Despite being heavy on the Tsubasa material, probably the best volume of the series yet. Especially for Watanuki fans - and I LOVE WATANUKI SO MUCH OKAY. Seeing him struggle with reality itself makes me wibble for his sanity ;___; But seriously, the cross between supernatural fantasy and psychological drama as well as that conversation between Yuuko and Watanuki makes this volume a sure fire winner all the way. ( )

Watanuki's preoccupation with dreams takes a sinister turn as he becomes unable to stop falling asleep at random moments. It seems that the lines between dreams and reality are blurring as the conclusion to the story nears and Watanuki begins to question his own reality. Is his life with Yuko the dream or the reality? And are his lost memories a sign that his life is false, or is this an effect from the influence of another magician? ( )

  xxxHolic #11 & 12 (Manga Monday) This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer

Title: xxxHolic #11 & 12
Series: xxxHolic
Author & Artist: CLAMP
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga

Synopsis:
Watanuki has several dream times with various people, does alot for Kohane-chan, gets attacked by various things and people and in general is well on his way to replacing Yuko.

My Thoughts:
Where Tsubasa tended towards "lets couch everything in as mysterious terms as possible", xxxHolic seems to be a bit more straightforward.

I also find the pathos to be much more endearing, heart-wrenching and "real". I care what is going to happen to Watanuki, Yuko and the others in a way that I simply didn't about the Tsubasa group. I also have to admit that the stories dealing with Kohane-chan really get to me. A little girl should be protected by her mother, not exploited. I'm just glad Watanuki and Domeki are around.

A lot of what is talked about in Watanuki and Sakura's dream really helped me understand what was going on.

The artwork continues to amuse me. Yuko,for example, can be this totally voluptuous vixen in one panel and then you see in another and she is a stick. CLAMP certainly has fun just portraying people however they want. " ( )

The story is starting to get really sad. Watanuki is realizing that lots of things in his life do not add up. He cannot remember things like his parents names or what grade he is in. He is scared but he is letting that change him. He is determined to stay kind. This one also has some interesting one shots like the hole that just appears, takes some of Watanuki's cooking, then returns with flowers as a thank you. I do not know what Yuko is doing but she is so sad about something. The plot is really moving now and I think that it is going to make me cry. Not much left for this story.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. ( )

xxxHolic Volume 12 by CLAMP builds on the themes introduced in Volume 11. Dreams and the fear of being an imperfect copy come to fruition for Watanuki and Watanuki seems to be losing a grasp on reality, no longer being able to tell if he's awake or asleep.

Watanuki is visited in his sleep by Sakura, the princess who has had her memories stolen. The quest to regain as many of them as possible to restore her to health is the central plot of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.

Her presence and Watanuki's Dreamtime experience are connected. There's a long and complicated sequence explaining just how they are. It took me a second read to fully take in what had happened. It was well worth the second read.

Meanwhile the young psychic continues to have trouble. She can see things that other psychics can't see and those other psychics are ganging up on her. She is being bullied out of the business and abused by her mother who doesn't want to see the end of her lucrative career.

Watanuki goes to help the psychic and takes along Domeki. Why he does shocked me at first but then made perfect sense. It's tied into the ongoing butterfly motif, a symbol Yuko and Watanuki share. ( )