I think X: The TV Series is yet another little-known Anime gem. It’s chock full of great stuff: tragic heroes, deeply developed characters, and totally kick-ass fight scenes. What more could you ask for?

The year is 1999, the cusp of the new millennium. It has been prophesized that in this day and age, a battle that will decide the fate of the Earth will take place in Tokyo. The seven seals will fight to protect the current state of the Earth, while the seven angels strive to destroy what exists and build the world anew. A young man named Kamui is destined to decide the nature of this battle. Kamui himself doesn’t want any part of this struggle though. He merely wishes to be with the only friends he’s over known, Fuma and Kotori. When Fuma and Kotori are threatened with grave danger, Kamui is forced to act and take the role that destiny has made for him.

The story is based on the excellent manga created by the 4-woman team known collectively as CLAMP. The manga was originally adapted as a short movie called X/1999. The movie didn’t live up to expectations as it attempted to condense years of manga story into 100 minutes. Still, the story was popular enough to get a second chance, this time with a full-fledged television series.

There are a lot of characters in this series and all of them are interesting, but for the sake of brevity we’ll discuss some of the main players.

	Kamui is the lead character. He’s the strong, silent, brooding, tortured type of hero that’s well-known in anime. He’s had a tough childhood, dealing with his budding powers and actually witnessing his mother’s death. Kotori and Fuuma have shown him love since they were kids, and they’re the only things Kamui really holds dear. Kamui has a wide range of supernatural gifts, which he readily uses when certain dark forces begin to show up. He is left with the choice of becoming the Dragon of Earth to preserve the Earth, or the Dragon of Heaven to remake it.
	Fuuma is Kotori’s older brother and Kamui’s best friend, although there are hints that their feelings for each other go beyond that. Fuuma’s a very friendly guy, and star player on his school’s basketball team. He’s blissfully unaware of Kamui’s powers, but that all begins to change as the prophecy begins to take shape. Fuuma’s destiny is a dark one that even he is not aware of
	Kotori, Fuuma’s sister. She’s a very caring girl. When they were kids, Kamui saved her life, prompting Fuma to pledge that he would protect him forever. Kotori also has some abilities that are just beginning to grow.
	Hinoto, the DreamGazer. She’s sees the two futures that Kamui can choose, and she attempts to lead him and the seven seals to their destiny.

You’ll notice that I placed this post in the Yaoi/Shonen-ai category. While X isn’t really a shounen-ai series, I feel obligated to warn the fellas out there that there is a lot of man-love hinted at in the series. In one scene Fuuma licks some blood off of Kamui’s neck in a way that really makes you wonder. :icon_cool:. This is a CLAMP series after all, and CLAMP is well known for their shounen-ai overtones. Still, even if you aren’t necessarily comfortable with that type of thing, you would be doing yourself an injustice if you missed out on this series because of it. In fact, I would even say that the implied relationships between the characters are some of the BEST parts of the series, as they make the conflict that much more dramatic.

Friends…or more?

X is chock full of super-powered fight scenes that are well directed and very well animated. Unlike some series where the fights can be long and drawn out, X fights are short, sweet, and action packed.

Another one of the great aspects of this series is the deep character development. There are a lot of characters introduced in this Anime, yet each one is given a little spotlight and back story. We learn the motivations of each and every supporting character, while still getting enough screentime with the main characters. That’s an amazing feat for a series that’s only 24 episodes.

This series doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to tragedy. Many of the characters are put through some pretty screwed up situations, including some rather tragic deaths. Although several major characters die in the course of the series, the tone here isn’t as depressing as the X: 1999 movie. Characters in X die for a clear reason, and the people left behind remember them and their sacrifices. X the series is kind of bittersweet, X the movie was just plain bitter. It’s just one of many areas where the series makes up for the shortcomings of the movie.

The soundtrack is decent, but not remarkable. Most of the soundtrack is comprised of somber orchestral tunes. The opening theme song is fairly catchy, but beyond that there’s not much to write about. There’s one orchestral track that’s heavy on the strings and bells that they use constantly throughout the series. It’s a dramatic song that fits the mood of the series, but I got tired of hearing it. The music is really the only aspect of the series I’d change if I could. The songs aren’t bad, all the songs are well composed, it’s just that they could have been better.

Despite the lackluster soundtrack, X is still one of my favorite series. The animation is top notch, the story is great, and the characters are compelling. As good as this series is, I have to say that the long-running but incomplete manga version is even better. The manga’s story differs from what we see in the series, but the story is still great nonetheless. Unfortunately, the manga remains unfinished at 18 volumes. Apparently the magazine that was publishing it got upset that the story was becoming increasingly violent and dark, and they urged CLAMP to make changes. CLAMP refused, and put the series on hiatus. That was 3 years ago. :icon_cry: Hopefully, CLAMP will give the manga the ending that it deserves. In the meantime, we have a complete, excellent TV series to enjoy.

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