X

This series highlights some of the wonderful reasons why you shouldn't make an anime for a manga that isn't finished.

STORY - Honestly, X has a pretty decent story, even if most of its themes are far from original. It is, essentially, another battle between humanity and the planet they live on, of man against nature. This conflict has been addressed over and over again throughout history in century-old novels and vintage films, in addition to a wide splattering of anime and manga. Mostly-unexplained supernatural powers and angel/demon parallels, both rather characteristic of CLAMP, aren't very new either, and really, even combining the two doesn't add ... a particularly intriguing angle. Nevertheless, X's story is solid. It has everything a story needs: a clear theme, a clear point, a clear hurdle, and a clear goal. And actually, the final, deepest concept may even be controversial enough to be original. So what then, went so horribly wrong?

My main issue was pacing and bad storytelling in general. Despite having tons more time to deal with themes, issues, and characters compared to the disastrous X OAV, the anime still doesn't seem able to utilize this time effectively. The first few episodes are heavy and fast-paced, tossing the audience into the crazy complex details of the conflict with little preamble. Then it cools noticeably and a lot of the macabre and shock is diminished. You kind of wonder what all the hubbub was about. The entire middle of the series seems to slow to a snail's pace. There are frustratingly long scenes depicting nothing more than a man walking down a path. We really don't need to watch Subaru walking in silence for five straight minutes and passing the same shrine multiple times. At least the Lucky Star girls were talking about something for five minutes.

Those slow episodes were attempts to delve into the individual backstories of our fourteen plus relevant characters (seven Dragons of Heaven, seven Dragons of Earth, plus supporting roles), but they fail to give much attention to these characters' connections to the overall plot and theme, making them pretty useless in the grand scheme of things, especially since many of these personal struggles are never resolved. The story used to be clear and have a point, but after trudging through a half dozen of these character-centric episodes, you stop caring. Oh, right, we were concerned about the fate of the earth right? Morals and stuff, what about that again? The last few episodes are forced to pick up speed again, but it happens in that disorganized and rushed way where nothing really makes sense; they explain very little, and the ending leaves you more confused than anything else. And being a non-canonical ending doesn't help either. Personally, I prefer the X OAV's ending, even if the rest of it sucked. Clearly, the anime isn't much better.

CHARACTER - I never did like Kamui much, even in the manga. Like many other things in the series, his backstory seemed uninspired and recycled to me. Typical cute childhood. Typical teenage sobstory. He is oversensitive, and all attempts to shape and transform his character never seem to go very far. The ruthless demeanor he tries to put on for the first few episodes doesn't last long, and he ends up seeming pretentious rather than complex. I just found him incredibly hard to sympathize with, which is never a good thing. Fuma further seemed like a cheap shot at tragedy, and after a while, he was nothing more than yaoibait. Kotori? How many other "girl from my childhood who I'm in love with"-type characters have you seen? Typical shoujo.

The rest of the cast is a little more forgiving, if still despairingly typical. Of the Dragons of Heaven, Arashi fills in the role as priestess girl. Sorata is the endearing comedic. Karen is your religious character; Seichirou, your nice guy. Nekoi filled the cute school girl role, and Subaru was crossover material because CLAMP loves crossovers. Of the Dragons of Earth, Seishirou is also crossover filler, Yuto was amusing, and Satsuki reminded me of Lain. Nataku did not interest me at all -- a clone just seemed unnecessary, but it was yet another archetype. Kusanagi, another nice guy, and Kakyo... eh. I'm indifferent. Hinoto and Kanoe are more of the same. All of these characters, more than anything else, seem to represent dozens of anime and manga archetypes, which limited my general interest in them. Their personal stories were intriguing at times, but were never explored to the depths that they were in the manga, and it was difficult to become attached. They were okay: not good, not bad.

As morals play a huge role in the series, each characters' personal views and beliefs are the most interesting part of them. Those whose views come to shift and change, those who grow to question things, and those who have complicated relationships with others are the ones that are fun to watch. Nekoi's relationship with Kusanagi. Subaru's relationship with Seishirou. Kamui's with Fuma. Seichirou's with Karen. All the crossing of relationships over enemy lines was fun -- like one giant, strange concoction of Romeo and Juliet-esque drama! Including all the sudden love! Sadly, while a few of the characters do manage to develop a little (read: Kamui), most don't. They just don't have enough time between when they're introduced, when their backstory is explained, and the end of the series. Abbreviated depth when translating characters from manga to anime is nothing new though, sadly.

ART & ANIMATION - It seems to me that there are a lot of series weak in story and character, but strong in the technical aspects. X is beautiful. One day, I'll figure out why CLAMP's style of noodley bishounen and wide-shouldered biseinen is just so damn appealing. All the characters have wonderful and memorable designs, many of which highlight their clear personalities. Kanoe and Karen are both confident women. Kakyo and Hinoto are fragile and delicate. There's a very clear connection between a character's visuals and his or her substance. Backgrounds are impressively detailed, and I'm always enthralled by animated cityscapes. Rooftops and bridges all looked great, as did all the explosions and magic, all of the blood and macabre. For an anime series, X is definitely full of eyecandy.

MUSIC - I. Love. X's soundtrack. It's what I like most about the entire series, hands down. All of the music in the series is beautiful and distinct, especially the leitmotif. There are beautiful piano themes and much wilder, energetic battle themes, including a few very chaotic mixes charged on adrenaline. A lot of the sounds are reminiscent of more traditional Japanese music as well, giving a unique sound. There are also a few tracks that remind me of Native American and perhaps even African tones, adding even more to the blend. Seriously, X's music is worth listening to even if you don't see the series. The opening and end themes are both relevant to X's themes and echo the kinds of sounds that present in the soundtrack. Good, good music all around.

VOICE ACTING - The change of cast between the anime and the OAV was disappointing in general, but the worst of it was trading Tomokazu Seki for Kenichi Suzumura as Kamui's voice. It wasn't so much that Suzumura did a bad job though, so if you haven't seen the OAV (don't), then it probably doesn't matter very much because there's no benchmark. As most of the characters fitted nicely to archetypes, most of the cast just seemed to give a generic voice. Tough guy sounded tough; cute girl sounded cute. Nothing special. Nothing to critique. Nothing to praise. I haven't seen the dub for X, but I don't imagine that it'd be much different.

OVERALL - In general, I dislike the idea of trying to make an anime out of a manga that hasn't finished, but it is possible to do so without failing utterly. Fullmetal Alchemist is probably the best example, at least up until the last few episodes. So the fact is that X could have been handled much better. Trying to explore more than fourteen characters in twenty-four episodes while still orchestrating a main plot is hard. Instead of that, I think it would have been better to compress some of the smaller storylines or to get rid of them altogether, especially the ones that never got close to any sort of resolution. The main story was about morals, priorities, and the fate of humanity and earth. They never seem to explain that very well though, and things got confusing as a result. I, personally, didn't like the ending, but I think that's more because it was poorly executed than because it was actually a bad conclusion.

X was a pretty interesting series, which had pretty much all of the ingredients needed to make a classic, yet at the same time the ingredients sometimes don't seem to mix properly, making it miss just that last little edge.

Still, it has become one of my favorites, because it has exactly those things that appeal to me in an anime show: a good storyline with enough twists and changes, excellent animation, a great soundtracks and amusing and diverse characters.

Of course the series has CLAMP all over it, which shows mainly in the characyer design and story, both of which are on par of the average ... CLAMP series, meaning they're good. The animation in action sequences is fast-paced and intense, and the soundtrack accompanies each scene well, drawing you in even further.

As I stated in the beginning of this review, the plot is decent and there are enough twists and turns in the plotline, with the most important one taking place halfway through the series; I usually see these things coming, and while all the clues were there, spread out very obviously, I was still surprised.
What follows after that is a dive into the various main characters backgrounds and pasts (heroes and villains alike), and while that could've been drawn out a little more, it adds a bit extra..though not much.

The ending is... a bit less intense that I personally would've hoped for, but it still fits the series; still, it's a non-canon ending, and I wonder how the actual series will end now...

A nice series to watch; if you like action with a touch of fantasy in a modern setting, then X is a nice show for you to watch.

X is a very mystyrious and drama-heavy anime, coupled with nice action scense's.

The Story focus on the first episodes on Kamui who wants to get a sword that belongs to him, passed down from his mother, but gets drawn into a fight of the destiny of the earth. With him as the key to it apperently.
When put like this it doesn't sound like much but add to that some very interesting twist and turns that can glue you to the screen and you get something that you want to see the end of no matter what.

The art is done very well, with nice ... backgrounds that don't draw to much attention away form what is actually happening and very nice details which together make this anime very nice to look at

the music in my opinion is chossen very well in the dramatic moments, but the fight music is at best anticlimatic and sounds like your playing some videogame sometimes, but only when you have a fight that hasn't some kind of drama in it. again drama-moments are very well done in this one.

The characters are split in two categories: in one can we put the to main chara's... with development, emotions and all that portrait so realitic and believable that it can overshadow the, rather poor, suppourtcharaters that the authors were trying desperatly to give some dept but faild half way through.

All in all the anime is really worth it to at least watch once in your life, even if you aren't a fan of emotinal animes and such.

After the first few episodes I didn't like this anime. I thought the main character, Kamui, was too mean and selfish. I started to watch the show because I am a fan of shounen ai and someone had recommecomnded it on that basis, but I hadn't seen any hints of shounen ai 3 episodes in. I was about to give up on the show, but something convinced me to keep watching. Damn am I glad I did!!

This is one of the BEST animes I have ever seen. It's hard to explain without spoilers, but I'll try. First, the fact ... that I found Kamui to be too mean at first wasn't a sign of bad writing -- it turned out to be a sign of excellent writing! He has a really interesting character arc, and when you finally find out why he acts the way he does, it makes sense. He has been through a lot, and that's all I will say.

For me, the hidden star of this entire series is Sorata. One of the BEST CHARACTERS IN ANY STORY I"VE EVER SEEN! Sorry for the all caps, but Sorata deserves it! He is a CLASSIC character, in ANY genre. He is the very first character you see, literally. In many ways, I think he is the real hero of X.

The soundtrack at first caught me as dated and cheesy, but it somehow crept up on me and now I can't stop humming it lol : ) Really old school music, but very emotional music that ends up becoming part of the awesomeness of the show!

This show has excellent writing. I never once saw where things were going, and everything had a really solid feel to it. Very human all the way through!

I hate it when a movie or a show just becomes seeing which order all the characters die in. I always think that's lame and means the writer didn't have any real story to tell. I *thought* they started going that way with this series but again, they fooled me. The way the war plays out is extremely creative. When a character does die it has strong impact and meaning. I literally cried over a death in the second to last episode and I think I've only cried over 4 movies / tv shows ever.

This series was truly amazing! Even if you are not into shonen ai, even the straight relationships in this show had a sweetness that I thought was really cool. But X did turn out to very subtly have some of the best shounen ai I've ever seen! It's so subtle as to be almost subtextual but it's definitely there and really moving. Really cool emotions throughout most of the series, especially involving Kamui, Fuma, Subaru, and (embarassed to say I forget Subaru's friend's name).

The ONE thing that I wish was different -- I wish the character who turns out to be the main Dragon of Earth was a Dragon of Heaven instead. I didn't like how they chose their side.

Otherwise, one of the best ever!

Ah, X. It's definitely one of those 90's anime classics that deserves more credit now than it deserves. This series was another complete impulse buy by me. I had heard that it was rather enjoyable, and after reading the description of the plot on the back of the Box Set that I saw, I was at least mildly interested. It seemed to focus heavily on the fantasy genre, which I greatly enjoy if the show is paced well enough.

Anyways, let's venture on over to my take on the story. In the beginning, much is not explained. The viewers ... are introduced to Kamui Shiro, a young high school teenager who has supposedly 'returned' to Tokyo after six years in order to take a legendary sword from a shrine, and disappear from Tokyo. His reasons are unclear, but apparently two siblings who were his good friends when he was younger and lived in Tokyo take an interest in him (as they haven't seen him in a long time.) Kamui tries to push them away from his life, believing that they should not get involved with him. Angsty selfless main character? Check! Anyways, basically a larger plot involving the end of the world with the 'Dragons of Heaven' pitted against the 'Dragons of Earth' is revealed, and the plot thickens moreso. I found the story to be refreshing, and CLAMP's vision of a ruined world was believeable and well-put. The ending left a few side problems unsolved, so I will give the story a 9/10.

The artwork was based on CLAMP's designs, as they made the original (and for some reason unfinished) manga. Now CLAMP always does nice jobs on their art, but I found this anime to have somewhat bland-looking characters. There was very little color involved and a lot of characters (especially the men) looked similar. Now despite this, I believe that the animation itself was very well done for its time. Thus, art gets a 7/10 from me.

Onto the sound from the anime! Personally I decided to randomly watch this in its English dub, and found the dub to be fitting and very well done. I did check out a bit of the sub and I will admit that I found Suzumura's Kamui to be a bit more emotional than Steve Cannon's Kamui (which would be a good thing. I think Cannon needed to really grasp the character's situation more at Kamui's most emotional times.) So overall the voice acting was superb.
The music was composed by Naoki Sato, and with that beign said I originally had high expectations for its soundtrack (as I am a fan of Sato's work.) Luckily for me, the soundtrack did not disappoint in the slightest! In fact, I would label it as one of the greatest anime soundtracks in existence. My only gripe would be how often its theme ('Destiny') played in the most unfitting of times. It is a piece designed for an epic sequence, and though many epic sequences were utilised with it, they also used it for smaller and less important scenes. This threw me off a little bit. Regardless, sound gets a 10/10 from me.

The characters in X are nearly all loveable: even the villain(s). Many characters grow on you as you watch, as well. There were some I didn't love, but when they're CLAMP-esque pasts were revealed, it was hard to dislike any of them. Character gets a 10/10 from me.

Overall, I enjoyed this anime thoroughly. I liked it so much that I decided to start reading the manga (for comparison and out of sheer intrigue.) X had really great pacing and had my attention nearly the entire time (give or take about three episodes in the middle.) Enjoyment recieves a 9/10 from me, and overall a 9/10.

If you enjoy fantasy, undecided futures, epic music and the option of the end of the world, I suggest you look into this!

X is a frustrating experience. Kawajiri directed some of the most stylish anime features of the 90s, but X is proof that a good director can't save a poorly written story. For a story about an imminent apocalypse, there is a complete lack of momentum or tension. The 14 major characters mope around having lengthy flashbacks to their tedious backstories. Plot points are stated bluntly in dialogue ad nauseum (eg. when "Kamui's dark shadow" is identified, we are told, in those exact words, five times in the same episode). Entire scenes are repeated over and over. When the plot ... does advance a little, it is telegraphed multiple times with a prophecy (even for something as mundane as a sword being stolen), and then the event just abruptly happens without any logical reason... because destiny. Destiny is a dangerous concept to build a story around because it can become a crutch for lazy plotting, and in X it certainly does. Watching this show wasn't just boring, it actively annoyed me.

Around 2007, I watched a few episodes of this show before circumstances pulled me away from it. I always meant to watch it, but it faded from memory until recently when I had an urge to watch something older. Much of what I felt from that brief glimpse back then, is the same as my full gaze right now. Despite how unbelievable some parts of the story are, I still knew I was watching something a little special.

X is mostly Kamui Shirou’s story, faced with the decision to become a Dragon of Heaven or Dragon of Earth. Should he become a Dragon of Heaven, one ... of the Seven Seals, he will fight to protect Earth. Should he become a Dragon of Earth, one of the Seven Angels, he will fight to destroy the world. With the exception of one character, nothing is forcing anyone to fight. There are few dramatic turns pitting them against each other in twists of fate, and the Seven Angels have no reason in and of themselves to destroy the world. They fight simply because it is their Destiny to do so.

I would’ve preferred more nuance with the premise, but the show takes itself seriously enough to where it’s usually a non-issue. It does this partly with a soundtrack that can be ironically playful in its disposition, playing to the ‘Encounter’ between an Angel and Seal as dutifully opposed but with no reason to despise each other. In other moments, a ‘Hyper Battle’ shoots off a fearful feeling for a formidable foe. But perhaps THE theme of themes for X is ‘Destiny.’ It always delivers a rare confluence of despair and hope, and especially captures the essence of friends on opposing sides.

As perfectly as the music lends itself to the show, the cast it stands for varies considerably. For all the time we see the outgoing Sorata and the aloof Arashi together, it’s only near the end when Arashi suddenly drops the cold shoulder for a warm smile. Then there’s the breezy Seichiro and the jaded Karen, who are beautifully realized characters despite so little screentime. Then there are guys like Kusanagi and Nataku who are mostly ‘just there,’ while Yuzuriha is reasonably well-written on her own but crumbles into someone annoying around most other characters.

But there’s almost a sense that few of them matter compared to Kamui, which gets into one of the biggest problems of X: Kamui himself. Kamui, and his ‘counterpart’ by extension, often display tremendous feats of power, such as both scrapes against the facetious Seishirou, that makes me wonder just why exactly they need six other Dragons on their team. On the other hand, Kamui’s gradual loss of attitude for amiability, the extent of his motives, and his ultimate choice are handled spectacularly. He is a believably flawed character, bringing intrigue to one who can so easily be boring.

Unfortunately, boring is a good way to describe quite a number of X’s episodes. In fairness, over half its episodes solidly realize its cast. Not all of them are developed before a certain point, and some sagas wouldn’t fit anywhere else (the easygoing Yuuto comes to mind). But when the show is mostly building its setting or story, it drags. Not slow, but drags. For every new revelation or plot point the show introduces, the episode around it is essentially coming up with different ways of saying ‘the end of the world is approaching,’ and ‘you must choose.’ It’s repetitive padding in the worst way possible.

Despite some of the negativity I’ve lashed out with, though, I do think that when X is good, it’s fantastic. It’s lackluster narrative is bolstered to emotional crescendos by not only a well-orchestrated soundtrack, but highly vibrant visuals. Studio Madhouse demonstrates artistic work that makes colors that shouldn’t pop out, pop out to great effect. The use of cutaways and jump cuts during many fight scenes can prove distracting, but a number of battles also show the full brunt of every impact to brutal effect. X’s aesthetics have kept their splendor as they’ve aged gracefully.

It’s those aesthetics, especially the music, that have made X stand out in my mind before I recently watched it in full. But what makes it a little special for me isn’t its presentation or writing, but how they work together for raw emotional impact despite its problems; despite some characters; despite its pacing. It’s not everyone’s destiny to feel what I feel for X, but then again, neither me nor the story’s prophets can fully see the future.

Brilliant. I felt it was very well captured and all timed out very nicely. The story consists of tragedy, betrayal, belief and one's rights.

The art is beautiful, a real trademark of CLAMP's artwork.

Characters are great too, as none of them seemed to lack personality and held real emotion within the story.

I suggest reading Toyko Babylon (the prequel) to understand a few character's situations before watching this. I didn't, because I didn't know until afterwards. :p

Probably my favourite, if not one of my favourite series'.

X-tv was a good series, but in my opinion 24 episode is much too long because the concept of the story was simple and based on the ultimate battle of humanity (man against nature) That's why 13 episode would be just fine.

The characters were pretty strange and their relationships were even stranger, I don't know if this anime contained some shonen-ai scenes but I've this feeling that there were some gay relationships within this animes.

The art design was awesome, come to think of; it old series have better art design than those who are new

I did enjoy watching this series althought I don't think ... that I will watch it again.

X is one of the few anime that excels on all fronts. The music is powerful and adds a lot to the emotion of the series. The art is typical CLAMP, beautiful, and most of the men are incredibly skinny with broad shoulders and black hair =)

The story is complex, but unfolds very well. At the end, I wasn't wondering what the hell was going on, like in some anime. There are subtleties of course, but making you think is a quality I admire in stories. The morals seem to be whether or not the future is decided, or if it can be changed. ... Also, just the aspect of how ones death affects others, and how they can be kept alive in the hearts of the people who care about them.
The story also had lots of action and magic, which was all beautifully done.
It is mostly serious, and can be quite sad, but also has a few lighthearted moments too.

Each character is developed very well, and are quite diverse. We see where they came from, and how they came into their powers, and where they end up. They each have their own dynamic, and their own magic power. They each also control a barrier, which is reflective of themselves. They are all enjoyable, they all have their strengths and doubts.

All in all, X is a masterpiece. Once I started watching, I couldn't stop. I have watched the series twice, and both times I finished it in two days. It's one of the most captivating anime I have seen.

The end has come, the fate of the world lies in the heart of one boy whose name carries the power of God. Should he decide the world is corrupt he will become the destroyer incarnate, but should he see the goodness in man he will be its last hope.

The premise for X1999 is nothing short of BIG, over the course of the series we see heroes, villans and influential characters grow and take on lives of their own as backgrounds and motivations are unveiled. For the first time we see that the 'baddies' are just as purposeful and likeable as our 'heroes' and when ... some of them explain why the world should end you really believe them. The first time the two sides clash it is in a brief encounter that is more banter than battle, and the two appear to really be enjoying themselves despite the weight that rests on their shoulders.

Those of you who remember Tokyo Babylon will be shocked to see that Subaru, the happy hero of the piece, is now an pessimistic adult who needs convincing before he helps them. His coat and chain-smoking appearance is truly unsettling in comparision the the happy figure of that prelude series.

I won't spoil the plot for you, far from it - I want you to watch this series and enjoy it as much as I have. Never has there been a series so truly EPIC and envolving and you need to experience it for yourself.

Animation is typical of CLAMP style, with focus upon beautiful eyes and lythe figures. Layers of shadow and a brad palette certainly give the series that 'expensive' feel and make a visual impression. Explosions of magic and light serve to highlight the darkness of some scenes, and the strength of the style allows for interesting imagery of feathers and cogs, showing the inevitability of fate.

An orchestral score reminiscent of O'Fortuna certainly adds additional weight to the scale of events, and the finale is astounding.

I watched the whole series (all of it!) in one sitting. Not because I had the time, but because I simply couldn't stop watching. From animation to story to sound, this is an experience that is flawless. Please, please go and seek it out because nothing will prepaire you for the depth of emotion awaiting you.

X is an anime about the two best friends destined to become a rival. Kamui to be the Dragon of the Earth w/ the seven seals and Fuuma the Dragon of the Heaven with a Seven angels. They will be the one to decide what the future would be.
The first time I read the summary of this anime, I felt a bit curious but then it turns out that it's quite boring. I just expecting that it has lots of actions. I don't like the characters, the way the story goes though I like the music. Most of all I'm really disappointed ... w / the ending. I could say after watching it "Is that all??!!!" Anyway it's up to you if you like it or not but then I wouldn't waste my time again watching anime like this.

This series is the kind of anime that have anything to be great but for some reason at the end was a mess and kind of boring.

I Watched X just because it’s from clamp and since I´d enjoy Card Captor Sakura and also Magic knight Rayearth then give it a try… I have mixed emotions with this one, half of the series feel the hype the rest was so boring that only complete it because invest so much time on it to drop it and also because I was curious about the Big finale.

Story ( 5/10) : Plot is not bad, in fact ... is simply yet appealing, we have the good guys, the bad guys, the “destiny” , the vision and the magic, but then we have the “big finale” which was a mess. Don’t know exactly when the series get monotonous and all was about repeating the same thing all over again (yeah we got it the first 20 times) and abuse of Flashbacks, no please!! Without the flashback we can reduce the series at least 5 episodes . Pacing was too slow sometimes, some other too fast, in resume was a mess.

Art (10/10): its CLAMP , so please be amused by bishoujo and bishonen characters, cute backgrounds, cute feathers everywhere, some sakura petals in other, the Tokyo tower and all kind of cute sceneries.

Sound (8/10) music was not bad neither good, just okey, voice actors was okey as well, maybe get a bit annoy by hinoto hime voice, but the rest was simple nice, they match the characters looks.

Characters (8/10) some were really interesting, the rest was the typical predictable type of characters, like having a list “do we have the super shy and cute girl? no we don’t… please add it” , do we have an overdramatic lady ? uhmm yes we do… so cliché. Also there is a problem with the main characters actions/emotions but I don’t want to spoil anything… some emotions seems rush but I guess it’s more like a plot issue.

Enjoyment (5/10) like I said, the series have everything to be great but it did not, finale was a complete mess that lead you with more questions than answers, really want to drop the anime several times, but once again spend so much time to do that. Sometimes I feel that the Destiny part was more like a lazy writing problem than anything else, for example some actions made by the lead was so unjustified but won’t give spoilers, just to bring more over the top drama that was not necessary at all.

Overall = 6 since finale was so wtf that I won’t forget this anime in a long time but for the wrong reasons, maybe is because I was expecting so much more and that’s why I get disappointed and frustrated.

This is my overall favorite anime. This was the first manga I ever read and my all time favorite. The choice of what powers the characters have is just amazing. Its a great story over all. If you are a deep thinker about the major picture of earth, then I think you will love this amazing anime. There is no anime that could ever beat this one. Not that many people know of it but seriously once you see it you will never think of this earth the same again. Although it might depress you... Oh well either way its the best. So WATCH IT!!!! ... seriously its amazing.

For a long time I’ve had a special place in my heart for survival games and tournaments, a genre almost in and of itself that only anime can portray in all its glorious fashion. Much like horror slashers where half of the entertainment came from anticipating inventive kills, battle royales tend to tap into a part of my mind that’s fascinated by death and survival. Over time however, it’s clear that a lot of these shows don’t hold up that well. X is one of the few that do still hold up for me, mainly because of its epic execution.

When I say epic, I mean ... that it truly captures a classic and magical atmosphere, one that could be compared to classic fairy tales and legends. The fluid animation and design incorporates iconic imagery that gives the setting and characters all the more personality. I would not go as far as to say that there’s any deep symbolism beyond the obvious in X, but what is there certainly helps in giving some spectacular eye candy.

The soundtrack in particular deserves a lot of praise for practically stirring every emotion imaginable. Not a single episode will go by without orchestras letting pure passion explode in your ears at some point or another. Perhaps the bombastic melodies became a bit overused and too noticeable at times even, although for this particular experience I would argue it’s a plus. One can tell a lot of love was not only put into making the music, but also into perfectly timing the use of every track.

The story itself is rather simple, one group of characters are fighting for the preservation of mankind maintaining the status quo, while the other side is fighting to destroy the world in order to let it be reborn. At its core X asks if humanity is worth saving, and uses its characters to show different ideas on what makes fighting for the sake of our world worthwhile, or at other times seemingly futile. For a show with 24 episodes it is commendable how they managed to make so many of the characters memorable and interesting in their own ways. Some get just the right amount of screen time, while others may either get too little or too much depending on how much you enjoy their presence in the show.

Destiny is often brought up in the show, sometimes used to great effect in adding to the mystery and tension, other times it’s sadly used like a crutch by the writers. Two of the main characters in particular only act a certain way because fate wanted them to act that way, which in turn creates a disconnect and it becomes unclear what they're actually thinking and feeling, since they turn into mere plot-devices. Thankfully, the cast has no lack of other characters, where a number are bound to entertain.

Overall, I’d recommend X to those who love straight-forward action, with an added bonus of some very theatrical drama, and grandiose execution. And if the show doesn't sound like it's for you, do at least check out the awesome soundtrack.

X is a very unique anime having its setting in 1999 in the end of the world, I can't expect that X will that pretty that good, and oh my gosh, I love Kamui.... I love and X/1999 is my favorite anime...

I have mixed feelings about X, I enjoyed it to some degree but overall it was a bore and a disappointment. It does have some good things about it, like the story which is interesting and the opening eX DREAM which is great also the ending is great too except for the lack of animations. Also it has some memorable characters. Other than that it is a complete waist of time. The fights are nothing special in fact they are mediocre and half the time you'r waiting for something to actually happen with the story. The most exciting part of this anime is to just ... get it over with. The biggest disappointment is the ending, they basicly just cram it into episode 24 and the fight is only about 35 seconds long.I don't mean to hate on this series but it's true. This is the kind of anime that most people just watch to add into their anime list.

First things first. My "reviews" system is explained on a blog entry. Which can be found through my profile.
------

✦Story
Aside synopsis. I felt the story and development was actually quite well done and finalized. Most of things got answered, some mystery remained and as usual for clamp works. The story is dark, tragic and fairly grim.

Now to the issues. First things first it felt very theatrical, unnecessarily tragic and dark. And the whole fate premise makes somewhat world and life in general absolutely useless. If everything is set to stone on what is your fate and how your life will progress. Then whatever you think, do ... and so on, won't simply matter. Because it is your fate. Every thought of yours and so on is set by fate. So yeah, I find that idea a bit stupid.

Other than that, the amount of death and tragedy this series had just straightforwardly felt it being type of story that simply tells you "f you".

But as whole, it was fairly interesting, complete and odd story.

✦Art & Sound
Considering it's quite old Anime, I think the art and animation was damn good. A lot of combat and magic was absolutely stunning and the whole style to it felt quite unique. Although the design felt very boy's love type of a art.

Same for music, there were quite a lot of old-school feeling great soundtracks.

✦Character
Plenty of characters with interesting background stories and types. Although I didn't really like MC Kamui as much. Especially early on. Other than that, characters felt fairly nice, their relationships, bonds, development and such, were fairly nice. I didn't feel too impressed nor got too attached to any character, but as whole it was good enough.

✦Enjoyment & Overall
Not much to add. I did now and then fast-forward, because the contents of a lot of dialogues felt very stale and same. As mentioned before, I felt this Anime was unnecessarily tragic with concept of fate, that gives you image of life being pointless in general. Considering how everything of your life (thoughts, actions, meetings, death etc...) is laid by brick and brick.

But as overall. It was good, unique and odd Anime.

Not the finest directing, even though it had the basic ingredients to become a classic or landmark. I appreciate any work that focus on Japan (especially Tokyo) as a mythical center or axis.

The story is rooted in the eternal allegory of good vs. evil in a Japanese transcendental fashion, the Asuras and Devas rivalry, Black Brotherhood and White Brotherhood, etc, which is interesting to see how this specific part of the world would deal with or think about the subject matter, even if subconsciously or incompetently. There is an interesting knot in the narrative that made it richer and caught my attention the most, they're ... the Dreamseers, who are they and what do they want? Are they the ones causing the whole feud? It was also simply noble and humane in resolving the major conflicts and heights of the plot, and I'm reading this much into it because I'm comparing it with other essential examples of the same story from other sources and mediums. Poor and sketchy references to the qabalah and AI problem though, only the green barrier thing was on point.

I guess I'll be more satisfied "artistically" with the original manga, or even Tokyo Babylon.

I love clamp, but they are awful at completing a story. I watched this as a teen growing up I enjoyed the art style, animation, and the different personalities of every character. When I watched it I thought it would have an amazing ending which sadly it didn't I had to search to even find the ending for the manga. it is disappointing to love an anime, but find out that the studio didn't finish it or came up with a rushed ending. The story honestly isn't the best what saves this anime is the art style, characters, and the era it aired in. If ... this aired today it would have probably flopped. I would advise those interested in finishing the show to read the manga since it has a solid ending.