I know this entry is already late. By now, those who are watching xxxHOLiC Kei have probably read gazillions of summaries for this episode from gazillions of anime blogs. So if a detailed summary no longer interests you, dear reader, you can skip the sordid details and go to the end of each post, where I will be writing my thoughts on each episode.

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Watanuki dreams of being alone in the street. Some darkness comes after him and he runs to escape it but that darkness eventually catches up with him. It turns out to be a giant Mokona riding an equally gigantic eggplant.

Watanuki relates that dream to Himawari at school the following day. Himawari finds it cute. She says it must be a lucky dream since it had an eggplant. Watanuki then remembers an old saying about Mt. Fuji, hawks and eggplants. He says that if the first dream of the year is of those things, there will be good luck. Himawari comments that she understands how Mt. Fuji and the hawk can signify good luck, as both are celebratory. But with regards to eggplant, she wonders why. Watanuki, too, has no clue.

Watanuki then asks her about her dream. Himawari pauses for a while then tells him she had a rather scary dream. Her dream was somehow similar to Watanuki’s. She was walking alone when suddenly she heard footsteps following her. She tried to run away but it was impossible. Himawari, however, doesn’t continue her story since she suddenly remembers she has to go to a committee meeting. She apologizes to Watanuki. Watanuki then gives her a pack of madeleines that he baked the previous day. He tells her it’s a token of gratitude for telling him about her dream. Himawari receives the pastries and Watanuki feels something weird.

Later that day, Watanuki and Doumeki meet. Doumeki explains to Watanuki that eggplants were significant because in olden times, it was hard to harvest them at the start of the year (and thus dreaming of an eggplant at the year’s start would really be lucky).

Watanuki then wonders why he is helping Doumeki with some tasks. Doumeki tells him it was his own decision. Watanuki remembers it was because Himawari promised to help Doumeki but couldn’t make it so Watanuki volunteered to help in her place.

Watanuki grumbles but eventually thinks he made a good decision. After all, he wouldn’t want Himawari and Doumeki to be together, just the two of them.

Watanuki then notices Doumeki eating some madeleines. He realizes it was the one he baked. He gets annoyed that Doumeki is eating it. Doumeki tells him that Himawari gave it to him.

Doumeki mentions to Watanuki that he dreamt of his grandfather and a horse the previous night. Watanuki, however, isn’t interested.

As Watanuki went home that night, he feels as if he is being followed. He doesn’t mind it at first but the presence behind him is getting stronger. He runs but it’s still there. He looks back and sees a huge cloud-like spirit with a single eye in the middle. Watanuki runs but the spirit grabs him. Slowly, it envelops him.

A man riding a horse comes. He aims an arrow towards the spirit and releases it, hitting the eye. The spirit implodes. Barely conscious, Watanuki notices the man looks like Doumeki.

Watanuki later awakens only to find out that Yuuko is sitting on his back. Yuuko tells him that if someone lies in the middle of the road, he’s bound to be sat on. Watanuki then remembers what happened earlier. He tells Yuuko about it but Yuuko tells him it was only a dream. She then points an arrow that lay on the ground. She says it was a fulfilling dream.

Yuuko explains that a fullfilling dream is a dream the same as the reality that follows it. Watanuki tells her he didn’t dream being chased by such a spirit. Yuuko says someone else must have dreamt of it. Watanuki then remembers Himawari’s dream but could not believe how her dream was fulfilled for him, not for her. Yuuko tells him that her dream became a fulfilling dream because he bought it from her. Watanuki says he doesn’t remember giving her money but Yuuko says it could be things other than money. He then remembers the madeleines.

Watanuki is still confused, especially about the man on horseback. Yuuko tells him it must be Doumeki’s. dream Watanuki remembers Doumeki mentioning about his dream (although he ignored it). Watanuki then realizes the man on horseback was Doumeki’s grandfather. Yuuko comments that it was good that Watanuki gave the madeleines to Doumeki too. Watanuki retorts that he wasn’t the one who gave it to him.

Yuuko says that valuable dreams are the ones that are normally bought and that buying nightmares are quite rare. Watanuki says it was because he didn’t know.

Yuuko then tells Watanuki to sell the arrow to the Dream Buyer. She suggests of using the arrow to guide them to this Dream Buyer. She touches the arrow and it floats in the air pointing to a particular direction. The direction the arrow pointed was a small space between an electric post and a wall. Yuuko tells Watanuki that they must pass through that narrow place. Watanuki complains but he follows after Yuuko.

As he passed through that narrow space, he felt something weird. Yuuko tells him they are in a different world already. She points to the sky and Watanuki sees a tapir-like spirit floating in the air through balloons. Yuuko explains that it is the Dream Buyer. He buys dreams, raises it then resells it.

The Dream Buyer descends. He says it’s been a while since he’s last seen Yuuko. Watanuki notices that the Dream Buyer speaks in Osaka-ben. Yuuko asks the Dream Buyer how his business is going. The Dream Buyer replies that it’s steady but there are only a few people whose dreams are of value lately.

He sees the arrow Watanuki is holding (along with some ecchi magazine that Yuuko brought). The Dream Buyer asks Watanuki if he can buy it. Watanuki gives him the magazine thinking it was what the Dream Buyer wanted.

Anyway, the Dream Buyer asks Watanuki if it was his dream. Watanuki replies it wasn’t exactly his. The Dream Buyer asks Watanuki to sell that dream to him, for it is a very valuable dream that is now quite rare. The Dream Buyer offers two of his balloons (which are actually dreams) to Watanuki as payment. He says those were especially reserved valuable dreams. Watanuki doesn’t know what to do.

Yuuko tells the Dream Buyer that he should be able to recognize the worth of the dream arrow. She tells (teases) him that he might not get another chance to buy it. Yuuko then picks five balloons. The Dream Buyer compains, saying those were very special dreams but Yuuko tells him they’re exactly what the dream arrow is worth.

Watanuki hands the dream arrow to the Dream Buyer who pushes it into a balloon (to Watanuki’s amazement, the balloon didn’t burst). It gave a bright glow instead.

The Dream Buyer is pleased. He says it’s a really great dream, he looks forward to raising it. He thanks Yuuko then says that he’ll celebrate by eating at the Kitsune Oden Ramen-ya. He invites Yuuko and Watanuki but Yuuko tells him they’ll have to leave soon since the path between the worlds will close in a while.

Watanuki approaches the Dream Buyer and asks him if the ramen-ya is the one run by a father and son. He says that he has eaten there before. Watanuki takes one of his dream balloons and gives it to the Dream Buyer. He tells him to give it to the son from the ramen-ya as a thank you for helping him during the demon parade. The Dream Buyer is touched that a human would thank a fox. He says that the owner of a valuable dream also has a valuable heart. He receives the balloon and assures Watanuki he will give it to the young kitsune. He then floats in the sky again.

Watanuki is a little puzzled though. Yuuko tells him he was being praised.

Anyhow, they have to return to their world. Watanuki dreads passing through the tight space again. Yuuko tells him they won’t be passing through it this time, but instead, they will pass through an even tighter spot.

As Watanuki prepares for sleep, he watches two of the dream balloons tied to his bed (Yuuko has the other two). Feeling tired, Watanuki lies down and falls asleep.

Watanuki wakes up to find a man sitting outside. At first, he thinks it was Doumeki but realizes it was Doumeki’s grandfather. He asks Watanuki if Shizuka, his grandson, is hard to deal with. Watanki replies that he doesn’t know if he could call Shizuka “hard to deal with” or he just doesn’t understand him. He says Doumeki has a terrible attitude and he always meddles with his affairs. Watanuki then touches his eye and says it was something Doumeki chose. Watanuki pauses then says he doesn’t like how Doumeki put himself in an unrecoverable situation for his sake.

Doumeki’s grandfather smiles. He says Doumeki is tough. He then shows Watanuki a picture of Doumeki.

Watanuki awakens. Yuuko, who is standing at his doorway, tells him it was a dream. Watanuki wonders why he dreamt of Doumeki’s grandfather. Yuuko takes one of Watanuki’s balloons. It bursted in the night. She says that what Watanuki dreamt was probably something Doumeki’s grandfather sold the Dream Buyer years ago.

Watanuki could not believe the coincidence but Yuuko reminds him that there is no such thing as coincidence, there is only hitsuzen.

Watanuki remembers the dream. Doumeki’s grandfather showed him a picture of a young girl wearing a kimono.

Yuuko says it was probably Doumeki. A strange glimmer appears in Watanuki’s eye. He searches for the picture. Yuuko asks him if he asked for it but Watanuki didn’t. Still. Watanuki feels victorious about the fact that he knows Doumeki dressed up as a girl when he was young. Watanuki’s visions of blackmail, however, are interrupted by eggplants crashing upon him. Mokona has gathered eggplants upon Yuuko’s request for an eggplant banquet.

*********

This was just an ok episode, I think.

Anyway, some might wonder if there is anything significant about the Dream Buyer speaking in Osaka-ben (the dialect spoken in the Osaka region of Japan). Well, the Dream Buyer’s dialect plays upon the stereotype of Osakans as merchants. Historically, though, Osaka was an important commercial center of Japan and there were more merchants in Osaka than there were samurais. It would then be fitting for the Dream Buyer, a merchant of sorts, to be speaking in Osaka-ben.

One thing that somehow puzzled me about this episode was Doumeki’s mention of his dream to Watanuki. Did Doumeki know about Watanuki’s dream buying and was protecting him? Doumeki, after all, has protected Watanuki in many situations. That is even one reason why Yuuko always tries to put him and Watanuki together.

Or was Doumeki’s mention just a casual one, to further illustrate hitsuzen, roughly translated as inevitability. As Yuuko always reminds Watanuki, there are is such things as coincidence, there is only hitsuzen. If that was the case, then it was fated for Doumeki to tell his dream to Watanuki. Interesting, don’t you think?

In his dream, Watanuki tells Doumeki’s grandfather that he hates how Doumeki put himself in an unrecoverable situation for his sake. When you think about it, isn’t that what Watanuki did in the first place, when he took the spider’s grudge so it would leave Doumeki? Watanuki sure has learned a lot from Jorougumo.

I wonder if the other balloons, especially Watanuki’s remaining one, will play a significant part in the plot later on. There is, after all, only hitsuzen.Similar Posts:

• xxxHOLiC Kei - 02 “Left Eye”
• xxxHOLiC Kei - 01 “The Spider’s Web”
• xxxHOLiC Kei - 03 “Half”
• First Impressions: Mokke
• Hanazakari no Kimitachi e - 12 (Finale)

With the use of the tengu fan, Yuuko transports Watanuki and the Karasu-tengu to where the Zashiki-warashi is being held captive.

Watanuki and the others find themselves in front of an abandoned building reeking with malicious energy. Watanuki walks towards it. The Karasu-tengu warn him that the one who held the Zashiki-warashi isn’t someone that Watanuki could go up against. Watanuki says he thinks so too but Yuuko sent him so there must be something he can do.

The Kudakitsune, which Yuuko sent along with Watanuki, changes into its original form. It spews fire into the building’s exterior, destroying the barrier. The Karasu-tengu look in amazement but they continue to worry. All they can do, however, is wait outside and hope that Watanuki can save the Zashiki-warashi.

The building is empty but Watanuki feels that the spiritual energy is stronger inside. The energy seems to be coming from below. He follows the staircase but the further he descends, the colder and sleepier he feels. Watanuki grabs a splinter of glass from the floor and slashes his palms to prevent himself from getting sleepy.

Meanwhile, Yuuko is about to go shopping when she sees Doumeki waiting outside. Yuuko says that the fact that Doumeki is waiting there means that he must have some business with her (despite Doumeki still not being able to see the shop). Yuuko comments that Doumeki has no need to enter the shop that is why he can’t see it.

Doumeki then asks her if Watanuki’s eye will ever be restored. Yuuko asks him what made him think about it. Doumeki replies that he saw Watanuki murmuring at school about it, seemingly worried. Yuuko says that there is something that Watanuki needs to understand.

Back to Watanuki, he and the Kudakitsune reach the bottom-most floor of the building. He sees a huge door and he opens it. There, in that room, he finds the Zashiki-warashi suspended in a spiderweb.

Watanuki then hears a woman’s voice saying that he’s cute, just as the rumors say. He looks at the direction of the voice and sees a blond woman wearing an ero-lolita-like outfit. Watanuki asks her who she is. The woman replies that a part of Watanuki already knows. She opens her palm and as she does so, Watanuki sees the palm (and himself) with his right eye. He realizes the woman has his right eye.

The woman says that everyone is desiring that eye so there is a struggle for it. Since it can significantly increase the power of whoever acquires it, it is quite a treasure. The woman mentions that because her patron deities are Yatagarasu and Fuuri, it took her quite a bit of effort to get the eye. She explains that the spider, whose grudge Watanuki fell under, was one of her kinsmen. The woman then introduces herself as the one who presides over spiders. She says in old times, people called her Jorougumo.

The Kudakitsune growls at her. Jorougumo comments that the Kudakitsune is angry. She says she heard the Kudakitsune moved from the Ame-warashi’s place but it seems it likes the Zashiki-warashi.

Jorougumo says that, in a way, the Zashiki-warashi is Watanuki’s patron deity. When the Zashiki-warashi heard that Jorougumo has Watanuki’s eye, she came to ask for it. Jorougumo asked her why she’s asking for it. Is it because she wants its power or she likes the owner of the eye? She told her that he won’t return it. The Zashiki-warashi asked why and Jorougumo replied simply because she is evil.

Jorougumo told Watanuki that it must have been difficult for the Zashiki-warashi to meet her and be within her miasma.

Watanuki is enraged. He dashes forward but Jorougumo tells him not to move, shooting spider threads at him. The Kudakitsune goes to defend Watanuki but Watanuki eventually gets caught by the threads. Jorougumo tells him that a spider’s web is strong. The Kudakitsune then burns the spider threads with its fire. Jorougumo giggles and says that a spider’s thread and fox fire sure don’t go together. The tone of her voice then changes to a serious one and she lengthens one fingernail, pointing it at the Zashiki-warashi’s throat. She orders Watanuki to stop the Kudakitsune.

At Yuuko’s shop, the Ame-warashi arrives. Yuuko asks her if they want to help them make a 1:200 scale Yamato. The Ame-warashi comments that Yuuko has a lot of free time. Yuuko says that she could say that but she could also say she’s very busy, just like her. The Ame-warashi sighs then sits down.

Back to Watanuki, he yells at the Kudakitsune to stop. The Kudakitsune whimpers and Watanuki apologizes. Jorougumo thanks Watanuki. She say that he’s kind. She wraps him in spider’s silk and lift’s him up.

Watanuki then ask her to return the Zashiki-warashi. Jorougumo wonders why he’s not asking for his right eye. Watanuki tells her that it was his fault for falling into a grudge, so Jorougumo can do whatever she wants with it. He begs for the Zashiki-warashi.

Jorougumo tells him that the Zashiki-warashi is also valuable. If her heart is eaten, one’s lifespan can be extended by a hundred years. Watanuki asks her that if his eye is valuable, maybe the other parts are valuable too. She can have it in exchange for the Zashiki-warashi. Jorougumo says she would be delighted. She asks if the girl is precious to Watanuki. Watanuki says she thinks she is a good girl, and the Karasu-tengu love her dearly too. He says if his left eye won’t be enough, she can take the rest of him as well.

Jorougumo comments that she hates it. She hates how Watanuki can just throw out his well-being easily, as if he can exchange something he can throw out easily for something important. She says that the Zashiki-warashi tried her best to get his eye but Watanuki just treats it like trash, something he can just abandon without a second thought. There must be people who think dearly of Watanuki but he doesn’t give value to himself. He doesn’t want others to get hurt but allows himself to get wounded, without knowing it may hurt others to see him injured.

Watanuki lowers his head. Jorougumo thinks he’s crying. Suddenly, Watanuki thrusts the sliver of glass he got earlier, towards her. He asks again for the Zashiki-warashi. Jorougumo smiles. Watanuki summons the Kudakitsune and it leaps, shooting fox fire towards the spider mistress. Watanuki swings from a web and takes the Zashiki-warashi. Jorougumo commends him.

Jorougumo then tells Watanuki he can take her but not his eye. She then swallows it.

The Kudakitsune shoots fire towards Jorougumo, who disappears, telling Watanuki that they’ll meet again.

The strong spiritual energy enveloping the building disperses and the Karasu-tengu rush in. Watanuki collapses.

Again at Yuuko’s shop, Yuuko tells the Ame-warashi that she wonders who is more occupied: the who who goes out, or the one who waits. She then tells her that it seems Watanuki and the Zashiki-warashi are alright and that they’ll be back soon.

The Ame-warashi stands up, hesitates, then sits down again. Yuuko asks her whats wrong. She replies that the Zashiki-warashi said she’ll do it alone so she can only wait until it’s all over. Yuuko says that to go alone so as not to be a burden, and to wait for the other, both must be hard. She says it should be 50-50 because it’s impossible for one side to take everything. If that were the case, the world would have tilted too much and everything would collapse.

Watanuki awakens to the tears of the Zashiki-warashi who is happy to see him regain consciouness. The Karasu-tengu explain to him that he collapsed because of Jurougumo’s malicious miasma but the water from the spring on their mountain will purify him. The Zashiki-warashi apologizes to Watanuki for not being able to do anything. Watanuki wipes her tears and tells her that he should be the one to apologize.

Watanuki later finds himself at a bath in Yuuko’s place. There, Yuuko has been waiting for him. She and Mokona welcome him back. Yuuko explains that the bath and the spring is connected because the bath contains water from the spring. Yuuko tells Watanuki to take his time to rest. Mokona says he will prepare medicine.

That night, Watanuki tells Yuuko about his right eye being eaten. Yuuko tells him it can’t be restored anymore. Yuuko asks him if he’s alright with it. Watanuki says he isn’t. He says he did learn something.

Yuuko then hands him something. It was half of Doumeki’s right eye. Yuuko explains that she took it. Doumeki told her that if Watanuki’s right eye cannot be restored, he can have his eye. Yuuko asks Watanuki what he will do about it. Watanuki takes it and Yuuko tells him to swallow it. Vision returns to Watanuki and he falls asleep on Yuuko’s lap. Yuuko whispers to him that he doesn’t just belong to himself. Everyone is connected that is why one can’t really be free. It is at the same time interesting, sad and dear.

The following day, Watanuki waits for Doumki on his way to school. He hands him bento he made. He says he made it so Doumeki should at least carry it. Doumeki takes it and everything goes as usual. . .

********

This was a very good episode and a wonderful conclusion to the mini-arc. And Watanuki finally learned his lesson. As Jorougumo told him, it is quite easy for Watanuki to sacrifice himself for others. He got a spider’s grudge so that the one on Doumeki can be lifted. He also offered himself so the Zashiki-warashi can be released. And yet, he is not aware that it can be painful to the recipient of the sacrifice.

Furthermore, Jorougumo told him that if he could just dispense of himself so easily, he must think he is only of little value. After all, the things that we can give without a second thought probably aren’t of much worth, are they? This concept shouldn’t be something new for Watanuki. He has worked for Yuuko’s shop for a while already and as a rule, Yuuko demands an equal compensation for granting a customer’s wish. If the wish is of a great magnitude, surely Yuuko wouldn’t just accept something of “lttle” value as payment. It’s equivalent trade. If one side was all give-give or take-take, things would be unbalanced. And whatever is unbalanced, topples and breaks.

I think Jorougumo is a fun character. I don’t find her as diabolical or spiteful as most villains are. In fact, she is highly sensible. Most highly sensible villains though are cold and/or apathetic but Jorougumo is cheerful. She reminds me, somehow, of Riful from the Claymore anime except that Jorougumo is mature, while Riful is childish.

Since xxxHOLiC has derivations from Japanese folklore, I wonder if there is an actual superstition regarding eye ailments and spider grudges.

The jorougumo, literally “prostitute spider”, in Japanese folklore takes the form of a beautiful woman to lure man. She then transforms into her true spider form and devours her victims. Similar Posts:

• xxxHOLiC Kei - 02 “Left Eye”
• xxxHOLiC Kei - 01 “The Spider’s Web”
• xxxHOLiC Kei - 04 “Dream Buying”
• Seirei no Moribito - 13 “Neither Man Nor Tiger”
• Mononoke - 02 “Zashikiwarashi Pt. 2″

Although it is already late at night, Doumeki continues to search for a way to restore Watanuki’s eye. Watanuki arrives bringing food for him.

Doumeki explains to Watanuki that the storehouse contains books collected by his grandfather. His grandfather was careful not to let anything bad enter the place. Watanuki notices that protective wards have been set up. Watanuki thinks that in stuffy places like the storehouse, there are always some spirits but he couldn’t sense any there except for something he can’t quite explain.

After Doumeki finishes eating, Watanuki asks him if he is still looking for a way to restore his eye. He says he’s fine even if his eye stays like that. Doumeki tells him it isn’t alright with him. He then tells Watanuki he should head home already. Watanuki says he’ll try to research too.

Watanuki accidentally knocks off a wooden panel revealing a book wrapped in paper. It seems to have been written by Doumeki’s grandfather. Doumeki looks at the book. And there it is, a spell for returning an eye from a spider. Watanuki is amazed. He thinks it must be a common phenomenon for it to be included in the book.

According to the book, on the night of the new moon, water from a well must be gathered and the lost eye must be washed with it. Before Doumeki could continue reading, however, the book which Himari lent Doumeki (it was left by Doumeki on a table) opens by itself. A serpentine creature that looks like it’s made from text emerges. It strikes at Doumeki. Quickly, Watanuki pulls him away.

The creature aims for the book written by Doumeki’s grandfather and starts to devour the texts. Doumeki tries to stop it but Watanuki stops him. Doumeki is worried the book will be consumed but Watanuki is more worried about Doumeki.

Yuuko and Mokona suddenly arrive. She asks if Watanuki will take the serpent with him. She says it will be better to have it disappear. She asks Doumeki if she can use the wards set up by his grandfather. Doumeki agrees and Mokona collects the wards. Yuko throws the wards towards the serpent , one by one, and it eats off the ward’s text. Having consumed all of the wards, the serpent becomes a ball of thread.

Yuuko explains that it was a hon no mushi, a spirit which lives inside books.

Doumeki looks at his grandfather’s book and finds out that the hon no mushi has eaten the text on how to recover an eye.

Yuuko notices the book where the hon no mushi came from. She asks who the book’s owner is. Watanuki answers it’s Himawari’s. He looks at it and realizes that the book’s content is also ruined.

Watanuki then asks Yuuko what she was doing at Doumeki’s place. Yuuko replies that she wanted to see the storehouse. She thinks it contains lots of treasures. She also tells Watanuki she came for dinner. The food that Watanuki prepared, however, was already consumed. Yuuko then mentions about the afternoon tea to Doumeki but Watanuki stops her from divulging the fact that he was dressed as Alice.

Yuuko takes out a bottle of sake and from there, they party. Watanuki, of course, has to prepare the food. Doumeki specifically requests for croquettes.

The following day, Watanuki returns the book to Himawari and apologizes for it. He tells her what happened. Himawari tells him not to worry about it.

Watanuki remembers Yuuko asking him about the book. He wonders why Yuuko was concerned about it. He further remembers Yuuko telling him that Himawari isn’t his goddess of fortune.

As Watanuki walks home after school, he sees a vision with his right eye. He falls to the ground then sees a goldfish floating in the air. A girl appears. She catches the goldfish and eats it. The girl then notices Watanuki. She says Watanuki is like a celebrity in their world. She looks at Watanuki’s right eye and says there’s a scramble for it. She says she wants it too but a girl will get mad. She sees another goldfish then rushes off towards it. She tells Watanuki to ask “the girl” about his eye.

Watanuki tells Yuuko about the girl he saw earlier. Yuuko says it’s the neko musume. Watanuki can’t quite believe that neko musume would wear boots and miniskirts nowadays. Yuuko then asks him about what the neko musume said, that there’s a scramble for his eye. She comments that things have become troublesome. If they don’t hurry, they won’t be able to get his eye back.

At school, Watanuki worries about his eye. Doumeki notices him. He asks him about it but he doesn’t say anything. To Watanuki’s relief, Himawari arrives. She says she’ll be going home soon. Watanuki leaves to pick up his things. Himawari comments that Watanuki sure is in high spirits but she wonders if his right eye will be alright.

On their way home, Himawari tells Watanuki that she likes scary and mysterious things. She tells him about a very young spiriticist called Kohane-chan that she saw on TV. Watanuki and Himawari then part ways.

Watanuki sees a vision with his right eye again. All of a sudden, a woman gets hit by a car in front of him.

The Karasu-tengu arrive and hit Watanuki on the head with their fan. They say it’s all Watanuki’s fault and that he shouldn’t be in such a place. They tell him to take them to Yuuko.

Watanuki takes them to the shop. The Karasu-tengu tells Yuuko that the Zashiki-warashi was caught. They want to save her but they can’t. The one who caught the Zashiki-warashi has a cloud of malice which is poision to her. The Karasu-tengu ask Yuuko for help. Yuuko asks for the compensation. The leader of the Karasu-tengu gives Yuuko a fan. She tells them she will grant their wish but the fan is too much for a payment so she will send Watanuki. The Karasu-tengu object, they say it was his fault the Zashiki-warashi got caught. Yuuko tells them that they won’t be able to save the Zashiki-warashi by themselves. She then asks Watanuki what he will do. Watanuki tells her that he’ll go. She hands the Kudakitsune to Watanuki and then she raises the tengu fan to take Watanuki, the Kudakitsune and the Karasu-tengu to where the Zashiki-warashi is being held.

After Watanuki and the others disappeared, a concerned Mokona asks Yuuko if it’s alright for him not to go with them. Yuuko tells Mokona that there’s something Watanuki has to learn by himself.

********

I have noticed that the second season of xxxHOLiC uses a lot of foreshadowing. For instance, at the start of the previous episode, Watanuki dreamt of Himawari , seeing her with only his left eye (that was because Mokona slept on his face covering his other eye). That dream foreshadowed how Watanuki will lose his eye to the spider. He sees the real world with his left eye, and a different world (the spirit world) with his right eye sometimes.

Also, in the previous episode, Yuuko reminded Watanuki that Himawari isn’t his goddess of fortune. That foreshadowed how Himawari, albeit indirectly, caused something unlucky for Watanuki — a hon no mushi appeared from her book destroying the text on how to recover his eye.

Not much is known about Himawari so far and her character has yet to be developed. The reason as to why she brings bad luck to Watanuki is still to be revealed. Himawari, of course, is unaware about this. Watanuki pretends there isn’t anything wrong with her but he is starting to wonder about what Yuuko told him.

The hon no mushi remind me of a mushi from Mushishi (in the episode about the scrolls).Similar Posts:

• xxxHOLiC Kei - 01 “The Spider’s Web”
• xxxHOLiC Kei - 03 “Half”
• xxxHOLiC Kei - 04 “Dream Buying”
• Natsume Yuujinchou
• Mushishi

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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• xxxHOLiC Kei - 03 “Half”
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