#47: xxxHolic: Anotherholic by Nisioisin and Clamp

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I may have Nisioisin’s name wrong. I’ve seen it several ways, but this is how the footnotes and “about the author” in the book present it.

Anotherholic is three novellas based on the popular manga by Clamp. It relies on only the simplest understanding of the manga’s plot-a high school student named Watanuki sees and is harassed by ghosts, and makes a deal with the dimension witch, Yuuko, that she will eventually free him of this if he works in her shop, which is dedicated to granting wishes for a price, only to find himself frequently involved with her clients and other supernatural events-and contains no spoilers for the manga. Yuuko and Watanuki are the only manga characters to appear in the novellas, though series regulars Doumeki and Himawari are mentioned.

Two of the novellas are pretty normal “customer” plots-a girl who receives text messages from her dead friend every day, at the exact time of day that her friend died, and a woman obsessed with breaking social taboos, to her own detriment-and the third is something of a “why things happen and the nature of this supernatural element” plot. As plots, there good, but Nisioisin tries to mimic the manga’s style and capture the otherworldly feel, rather than writing it his (?) own way. Unfortunately, much of what makes xxxHolic work the way it does is Clamp’s layouts and imagery, and that can’t really be duplicated in prose. Speaking of the art, there are several stunning spreads as chapter pages. Including one of Watanuki in a dramatic, somewhat gothic pose. Holding an eyeball.