Product Details

• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
• DVD Release Date: November 25, 2003
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000CG8B1
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,365 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Good Things..., December 23, 2003

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: X - Eight (TV Series, Vol. 8) (DVD)

This is the last volume in what has been a remarkable retelling of Clamp's original manga series. The final apocalypse has come, and the two Kamui's (Kamui and Fuma) must face each other to decide the fate of mankind and the earth. Building to this final struggle are a series of battles between the Dragons of Earth and Heaven. Betrayal and counter betrayal crisscross until only these last two, the bearers of the dual aspects of the divine shinken, retain their powers.

I've been looking forward to this DVD for some time. The original film completely bobbled the story from the manga, creating more confusion than anything else. This series has managed to capture the essence of the manga, even while carving out creative ground for itself. I wanted to see how the grim build to the finale and the finale upsurge as the last, true message of the story was delivered. I can honestly say that director Yoshiaki Kawajiri has exceeded my own expectations. While many great series have seen release in the U.S. this year, X is the closest to that indefinable perfection that anime strives for.

The story managed to retain its focus on Kamui's struggle with destiny and fate while polishing each of the characters on both sides of the conflict. My worst criticism is that Fuma, Kamui's twin star, is painted too darkly. While the Dragons of Earth believe that humanity must be destroyed if the Earth is to be saved, I feel that they should be frightening, but not black hearted or evil. Of course, this is a quibble. Kawajiri has chosen to highlight the dramatic difference between the sides, which enhances the impact of the end. I certainly can't say that his interpretation of Fuma was a failure.

Unlike many other series who have shifted to Kabbalistic, Christian, Aztec, or other symbolisms to create an esoteric atmosphere, Kawajiri (and Clamp) have always depended on roots in Japanese mythic and occult processes. This gives the elements of the story a sense of belonging which is often missing when the spiritual layer is only a thin veneer. In any case, the story, acting, art, and music are all superb, with nothing being spared to make this a landmark production.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saved the best for last, December 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: X - Eight (TV Series, Vol. 8) (DVD)

I really don't understand the other reviewers here who give this volume anything less than five stars. Most of their problems stem from their inability to seperate the TV series from the manga (even after one guy said he wasn't going to compare the two). If you are an anime fan with that same problem, you probably won't really enjoy X8, but I doubt the series could have ever ended in a satisfying way for you in 24 eps. It's apples and oranges folks, so just stop trying to compare stories across different media for crying out loud!

Venting over, now on with the gushing. This volume has everything that makes the X TV series great, multiplied by three. Each episode is jam-packed with great visuals, beautiful music, amazing action, hope, dispair, sadness, joy, defeat, victory, love, betrayal, redemption, and some of the most wonderful characters to ever grace an anime series. Did this volume answer every question and tie everything up nice and neat for us? No. In fact in some ways I have even more questions than before. But it did bring what I consider emotionally and thematically satisfying (though heart wrenching)resolution to all of the major characters and story arcs. If you're a fan of X TV, and why would you be reading this if you're not, then this volume will knock you out. The biggest question I have now is where can I get another anime series that compares to X (I need my fix!)?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching end to a wrenching series, November 30, 2003

By 

Wiggle (Kansas City, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: X - Eight (TV Series, Vol. 8) (DVD)

From the very beginning, X had me in its pocket. By the time I reached this last volume, I was on pins and needles to find out what would happen.

Each successive episode of this too-short series gives the viewer that much more time to fall in love with the characters, so it's no wonder that all my favorite characters are mysteriously alive at the beginning of this disc. Since it's CLAMP, since it's X, the reality of a bloodbath is inevitable. Rather than feeling rushed or slapped-together, to me the abruptness of some of the action seemed like a Japanese way to end the series. Some characters have to accept their fate so that others can change what was thought to be inevitable.

I only know the anime, not the manga, so I can't compare one to the other. However, taken on its own, X the TV series gives a satisfying, if not exactly happy, ending.