If you have followed my reviews for a while then you already know how I feel about CLAMP. The all female manga team makes some fantastic stuff and their shows are among some of the most popular on the market today. From Chobits to Tsubasa there's just something to love about each of their efforts. The latest of which proves to be one of the best in my opinion and xxxHolic is worth a shot no matter how familiar you are with CLAMP.

Not too long ago FUNimation released a CLAMP double feature with the Tsubasa and xxxHolic movies bundled together. This was a great move considering both shows are loosely tied together but it also served as a way to sneak a peak at xxxHolic prior to the show's release. After checking out the first volume I can thankfully say that the quality is there in spades and it's everything I could have hoped for.

The series follows the exploits of Watanuke who is a teenage boy with a problem. It would seem that his family has strong spiritual connections and poor Watanuke finds himself in a bit of a pickle. Spirits and other worldly things have a tendency to gravitate towards Watanuke. He's a magnet of sorts that simply attracts them because for whatever reason he seems tastier than most humans. The poor kid spends his days dogged by these beings that only he can see so it's only natural that he wants nothing more than to get rid of them. As the old saying goes, "Be careful what you wish for."

One day while Watanuke is out for a stroll he is essentially dragged to a building by some unseen force. After he accepts the fact that he can't escape whatever this place is his curiosity gets the better of him. Once inside Watanuke is ushered by a pair of strange girls to a smoke filled room. Sitting before him is an attractive woman in a kimono named Yuko who seems to know more about Watanuke than any normal person should. At a glance she understands his power and knows his fate but makes him an offer he can't refuse. Seriously, she doesn't give him the opportunity to do so.

Yuko steals his pocket watch and uses it as a bit of collateral for her services. In an effort to expunge Watanuke of his problem, Yuko offers the boy a job working for her. Well, she doesn't so much offer as forces him to agree. From here Watanuke essentially becomes Yuko's personal chef and does odd jobs around the house as well as errands for her.

Many of these side tasks are merely a guise to expose Watanuke to the spiritual world and see how far his powers truly go. Yuko obviously has knowledge beyond what she lets on and each job is an opportunity for discovery. On one particular errand Watanuke must head to the school accompanied with fellow classmate Doumeki. It would seem that Doumeki also possesses some spiritual abilities that he's not entirely knowledgeable about but Yuko obviously sense them. The two make quite the pair and I'm sure as the series goes on we'll be in for quite a treat as they go on jobs together.

A nice thing about xxxHolic is the fact that it has many throwbacks to other CLAMP series that fans will absolutely adore. The art style for instance features the lanky characters with elongated limbs which makes everything striking, yet awkward. Characters such as Mokona and objects such as Watanuke's headphones in one episode will make CLAMP fans smile. In many ways this is a very original work but it feels as though it fits in with other series as well.

After viewing the first volume I must admit that I was impressed. xxxHolic is a very subtle series without a lot of action but it apparently has a purpose and its characters are really interesting. If you're a CLAMPhead then picking this series up is a no-brainer and it comes highly recommended.

xxxHolic's first volume is presented on DVD with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The show was produced in 2006 and it maintains a very nice look with some great designs and a high level of detail. Colors have always been a big part of CLAMP's productions and this particular series is no different thanks to the vibrant palette. The image does suffer a bit with quite a large amount of grain in just about every scene. It gives off a very fuzzy look that doesn't allow the series to pop like it should.

Thankfully the audio presentation for this DVD is significantly better. The English and Japanese 2.0 tracks present crisp dialogue and clean sound but the English 5.1 takes the cake with the added channels. The sense of immersion for this show isn't the greatest as it's mostly a dialogue-driven program but the material that makes it to the rear channels definitely spruces up the experience. The dubbing quality for both is also exemplary and I found myself unable to choose between the two (though the 5.1 won me over).

Some trailers, clean animations, and an image gallery are all you're going to find on the first volume of xxxHolic. It's unfortunate that the Limited Edition version comes with nothing else other than an art box (which is nice, but a box is a box).

Whether you're a fan of CLAMP stuff or not xxxHolic gets off to a nice start with its first volume. The characters are interesting, the world feels ripe for exploration, and the writing is fantastic. Hopefully the coming installments will maintain this level of quality as I can't wait to see what's in store for Watanuke and company.

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