Summary: >

It had been his destiny all along. Kamui was fated to decide the future of the world. It had been six years since he left Tokyo as a young boy, and now after the recent death of his mother, he returns. Yet it was his return that marked the beginning of the end: the apocalypse itself. Two opposing sides would attempt to gain Kamui as their ally. If he chooses the Dragons of Heaven, then Kamui will save humanity but the earth will continue to suffer at the hands of mankind. If he chooses the Dragons of Earth, then Kamui will bring about the end of mankind and the earth will heal itself.

For Kamui, this was more than he really wanted to deal with. His only real wish was for the happiness for the two he cared for most. His childhood sweetheart Kotori, and her brother Fuma that was like a brother to him. Yet as things came to pass it turns out that Fuma is in fact his twin star, and that whatever side Kamui should choose, Fuma will oppose him and they will fight to the death. But is their fate truly sealed or is there a way for Kamui to save the two people he wants to protect the most?

Thoughts: >

Well where to start. Having seen the movie first I wasn't sure what to expect, aside from expansion of the storyline. And X probably has probably has one of the most intriguing and well thought out story lines you'll ever come across so this was a relief to say the least. First of all if you followed the movie, you can pretty much toss all of that, as it didn't follow much of anything. But you saw how it ended right? Not quite. X has the rather unusual position in that it has had two video incarnations based off of the manga, yet both of the video versions finished before the manga! And yes, all three of them will have different outcomes. Which is probably one of the most intriguing things about X, in that one of the primary points of the series is about destiny which cannot be changed, yet all three versions of X end differently...

The characters are thoroughly interesting. Kamui starts out as a total bad ass, and then sort of evolves into a more thoughtful character once he can no longer distance himself from everyone. It's much more intriguing the way things come together, how the dragons meet each other and their opponents. Of course the story is just as tragic as before - more so in some ways in that you actually know the characters this time, and less in other ways (not everyone dies). Each character has an interesting background and an interesting role to play in the series - and THAT was sorely missed in the movie.

There were some drawbacks to this anime however. First is the animation. While the design was exceptional much like the movie (exempting Kotori's exotic hair animation), the animation itself was actually on the lower budget side. The lack of animation was sort of odd itself, but action sequences were down right disappointing at times. The music was alright, but lacked variation and was a bit too dramatic for some scenes that just didn't have any drama. Then there's Fuma. I've heard people say he's too close to Kotori, but this dude is too close to everyone in my opinion =P. Well those points aside, this is overall an exceptional anime. If you're worried about the end, then don't be; because it's completely different. I wasn't aware of this and was completely surprised by the ending - which was actually really good. Overall the X TV series is a good title, and certainly worth checking out.

Screen Caps: >