Sometimes things need a change…

Once again, with xxxHolic: Fifth Collection we have a very simple DVD presentation. It has a picture of Watanuki and Yuko on the front, and within an illustration spread of a Christmas scene with Yuko, Mokona, and the three school kids. On the back are a few small screen shots with content lists and synopsis of the DVD. The DVD menu is also fairly simple, with side images and basic menu options. To save myself from the threat of redundancy, it should be noted that the high points of xxxHolic aren’t in the physical appearances of the casing or menus, but the anime itself. Its sleek art style and excellent soundtrack make xxxHolic a breed apart in today’s anime, and give it its own unique look and feel. Even so, I’m beginning to feel as if these DVDs really could use a face-lift in physical presentation. The simple packaging works for a simple 4-episode disc, but it almost seems an injustice to the anime itself and the overall elegance in it. Possibly more illustrative imagery on the cover, as seen on the inside of the jacket, would be nice. But that’s my own speculation. It just seems lacking at this point, though not so much that it can’t be ignored.

Throwing a bone would be nice.

You’ve heard me say this about four times now in my last reviews of this series. XxxHolic: Fifth Collection really needs an upgrade in the Extras department. It has darn near the same set of trailers you’ve seen in past volumes, with only one or two differences in the line-up. Funimation really ought to consider mixing things up more here. The image gallery is just a slideshow of screen caps from each episode, and they generally aren’t even the more interesting scenes. This wouldn’t be so bad, but as I said it’s usually more boring than entertaining. One would expect illustrations like on the covers, or from the manga, but that is not the case. Then there are the textless opening and ending songs. This is all well and good, because they’re good songs, but you’ve likely sat through them four times watching the DVD. Most people don’t like that kind of redundancy. The lump of Extras continues to be dishearteningly poor as the series goes on. One can only hope that changes when a box set is released.

Finality.

The thematic stories get better and better in this volume of xxxHolic. The pace of the overall story remains somewhat slow, though, as you still only get hints of Watanuki’s real abilities. Still, you still find yourself easily wrapped up in each episode. That’s a testament to CLAMP’s story-telling abilities. The physical presentation and extra content, however, are fairly redundant and plain. So, if you buy DVDs with such content in mind, you’re going to be disappointed with xxxHolic: Fifth Collection. However, if you just want to get your hands on a good, somewhat unique anime, the xxxHolic is right up your alley.