Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
xxxHOLiC Episode 10 – Quick Summary
In xxxHOLiC episode 10, “Lamplight,” it was summer and time for summer romance! Watanuki wanted to ask Himawari on a date, but, well, he’s Watanuki. Yuuko to his rescue — sort of. She suggested a group date. Watanuki’s hopes soared just as she dropped the other shoe – Doumeki would go with them. They rented a room at Doumeki’s family’s temple to tell ghost stories. But with Yuuko present, they weren’t just any ghost stories. Something in the next room was lively – much more lively than a corpse should have been. And whatever it is seemed keen on getting to Watanuki!
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from xxxHOLiC Episode 10
Even in the heat, her snark-mode is working just fine! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Yuuko seemed overcome by the summer heat. Maru and Moro fanned her. She had shoved her feet into a bucket of ice water. She even held an ice bag to her forehead. But still, she languished.
Now, I have to admit: I was only partly buying it. Yuuko exaggerates a bit from time to time, doesn’t she? At the beginning of the scene, I felt the tendrils of doubt. Then, in my favorite quote, Yuuko removed all doubt.
As a grumbling Watanuki approached, she looked at him side-eye and said (02:05), “Here comes a guy even more dismal than a Japanese summer…”
She feels strong enough to switch instantly to snark-mode, so I think she’s really fine.
Favorite Moment from xxxHOLiC Episode 10
Yuuko enjoyed this way too much. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: A Mystery if Fun!
Do you like mystery? Not the genre (though kudos to you if you like mysteries – there’re a lot of enjoyable stories in that genre). I mean mystery – getting hints and clues but no direct confirmation of a thing within a story?
xxxHOLiC seems to like them. For a while now, Yuuko has been dropping hints that there’s something unexplained going on with Himawari. I remember the first time I watched the series, it was about this episode I started to take the hints seriously – and my favorite moment is the culprit.
I like mysteries – like, how much closer is Yuuko going to get to Himawari? Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
What I like about an effectively presented mystery is how it pulls me along with the story. It makes me look forward to either more clues, or the reveal. Here’s a secret I’ll share just between us: when I write novels, I have a heck of a time not revealing secrets!
I blame my characters. They’re chatty, and they want to delve into topics. I have to pull them back to preserve the mystery of a reveal I want to make later. For the most part, my characters cooperate. Like me, they hate it when a writer temporarily dumbs down a character to preserve a mystery. It’s more work, but more dramatically effective, to come up with plot devices or character interactions that naturally prevent a reveal until the right time.
Delivery: Yuuko Knows How to Savor a Moment
Which is probably just another way of saying “plot.” It’s hard to say. The terminology gets imprecise at times, depending on an individual’s experience.
The episode built up Doumeki’s role: he was the protector, the one capable of dispatching evil spirits just by being Doumeki. Watanuki could see spirits because of his lineage. As they discussed this, you could see how intensely curious Watanuki became. He expected Yuuko would talk about Himawari’s role.
I mean, even Watanuki, as smitten as he is, has begun to suspect something’s up. Or at the very least, he suspects Yuuko knows something she’s not telling. Watanuki even asked what Himawari’s role was (21:47).
Watanuki was dying to know Himawari’s role! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Watanuki waited breathlessly. Yuuko drew out the moment, then said (20:69), “I’m not telling!”
Yuuko remained completely in character, and we get to enjoy a little more of the mystery surrounding Himawari. How cool is that?
What did you think of the ghost stories? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
xxxHOLiC Episode 10: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- My Anime List (must be logged in to view): xxxHOLiC Episode 10 Discussion
- Star Crossed Anime: xxxHolic – 10 – Mokona’s super suction power!
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- xxxHOLiC Episode 01: The Inevitable
- xxxHOLiC Episode 02: Falsehood
- xxxHOLiC Episode 03: Angel
- xxxHOLiC Episode 04: Fortune-Telling
- xxxHOLiC Episode 05: Game of Letters
- xxxHOLiC Episode 06: Indulgence
- xxxHOLiC Episode 07: Hydrangea
- xxxHOLiC Episode 08: Contract
- xxxHOLiC Episode 09: Pinky Promise
- xxxHOLiC Episode 10: Lamplight
- xxxHOLiC Episode 11: Confession
- xxxHOLiC Episode 12: Summer Shade
- xxxHOLiC Episode 13: Transfiguration
- xxxHOLiC Episode 14: Seal
- xxxHOLiC Episode 15: Release
- xxxHOLiC Episode 16: Reunion
- xxxHOLiC Episode 17: Self-Mutilation
- xxxHOLiC Episode 18: Ground Cherry
- xxxHOLiC Episode 19: Unreasonable
- xxxHOLiC Episode 20: Atonement
- xxxHOLiC Episode 21: Nail Clipper
- xxxHOLiC Episode 22: Tempations
- xxxHOLiC Episode 23: Choices
- xxxHOLiC Episode 24: Side Story: Reminiscence
I have a nice little goldfish pond outside that stays in the shade so the water is mostly nice and cool. I sit with my feet in it when it is hot. I wish I had a couple of cute girls to fan me, too, though. At this point I am almost getting impatient with Watanuki, as Yuuko repeatedly shows him that Doumecki is by his side to defend him from the spirits (and has been all along) and he repeatedly protests. It’s like he is just determined not to accept the answer to his problems is beside him already. But then, we are often like that, aren’t we? The answer to our problems is RIGHT THERE and because it is something that we, for whatever reason, perceive as unpleasant for us, we refuse to see it or at least to accept it. I’m trying to find the rights words to say that Watanuki sees a “real world” that is him and Himawara living happily ever after without the intrusion of the “supernatural” but because of who he is the supernatural IS a natural part of his life, and he has the resources (Doumecki, Yuuko, and maybe Himawara?) to deal with it. It has something to do with how we are all given this “ideal” of what life is supposed to be – and then we start growing up and realize that not only is that not really quite what life is, we find that something well outside of that mold is really the best and happiest life for us. Watanuki has wrapped himself up in such fear for the supernatural – and yet there he is with someone who can dispell an attack with an “imaginary” arrow, and another friend who can “eat” negative energy so what’s not to love? Watanuki simply needs to let go of his fears and embrace the confidence that he has the protection he needs at hand.
For just a second there I thought Yuuko was going to kiss Himawara…
I get impatient with the spastic one — pretty much at least once an episode! I’ve been thinking about how Yuuko has approached his education, and I think she’s on the right track. She’s trying to show him instead of just tell him.
And I think — maybe! — that he’s starting to get it. Very, very slowly!
Because he gets so wound up in his emotions that he is not using his reason – not that he doesn’t have it, but he doesn’t use it. The boy needs to learn meditation…
Stupid question here… What exactly does “xxxHOLiC” mean? Is it a reference to Yuuko’s drinking? Why are some letters capitalized and others lower case, particularly the “i”? Enquiring minds want to know!
That’s a good question! I researched it before, but figured it might be a good time to try again.
I found fandom wiki reference: https://xxxholic.fandom.com/wiki/XxxHOLiC
It says, “CLAMP decided to change to uppercase the letters h, o, l, and c of the title, which is why it’s possible to find references with the title written in a different way.”
But there’s no explanation why.
This post had another take: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Talk:XxxHolic/Archive_name
It said that the “xxx” is silent. The Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XxxHolic
said something similar: ‘”The “xxx” before the holic is the Japanese way of saying of “fill in the blank.”‘
Maybe I needed to spend more time searching, but I couldn’t find why CLAMP wanted it that way.
Maybe it was to drive questions like ours!