Clamp Double Feature – Tsubasa the Movie — xxxHolic the Movie — anime — dvd movie reviews
In 2005 the Anime world saw something akin to America’s own Grindhouse double feature. The Clamp Double Feature was a “co-op” production of two back-to-back theatrical films from the works of all-girl doujinshi group turned superstar-manga-team, Clamp. These two flicks take place in vastly different worlds, each providing a substantial stand-alone entertainment, but feature enough interplay of narrative and thematic elements that the two films demand to be watched in conjunction more than once.
Now, before watching these two films I was not familiar with the Tsubasa or xxxHolic universes, save for the briefest mention of Tsubasa from a friend who works at GaiaOnline (Yah, little plug for him.). However, I realize that most of you reading this review are probably well versed in the subjects. To make this intro short, those of you who are like me will want to take a quick look a the Tsubasa and xxxHolic wiki pages before proceeding with the review. Unlike the previously reviewed One Piece The Movie 8, these two films do allow complete newbies to pick up and enjoy them, but at least by reading those pages you’ll have a basic idea of the characters involved.
On to the films.
Tsubasa the Movie: Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom sees the Tsubasa team on a mission to rescue a princess from an evil magician. You see, the princess of this tale rules over a large birdcage shaped kingdom, a design intended toward protecting its inhabitants, but which becomes an inescapable cage once an evildoer takes control. Stealing her voice and imprisoning her in darkness, the evil magician attempts to set in motion a full takeover of her world, itself a task contingent on the awakening of a giant dodo-bird and the princess’s surrender of a magical ring. Thankfully, the Tsubasa kids are on the job, equipped with a magical key that can hopefully help free the princess and restore the light to her troubled kingdom.
xxxHolic the Movie: A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the other hand sees Yoko and crew tasked with returning a woman to her rightful home. At the story’s outset, it appears the home, a vast and labyrinthine mansion, has completely shut out its owner, while inexplicably remaining open and playing host to a number of elite collectors. Upon the Holics’ arrival at the mansion, the collectors inform them that they were invited to the house under 
the pretense of participating in an ultra exclusive auction, itself offering the possibility to complete their respective collections. But when the collectors start to disappear one by one, amidst an ever shifting and reconfiguring series of rooms, the Holics realize there’s far more to the mansion than meets the eye…and quite a good chance they might not make it out alive.
Both the Tsubasa and xxxHolic movies focus on messages of environmental responsibility and personal positivity, restoring order and light to corrupted landscapes, as well as restoring optimism and goodwill in the hearts of oppressed or self-obsessed peoples. The way each film chooses to go about exploring these issues is wildly different, though both paths prove equally effective. Tsubasa, being the shorter of the two films (clocking in at about 35 minutes long), is a little more blatant in its take, while xxxHolic takes time to analyze some of the corruptive factors in depth (ie: the soul-rot of the collectors). These films being as short as they are, I’ll leave it to the viewer to touch on these issues further.
In terms of pacing, Tsubasa the Movie spends its time focusing primarily on 
altercations and adventure (even incorporating a Hobbit-style barrel ride), while xxxHolic focuses more on creating a creepy atmosphere, through exploration of the mysterious house and brief brushes with spirits, before launching into a completely bombastic end battle. Of the two, I found Tsubasa to be a little more entertaining in its entirety, while xxxHolic wore on the nerves in places, due to its tendency to indulge in lame freak-out humor involving Watanuki. Still, xxxHolic’s story proves satisfying, and despite the off-putting humor, manages to deliver some quality thrills.
In terms of animation styles, the two films form a complimentary pair. Both feature rather a cast of smoothly-animated, extremely lanky characters. Tsubasa’s world is heavy on plant-life, so its cast is dropped on backdrops heavy on lush greens, blues, and assorted earth tones. xxxHolic, taking place primarily in the mansion, so the players are contrasted against a slew of busy wallpapers and grid heavy decors. Tsubasa’s animation seems a slight bit more expensive, incorporating loads of impressively smooth, hand-drawn disintegrations and transformations, while xxxHolic seemed happy to deliver crudely stuttering music-video fare as 
often as smooth, polished niceties.
As a whole, these two films go together surprisingly well. I watched the films in the order of the packaging (Tsubasa and then xxxHolic), which seemed to lend a pleasant circuitousness to the whole affair. After completing xxxHolic, whose ending brings you back around to the start of Tsubasa, I was tempted to go back and watch the first film again. And, once I’m done with my review pile, I plan on doing exactly that.
The DVDs
Funimation’s Clamp Double Feature presents both films in their original 1.85:1 aspect ratios, with your option of original Japanese or English dub tracks. Again, the quality of the video and the voice acting on both Japanese and English tracks are surprisingly 
good, as per the usual Funimation offering.
The DVD package for Clamp Double Feature proudly boasts “Over 2 hours of bonus features,” and given the sheer number of extras, that claim seems completely legitimate.
On the Tsubasa disc you’ll find a number of extras, including footage from the 2005 Premier in Ikubukuro, footage from a movie event in Shibuya, recording session footage, commentary by the Japanese voice cast, additional movie event coverage, galleries of production art and background slides, the usual Funimation trailer gallery, and an extra providing background into the world of the Birdcage Kingdom. The xxxHolic disc holds similar extras, in the forms of event coverage footage (opening day at Shibuya’s 
Cinema Milano), recording session footage, Japanese cast commentary tracks, and galleries of background plates and character designs. Also included are theatrical trailers for the double feature and another Funimation trailer gallery. Admittedly, some of these are the usual press conference fluff, but at least they provide a view into the hype surrounding the films.
All in all, this was a cool set. The two movies are of a good quality and their interleaving plots will afford multiple viewings for most anime fans. If you’re at all curious, I’d say this one’s worth a pick up.
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