X - The Series
Reviewer: Wiggle [website] [email]Overall Rating: A-
Media Reviewed: DVD
Creator: CLAMP
U.S. Licensed: Yes
Released by: Geneon Entertainment
Run time: 24 episodes
BL Content: None (slashable, suggestive)
Genre: Drama/SciFi/Apocalyptic
Other media: English-licensed manga
Apocalyptic visions, world-shaking decisions, love beyond death, intricate friendships and the blending of love and hate -- everything that CLAMP does best is showcased in X, perhaps the best anime series to come to the U.S. X gives and gives and never holds back, capturing and enthralling the viewer through 26 action-packed, emotional, magical, angst-ridden and twisted episodes. And, since it's CLAMP, the series is full of beautiful boys and men with strange, ambiguous and fascinating relationships. The friendships and rivalries are so intricate to the story that they can hardly be called "fan service." Love and hate between the male characters simply is, and if it wasn't, the story would not be what it is.
The year is 1999, and Shirou Kamui is the focus around which the story revolves. "Kamui" is the one destined to be either the salvation or the destruction of the world; which side he chooses is up to him. Kamui the boy can either choose to be a Dragon of Earth and help to destroy the Earth to make way for something new, or he can become a Dragon of Heaven and save the Earth as it is now. Whichever he chooses, his "twin star," the other "Kamui," will take the opposite role. Who this twin star might be is kept secret through the first half of the series.
Kamui is not alone in his decision or his struggle. The other Dragons of Heaven gather to help convince Kamui to choose their side, including the beautiful and troubled Sumeragi Subaru (from CLAMP's classic Tokyo Babylon manga and OAV), cheerful Arisugawa Sorata, and adorable editor Aoki Seiichiro, along with a group of no-nonsense, kick-ass women. Also supporting Kamui are siblings Monou Fuuma and Kotori, who have known Kamui since he was a child. Fuuma and Kamui seem to have a particularly strong friendship and are one of the more obvious slash couples in the series.
On the other side are the Dragons of Earth, and naturally, the bad guys are more interesting and more beautiful. Sakurazuka Seishiro, Subaru's nemesis from Tokyo Babylon, is back to torment him personally as well as fight for the Dragons of Earth. Kuzuki Kakyo is a Dreamseer, unwilling to be on the side of the Dragons of Earth, but unable to escape his destiny. Kigai Yuto and Shiyu Kusanagi are both adult men and given very obvious heterosexual love interests, but are intriuging nonetheless. Last but not least, sexless and soulless Nataku doesn't quite count as male, but "he" is close enough for this fangirl.
The overriding themes of camaraderie and opposition, between and against the opposing teams, leads to a lot of slashing possibilities. With all the various battles, it's possible to create almost any pairing possible, but several are more supported by events. Fuuma and Kamui, of course, have an extremely close friendship which becomes the driving force behind the plot after a time. And anyone who knows Tokyo Babylon will recognize the inevitable yet hateful attraction between Subaru and Seishirou, forever locked on opposing sides, forever finding each other again and again. Remixing those two couples, a relationship also develops between Subaru and Kamui which provides some of the most exciting -- for the yaoi fan anyway -- visual moments in the show.
With a cast of gorgeous boys (and girls) and the end of the world at hand, what happens? Angst, of course. X is a dark, sometimes depressing series. Betrayal, loss, death and blood are the least of it, but everything is so perfectly, excellently, beautifully wrought that the angst never feels excessive. Instead, X is like a dark work of art, with each piece of horror and fear flowing into the next with a sense of edge-of-your-seat anticipation. In addition to the storytelling, each DVD has only three episodes, whetting the viewer's appetite for the next disc with every installment of three.
X is a technical masterpiece as well as a masterwork of storytelling. The animation is all digital, of course, with deep lush colors and flawless movement. The "real life" action is mixed in fluidly with conceptual artwork and metaphorical images, combined with a multitude of flashbacks to flesh out the many characters' backstories. Behind the animation runs a fantastic soundtrack, led off with the fast-paced and heart-pumping opening theme "eX Dream."
There just aren't enough good things to say about X to truly convey what a thrilling, fascinating series it is. At least, it's not possible to really explain it without giving gigantic spoilers, and it seems that everything in X is a spoiler. Just check it out: for story, beauty, music and satisfying yaoi implications there's nothing better than X.
