my non-spoilery thoughts on the end of xxxHOLiC; or, my break-up note to CLAMP

I'd known for a while now that the story was going in a direction I didn't like; this ending is not a surprise, merely a disappointment. It feels like a betrayal, though, because this was not the story I signed up for. I loved the sometimes-silly-sometimes-serious ensemble hijinks of the anime and early manga, but it's clear now that the story I wanted to read wasn't the story they were telling. The things I liked about xxxHOLiC are the things that have been written out; no names shall be named, but I imagine most of you would not be surprised by whose they are. I will miss the idea of what this manga could have been; I will not miss what it became.


The things I loved about xxxHOLiC are, fortunately, the things Natsume Yuujinchou focuses on. :D