XxxHOLiC the Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Yuko is hired by the owner of a home who can not get get into the house she owns. So with Watanuki and Doumeki in tow she goes to visit the house where several collectors are staying for their mysterious host to appear so that they can add to their collections. This is a very strange tale that slowly builds as it goes on as things are found not to be the way they appear and it all to be operating with some form of Dream logic.

Mixing a variety of styles in animation this is a visually beautiful program that captures the some of the themes nicely while remaining true to the look and feel of the Clamp art work that is its source. The story slowly builds a sense of dread that remains through out even if you can guess some of what is going on. In its way it manages to be creepier than the manga ever was.

The only real flaw is that there is no character development. There is an assumption that you'll know who the characters are and what their relationship to each other is. The need to know stuff coming in is especially true with Doumeki, who is a rival for the affections of a young girl with Watanuki, but is also a friend and priest with mystical abilities, something that is not revealed until a good ways into the manga story line.

I really liked this movie a great deal. Its probably better as a horror film than as a perfect representation of the manga, but as comic to film transfers go its pretty good. Definitely worth seeing if you're a fan of the manga or Clamp or anime. ALso worth a shot if you like good thrillers of any sort.

FYI- This series runs parallel to Clamp's Tsubasa Chronicle, and a cross over to that TV series can be seen towards the close of the film where Yuko is helps someone far away.