▪	RELEASED BY:		DEL REY
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		CLAMP
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		192
		▪	RATING:		T
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		09/25/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		09/24/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN

But she’s sooo beautiful….

Secrets are revealed in the newest volume of XXXHOLIC, Clamp’s tag team manga mate to TSUBASA.  Linked with common characters, these two stories have been enthralling readers for years.  With the events that take place in the current volume of this story, that enthusiasm among fans should not diminish anytime soon.  Having read both since the beginning, it is easy to continue recommending both stories to fans. 

Unlike TSUBASA, XXXHOLIC takes place in modern Japan and is about Kamihiro Watanuki, who is the indentured servant of the space time witch, Yuko Ishikawa.  For Watanuki, this means working in Yuko’s shop and doing the cooking, cleaning, shopping, and any other jobs that often turn into either adventures or object lessons in themselves.  Occasionally he greets his tasks with scorn, but his loyalty wins out every time and he always does the job to the best of his ability.  A fringe ‘benefit’ of the job is that Watanuki gets involved in some of Yuko’s dealings with ‘customers’ of hers, leading to surreal adventures, which have always been imaginatively created by the Clamp team.

Watanuki, when not doing Yuko’s bidding, is trying to win the affections of Himawari, who appears oblivious to his efforts.  She is sweet to Watanuki, yet she also seems to be interested in Domeki, a familiar of Yuko’s and eternal tormentor of our hero.  Himawari has always made a welcome break in the tale, giving some fun to the readers watching Watanuki falling over his feet in L.O.V.E.  Now, in Volume Ten, she becomes the focus of the story.  While solving a mystery involving a strange woman who sits unmoving at the window of her house, Watanuki makes a pinky promise to Himawari to play safe in his actions and not to overexert himself.  He solves the mystery easily enough, but notices afterwards that his pinky finger is sore.  It is then that Yuko informs him that Himawari, far from being the object of his dreams, should be avoided at all costs.  Dreams involving Domeki’s grandfather, an encounter with an acquaintance who gives him a balloon that contains good things for luck, and more surrealistic mayhem follow as the story unfolds, with Watanuki ending up in real danger. 

The Art Nouveau style of XXXHOLIC with flowing lines weaving delicately through the frames and willowy figures gracing the page continues to complement the generally dreamy nature of the story.  Bold with striking designs and patterns built into the images that remind readers of Aubrey Beardsley’s expressive, sweeping illustrations from the late 19th century, the images that fill the pages have a peculiar beauty that makes this manga a delight to behold.  In terms of the story itself, this volume, like all the others, is a swift, magical read, transporting readers into the murky world that exists just outside our perceptions of normality.  The characters are as engaging as ever, and Yuko the most of all of them.  Neither heroic nor villainous, she is a perfect foil in this story to Watanuki’s uptight ways, and just menacing enough that you really sense you’d never, ever want to cross her.  Supporting cast members continue to add more fun to the action, especially the crazed twins who zip in and out of the frame whenever the story is set in Yuko’s shop.  We really don’t know why they’re there.  But it wouldn’t be the same without them.

EXTRA:
Del Rey has once again included its translation section for readers in this volume.  What is missing, again, though is the usual preview of the next volume. 

IN SUMMARY:
XXXHOLIC is dreamy, thoughtful and delightfully mischievous.  Yuko’s little shop of magic is full of wonder and weirdness as always in this latest volume of the hit series from Clamp.