuki still confused as to what’s going on.

But, our cameos aren’t done yet my friends, oh no. Next, we have the reappearance of old characters from early in the manga, our lovely twins!

Of course, it turns out that these adorable twins don’t know about Yuuko either, or even the shop for that matter; Shocked even more by all this, Watanuki runs off to the shop, questioning within his head as to why they don’t know Yuuko or the shop.

Of course, when he gets to the shop, Watanuki is promptly taken by what I like to call “Black Background Cliffies”, or the BBC for short (If you get this joke, remind me to give you some form of cookie.) which leads to…

A CLIFFHANGER!

Yes, a cliffhanger, and a mean one at that. :’[

Anyway, I can imagine that we'll get some explaining in the next chapter, when it's released. I hope. But other than that, this was a good chapter, building some nice suspense for what is likely to be  a pretty huge chapter 181.

See you all next chapter. =]

Ric’s Magic Rate-o-Meter For Chapter 180: 7/10

Ric’s Anticip-o-meter: 10/10

Ric: Hello and welcome to the Watanuki Kimihiro cooking challenge where today, we shall be making a delicious cake made exactly to the desires of Watanuki’s personal customer; Ms. Nutjob.  I’m sorry I’m late but I can’t think of a reason why so onward we go!

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Ric: Well, I really should be writing the Casshern SINS review now, but I just read chapter 170 and I felt that I had to comment on this and the recent few chapters. The way the twists and turns have been developing and how they all lead up to this point has made for an astoundingly fun read that has had me gripped since way back in 2006.

Be it the interesting characters, the beautiful art, the clever use of mythology or the not-so-subtle crossover with Tsubasa Chronicles, xxxHolic has it all and this is why it has become my favourite of CLAMP’s works thus far. I warn you all though, for those who aren’t yet caught up, this review has some absolutely massive spoilers held within.

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