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Information

Title (English) X movie

Title (Japanese) X: 1999

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Fantasy Novel

Notes Movie, 1998, Madhouse, 100 mins.
Also a manga series by CLAMP, published in Japan and USA.

Classification shoujo

Synopsis In 1999 the Dragons of Heaven are about to defend humanity against the Dragons of Earth, who want to purify and regenerate the natural earth by sweeping away Man and all his institutions. Kamui Shirou's destiny is to return to Tokyo and face this ultimate challenge as a Dragon.

Review I first saw this as a fansub some years ago and have recently seen it on German TV and also as the UK DVD release.
The city of Tokyo is key to the Earth's defence, and the famous landmarks are nodes of protection which the Dragons of Earth try to destroy. If the shielding Dragon of Heaven dies, the shield and the landmark building fall too. Kamui could be key to the defence, if he can be motivated to fight, but there is another "Kamui" on the opposing side.
The problem with "X" is the manga, a huge unfinished saga, which gives much more space to developing the characters. There are at least 18 characters in the movie (7 dragons of Earth, 7 dragons of Heaven, Kamui's mother, and 3 seers) and several of them are not developed at all in the movie. It's worth looking at the "extras" if you have the DVD, as the "extras" tell you a lot more about the characters than the movie itself does!
An interview on the DVD indicates that the director was aware of this problem, but he evidently failed to solve it. If one is not familiar with the manga story, one's reaction is on the lines of "Who are these people and why are they being killed off?" For some reason I found the deaths more affecting on first viewing than on second and third.
On the plus side, the movie has some colourful character designs, and striking supernatural battle sequences. I have a problem with supernatural battle sequences - I find them a bit of a bore, perhaps because of the sense of deus ex machina, which is another reason why I don't rate this movie highly. (GC)

Credits Director: Rintaro
Screenplay: Mami Watanabe, Nanase Ohkawa
Art director: Shuichi Hirata
Planning: Takeshi Tamiya, Nanase Ohkawa.

Episodes

Release Jap:DVD, US:DVD, UK:DVD.

TV Showing See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.

Date 1998

Production Madhouse

Broadcaster

Animation

References & Help Look up the latest data on this title at:
Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or
Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) ,
or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001).
Help & further information.

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Information
Title (English)	X movie
Title (Japanese)	X: 1999
Advertising Fantasy Novel
Notes	Movie, 1998, Madhouse, 100 mins. Also a manga series by CLAMP, published in Japan and USA.
Classification	shoujo
Synopsis	In 1999 the Dragons of Heaven are about to defend humanity against the Dragons of Earth, who want to purify and regenerate the natural earth by sweeping away Man and all his institutions. Kamui Shirou's destiny is to return to Tokyo and face this ultimate challenge as a Dragon.
Review	I first saw this as a fansub some years ago and have recently seen it on German TV and also as the UK DVD release. The city of Tokyo is key to the Earth's defence, and the famous landmarks are nodes of protection which the Dragons of Earth try to destroy. If the shielding Dragon of Heaven dies, the shield and the landmark building fall too. Kamui could be key to the defence, if he can be motivated to fight, but there is another "Kamui" on the opposing side. The problem with "X" is the manga, a huge unfinished saga, which gives much more space to developing the characters. There are at least 18 characters in the movie (7 dragons of Earth, 7 dragons of Heaven, Kamui's mother, and 3 seers) and several of them are not developed at all in the movie. It's worth looking at the "extras" if you have the DVD, as the "extras" tell you a lot more about the characters than the movie itself does! An interview on the DVD indicates that the director was aware of this problem, but he evidently failed to solve it. If one is not familiar with the manga story, one's reaction is on the lines of "Who are these people and why are they being killed off?" For some reason I found the deaths more affecting on first viewing than on second and third. On the plus side, the movie has some colourful character designs, and striking supernatural battle sequences. I have a problem with supernatural battle sequences - I find them a bit of a bore, perhaps because of the sense of deus ex machina, which is another reason why I don't rate this movie highly. (GC)
Credits	Director: Rintaro Screenplay: Mami Watanabe, Nanase Ohkawa Art director: Shuichi Hirata Planning: Takeshi Tamiya, Nanase Ohkawa.
Episodes
Release	Jap:DVD, US:DVD, UK:DVD.
TV Showing	See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.
Date	1998
Production	Madhouse
Broadcaster
Animation
References & Help	Look up the latest data on this title at: Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) , or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001). Help & further information.