90%

If you, reader, are familiar with the works of CLAMP and are unfond of the wishy-washy shojo-ness of the majority of it, then this will be a welcome relief. Although set in the same meta-verse as most other works, xxxHOLiC is generally darker, edgier and more mature - and on top of that, the anime stands completely on it’s own (the manga frequently, and oft annoyingly, crosses over with Tsubasa Chronicle). Although, having found your way to this review probably means you already know that bit; you’ve likely watched the first season already.

xxxHOLiC season 1 was, some would deign to say, perfect. It adopts the traditional "high school teen with mystical abilities" with no qualms and runs away with the idea in the most rational and normal way it could be, and the best part is that it makes for deep and thought-provoking viewing without the insultingly blatant morality message. Characters are well devised too, making sure each one is still consistent without excess flanderization so that they do not bore. It is difficult to speak for plot (given that all tie-ins with Tsubasa are removed, there are no major story arcs to speak of that don’t involve mentioning spoilers), but individual stories are well-constructed and never too long.

xxxHOLiC: Kei is much the same. While adding a new foray of windswept and interesting characters, the high quality of story-telling remains. The only problem being that now the main characters have been established, little room is given for them to expand - save for Himawari, and newcomer to this season Kohane. Other than that, watching Kei is the next logical step. It only makes sense. So do it.

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