loved the series to bits, brought it on dvd and have nt regretted it. to anyone who hasn't seen it, even if they
think the movie was pretty bad, i strongly recommend at least trying this out. and if you're a fantasy/apocolypse
fan, you'll love it no questions asked.
best thing about this series: probably the characters. heaps of them, all with their own background and power. awesome.
X tv Review
Kamui Shirou has returned to Tokyo after 6 years, following the wish of his mother, and ultimately, his fate. It is 1999, and Kamui, gifted with psionic powers, has been foretold to either save the world, or to destroy it. The Seven Seals (Dragons of Heaven) wish to save humanity, while the Seven Angels (Dragons of Earth) wish to destroy humanity in order to save the physical Earth and cleanse it. Kamui must choose a side, but unbeknownst to him, his twin star awaits to serve whichever side will become his rival.
The world can only watch the destruction after the choice is made as time draws nearer to the Promised Day... and perhaps the Apocalypse.
Story & Characters
'X'? What sort of anime has the name X? Is it hentai?
Yes, I realize my first reactions to this series were unfounded and a tad biased... just goes to show you that you
can't judge a book by its cover.
Now I've always been a fan of CLAMP's Rayearth OAV, so even after being disappointed by X/1999's movie, I decided to give the series a shot.
I wasn't disappointed.
X chronicles the rise (or fall) of Kamui, a young man whose choice of fate will ultimately reflect the destiny of Earth. Kamui is gifted with the equal potential of becoming God's instrument... or becoming God's enemy. It is unfortunate that Kamui's return to Tokyo unavoidably draws his two childhood friends into the conflict, and Kamui soon finds himself in a battle with the one person he cannot defeat...
The television series is a far cry from the X/1999 movie, which left me disappointed beyond words. Sure, the fights and action sequences were far superior in the movie, but the extremely-compressed character development of that 90 minute movie left me drained... and its storyline left me thoroughly depressed. On the other hand, X TV practiced a balance of superior character development, intrinsic storyline, artistic animation to flesh out a beautifully-choreographed chronicle... I must say that I am most pleased to have purchased X TV.
Both the movie and the series seem to follow a classic "Choice of One" base for their stories, but their use of that choice deviates drastically. The X/1999 movie was far more depressing, and is not recommended for emotionally unstable people (who most likely may commit suicide after watching it). X TV ended on a lighter note, and more effectively developed its characters (Even Princess Hinoto underwent character development...). CLAMP also used the unexpected for the series, leading us to believe the final outcome was inevitable, then surprising viewers ill the ultimate end... unlike the movie where the story was inevitably locked from the start.
My sole complaint remains the final "fleshing out" (pun intended) of Nataku's character... I feel that Clamp could have used him in the series with greater potential like they did in the movie. But all in all, the true heart of X's beauty is its wonderful storyline, its character development is a must see. Very well done, two thumbs up for CLAMP on this one. ^^
Just don't buy the plushies. ^_~
Rating:
Art
First: The Movie
The art for X 1999's movie struck me as interesting... but just that. The fights were superior to the series', I'll admit, but that was its only plus... The colors were much darker and gloomy, a were the backgrounds...
Still, characters' movements were smooth and flowing for the year of its make.
Second: The series
Mmmm... feathers...
CLAMP seems to love feathers. The overuse of feathers may seem a tad 'cheesy' at times, but adds to the overall artistry of the X TV series. Animation quality is excellent. I've given animation a ten even though I don't care much for the characters' facial designs because of its high quality animation, characters make extremely-smooth and flowing transitions across the screen, and the backgrounds are well-detailed... particularly the Tokyo tower design.
Colors and shading is very vibrant throughout the series. The magic and fighting styles each dragon uses is also very well animated in comparison to the movie. X TV's one falling in animation were that its fights simply didn't last long enough... I wanted to see more. ^^
Very pretty animation-wise overall. Artistic, beautiful, and a must see.
Rating:
Sound
This one's a difficult one for me to judge... the soundtrack is extremely catchy, rest assured. The series features a tune called Sadame they insist on using repeatedly... they even play a piano version of this song from time to time. But since I enjoyed that song tremendously, it wasn't too much of a problem (though it may be for some of you folk that despise repetition). It was obvious they had a real orchestra in the studio for the recordings.
And both the opening and ending songs were really catchy, too... Particularly the ending theme 'secret sorrow', in which two Kamuis are animated trying to reach each other...
English voice acting made Yuzuriha sound extremely annoying, though. But that's about it... I still prefer the Japanese original track for this series, perhaps because of Yuzuriha...
Not bad. Not bad at all.
But don't take my word for it, you simply must hear it for yourself!
Rating:
Presentation
The X 1999 movie left a lot to be desired. Though possessing far superior fight scenes, the magic wasn't as well animated as that of the series, so the only reason to replay the movie would be its action sequences. Add to that the utter graphicness of it (women giving birth to swords [ON SCREEN] and people's heads rolling in a spray of crimson), and you won't want to show this series to anyone under the age of 15.
The movie also possessed an element of utter depression, which (as stated earlier) may cause emotionally unstable people to become suicidal. Not the best thing to watch on a bad day, trust me.
Thus, X/1999's movie is a must-watch, but I wouldn't go so far as to purchase the series...
This series (on the other hand) was very enjoyable to watch, even though it contained graphic images (the movie was far more graphic, however) and possessed no humor whatsoever... (save for the scenes where Sorata and Yuto meet and Sorata cooks, and even those scenes weren't 'comedy' funny)The story was (though still sinister) far lighter than that of the movie, and the plotline was very well done...
Perhaps the X TV animation makes this animated chronicle a veritable replay. I find myself constantly watching the feathers fly across the screen, simply because they are so well drawn... and the dragons in their cloaks are very pretty, in an artistic way.
And as for value? What can I say? You'll get more than your money's worth, I assure you. X TV is a true collectible...
Rating:
Final Verdict
9.0000 (very good)
Reviewed by Exequy, Nov 30, 2004
Comments
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crsg Nov 30, 2004
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Hiromi-chan Nov 30, 2004
I liked so much your explanation. X-1999 is my favorite anime in the moment. Kamui is so cute, I love him^^~ X-1999 really has a sad and dark history. Anyway, I loved. In my opinion, the manga has the best art. I never saw the anime or the movie, but I want to see both soon.
Note: If I wrote anything wrong, don't mind. I'm from Brazil and my English isn't good enough...u.u''
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teko Dec 01, 2004
I loved the TV series sooooo much i cried when i finished it , and i heared horribale things about the movie so i didnt buy it >.<
the manga is great but it does lack action sometimes
and thank you for the review it was nice and you didnt spoil much ^.^ -
enaj Jan 30, 2005
i love this anime!!! really really really love this!!! Sad ending.... great art work...great story!!!! i love the movie the oav!!! good explanation. Thanks
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cereshe22 Feb 15, 2005
i love the work of artr of this anime im dying to watch it soon i will! :sweat:
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Ayucska Mar 27, 2005
I really love this anime^^
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tobiast88 May 07, 2005
I personally havn't seen the anime but oh my god I have read the mangas (in french, because I refuse to touch the trash that Viz spewed out!) and X is THE best manga ever. No ifs, ands or buts , it is truly the most gorgeous artwork I have ever seen, especially in the later ones.
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Fumasakurazukamori Aug 24, 2005
X is my reason to live ok!The best epic story loved the movie worshiped the tv series and the manga is the reason i'm here in this world!I LOVE X!
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SanzosSaru Aug 31, 2006
Ummm...I think this review is wayyy too exagerated.
The movie has some good fights and none character development in sight. At all. The animation sure was good, the ending song was incredibly beautiful..
And it wasn't nearly as depressing as this woman of the review says. My 12 year old bro watched it and only thought it was cool. Not that graphic, and specially not that depressing. You can't feel depressed beacuse you don't get to know the characters at all, so it's just "Hello, my name is whatever" and their heads are cut off. How can you feel bad about that?If anyone commits suicide after seeing this, they are incredibly weak.I haven't finished the TV series, but it already is way better. The character designs amaze me(the boys are sooo beautiful). I love seeing Subaru and Seishiro, who were killed off in the movie in the first minute >.<
The story follows the manga very closely, and some of the changes make the series even better than the manga, which is very rare. I like some characters stories that never appeared in the manga(Satsuki's and Yuzuriha's). Kotori isn't as nauseating as in the manga, which is good(I was soo happy when she was killed in the manga...). 'Sadame' is great(it has an epic feeling to it that goes well with the plot).It's not nearly as graphic as this review says...and not nearly as graphic as the manga ^^(in fact it's way lighter than the manga).So...movie is crap. Series is good. Manga is better^^(as always)
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nainoi Oct 06, 2009
It's a good anime.
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rukasu44 Dec 08, 2010
good? I'd say that this is more than a good anime ;D
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