xxxHolic
Ep.2 "Falsehood"
This episode starts right off with Watanuki in the kitchen, cooking up a storm for Yuko. Things seem pretty hectic and aren't helped much by Maru, Moro and Mokona (hey, three "M"s!) distracting him. Suddenly a pot boils over, Watanuki screams and Yuko enters wondering where her meal is. Yuko proves to be a further hassle which causes Watanuki to almost loose it but is saved by a customer to the shop out front.
The customer, a lady, seems mystified as to why she came to the shop. Seems she just felt compelled to walk in like Watanuki did last episode though most likely with less comedic results.
Yuko greats the woman and explains that the fact that she's here means that she wants a wish to be fulfilled. The lady can't think of anything at first but then remembers that her little finger on her right hand seems to have been numb lately. Yuko implies that it may be caused by a bad habit though the lady can't think of any. Watanuki notices black smoke coming from the lady's finger and as the woman starts to lie about her answers to Yuko's questions the black smoke expands. Yuko gives the lady a ring to wear on her little finger.
The next day at school we're introduced to two new members of the xxxHolic supporting cast, Himawari and Domeki. The music in the scene is simply perfect for this series. It's quirky and fresh and just suits it so well!
Anyway, Watanuki obviously loves Himawari and has something against Domeki who he sees as a kind of rival. Domeki and Watanuki have words with each other with Domeki coming out as the coolest and Himawari wishes Watanuki luck with his new job he just told her about. Her blessing causes Watanuki to become overjoyed and he skips off to Yuko's shop.
As soon as he enters the shop however, Yuko tells him that his face looks bad. Watanuki thinks she's insulting his looks, but she's referring to a kind of fortune telling. She suggests that Himawari may have changed his fate, possibly for the worse, though Watanuki thinks it must have been Domeki who made his "face" look bad. When hearing Domeki's name, Yuko obviously feels something and tells Watanuki that he may be "compatible" with him.
Suddenly the woman from before returns. She explains to Yuko that her whole right arm wont move now. Yuko replies that she thinks she hasn't stopped her bad habit yet. The woman is still clueless and continues to lie about her age and other things as Yuko asks her questions. As she does so the black smoke once again emerges and engulfs the room. Watanuki notices that the ring Yuko gave her before has become dirtier.
As she gets up to leave, Yuko offers her tea but she refuses and explains that she has a date. The black smoke grows even more.
Yuko explains to Watanuki that the black smoke is what's causing her paralysis. Watanuki wants to go and tell the woman to stop lying but Yuko says that she must realise this herself. Watanuki goes after her anyway and finds her leaving her work on a lunch break. He overhears two of her co-workers talking about how she's always lying about about everything from her age to her boyfriends. He continues to follow the woman and sees her lie to a woman taking surveys and finally an old high school friend who she meets as she's crossing the road.
As she continues to lie, the black smoke grows larger and larger. Her friend leaves and she then notices how dirty the ring has become so she takes it off her finger to clean it. As soon as she does however her whole body freezes, a truck drives through the lights and she's hit full on. She isn't killed however (unlike in the manga arc) but hospitalised. We learn that Watanuki stayed with her for half the day while she was unconscious. One of the nurses suggests to the woman that he may have been a younger boyfriend. She thinks about agreeing... but then stops herself. She may have realised what her bad habit was.
Today's Crossovers
None
My Original Impression
Saturday, April 15, 2006
This episode went really well. Paced wise it was very close to the manga storyline and the music was hauntingly wonderful and suits the show amazingly well. The character designs are spot on and it left me waiting for more xxxHolic anime goodness!
One problem I did have was that I found the whole episode had a kind of "zoomed in" feel to it which made the animation's lines look a lot thicker than they would in the show's original widescreen presentation. Another reason why I can't wait for the widescreen release is the fact that so much is cut off and missing just off-screen to the right and left. When Yuko was talking about the little finger I could barely even see what Maru and Moro were doing. This show was made for widescreen and pan and scan detracts from it a lot.
One change that I didn't like with this episode was how the woman with the lying habit didn't die like she does in the manga. She simply went to hospital and learnt her lesson. This is very strange as the who airs around midnight and is made by Production I.G. who have made such series as Blood+ who aren't exactly censored.
Overall a good interpretation of the manga (despite that woman living). I'm still curious to see how Tsubasa will be incorporated into the series. There have been some crossovers with CCS Sakura's staff last episode and next week looks to include Chobits Chi's ears. The movie crossed over well and that was made by the same guys that are doing this series, plus all the same voice actors are being used.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
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