xxxHolic Kei
Ep.5 "Kohane"
After seeing the photo of Domeki as a child wearing a kimono, Watanuki is extremely excited about embarrassing Domeki with this bit of information however when he confronts him with it Domeki simply explains that it was a kind of custom to make young children stronger. Watanuki brings it up when they have lunch later in the day and Himawari asks if he has any photos but Domeki tells them that they were sealed away as part of a ritual or something.
As they talk about Domeki's grandfather, Domeki mentions that when he was his age he looked just like him and that he passed away when he was a child.
This makes Himawari remember her grandmother briefly but she doesn't have time to focus on the memory and the conversation quickly switches to what Watanuki made today (strawberry mousse).
Watanuki, then recalls a moment earlier when Yuko asks him what he likes about Himawari to which he replied, "Everything!". Yuko then asked him "Really?".
This makes Watanuki think about all the times Yuko has mentioned Himawari and he begins to wonder if there is more to it.
Himawari then mentions a young girl she saw on tv whp can see spirits and asks if Domeki or Watanuki saw the program. Watanuki says he didn't watch it last night but saw the girl a while back (in xxxHolic Kei Episode 1) while he was at Yuko's place.
After school, Himawari and Watanuki are walking home together and come across the young girl from the tv show, Kohane who is staring at a cherry blossom tree. They begin to talk to her briefly but are quickly interrupted by Kohane's mother who whisks her away. As Kohane is being taken away she whispers to Watanuki that he also knows more than most people. She sensed his ability!
The next day while having lunch with Domeki, Domeki mentions that yesterday he saw the girl, Kohane in his right eye via Watanuki's shared right eye. Watanuki begins to freak out about his privacy but the two quickly begin to discuss what it could mean and decide that Domeki can see through Watanuki's eye when his emotions are in flux.
On his way home, Watanuki decides to swing by the cherry blossom tree one more time and sees Kohane there by herself standing in the rain. He gives her his umbrella and tells her that she may get a cold standing unprotected like she was. They then talk about the spirit of an old woman wearing a kimono who inhabits the cherry tree and Kohane explains that the lady likes the tree and if she moves away the cherry tree will actually die without her.
Kohane feels bad for bringing the spirit to the attention of everyone via the tv show and wishes that she never saw her to begin with. Watanuki tells her that he used to think like that but now he tries to think of how he can help. Together they tell the spirit to move to a cherry tree at Domeki's temple and she happily complies.
They then introduce themselves to each other and find that the kanji for both of their names contains their birthdays and that the kanji used for Kohane is also the kanji used for "feather".
Kohane then decides to go home before her mother gets back and says farewell to Watanuki.
Domeki then comes out and says that "while fools never get sick, morons may" and gives him his umbrella.
Moments later in Domeki's temple the two discuss the spirit of the woman and Domeki reveals that he can see the spirit now with his own eyes! This shocks Watanuki as apparently some of his ability has been passed on to Domeki!
As Kohane gets him her mother is furious and yells at her for being out in the rain. She then gets a phone call and yells at the person on the other end that of  course her daughter's abilities are real as she doesn't let her eat anything impure or anyone touch her as to dilute her powers.
As Kohane walks to her bedroom she walks past her mother's room which is full of expensive bags and clothes she had bought with the money she made from her.
Kohane sites on her beg and hugs the umbrella Watanuki gave him and whispers his name.
My Original Impression
Friday, 2nd May, 2008
Wow, I was really impressed with this episode. Not only was the animation level simply incredible but we got several new music themes plus a very nice voice actresses for the new character, Kohane.
I never really liked Kohane in the manga so I was surprised when I found myself liking her here. The voice actress just did a really good job. Production I.G. also did a rather creative job or showing a bit of her special powers. Very interesting.
Something else I found interesting was the inclusion of more of a subplot for Himawari which is obviously leading up to a Hell of an episode later on in this series. It was cool to see a brief flashback with her and her grandmother.
Something that threw me off though was the fact that the sakura trees were in bloom... but they weren't last week but they were in the final season one episode... If you follow how the seasons change in the series you may find this a bit jarring.
This continuity problem can be fixed though if you just take the first season bonus episode out of the viewing order. It is a bonus episode after all so I guess it makes sense not to include it.
A great episode that really begins to evolve the series further. Can't wait for next week's xxxHolic Kei episode!
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