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Hero

The hero is Watanuki. In the beginning of the story, Watanuki wanted to get rid of his ability to see spirits, but he eventually forsook his wish because only by retaining that particular power that he would be able to help his friends. (Even though in the end, he would become powerful enough to control his ability--at any given time, he could choose whether to see spirits or not.)

Plot Summary

Kimihiro Watanuki was a high-school student plagued by evil spirits. One day, he stumbled into a mysterious shop, finding that the evil spirits couldn't enter. It's a shop that granted people's wishes, claimed its proprietress, Yuuko Ichihara. Anything could be granted, with an equal price. Yuuko offered to take away Watanuki's power if he agreed to work for her until his service was rendered enough. It was later revealed that he was burdened with guilt because his parents died protecting him, and it was this guilt that the evil spirits found appealing and that made him unconsciously try to erase his existence. However, through his job, Watanuki got to meet many people--humans and non-humans--and that changed him as a person. He no longer felt that his existence was worthless and that there would be people who felt sad if he were to die. After Yuuko vanished suddenly, Watanuki decided to take Yuuko's place as the proprietor, waiting in the shop until the day when he would meet Yuuko once again. But in order to do that, Watanuki would need to keep his ability to see spirits, throwing away his long-held wish.

Main Characters

Kimihiro Watanuki: A short-tempered boy who works in the shop as housekeeper/cook/maidservant/errand-boy, wishing that one day he will cease to see spirits and other supernatural beings.

Yuuko Ichihara: A beautiful woman who spends her days lolling on the couch, chain-smoking and binge-drinking (and then nursing a hangover). Despite her carefree appeareance, Yuuko is a very powerful witch.

Shizuka Doumeki: Watanuki's schoolmate and "rival" (according to Watanuki; the sentiment is not reciprocated). Watanuki can't stand him, but whenever he's with Doumeki, evil spiris never bother him. Even though Doumeki can't see spirits, it seems that he has some sort of supernatural power.

Himawari Kunogi: Watanuki's classmate and love interest. Behind her kindness and friendly demeanor, she hides a painful secret.

Marudashi (Maru) and Morodashi (Moro): Twin girls who help around the house. They're not really humans, but magical being created by Yuuko's power.

Departure

Call to Adventure

Watanuki accidentally entered a mysterious building, where he was greeted by two little girls, Marudashi and Morodashi.

Refusal of the Call

Watanuki refused Yuuko the witch's offer.

Supernatural Aid

Yuuko insisted that she gave what Watanuki wanted, claiming that the place was a magical shop that granted people's wishes. Yuuko and her shop served as supernatural aid in this story.

Crossing of the First Threshold

Watanuki relented (grumblingly) and started working part-time at the shop.

Belly of the Whale

Because of his job in Yuuko's shop, Watanuki became more familiar with the supernatural world and its inhabitants.

Initiation

Road of Trials

Several trials that Watanuki faced along his journey: 1) Saving a vestal spirit from her captor; 2) Exorcism of a spirit that haunted a school, attracted by the negative aura left by students; 3) Being chased by a bunch of angry crow-demons; 4) Releasing the ghost of murder victim from her grave under a hydrangea bush.

Meeting with the Goddess

Watanuki had a crush on (and later fell in love with) his classmate, Himawari Kunogi.

Woman as Temptress

Watanuki found out that Himawari was born with a curse--anyone who came close to her would have bad luck befall them. (It was implied that Watanuki was attracted to Himawari precisely because of this curse. Still, he couldn't stop loving her even after knowing the fact.)

Atonement with the Father

Yuuko told Watanuki that she had died long before he was born and that she had been living on borrowed time (because when she died, her friend--who was a powerful wizard--wished that she would stay alive; as a result, time stopped in the place where she lived in). Shocked, Watanuki refused to acknowledge this.

Apotheosis

After Yuuko disappeared, Watanuki decided to take her place as the shop's proprietor. However, he would have to retain the ability to see spirits and wouldn't be able to leave the shop. He didn't want something that she built (the shop, Marudashi and Morodashi) disappear, and moreover, he hoped that by cherishing the shop he would be able to meet her again one day.

Ultimate Boon

Years after he took over the shop, Watanuki had become strong enough to control his power and to leave the shop if he wanted to.

Return

Refusal of the Return

It's been more than a hundred years since Watanuki took over the shop. He still didn't want to leave the shop even though he could, because he wanted to keep on waiting for Yuuko.

Magic Flight / Rescue from Without

If Watanuki ever wanted to leave, the person who kept the egg would use it. (It's not really clear what the purpose of the egg is and how breaking it would fulfill Watanuki's wish.)

Crossing of the Return Threshold, Master of Two Worlds, Freedom to Live

Since xxxHOLiC has open ending, the three final stages of Return are not elaborated.

Final Thoughts

xxxHOLiC follows Joseph Campbell's Hero Quest pretty closely (Departure - Initiation - first stage of Return), but for some reason, I'm more confused now that I've analyzed the story with Monomyth than I was before. (I blame the author for making such a convoluted story :) )

Because in the end Watanuki had sufficient power to sustain the shop without having to constantly stay at the premises, one could say that he had become master of two worlds (the natural and supernatural worlds). And who knows, maybe one day he would really cross the return threshold by stepping outside of the shop. But mastery leads to "freedom to live in the moment, without worrying about the past or the future," while Watanuki, on the contrary, chose to give up this freedom. In the end, he neither lived in the past, the present, nor the future, but in limbo. His past had long passed, the moment he decided to take over the shop. His present is spent waiting for a future where he will meet Yuuko again; but this act of waiting became in vain when he realized that it's impossible for him to meet Yuuko again, since she had died.

His future, in consequence, is unattainable. (It's kind of remind me of Albert Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus": "I'll keep on pushing the rock up the mountain even though it will eventually roll down again" = "I'll keep on living with zeal even though life is pointless and meaningless" = "I'll keep on waiting for Yuuko even though it's impossible to meet her again")

So maybe what I'm trying to say is that Joseph Campbell's Monomyth is useful, but only so much; and that there are stories that don't (closely) follow the pattern of the Journey of the Hero.

Several other stories that I can think of that contain elements of the Monomyth are The Lord of the Rings, Journey to the West and Empire of the Sun (I haven't read the book, but I have watched the movie).