xxxHOLiC

Kimihiro Watanuki is a high schooler who sees ayakashi, supernatural beings invisible to everyone else, and his life is disrupted by their constant presence. One day he stumbles into a quaint, mysterious shop run by Yuko Ichihara, a witch known for granting wishes for a price. Instead of a simple cure, Yuko offers to remove the spirits if Watanuki accepts payment of equal value, which means working for her as a part-time cook and housekeeper. The series follows his everyday life in and around the shop, his uneasy but growing relationship with Yuko, the steady presence of Shizuka Dōmeki, and the small cases and clients that reveal strange moral choices tied to wishes, all without revealing major plot twists or endings.

Released in 2006, xxxHOLiC adapts CLAMP's manga, with Michiko Yokote and CLAMP member Nanase Okawa credited among the creators. The anime features a notable Japanese voice cast, including Jun Fukuyama as Watanuki and Sayaka Ohara as Yuko, who bring the characters' personalities to life.

The show didn't collect major international awards, yet it maintained consistent appreciation within anime communities. Rather than trophies, its legacy rests on steady fan devotion and ongoing discussion among viewers who value its tone and character work.

Over time Yuko became an iconic figure in anime, and xxxHOLiC's visual design and melancholic supernatural episodes helped cement CLAMP's reputation for interlinked worlds. Its crossover threads with other CLAMP works, most visibly Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, amplified interest in the shared continuity and encouraged fan engagement across multiple series.

Audience and critic response tends to highlight atmosphere and theme over fast plotting, and the series holds a 7.2/10 viewer average from the provided ratings. Themes include loneliness, the consequences that come with getting what you want, and the idea that every wish carries a cost. Voice performances and art direction are often praised, while some viewers find the pacing deliberate and the episodic structure uneven.