Synopsis: Doumeki bears a spider’s grudge after destroying a web that Watanuki got caught into.

Ah, it has been a while since I last set foot here. The scrumptious anime blog has started to become usagijen’s realm in the other bloggers’ absence. Well, I have been terribly busy at work, having no time to watch anime, much less blog them. In that busy-ness, at least I got to go to Japan, the motherlode of all that is anime and manga. Got to stay there for almost three months too and when I left, it was spring already. Time flies fast, doesn’t it?

And speaking of spring, the second season of xxxHOLiC Kei is one anime that I have been eagerly anticipating. xxxHOLiC is one of my favorite anime and I find Watanuki’s antics amusing. And then there’s the sultry Yuuko Ichihara who makes granting wishes here business. One thing I like about xxxHOLiC is its supernatural theme, drawing upon Japanese folklore and CLAMP’s imagination. The black Mokona is simply icing on the cake.

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Anyhow, the episode starts with Watanuki dreaming of Himawari but in the dream, he only sees with his left eye. He awakes and realizes that Mokona has fallen asleep on his face, covering Watanuki’s right eye. Watanuki blames Mokona for the strange dream but Mokona doesn’t heed. Maru and Moro barges in the room excited about breakfast.

At breakfast, Yuuko watches a TV show about a young exorcist named Kohane. Watanuki turns the TV off and tells Yuuko one shouldn’t watch TV while eating. He then tells her about his dream of Himawari. Yuuko tells Watanuki he probably has a bad day ahead. Watanuki objects, saying a dream about her certainly can’t mean bad luck but Yuuko reminds him that Himawari isn’t his goddess of fortune.

On his way to school, Watanuki passes by the temple where Doumeki lives. He thinks Doumeki must have gone to school already. To his annoyance, however, Doumeki calls him and hands him a broom, asking for help.

As they clean the temple yard, Watanuki mentions Yuuko’s shop but Doumeki doesn’t seem to remember. Watanuki reminds him how Doumeki brought him to the shop when he collapsed but Doumeki seems puzzled.

Watanuki gets caught in a spider web and struggles, only to get caught in it even more. Doumeki destroys the web with his broom, setting Doumeki free. Watanuki senses something weird.

After school, Watanuki and Doumeki walk home together, much to Watanuki’s irritation. Watanuki notices that Doumeki has been covering his right eye. He asks if there’s dust or other foreign object in his eye. Doumeki tells him it doesn’t seem to be anything like that. Doumeki then falls to the ground and realizes that his right eye won’t open. Watanuki thinks about taking Doumeki to the hospital but Doumeki tells him it isn’t something the hospital could deal with. Doumeki removes his hands from his eye and Watanuki sees a spider web has covered the eye. Watanuki tells Doumeki to go to Yuuko’s shop but Doumeki says it’s impossible since he can’t enter her shop.

Watanuki seeks Yuko for help. Yuuko finds a spider thread on Watanuki and tells him that Doumeki has fallen to a spider’s grudge. Watanuki then remembers Doumeki destroying the spider web. He wonders though why Doumeki was affected since he was the one who got caught in the web in the first place. If there should be a grudge, it should go to him. Yuuko explains that the spider was more resentful towards Doumeki who destroyed its web. Watanuki says its unreasonable but Yuuko tells him a grudge is an unreasonable thing.

Watanuki asks if Doumeki’s eye will remain that way. Yuuko says it will, until the spider has forgotten its grudge. Watanuki asks how will the spider forget. Yuuko replies that it will forget once it is satisfied, when the other party has received at least as much damage but she warns that there are some who continue to inflict damage even when the other party is already destroyed. For a spider, however, an equal amount would be enough.

Doumeki’s right eye still won’t open. As he sits in his house, he hears a knocking sound. He opens the door and the lights suddenly go off. A strong gust of wind eneters the room. When all has cleared, he realizes he can open his eye once again.

The following day, Doumeki waits for Watanuki to pass by his house on his way to school. When he sees him, he calls Watanuki but Watanuki continues to walk. Doumeki follows him and tells Watanuki that the spider web is gone from his eye. Watanuki just keeps on walking. Doumeki grabs him and finds out that an eye-patch is covering Watanuki’s right eye. He asks Watanuki about it but Watanuki replies it’s just a sty. Doumeki asks him if he did anything to lift the spider’s web from his eye. He then grabs Watanuki by the collar and takes the eyepatch off. Watanuki’s right eye seems to have gone blind.

Doumeki tells Watanuki to call Yuuko. Watanuki objects but Doumeki insists.

Yuuko meets Doumeki at some park. Doumeki asks her to return Watanuki’s eye back to normal. Yuuko explains that it was the spider who stole his right eye. the same one which planted a web on Doumeki’s eye. Watanuki was thinking that if the spider came to hate him more than Doumeki, the grudge would shift to him. Watanuki wanted to know how he could do that so Yuuko taught him. Doumeki asked why she did it even though she knew how it would end up. Yuuko replies that it was Watanuki’s wish and granting wishes is what her shop is for.

Doumeki then asks Yuuko how to restore Watanuki’s eye but Yuuko refuses , because this time, it would mean Doumeki losing his right eye. She explains that if there are wishes with the same magnitude, she will grant the one which came first. Yuuko asks Doumeki if he is angry. Doumeki says he is but not towards Yuuko. She then asks him if he is angry at Watanuki. She says it is alright to be angry. She also says that Watanuki does not yet understand how paintul it can be for a person to be sacrificed for.

Watanuki and Himawari walk home together. Watanuki is relieved that Doumeki isn’t there. Himawari then remembers that she promised to lend him a book but she wasn’t able to hand it to him yet. She asks Watanuki if he’ll be passing by Doumeki’s house on his way to Yuuko’s shop. She asks him if he can give the book to Doumeki. Watanuki doesn’t like the idea of meeting Doumeki but if it’s a favor for Himawari, how can he refuse?

He goes to Doumeki’s house. He sees the spot where the spider web was. He thinks that he has gotten used with having one eye so Doumeki shouldn’t mind it. Watanuki suddenly sees a vision, as if his right eye was seeing something else.

Doumeki appears behind him and asks if the eye hurts. Watanuki yells at him, saying he’s only there to give the book from Himawari. Watanuki then notices that Doumeki is carrying a lot of books. He asks Doumeki about it. Doumeki tells him that the books are from the temple storehouse, which was used by his grandfather before. Watanuki glances at the books Doumeki is carrying and notices that they were about breaking curses.

That afternoon, Yuuko is having tea. She is dressed as the Queen of Hearts while Maru and Moro are dressed as the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. Watanuki is dressed as Alice. Watanuki tells Yuuko about the storehouse at Doumeki’s house and how it has lots of books about curses and similar subjects. Yuuko comments that Doumeki is doing his job. If he won’t clean the storehouse, he won’t find what he is looking for. Watanuki asks what it is and she answers that it’s a way to restore his eye back to normal. Yuuko explains that Doumeki’s grandfather performed exorcism so that explains why there are such books in the storehouse. She then tells him that because she turned him down, Doumeki decided to help Watanuki on his own. Watanuki says Doumeki should just stay out of it but Yuuko tells him to let Doumeki do as he please.

Yuuko then asks Doumeki to bring some brandy for her tea. Quietly, he leaves while Maru and Maro play tic-tac-toe on the sleeping Mokona’s chest.

Yuuko comments that even though he’s told it’s impossible, Doumeki is trying to find a way by himself. That is why, there’s no need for him to see her shop.

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I was expecting that the first episode would probably have a light mood but already, the mood was serious and the anime picked up where it left from the manga.

In the manga, there are many crossovers between xxxHOLiC and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. The first season of xxxHOLiC was a stand-alone. The parts where the two plotlines interweaved weren’t included in the xxxHOLiC anime. I wonder though if it will be included in this season, as they are points that have an effect on xxxHOLiC’s plot.

The animation quality of xxxHOLiC Kei is better than the first season. The character designs are just the same and background people are drawn as outlines (then again, that’s how it is in the manga).

The opening theme “Nobody Knows” is by Suga Shikao and the ending theme “Honey Honey” is by Seamo featuring Ayuse Kozue. Neither struck me as catchy. Well, probably just the line of the ending song that goes “いい男には、いい女”.

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