xxxHOLiC Kei ep.09

July 27, 2008 | 11 Comments

I kind of suspected that getting next-gen console is a bad idea in terms of productivity. That turns out to be true now that I'm completely obsessed with several games including but not limited to: Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry 4, and the new SIREN: New Translation (so awesome, review will come sometimes next week). Anyway, I can't believe it's been a while since I last saw this series. It's so weird having to do this now since the review was meant to go up not long after it went on air. Of course, something had to happen and now I'm struggling trying to finish not one but 3-4 series that most people already watched a long time ago. The episode itself is not bad but I feel that it's a non-event episode. I guess the writers want to save the good stuff for the last 2-3 episodes so this one is just a lead up to all of the things that will happen later on in the series.

Watanuki once again dreams about Haruka (Doumeki's grandfather) talking to him about the Sakura trees. When the conversation turns into Kohane, Watanuki points out in sadness that she's the same like him. Haruka, however, tells Watanuki not to assume that someone else feels the same way as him about their power. The next day, Watanuki end up talking about Kohane with Doumeki and Himawari. Doumeki suggests that they go visit her tomorrow since they only have half a class. Because of this, Watanuki puts an extra effort in his bentou, prompting Yuuko and Mokona to make fun of him. Later on, the three talk about Kohane and how her name has been slandered on the net. Watanuki finds this hard to believe especially since not long ago, people still like her. Yuuko comments how people's feeling can easily change depending on what they think is interesting. In the majority of situation, malevolence is more interesting than benevolence. Yuuko also wonders if Himawari is coming with Watanuki and when she finds out that Himawari can't come, she thinks it's a relief.

The next day, Watanuki is shocked when he finds out that people have trashed and painted graffiti around Kohane's house. Moreover, Kohane comes out in bandages, saying that she thought someone probably pushed her down. When they go inside, they overhear someone calling and leaving a message saying "die" many times. Kohane thinks it's going to be okay since the message box is full but Watanuki thinks it's not okay. He tells Kohane that he cares about her and it hurts him that someone that he cares about is being treated that way. Kohane admits that if the same things were to happen to Watanuki, she'd feel the same way as well. During lunch, Watanuki and Doumeki bickers again, prompting Kohane to believe that they are good friends because they talk to one another. In comparison, she hardly talks to her mother. Their conversation is then interrupted when Kohane's mother comes home sounding angry because TV producers have cut down her appearances. She becomes even more angry when she finds Watanuki and Doumeki in her dining room.

Kohane's mother also slaps her daughter's hand when the girl is eating Tamagoyaki because according to her, Kohane can't eat anything that has been killed. Kohane argues that while killing animal is a bad thing, not eating those animals that have been killed is even worse. This causes her mother to become even angrier. She accuses Watanuki and Doumeki of putting the idea in her daughter's mind. In the heat of an argument, the mother throws a thermos full of hot tea into Watanuki's face. Doumeki immediately drags Watanuki into the bathroom so he can wash off the hot tea with cold water. In the meantime, Kohane confronts her mother, saying that she doesn't mind her mother hurting her but she won't forgive her mother if the later hurts a person that she likes. In the aftermath, Watanuki is being taken care of by Yuuko, Mokona, and Maru/Moro. Yuuko thinks it's lucky that Doumeki was thorough in his first-aid attempt that Watanuki doesn't get any burns. The next day, Kohane's mother is excited because they get to appear in a big TV show.

Kohane, on the other hand, is not excited so her mother becomes angry again, wondering if Kohane wants to be forgotten. Kohane thinks there's nothing bad about that but her mother reminds her that they can live like this because of her appearances. Later on at the TV studio, other paranormal investigators protest to the producer because they have to appear together with Kohane. The producer, however, explains that they have plan to make them look better than Kohane. During performance, all 5 paranormal investigators have been put in the house that's apparently has been haunted. Everyone claims that they sense the ghost of a man, who's possibly western and died in a war. Kohane, however, claims of seeing two ghosts. The first one is a woman, who was murdered in July or August, 21 years ago. The other paranormal investigators accuse her of lying but Kohane denies this. Back in Yuuko's house, Watanuki becomes afraid of Kohane as the situation in the TV show becomes heated and everyone else refuses to believe in her ability to see the poltergeists.

Impression

A lecturer once told me that people are generally unpleasant in real life but they do a better job of hiding their unpleasantness than they do online. It's hard to disagree with that assessment. In real life, those who are downright nasty or just completely unpleasant will be treated with equal contempt by those around them. Because of this, people do try to be nice when they interact in real life because they have to deal with the direct repercussion of their action sooner or later. On the other hand, the (often falsely assumed) anonymity that the internet provides allows people to behave whichever way they want. This includes spamming, being outright hostile to anyone who disagrees with one's opinion, calling names, and spreading lies about another person that one dislikes. The last item is probably the most cowardly thing a person can do because as exemplified in Kohane's case, there's no way the victim can defend himself/herself, especially if that person is not online that often. And even if Kohane goes online, what can she possibly do against endless lies that have been put against her? If anything, confronting the liars will just put her in an even worse position.

Moving along, the episode makes me wonder if there's such a thing as 'respectable' paranormal investigators? I always get the impression that most people see this kind of people as bogus so it's weird to see people trusting Kohane and then not trusting her later on. As far as I know, most people tend to not believe this kind of thing in the first place and therefore, they usually just ignore it. Why would anyone even bother to tarnish the reputation of a psychic when their reputation isn't even that high in the first place? My only guess is that in this story psychics have a celebrity kind of status so when they fall, they fall harder. At any rate, I haven't been enjoying Kohane's story that much so I'm hoping that the writers will move on after next week's episode. I think it's pretty much a given that the series will end with Himawari's arc since that's the best xxxHOLiC arc that came out not too long ago. I have to admit that I was surprised when I found out that the series will only last for 13 episodes. On a hindsight, that may not be a bad thing since there's not much stories left in the manga and the writers already gone off-course with Tsubasa-related storylines.

Poll

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