Finished watching xxxHolic Shunmuki

Finished watching xxxHolic: Shunmuki (2009, Production I.G., 2 OVAs) on

Watanuki gets in touch with Doumeki's grandfather who asks him to look for four objects scattered throughout the area of his temple. But as they find each item they are sent to various dream worlds.

8/10 - Although this was produced in conjuction with Tsubasa: Shunraiki in that their plots tie in together, this xxxHolic one was more interesting and made more sense. The ending even left me very intrigued as to how the series would continue from then on. Finally, and also very important, the animation and art quality are good, just like the Shunraiki one, because without good quality animation you end up being taken for filler episodes.

Finished watching xxxHOLiC Kei

Finished watching xxxHOLiC Kei (2008, Production I.G., 13 epi.) on 4/25/2016.

It's been a while since Watanuki has been working for Yuko in her shop. As such, he's seen his fair share of spiritual phenomena and other unbelievable things from the other world. But now these strange events seem to be affecting his life more and more, and even the people he loves. Could this be an omen of things to come? Watanuki must be strong!

8/10 – Continuing on the 2006 series, this show now seems to focus more on the main characters and their relationship with the supernatural world that Watanuki has known his whole life. The show is also a bit of an improvement in terms of quality. The art is good, and the animation quality as well. Long gone are the days of tall, exaggeratedly disproportionate bodies with tiny little heads. The story, above all else, is quite juicy and intriguing. You really come to learn more about the characters and meet new ones that really grow on you. Simply put, great things come in small packages.

Finished reading Mushishi

Finished reading Mushishi (1999) on 9/10/2014.

Story and art by Urushibara Yuki.

50 chapters.

Ginko is a wandering doctor. And the ailments he treats are that of a supernatural nature caused by tiny, shy, spirit-like beings known as mushi, which despite their size can be the cause of large-scale, devastating phenomena.

7.5/10 – This manga has a very interesting concept and is presented in a magically nostalgic and melodramatic way that connects with me in a weird, scary, yet gentle manner. However, even though I'm happy with getting into Ginko's past and how he became a mushishi I still think the story had a lot more potential for a deeper complexity that it never really reached aside from some exposition. Most of the stories were self-contained and at one point they got really repetitive to the point where I almost gave up. The final story was also a sort of self-contained two parter that almost made me think that Ginko was going to become something more. But he didn't, and I wasn't aware that that was the end of the manga until the last page where the author says 'farewell'. Still, this is one of the best manga I've read so far and the idea is very original. I just really wish the story would've gotten more interesting.