xxxHolic
Ep.17 "Phenomenon"
This moody xxxHolic episode is the creation of Production I.G. using elements from the xxxHolic novel, xxxHOLiC: AnotherHOLiC that was released soon after this episode aired. I haven't read the novel as it's purely in Japanese so I won't be offering any notes of comparison during the guide to this episode. I will though offer information on the episode as an individual entity with no knowledge of if it did justice to it's source material or not.
The episode itself is rather different than the previous episodes that have aired up until now featuring almost eighty percent of the screen time focusing on exposition and dialogue between Watanuki and Yuko. The mood is also a lot more mellow and moody with both main characters talking in a dark room with it raining outside. Another interesting narrative technique is used, that of starting the episode with a scene that fits chronologically somewhere else. Fans of J.J. Abrams and Tarentino will know what I'm talking about.
The story begins at Yuko's shop with Yuko in the middle of a meeting with a new customer, a lady called, Nurie. Watanuki is also in the room. There seems to be a lot of tension in the air. Subtly the woman starts eyeing her cup of coffee which Yuko had given her. Yuko notices this and tells the woman to not even think about doing what she's thinking of doing.
Skipping back in time we find Watanuki having been sent by Yuko to retrieve a letter from a safe deposit box. Upon reading the letter he is surprised to find that it's from Yuko and is simply asking him to buy some fake glasses!
Fuming, he heads back to the shop to ask Yuko why the Hell she would ask him to get the letter when she could just have asked him in person.
As he stops at the crossing, he sees a woman on the other side (Nurie). Suddenly something shines on her shoulder and she then falls in front of an oncoming motorbike.
Later that day, Watanuki with a bunch of flowers, visits the woman in hospital. Turns out he had rode with her in the ambulance. The woman is initially happy to see him but then throws his flowers on the floor for no apparent reason.
The next day at the shop, Watanuki mentions this woman to Yuko while he changes a light bulb for her. She says that there are demons who would make people want to sabotage their own lives but she realises also that Watanuki thinks it's something else.
Watanuki explains that the woman told him that she always does things to scare away happiness from her life. She had deliberately failed exams for example. Yuko says that she's the kind of person who would refuse a 300 million yen lottery prize. Watanuki doesn't understand how someone could do something like that.
Yuko puts on the pair of cheap glasses Watanuki bought and tells him to bring Nurie to the shop.
The opening scene now plays out until Yuko tells Nurie not to do what she's thinking of doing and that if she wants to do it, she should do so and deal with the consequences. Nurie is shocked and asked what she means. Yuko says that she knows that Nurie was thinking of throwing the cup of coffee in her face.
This is rather compelling but long scene of dialogue. The gist of it is that Nurie explains that she's always had a problem doing things that she shouldn't do and asks Yuko for help. Yuko agrees and hands her the pair of 100 yen red glasses, much to Watanuki's surprise, and explains that the glasses are special and will help her make the right choice.
After the woman leaves, Watanuki asks why Yuko gave her the glasses when they aren't special at all. Yuko confirms that they're aren't special but they will give the woman a slightly different perspective to see reality and that slight nudge should be enough to help her. She says that the woman only chose to do little bad things, but never chose to do things she really shouldn't do. Yuko believes that the woman wasn't running away from happiness but the responsibility to deal with what happiness brings her.
When asked about what price the woman paid, Yuko replies that the woman gave her her escape route so that while she had only decided to do small bad things before, now because the step's been taken there would be no distinction between a serious sabotage or a small one.
At that moment Nurie spots a bin and considers throwing the glasses away. She chooses not to and continues to walk until she gets to an intersection. She's obviously struggling internally as to whether she should deliberately "trip" again though she ponders the glasses in her hand and waits for every car to stop then walks to the other side.
Today's Crossovers
No crossovers today! No Mokona, Maru or Moro either!
My Original Impression
Sunday, July 30, 2006
This episode was really... different. With the exception of maybe 5 minutes, the entire episode is one conversation between Yuko and Watanuki. At first it was rather boring, but then it started to remind me of those old school horror movies and I really began to dig it!
The story wasn't based on a manga arc but rather on an upcoming xxxHolic novel being released in Japan. No news yet if this novel will be translated.
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