X -エックス-

X

MOVIE

MOVIE
Dubbed
SOURCE
MANGA
RELEASE
August 3, 1996
LENGTH
93 min

DESCRIPTION

The future of the universe rests on one young man, Kamui Shirou, who must destroy either the Dragons of Earth or the Dragons of Heaven - two opposing armies. He alone must decide whether humanity should be destroyed to create a purified universe, or whether it should be protected to preserve civilization.

Two oracles, the sisters Hinoto and Kanoe foresee the coming of the Dragons and predict opposite outcomes. Each sister gathers strength and ammunition to insure her own vision for the future. However, neither sister realizes that there is one man who has an even greater power than the Dragons, and that ultimately he will determine the fate of the earth.

Which sister will prevail and how does Kamui fit into their struggle? The answer to this question will forever affect humanity.

(Source: Manga Entertainment)

CAST

Kamui Shirou
Tomokazu Seki
Fuuma Monou
Ken Narita
Kotori Monou
Junko Iwao
Kanoe
Atsuko Takahata
Subaru Sumeragi
Issei Miyazaki
Seishirou Sakurazuka
Tooru Furusawa
Sorata Arisugawa
Kouichi Yamadera
Arashi Kishu
Emi Shinohara
Yuzuriha Nekoi
Yukana
Karen Kasumi
Mami Koyama
Kusanagi Shiyu
Jouji Nakata
Satsuki Yatouji
Kotono Mitsuishi
Yuto Kigai
Kazuhiko Inoue
Nataku
Rica Matsumoto
Hinoto
Yuuko Minaguchi
Seiichiro Aoki
Hideyuki Tanaka
Tooru Shirou
Masako Ikeda

RELATED TO X

MUSIC DramaX² double X

MANGA ActionX

ANIME ActionX (TV)

MUSIC FantasyCLAMP in Wonderland

REVIEWS

Wyroquax
30/100
A feverish nightmare with gorgeous and dreadful visuals.
This review might contain spoilers. You may proceed if you can handle the truth...

X/1999, directed by Rintaro, is an adaptation of the commercial successful manga series X by the all-female group CLAMP. As the manga had not concluded when writing for the script started, a CLAMP member helped Rintaro develop an alternative story with a proper ending. (At the point of writing this review, the manga has not ended since its hiatus in March 2003.) The director decided to cut almost all subplots from the original story because he wanted the focus on the central plot and the protagonist's conflict.

By trimming the subplots of the manga, the director has done an excellent job delivering the message that it is impossible to protect your loved ones from dangers despite your intentions and powers. The dark, malicious and gloomy atmosphere is the pinnacle of the fan-desired screen adaptation. Throughout its runtime, the protagonist and the viewer submerge in an unprecedented feverish nightmare. In particular, a few scenes are impossible to look away from because of their gorgeous and dreadful style. Overall the visuals and the art style are astounding, and the music choice is decent.

Sadly, the other aspects of the flick are preposterous. Numerous unique elements in the post-apocalyptic world do not receive the time to be explained. Even the features covered by the story are discussed very late into the movie and mostly only brief. Speaking of the plot, it is a regular rescue the woman in danger story with a supernatural twist. Besides, the film neither does offer many unique ideas to enhance the traditional concept nor endeavours to tell it skillfully. Another issue is that the pacing of the movie is often unbalanced.

As a result of cutting almost all subplots, all side characters are only blank shells. Eventually, they die one after another without leaving any significant impact on the story or any emotional relation to the viewer. Furthermore, the protagonist is uninspiring because the number of scenes focusing on his persona is insufficient to establish a meaningful connection with the viewer. The lazy flashbacks do not focus enough on the relationships with his loved ones to explain why he wants to protect them so desperately. Equally uninteresting is his generic antagonist, who has an unfathomable motive. His transformation from a good to a bad guy seems to happen spontaneously without logical reasons.

To summarise, X/1999 has some marvellous moments but fails to deliver an experience suitable for many people. Without a doubt, I can recommend this movie to its manga fans and to people who do not care for modest characters and world-building. Everyone else could spend 90 minutes of their life better.
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