Story -- If anything made me hesitate about seeing this movie, it was the story. For most movies based off of an anime series, their plots generally leave something to be desired. For the most part, they tend to feel like one long episode rather than an actual movie. However, xxxHOLiC's movie actually felt like a movie. I can't quite put my finger on it, but regardless, this movie delivers on plot. The mystery and intrigue build and build, occasionally relieved by humour (mostly on Watanuki's part) or heightened by some frightening scenes. Near the end, the story got a little confusing, but that's quite typical of xxxHOLiC and CLAMP in general, so it wasn't all that unexpected.
What was interesting, though, was that this movie explains the meaning of the series' title. This hasn't even been done in the manga to my knowledge, so I do wonder if this is something CLAMP has confirmed themselves or if it was made specifically by the movie's director. Still, when it was revealed, it made sense and sheds more light on the manga's themes, which I really enjoyed.
Art -- If you know CLAMP's latest art style, you'll know that they're in a tall and lanky character phase. This movie carries over that style into its art and it takes a bit to get used to - all too often, the heads seem to small, the limbs too long and rubbery, etc. But putting that aside, the art is fabulous. The colours and rich and vibrant, and the scenery in the house is especially something to be marvelled at. On my DVD, I even took a few minutes to go over the slides of the background art so I could get a closer look at them (because you only get a few seconds to see them in the actual movie!)
Sound -- As usual, the seiyuu did excellent jobs. Even the English voice actors didn't do too badly (the only exception, for me, was Mokona's English voice but Mokona has such a small role in this movie that it wasn't too detracting). The music was wonderfully done, as well, thanks to the work of Saitou Tsuneyoshi. There are some very good tracks on the OST, and they really contribute to the atmosphere and feeling of the movie - everything from building mystery and wonder to Yuuko's jazzy, fun theme at the end. And maybe just as importantly, silence is used effectively to build suspense at the freakiest of moments.
Character -- I really suggest knowing what xxxHOLiC is about before going into this movie because you really need to understand who the characters are. I showed this movie to my non-otaku friends and I had to explain who everyone was and what they did before they could understand it. And because this is a movie and not the actual series, there isn't too much character development here (since most of that seems to be reserved for the actual anime and manga), which is where it may fall short. This movie is more plot-driven than character-driven, after all. The original characters for this movie were average - not particularly memorable but not bad, either.
Enjoyment & Overall -- Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and have watched it multiple times and intend to watch it more in the future. If you're familiar with xxxHOLiC, it stands on its own well enough, but you might also want to check out the Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles movie, too (if you buy the DVD, they come as a set), since like the original series, they intertwine and events that occur in one movie affect what happens in the other. Still, I thought the xxxHOLiC movie did a much better job in of presentation and plot, but that'll lead us into a completely different review. In any case, I'd definitely recommend this movie to any xxxHOLiC fan.
