'X' really isn't the great movie I expected it to be. The first time I watched it,I didn't read the manga, so I basically could not understand nothing about the story: I only watched deaths. And that's what this movie shows: deaths. Being totally the opposite of the manga where we can understand each character and know their stories,X the movie is not very well elaborated and we only have a preview about the great characters that are behind all the story. Because every single character, being a Earth dragon or a Heaven dragon is important and interesting. (specially, in my opinion,Fuuma, Kamui,Seiichirou, Subaru,Yuuto and Satsuki). I will not even write what the plot is all about, because the movie really stinks for everybody who really enjoys X' mangas. By the way, go read them instead of watching this film.
65 Reviews
Stylish animation, but very boring and basic plot
Rectangular_businessman4 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
It's the closest thing I can think of if there ever was a 'slasher' anime. Main villain goes around killing all the main characters then in the end he is finally killed by the hero of the story.That's it and that's all, despite all biblical references and the very good (But not without flaws) animation.
You might as well just go watch a slasher flick than watch this. At least you will enjoy yourself watching those. Or you can watch the TV series that actually did justice to the manga and treats it's characters with respect. The only good thing was the animation and the character designs. Otherwise, it's pretty boring and uninteresting.There are much better anime movies, like the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon.
3/10
You might as well just go watch a slasher flick than watch this. At least you will enjoy yourself watching those. Or you can watch the TV series that actually did justice to the manga and treats it's characters with respect. The only good thing was the animation and the character designs. Otherwise, it's pretty boring and uninteresting.There are much better anime movies, like the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon.
3/10
Better to watch Ninja Scroll instead. This makes Doomed Megalopolis look easier to understand.
PatrynXX29 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This might be one movie where reading the Manga is a must. Alas some of us tend to like Anime more than Manga , unless it's Hentai. It's no wonder this movie hasn't made it to blu ray here except I think on a German Region B only. This thing starts off like Star Wars IV, V , Vi except there'll never be a beginning. The ending is very similar to Ninja Scroll but that one is far better done. They are both Tragedy's. Not new to this game. But this was just utter confusion and nonsense. Again You may have to read the Manga to understand the movie but the hint that it's bad is in the title for American viewers X???? XYZ ?? 666 ?? Whatever. Took me 15 yrs to get around to watching it. Now that I have meh I'll skip the blu ray. Not one of Manga's best
Quality: 4/10 Entertainment: 5/10 Re-Playable: 2/10
Quality: 4/10 Entertainment: 5/10 Re-Playable: 2/10
Casual anime fans should probably look elsewhere
redneck-611 January 2001
This movie will probably only have deep or lasting appeal to fans of the manga series. Standing completely on its own, however, it really leaves a lot to be desired. The plot is really quite simple, but the setup is at least somewhat interesting, with the supposedly "bad" guys fighting for the future of the planet by destroying mankind and the "good" guys fighting to save mankind from the aforementioned baddies. For the most part, the main character just spends his time brooding over his "fate", occasionally displaying a burst of sympathy for an old girlfriend. This made it very hard to view him as being very human, and thus to sympathize with him or his place in the gigantic struggle taking place. Some of the incindental characters, however, showed a great deal of personality. But alas, only seemed to be introduced to die in a semi-climactic fight scene five minutes later with little to no characterization in between. The graphics are, as stated by others, top notch. The fights get fiery very quickly, and the big dollar property damage ensues as you'd expect when fates collide, but they tended to end all too quickly, with no real explanation as to why the killing blow was successful. So, if you want to see pretty pictures, or are a real die hard fan of anime for its style alone, you'll probably get enough of a kick out of this. But if you're looking for animation that will engage you on several levels and introduce you to interesting characters you'll actually get to know, steer clear. Indeed, Princess Mononoke actually touches on very similar themes in a much more engaging way.
Confusing!
neon4715 May 2005
X/1999 is a great manga, it really is. I bought this movie as my
introduction to anime, luckily I didn't let this movie ruin anime for
me. X is the story of a boy who has the power to choose the future by
choosing a side to fight for: the Dragons of Heaven who want mankind to
continue to exist or the Dragons of Earth, who want mankind purged from
the planet like a bad disease. Personally I would've chose the Dragons
of Earth. But enough about me. The move is a short 90mins. Not NEARLY
enough time to squeeze in a huge story like X. The most frustrating
thing about X is that once you're introduced to a character they die
within 10mins or so. The animation however is beautiful, and the girls
who created the characters did an excellent job designing them. The
violence is brutal when it needs to be which is often times a must for
me. But this movie just doesn't flow well. Maybe if they would've
shoved an extra hour in this there would be less confusion. But now
that I've seen the series and read the manga I've got this movie down
to a science. But that doesn't raise the rating. I still love the
ending to this movie, and I love it even more now because the ending to
the series sucked. If one watches this movie about 5 or 6 times they
may start to get it a little more. If one is looking for a dark
depressing movie this should be on the top of their rent list right
next to Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (which out
shines this movie in every way imaginary). Overall, if you've got the
patience to watch it a few times go for it, but the only thing I watch
it for is the ending.
Read the manga (comic) instead.
vkn4 April 2001
As a huge fan of the amazing manga (Japanese comic) by CLAMP on which this film is based, I was eager to see it, but found myself bitterly disappointed by this feeble adaption. Of course, this is partly due to the fact that you can't possibly squeeze everything from a serialised comic that runs for several hundreds of pages into one short movie, but it still feels as if the staff could've done a much better job.
The biggest problem is that the characters lack substance. The cast we know and love from the manga is presented rapidly, with hardly a mention of their rich personalities, amusing character traits or interesting pasts that made them so fascinating in the books. Even the main Kamui-Fuuma-Kotori triangle is built up so hastily that it lacks any impact. We end up with just a bunch of mindless drones who gratuitously slaughter each other in a matter of minutes. This is especially bad for the Dragons of the Earth, who were turned from very intriguing characters to just brainless psycho nasties (I hate the way they portrayed Kusanagi as a plain brute in the movie, while he's one of the most gentle and likeable characters in the manga).
Worse still, some of the best characters were left out entirely (Kakyuu is nowhere to be seen), or hardly appear at all (Subaru and Seishiro buy the farm after roughly one minute of screen time). The storyline in itself also suffers from this rushed approach. Since everything needs to be established too quickly, it hardly makes any sense, or holds any kind of point for those who aren't familiar with the manga. You end up hoping to at least see some cool battle scenes, and while there are a few impressive and fast-paced psychic fights in there, they're all over far too quickly.
In favor of this movie, it must be said that the chara design and animation is very pretty, with some pleasingly eerie and surreal moments. You could just see this as a kind of long videoclip of darkly elegant images. As a big dose of eye-candy for fans of the manga, who know the story by heart and are familiar with the character's proper personalities from reading the books, this does the job pretty well (in fact, I'm told that's how this movie was intended in the first place, to accompany the manga).
Because the harsh fact still remains that if one watches this without knowing the manga, it's just a pointless romp that makes no sense and leaves hardly any lasting impression (it -is- a very sad film that can produce a sigh or two from the viewer, but those will be silenced by the all-round "so what?" feeling).
And of course, they just -had- to dub this movie. Not only does that deprive us of the impressive performances from the Japanese voice actors (thus ripping out most, if not all of what little impact this movie -does- have), they've also left us with an archetypical bad anime dub, with several big mistakes. It's full of those annoying long "hhhhhuh?" gasps, pompous filler lines that sound awfully stilted (and were larded on just for lip-synch), and a voice for Kotori that makes her sound as if she swallowed a gallon of helium. Even worse is the way the dub actors couldn't pronounce the Japanese names properly if their lives depended on it. One can only wince in pain when they pronounce Sorata as "Sierrada" or Kotori as "Codery" (note that Kotori's name is misspelled as "Kotari" in the end credits), and everybody seems to have trouble remembering what Yuuto's name was again. Then again, since when has a dub ever done a Japanese film any good?
For CLAMP completist and X die-hards only, this is worth renting once or twice for the eye-candy. Everyone else is advised to give this a miss and seek out the truly tremendous X comics instead (the French version from Tonkam is your best option, though there's an English-language version floating around somewhere as well).
The biggest problem is that the characters lack substance. The cast we know and love from the manga is presented rapidly, with hardly a mention of their rich personalities, amusing character traits or interesting pasts that made them so fascinating in the books. Even the main Kamui-Fuuma-Kotori triangle is built up so hastily that it lacks any impact. We end up with just a bunch of mindless drones who gratuitously slaughter each other in a matter of minutes. This is especially bad for the Dragons of the Earth, who were turned from very intriguing characters to just brainless psycho nasties (I hate the way they portrayed Kusanagi as a plain brute in the movie, while he's one of the most gentle and likeable characters in the manga).
Worse still, some of the best characters were left out entirely (Kakyuu is nowhere to be seen), or hardly appear at all (Subaru and Seishiro buy the farm after roughly one minute of screen time). The storyline in itself also suffers from this rushed approach. Since everything needs to be established too quickly, it hardly makes any sense, or holds any kind of point for those who aren't familiar with the manga. You end up hoping to at least see some cool battle scenes, and while there are a few impressive and fast-paced psychic fights in there, they're all over far too quickly.
In favor of this movie, it must be said that the chara design and animation is very pretty, with some pleasingly eerie and surreal moments. You could just see this as a kind of long videoclip of darkly elegant images. As a big dose of eye-candy for fans of the manga, who know the story by heart and are familiar with the character's proper personalities from reading the books, this does the job pretty well (in fact, I'm told that's how this movie was intended in the first place, to accompany the manga).
Because the harsh fact still remains that if one watches this without knowing the manga, it's just a pointless romp that makes no sense and leaves hardly any lasting impression (it -is- a very sad film that can produce a sigh or two from the viewer, but those will be silenced by the all-round "so what?" feeling).
And of course, they just -had- to dub this movie. Not only does that deprive us of the impressive performances from the Japanese voice actors (thus ripping out most, if not all of what little impact this movie -does- have), they've also left us with an archetypical bad anime dub, with several big mistakes. It's full of those annoying long "hhhhhuh?" gasps, pompous filler lines that sound awfully stilted (and were larded on just for lip-synch), and a voice for Kotori that makes her sound as if she swallowed a gallon of helium. Even worse is the way the dub actors couldn't pronounce the Japanese names properly if their lives depended on it. One can only wince in pain when they pronounce Sorata as "Sierrada" or Kotori as "Codery" (note that Kotori's name is misspelled as "Kotari" in the end credits), and everybody seems to have trouble remembering what Yuuto's name was again. Then again, since when has a dub ever done a Japanese film any good?
For CLAMP completist and X die-hards only, this is worth renting once or twice for the eye-candy. Everyone else is advised to give this a miss and seek out the truly tremendous X comics instead (the French version from Tonkam is your best option, though there's an English-language version floating around somewhere as well).
visually nice but too darn trivial
idiotoff24 April 2000
i haven't read any of the X manga, so i thought my opinion may be of interest to some genre fans who are thinking about renting or going to see this movie without being particular fans of X or CLAMP (i.e. like myself).
This is definitely not just wasted time and money. Several aspects of this movie are of interest to any anime fan. First, the animation work is of the highest quality, especially of the movement and of the natural effects. Animated water drops sequence approximately 10 min. into the movie is just splendid, quite unparalleled within the genre. In this respect, however, this is the highest point of the film. Well, the fight scenes are quite good as far as movement animation is concerned but no exciting visual surprises there and the action is rather bland (still i've seen worse). Scenes of destruction of Tokyo are comparatively non-impressive. As a credit to the movie, music did not annoy me, so i guess it was OK.
Where the movie takes a real dive it's the story. I found it quite easy to follow which is probably the only good consequence of the fact that the plot is as generic as can be with no attempt made at differentiating this story from the bulk. I guess that's what stuffing of a 22-book series into a 90-min film does. As it stands now it is so trivial and non-original that by the time the umpteenth of the characters you're supposed to care about dies it is hard not to laugh out loud at the movie's complete predictability and inability to engage the viewer. Actually, i think that explains all the laughter in the theater, i myself wasn't laughing, being thoroughly disappointed with the story. Just as traditionally, the big and pretentious questions are asked aloud and as usual you dismiss the answers given by the filmmakers (if any). One big plus to this movie is that such conversations are kept short and that's probably the only thing that's refreshing and stands this movie apart story-wise.
All in all, it's a good movie as the genre goes. Read the plot summary and if it doesn't sound like something you saw a thousand times already -- see it, it's the same story all over again but it's definitely one of the better versions of it (and an understandable one.) US release English dubbing is solid. 7/10. Dare to guess that the print version is better.
If you are new to the genre and just wanna see a good movie try "Ninja Scroll" or "Ghost in the Shell".
This is definitely not just wasted time and money. Several aspects of this movie are of interest to any anime fan. First, the animation work is of the highest quality, especially of the movement and of the natural effects. Animated water drops sequence approximately 10 min. into the movie is just splendid, quite unparalleled within the genre. In this respect, however, this is the highest point of the film. Well, the fight scenes are quite good as far as movement animation is concerned but no exciting visual surprises there and the action is rather bland (still i've seen worse). Scenes of destruction of Tokyo are comparatively non-impressive. As a credit to the movie, music did not annoy me, so i guess it was OK.
Where the movie takes a real dive it's the story. I found it quite easy to follow which is probably the only good consequence of the fact that the plot is as generic as can be with no attempt made at differentiating this story from the bulk. I guess that's what stuffing of a 22-book series into a 90-min film does. As it stands now it is so trivial and non-original that by the time the umpteenth of the characters you're supposed to care about dies it is hard not to laugh out loud at the movie's complete predictability and inability to engage the viewer. Actually, i think that explains all the laughter in the theater, i myself wasn't laughing, being thoroughly disappointed with the story. Just as traditionally, the big and pretentious questions are asked aloud and as usual you dismiss the answers given by the filmmakers (if any). One big plus to this movie is that such conversations are kept short and that's probably the only thing that's refreshing and stands this movie apart story-wise.
All in all, it's a good movie as the genre goes. Read the plot summary and if it doesn't sound like something you saw a thousand times already -- see it, it's the same story all over again but it's definitely one of the better versions of it (and an understandable one.) US release English dubbing is solid. 7/10. Dare to guess that the print version is better.
If you are new to the genre and just wanna see a good movie try "Ninja Scroll" or "Ghost in the Shell".
It's not good to squeeze a story
winejar57 January 2005
When I first watched it, I thought it was one of the best movies I've ever seen. I mean, the story is great. I absolutely love the storyline. I still think so today. But as for the movie, that's another story.
I've read the mangas. I'm not exactly a big fan of CLAMP's work, but this one is the first that I got into with the mangas. I fell in love with one of the characters in the story name Subaru Sumeragi. Favorite character for obvious reason, but if you like any character other than Kamui or Fuuma, then you're in for the biggest disappointment if you watch this movie. OK, to get to the point, this is basically stuffing all the series of the manga into one movie. You won't have time to get to know the characters if you didn't know them already. You just won't get to. Well, they at least explain a bit of their purpose in life for a few seconds. Also, they failed to explain a lot of things about the movie, so that's another big disappointment. Er, and another big disappointment is that, they change some of the character's personality! ANOTHER big disappointment is that they didn't put some of the good story lines in the mangas into the movie. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal and I would like to give an example. There's this one character who loves another character from the other angel (they're enemies angels), but in the movie, they hate each other. So that's what I mean.
But wait, there's a good! The good is that the animation is great. Beautiful and artistic like all of CLAMP's work. It's realistic in animation, and the way it was done was just, wow. even though they lack everything else, but it was still nicely done in animation wise. Now if only the series was done the same way. Oh yeah, the music is great also.
Even though I like the story and how it was animated, I just didn't want to sit through it anymore. Once was enough. So I gave it a 4/10
I've read the mangas. I'm not exactly a big fan of CLAMP's work, but this one is the first that I got into with the mangas. I fell in love with one of the characters in the story name Subaru Sumeragi. Favorite character for obvious reason, but if you like any character other than Kamui or Fuuma, then you're in for the biggest disappointment if you watch this movie. OK, to get to the point, this is basically stuffing all the series of the manga into one movie. You won't have time to get to know the characters if you didn't know them already. You just won't get to. Well, they at least explain a bit of their purpose in life for a few seconds. Also, they failed to explain a lot of things about the movie, so that's another big disappointment. Er, and another big disappointment is that, they change some of the character's personality! ANOTHER big disappointment is that they didn't put some of the good story lines in the mangas into the movie. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal and I would like to give an example. There's this one character who loves another character from the other angel (they're enemies angels), but in the movie, they hate each other. So that's what I mean.
But wait, there's a good! The good is that the animation is great. Beautiful and artistic like all of CLAMP's work. It's realistic in animation, and the way it was done was just, wow. even though they lack everything else, but it was still nicely done in animation wise. Now if only the series was done the same way. Oh yeah, the music is great also.
Even though I like the story and how it was animated, I just didn't want to sit through it anymore. Once was enough. So I gave it a 4/10
Watch it for the graphics, but read the manga first!
clara-chan4 October 1999
X, or X/1999, is the work of CLAMP, a group of four highly talented female manga artist group, consisting of Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona Apapa, Mick Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi. X is undoubtedly one of their most famous works, which has been running as a manga (comic book series) since 1992.
The basic storyline is about a 16 year old boy, called Kamui Shirou. He returns to Tokyo after 6 years absence, being instructed by his mother to do so before she... okay, to say more would give away the story. ^.^ Anyway, he must choose his destiny - to become a Dragon of Heaven or a Dragon of Earth. Because the Earth is dying, due to the destruction wreaked by mankind, the aim of the Dragons of Earth is to eliminate all humankind, so the Earth can recuperate. However, the aim of the Dragons of Heaven is to save humankind, and defend the 'kekkai' (magical barriers) of Tokyo from collapsing (because if they collapse, they will cause huge earthquakes, which kill thousands of people).
Hinoto, who is blind and mute, therefore communicates telepathically, can see into the future in her dreams, and guides the Dragons of Heaven, while her younger sister, Kanoe, can 'shadow' her dreams, therefore being also able to see into the future. Kanoe in turn guides the Dragons of Earth.
There are mixed opinions on the X movie... while some say the plot was TOTALLY ruined by trying to squeeze the epic, already 13 volume and approaching 22 volume story, into a meagre 2 hours (?), the graphics are FANTASTIC, definately superior to many other anime movies, and the music and sound effects are wonderful (especially 'Forever Love', the ending song, sung by X Japan - a Japanese band, not to be confused with X the manga or movie - is particularly beautiful and suits the mood of the movie perfectly). As many people have already mentioned, you must read the manga first, because in the movie everyone appears too quickly for the audience to become attached to the characters, and there are hardly any introductions. The movie is also THE most gory anime movie I've ever seen (the only slight rival being a bit of Mononoke Hime). There is MUCH violence, the plot is EXTREMELY dark... not your typical light-hearted Miyazaki film, and definately NOT for the weak-stomached... people being decapitated, in slo-mo, eh, that's a feature (oops, did I give some of the plot away? ^.^;;). Some of the character's personalities are kinda (or vastly) distorted, and they REPLACED Kakyou with some cocky high-schooler (damn, Kakyou is so much more adorable ::sigh::). But, it is definately worth seeing if you're an X or Clamp fan... if you're not, I actually don't recommend it (even though I'm avidly obsessed with Clamp ^.^), until you've read the manga at least, and decided whether you like it or not, because it may... uh, put you off other perfectly okay animes. X is, unique, to say the least.
But if X isn't your cup of tea, Clamp has a WIDE range of works, with vastly differing themes, from cutesy magical girl series (and I mean that in a GOOD way) like Magic Knights Rayearth and Cardcaptor Sakura, they've ALSO done kind-of hentai (if you don't know, don't ask ^.^) titles like Miyuki-chan in Wonderland, to adventure tales from ancient myths like RG Veda... find a title that suits you and give Clamp a chance!
Oops, wrote a bit too much, didn't I? Oh well, my only advice is like everyone else says, read the manga first! ^_^
The basic storyline is about a 16 year old boy, called Kamui Shirou. He returns to Tokyo after 6 years absence, being instructed by his mother to do so before she... okay, to say more would give away the story. ^.^ Anyway, he must choose his destiny - to become a Dragon of Heaven or a Dragon of Earth. Because the Earth is dying, due to the destruction wreaked by mankind, the aim of the Dragons of Earth is to eliminate all humankind, so the Earth can recuperate. However, the aim of the Dragons of Heaven is to save humankind, and defend the 'kekkai' (magical barriers) of Tokyo from collapsing (because if they collapse, they will cause huge earthquakes, which kill thousands of people).
Hinoto, who is blind and mute, therefore communicates telepathically, can see into the future in her dreams, and guides the Dragons of Heaven, while her younger sister, Kanoe, can 'shadow' her dreams, therefore being also able to see into the future. Kanoe in turn guides the Dragons of Earth.
There are mixed opinions on the X movie... while some say the plot was TOTALLY ruined by trying to squeeze the epic, already 13 volume and approaching 22 volume story, into a meagre 2 hours (?), the graphics are FANTASTIC, definately superior to many other anime movies, and the music and sound effects are wonderful (especially 'Forever Love', the ending song, sung by X Japan - a Japanese band, not to be confused with X the manga or movie - is particularly beautiful and suits the mood of the movie perfectly). As many people have already mentioned, you must read the manga first, because in the movie everyone appears too quickly for the audience to become attached to the characters, and there are hardly any introductions. The movie is also THE most gory anime movie I've ever seen (the only slight rival being a bit of Mononoke Hime). There is MUCH violence, the plot is EXTREMELY dark... not your typical light-hearted Miyazaki film, and definately NOT for the weak-stomached... people being decapitated, in slo-mo, eh, that's a feature (oops, did I give some of the plot away? ^.^;;). Some of the character's personalities are kinda (or vastly) distorted, and they REPLACED Kakyou with some cocky high-schooler (damn, Kakyou is so much more adorable ::sigh::). But, it is definately worth seeing if you're an X or Clamp fan... if you're not, I actually don't recommend it (even though I'm avidly obsessed with Clamp ^.^), until you've read the manga at least, and decided whether you like it or not, because it may... uh, put you off other perfectly okay animes. X is, unique, to say the least.
But if X isn't your cup of tea, Clamp has a WIDE range of works, with vastly differing themes, from cutesy magical girl series (and I mean that in a GOOD way) like Magic Knights Rayearth and Cardcaptor Sakura, they've ALSO done kind-of hentai (if you don't know, don't ask ^.^) titles like Miyuki-chan in Wonderland, to adventure tales from ancient myths like RG Veda... find a title that suits you and give Clamp a chance!
Oops, wrote a bit too much, didn't I? Oh well, my only advice is like everyone else says, read the manga first! ^_^
What if your destiny is a bad dream? (Art house anime style)
powerofberzerker16 March 2021
And not just a bad dream but a very bad nightmare...
The movie is about an end of the world happening between childhood friends. We never get any sort of background for all of this or any explanation of the powers that the characters are using but you can understand most things by just watching the movie. The movie is an experience. It has incredible music, very good scenery/art, character designs are fantastic and the animation is breathtaking. The mood of the film works even better than in the TV show and the violence is beautiful as much as it's unsettling.
One thing is for sure, this movie is pretty underrated and forgotten. A gem that needs an extra hour to be really good but even as it is, it is an epic tragedy that is carried enough by its style and atmosphere alone.
The movie is best if you've watched the tv series or read the manga but even without knowing anything you will be pretty impressed; sort of like Akira in that sense. A movie retelling of an apocalyptic tale about friends with crazy force pushing powers without great character development but with amazing animation, visuals, and subtle depth.
One thing is for sure, this movie is pretty underrated and forgotten. A gem that needs an extra hour to be really good but even as it is, it is an epic tragedy that is carried enough by its style and atmosphere alone.
The movie is best if you've watched the tv series or read the manga but even without knowing anything you will be pretty impressed; sort of like Akira in that sense. A movie retelling of an apocalyptic tale about friends with crazy force pushing powers without great character development but with amazing animation, visuals, and subtle depth.
X's Potential As A Film Remains Unrealised
benjamin_lappin29 June 2007
When you find yourself skipping through large segments of a film just to arrive at something vaguely interesting, you know it doesn't have the longevity you want it to. X is decidedly niche which I believe to be a positive, but in its attempts to constrict a manga series down into the constraints of a mere ninety minutes, you know you're not going to create the desired effect, and you're more than likely going to end up with an equivalent to Evangelion Death&Rebirth without the extra something which makes you not skip forward large chunks.
I will state (and prepare for the negative backlash) that I have not seen, but would very much like to, the accompanying mangas and series, because there is something about X that lurks in the background amidst all the faults that is desperately trying to get out, and desperately trying to impress itself upon you as the viewer, but just doesn't quite make it. But is that enough? Given that the directors new of these time constraints, could they not have created a film which did not cater to those like myself that hadn't known anything about it, and just plunged you straight into the world? Too much time in X is wasted on idle dialogue which is disguised as plot development but is as tedious as reading an instruction manual on how to work your DVD player. Yes the explanation of the dragons (I will come to this shortly) is necessary but in the films opening five minutes two characters wage an all out mystical battle and eventually both fall. Now during this sequence they have unnecessary banter, I know this can be common place in manga but if you wish to produce a slick opening, trying to set these characters up as long time enemies who we should feel a connection for (because many reviewers have claimed theirs to be an epic rivalry) only to have them killed two seconds later is madness. There is no logic behind it. This leads me to think that perhaps this was a film specifically designed for those which have a great knowledge over the "X" saga, but I would have thought the directors would wish to be inclusive rather than exclusive (I refrained from using the inane 'X' pun).
There are positives however, one being the creepy Gothic animation which apart from being utterly unique in my experience lends itself to a creation of a sinister and severely dark overtone inevitably benefiting the film.The notion of the opposing forces of "good" and "different good" (I hesitate from saying 'evil') using the connotations of dragons, i.e. the good are the dragons of heaven who wish the world to continue seeing as it was "He" from Heaven that put them there versus the dragons of the earth who wish Mother Earth to regain her rule, is clever and again is unique. The means by which the dragons of heaven defend the planet through the usage of "shields" and the construct in which they work is also an absorbing premise as these sequences provide the high points but, unfortunately, it's not enough.
The trouble with films like X is the content they must squeeze into a shorter time span, it therefore is inevitable that chances are it will not succeed at being able to tell its story fully (try compressing Broken Saints into 90 minutes), and here is the issue. I'm privy to that the directors wanted to create this film regardless, but they needed to make a choice, either completely forgo the notion of trying to be exclusive and create a film entirely for fans of the saga disregarding all outsiders thereby pleasing the contingency of fans that have done the hard work, or the alternative. The second choice is that the directors must create a film which explains everything to everyone and be completely inclusive, they must lay the construct of their world bare on the table and let people try and come to comprehend their universe; and unfortunately they did a little of both, to no great success. I wanted this film to give me more, and if I now want it to I have to put in the hard work which after having viewed the film I don't particularly want to do, and to do it this way around isn't as much fun either. No puns about missing the mark, X not being where the treasure is or 'wordplay' about the film being Xtremely disappointing, it's simply a shame.
I will state (and prepare for the negative backlash) that I have not seen, but would very much like to, the accompanying mangas and series, because there is something about X that lurks in the background amidst all the faults that is desperately trying to get out, and desperately trying to impress itself upon you as the viewer, but just doesn't quite make it. But is that enough? Given that the directors new of these time constraints, could they not have created a film which did not cater to those like myself that hadn't known anything about it, and just plunged you straight into the world? Too much time in X is wasted on idle dialogue which is disguised as plot development but is as tedious as reading an instruction manual on how to work your DVD player. Yes the explanation of the dragons (I will come to this shortly) is necessary but in the films opening five minutes two characters wage an all out mystical battle and eventually both fall. Now during this sequence they have unnecessary banter, I know this can be common place in manga but if you wish to produce a slick opening, trying to set these characters up as long time enemies who we should feel a connection for (because many reviewers have claimed theirs to be an epic rivalry) only to have them killed two seconds later is madness. There is no logic behind it. This leads me to think that perhaps this was a film specifically designed for those which have a great knowledge over the "X" saga, but I would have thought the directors would wish to be inclusive rather than exclusive (I refrained from using the inane 'X' pun).
There are positives however, one being the creepy Gothic animation which apart from being utterly unique in my experience lends itself to a creation of a sinister and severely dark overtone inevitably benefiting the film.The notion of the opposing forces of "good" and "different good" (I hesitate from saying 'evil') using the connotations of dragons, i.e. the good are the dragons of heaven who wish the world to continue seeing as it was "He" from Heaven that put them there versus the dragons of the earth who wish Mother Earth to regain her rule, is clever and again is unique. The means by which the dragons of heaven defend the planet through the usage of "shields" and the construct in which they work is also an absorbing premise as these sequences provide the high points but, unfortunately, it's not enough.
The trouble with films like X is the content they must squeeze into a shorter time span, it therefore is inevitable that chances are it will not succeed at being able to tell its story fully (try compressing Broken Saints into 90 minutes), and here is the issue. I'm privy to that the directors wanted to create this film regardless, but they needed to make a choice, either completely forgo the notion of trying to be exclusive and create a film entirely for fans of the saga disregarding all outsiders thereby pleasing the contingency of fans that have done the hard work, or the alternative. The second choice is that the directors must create a film which explains everything to everyone and be completely inclusive, they must lay the construct of their world bare on the table and let people try and come to comprehend their universe; and unfortunately they did a little of both, to no great success. I wanted this film to give me more, and if I now want it to I have to put in the hard work which after having viewed the film I don't particularly want to do, and to do it this way around isn't as much fun either. No puns about missing the mark, X not being where the treasure is or 'wordplay' about the film being Xtremely disappointing, it's simply a shame.
The anime Xcellent.
randyhndrsn30 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This anime has it all, story, characters and lots of action and that is all you need to make a good anime.The anime has a good start when very soon in the movie we see a fight.And the fight is great and the characters that are fighting are awesome.
X is basically about a war between good and evil and heaven and hell in a way.It also has great music through the entire movie, and the final song "Forever Love" is just great.And it is the perfect song for the end of the movie and that brings me to the final scene.Kmaui and fuma are in there final fight, kamui is trying to get fuma to stop.But it happens, kamui and fuma have a great last attack on each other and the result is fuma having no head.
And kamui is in tears of the loss of the man he loves just like a brother and it is very sad that kamui is the last main character still alive.The movie has a lot of death through it, but all the characters have a absolute great death between them all.The powers that they have as well are just absolutely great.
The anime is a classic in my book, i think i have seen it almost 8 times and it has never got old.If you are a anime fan then you should check this one out.Or the series/manga you might find it under the title of x/1999.
X is in a category of it's own kind, and is one of my favorite films and is a anime classic.
X is basically about a war between good and evil and heaven and hell in a way.It also has great music through the entire movie, and the final song "Forever Love" is just great.And it is the perfect song for the end of the movie and that brings me to the final scene.Kmaui and fuma are in there final fight, kamui is trying to get fuma to stop.But it happens, kamui and fuma have a great last attack on each other and the result is fuma having no head.
And kamui is in tears of the loss of the man he loves just like a brother and it is very sad that kamui is the last main character still alive.The movie has a lot of death through it, but all the characters have a absolute great death between them all.The powers that they have as well are just absolutely great.
The anime is a classic in my book, i think i have seen it almost 8 times and it has never got old.If you are a anime fan then you should check this one out.Or the series/manga you might find it under the title of x/1999.
X is in a category of it's own kind, and is one of my favorite films and is a anime classic.
Watch the X Animated Series first, then this will be much more enjoyable.
badcgishark23 July 2020
I watched this back on VHS in 2000 and remembered loving it. I decided to watch the X animated series and then watch X the film again. It was a great choice! X the film is completely different than the X animated series. The X animated series is 24 episodes and fleshes out every single one of the 16 main characters (7 Dragons of Earth, 7 Dragons of Heaven, and the two psychic sisters). This film only has about 90 minutes and goes forward at breakneck pace, so there is little to no character development in the film. The characters in the film, while similar in appearance, are vastly different than their series counterparts.
If you watch the series first, you can then watch this film and look at it as another version of the story. Again, this film is totally different in so many ways and watching the animated series makes it much more enjoyable.
Also, the animation in the film is wonderful.
If you watch the series first, you can then watch this film and look at it as another version of the story. Again, this film is totally different in so many ways and watching the animated series makes it much more enjoyable.
Also, the animation in the film is wonderful.
Great Potential, Amazing Animation, Lacking Cohesive Plot
moonmonday24 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
CLAMP, it could be argued, have never really respected their characters. It's a pity, because so many of their characters and series have such amazing potential and are interesting as they are, but the stories surrounding them and the ultimate resolution of the plot are often badly-handled. In particular, CLAMP tend to do at least a passable job on series and then essentially black flag them on the last lap, ruining the entire work by way of a poor attempt at an ending.
This is both the strongest and weakest aspect of X, as a film: it is blessedly brief. If it were any longer, it might develop the characters and make it infuriating that none of them really manage to survive. So in that respect, it's good that it is so condensed. But on the other hand, it's a pity that none of the fights, while interesting, are anything close to being impressive struggles. It's just some random people with interesting character designs in mortal combat. A character's final battle should be their most impressive, but that doesn't happen here. More or less all of the fights are brief, unexceptional, and confusing. And since we have no real emotional investment in any of them (aside from some hasty tries at back-building emotional connection with some of them as they're shuffled off), there's absolutely no tension whatsoever whether or not they'll survive.
It's also a pity that there isn't more buildup or more development of the circumstances. Too much time is spent on Kamui, and yet he doesn't manage to be compelling or sympathetic, just bland. Things happen simply because the script dictates, which is a common weakness in CLAMP works, rather than them actually having any seeming logical prompt. Kamui appears in a cape and flies around Tokyo upon his return for a good half-hour, for no good reason. Fuuma, despite his reasonable demeanour, immediately starts thinking he's Kamui and displays the most incomprehensible moustache-twirling villain psychoses. Where did any of this come from? Nothing in the plot led up to this; it just happened without reason.
There are also plenty of logical errors. Arashi draws a sword from her body without any detrimental effect, yet Kamui's mother (who for some reason must be nude and has vast, spherical breasts) and Kotori are both killed by the exact same thing. Hinoto says she cannot see, hear, or speak, yet Kanoe speaks aloud to her and she clearly hears and understands. Fuuma nonchalantly knocks off a few people without any motivation to do so. Nobody has thought to question the massive electrical drain BEAST must present. Likewise, not a soul has questioned the gathering of a bunch of random people in an extremely important part of the government building. The questions of destiny, choice, and strength are reduced to window-dressing by a group of people who only ever arbitrarily do anything.
Kotori is pulled into a dream and runs out from it, only to receive real damage, yet when Fuuma very clearly stabs Kamui, nothing actually happens and the animation becomes awkwardly stilted as Fuuma vanishes. What was that about? Satsuki's relationship with BEAST is also not well-defined, and its actions toward her are completely at odds with what a computer system would logically do -- which is, to act logically -- and makes the whole thing smack of 'because I said so' scripting. Kigai is in the film and has his characteristic weapon, yet his powers are given to a movie-only character who never appears anywhere else. Could they not have planned this a bit better? There's some grotesque content which is clearly included simply to satisfy the preferences of its genre when it was made, which is to say over-the-top violence, blood, apocalyptic scenarios, and boobs. X satisfies all of these in abundance, and in many cases without legitimate justification. It ends up detracting from the scenario, rather than enhancing it.
And the less said about the 'ultimate showdown', the better. As anticlimactic as all of the fights are during the film, the last is the least interesting of them all. The ending itself is laughably melodramatic and manages to piddle away what little was built up by that point.
It's a shame, because the Japanese voice acting is excellent, the music is evocative (except 'Forever Love', now marred irreparably by the surviving group members reuniting to exploit their past popularity), and the visuals are stunning. The animation is so smooth and so polished, so detailed, so painstakingly created. Everything but the actual plot came through, and that's especially a shame with something that has the potential to be interesting. Watching it, it's enjoyable only if the viewer completely switches off his mind and lets the images wash over him. The lack of cohesive plot or cultivation of any attachment to the characters enables this, at least, but it doesn't make for a good film.
In short, X is roughly tantamount to all of the blood-and-guts-and-boobs OVA productions that were so popular for American anime distributors to release in the 80s and 90s. Take any one of those and up the budget, and you have X. It's got violence, it's got blood, it's got a vaguely-defined apocalypse with a bizarre melange of various religions, and it's got boobs. It's not surprising that this was released in the US, and it's even less surprising that some people were all over it. It's practically tailor-made for the US anime market.
As for the rest of us, the things it omitted were a bit too insurmountable, chiefest of all being what every film really should have.
That is, a coherent plot.
This is both the strongest and weakest aspect of X, as a film: it is blessedly brief. If it were any longer, it might develop the characters and make it infuriating that none of them really manage to survive. So in that respect, it's good that it is so condensed. But on the other hand, it's a pity that none of the fights, while interesting, are anything close to being impressive struggles. It's just some random people with interesting character designs in mortal combat. A character's final battle should be their most impressive, but that doesn't happen here. More or less all of the fights are brief, unexceptional, and confusing. And since we have no real emotional investment in any of them (aside from some hasty tries at back-building emotional connection with some of them as they're shuffled off), there's absolutely no tension whatsoever whether or not they'll survive.
It's also a pity that there isn't more buildup or more development of the circumstances. Too much time is spent on Kamui, and yet he doesn't manage to be compelling or sympathetic, just bland. Things happen simply because the script dictates, which is a common weakness in CLAMP works, rather than them actually having any seeming logical prompt. Kamui appears in a cape and flies around Tokyo upon his return for a good half-hour, for no good reason. Fuuma, despite his reasonable demeanour, immediately starts thinking he's Kamui and displays the most incomprehensible moustache-twirling villain psychoses. Where did any of this come from? Nothing in the plot led up to this; it just happened without reason.
There are also plenty of logical errors. Arashi draws a sword from her body without any detrimental effect, yet Kamui's mother (who for some reason must be nude and has vast, spherical breasts) and Kotori are both killed by the exact same thing. Hinoto says she cannot see, hear, or speak, yet Kanoe speaks aloud to her and she clearly hears and understands. Fuuma nonchalantly knocks off a few people without any motivation to do so. Nobody has thought to question the massive electrical drain BEAST must present. Likewise, not a soul has questioned the gathering of a bunch of random people in an extremely important part of the government building. The questions of destiny, choice, and strength are reduced to window-dressing by a group of people who only ever arbitrarily do anything.
Kotori is pulled into a dream and runs out from it, only to receive real damage, yet when Fuuma very clearly stabs Kamui, nothing actually happens and the animation becomes awkwardly stilted as Fuuma vanishes. What was that about? Satsuki's relationship with BEAST is also not well-defined, and its actions toward her are completely at odds with what a computer system would logically do -- which is, to act logically -- and makes the whole thing smack of 'because I said so' scripting. Kigai is in the film and has his characteristic weapon, yet his powers are given to a movie-only character who never appears anywhere else. Could they not have planned this a bit better? There's some grotesque content which is clearly included simply to satisfy the preferences of its genre when it was made, which is to say over-the-top violence, blood, apocalyptic scenarios, and boobs. X satisfies all of these in abundance, and in many cases without legitimate justification. It ends up detracting from the scenario, rather than enhancing it.
And the less said about the 'ultimate showdown', the better. As anticlimactic as all of the fights are during the film, the last is the least interesting of them all. The ending itself is laughably melodramatic and manages to piddle away what little was built up by that point.
It's a shame, because the Japanese voice acting is excellent, the music is evocative (except 'Forever Love', now marred irreparably by the surviving group members reuniting to exploit their past popularity), and the visuals are stunning. The animation is so smooth and so polished, so detailed, so painstakingly created. Everything but the actual plot came through, and that's especially a shame with something that has the potential to be interesting. Watching it, it's enjoyable only if the viewer completely switches off his mind and lets the images wash over him. The lack of cohesive plot or cultivation of any attachment to the characters enables this, at least, but it doesn't make for a good film.
In short, X is roughly tantamount to all of the blood-and-guts-and-boobs OVA productions that were so popular for American anime distributors to release in the 80s and 90s. Take any one of those and up the budget, and you have X. It's got violence, it's got blood, it's got a vaguely-defined apocalypse with a bizarre melange of various religions, and it's got boobs. It's not surprising that this was released in the US, and it's even less surprising that some people were all over it. It's practically tailor-made for the US anime market.
As for the rest of us, the things it omitted were a bit too insurmountable, chiefest of all being what every film really should have.
That is, a coherent plot.
A Beautiful film with only a couple of flaws
Trevor-122 June 1999
Everything about this movie is great;the animation blends perfectly with the CG effects (unlike some American cartoons),the soundtrack is one of the best I ever heard and acting is top-notch.
This movie isn't complete without a couple of flaws however. The depressing and disappointing ending will only make you say "That's it?". This is due to the fact that the manga series is unfinished and still far from completion (the manga is said to be 22 books long and so far only 11 of them has been published as of this writing,with vol.12 coming soon).
Another flaw is that certain points of the storyline aren't explained in the movie,only in the manga,and most of the characters lacks development. You barely get to know a supporting character before they die.
It is still a good film,but I recommend you to read the Manga before watching the film (which is available in English through Viz Communications) in order to have a general understanding of the story.
This movie isn't complete without a couple of flaws however. The depressing and disappointing ending will only make you say "That's it?". This is due to the fact that the manga series is unfinished and still far from completion (the manga is said to be 22 books long and so far only 11 of them has been published as of this writing,with vol.12 coming soon).
Another flaw is that certain points of the storyline aren't explained in the movie,only in the manga,and most of the characters lacks development. You barely get to know a supporting character before they die.
It is still a good film,but I recommend you to read the Manga before watching the film (which is available in English through Viz Communications) in order to have a general understanding of the story.
Dragons Of The Earth v Dragons Of The Heaven, A showdown for Earth, it's X!
nintendogamestar5 March 2006
X combines some of the best action sequences that i have seen in an anime production, with highly explosive action that goes in detail of Tokyo, Japan in wreckage. This movie is adapted from the comic strip X, which goes into more detail of character i believe. A simple story, of good against bad like many movies, and with people that have powers just like seen in X comic i am told. Abilities to control water, fire, machinery, and one who has the help from an invisible dog.
The story is about Kamei (Tomokazu Seki) who is seek-ed by both sides of Dragons of the earth and Heaven to see which side he will join in the showdown for planet earth. A simple story which some would say and know has been done before, but for the anime or fantasy fan who loves action and dazzling anime then look no further as X could be the one for you. Movie viewers who are looking for a more complicated orientated adult anime, then this one is for you, the movie has it's moments of high's but also lacks originality. The characters are bought to life quite well, and the English versions feature the voice overs of Toni Barry (Karen Kasumi) and Rupert Degas (Shuogo Asagi). Overall there is worse out there, and is definitely worth checking out. 7/10
The story is about Kamei (Tomokazu Seki) who is seek-ed by both sides of Dragons of the earth and Heaven to see which side he will join in the showdown for planet earth. A simple story which some would say and know has been done before, but for the anime or fantasy fan who loves action and dazzling anime then look no further as X could be the one for you. Movie viewers who are looking for a more complicated orientated adult anime, then this one is for you, the movie has it's moments of high's but also lacks originality. The characters are bought to life quite well, and the English versions feature the voice overs of Toni Barry (Karen Kasumi) and Rupert Degas (Shuogo Asagi). Overall there is worse out there, and is definitely worth checking out. 7/10
X - The Movie
Tweekums27 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
In the year 1999 protagonist Kamui Shirou is sent back to Tokyo to fulfil his destiny. It is potentially the end of the world as two groups; The Dragons of Heaven and Dragons of Earth do battle; the former fighting to protect humanity, the latter fighting to cleanse the planet of humanity. Kamui must decide which side he is to fight for. It won't be easy and many of those he cares about will be killed along the way
and to make matters even harder whichever side he chooses to fight for his friend Fuma is destined to fight on the other side.
This anime film quickly throws us into the action and that action barely stops until the end and while the action looks great not enough time is given to introducing the characters. We are told that certain structures in Tokyo somehow protect the Earth and that a battle to protect them is destined to take place but we are hardly told why. The 'Dragons' are people with supernatural powers and their battles lead to widespread destruction which is pretty impressive. The character designs are a little dated in style but that doesn't detract from the film; they are distinctive enough and suit the style of the story. I've neither read the manga nor watched the later series so can't say how this compares but overall I'd say it is okay if you want plenty of action just don't expect 'cartoon violence' this is pretty bloody and certainly not one for younger viewers.
These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.
This anime film quickly throws us into the action and that action barely stops until the end and while the action looks great not enough time is given to introducing the characters. We are told that certain structures in Tokyo somehow protect the Earth and that a battle to protect them is destined to take place but we are hardly told why. The 'Dragons' are people with supernatural powers and their battles lead to widespread destruction which is pretty impressive. The character designs are a little dated in style but that doesn't detract from the film; they are distinctive enough and suit the style of the story. I've neither read the manga nor watched the later series so can't say how this compares but overall I'd say it is okay if you want plenty of action just don't expect 'cartoon violence' this is pretty bloody and certainly not one for younger viewers.
These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.
disagreement
Dr_Midnite12 April 2005
i disagree that this is a terrible movie because it seems to that many of you are taking this film for face value. in order to fully appreciate this anime and most anime one must actually think while watching. not just stare and think the animation is crap.
in order to enjoy most anime people must concentrate for example Ghost In The Shell, X, Akira and Patlabor Two.
So i implore you anyone who reads this above comment don't let it dissuade from watching X. Watch it when you are willing to concentrate and think about what is on screen.
Just because the animation isn't necessarily of the best quality doesn't mean this isn't a good film, it may be less attractive than most popular anime but it is no worse.
in order to enjoy most anime people must concentrate for example Ghost In The Shell, X, Akira and Patlabor Two.
So i implore you anyone who reads this above comment don't let it dissuade from watching X. Watch it when you are willing to concentrate and think about what is on screen.
Just because the animation isn't necessarily of the best quality doesn't mean this isn't a good film, it may be less attractive than most popular anime but it is no worse.
Left me completely unsatisfied...
DerSongsurfer21 June 2007
I am a huge admirer of the graphic novel series this adaption is built upon and really can recommend X-1999 by CLAMP to everyone for it truly is a masterpiece.
This film, however, was a complete waste of time and I cannot believe that CLAMP actually agreed on summing up the immense plot of the comic books in to one film that is not even two hours long. Because in my eyes it is not the apocalypse aspect which makes the series so absolutely amazing but the detailed characterization of each of the characters, which was here left out completely.
Even the artwork is unable to compete with the visual beauty of the original work.
This film left me completely unsatisfied!
This film, however, was a complete waste of time and I cannot believe that CLAMP actually agreed on summing up the immense plot of the comic books in to one film that is not even two hours long. Because in my eyes it is not the apocalypse aspect which makes the series so absolutely amazing but the detailed characterization of each of the characters, which was here left out completely.
Even the artwork is unable to compete with the visual beauty of the original work.
This film left me completely unsatisfied!
Surprisingly good
jvanhalderen23 April 2003
The film starts very confusing. You get a small intro on each of the characters. Through these 'intro's' the threat is somewhat explained. You have two party's 'The dragons of the Earth' & 'The dragons of Heaven'. The movie chooses well between alignment. Tho the dragons of the earth are symboled as 'the bad guys' and heaven is good, the characters of both party's are real individuals (You could side up with both teams). I'd really liked the intelligence in the movie, nice fighting - scene's. Tho I can imagine that this movie isn't for everybody, if you like manga, story & drama... this really is one to watch!
just another anime
boxybrown30524 February 2005
The series, X (known as X/1999 in America) is truly a great series. However, this movie did essentially no justice to it. If its your first time seeing any part of the series, it really wont mean anything to you, and is just plain a bad way to start a good thing.
To enjoy this series to its fullest: a)read the Tokyo Babylon manga, b)see both Tokyo Babylon movies, c)read the X manga, d)see the X TV series (but watch episode zero AFTER the rest of the series), e)THEN watch the movie (it has cool scenes that weren't in the series and a MUCH better ending). If you don't do it all in that relative order, you'll really miss out on a lot.
If you like the TB and X series, and want more anime/manga that is similar, I highly recommend that you should see the Neon Genesis: Evangelion series, movies, and manga (again, see the series first, and keep in mind that the movies basically replace the last two episodes of the series.
Overall: I give the X movie a 6/10 because it really has minimal story, and will instantly have you lost, if you've seen nothing of it before. Otherwise, it is a pretty good anime to compliment the series, plus a much better, clearer, and actually conclusive ending.
To enjoy this series to its fullest: a)read the Tokyo Babylon manga, b)see both Tokyo Babylon movies, c)read the X manga, d)see the X TV series (but watch episode zero AFTER the rest of the series), e)THEN watch the movie (it has cool scenes that weren't in the series and a MUCH better ending). If you don't do it all in that relative order, you'll really miss out on a lot.
If you like the TB and X series, and want more anime/manga that is similar, I highly recommend that you should see the Neon Genesis: Evangelion series, movies, and manga (again, see the series first, and keep in mind that the movies basically replace the last two episodes of the series.
Overall: I give the X movie a 6/10 because it really has minimal story, and will instantly have you lost, if you've seen nothing of it before. Otherwise, it is a pretty good anime to compliment the series, plus a much better, clearer, and actually conclusive ending.
Nice animation but that's about it.
Proz51230 April 2000
I should mention before I give my point of view that I had never read the books or comic series before watching this film. I'm just an average anime fan who has watched a fair amount of anime.
After I saw an ad in the paper of it being shown at the independent theater for a showing, I decided to give this a try. I've seen some great anime films in past, and some bad ones. This slides towards the awful side of anime. While I'm sure rotten fruit will be thrown at me for saying that, I just couldn't like the film no matter how much I tried.
While the animation is stellar, the story line and character development never really develops maturely. You constantly see the ending and the struggle of the protagonist & antagonist constantly. The first 40 minutes is seeing dream sequences, then the ending. You don't see it once, you see it over and over again. The ending is at the beginning. They rushed through the magna's, just random people showing up and saying "Hi, we have special powers to save/destroy the world. Nice to meet you." Time was wasted on long drawn out scenes and the battles would be too abrupt.
Now I'm sure the true anime fan will look further into the movie and give better insight. I didn't nor couldn't get that analytical about the movie. While anime tries to do this many times, I just want a good flick, not a lesson in life.
What really irks me the most is that while watching the movie you expect a spectacular ending that'll just floor you and instead it just slaps you in the face while the credits appear saying SUCKER. While admittedly it has fantastic animation, that's all that it really has. Maybe the subtitled version is better (most of the time this is true for anime) but until then the decision is not recommend this film.
After I saw an ad in the paper of it being shown at the independent theater for a showing, I decided to give this a try. I've seen some great anime films in past, and some bad ones. This slides towards the awful side of anime. While I'm sure rotten fruit will be thrown at me for saying that, I just couldn't like the film no matter how much I tried.
While the animation is stellar, the story line and character development never really develops maturely. You constantly see the ending and the struggle of the protagonist & antagonist constantly. The first 40 minutes is seeing dream sequences, then the ending. You don't see it once, you see it over and over again. The ending is at the beginning. They rushed through the magna's, just random people showing up and saying "Hi, we have special powers to save/destroy the world. Nice to meet you." Time was wasted on long drawn out scenes and the battles would be too abrupt.
Now I'm sure the true anime fan will look further into the movie and give better insight. I didn't nor couldn't get that analytical about the movie. While anime tries to do this many times, I just want a good flick, not a lesson in life.
What really irks me the most is that while watching the movie you expect a spectacular ending that'll just floor you and instead it just slaps you in the face while the credits appear saying SUCKER. While admittedly it has fantastic animation, that's all that it really has. Maybe the subtitled version is better (most of the time this is true for anime) but until then the decision is not recommend this film.
wonderfully animated movie, with an empowering and complex vision.
joker_113_1714 March 2005
The movie was great. I love Manga, and when i saw the movie i was very impressed. Not only was it delightfully gruesome, but it had an intriguing story that wasn't filled with a lot of unnecessary adult themes. The action was great the characters were great and the story left you thinking even after the unexpected end. I've watched it over and over and it still impresses me, a revolutionary vision for its time.
Even though it was dragging at points it X still made it abundantly clear that it was a well planed movie.
I think even though this movie wasn't quite as good as akira it should still receive kudos for the way it was put together. 10 out of 10.
Even though it was dragging at points it X still made it abundantly clear that it was a well planed movie.
I think even though this movie wasn't quite as good as akira it should still receive kudos for the way it was put together. 10 out of 10.
Confusing!
neon4715 May 2005
X/1999 is a great manga, it really is. I bought this movie as my introduction to anime, luckily I didn't let this movie ruin anime for me. X is the story of a boy who has the power to choose the future by choosing a side to fight for: the Dragons of Heaven who want mankind to continue to exist or the Dragons of Earth, who want mankind purged from the planet like a bad disease. Personally I would've chose the Dragons of Earth. But enough about me. The move is a short 90mins. Not NEARLY enough time to squeeze in a huge story like X. The most frustrating thing about X is that once you're introduced to a character they die within 10mins or so. The animation however is beautiful, and the girls who created the characters did an excellent job designing them. The violence is brutal when it needs to be which is often times a must for me. But this movie just doesn't flow well. Maybe if they would've shoved an extra hour in this there would be less confusion. But now that I've seen the series and read the manga I've got this movie down to a science. But that doesn't raise the rating. I still love the ending to this movie, and I love it even more now because the ending to the series sucked. If one watches this movie about 5 or 6 times they may start to get it a little more. If one is looking for a dark depressing movie this should be on the top of their rent list right next to Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (which out shines this movie in every way imaginary). Overall, if you've got the patience to watch it a few times go for it, but the only thing I watch it for is the ending.
huge disappointment
mighty_pickman17 February 2003
I am generally a fan of anime but this was a huge disappointment. The quality of animation was poor, the English dubbing average & the plot & script awful. There is no character development, characters come & die without the audience having any feeling (good or bad) for them. Luckily for director Rintaro one of his follow up efforts, Metropolis is a much better film 3/10
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