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Yuko and company come back for a third round of exploits in Clamp’s xxxHolic: Third Collection.

xxxHolic is a favorite anime of mine. The premise is simple, and doesn’t change much from episode to episode, making it easy to watch one here and one there. Each collection thus far has put forth something wonderful, a solid grouping of fun to watch episodes. In the third collection, xxxHolic gives us four more adventures, four more chances to wander into the world of spirits and mystery.

Episode nine, the first on the disc, is “Promise”. The story of a girl who uses a folk tale about pinky swearing to lure in men, “Promise” brings us back to episode two (from disc on), “Falsehood”. A girl wanders into the shop, with problems using her pinky finger. Remembering the fate that met the first client with this problem, Watanuki and Domeki follow the client through her world of multiple boyfriends, attempting to help her. This episode also brings in one of my favorite things from the manga, the pipe fox (who is utterly adorable, and an excellent addition to the gang).

Episode ten, “Lamplight”, follows the gang as they get together at Domeki’s temple to tell ghost stories. As with anything where Watanuki is involved, the spirits become restless and only Watanuki, with Domeki’s help, can keep them safe. This episode gets a little creepy, and therin lies its excellence.

In “Confession”, a spirit steals Domeki’s soul and Watanuki must retrieve it. This episode works as a playground for the tiny wonder that is Mokona (and yes, Tsubasa fans, there is a Mokona other than your Mokona. He’s black, he has more attitude, and I am personally bitter that little white Mokona are everywhere, when xxxHolic’s Mokona is virtually unknown).

The last episode, “Summer Shadow”, shows our gang going to the beach for a vacation from the summer heat (the heat works as a binding theme across all four episodes, though not as much as in the manga). Watanuki finds a ghost story even there, one that takes twist after twist. At turns funny and spooky both, “Summer Shadow” is a great episode.

The bonus features are the same here as they are in most all of Funimation’s releases – textless songs, some excellent trailers (included is a preview of the fourth xxxHolic collection), and an art gallery. One special feature that I’d like Funimation to take note of is their logo at the beginning of the DVD (and this is true of all their DVDs) – it’s way too loud. My downstairs neighbor would appreciate it if you guys would turn down the insane sound levels on your logo, please (especially given how much I watch your products).

One thing about xxxHolic that always surprises me is how it is almost a red headed stepchild to Tsubasa. The latter is a good series, but I’d rather watch xxxHolic any day, and this Third Collection is a good illustration as to why. Wholly enjoyable, xxxHolic is a show I highly recommend.

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