Image Description: book-cover of XXXHolic Omnibus 3 – Volume 3 by CLAMP. There’s the main title, down the bottom of the cover, XXXHolic Omnibus 3, and there are three verticle bar-shaped images of the book covers of manga volumes 7, 8, and 9. From left to right, the first image is an image of Yuuko, her black hair is in a pony-tail with a large peach-coloured flower hair-clip with long dangling-ribbons. The second image is an image of Yuuko, she is wearing a large purple head-dress with gold jewellery and gold lotus flower-petals. Yuuko also has orange-fake-nails that resemble talons The third image is of Yuuko, she is wearing a blue yukata and holding a paper fan.
Title: XXXHolic Omnibus – Volume 3
Creator: CLAMP
Social Media: Goodreads and Twitter
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Format and Price: Paperback at $21.77
Stars: 5 out of 5 stars
About The Book:
AN EYE FOR AN EYE – Working in the shop of the dimension witch Yuko, Kimhiro Watanuki has yet to see a mundane moment. The good, the evil, and just plain weird all seem to have an unwavering attraction towards Watanuki, though the feeling is not mutual. These daily troubles can vary from crushes by pretty house spirits like the Zashiki-Warashi to cursed grudges, mysterious evils, and man-eating nightmares. Luckily, Watanuki has begrudgingly found an unlikely ally in his rival Domeki, but could this bring even more chaos than he’s bargained for?
General Observation:
~Plot Development: Alert! There is Actual Plot Development in this Omnibus. Actual Plot Development! Although to be fair, the plot development speed of XXXHolic is faster than that of Tsubasa Chronicles, but then again this is CLAMP so it’s not really saying much.
Domeki and Watanuki are bonded irreversibly and Watanuki is beginning to realise just how interconnected he is. If Watanuki had figured out sooner that he’s a valuable member of his own little constellation, it would have saved him and Domeki a lot of trouble, however, Watanuki strikes me as the type who has to learn the hard way.
While I don’t know the specific details of Himawari’s situation, it’s become apparent that Himawari is cursed is some way, and I’ll be looking forward to finding out the how’s and why’s. All the negative events that occur in this Omnibus occur because of direct or indirect contact with Himawari, which would explain her reserved nature.
~Character Development: As mentioned above, Domeki and Watanuki are bonded irreversibly. While I don’t want to spoil the events of the novel, due to the events of the plot, Domeki starts to be able to see mystical and spiritual events and beings.
While I’m happy to see that Watanuki is attempting to pull his head out of his arse, and is getting along better with Domeki, I can also tell that character development-wise it’s going to take time.
~Cross-Over Moment: Yuuko has the most amazing wardrobe and she seldom wears the same outfit twice. So, in volume 9 when Yuuko is wearing her iconic black moon-dress and white ribbon hairpieces, Watanuki notices that she has worn this outfit before. Then BAM! Syaoran-with-an-eye-patch shows up and then he’s on his merry way. YAY! Continuity!
All in all, an enjoyable read with interesting conflict, an excellent addition to the XXXHolic series, happy to recommend.
Available for Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
Ambiguous Pieces 