XXXHOLiC Movie Review
First of all I'd like to thank to EVERYBODY who wished me a Happy Birthday, to the ones who gave me cards and everybody who participated in the last meme making those questions to me ! Thank you very much for caring ^__^
Now to the post's purpose:
For those who still don't know, a subbed version has appeared at Shinsen (thanks to clamp_now).
When I first saw the cam-ripped version, I thought it was "OK". But it wasn't fair to judge by a cam-rip (it had good quality but not perfect) and without any sub. So after watching the subbed version I can finally say safely that I loved it !
Seeing Watanuki in movement is even funnier than seeing him in the manga. His attempts to escape the evil spirits is TEH FUNNY XD It's way more exaggerated than in the manga too and they also show from the street people's view which is interesting at the least XDDD Watanuki's seiyuu did a very wonderful job, he really made the part live by it's own.
Not only Watanuki is perfect, but also Doumeki and Himawari. Their chara design couldn't be better, and the seiyuus did great too! As for Yuuko, well, we'll talk about that later XD
They show perfectly clear that when Doumeki is around Watanuki doesn't see the spirits (and he himself admits that he still doesn't want to hang out with him).
I'm glad they added that 1st page from 1st volume with Yuuko talking about humankind, it couldn't be a better scene to present the title. Go P. IG!
I repeat here again (because the scene is being showed xD) that I loved to see Watanuki struggling against the spirits, it was really funny XDD
Maru and Moro: cuuuuuuuute. Perfect seiyuus too, it's a shame we saw very little of them (it's a shame we SEE very little of them even on the manga T-T).
Mokona=Modoki is well, the same as Tsubasa!Mokona, only CRAZIER. I still think the seiyuu should change a bit her voice to a more grave one, I don't know, isn't this one too high-pitched?
So Yuuko is all desperate for sake and ordering Watanuki around: excellent XD I think her seiyuu is more comfortable in the part. I don't blame her for what she did in Tsubasa since that expression-less Yuuko didn't give her much chance to show her skills. I'm not only very used to Yuuko's voice by now but I also liked it.
Just a quick note for those who didn't catch: When Watanuki is cleaning Yuuko's stuff in the yard, we get to see the monkey's paw ! Go P. IG !
Just a quick note by me: Mokona's "Watanuki is written with the kanjis for April 1st" joke is far from being funny, it's actually pretty dumb XD Was it just there to tell to the non-readers of the manga?
When the teenager girl comes to the shop, two things I have to say: Watanuki is cute when he says "Nani ka?" to the girl XD and for the only time in the whole movie we get to see the evil!Yuuko when she screamed to Watanuki's whispers to Maru and Moro XDDDDDDD Sayaka seiyuu CAN make such voice, good.
Yuuko's design looked good in all the scenes inside her shop, IMO (except for the extremely long hands). The trouble begins when they are visiting the mansion. She's just "off" in many shots. I think she looks better in profile than in front (this is mainly where her boobs look awful and her face and head look smashed XD).
The whole event in the mansion was one thing: Surreal XD With all the crazy doors that only open for Watanuki, places that only appear if you go to the right time and the right moon XDDDD
The collectors all seen to be crossovers from previous P. IG's movies. I don't think CLAMP would ever draw such charas. But that's not a critic, I'm not complaining about it, in fact I think it's quite nice ^^
Speaking of them, another VERY P. IG-ish thing is the part where Watanuki senses all that rotten-ness in the air. Another thing CLAMP would never draw but I think it suited well, all that distortion.
Watanuki's journey to the lavatory couldn't be more surreal. Which means I loved it ^^ The chase to the lavatory was at the least intriguing, and I can totally picture CLAMP doing something of the same kind.
The Hide and Seek dream sequence is too CG-esque IMO, a bad one too. I wouldn't mind a normal animation sequence.
When Watanuki wakes up, his hair is all untidy on the back, how nice XDDDDDD
Then more surreal sequences as he walks through the mansion, and finally finding the collection rooms. They are all one weirder than the other, aren't they? But it wouldn't be XXXHOLiC if it wasn't weird, that's why it's so interesting XD
The sequence where Yuuko shows up at the "collector of collector" room is one of my favorites, because that's where we get to see how amazing Yuuko is *___* OMG what is that when she's fighting against the collector? And then she gets a bit knocked but she FIXES HER HAIR - all with that indifferent look of hers - just amazing.
The old lady part is very confusing, in purpose of course, but basically what I think that happened was: The girl lived with that guy in the house. I don't know what he was to her, it doesn't mention, but I think it's weird the fact that she moved and he stayed. So, she had to move and told him to wait for her and he said that, in the meantime, he would be collecting something unusual for her (to be proud of him).
Another weird thing is that it seems 100 years have passed and the guy STAYED THE VERY SAME. So my thoughts is that in fact he's a spirit. Yuuko did say that his true form was a spirit that had gathered that amount of power from collecting hearts and souls over 100 years. Maybe the girl was just like Watanuki who could see spirits, and that guy was her spirit friend. That's why she had to move but he had to stay.
Once he saw her again, he remembered why he was collecting for and so he could "leave" to the other plan, if you know what I mean XD
I just didn't really get why her teenager form appeared in Yuuko's shop. Do only Yuuko and Watanuki saw her like that? When in fact she was already old.
In the final scene, all the designs look great (I think that it was those clothes Yuuko was wearing that screwed her design, they were really off), and then we get something I wasn't expecting AT ALL, which is Watanuki questioning Yuuko if she had troubles in the past with love *___* Well, of course she wouldn't answer just now, and she didn't, because the Tsubasa people decided to pick the worst moment to make a contact XDDDDDDDD It's okay I don't blame them, if it weren't for them it would be something else.
But I didn't think the producers were going to add that, since is something not related to the plot. I'm so happy they did, though ^__^ I wonder if they realized by themselves or Ohkawa hinted them that o.O
Overall considerations:
I'm really happy with the movie. One can tell this is not a movie written by Ohkawa, but I think the staff managed to transform the manga into a movie really well. We get the feeling that it's just another arc of the story, at least I did. The chara design was PERFECT for Watanuki, Doumeki, Himawari, Maru and Moro. Just perfect, the eyes, the head, hair, body, everything.
When I saw it for the first time I thought they had still a long road ahead to learn how to animate those weird bodies, but after seeing for the 2nd time from the DVD-rip, I've changed my mind. They definitely animated everything very nicely, the colors are excellent and even the shadows in their faces are in the right place !
Yuuko is a totally different case, unfortunately. There were some shots (mainly the ones where she was in profile) that she looked incredible, while others I couldn't even recognize her. Some of them she looked way older than she actually is and not fancy at all. Her eyes need to be a bit more open in some shots and her hands are so long. And of course the boobs, which we are all tired to hear XDDD
I hope they fix her up in the anime. I'm not worried for Watanuki and the others but I am a bit for Yuuko, she's the bloody star, they must do her well !
The backgrounds were very nice. Again, when I saw it for the first time I thought it was all very crappy CG, but I was wrong again. They were responsible for half of the creepy atmosphere. I still prefer the "normal" backgrounds, though. I'm not very fond of CG, but those were fine and they matched well with the story.
I loved the soundtrack too, I had listened to it before when it was released months ago, but listening to it in the movie is completely different.
Anyway, I really loved it in an overall way, I enjoy watching it which I think it's the most important. I think it really makes justice with the manga of XXXHOLiC. All the basics elements were there, the creepy-ness, the total crazyness and the philosophical thoughts, all flavored with bits of humor. Ow, and the Watanuki/Doumeki fans have many reasons to cheer for XD
Now off to search for Tsubasa's one !
Now to the post's purpose:
For those who still don't know, a subbed version has appeared at Shinsen (thanks to clamp_now).
When I first saw the cam-ripped version, I thought it was "OK". But it wasn't fair to judge by a cam-rip (it had good quality but not perfect) and without any sub. So after watching the subbed version I can finally say safely that I loved it !
Seeing Watanuki in movement is even funnier than seeing him in the manga. His attempts to escape the evil spirits is TEH FUNNY XD It's way more exaggerated than in the manga too and they also show from the street people's view which is interesting at the least XDDD Watanuki's seiyuu did a very wonderful job, he really made the part live by it's own.
Not only Watanuki is perfect, but also Doumeki and Himawari. Their chara design couldn't be better, and the seiyuus did great too! As for Yuuko, well, we'll talk about that later XD
They show perfectly clear that when Doumeki is around Watanuki doesn't see the spirits (and he himself admits that he still doesn't want to hang out with him).
I'm glad they added that 1st page from 1st volume with Yuuko talking about humankind, it couldn't be a better scene to present the title. Go P. IG!
I repeat here again (because the scene is being showed xD) that I loved to see Watanuki struggling against the spirits, it was really funny XDD
Maru and Moro: cuuuuuuuute. Perfect seiyuus too, it's a shame we saw very little of them (it's a shame we SEE very little of them even on the manga T-T).
Mokona=Modoki is well, the same as Tsubasa!Mokona, only CRAZIER. I still think the seiyuu should change a bit her voice to a more grave one, I don't know, isn't this one too high-pitched?
So Yuuko is all desperate for sake and ordering Watanuki around: excellent XD I think her seiyuu is more comfortable in the part. I don't blame her for what she did in Tsubasa since that expression-less Yuuko didn't give her much chance to show her skills. I'm not only very used to Yuuko's voice by now but I also liked it.
Just a quick note for those who didn't catch: When Watanuki is cleaning Yuuko's stuff in the yard, we get to see the monkey's paw ! Go P. IG !
Just a quick note by me: Mokona's "Watanuki is written with the kanjis for April 1st" joke is far from being funny, it's actually pretty dumb XD Was it just there to tell to the non-readers of the manga?
When the teenager girl comes to the shop, two things I have to say: Watanuki is cute when he says "Nani ka?" to the girl XD and for the only time in the whole movie we get to see the evil!Yuuko when she screamed to Watanuki's whispers to Maru and Moro XDDDDDDD Sayaka seiyuu CAN make such voice, good.
Yuuko's design looked good in all the scenes inside her shop, IMO (except for the extremely long hands). The trouble begins when they are visiting the mansion. She's just "off" in many shots. I think she looks better in profile than in front (this is mainly where her boobs look awful and her face and head look smashed XD).
The whole event in the mansion was one thing: Surreal XD With all the crazy doors that only open for Watanuki, places that only appear if you go to the right time and the right moon XDDDD
The collectors all seen to be crossovers from previous P. IG's movies. I don't think CLAMP would ever draw such charas. But that's not a critic, I'm not complaining about it, in fact I think it's quite nice ^^
Speaking of them, another VERY P. IG-ish thing is the part where Watanuki senses all that rotten-ness in the air. Another thing CLAMP would never draw but I think it suited well, all that distortion.
Watanuki's journey to the lavatory couldn't be more surreal. Which means I loved it ^^ The chase to the lavatory was at the least intriguing, and I can totally picture CLAMP doing something of the same kind.
The Hide and Seek dream sequence is too CG-esque IMO, a bad one too. I wouldn't mind a normal animation sequence.
When Watanuki wakes up, his hair is all untidy on the back, how nice XDDDDDD
Then more surreal sequences as he walks through the mansion, and finally finding the collection rooms. They are all one weirder than the other, aren't they? But it wouldn't be XXXHOLiC if it wasn't weird, that's why it's so interesting XD
The sequence where Yuuko shows up at the "collector of collector" room is one of my favorites, because that's where we get to see how amazing Yuuko is *___* OMG what is that when she's fighting against the collector? And then she gets a bit knocked but she FIXES HER HAIR - all with that indifferent look of hers - just amazing.
The old lady part is very confusing, in purpose of course, but basically what I think that happened was: The girl lived with that guy in the house. I don't know what he was to her, it doesn't mention, but I think it's weird the fact that she moved and he stayed. So, she had to move and told him to wait for her and he said that, in the meantime, he would be collecting something unusual for her (to be proud of him).
Another weird thing is that it seems 100 years have passed and the guy STAYED THE VERY SAME. So my thoughts is that in fact he's a spirit. Yuuko did say that his true form was a spirit that had gathered that amount of power from collecting hearts and souls over 100 years. Maybe the girl was just like Watanuki who could see spirits, and that guy was her spirit friend. That's why she had to move but he had to stay.
Once he saw her again, he remembered why he was collecting for and so he could "leave" to the other plan, if you know what I mean XD
I just didn't really get why her teenager form appeared in Yuuko's shop. Do only Yuuko and Watanuki saw her like that? When in fact she was already old.
In the final scene, all the designs look great (I think that it was those clothes Yuuko was wearing that screwed her design, they were really off), and then we get something I wasn't expecting AT ALL, which is Watanuki questioning Yuuko if she had troubles in the past with love *___* Well, of course she wouldn't answer just now, and she didn't, because the Tsubasa people decided to pick the worst moment to make a contact XDDDDDDDD It's okay I don't blame them, if it weren't for them it would be something else.
But I didn't think the producers were going to add that, since is something not related to the plot. I'm so happy they did, though ^__^ I wonder if they realized by themselves or Ohkawa hinted them that o.O
Overall considerations:
I'm really happy with the movie. One can tell this is not a movie written by Ohkawa, but I think the staff managed to transform the manga into a movie really well. We get the feeling that it's just another arc of the story, at least I did. The chara design was PERFECT for Watanuki, Doumeki, Himawari, Maru and Moro. Just perfect, the eyes, the head, hair, body, everything.
When I saw it for the first time I thought they had still a long road ahead to learn how to animate those weird bodies, but after seeing for the 2nd time from the DVD-rip, I've changed my mind. They definitely animated everything very nicely, the colors are excellent and even the shadows in their faces are in the right place !
Yuuko is a totally different case, unfortunately. There were some shots (mainly the ones where she was in profile) that she looked incredible, while others I couldn't even recognize her. Some of them she looked way older than she actually is and not fancy at all. Her eyes need to be a bit more open in some shots and her hands are so long. And of course the boobs, which we are all tired to hear XDDD
I hope they fix her up in the anime. I'm not worried for Watanuki and the others but I am a bit for Yuuko, she's the bloody star, they must do her well !
The backgrounds were very nice. Again, when I saw it for the first time I thought it was all very crappy CG, but I was wrong again. They were responsible for half of the creepy atmosphere. I still prefer the "normal" backgrounds, though. I'm not very fond of CG, but those were fine and they matched well with the story.
I loved the soundtrack too, I had listened to it before when it was released months ago, but listening to it in the movie is completely different.
Anyway, I really loved it in an overall way, I enjoy watching it which I think it's the most important. I think it really makes justice with the manga of XXXHOLiC. All the basics elements were there, the creepy-ness, the total crazyness and the philosophical thoughts, all flavored with bits of humor. Ow, and the Watanuki/Doumeki fans have many reasons to cheer for XD
Now off to search for Tsubasa's one !