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.
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