xxxHolic 106
Back at it again with the depressing Watanuki arc!
At least the chapter cover is nice. I particularly like the candle holders.
We open on Watanuki meeting with Haruka, but I think we’re immediately struck with some translation woes.
What does this mean. What does this mean.
This is in response to Haruka saying "What a pleasant evening."
And Watanuki says "Now that it’s September, the living is much easier. When I'm awake too." - Watanuki please come back here and explain this I have no idea whatsoever what this is supposed to be communicating.
But that aside the conversation that follows is a lot clearer:
It’s a lot of fascinating cultural history that I don’t need to repeat, but it’s so nice to get a solid background to it all. Huge fan of the detail they explain here, even if it naturally means Watanuki might be approaching some trouble.
(When is he not?)
And the framing of this is interesting too! We’ve seen it in action before but it’s curious that after 10+ years of this Watanuki is still surprised and annoyed by how the dreams end so suddenly. Even more so when he assumes Haruka is doing it to him on purpose.
Which is a very fun little morsel of information that might mean something or might mean nothing. Haruka is usually seen as genuinely quite helpful to Watanuki, but Watanuki assumes he intentionally cuts off conversation suddenly but doesn’t say why. Like, is it to be a dick? Is he just finding fun where he can, even if it means Watanuki doesn’t get the advice he actually wanted? Or is there something deeper - either positive or negative. Is Haruka cutting off dreams to keep Watanuki from feeling the adverse affects of being in the dream world too much? Or is he trying to prevent himself from being sensed in some way?
Whatever the answer it’s fun to think about, and I’m not sure if it’ll even be addressed. It DOES make me want to go back and pay closer attention to the Haruka scenes we've had so far, but I’m not sure if I’d even notice anything different if I did at this point.
Either way, guess who we get to see!
The Ame-Warashi! It's so fun to see her again, but would you like a dose of cosmic horror? Apparently the last time she showed up in a chapter I have her tagged in was in 2018.
It's been e i g h t y e a r s since I last saw her in a new chapter.
Horrible! Just the worst knowledge! Who said time could work this way?!
On the plus side I guess that puts us on an even time scale with Watanuki, since the conversation they're referring to was probably 10+ years ago, so we're close!
Also, Zashiki Warashi mention!
And we're getting some fun threads of Times Changing and the World Adapting to the new way of things. Even long lasting cultural tradition adapts to the new way society works, and the spirits adapt too.
It's a fun narrative idea to add in, especially when Watanuki's current plot thread is not doing that, and clinging hard to a form of the past that won't change instead. I wonder if this will be a moment for him to learn that even if he's shifting into a supernatural existence he does actually still have to keep up with the times, and maintain a connection to the human world around him. Instead of refusing to change, even spirits change alongside human society, so this might be a good chance to nudge him in the right direction.
Though! To complicate everything I just said, the Ame Warashi has a note of anger for this topic too, adding that even if humans change the festivals over time, the spirits don't necessarily have to like it.
So! Probably not the angle I was thinking of after all, but very fun nonetheless! Being angry at being forced to change IS STILL a form of change, and a valid response to it also! The only thing not presented as an option is Not Changing at all.
Next scene: Doumeki comes home!
And I'm quite taken with the thread that Doumeki is surprised that Watanuki is adapting to the new calendar this time. After all, being stuck in the past is Watanuki's whole thing at the moment - and in true Doumeki fashion he immediately tries to figure out what might have caused a sudden change this time around.
(And fun that Doumeki's thoughts go Dream -> evil omen, and doesn't consider Haruka.)
In a different version of the plot this would be how Watanuki proposes to him. BUT OH WELL, WE'RE NOT IN THAT UNIVERSE I GUESS.
I still love that Watanuki is just ominously hovering in his own backyard, holding a bouquet of flowers and staring at Doumeki. GREAT IMAGE 10/10.
And just as a side note I do love that the water ripples imagery is here, since it always speaks to me of the very beginning of the Cardcaptor Sakura opening, and now we know she's actually a direct family connection of his! Since... actually wait this always gets complicated to explain. Original Cardcaptor Sakura series spoilers in the next paragraph:
Not only is Clow Reed Watanuki's ancestor via Lava Lamp/Syaoran, but also Clow Reed is his grandfather through Sakura (as in, his mother)(even if that's technically adoption). And Fujitaka IS Clow Reed (or part of him), which means Cardcaptor Sakura is Watanuki's... aunt? I think! OH does that mean that Tsubasa Sakura (the clone) and Cardcaptor Sakura are technically sisters? Even if adopted? Oh man does alternate reality and soul splitting really complicate the family tree!)
So that was the ritual he was doing! Fun that he technically cheated, but what's the fun of being an incredibly powerful mystical being if you can't do nine days worth of homework in one night?
Well THAT'S sweet! It's nice that Watanuki heard of a potential bought of negativity and immediately put in work to protect the people close to him. THAT'S THE WATANUKI WE LOVE TO SEE! MORE OF THIS PLEASE?
AND ISN'T THAT SUCH A DIRECT MOMENT.
For all his effort to ward off evil Watanuki still did the Syaoran thing and worked towards protecting everyone else and didn't include himself. It took Doumeki to insist he do the same for himself at all.
And this is such a KEY loop into what makes Doumeki so key to Watanuki's life - Doumeki IS the one here constantly working to keep Watanuki safe, even while Watanuki ignores the risks and puts himself in danger. As much as Watanuki cares about other people, and will parcel himself out indefinitely to do good things for them, Doumeki is the key element that keeps Watanuki protected, and without him Watanuki would lose a core part of his existence.
Now if only they could talk about it!
I LOVE the shocked expression in that middle frame, where Watanuki actually looks a little taken aback.
And I don't know why! This is the core Doumeki function, and he's been around for 10 years, so you'd think Watanuki might realise what he's doing by now. But the Doumeki Blinders are still firmly in place it seems, and Watanuki is no closer to anticipating what Doumeki's constant motivation is. (Even when it's eternally the same)
One day these stupid boys might understand each other. But not today!
