X

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 averageCLAMP 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 nicebackgrounds 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.

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 viewersare 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!

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, oneof 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.

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