Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Longbox of the Damned: xxxHolic Chapter 14



Longbox of the Damned 17. ‎

33 comments:

Bekah said...

I've heard of this one, I think it was even suggested to me once. Nobody ever told me anything about it though, so I didn't think it would be that interesting. I'll have to give it a look now.

Unknown said...

i actually have the first 4 volumes of this series its actually pretty good

Unknown said...

Oh, those creepy Japanese... I simply love it... ;-)

Anonymous said...

Great series. But caulking around the door like that... And the kid being old enough to write. That was Murder by starvation, or suffocation, maybe even dehydration. And all those letters had to be in the child's own blood.

A True tale of evil. Without any additional details for sympathies.

Megan D said...

Imagine my great suprise to see you talking about a CLAMP manga on LOTD, and my favorite series by them no less!

Nice choice of chapter, by the way. There's also a later one that's a take on The Monkey's Paw which is also pretty creepy. Though as you mention, while it does often deal with supernatural things, xxxHolic really isn't scary, and as it goes on (it's 19 volumes in length) it really becomes more about Watanuki and his growth as a character, and volumes 7 through 15 is where the series truly shines (in my opinion).

It can take some getting used to the artstyle, although I rather like the sleek, elegant, and sinuous look of the characters and art. I should also note that it does have a sister series, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, but I think xxxHolic stands up fine on its own, possibly more so than TRC which involves a lot of AU crossovers with various other CLAMP series.

megaL3 said...

Just wondering ,if, on Halloween, will you say which ones were the best from this month.

Anonymous said...

My favorite of all the CLAMP titles

Lotus Prince said...

If you're up for series that aren't about horror, but have some elements of horror in them, then I recommend (even though you've surely picked everything out for your Longbox series by now) either the first part or the fourth part of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

Part 1 takes place in England in the 1800's, and includes Jack the Ripper and vampires.

Part 4 has a mini-arc with a ghost girl in one of those towns where, to leave, you can't look back, otherwise a bunch of ghost hands will grab you and pull you in forever. :-D

Anonymous said...

i always asumed that this was porn

Movie-Brat said...

0_0 I got to admit, I got chills just from hearing the description of that ghost story and the final panel did not disappoint.

But hot damn is that one effective Horror story.

Anonymous said...

Try going into a bookstore and requesting this series. You always need to clarify what it is.

However for anyone who wants to look into this series, be warned that it does not have a good ending. I don't say that to mean that it has a depressing or sad ending (though there are shades of that in there) but rather that the ending just isn't exactly satisfying. It's not helped by the fact that this was supposed to be a series written along with sister-series Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and the two series would interact. What actually happened was that xxxHolic (the less popular of the two) had barely any interaction with Tsubasa at all in xxxHolic itself.

Does that mean it's bad? Not at all. What I recommend is that people read till the midway point and stop.

Anonymous said...

Ah, xxxHoLic. Good until you get into the last bit, where the story arc of Tsubasa Reservoir chronicle starts getting involved, drawing HoLic into the black whole of incomprehensible meaningless symbolism that left even 3/4 of CLAMP confused.

Ozaline said...

I absolutely love this manga, but since it's sister series Tsubasa didn't catch my interest and I stopped reading it, I eventually got so lost and confused with the tie in references so that I haven't completed XXX Holic (I stopped somewhere around volume 14 or 15).

In addition to the Monkey's Paw story that was mentioned by anoher poster, there' a really short encounter that I really like where Watanuki and Yuuko end up discussing an old bit of Japanese folklore where if you cut your toenails at night you'll see your parent's death before your eyes. Watanuki disregards the saying as old folklore designed to scare kids into not accidentally cutting their toes because of the poor lighting, and even if it were true his parents are already dead... So Yuuko invites him to stay the night, because there is a truth to this bit of folklore that Watanuki does not suspect.

Movie-Brat said...

"Try going into a bookstore and requesting this series. You always need to clarify what it is."

No doubt someone would get confused or dirty looks.

Anyone actually tried asking for the series?

Frosty said...

You know it's bad when even Moarte is frightened. :O

(Gloriously creepy voice on the 'let me out' part by the way!)

Anonymous said...

A sixth room that no one could see, I was half expecting Prisoner Zero to be in there.

Arianne said...

I've always wanted to check out the anime of this series, although I should check out Tsubasa as well.

I had a feeling that this series would interest Moarte.
Also, I admit to laugh at the xxx joke

Rhodoferax said...

I always figured ladies love Doumeki because he's totally gay for Watanuki.

Alec_Bot said...

I think I may have read this one before.
something else to note about the series though is that, as a member of the CLAMP omni-verse, it may have some oddities occaisionally.

Anonymous said...

Re. Movie-Brat.

'Raises hand'. Right here. Since manga really isn't selling so well now the manga sections in bookstores shrink so you have to either get it online or have the store order it for you. Damn you CLAMP and your Engrish. -Holic would have been so much better.

Ricky said...

Holic has sentimental value for me. In college I shared two classes with a young lady and we would often walk together to class. She always wore a red coat and smoked, this reminded me of Yuuko. I felt an attraction to her but ignored it because I wanted to focus my full attention to school. One year later I saw her, found out she was attending another university with her new boyfriend, I went home and cried. Now every time I read Holic I wonder what could have been. I end up with a smile and a tear.

Good story by the way! It reminds me of Edogawa Rampo (say the name quickly and see who comes up) and his infamous story "the Human Chair" although CLAMP's story was much darker and Po's story was silly, there was still that claustrophobic feel that both stories shared.

Movie-Brat said...

"Since manga really isn't selling so well now the manga sections in bookstores shrink so you have to either get it online or have the store order it for you. Damn you CLAMP and your Engrish. -Holic would have been so much better."

Funny, I heard the newly republished Sailor Moon has been doing extradionarlly well.

Anonymous said...

*shudder* Damn, that was freaky. If it can chill Moarte, it can definitely chill me.

Alice Malice said...

I love this series! Very charming characters and art, with some spooky stories! Glad to see it get featured.

It's also very easy to find in major bookstores, just check the Manga section!

Kelleth said...

<3 XXXholic

Unknown said...

That story seriously creeped me out, both for the implications of someone being trapped in there along with the wondering why in the world someone would do that to anyone.

Also wonder if the girl was alive when it was closed or if her father somehow trapped her ghost.

Either way, very cool.

FugueforFrog said...

Been finally making my way through the Longbox and this episode sort of reminded me of a similar chapter from a manga called "Hell Teacher Nube" (Jigoku Sensei Nube). The series isn't released in the US but has a few scans out there and has a lot of really interesting stories, with a lot more horror in the first 6 or so volumes surprisingly. But the creepiness of the trapped child...yeah, that did shiver my spine.

SailorCardKnight said...

Yay! Linkara mentions a manga I know and love in one of his shows! <3

Well, loved up until the end. Dare I say the worst ending for a CLAMP manga ever, and I thought the ending to Tsubasa Chronicle was terrible. Soooooo many unanswered questions. ><

Anyways, I remember that part from the manga, theres other creepy stories as well scattered throughout the series. The monkey's paw story and the one with the lady watching Watanuki as he fetches water from the well was...*shivers*...I won't spoil that one. But yeah, its still a fun read with lots of great supernatural, even thought provacing, stories. I def recommend it to those who are interested, just be warned of the crazy wtf once fun, turned confusing Tsubasa Chronicle crossovers and horrid, incomplete ending.

Anonymous said...

You're gonna love this. I'm a week behind on "Longbox of the Damned" because the power cord for my laptop stopped working, and I was waiting for the new one I ordered to arrive. It came today, and I just finished watching this episode. But for the past week, to ease the pain of not having internet, I've been watching Netflix Instant on TV with the Wii app. Specifically, I've been catching up on the xxxHolic anime.

I watched this episode last night. XD

Just as an aside, Himawari's ghost story in the manga is much scarier than the one that made it into the anime.

P.S. I also happened to notice that you're doing another Secret Origins month, and I was wondering if you've ever considered a Villainous Origins month.

Anonymous said...

OMG Moarte's voice when he reads Himuwari's story gives me chills every time.

Anonymous said...

Yeah it was either that or Blackest Night that scared me the most. Because your voice is that awesome, you do a fantastic job at accents, especially European.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of addictions, I think I might be addicted to this show, even though it won't be back for one or two months. So I'm a self-diagnosed "Moarte Maniac", and the only times I don't feel like watching Longbox of the Damned (whether if its by my own free will or not) is on other holidays because that would just weird @_@

Anonymous said...

Just out of curiousity, by any chance do you plan on revieweing the Higurashi no Kaku koro Ni (Aka When they Cry) for LotD?