It hardly seems time for it to be over already, but Watanuki's strange trip with the wish-granting witch, Yuko, comes to an odd, sweet close with the end of season one.  Volume 6 successfully rounds out the delightful collection of slightly creepy, often funny, and sometimes poignant tales.  It's a shame to see the end of Watanuki and Yuko, but the final volume provides a fond farewell that leaves me wishing their story wasn't over yet.  With the production of season two in Japan, one can hope that it will eventually be licensed here for a little more wish-granting goodness.

Volume 6 opens with a doubtful Watanuki scoffing at people who believe in superstition.  Superstition is nothing more than old wives' tales, right?  There's no validity beyond perhaps a practical consideration, yes?  At least that's what he thinks until he gets smacked over the head with more adages than could possibly be healthy.  An odd little episode interesting for its peek into Watanuki's home life and funny for its strangeness, it takes a decidedly spooky turn.  Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to pay more attention to the content of old adages after all...

After twenty episodes of cryptic and not-so-cryptic warnings, one would think Watanuki would stop being so stubborn and listen to Yuko.  However, this go round, Yuko teaches him an important lesson regarding superstition, and means it quite literally when she tells him to, "Take care."  With his boss out of town on business, Watanuki gets some time off.  He meets a woman with whom he forms an immediate bond.  Both touched by the pain of loss, their mutual friendship deepens to the point that Watanuki is blinded to any potential danger the situation might pose.  Sometimes we only see what we want to see, and the comfort another provides far outweighs any risk to ourselves.  Sometimes we forget that we are not islands and that our lives and our decisions affect many others. 

A touching sidestory finishes up the volume, combining two of the smaller story arcs from the manga.  In a flashback, Watanuki remembers a particularly nasty haunting and the friend that made it bearable.  The sidestory provides a sort of second ending to the season.  Before the sidestory episode, the season ends with a somewhat strange scene that takes the story full circle.  It provides closure, but at the same time, is just odd and made me squirm uncomfortably.  There are times when that "fourth wall" just shouldn't come down.  The final ending, the last scene of the sidestory episode, however, draws the series to a sweet, poignant close that brings on a serious case of warm-fuzzies. 

This final volume is a strong ending for a particularly enjoyable series.  I'm probably a little biased, though, since volume 6 very nicely animates one of my favorite story arcs from the manga.  I waited all season for the storyline involving Watanuki and the mysterious woman, and wasn't disappointed by how it played out onscreen.  My own fangirling aside, volume 6 provides all the things that are to be expected from this series.  It's funny, entertaining, has beautiful artwork, is full of little philosophical tidbits, and is definitely worth owning.

Details: Runtime 100 minutes, contains episodes 21-24.  Extras include an image gallery, textless songs, and trailers.