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Anime
Synopsis:
The future of the universe rests on one young man, Kamui Shiro,
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.
DVD EXTRAS:
• Region 1 encoding (US
and Canada only)
• Color, Widescreen, Animated, Dolby
• Tarot Card: Bios
• Interview with Director
• Photo Gallery
• Widescreen anamorphic format
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None
that I know of
DVD REVIEW:
Many people are
familiar with this anime by the popular female manga
artists/writers known as CLAMP. Many Japanese music fans are
familiar with X Japan especially Yoshiki. Many people in the
US are familiar with the manga through Animerica Magazine.
Take these 3 cool qualities together and you get an awesome movie
right?
Well, that's where the
problem lies. In the manga, people were able to read the
relationships between each character. Sometimes the
storylines were humorous and it was almost Fushigi Yuugi, Yu Yu
Hakusho like. It was fun to read but knowing it's from CLAMP
that there would be darker elements.
Well, a problem with
this anime movie is that nearly all the relationships and
storyline that people read in the manga has been eliminated in the
movie. In fact, the movie is now at the battle between the
Dragons of Heaven vs. the Dragons of Earth and Armageddon has
come.
Well, I watched this
movie when it first came out in Japan and I had no knowledge of
the manga. So, from that perspective, I can tell you that it
was an interesting but very dark anime with an ending that left me
a bit puzzled. Having read parts of the manga series, I can
see the disappointment of some hardcore fans. Some people
may feel cheated or incomplete with this anime movie.
A few friends who saw
this movie without knowing the manga, felt there was an underlying
message. But for me, I felt that this movie was answered by
the director in the Animerica interview (which is included in the
special section of the DVD). The director is a fan of David
Lynch and also throwing curveballs, that is, not giving people
what they always expect from a movie. Thus, the storyline of
X.
I must say that even
though this violent and bloody anime was dark, I enjoyed the
battle sequences between the two groups. It definitely is a
freak anime and one must hope that someday, perhaps, that an OAV
series can be made that is based on the relationships of the
characters from the manga storyline.
As for the music,
Yoshiki and X Japan. Awesome!
As for the DVD, the
movie looks great and Manga Entertainment didn't skimp on the
English dubs. I prefer watching anime via Japanese with English
subtitles but Manga Entertainment has a good track record with
English dubs and also the sound was in Digital 5.1, so I had to
check it out. I wish they released the Digital 5.1 Japanese
track though.
As for special
features, you get the interview with the director (read only),
tarot cards (info. on the characters) and a small photo
gallery. I wish there was more for the special features that
go into the manga series and also the music but I'm probably
asking for too much.
I did enjoy this movie
and I enjoyed this CLAMP anime. It's different from any good
vs. evil anime I have ever seen and the character designs,
visuals, the battles and the music was really cool to see.
So, if you are
planning on buying this anime after reading the manga, you may be
disappointed but if you want to watch a dark, violent anime movie
based on good vs. evil, X is a definite movie that you should see.
THE MOVIE: B-
THE DVD EXTRAS: C+
THE DVD OVERALL: C+
Check out other
cool DVD reviews on this movie by clicking here: 1,
2
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