xxxHolic 13 + ConBust
Just a couple of quick notes! First of all, I have a new review up at Tokidoki Daylight, for xxxHolic volume 13 which I loved very much. Oh Watanuki and Doumeki, I die. I die. Please check it out and let me know what you think!
Also, I’ll be spending some of the next few days at Smith College’s ConBust, a local sci fi, gaming, and anime convention with a special focus on female fans and creators. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they have to offer!
A question to fellow Wordpress users: Have any of you noticed a lot more spam making its way past Akismet lately? Is it just me?
That’s all for the moment!
March 27th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Your review is beautiful and I look forward to my turn to read the volume. :)
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Melinda Beasi Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Thanks, mom! :) I think you will enjoy it, and it’s a little less confusing than the last volume, too.
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March 27th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
oh *heart*
I’m still waiting for my volume of xxxHolic to arrive, but your review is amazing. Gah! I have so much to read that I am excited about, but I really, really want to go reread xxxHolic again. And Tsubasa! Honestly Tsubasa and xxxHolic are really never far from my thoughts, but Ed Sizemore’s fantastic review of the first 20 volumes and your review are calling so strongly too me now….
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Melinda Beasi Reply:
March 28th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Thank you, Deanna! *heart* I hope your volume arrives soon!!
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Ed Sizemore Reply:
March 29th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Deanna, Ditto on the thanks. I’m currently two volumes behind on Xxxholic. I think I subconsciously get behind on this series because just reading one volume is never enough. When I do sit down to read it I want to get lost in that world for a couple of hours so that means having at least four volumes to read.
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Melinda Beasi Reply:
March 29th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Oh how I wish I had that kind of patience. :) Instead, I just reread whatever volume is new over and over again in hopes of achieving a similar effect.
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Ed Sizemore Reply:
March 29th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Of course the problem with waiting is I can’t read your review or discuss the book. So I’ll probably read vols 12 & 13 sometime in the next week.
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Melinda Beasi Reply:
March 29th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Yes, you definitely should not read my review yet. I look forward to hearing what you think!
You know, now that I think about it, I could *swear* you’d read vol. 12 and had written a fantastic review of it that I blabbered on about here in this blog. Maybe you’re further along than you think? Or maybe I’m on crack??
Off to today’s con!
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March 29th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I am further along than I remember. I did review volume 12. For some reason I keep thinking it was volume 11. Well, that means I have only volume to read. That makes me sad. I will have to go back are re-read vols 11 & 12 to help ease the pain.
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Melinda Beasi Reply:
March 29th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I’m sorry for having been the bearer of such bad news!
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April 20th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Melinda,
Great review of another marvelous volume of this series. Watanuki’s maturity is wonderful and heart-wrenching at the same time. I love the man he is becoming. I like how you point out that his self-sacrifice is done after careful consideration instead of self-loathing like in the beginning of the series. I’m amazed to see his relationship with Yuko is beginning to change.
Question, did I miss the deal Watanuki made with Yuko about his memories? Or, is that an event that happened off screen that we are now being privy to? If I missed it, what was the trade?
The end with Kohane’s wish, the shop, and the treasure Mokona is given to guard is too much! My heart can’t stand the suspense. A three month wait is a violation of the Genova Convention!
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Melinda Beasi Reply:
April 21st, 2009 at 6:32 am
Ed, thank you so much! I really love the man Watanuki is becoming too. It’s one of the most gratifying things about this series for me.
As for the deal for Watanuki’s memories… see, this is a bit tricky, because you’ve kind of been put at a disadvantage because of how they’ve released Tsubasa over here. Here’s the place where I have to admit that I read ahead in scanlations, but the truth is, this exchange is something that was actually revealed *first* in Tsubasa if you were reading along in Japan, and not for at least a month or so later in xxxHolic. So I do know what the exchange is for, but I hesitate to tell you, because though you *should* know by now (if they were releasing the translated books of both series the way they really should to keep the timeline up), you don’t, because it’s in TRC vol. 23 (I think). Let me know if you want me to tell you.
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April 21st, 2009 at 6:41 am
No, I’ll wait. I’m just glad I hadn’t forgotten a major detail. Amazon tells me I’ll get my question answered in October (sigh). Thanks anyway.
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Melinda Beasi Reply:
April 21st, 2009 at 6:47 am
I really wish they were releasing them in the proper sequence. It was actually kind of cool to have a key piece of info before it was actually revealed in xxxHolic, and it made watching Watanuki struggle with his memories even more poignant, because we *already knew* why. It was kind of an awesome reading experience. Except for the terrible translations and inconsistent visual quality. Heh. The scanlations of xxxHolic, in particular, are so bad that whenever I finally get the Del Rey books, it’s like reading a whole different comic. Honestly, even if people don’t care about copyright issues, they are really doing themselves a disservice if that’s the only way they ever view the series.
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