xxxHolic - Plot

Plot

The series' plot focuses on Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student plagued by yōkai and ayakashi, spirits with a strong attraction to him. The spirits are invisible to others and encounters with them are extremely troublesome. When he stumbles into a shop that grants wishes, however, events in his life promise to become more unusual. The shop is owned by Yūko Ichihara, a mysterious witch of many names and esoteric renown. For a price, she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to be rid of the spirits. The price, according to Yūko, must be of equal value and so, as payment, he temporarily becomes Yūko's part-time employee. Watanuki's job consists of small errands dealing with the supernatural and household chores. Himawari Kunogi, Watanuki's love interest, and Shizuka Dōmeki, a classmate who Watanuki detests, occasionally join him in his work as per Yūko's request. The three become increasingly close despite Watanuki's annoyance with Dōmeki. Although Watanuki becomes happy with the new friendships he makes, he becomes concerned about Yūko, promising he will try to grant her wish.

As the series continues, Watanuki becomes more familiar and adept with the spiritual world with each supernatural encounter. A crossing plotline with the concurrent series Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle reveals that Yūko is actually on the verge of death, and her personal time was accidentally frozen by a powerful wizard, Clow Reed, keeping her alive for ages. As the magic binding her in time begins to dissolve, Yūko's ability to maintain the shop's magical existence fades and she eventually passes on, telling Watanuki that he will finally be free of his ability to see demons. However, Watanuki chooses to retain this ability and his now fully-grown magical powers in order to maintain the shop's existence and take care of it as the new owner. Further cross-over plotlines reveal that Watanuki was created as a result of a wish to turn back time by a shop client Syaoran. While Syaoran was able to go back in time at the cost of being imprisoned by the sorcerer Fei-Wang Reed, Watanuki was created to replace his presence in the natural timeline. As the series reaches its conclusion, Syaoran and Watanuki become trapped in a void by Fei-Wang and the two must pay a price to become free. Syaoran must forever travel through dimensions, never stopping, while Watanuki offers to stay inside the shop forever, and becomes the new owner, granting wishes until the day he can meet Yūko again. As time progresses, Watanuki continues working in the shop, unaging, and is frequently visited by Dōmeki, his assistant, and years later Dōmeki's great grandson. Although Watanuki is able to meet Yūko through a dream, he decides to continue waiting for her, although he has become able to leave the shop if he wants to.