xxxHOLiC Manga Volume 12

SPOILER Thoughts/Review: For some reason, I neglected to read several of the chapters in volume 12 when they came out in Japan. So it was a delight to read this manga and have a few surprises (not that I mind reading ahead, mind you, because I’m still doing that) in store for me.

The focus of volume 12 is dreams. It is very difficult to tell what is real and what isn’t. I say “real,” but CLAMP has written this and say, “Yeah, dreams can become real too.” Indeed, Watanuki asks Yuuko-san a very important question at one point — is this your dream or is this my dream? Of course, Yuuko-san’s answer of “It is the same thing” just makes me want to scream, not in rage, but in an “GAH! Could you muddy the waters up some more, please?”

Sakura-chan from Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE shows up in this volume a few times as she’s sent her soul into the dream world. Her being here and communicating with Watanuki is interesting and makes me think that maybe she and Syaoran are actually Watanuki’s parents somehow. Hey, as whacked as the two manga titles are, anything is possible. Regardless, I got a chuckle out of the translators insistence that one doesn’t need to read Tsubasa. Technically, that’s true, but if you’ve never read the volumes of Tsubasa (18 & 19 I believe) in which Sakura’s soul goes into the dream world, her blathering about her companions would not only be mostly meaningless, it would be “BORRR-RING!” (Note: said in a Homer Simpson voice.)

The story with Kohane-chan is advanced a bit in this chapter. The thing that has surprised me about how CLAMP has handled Kohane-chan is that they continue to evolve the story slowly. For Himawari-chan’s story, it made sense for it to progress slowly because she is a main character. Kohane-chan is not a main character, so I didn’t expect her to continue to be around. That said, I like Kohane-chan and seeing where she goes from here will be most interesting so I’m glad to have this story-arc continue.

Finally, there’s Yuuko-san. I really liked her reaction when Watanuki asked her if he could grant her wish, whatever that might be. It was a nice moment and shows how far Watanuki has come as a character. I wonder what her wish is?

Bottom line: another good manga volume in the xxxHOLiC line. While the dream theme makes things disorienting at times and Sakura-chan’s appearances may confuse those who haven’t read Tsubasa, there’s still plenty of good stuff to be found in volume 12.