Honestly, I think Clamp never really intended to finish X. They were so convinced Y2K was happening, that they wrote a sappy apocalyptic sci-fi to explain the end of the world and just expected everything to blow up as their finale, but it didn't happen. So they... Just pretend X doesn't exist. Clamp! Awesome visuals, questionable story, mediocre endings.
@mrmap4875 Y2K is when people didn't know how computers/systems were gonna act when we hit the 21st century (the year 2000) This was for a variety of reasons, most I can't really remember, but nothing ended up happening. Most people think it was because there was nothing to worry about in the first place, but in reality alot of smart people came together to prevent anything from happening. Highly recommend a documentary on YT, any I imagine would suffice.
@@PhoenixFireZero I had always heard rumors about a conflict with the publisher, that the publisher tried to make CLAMP change the planned ending, and when they refused, the series was basically cancelled. Apparently the truth was that there were multiple disasters that caused them to discontinue the series because some things were hitting too close to home.
I seen this film in theaters many years ago in NYC; It was so bad that people walked out of the theater. I think I fell asleep watching it and some guy yelled out : What is this shit?!
I find this hard to believe. This is as dumb a movie as Sage says it is, but since anime is primarily celebrated as a visual medium I think the vast majority of people would be thrilled to see such a brilliantly animated film on the big screen regardless of the flawed story.
@@whitedwarf13 X isn't just a flawed story. CLAMP's works had been praised for both visuals and story. X was built up for years as possibly their most epic work, kind of their Avengers: Infinity War. Some of the characters came from a previous CLAMP series while others would feature in various series to come. X was even hyped with a (well received) animated music video featuring music from the band X-Japan. Then the movie was released, and it was lousy.
It also does what the movie couldn't in terms of character development (the arc between Karen and Nataku being canned is one of the series's biggest flaws, though). The series illustrates how the whole "Good vs Evil" thing is utter bullshit. Both sides have the same goals; it's their way of thinking what's different. The Dragons of Earth are the ideal mirrors for the Dragons of Heaven, they are amoral and atheistic but still care about the planet and hate how us humans are screwing it up in our greed. As the series comes to an end you can see that the enemies also have their vulnerable side. The movie was too rushed for that message to go through. That and the fact that Kakyou wasn't even created yet are the reasons the movie flopped.
I have such mixed feelings of X. It could be an epic story, but Clamp just can't finish the book, the show is too goddamn slow to entertain and the movie leaves everything to be desired. But I want to see it done well, damnit!
I remember this movie. Someone hyped it up to me, like it was amazing, actually. I somehow sat through the whole thing, and when the credits rolled, all I could say was "What the fuck was that?"
This is actually one of the first anime I have ever seen. I am not joking, I was a kid, my grandma had taken me to blockbusters, I ran to the anime aisle, desperate for a fix since my grandparents didn't have the channels so i could watch toonami. I grabbed THIS and Angel Sanctuary. You can imagine that my life was thenceforth fucked royally.
oh my, i take it your grandma was one of those that thought anime was like american cartoon and where it was all fuzzy bunnies and wacky ducks. She had no idea that the content of a lot of anime at the time was for mature audience only.
content of anime is always targeted to teenagers, the rest of the people over 12yo thinks all the characters are whiny kids that need to get out of their room more
Incest showing up isn't much of a shocker if you're familiar with CLAMP's other work. Forbidden love is a major theme that runs through pretty much everything they do. If their body of work overall could be said to have a thesis, it's that true love is inherently precious and should be pursued wherever you find it, regardless of *all* obstacles - which includes societal norms. In other words, they're a fangirl's dream group.
Aranneas it's that same message of love that pushes the boundaries of societal norms that produced the five little words that made almost every Jojo fan shit themselves inside-out; "Kakyoin, did you lay this egg?"
THIS is why you don't take an 18 volume long unfinished manga and try to turn it into a single movie. There are characters that are actually killed off in this movie before they were INTRODUCED in the manga timeline. Several characters are ignored entirely, the rest have their history removed, and there are large chunks of the plot that are just skipped over. The best part of the manga is watching these people realize their destiny and the conflict between them. The characters ARE this series.
In fact, there is no incest between Fuma ("James") and Kotori ("Angelina"): Fuma is summoned by evil seerer becouse he is the twin star of Kamui, like to say that he is Kamui, who is in love with Kotori. However: in the movie the story of X makes no sense 'couse it tries to tell a 18 volume long story-arc in less than 90 minutes, something literaly impossible; and to do so, the author of the screenplay changed every character and event. The real story of X (complete with a real ending) can be seen in the marvelous anime tv series made by the Madhouse Studio.
@@nooneinparticular5256 It's without incest. But there's an iffy relationship between a guy in his late 20s- mid thirties and a 16 year old school girl.
Yep, its pretty good when you actually let the drama and characters breath and have their stuff better animation. Like the kamui dilemma that he and fuma are destined, and if he decided to go team destroy humanity fuma would be team heaven. And as he decided to protect humanity, fuma became the opposite. But the whole theme in other storylines too about a tragic fate, like with the monk, yeah its really good drama if you actually give the people including the dragons time to get known. And the fated cursed destiny of kamui. Which anime ending is pretty good. And that dragons on opposing lide like each other even. Also it has a plot where sealing his sword seals the other sword. And characters dont need nessesary to die. And the reasons for team destroy humanity, including elvire wanting to free her sister from her fate.
The "two D-bags who hate each other" are originally from another CLAMP manga, Tokyo Babylon. So not only is the history between the two not explained in X, it's not really explained in the manga, X/1999. Their names are Subaru Sumeragi, (the guy in the robes) and Seishirō Sakurazuka (the guy in the trenchcoat). Basically, Sage wasn't all that far off. I won't go into the whole story, but the core idea is that Seishirō is an assassin, who was supposed to kill Subaru when he was a child, but didn't. Later in his life he met Seishirō again, they made a bet about whether Subaru could make him care about him, Subaru fell in love with him, but Seishirō ended up winning the bet and almost killing him. That's why they have such animosity between them.
Kinako Ishiyama Just overcomplicated unnecessary bullshit. The whole bet thing and such. Of all the reasons they could hate each other, why include a stupid bet like that?
+Allen Babylon I didn't say it was overcomplicated. I just said it was more complex then it was made out to be. It's actually very interesting and I think you should try to give the Tokyo Babylon manga a read, cause it's really a great series.
so the movie ends with man holding the decapitated head of a person he knew from his childhood, that even after everything he went through he felt a bizzare friendship for? Clamp your jojo is showing again.
Their friendship was predictable and straightforward compared to Jonathan and Dio's. Kotori's Death motivating Kamui to fight and him holding Fuuma's head in the ending allude more to the most soul crushingly iconic scene in Devilman, when Akira holds Miki's head.
@@isaacgray2909 It's the one in Neo Devilman where Akira's about to kiss Ryo, is it? That's my guess considering, a) the big-eyed small-faced art on that one and b) the fact it's the most boring and out of place one of the entire Neo Devilman stories.
My God the audio for the voice over in this movie sounds awful. What year was this made? It sounds so low budget, like the actors are talking into a tin can . The mid 90's Ocean dub of Dragonball had better sound quality than this.
After reading the manga and watching both the show and the film, I'd say that the 2001 anime is probably the strongest, mainly because it tones down some of the more contemptible parts of the manga's story and does some fine tuning with the characters (showing Kamui, Fuuma and a less-frail Kotori doing things together for one) and stands out fine on its own. Some of the Biblical themes are lost, but the manga kind of shoves its head up its own ass in that regard. Is 2001 Sage's cutoff year? The TV series is far better than this film and maybe warrants a look.
I had the DVD of X The Movie back in the day. As part of its special features, every character has a full background explained. And honestly, they are good characters. The flaw is the story lacks focus and depth. It could do with a reboot.
I loved the manga and hated this movie, even after I had character build up and understanding the real story line from the manga. The manga is so complex but they over simplified everything in the movie, worst still, that English dub was horrifying. I don’t think the brother was the sister’s lover, I think in the original they meant Kamui but there was a lot of confusion as Fuma is seen as Kamui’s spiritual twin, so often called the same thing. I recommend reading the manga, but warning, they didn’t finish that too! Ok, I recommend reading RG Veda.
This was the first anime i had ever seen. I loved the way it looked, and while the story was....bad, even at the time i knew it was empty, i always thought it was just something lost in translation, like it was missing something that would have been explained in a book. Just filled it in the blanks in my head and enjoyed the spectacle which seems to be the only way you really can enjoy it.
Mark English FOR REAL DUDE! How old is this guy. Didnt he MISS all these titles when they were new. 2nd hes applying film making rules to Anime when its entire purpose is to bring to life manga characters not to attempt to make great film.
Blackie BlackMetal He's about the right age to have been around when this shit was first getting brought to America actually, he's probably not much older than I am, and my first experience with this movie was on starz or hbo or one of those channels back when I was in high school, don't get how age disqualifies you from having an opinion anyway. He's applying film rules because it is still a film, and therefore still uses a lot of the same elements and methods as any other film would. Also, are you saying that all anime is just made to prop up manga? I'm assuming you aren't because that would be fucking stupid. If you just meant that the whole point of this one movie is to not be good, but to be a recreation of the manga, then it would probably still fail because going on what I've read about the manga, it's not a very good adaptation.
@@TheNeonugget most anime especially the OAV were made JUST so that there would be anime to accompany manga. Your age IS important because it determines the anime you would have been first exposed to. Look at what someone's first anime would be now, definitely not Fist of the North Star so dont you think those kids would have a wildly different perception of anime? Anime and film still dont quite follow the same rules.
I remember trying to watch this almost 15 years ago with my (now) father-in-law...I was just getting into anime and he had been a fan for many years. I don't think we made it 10 minutes in before we looked at each other and said "This makes no sense" and stopped it. Bennett, you're exactly right - beautiful art and animation, but everything else is a complete waste of time.
I got together with a bunch of my friends the other day and we all sat down to watch X and give it the ol' MST3K treatment. All of us must have seen this review at some point because we ALL started to do fart noises during the final scene.
My rant continues: The movie failed if it couldn't get across the entire point of the thing being the consequences of making decisions for selfish reasons. Everyone was doing things for themselves, even if they believed that they were doing it for others. The entire point was that no one stopped and asked the people that they were supposedly doing things for if that was what they wanted. That is why there were personal counterpoint with personal grudges in the two teams.
*Dumbest Line* 8:37 "So I've found him! The Kamui who will defeat Kamui. His twin star. His other being. No matter which dragon Kamui becomes, Kamui will always there to counterbalance what Kamui does, won't he, Kamui?" Kamui Count = 6 *Dumbest Line Read* 10:17 "KOTORIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiii!!!"
So after watching his review of Tokyo Babylon, I have to wonder, why DO Outback and The Vet hate each other in this? They were originally lovers, and now they're mortal enemies? What, did one of them insult the other's cooking, and this is just their version of sleeping on the couch?
+Shinbu1128 The Vet killed Subaru's twin sister. (She dressed up as Subaru and allowed the Vet guy to sacrifice her to the cherry tree spirit instead of her brother. I think. It's been years since I read the synopsis.) The X TV series goes into this in a little more detail.
@@r.babylon2885 Because it wasn’t the reason. The reason was that the vet (as the freaking psychopaths that he is) made an unilateral bet with a child to see if he can grow to love him within a year. He couldn’t so he was going to kill the brother. Since the sister loved his brother and felt guilty because she encouraged the relationship as a way to make his brother be more selfish and have someone to always be by his side, decIde to be the one that paid the price of the bet. The cherry tree spirit is just a story Seichirou in his youth told Subaru when he caught him killing a child. Explaining to him that the reason a Sakura tree has their pink color is because there is body buried underneath them.
I remember enjoying this movie when I was a kid. And yet that's all I could remember, the fight scenes, blood, sad deaths, the WTFery, and the 'FUMAAAA!' cry at the end. Couldn't tell you any of the other characters names. Though it does make me wonder if there was a manga or tv show that was a lot deeper in depth about what the heck was going on.
Yep, the series is pretty good. Seriously, it really goes into into fuma turning bad there, the teams, and the whole that they were chosen by a fate and even like each other. And you dont nessesary have to kill someone to break that shield. And team destroy humanity has even reasons explored, even elvira. And why he is so hesitant. And the accuset fate and people who like each other, having to fight. Its actually sad. For some, some are just too far. But traumatic pasts really blurries why they are ok being anto team humanity. Series is stellar. The manga was axed due either a catastrophy sadly, but series one is fine
i usually hate it when people say things like this, (Usually I'm in the "good work should stand on it's own" school of thought,) but you really SHOULD check out the 25 episode anime. Everything that was wrong with this one, (lack of explination/motivation) is solved with character motives shoved RIGHT in the for-front, without the good things, (art, action, and animation,) taking any hits what so ever.
His verdict on X is the same as my opinion on Fate Aprophyca (one of my least favorite anime I've sat through). I feel the visuals were good and the fight scenes could look impressive but the story was utter garbage. I found myself disliking both the heroes and the villains almost equally.' As a result, said fight scenes lost much of their impact. Even though I'm a Fate fan (I liked the games and other Fate Anime a lot), I'd love to see Bennett cover it. Ghost in The Shell (the original, not the live action movie) relied on its beautiful animation as well (establishing shots are used to the point of padding) but that's more justifiable. Helps that the Major is an attractive badass who's genuinely likable and the plot is well written. The result is a very atmospheric and iconic anime. X doesn't seem to have those advantages.
I recommend the dub version. Reading your anime has been proven to recuse your ability to take in the visuals (via eye tracking across 300 test subjects, we know you see 30% less of the show when reading an anime). When interviewed, anime directors said they prefer people watch dubs when possible as they see the art as more important than the dialogue. So, fuck subs. TO hell with them.
Just a quick question: Was the movie "X" actually an adaptation? I ask because a friend once told me that the reason that you never get any backstory in the movie is because it's expected of the audience that you've watched the series going into the movie, and that the implication is that something happened to the lead at the end of the series that made him initially forget the coming conflict. So all the movie really does is provide the final payoff that the series promised but never delivered on while giving Kamui the chance to restore his memory and make his final choice about sides. Any clarification would be appreciated.
In that case, if that's true then It must take place after the manga from 1992. This movie came out in 1996. The anime series didn't come out until 2001.
Anony Mous Incorrect. The movie is just an abridged version of the story, where as the series was more fleshed out. The same events take place in both.
Sage opened up a world of anime to me. At first I was watching all of his reviews and thinking, woow, what crap films but now most of those are my favorites. Truly bold, pieces of art. Edit: I hope that Sage changed his opinion on a lot of these, because all we get today is clean turds and nothing real.
CLAMP epitomizes a time in '90s anime where visuals were, well, EVERYTHING. Back then, the Japanese were selling the U.S. market on the anime style more than anything else. This is why we have so many '90s artifacts that are essentially random shit with anime tacked onto it in an attempt to make a sale to the fans (READ: Hook-Ups). While a few really good anime did originate from this era (hell, even CLAMP had Clover - no, seriously, you MUST read Clover!), to put it simply, this was a time that valued style over substance. And when you consider that the source material is STILL incomplete, well, what did you expect, an anime rendering of Citizen Kane? (Y'know, that'd be kinda bad-ass, now that I think about it... :P ) Yeah, watching CLAMP anime is a lot like watching Toby McGuire use the Mona Lisa as a puppet - pretty boys with pretty visuals doing REALLY STUPID SHIT. Why these ladies are such a big deal... Well, there was Clover. And Rayearth. And Cardcaptor. And EVEN PICASSO HAD SOME DOWNRIGHT LOUSY PAINTINGS NOW STFU YOU BLINDLY ZEALOUS FANBOYS!!!
idk if I found the "Hook-Ups" article but I read this super old article from '99 talking about how anime like this was becoming trendy in the states. They talked about Hook-Ups, with little background knowledge on the company and the man who started it. I can see where they are coming from not appreciating the use of something they've loved for years for "profit", we skaters feel the same way, especially with the harsh influx of longboarders and wheelbiters as of late. But Jermey Klein, Hook-Ups founder, has been an otaku for awhile, as he's stated in interviews and videos and whatnot, but being a skater owned company, profit falls somewhere in the middle of the list of priorities. Hook-Ups wasn't founded just to make some money off of "Moonies" or what have you, they were doing something that wasn't and still hasn't been done in skating, Hook-ups is still around doing the same thing since they started. Idk I just felt kinda butthurt that the article vilified skaters as such. oh yeah, FUCK X
I suppose there came a point where the makers started seeing a decent amount come in from Anime they had listened to western distributors and decided to make some shows dressed up for them. That ended with the piracy of the 00s, but now we have simulcasts sending money back and kickstarters being funded by western viewers we may go full circle.
Well..it's the same with modern anime, for me at least. Good visuals(except when they used CG, especially mechas which makes them look like shit)....but everything else is generic as all hell. Even to the character design.
CLAMP has a LOT of good works; xxxHolic, Tsubasa, CCS, Chobits, Clover, Kobato, MKR, RG Veda is pretty good too. X/1999 is interesting from what I've been able to read but it's LONG and MESSY in terms of plot (Tsubasa is similar but less posturing and better executed). As to why X/1999 never finished? Because at the time a lot of the destruction happening in the manga was happening to Tokyo in reality. They were told to actually *stop* making the manga because people were getting paranoid and superstitious. CLAMP has said they know how it ends but cannot publish it.
Honestly, this explanation does kinda fit. True especially if you look at the start of Image Comics during that time, started by a group of artists that had their own unique styles and were given apologies for by fans time and again despite some of them having weak stories (COUGHANYTHINGBYLEIFELDCOUGH) and constant delay issues. The beefy men and whispy woman were just so... strange and different then comic art at the time it sold an entire brand for these guys, and by the time that most of them wised up and started developing more with those styles towards normal proportions, most of them managed to keep that fanbase. I suppose 90's anime was a similar draw for those looking for 'different'.
It's an old and rather archaic Puritan belief that covered flesh=goodness, modesty, and purity while exposed flesh (boobs, legs, butts, midriff, shoulders, neck, and back, mostly) =succubus, evil, slut, impure, imperfect, devil-spawn, enchantress, and many others. A trope as old as time, a prejudice as old as rhyme.
Why is CLAMP so obsessed with portraying incest and pedophilia as if it were normal? They even put it in Cardcaptor Sakura, a magical girl series for CHILDREN.
I think the only way I could watch this movie without tearing my hair out in anguished confusion is by watching it after coming out of the hospital after an operation while I’m still high off my ass on morphine.
I love X/1999 so many people hate it but the animation, music and characters are amazing. Sadly, you need to watch Tokyo Babylon and then have read the manga to really understand what is going on. Sad that they made the movie like that as a lot of people willl be lost but for fans of X and Clamp this is a real treat.
I actually remember watching this late at night on a German station that sometimes would show dubbed anime. And I distinctively remember that this was the first time that I called something sexist. There is this one Earth Dragon character, who is basically a hacker who made the computer fall in love with her. And i thought: "Wow, the only reason she is so good is because she uses sex as a bargaining chip with A MACHINE!"
I'm fucking dying, I remember back in 2010 when my friend forced me to read every available volume of the manga and then invited me to watch the movie, back then I was like it's really pretty, but I'm really glad that I'm not the only one who thought the story was shit. I nearly cried I laughed so hard.
I must've watched X as a teen about 30 times because I was convinced there was some deeper meaning and "I'll get it on this rewatch." I never got it, there was nothing to get. X is a terrible film, and a black mark on Rintaro's career.
Can I just point out that this has roughly the same setup as Code Geass, another work by CLAMP? It's two childhood friends forced to fight against each other by forces beyond their control. In Code Geass, the complex political and social situation of Japan and Britannia (as well as their denizens) drive Suzaku and Lelouch to opposite sides of the conflict. In X, it's just because destiny said so.
Wow. I think I was 13-14 when my friend gave me this to watch for shock value pretty much. I was a very innocent 13-14 year old, so that business of Fuma/James and Kotori/Angelina being lovers went TOTALLY over my head.
+Julia Kropp I thought that the swords just manifested in a woman who was closest to the Kamui characters. I didn't think it was literally a sexual relationship.
Your findings are so true Sage. The movie was just a sad excuse for an "action" movie. I had some small knowledge of the original X story from what manga I did read, and saddened that this movie explained little and didn't honor the story it was written by. As you say though,visually it was stunning. I say that as it's one the best looking, and yes I agree, the story in this "movie" is shit. Fortunately some time after this movie's release, the 24 episode anime was released, and it did a much better job in being true to the original source material. I can't really say that straight and true since I still hardly know the manga, but it was still a hell of a lot better than the movie's take on a story.
*sigh* no... The movie just messed everything up again. The main character, Kamui, and his friend/rival Fuma do each recieve a sword, but the scene with the sister was not how Fuma got his in the manga. Kotori was killed by her brother very early on in the series, and her death was what drove Kamui to make his choice. She did not give birth to the sword, Her mother did. The Mothers of both main characters were the source of their swords. This movie put the plot of the manga in a blender.
I’m only here for the art. The story drove me nuts to figure out. But the first few times I watched it , I was enraptured by the visuals and let it slide story wise bc I figured I was distracted. But yea. It’s a nightmare lol
I'm confused about the Mother-Son Incest aspect, because in this review it seems like that son is the main character, but other places referring to Incest in X say it's character who still haven't shown up in the several episodes of the series I've watched.
The English dub is absolutely terrible and the movie is insanely confusing. Still, I for some reason liked the movie's ending more than the one they used for the Anime TV series....
Well in my opinion I liked the anime SERIES X/1999 much better, it was still a little vague but it did give each character a little more time. Even telling some of the past for each of them.
as an artist , i find it disgraceful that the art is being wasted in this movie so badly it disgusts me! i also write stories and mangas but seriously i can make a more intriguing story then this movie when i am with a high fever, sick stomach and have a headache basically when i am at my worst .....and i am a level above average at best
Continued: It was also heavily insinuated that there was a way out without bloodshed, that involved the dragon of the heavens Kamui, listening to the wishes of the dragon of the earth Fuuma and granting his one wish. Therefore, having the ones who were pushing aside their own personal desires--sort of--acknowledge them, and have the ones striving to fulfill their own desires, yield to the desires of others. Therefore by creating a balance of the two drives, and a stable world.
I have this movie on VHS. I bought it at a Suncoast Video and i had never been so confused. I always thought it was an OVA since there is hardly any exposition. It's not the worst anime I've ever seen but it is definitely the weirdest.
Considering that it seems that incest is "necessary" for it to work... And every Dragon of either side seems to have one... Implying... Well... Massive amounts of incest... I think I'll pass... And everyone else should...
X the movie is terrible. They screwed up the main character and made him a wuss. X the series is much better. Its basically the same story but they fixed the main character and the pacing is better.
Did they actually explain shit? Like why either the two guys decide to join this fight for no good reason, or why the brother would kill his sister.... just cause.
Me ten years later after this video.. wondering if the manga will ever be done...realizing it's been on hiatus for 20 years 👁👄👁
I think the creators forgot about it, or lost interest.
Honestly, I think Clamp never really intended to finish X. They were so convinced Y2K was happening, that they wrote a sappy apocalyptic sci-fi to explain the end of the world and just expected everything to blow up as their finale, but it didn't happen. So they... Just pretend X doesn't exist.
Clamp! Awesome visuals, questionable story, mediocre endings.
@@danielaroblesaguirre2140 can you explain what was y2k was it some communication blackout or something
@mrmap4875 Y2K is when people didn't know how computers/systems were gonna act when we hit the 21st century (the year 2000)
This was for a variety of reasons, most I can't really remember, but nothing ended up happening. Most people think it was because there was nothing to worry about in the first place, but in reality alot of smart people came together to prevent anything from happening.
Highly recommend a documentary on YT, any I imagine would suffice.
@@PhoenixFireZero I had always heard rumors about a conflict with the publisher, that the publisher tried to make CLAMP change the planned ending, and when they refused, the series was basically cancelled. Apparently the truth was that there were multiple disasters that caused them to discontinue the series because some things were hitting too close to home.
I seen this film in theaters many years ago in NYC; It was so bad that people walked out of the theater. I think I fell asleep watching it and some guy yelled out : What is this shit?!
BiggBrotha your comment made me lose my shit
Rollfol
16:15 This is probably when that guy shouted What is this shit!?
I find this hard to believe. This is as dumb a movie as Sage says it is, but since anime is primarily celebrated as a visual medium I think the vast majority of people would be thrilled to see such a brilliantly animated film on the big screen regardless of the flawed story.
@@whitedwarf13 X isn't just a flawed story. CLAMP's works had been praised for both visuals and story. X was built up for years as possibly their most epic work, kind of their Avengers: Infinity War. Some of the characters came from a previous CLAMP series while others would feature in various series to come. X was even hyped with a (well received) animated music video featuring music from the band X-Japan. Then the movie was released, and it was lousy.
"Her lover is her brother." Welcome to the wonderful world of CLAMP.
16:17 and his mother is his lover
Sweet home Alabama.
I thought his childhood friend is his lover?!
I need to read CLAMP apparently
I have one question for CLAMP: What is it with you guys and incest?!
I would recommend watching X the series. It has a lot more going on, you get to know the characters more, and it's more accurate to the manga.
+Michael Stethem So, the series doesn't have an ending either, then?
Allen Babylon It does. If course it was an ending made up specifically for the anime, but at least it has an ending.
Michael Stethem does it have the dragons of Heaven and Earth dropping like flies even if they _won_ the fight they died in?
It also does what the movie couldn't in terms of character development (the arc between Karen and Nataku being canned is one of the series's biggest flaws, though). The series illustrates how the whole "Good vs Evil" thing is utter bullshit. Both sides have the same goals; it's their way of thinking what's different. The Dragons of Earth are the ideal mirrors for the Dragons of Heaven, they are amoral and atheistic but still care about the planet and hate how us humans are screwing it up in our greed. As the series comes to an end you can see that the enemies also have their vulnerable side. The movie was too rushed for that message to go through. That and the fact that Kakyou wasn't even created yet are the reasons the movie flopped.
Rule of thumb. If your ending involves decapitation and love, you should probably re-write it. *cough* School Days! *cough* Attack on Titan!
I have such mixed feelings of X. It could be an epic story, but Clamp just can't finish the book, the show is too goddamn slow to entertain and the movie leaves everything to be desired. But I want to see it done well, damnit!
I remember this movie. Someone hyped it up to me, like it was amazing, actually.
I somehow sat through the whole thing, and when the credits rolled, all I could say was "What the fuck was that?"
Ending song is Forever Love by X Japan. Great band but I bet they were only called to do this soundtrack because of the name.
This is actually one of the first anime I have ever seen. I am not joking, I was a kid, my grandma had taken me to blockbusters, I ran to the anime aisle, desperate for a fix since my grandparents didn't have the channels so i could watch toonami. I grabbed THIS and Angel Sanctuary. You can imagine that my life was thenceforth fucked royally.
If that's not a made-up story, I genuinely feel sorry for you.
Phacteria Its not made up sadly. I remember the look the clerk gave me, like I was looking for hentai pieces or something.
+Maria White ...Truly a sad thing to go through in your childhood.
oh my, i take it your grandma was one of those that thought anime was like american cartoon and where it was all fuzzy bunnies and wacky ducks. She had no idea that the content of a lot of anime at the time was for mature audience only.
content of anime is always targeted to teenagers, the rest of the people over 12yo thinks all the characters are whiny kids that need to get out of their room more
Incest showing up isn't much of a shocker if you're familiar with CLAMP's other work. Forbidden love is a major theme that runs through pretty much everything they do. If their body of work overall could be said to have a thesis, it's that true love is inherently precious and should be pursued wherever you find it, regardless of *all* obstacles - which includes societal norms.
In other words, they're a fangirl's dream group.
Aranneas it's that same message of love that pushes the boundaries of societal norms that produced the five little words that made almost every Jojo fan shit themselves inside-out;
"Kakyoin, did you lay this egg?"
That's six words.
They're creeps
@@KhayJayArt with some of their work i'd be hard pressed to disagree, it can get pretty out there
Man clamp would hate to know then that unconditonal love doesnt exist.
x gonna give it to ya
That AMV Hell Clip is the only reason I knew of this anime prior to this video.
Heavy footsteps intensify
11:53 But at least the arts pretty!
I almost woke up the neighbours laughing at this, thanks🤣
This joke hits real different now.
#ripdmx
This is like if a good artist tried directing his own feature film and this came out, he would get a complete rotten berry award for the way it is.
THIS is why you don't take an 18 volume long unfinished manga and try to turn it into a single movie. There are characters that are actually killed off in this movie before they were INTRODUCED in the manga timeline. Several characters are ignored entirely, the rest have their history removed, and there are large chunks of the plot that are just skipped over. The best part of the manga is watching these people realize their destiny and the conflict between them. The characters ARE this series.
In fact, there is no incest between Fuma ("James") and Kotori ("Angelina"): Fuma is summoned by evil seerer becouse he is the twin star of Kamui, like to say that he is Kamui, who is in love with Kotori.
However: in the movie the story of X makes no sense 'couse it tries to tell a 18 volume long story-arc in less than 90 minutes, something literaly impossible; and to do so, the author of the screenplay changed every character and event.
The real story of X (complete with a real ending) can be seen in the marvelous anime tv series made by the Madhouse Studio.
Is it without ANY incest?
@@nooneinparticular5256 It's without incest. But there's an iffy relationship between a guy in his late 20s- mid thirties and a 16 year old school girl.
Yep, its pretty good when you actually let the drama and characters breath and have their stuff better animation.
Like the kamui dilemma that he and fuma are destined, and if he decided to go team destroy humanity fuma would be team heaven. And as he decided to protect humanity, fuma became the opposite.
But the whole theme in other storylines too about a tragic fate, like with the monk, yeah its really good drama if you actually give the people including the dragons time to get known. And the fated cursed destiny of kamui. Which anime ending is pretty good.
And that dragons on opposing lide like each other even.
Also it has a plot where sealing his sword seals the other sword.
And characters dont need nessesary to die.
And the reasons for team destroy humanity, including elvire wanting to free her sister from her fate.
The "two D-bags who hate each other" are originally from another CLAMP manga, Tokyo Babylon. So not only is the history between the two not explained in X, it's not really explained in the manga, X/1999. Their names are Subaru Sumeragi, (the guy in the robes) and Seishirō Sakurazuka (the guy in the trenchcoat). Basically, Sage wasn't all that far off. I won't go into the whole story, but the core idea is that Seishirō is an assassin, who was supposed to kill Subaru when he was a child, but didn't. Later in his life he met Seishirō again, they made a bet about whether Subaru could make him care about him, Subaru fell in love with him, but Seishirō ended up winning the bet and almost killing him. That's why they have such animosity between them.
There's a little more to it, but yeah, this is the gist of it.
+LaydiNite Sounds like bullshit.
Allen Babylon How so?
Kinako Ishiyama Just overcomplicated unnecessary bullshit. The whole bet thing and such. Of all the reasons they could hate each other, why include a stupid bet like that?
+Allen Babylon I didn't say it was overcomplicated. I just said it was more complex then it was made out to be. It's actually very interesting and I think you should try to give the Tokyo Babylon manga a read, cause it's really a great series.
Okay this dub sounds like it was recorded off the same mic from leave it beaver
Wait. How can Kamui & Kotori be lovers when they haven't seen each other in 6 years???
Plot.
To be honest, "at least we're not Denny's" is the kind of glowing review Sizzler could have paid Sage to give. XD
so the movie ends with man holding the decapitated head of a person he knew from his childhood, that even after everything he went through he felt a bizzare friendship for?
Clamp your jojo is showing again.
In the manga is hinted at the two had feelings for each other and it's canon Kamui loved Kotori and vice versa. So really they're in a triad.
Their friendship was predictable and straightforward compared to Jonathan and Dio's. Kotori's Death motivating Kamui to fight and him holding Fuuma's head in the ending allude more to the most soul crushingly iconic scene in Devilman, when Akira holds Miki's head.
@@SaitohYatate
I think you mean Whammu and Joseph.
Yes, I went that way. Joseph was best JoJo.
More like Devilman since CLAMP did drew a doujinshi for that series.
@@isaacgray2909 It's the one in Neo Devilman where Akira's about to kiss Ryo, is it? That's my guess considering, a) the big-eyed small-faced art on that one and b) the fact it's the most boring and out of place one of the entire Neo Devilman stories.
15:28 Sweet Jesus, those shoulders! I get the 'style', but that simply looks awful.
+Iffy Go look up xxxholic o u o
Just look up xxxholic bad art and you will see the BEST ART EVER
Nai Canoodle Why did you do this to me? XD
BECAUSE ANIME!
Nai Canoodle You just HAD to remind me about that!
I'm glad I wasn't the only person who noticed that.
I'll point out that Fuuma is not Kotori's lover. It's Kamui who loves her.
Fuuma *does* murder his own sister, though.
My God the audio for the voice over in this movie sounds awful. What year was this made? It sounds so low budget, like the actors are talking into a tin can . The mid 90's Ocean dub of Dragonball had better sound quality than this.
+David Maglioli It reminds me of the old Hong Kong action movies with the bad dubs.
I think it was late 90s, but yeah, it's pretty bad.
+David Maglioli ocean dragonball is oscar level compared to this ...
***** That's possible, but the movie's bad, either way, so I probably won't ever bother to watch it subbed.
the audio is ok, it is youtube. he recorded the sound from the tv
After reading the manga and watching both the show and the film, I'd say that the 2001 anime is probably the strongest, mainly because it tones down some of the more contemptible parts of the manga's story and does some fine tuning with the characters (showing Kamui, Fuuma and a less-frail Kotori doing things together for one) and stands out fine on its own. Some of the Biblical themes are lost, but the manga kind of shoves its head up its own ass in that regard.
Is 2001 Sage's cutoff year? The TV series is far better than this film and maybe warrants a look.
I mean yes, i think itspretty good even, and it having time to breath really allows to make sense. And yeah characters explained better.
1:36 if you squint you can see Lelouch from Code GEASS
You don't even need to squint
CLAMP is notorious for reusing character designs over an over so it's not really surprising.
Suzaku looks like Syaoran and Sakura's future child too XD And one of Cornelia's Knights looks like Clow Reed. I love CLAMP but yeah.... XXD
I laughed so much harder than I should have at the fart noises.
+Slishes Maloney
Bullshit! I'm naming a dog after YOU!
Yeah I did too. Lol
CaptainMarvel4Ever you ain't the only one.
I admit I did too.
I fucking lost it on your version of the ending. I think this needs to be done to all CLAMP endings now. Wonderful
"I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going."
And unlike most people who say that, you actually *have.*
I had the DVD of X The Movie back in the day. As part of its special features, every character has a full background explained.
And honestly, they are good characters. The flaw is the story lacks focus and depth.
It could do with a reboot.
It definitely could do with a reboot
I loved the manga and hated this movie, even after I had character build up and understanding the real story line from the manga. The manga is so complex but they over simplified everything in the movie, worst still, that English dub was horrifying. I don’t think the brother was the sister’s lover, I think in the original they meant Kamui but there was a lot of confusion as Fuma is seen as Kamui’s spiritual twin, so often called the same thing. I recommend reading the manga, but warning, they didn’t finish that too! Ok, I recommend reading RG Veda.
This was the first anime i had ever seen. I loved the way it looked, and while the story was....bad, even at the time i knew it was empty, i always thought it was just something lost in translation, like it was missing something that would have been explained in a book. Just filled it in the blanks in my head and enjoyed the spectacle which seems to be the only way you really can enjoy it.
I guess thats why the show is better. Also the ending is , breathing does help a loot. Andbetter animation.
"This is the worst anime I've ever seen."
- BennettTheSage in every video
Mark English watch School days
Mark English FOR REAL DUDE! How old is this guy. Didnt he MISS all these titles when they were new. 2nd hes applying film making rules to Anime when its entire purpose is to bring to life manga characters not to attempt to make great film.
Blackie BlackMetal He's about the right age to have been around when this shit was first getting brought to America actually, he's probably not much older than I am, and my first experience with this movie was on starz or hbo or one of those channels back when I was in high school, don't get how age disqualifies you from having an opinion anyway. He's applying film rules because it is still a film, and therefore still uses a lot of the same elements and methods as any other film would. Also, are you saying that all anime is just made to prop up manga? I'm assuming you aren't because that would be fucking stupid. If you just meant that the whole point of this one movie is to not be good, but to be a recreation of the manga, then it would probably still fail because going on what I've read about the manga, it's not a very good adaptation.
@@blackieblackmetal7218 you can do both...
@@TheNeonugget most anime especially the OAV were made JUST so that there would be anime to accompany manga. Your age IS important because it determines the anime you would have been first exposed to. Look at what someone's first anime would be now, definitely not Fist of the North Star so dont you think those kids would have a wildly different perception of anime? Anime and film still dont quite follow the same rules.
Is it just me or it sounds like the voices sounds like they're from the 50's?
Yep
10:43 Ok that Salome reference is going to haunt me.
😮oh shit
I remember trying to watch this almost 15 years ago with my (now) father-in-law...I was just getting into anime and he had been a fan for many years. I don't think we made it 10 minutes in before we looked at each other and said "This makes no sense" and stopped it. Bennett, you're exactly right - beautiful art and animation, but everything else is a complete waste of time.
I got together with a bunch of my friends the other day and we all sat down to watch X and give it the ol' MST3K treatment. All of us must have seen this review at some point because we ALL started to do fart noises during the final scene.
My rant continues: The movie failed if it couldn't get across the entire point of the thing being the consequences of making decisions for selfish reasons. Everyone was doing things for themselves, even if they believed that they were doing it for others. The entire point was that no one stopped and asked the people that they were supposedly doing things for if that was what they wanted. That is why there were personal counterpoint with personal grudges in the two teams.
*Dumbest Line*
8:37 "So I've found him! The Kamui who will defeat Kamui. His twin star. His other being. No matter which dragon Kamui becomes, Kamui will always there to counterbalance what Kamui does, won't he, Kamui?" Kamui Count = 6
*Dumbest Line Read*
10:17 "KOTORIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiii!!!"
So after watching his review of Tokyo Babylon, I have to wonder, why DO Outback and The Vet hate each other in this? They were originally lovers, and now they're mortal enemies? What, did one of them insult the other's cooking, and this is just their version of sleeping on the couch?
+Shinbu1128 The Vet killed Subaru's twin sister. (She dressed up as Subaru and allowed the Vet guy to sacrifice her to the cherry tree spirit instead of her brother. I think. It's been years since I read the synopsis.) The X TV series goes into this in a little more detail.
+theproplady "Cherry Tree Spirit" sounds so lame out of context.
@@r.babylon2885 Because it wasn’t the reason. The reason was that the vet (as the freaking psychopaths that he is) made an unilateral bet with a child to see if he can grow to love him within a year. He couldn’t so he was going to kill the brother. Since the sister loved his brother and felt guilty because she encouraged the relationship as a way to make his brother be more selfish and have someone to always be by his side, decIde to be the one that paid the price of the bet.
The cherry tree spirit is just a story Seichirou in his youth told Subaru when he caught him killing a child. Explaining to him that the reason a Sakura tree has their pink color is because there is body buried underneath them.
I remember enjoying this movie when I was a kid. And yet that's all I could remember, the fight scenes, blood, sad deaths, the WTFery, and the 'FUMAAAA!' cry at the end. Couldn't tell you any of the other characters names. Though it does make me wonder if there was a manga or tv show that was a lot deeper in depth about what the heck was going on.
Yep, the series is pretty good. Seriously, it really goes into into fuma turning bad there, the teams, and the whole that they were chosen by a fate and even like each other. And you dont nessesary have to kill someone to break that shield.
And team destroy humanity has even reasons explored, even elvira. And why he is so hesitant. And the accuset fate and people who like each other, having to fight. Its actually sad. For some, some are just too far. But traumatic pasts really blurries why they are ok being anto team humanity.
Series is stellar. The manga was axed due either a catastrophy sadly, but series one is fine
It's so weird to hear Ultra not speed up and not a minute long in a Anime Abandon episode.
i usually hate it when people say things like this, (Usually I'm in the "good work should stand on it's own" school of thought,) but you really SHOULD check out the 25 episode anime. Everything that was wrong with this one, (lack of explination/motivation) is solved with character motives shoved RIGHT in the for-front, without the good things, (art, action, and animation,) taking any hits what so ever.
The dubs sound like an old timey radio broadcast.
His verdict on X is the same as my opinion on Fate Aprophyca (one of my least favorite anime I've sat through). I feel the visuals were good and the fight scenes could look impressive but the story was utter garbage. I found myself disliking both the heroes and the villains almost equally.' As a result, said fight scenes lost much of their impact. Even though I'm a Fate fan (I liked the games and other Fate Anime a lot), I'd love to see Bennett cover it.
Ghost in The Shell (the original, not the live action movie) relied on its beautiful animation as well (establishing shots are used to the point of padding) but that's more justifiable. Helps that the Major is an attractive badass who's genuinely likable and the plot is well written. The result is a very atmospheric and iconic anime. X doesn't seem to have those advantages.
Clamp is freaking WEIRD when it comes to Incest.
But... that woman isn't Kamui's mother...
+Coramelimane Who is she then?
Kamui's aunt birthed the second sacred sword in the series. Fuuma's mother birthed the first one.
Then that just proves how ducking incompetent the dub studio was
Fuma and Kotori aren't siblings either
The movie is g.... the movie is go.... the movie is... I can't do it, it sucks so bad.
Is this somewhat related to Vampire Knight? Because the cringe real.
I recommend the sub version, it explains a bit of the storyline of X/1999 way better than the dub version.
I recommend the dub version. Reading your anime has been proven to recuse your ability to take in the visuals (via eye tracking across 300 test subjects, we know you see 30% less of the show when reading an anime). When interviewed, anime directors said they prefer people watch dubs when possible as they see the art as more important than the dialogue. So, fuck subs. TO hell with them.
Just a quick question: Was the movie "X" actually an adaptation? I ask because a friend once told me that the reason that you never get any backstory in the movie is because it's expected of the audience that you've watched the series going into the movie, and that the implication is that something happened to the lead at the end of the series that made him initially forget the coming conflict.
So all the movie really does is provide the final payoff that the series promised but never delivered on while giving Kamui the chance to restore his memory and make his final choice about sides.
Any clarification would be appreciated.
In that case, if that's true then It must take place after the manga from 1992. This movie came out in 1996. The anime series didn't come out until 2001.
Anony Mous Incorrect. The movie is just an abridged version of the story, where as the series was more fleshed out. The same events take place in both.
Sage opened up a world of anime to me. At first I was watching all of his reviews and thinking, woow, what crap films but now most of those are my favorites. Truly bold, pieces of art.
Edit: I hope that Sage changed his opinion on a lot of these, because all we get today is clean turds and nothing real.
CLAMP epitomizes a time in '90s anime where visuals were, well, EVERYTHING. Back then, the Japanese were selling the U.S. market on the anime style more than anything else. This is why we have so many '90s artifacts that are essentially random shit with anime tacked onto it in an attempt to make a sale to the fans (READ: Hook-Ups). While a few really good anime did originate from this era (hell, even CLAMP had Clover - no, seriously, you MUST read Clover!), to put it simply, this was a time that valued style over substance. And when you consider that the source material is STILL incomplete, well, what did you expect, an anime rendering of Citizen Kane? (Y'know, that'd be kinda bad-ass, now that I think about it... :P ) Yeah, watching CLAMP anime is a lot like watching Toby McGuire use the Mona Lisa as a puppet - pretty boys with pretty visuals doing REALLY STUPID SHIT. Why these ladies are such a big deal... Well, there was Clover. And Rayearth. And Cardcaptor. And EVEN PICASSO HAD SOME DOWNRIGHT LOUSY PAINTINGS NOW STFU YOU BLINDLY ZEALOUS FANBOYS!!!
idk if I found the "Hook-Ups" article but I read this super old article from '99 talking about how anime like this was becoming trendy in the states. They talked about Hook-Ups, with little background knowledge on the company and the man who started it. I can see where they are coming from not appreciating the use of something they've loved for years for "profit", we skaters feel the same way, especially with the harsh influx of longboarders and wheelbiters as of late. But Jermey Klein, Hook-Ups founder, has been an otaku for awhile, as he's stated in interviews and videos and whatnot, but being a skater owned company, profit falls somewhere in the middle of the list of priorities. Hook-Ups wasn't founded just to make some money off of "Moonies" or what have you, they were doing something that wasn't and still hasn't been done in skating, Hook-ups is still around doing the same thing since they started. Idk I just felt kinda butthurt that the article vilified skaters as such. oh yeah, FUCK X
I suppose there came a point where the makers started seeing a decent amount come in from Anime they had listened to western distributors and decided to make some shows dressed up for them. That ended with the piracy of the 00s, but now we have simulcasts sending money back and kickstarters being funded by western viewers we may go full circle.
Well..it's the same with modern anime, for me at least. Good visuals(except when they used CG, especially mechas which makes them look like shit)....but everything else is generic as all hell. Even to the character design.
CLAMP has a LOT of good works; xxxHolic, Tsubasa, CCS, Chobits, Clover, Kobato, MKR, RG Veda is pretty good too. X/1999 is interesting from what I've been able to read but it's LONG and MESSY in terms of plot (Tsubasa is similar but less posturing and better executed). As to why X/1999 never finished? Because at the time a lot of the destruction happening in the manga was happening to Tokyo in reality. They were told to actually *stop* making the manga because people were getting paranoid and superstitious. CLAMP has said they know how it ends but cannot publish it.
Honestly, this explanation does kinda fit. True especially if you look at the start of Image Comics during that time, started by a group of artists that had their own unique styles and were given apologies for by fans time and again despite some of them having weak stories (COUGHANYTHINGBYLEIFELDCOUGH) and constant delay issues. The beefy men and whispy woman were just so... strange and different then comic art at the time it sold an entire brand for these guys, and by the time that most of them wised up and started developing more with those styles towards normal proportions, most of them managed to keep that fanbase. I suppose 90's anime was a similar draw for those looking for 'different'.
There was more decapitation in this film than in most series I've seen.
It's an old and rather archaic Puritan belief that covered flesh=goodness, modesty, and purity while exposed flesh (boobs, legs, butts, midriff, shoulders, neck, and back, mostly) =succubus, evil, slut, impure, imperfect, devil-spawn, enchantress, and many others. A trope as old as time, a prejudice as old as rhyme.
+Sydney Slaughter Oh, I forgot feet!
I'm sorry, what?!
What the hells with the voice acting audio? Sound like they did it with mics that have the lowest resolution possible.
Much like 60s or 70s audio!
Why is CLAMP so obsessed with portraying incest and pedophilia as if it were normal? They even put it in Cardcaptor Sakura, a magical girl series for CHILDREN.
who knows
The same reason Urobuchi Gen made Madoka Magica to be "kid friendly"(censorship).
The Supreme Necrotic Dakimakura He also did for Kamen Rider Gaim
I think the only way I could watch this movie without tearing my hair out in anguished confusion is by watching it after coming out of the hospital after an operation while I’m still high off my ass on morphine.
omg look at 15:28. His upper body is giantic compared to his head.
welcome to anime/manga art
Enoc Elias Escalona Many comics in the 90s looked like that. American and Japanese.
Schwarzer Ritter good point
Something that has been on my mind. Why is it that alot of anime that Sage reviewed has great art visuals but (mostly) horrible story telling?
I love X/1999
so many people hate it but the animation, music and characters are amazing. Sadly, you need to watch Tokyo Babylon and then have read the manga to really understand what is going on. Sad that they made the movie like that as a lot of people willl be lost but for fans of X and Clamp this is a real treat.
Tokyo Babylon
@@viviansim7982 good catch
I actually remember watching this late at night on a German station that sometimes would show dubbed anime.
And I distinctively remember that this was the first time that I called something sexist. There is this one Earth Dragon character, who is basically a hacker who made the computer fall in love with her. And i thought: "Wow, the only reason she is so good is because she uses sex as a bargaining chip with A MACHINE!"
To be fair, the actual 24 episode series isn’t bad compared to this movie
I'm fucking dying, I remember back in 2010 when my friend forced me to read every available volume of the manga and then invited me to watch the movie, back then I was like it's really pretty, but I'm really glad that I'm not the only one who thought the story was shit. I nearly cried I laughed so hard.
CLAMP!?!?!?!? They did this the creators of xxxholic, tsubasa and code gease!?! Tell me I heard that wrong!
>CLAMP
"Kakyoin, did you lay this egg?"
Sizzler at least we're not Denny's!😂
Sad music plays...."Just as you were destined to become a Dragon of Heaven, I was destined to become a Dragon of Earth...." 😭
I love CLAMP, but X/1999 is one of their series I could never get into. Even so, movie doesn't do the manga justice.
CrystalMoonStar agreed
I like the look of older anime.
That scream at 10:19 is hilarious
Last time I checked Elvira Mistress of The Dark was stacked and also not evil....... Just really liked the color black and sex
I must've watched X as a teen about 30 times because I was convinced there was some deeper meaning and "I'll get it on this rewatch."
I never got it, there was nothing to get. X is a terrible film, and a black mark on Rintaro's career.
Book of revelations the broken seven seals that bring the apocalypse
The song Forever Love deserved to be in a better movie than this
I prefer Steve Staley over Kamui Shirou's voice actor here, the movie's actor makes the character sound like a fire truck siren
I...LITERALLY had no idea what the legit plot of this movie was.
1:50 That's what makes it hurt even more, the animation is as epic as fuck! :(
Can I just point out that this has roughly the same setup as Code Geass, another work by CLAMP? It's two childhood friends forced to fight against each other by forces beyond their control. In Code Geass, the complex political and social situation of Japan and Britannia (as well as their denizens) drive Suzaku and Lelouch to opposite sides of the conflict. In X, it's just because destiny said so.
That's not by CLAMP; they just did the character designs.
Wow. I think I was 13-14 when my friend gave me this to watch for shock value pretty much. I was a very innocent 13-14 year old, so that business of Fuma/James and Kotori/Angelina being lovers went TOTALLY over my head.
+Julia Kropp I thought that the swords just manifested in a woman who was closest to the Kamui characters. I didn't think it was literally a sexual relationship.
0:43 make that 19 years 😭
Your findings are so true Sage. The movie was just a sad excuse for an "action" movie. I had some small knowledge of the original X story from what manga I did read, and saddened that this movie explained little and didn't honor the story it was written by.
As you say though,visually it was stunning. I say that as it's one the best looking, and yes I agree, the story in this "movie" is shit.
Fortunately some time after this movie's release, the 24 episode anime was released, and it did a much better job in being true to the original source material. I can't really say that straight and true since I still hardly know the manga, but it was still a hell of a lot better than the movie's take on a story.
own 3 copies of the movie, 2 full sets of the anime, and a full set of manga.
i really do like the anime, movie, and manga.
Holy fuck this review is nearly eight years old now. Did that manga ever get finished?
The fart noise spooked my dog. Thx sage XD
*sigh* no... The movie just messed everything up again. The main character, Kamui, and his friend/rival Fuma do each recieve a sword, but the scene with the sister was not how Fuma got his in the manga. Kotori was killed by her brother very early on in the series, and her death was what drove Kamui to make his choice. She did not give birth to the sword, Her mother did. The Mothers of both main characters were the source of their swords. This movie put the plot of the manga in a blender.
I’m only here for the art. The story drove me nuts to figure out. But the first few times I watched it , I was enraptured by the visuals and let it slide story wise bc I figured I was distracted. But yea. It’s a nightmare lol
Does that include the character designs? Because I'm not sure Clamp understands what humans look like.
I'm confused about the Mother-Son Incest aspect, because in this review it seems like that son is the main character, but other places referring to Incest in X say it's character who still haven't shown up in the several episodes of the series I've watched.
X was strange, still don’t know what I watched.
The English dub is absolutely terrible and the movie is insanely confusing. Still, I for some reason liked the movie's ending more than the one they used for the Anime TV series....
AAAAHHH! AAAAAHHH! AAAAAAAHHH!!! *throws up in the toilet repeatedly*
I remember loving this movie when I was younger for how it looks and art but really cannot remember anything of the story
Well in my opinion I liked the anime SERIES X/1999 much better, it was still a little vague but it did give each character a little more time. Even telling some of the past for each of them.
as an artist , i find it disgraceful that the art is being wasted in this movie so badly it disgusts me! i also write stories and mangas but seriously i can make a more intriguing story then this movie when i am with a high fever, sick stomach and have a headache basically when i am at my worst .....and i am a level above average at best
8:04- 8:18 What I said and did in SAO's second half with Sugu and Kirito.
X......just because you rip off the "Akira holding Miki's head as the house burns down" scene from Devilman, does not make you as deep as that manga.
read the manga
But what if we got Miki’s english voice from the OVA? Just uh, disregard the fact that that character isn’t even the one that gets beheaded.
11:36 Okay, that's cool. It just feels, right. The movement of the guys cloth is mesmerizing. That's my only saving grace for this piece of media.
Continued: It was also heavily insinuated that there was a way out without bloodshed, that involved the dragon of the heavens Kamui, listening to the wishes of the dragon of the earth Fuuma and granting his one wish. Therefore, having the ones who were pushing aside their own personal desires--sort of--acknowledge them, and have the ones striving to fulfill their own desires, yield to the desires of others. Therefore by creating a balance of the two drives, and a stable world.
Love the fart joke at the end! xD
I have this movie on VHS. I bought it at a Suncoast Video and i had never been so confused. I always thought it was an OVA since there is hardly any exposition. It's not the worst anime I've ever seen but it is definitely the weirdest.
12:21 This guys running animation is gonna give me a migraine
Can someone explain the whole uterus sword thing?
Considering that it seems that incest is "necessary" for it to work... And every Dragon of either side seems to have one... Implying... Well... Massive amounts of incest... I think I'll pass... And everyone else should...
+GLEIPNIR So, in the end of days, inbreds will fight it out amongst themselves to determine if the Apocalypse will occur.
Oh dear.
X the movie is terrible. They screwed up the main character and made him a wuss. X the series is much better. Its basically the same story but they fixed the main character and the pacing is better.
Did they actually explain shit? Like why either the two guys decide to join this fight for no good reason, or why the brother would kill his sister.... just cause.
Sage wasn’t far off they were lovers but one was a dick so now they hate each other