I know xxxHolic was aired 2 years go and it is VERY late of me to watch and write something about it. But this is one of those animes that I wouldn’t mind watching for the second time and still find it intriguing.

I guess it’s not too late to discuss the themes as xxxHolic Kei is still airing and the themes are still pretty much the same.

So, for those who haven’t watched it yet, perhaps you may get a glimpse of it and the reasons why I was (and still am) fascinated by it.

xxxHolic

Oh, I have not read the manga yet, so my impression on xxxHolic is based solely on the anime.

Theme 1: Inevitability 必然

この世に偶然は無い　あるのは必然だけ.
There is no coincidence in this world, only inevitability.

Have you ever wondered if it was inevitability that brought you where you are today? Have you ever thought if it was fate that you met your friends? Have you ever wondered if it wasn’t coincidence that you fell in love with that someone?

This is the core theme that permeates the entire series. Various characters often attribute an event to coincidence, but Yuuko believes otherwise. She is often seen telling the various characters that things happen because they are inevitable, not because of coincidence.

Every one who comes to her shop to have their wish granted are, according to Yuuko, destined to come to the shop although most, if not all of them mention that they stumble upon the shop coincidently and have no idea how they arrive in it. Yuuko says that it is exactly their desire to have their wishes granted that bring them to her, thus the inevitability. They wouldn’t have ended up in her shop if they didn’t have any wishes to begin with.

The shop you can't enter out of coincidence.

Another idea of inevitability is that things in the future cannot happen without a certain decision in the present. Something in the present couldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the choice in the past. My interpretation here is that, your future is perhaps written somewhere already, the things that happen now is to lead you to that future, although you don’t know what it is.

This sort of reminds me of Steve Job’s commencement speech at Stanford in 2005. “If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy class and personals computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do”.

I, on a personal level, have always believed in inevitability rather than coincidence.

Theme 2: Price 対価

In order to grant people’s wish, Yuuko collects a price. The price has to be balanced with the wish, not a bit more nor a little less.

Paying an equal amount for things you receive in return.

In episode 17, Yuuko mentions that everything in the world comes with a price. You pay an amount to buy something because that’s how much is it worth. You’re given a high position in a company but time and effort is the price you pay. In order to receive happiness, you must also experience the equal amount of unhappiness.

In other words, nothing is free in the world. Not even happiness.

Theme 3: Morality

I would also describe xxxHolic as a collection of morality tales. It touches upon the consequences of lying (Episode 2), breaking promises (Episode 9), killing (Episode 20) and etc.

Making a promise.

An interesting thing that I noted in xxxHolic is that whenever the characters make a promise with each other, they entwine their little fingers together. I wonder if this is a gesture only oriental people practice. I still remember vividly I did the same thing when I was still young. Ah the good old innocent days.

Theme 4: Ghost, Spirits and the Supernatural

The reason I like xxxHolic is because it reminds me of the ghost stories and superstitions that I was brought up in. Feels almost like I’m reliving the stories and superstitions of my childhood.

In xxxHolic, ghosts and spirits can take different shapes and forms, and normal people are not able to see them. So far, only Watanuki seems to be able to.

Spirits that dwell in the living realm.

This reminds me of what my mother or friends used to tell me. I’ve been told that ghosts and spirits exist in the human realm too. They don’t bother us and normal humans can’t see them. However, if you possess the “Eyes of the Yin and Yang Realms”, you will be able to. It’s extremely rare for people to possess the eyes and it is believed that dogs have them. That is why sometimes they howl in the middle of the night…

Also, the spirits that take the form of a fox reminds me of the Strange Tales of Liaozhai that I used to read. The trustworthy fox spirits as opposed to weak humans is almost similar to those present in the Strange Tales of Liaozhai.

As for superstitions, I was quite surprised how similar the superstitions like “whistling at night attracts snakes to you”, “unable to pay last respects to your parents when they die if you cut your nails at night” to the superstitions I was brought up in.

Conclusion

There are many other smaller themes brought out by xxxHolic, and these are precisely the reasons that kept me wanting for more. I can say that almost each episode discusses a new theme. Um… how should I describe them… I would say that these are things that have most probably struck you at one point or another in your life, but you only gave it a few thoughts and then decided to brush it aside.

Piqued your interests? Go watch it already!

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