X: La serie

At first "X" may look like about the fight between two opposing force, the Dragon of Heaven (Ten no Ryu) and the Dragon of Earth (Chi no Ryu) to prevent or cause the destruction of mankind. However, upon close inspection, it's actually more about the fate of those individuals who are unwillingly chosen by 'fate' to represent each side of the opposing forces.

The series is dark and depressing but all in all presents excellent character development and plot that stands above and beyond the movie version of the same name. A knowledge of "Tokyo Babylon" prior to watching this is helpful in understand some of the characters in here but is not extremely necessary.

"X" ventures into territory familiar to viewers of the 1996 Japanese anime production, X: THE MOVIE, a feature adaptation of the long-running manga (comic book) series, "X/1999," produced by the all-female manga collective known as Clamp. While X: THE MOVIE offered a highly sped-up condensation of the incident-packed manga and closed everything off with a jarringly tragic finale, the 24-episode 2001 TV series goes back to the manga and offers a more faithful new adaptation, allowing viewers to gradually meet each of the many characters and get to know who and what they are long before the action takes off.

Like so much of anime, the story is about highly advanced evolutionary young people fighting over the future of the earth. Here, the main characters are split into two camps, the "Dragons" of Heaven struggling to save the earth and its human population, and the "Angels" of Earth seeking to kill off all "polluting" elements, including people, so that the earth can be born anew. At the center of the conflict is the young, handsome Kamui, who has returned to Tokyo to fulfill his destiny as leader of the Dragons of Heaven, although the Angels of Earth seek to recruit him to their camp. (All the main characters are impossibly good-looking.) Meanwhile, all the characters go about living their everyday lives, including enrollment in school for the younger ones, a key element missing from the movie.

The animation is fluid and the design quite spectacular, with an evocative, dramatic music score provided by Naoki Sato. The background details of Tokyo's streets, buildings and skyline are all meticulously rendered. One scene noteworthy for its exquisite recreation of a Tokyo landmark features Lady Arashi, one of the Dragons of Heaven, leaving the secret chamber of the ancient (but young-looking) Princess Hinoto, situated underneath the Diet (the building where Japan's Parliament meets), slowly taking a secret elevator up to the main floor, and walking through the great halls of this massive edifice and down the sprawling front steps, with the camera following the whole time and the music swelling. I have often been critical in my anime reviews of the new technique of 2-D digital animation as it is applied to anime, but I must confess that the results here are as satisfying to me as if they'd been done the old hand-drawn method.

The series' chief director is Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who is best known for such titles as WICKED CITY (1987), MIDNIGHT EYE GOKU (1989), NINJA SCROLL (1993) and VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST (2000). He wisely sticks to the style of the manga and the overall design scheme of X: THE MOVIE, which was directed by the equally notable Rin Taro, and avoids the sex-and-violence excesses and "noir"-like nightmarish visual schemes of his earlier works. Even so, it's cleanly executed and powerfully told, with enough visual imagination to impress even the most hardened anime purist and a strong enough story and interesting characters to engage even the newest anime convert. The Pioneer DVD offers both Japanese and English language tracks. The English dubbing is surprisingly good.

X/1999 was my first great love in the world of anime,and my favorite of at least 6 years running, and I felt terribly that people attacked the movie. In light of what director Rintaro had to work with at the time, I thought the movie was wonderful. It followed the surreal beauty of X and carried over its darker themes. While the characters could not be fully explored in the span of an average movie, it was masterfully completed.

The director still retained the theme of fate and the protagonists' war against destiny. I believe the ending of the movie was much more effective than the television series, really. I also loved the fact that X Japan did themes for both the TV series and the movie. I love everything about X/1999, and while the movie was a rapid story, it has an endearing quality to it, for example the intense colors. That brought more focus to characters. In short, X/1999 is a story, no matter how quickly told, in which the characters are developed to the point of forming a kind of bond with those who view or read it. You want to cheer on many of them, or simply beat some of them senseless.

It likely sounds like a full out rant, but then I believe a story is in its purest form only in the original shape it took. A movie will never capture the charm of the novel that spawned it, and neither series nor movie can replace how characters develop in a manga series. It leaves parts of characters or story to the mind of the reader, and that is why manga will remain unique. What the TV series and movie are should be able to stand alone and speak for themselves, and they did an effective and beautiful job telling the story. But what has CLAMP ever created that wasn't lovely?

"X" is a 2001 anime that is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word. From its visually stunning animation to its deeply thought-provoking story, "X" is a triumph of the anime medium. The dark and brooding atmosphere of the series is perfectly balanced with moments of beauty and wonder, creating a viewing experience that is truly unforgettable. The characters are complex and multi-dimensional, and the themes explored throughout the series are both universal and timeless. If you're looking for an anime that will challenge you and leave you breathless, then "X" is a must-watch. Overall, this is a beautiful and masterful work of art that deserves to be celebrated as one of the greatest anime of all time.

I read X about two years agao and saw the movie. I loved the comic but was appauled by the movie. I thought to myself if they could make a series out of the comic that would be amazing. 2 years later my wish was granted. X tells the story of kamui Shiro and his destiny. After leaving tokyo 6 years earlier he returns and is greeted by the people known as the dragon of heaven and another group the Dragon of Earth. He is told that he has two futures one as a dragon of heaven where he would save us from destruction and the other as a dragon of earth which he would anihilate the earth. If you hated the movie check this out. The story is so much better with more characters and not all the characters die like in the movie. The animation quality is superb too. Don't pass up X