xxxHolic

Watanuki has had to live his life with the curse of being able to see and interact with spirits, turning him into a magnet for the supernatural. This understandably is quite a burden to bare, especially for a teenager who's orphaned, living by himself and attending high school. On particularly bad day while trying to evade spirits, he stumbles a across a mysterious shop and meets the owner, a sultry witch named Yuko who sells "wishes" to the troubled souls who happen upon her shop. Yuko agrees to take away Watanuki's ability, but in return he must work for her in the shop until his debt is paid in full.

Ones of studio CLAMP's most well known series, xxxHolic is fantasy series that focuses on traditional Japanese folk lore and is structured episodically, with an episode or arc focusing on one of Yuko's client's or the characters interacting with supernatural beings or places. There are few action scenes to be found in Holic, instead the series relies on it's characters to tell the story/advance the plot, in that respect some viewers may be put off by it's slower pace. I was surprised by xxxHolic, I put off seeing it for quite some time,but I am very glad I did, there is much to like about Holic; its interesting take on folk lore, a refreshing worldview rare in anime, memorable characters; especially Yuko who is probably one of the most entertaining and unique female protagonists Ive seen in a while and finally it's just a hugely enjoyable, original show despite a couple arcs/standalone episodes that weren't up to snuff.

Grade:A-

Reviewed: episodes 1-24 Format: English Dub, DVD.

Karin

Based on the Chibli Vampire manga, Karin is a fun, wholly entertaining romantic comedy that happens to involve vampires. They are not the same vampires we are used to , yes they suck blood and such, but the mythology is pretty much turned on its head after that, so vampire purists are best to leave their scrutiny at the door going into this series. The plot of Karin greatly resembles that of Fruits Baskets only with the genders reversed, an guy who has it pretty rough(his well meaning mom's somewhat of a deadbeat and as a result they live in poverty) meets a shy, nice girl named Karin at school and eventually discovers her embarrassing secret; she is a unvampire, she makes blood in large quantities rather than sucking it, so (again very much like Fruits Baskets) when her blood level reaches high levels or she experiences intense stress or comes in contact with a member of the opposite sex, blood comically geysers everywhere. Our male protagonist naturally befriends her and helps her keep her condition(and identity as a vampire) secret. Has the couples friendship grows, the more Karin's vampiric family becomes involved, unsure whether they can trust a mortal with their secret and their daughter's safety.
Karin starts out as a sweet, funny high school romance/slice of life with a supernatural bent, the characters (save for an unfortunate later addition who can get pretty irritating at times), especially Karin and her oddball family,are appealing. Later on the series throws in some nice dramatic content and twists and gets surprisingly serious and even a bit dark near the end, but this never feels forced or out of place and ends up working out very well for the series. It's actually refreshing to find an anime that isn't afraid to push the boundaries of it's genre a bit, and while Karin isn't free from genre/romcom/melodrama conventions, the overall feel is original and satisfying. In the end Karin is well worth your time.

Grade:B+

Reviewed: episodes 1-24 (complete) Format: English Dub, DVD.

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World

A rather low key offering from Studio Gainax, TUYBW tells the story of a teen boy who finds a girl in the local forest who seemingly fell from the sky, and discovers that her presence is upsetting the natural world around him; awaking ancient creatures intent on devouring her and also that he's been gifted with powers in order to protect her, but what purpose does she serve ? Despite feeling condensed and wearing its obvious enviromental message on it's sleeve, TUYBW is enjoyable, lightweight entertainment, aided by nice, crisp animation and generous helpings of fanservice/nudity. The characters, like the plot serve their purpose, but are largely forgetable. In the end not one of Gainax's best offerings but a good show none the less, worth a look, especially for fans of the studio.

Grade:B-

Reviewed:episodes 1-12(complete) Format: English Dub, DVD.