It has been a long time (almost 10 years) since I last saw "X," Rintaro's exposition-heavy Anime' adaptation of the beloved Manga series by the acclaimed, all-woman Japanese Manga artistic team, CLAMP. "X" marks the spot primarily in its lush, pristine visuals and frequent, bloody scenes of cataclysmic destruction.
In Tokyo, Japan, in the year 1999 (the so-called "Year of Destiny"), two factions of warring sorcerers are fighting for supremacy. At stake: the very future of humanity. On one side, you have the Dragon of the Heaven, who believe that mankind can be saved and is capable of deciding its own future for itself. On the other side, you have the nefarious Dragon of the Earth. It is highly debatable that they possibly have the better argument: they believe that mankind has become corrupt and must be wiped off the face of the earth - so Mother Nature can heal Herself and begin things anew - which he has brought to the breaking point with pollution, war, over-population, and every other bad thing you could think of that's ruining our planet. (All of this is set up in some pretty heavy scenes of expository dialogue.)
And young Kamui, whose name means "God's power," is the young man chosen to either be the savior of the human race or its destructor - for whichever fate he chooses, his chosen "twin star" will be automatically selected as the one to oppose him in the apocalyptic battle for mankind's ultimate fate. This is all the more especially tragic because in a cruel twist of irony, Kamui's childhood best friend, Fuuma, is his twin star and is thus also his most hated enemy. Long ago, Kamui had sworn to protect Fuuma and Fuuma's younger sister Kotori from all evil at all costs, even at the cost of his own life, and now Kamui wonders if it's possible to escape his chosen fate and his pre-ordained battle against his sworn nemesis, who is also his best friend?
"X" is one of the most fabulous-looking Anime' pictures I've ever seen; it's certainly one of the greatest-looking Anime' films ever made, for sure. The story is rich with the classic theme of fate vs. free will, and the tragedy that it ultimately brings about in the life of the story's lead protagonist, and the other seven Dragons of the Earth who he has aligned himself with. It is worth noting that the other seven Dragons of the Earth are far more interesting and developed than Kamui is, who is so one-note throughout the picture that he spends much of the film agonizing over his fate as the savior of the human race. It does become a bit annoying after a while and it's only at the end that Kamui is able to show a wider range of emotion and thought.
The other problem that bogs the film down is its tendency to slow down during its dialogue scenes. "X" has one of the most interesting and engrossing stories I've ever heard of in Manga, so it's really my favorite part of this film. Additionally, I'm the type of person who favors story and characters over mindless action scenes in a story such as this, but the dialogue scenes are so heavy and crammed with so much information that it's hard to keep track of everything that's going on (CLAMP's original Manga series, I believe, was 18 volumes long, and they're cramming all that story into a single 100-minute feature-length movie). And as I said earlier, it's also bad because it slows the film down so that viewers yearning for action and special effects might be bored out of their minds.
As for action, Rintaro stages spectacularly destructive action sequences between each of the individual Dragons of the Heaven and the Dragons of the Earth. It all climaxes at the famed Tokyo Tower, where the ultimate battle for the fate of mankind will be fought.
"X" is a noteworthy entry in the Anime'/Manga firmament that unfortunately because of its attempts at cramming so much story into a single movie, things become a little bloated. "X" is redeemed by its stellar production, lush visuals, and frequent scenes of bloody destruction.
7/10
In Tokyo, Japan, in the year 1999 (the so-called "Year of Destiny"), two factions of warring sorcerers are fighting for supremacy. At stake: the very future of humanity. On one side, you have the Dragon of the Heaven, who believe that mankind can be saved and is capable of deciding its own future for itself. On the other side, you have the nefarious Dragon of the Earth. It is highly debatable that they possibly have the better argument: they believe that mankind has become corrupt and must be wiped off the face of the earth - so Mother Nature can heal Herself and begin things anew - which he has brought to the breaking point with pollution, war, over-population, and every other bad thing you could think of that's ruining our planet. (All of this is set up in some pretty heavy scenes of expository dialogue.)
And young Kamui, whose name means "God's power," is the young man chosen to either be the savior of the human race or its destructor - for whichever fate he chooses, his chosen "twin star" will be automatically selected as the one to oppose him in the apocalyptic battle for mankind's ultimate fate. This is all the more especially tragic because in a cruel twist of irony, Kamui's childhood best friend, Fuuma, is his twin star and is thus also his most hated enemy. Long ago, Kamui had sworn to protect Fuuma and Fuuma's younger sister Kotori from all evil at all costs, even at the cost of his own life, and now Kamui wonders if it's possible to escape his chosen fate and his pre-ordained battle against his sworn nemesis, who is also his best friend?
"X" is one of the most fabulous-looking Anime' pictures I've ever seen; it's certainly one of the greatest-looking Anime' films ever made, for sure. The story is rich with the classic theme of fate vs. free will, and the tragedy that it ultimately brings about in the life of the story's lead protagonist, and the other seven Dragons of the Earth who he has aligned himself with. It is worth noting that the other seven Dragons of the Earth are far more interesting and developed than Kamui is, who is so one-note throughout the picture that he spends much of the film agonizing over his fate as the savior of the human race. It does become a bit annoying after a while and it's only at the end that Kamui is able to show a wider range of emotion and thought.
The other problem that bogs the film down is its tendency to slow down during its dialogue scenes. "X" has one of the most interesting and engrossing stories I've ever heard of in Manga, so it's really my favorite part of this film. Additionally, I'm the type of person who favors story and characters over mindless action scenes in a story such as this, but the dialogue scenes are so heavy and crammed with so much information that it's hard to keep track of everything that's going on (CLAMP's original Manga series, I believe, was 18 volumes long, and they're cramming all that story into a single 100-minute feature-length movie). And as I said earlier, it's also bad because it slows the film down so that viewers yearning for action and special effects might be bored out of their minds.
As for action, Rintaro stages spectacularly destructive action sequences between each of the individual Dragons of the Heaven and the Dragons of the Earth. It all climaxes at the famed Tokyo Tower, where the ultimate battle for the fate of mankind will be fought.
"X" is a noteworthy entry in the Anime'/Manga firmament that unfortunately because of its attempts at cramming so much story into a single movie, things become a little bloated. "X" is redeemed by its stellar production, lush visuals, and frequent scenes of bloody destruction.
7/10