xxxHOLiC ep.15

August 14, 2006 | 9 Comments

I have to admit that the drawing in this episode is not as bad as I thought it'd be. In general the character's face is better drawn and a lot more consistent. The backgrounds are also less dull than the episode that preceeds it. Having said that, I don't understand why the quality of the series is so inconsistent. I have actually watched episode 16 while I was in Japan and noticed that it actually looks good. It feels as if some episodes were drawn by other, less experienced animators. Thankfully, just like NHK ni Youkoso!, there is a strong and interesting plot contained within each episode. I think if the producer can increase the amount of funding given to the animation, this could have been a much better series. Anyway, I'll try to catch up with the rest of the episodes soon but I have to admit that I'm quite overwhelm with my schedule at the moment. So I'm sorry if the reviews come rather late these days.

A narrator opens the episode by explaining the nature of waves: that which rises, falls, comes from a source, and one which can't be fought. Cut to a shot of the older sister saying that she will fail and can't do anything right. As the narrator mentions chains, the rules of nature, and the flow of time, the same girl tells herself that she's different from her younger sister. The story then continues back from episode 14 where one of the twins starts bleeding from her forehead inside the cinema. Doumeki who sees this immediately takes the girl out of the cinema. After Doumeki and the older sister left, Watanuki asks the younger one if her sister fell and injured herself but it seems nothing like that happened to the older sister today. This leads Watanuki to wonder if the spirits were the one who caused her to bleed. However, when she sees the older sister looking better, he starts to wonder if she somehow injured herself.

Later on, Watanuki returns to Yuuko's shop and watches Moro and Maru playing a Mokona-styled Karuta game. Yuuko tells Watanuki that the older sister was bleeding because she wanted to bleed. She believes that the incident inside the cinema wasn't the first time Watanuki felt waves coming from the girl. Watanuki remembers that he felt the same sensation while he was helping the older sister looking for her contact lens. She thinks that they couldn't find the contact because the girl restricted Watanuki from finding it. Watanuki realises that when Yuuko talks about 'the chain that people can control', she was referring to words. Yuuko confirms Watanuki's guess and tells him that words are scary things. Once you said them you can't take them back and you can't ignore them either. Watanuki's mind then remembers how the older sister always put herself down time and time again. Yuuko tells him that words are alive and have influence on our lives.

The next day, Doumeki asks Watanuki if he's going to see the twins again. In reply, Watanuki tells Doumeki that this is not something he can decide. Besides, Watanuki thinks it's Doumeki that they're interested in. Having said that, Watanuki actually wants to tell the older sister about her situation but he's afraid she won't believe him and thinks he's a weirdo creep. Upon hearing this Doumeki tells Watanuki to do what he feels he has to do. If Watanuki convinces himself that he can't, Doumeki believes that he's doing exactly what the elder sister always do. Doumeki even offers to accompany Watanuki on the condition that Watanuki treats him to some food. The two then meet the older sister in a cafe and she decides to give Doumeki a new handkerchief since she can't seem to clean the one that Doumeki gave her. Doumeki accepts the handkerchief and tells Watanuki that he's going to get them some drinks.

After Doumeki left, Watanuki asks the girl if she's nervous about Doumeki. He tries to assure the girl that despite looking sulky, Doumeki won't bite her. Despite this, the older sister begins to put herself down again, saying that she can't compare to her younger sister. She thinks her sister is more energetic and can do anything. Despite having similar face, the older sister thinks she can't do anything. Watanuki cuts her sentence and tells her that if she decides that she can't do it before she even tries then she'll never be able to do it. He also convinces her that she too has her good points. Doumeki then comes back bringing Café au lait for the girl because he noticed that she drank one the other day. That night Watanuki looks happy as he cooks something in Yuuko's kitchen. She wants to know what happened so Watanuki describes his talk with the older sister. He now realises that as a 'chain', words can also be used to connect with other people.

Yuuko agrees with this and tells Watanuki that words don't only affect those who use them. Watanuki is surprised to hear this but before he can ask Yuuko about it, she already disappears from the kitchen. The next day, Watanuki shows the mini cakes that he made last night to Himawari. Himawari is excited to see this and tells Watanuki that she loves Mont Blanc. Watanuki, however, loses his temper when he realises that Doumeki is the one who gets to eat the cake first. Thankfully his anger subsides right away when he hears the voice of a girl telling him that it seems they're having fun. Watanuki at first thinks that the girl is the younger sister on her way to work but is surprised when he finds out that she is actually the older sister. He tells the girl that she seems to be happier now and the girls agree that is true. She thanks Watanuki for his advice and ever since that day, she's been telling herself that she'll never know until she tries.

After hesitating, the girl decides to invite everyone to the restaurant where she works. Unfortunately for Watanuki, Himawari has piano lesson so he ends up going with Doumeki again. When the older sister appears to take their order, however, Watanuki notices that she looks unsure of herself. On top of this, her right fingers are now bandaged for some unknown reason. The younger sister then arrives and asks if she can sit with Watanuki and Doumeki. She reveals that she's been coming here ever since her sister works at the place. She wants to know how her sister is doing since her sister tends to drop the dish at home. When the older sister arrives carrying the tea, the younger one tells her sister to be careful and not drop another cup. She then calls her older sister a klutz and gives many instructions which only make her older sister more nervous. Watanuki notices that waves are coming out of the younger sister and envelopes the older one.

Because of the pressure, the older sister spills a cup of tea on Doumeki's hand. The younger one apologises to Doumeki and tells her older sister that she did warn her that a part time job is not possible for her. She then explains how her older sister has been injuring herself ever since she works here. The younger sister's words quickly take a toll on the older sister and reopen the wound in her hands. Despite this, the younger one continues to tell her sister that she'd be better off quitting since she has trouble talking to people she doesn't know. Watanuki stands up and sees that the older sister is now trapped in a web of words. Because of this, he decides to interfere and tells the older sister that if she lets everything bother her, she'll only regret it more. The younger sister, however, asks Watanuki what will happen if her older sister injures herself even more. Watanuki is unsure about this and unable to answer the question.

All of a sudden, however, Yuuko appears in the restaurant and tells everyone that a person is responsible for his/her own choice. She thinks if the older sister wants, she can remain chained to the words. However, Yuuko believes there is nothing better than believing that things will turn out well and see the result turning that way. She then comes closer to the girl and asks her if she has a wish. The girl nods and agrees even when Yuuko reminds her that there's a price for it. Because of this Yuuko asks the girl what's her wish and she tells Yuuko that she wants to change. A few days later, Watanuki and Doumeki are waiting for the older sister to appear and are surprised when she comes out with shorter hair. She then gives Watanuki a bag containing her payment for Yuuko, which is basically her own hair. The girl thinks that she's slowly changing for the better. In the spirit of giving everything a try, she decides to tell Doumeki her feelings.

After looking spaced-out, Doumeki thanks and politely refuses the girl. The younger sister then appears and tells the older one that it seems they both are rejected. Having said that she thinks her sister can't assume she'll lose before she even tries. The older sister then thanks Watanuki for his help and ask the two to go out again as friends sometime. After they left the cafe, Watanuki tells Doumeki that he's going to make a Bento for the other guy because he's happy. He, however, becomes annoyed when Doumeki wants Star Fruit in his Bento. Watanuki thinks the request is impossible because the fruit is not available in Japan. Because of this, Doumeki changes his order to Tessa (Fugu) Sashimi. Watanuki is even more livid to hear this because making a correct preparation for Fugu Sashimi is hard. He, however, hears Yuuko saying that maybe he should compromise and make Fugu Stew Tecchiri with Shirako.

Watanuki thinks it's crazy to have Nabe (hot pot dish) during summer. Moreover, he was talking about a boxed lunch, so a hot pot dish will be impossible to carry. Watanuki then remembers that Yuuko hasn't been eating at home lately and warns her that she'll get fat if she keeps eating out. Yuuko is annoyed to hear this and asks Watanuki if this means Watanuki wants to cook for her everyday, forever, so she doesn't get fat. Watanuki is horrified to hear this and asks Doumeki to help him but Doumeki simply casts his gaze elsewhere. Poor Watanuki is then forced by Yuuko to take responsibility of his words. Because of this, she tells him that when they get home, she's expecting that Tecchiri. Mokona then reminds Watanuki not to forget the Shirako. Doumeki also puts his order and asks for Fugu. The episode ends with Watanuki looking disturbed as the others walk away while chanting the food names over and over again.

Impression:

I never really understood why the older sister bleeds on the forehead until now. After all, she didn't hurt herself on anything prior to the incident. This episode, however, made it clear that words have paranormal ability in xxxHOLiC universe. Because of this, words are capable of not only emotionally hurting a person, but also physically injuring the person and altering reality (ie. making it impossible for Watanuki and the older sister to find the contact lens). Things that people often referred to as 'negative vibes' can now be seen as 'waves' by someone with high paranormal ability like Watanuki. Similarly, 'self-fulfilling prophecy' is similar to magic incantation that prevents a person from realising their full potential here. With or without the paranormal elements, however, the story is still interesting on its own. I can't help but feeling sorry seeing the older sister because she seems to lose more confidence with each successive failure.

I also like the twist at the end of the story where it's revealed that the younger sister is partly responsible for the low-self esteem of her older sister. It's hard to know if the younger sister actually feels superior over her older sister, or if she unintentionally hurts the older sister in an attempt to protect her. Either way, her words have negative effect on the older sister. The worst thing about this is that the cruel words came from someone who is supposed to offer encouragement. It makes me wonder if their parents actually said similarly discouraging words such as "Why can't you be as good as your sister?". Anyway, moving on to a less serious matter, I got quite hungry after hearing the various food names mentioned in this episode. I kind of regret that I didn't have the chance to taste Mont Blanc while I was in Japan last month. On the other hand, eating Fugu sounds a bit intimidating especially after knowing that many people have died when eating ones that are not correctly prepared.

Preview

I'm excited to see the next episode since it contains one of my favourite stories from the manga. It helps that the episodes has good character drawing and animation.

© memento 2003