Tokyo Babylon 1999

It's really very hard to believe this is the Subaru from X/1999 the movie. I love the X manga, movie, and series but this just wasn't what I was expecting. I don't wanna hit the animations too hard because it was obviously made awhile ago so I'm just gonna steer away from that. The reason I got this was because I thought it would lead up to the big battle between Subaru and Seshiro that happens very shortly into the X movie. Well I was wrong, in fact, Subaru really doesn't seem like Subaru. He's a soft spoken supernatural investigator that lives with Seshiro (who is the actually the leader of the clan that rivals Subaru's) and his overly annoying twin sister. Although Seshiro does hint at being a bad guy in this but it never fully comes forward. The overall story is divided into two 45min episodes. I wasn't that entertained with them, Subaru was so not himself it was like watching an anime that had no connection to X/1999. If you've seen/read X/1999 you won't really gain or lose anything by watching this, but if you've got $10 and 95min to blow it's better than watching Demon City: Shinjuku or Wicked City again. The one thing I learned was why Seshiro killed Hokuto... it was because she's too friggin annoying.

Apparently there are several different mangas as part of the Tokyo Babylon series, connected only by the names of the investigative government agencies.

The one I saw was about a psychic who looks, dresses, and talks like Michael Jackson. Two series of murders occur: one in a high-rise construction site, the other in the subway. The psychic's powers are never clearly revealed, and his involvement in criminal investigations is more as a catalyst than a hero (though he is brave). Part two is much more interesting than part one, as it has a couple of very solid characters (the mother and daughter psychics).

Like most mangas, very little happens, and it happens slowly. The English translation and voices are quite good. The art is ok, and the actual plots are better than most. At least there's no mecha, and a minimum of psycho-protoplasmic tentacles.

If you're looking for titillation, it ain't here.

I wonder if anybody will ever read this. I wonder if anybody else will ever comment on this film. I wonder if I will get a life soon...

Well, I just bought the DVD to this movie a couple of days ago. The story goes that there is a few murders going around at a specific work sight where a new building is almost finished. Then we have Subaru come in who is trying to figure out who is killing who. Or if every "murder" is by pure accident. There soon is a twist of magical powers and a red dragon (dragon of the earth) that is trying to take over someones body. There is a second part to this movie which again follows Subaru on a hunt to find out who is committing certain train station murders. A woman who can see what happened with these murders gets involved with the killer. Although the second part of Tokyo Babylon doesnt follow as much towards "X" it does explain some of the characters. I really injoyed watching this film. Eventhough I had already seen "X" before this prequel I still learned a few more things about the story. And for the person who says they need a life, I think you do. The reason you did not like this film is probably most likely because you where not paying atention or understanding any part of the story line or its plot.

First of all, the Tokyo Babylon manga is one of the most amazing things I have ever read. The characters were deep, sympathetic, and non-clichéd, and the story lines were very original. Congratulations to the ladies in CLAMP for creating such a beautiful story.

That said, what on earth was this? Both of the Tokyo Babylon movies were more like bonus features - "Okay, you read the manga, here's some other cool adventures they got up to!" Which is a nice thought, but it really has no purpose. You cannot condense a series like this into a couple of movies - they tried it with X and it didn't work, they tried it with TB and it worked even less. There was none of the depth, none of the message, none of the character development - it turned into just another comic book, a collector's item.

It was also rather irritating (TOUCHY SUBJECT ALERT) that half of the plot was ignored. Let's face it, folks, Tokyo Babylon is, in large part, a homosexual love story, learn to live with it. In the first TB movie, it seemed that Sakurazuka Seishiro's romantic advances were targeted more towards Sumeragi Hokuto than Sumeragi Subaru, and in this one, they were almost completely absent. Without this major part of the story, Seishiro is worthless - he becomes another clichéd villain.

The animation was very pretty (as it always is in shojo) and the voicing couldn't have been better. Like I said before, it was a nice thought, but it simply isn't worth the trouble. 3/10.