X (anime)
From Freepedia
Image:X vol1 cover.gif X, an early work of the hit all-female manga-ka group CLAMP, details the apocalypse in a very literal adaptation of the Book of Revelation. The first chapter of the manga originally appeared in the May 1992 issue of Asuka. The manga has yet to be completed, but it has been adapted a movie (X/1999 or X: The Destiny War) and an anime TV series.
The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten under the Asuka Comics line. In North America, Viz Communications publishes it in English under the name "X/1999". In Singapore, it is called "X" and is published in English by Chuang Yi.
As of March 2003, the manga has been on hiatus in Japan.
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Plot description (anime only)
The story is set in Tokyo. Six people, most of them young people raised in temples, and all with magical powers, converge on the city. They are prepared to do battle as six of the "Seven Seals," the "Dragons of Heaven," to save the human race against a rival group (the Dragons of Earth or Seven Angels/Harbingers/Minions) who wish to destroy the human race in order to reverse the devastation of the environment.
Tokyo, it emerges, is the nexus of magical energy that protects the human race. It is itself protected by seven barriers, namely buildings such as the Japanese Diet building and Tokyo Tower. By defeating each of the Seven Seals and destroying the barrier fields they can generate, the Dragons of Earth intend to destroy the magical protection and thus the human race.
A seventh young person, Kamui, has been sent to Tokyo by the last words of his mother, who burned to death in their home in Okinawa. He meets the other members of the Seven Seals. In conferring with Princess Hinoto, a mysterious seer who resides in the Diet building, Kamui discovers that he must choose whether to become a Dragon of Earth or a Dragon of Heaven.
After much confusion and soul-searching, he decides to become a Dragon of Heaven, so as to protect the happiness of his childhood friends, Fuuma and Fuuma's sister Kotori. But he is horrified to discover that Fuuma — his "Twin Star" — is "awakened" by his choice into becoming a "second Kamui." Fuuma kills his own sister and becomes a Dragon of Earth, whom Kamui must destroy if the human race is to be saved.
Battles ensue, and a number of the Dragons of Heaven must kill their love interests and otherwise win pyrrhic victories. Fuuma destroys them one by one, in deeply ironic and tragic ways, by granting their inmost wishes.
All the Dragons of Heaven are eventually defeated, and their barrier fields fall; likewise, all the Dragons of Earth are put out of the fight -- all but Kamui and Fuuma. They fight in a great climatic battle at Tokyo Tower.
All seems lost when Fuuma runs Kamui through. However, Fuuma, as a granter of wishes, cannot prevent Kamui from realizing his inmost wish: to live on in Fuuma's heart. With Kamui dead, Fuuma ceases to be a Dragon of Earth. Kamui's barrier field, never before seen, expands over the whole earth, preserving humankind.
Theatrical Film
An X/1999 theatrical film directed by Rintaro was released in Japanese theaters in 1996. Because the manga was less than half complete at the time of the film's conception, many elements of the plot and characters were simplified, and the primary focus of the story became the build up toward the final battle between Kamui and Fuuma. As a result of this simplification, most of the characters receive little to no on screen development. Over all, the film is regarded more for its highly artistic fight scenes than its representation of the plot.
In the movie Kamui doesn't die defending Akira, and all the Dragons of Heaven and Earth die before the final fight. The dreamseer Kakyou Kuzuki is removed, either because he had not been fully introduced in the manga or his character's abilities were too static for duration of the film. In any case, he is replaced by Shōgo Asagi, a water master (Yuuto Kigai's ability to control water had not been revealed in the manga yet, so there is no conflict of abilities in the movie between the characters). It is Kamui who kills Fuuma by breaking Fuuma's blade in a swordlock and cutting through Fuuma's head in the process. This leaves Kamui heartbroken as he has lost all whom he's ever cared for, with the symbolic sakura petals flowing in the background. The last line of the movie is "Fuuma, why? How could it have all come to this?"
The ending theme, "Forever Love", was composed and performed by the Japanese group X Japan, also commonly referred to as X.
The X/1999 film received a U.S. theatrical and DVD release in 2001, courtesy of Manga Entertainment.
Characters
Important Places
Terminology
Music
The soundtrack for the 1996 movie was composed by Yasuaki Shimizu. The music for both the TV series and OAV (a.k.a. Episode 00), including the title theme Sadame (Destiny), was composed by Sato Naoki.
List of Seiyuu
X the Fighting Game
X: The Game is a 3D Playstation fighting game in which the player chooses which side to fight as. The title is translated as X: The Selection of Destiny.
Categories: Anime | Manga | X/1999
