Yūko Ichihara

Yūko Ichihara is a fictional character in the Clamp manga and anime, XxxHOLiC. Yūko is a tall, slender woman with pale skin and black hair down to the back of her knees. Her hair is cut in many layers having front bangs up to her eyebrows, then another layer, reaching up to her jaw, and a layer at her hips and a final one at her knees. Her eye color is usually red, sometimes purple or turquoise, so it is suggested that she changes eye color randomly. She always wears a kimono at home, prefers wearing more revealing outfits when out in public, but never never the same thing twice. When Yūko wears a kimono, she offsets it with suitable accessories. For example, if her kimono has a rose pattern with lace, she will wear a rose in her hair and a lace choker and bracelet. Also, when she has the time, Yūko will style her hair is a neat, yet creative, fashion adding an accessory such as colored pins or chopsticks. Like her clothes, Yūko has never been seen with the same hairstyle other than leaving her hair loose. On some occasions, the length of her hair is shorter than it looks. An example can be observed during the episode where the Twins are introduced, where her hair is tied up in a small bun seemingly impossible to hold all her hair. The eccentricity of this character confuses readers because her guidance of Watanuki grants him a state of spiritual and paranormal awareness of great importance. Some of her resolutions are meaningless at first, but eventually are revealed to be wise in relation to the plot. Many times she seeks to act as a spectator, but in most cases, her intervention yields results that govern the speed and dynamics of the plot. Her histrionics confuses Watanuki, but end up involving him in serious situations, in which Watanuki, is driven by it as part of it. She's fun and respectful of all beings, being these kind or not. According to the manga, good and bad are concepts that humans decide, and these do not apply to non-human. This kind of thinking occurs when, for example, she decides not to intervene to prevent someone from their mistakes or endangerment, .since "everything is a matter of fate" . Though she acts sarcastic, bossy, and annoying towards Watanuki, it's quite evident that she cares for him, as it was seen when she died; "My wish... is for you to continue existing." Sometimes she uses her lecherous side to disturb Watanuki (for her personal amusement). She also loves alcohol, which results in sending Watanuki to the drugstore every time she has a hangover. Towards close friends, Yūko shows a very different side of herself than when she is with a customer. With close friends like Oba-chan or Watanuki, she is kinder and more open. She shares more opinions and thoughts with them. Though she is close with her friends, she still keeps her more serious feelings to herself, not wanting to burden others with her problems. Readers see these hidden thoughts through monologues by Yūko when she is alone. Many of these hidden worries are never revealed to other characters (such as Watanuki), even after she dies. And although Yūko is sometimes open about her feelings towards others (telling Watanuki that she is happy that he is at the shop), readers can see that most of the time, her feelings go unsaid. The reason why Yūko hides her feelings from others is unknown, but it may be speculated that she doesn't want to become too attached, knowing that one day she will vanish. As the plot advances, she is seen behaving in an immature fashion in order to keep Watanuki from realizing the gravity of the situations around him. Yūko has many nicknames because she has never revealed her real name due to her spiritual belief that someone who knows the name of another person can control it.