Customer Reviews

X - One (TV Series, Vol. 1)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Though the first disc worth of episodes moves rather slowly, this is shaping up to be an extremely entertaining series. Epsiodes 1 & 2 are mostly an introduction to our main characters, and we learn very little about the plot itself. However, episode 3 really packs it all in, giving the viewer a good overview of the two sides and plenty of hints as to what's to come.

Though many shows in anime deal with the end of the world, the stylistic approach in "X" helps to grab your attention. Kamui, the lead character, is your typical unwilling hero who wants nothing to do with his destiny. More to the point, he begins this series as quite the anti-hero, and there's little to redeem him. Luckily, the creators don't weigh down the character with melodramatic angst. He is, quite unashamedly, selfish. So, it's up to the supporting cast to show us just why the world deserves to be saved, along with Kamui himself.

One word of warning: if you don't want to have certain plot points spoiled for you, do NOT watch the Extras part of the disc, or the Episode 0 included. Skip straight to Episode 1, and don't look back. I wasn't warned in time, so certain major plot elements have been ruined for me. However, getting to those points looks to be the fun part!

The Clamp Cooperative's original manga series for 'X' was a complex, doom-filled apocalyptic vision. Two groups, the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth are enmeshed in a struggle for ascendancy over Tokyo that would ultimately decide the fate of the world. Those of earth seek to destroy in order to recreate the world anew, and those of Heaven seek to preserve and revitalize the existing sources of power. Into this struggle steps Kamui, a young man who has returned to Tokyo to reclaim the Shinken or divine sword. In doing so, he will make a series of decisions that bring about the final resolution of the struggle.

When a feature length film was made from the manga, it became painfully obvious that this is too much story to be communicated in 90 minutes. Almost twenty major characters are involved and the needs of the limited format ensured that only a few received enough attention to gain definition. The plot itself is complex, and depends on the characters to progress. The best the film could do was to be a beautifully crafted and acted but infinitely fragile production. The result left everyone a bit dissatisfied. Unwilling to write off Rintaro's efforts completely, director Yoshiaki Kawajiri undertook to remake the story as a full-length television series. Insisting on a high level of production values, especially for the graphics and musical work, he has managed not only to surpass the film, but also to improve upon the story telling of the manga.

This first DVD sets the gothic, art nouveau styling of the story, sketches out the bones of the plot, and begins to bring the characters on stage. This is no small task, and the viewer is warned to read the accompanying character guide and be willing to tolerate a bit of confusion before everything is sorted out and the characters have developed sufficient personalities so that the plot and the cast begin to mesh.

The key characters to come on board in the beginning are the trio of Kamui Shirou, Fuma Monou and his sister Kotori Monou. Kamui, who knew the Monou's as children, has returned to Tokyo. Despite his every effort to keep his old friends at a distance, fate takes charge. Because Kamui's own decision about his role in the coming cataclysm will force a parallel decision from Fuma, and brings Kotori into a tragic conflict between duty and desire. Two other characters of early interest (both Dragons of Heaven) are Sorata Arisugawa, an unlikely priest from Mt. Kouya, and Hinoto, a dreamseer who keeps the Dragons organized until Kamui can make his decision.

At this early stage, this series shows every sign of being a landmark effort. Whether it will finally succeed will depend on Kawajiri's ability to tame the complex story and large cast. So far the director has proven up to the challenge. This series is well worth continued attention.

To say I watch a lot of anime is an understatement. I've probably seen *too much* anime at this point, and I can honestly say I've become pretty jaded. It's been a long time since I've been really excited about a series, or waited with anticipation for the next disc to be released. Also, the fact that I detested the X movie didn't give me very high expectations for the series.

I decided to give it a try anyway, and all I can say is that I'm now waiting breathlessly for the next disc to come out. Unlike the movie, this series is taking it's time to develop the characters, create plausible motivations, and set a complicated plot in motion. The art is very attractive (characteristic of CLAMP) and the DVD transfer is excellent. The computer animation used in action sequences might take a little getting used to, but overall it merges very well with the more traditional animation style. I recommend this disc very highly, and I only hope that the rest of the story is this good.

X is a great example of what anime should aspire to. By Clamp (Chobits, CC Sakura)It is a fairly dark tale of Kamui, the one who holds the fate of the world. Will he choose to save it, or destroy it? The series deals with many theme common to anime (love, loss, faith in others) but has its own twists on it. This vol introduces you a few of the main characters and hints at the plot, which will twist violently about half way through. The story starts out during the X year, 1999 (not to be confused with the X movie, which sucks, series is nothin like it and a hell of a lot better)Kamui, troubled by recent past event comes back to Tokyo to fulfill his sadame. (destiny) Great fight scenes, dark plot, and beautiful animation fills this series. This dvd contains Episodes 1-3 and the OVA: An Omen. The OVA is kind of a spoiler, but will help you understand what goes on later in the anime. For those of you who like Art Boxes for your DVD, wait a bit to order this, Pioneer is releasing a series box with Vol One (of 8)but its not listed yet. At times, this series is heart wrenching, but is a must have series in my opinion.

A few people have referred to this, but I thought I'd be a bit more explicit, as it isn't mentioned anywhere on the DVD packaging and some people, like me, may be a bit annoyed to find it out too late: Episode 0 is a "prequel" episode that was made after the rest of the series; it contains massive spoilers about characters and events.

DO NOT WATCH EPISODE 0 FIRST IF YOU INTEND TO CONTINUE WITH THE REST OF THE SERIES.

If you're just checking the series out to see if you're interested and/or don't mind being spoiled, by all means go ahead and watch it (it's a good episode)... but I thought it was highly irritating that such a thing appeared first on the DVD without any kind of warning to viewers.

5 stars wouldn't even begin to describe this piece of art. Based on the Clamp hit comic X1999, this dvd shines with brilliant animations, story-line and charecter indeviduality. The story is a bit slow but it's no where near boring as the first episodes tell you about each charecters stories, making you fall in love with them all including the villans :).

The first dvd includes three series episodes and one OVA episode, which i don't recommend watching before watching the entire series first as there are major spoilers. Technically, it has bilinguial soundtracks, reversable cover and a slip case for each DVD which makes it look really classy :).

buy this and don't listen to other dissing reviews, which aren't many and probably been written by shallow action lovers, because trust me, you will love every episode and you would wanna watch it in both English and Japanese soundtracks.

The outline that follows is an outline that refers to the entire series and spoilers will be included.

To begin with, if you are looking for an anime that is more in the style of Love Hina, than you should skip this one. If on the other hand, you are looking for an anime that is powerful, emotional, has love/romance, great character development and strong story, than you are definitely right here.

Outline of the story:
The story resolves around the Seven guardians of Heaven and the Seven guardians of Earth. The one group wants to preserve earth as it, believes in humanity no matter what they have done to earth, and hope for a better future. The other group wants to erase humanity from the face of earth so that the planet and its other creatures can life in peace etc.

The `problem' is that when watching the show you will - like it or not - agree with both groups (not to mention the fact that there is no `black - white answer' but a grey version (You will have to watch it in order to understand or otherwise I will give the entire show away, sorry guys)). Apart from it, the age of the group members does not matter much; meaning that you will see in both groups' teenagers and adults fighting side-by-side or against each other till death. Others will fight against the other group for their own personal reasons.

The biggest problem however is that there can be only one Kamui (chosen one) and the side he decides to follow will win; but, it proofs that the real Kamui has a twin star, meaning that there is another Kamui out there as well. This will lead to an explosive mixture of emotions. Lovers, who will belong to the opposing group, will be forced to fight till death against each other, brother against brother, best friend against best friend and so forth. To be honest, the story will get very emotional indeed. No matter the age, the group members will fight and die.

As for the action, you will get more than enough. To begin with, the fights occur in both astral plane and our materialistic world. In order to prevent damages in our world, the group members are able to form a kind of a shield, in which most fights happen, and no matter the destruction our reality remains unaltered. That is, if the fights remain inside the shield, something that will not always be the case. In addition, all group members have their own supernatural `super powers' etc. For instance, some can use the five elements, some others are psychics, some others use magic, some take advantage of technology, some bend reality etc.

Who will win in the end and what will be the cost of this destructive victory?

The genre of this anime could be categorized under: fantasy, supernatural, action, and love / romance.

The music that accompanies the show is very well orchestrated and good. Starts with a rock/pop song and ends up with a melancholic ballad. In-between the music changes in accordance with the shows (very good done).

As for the dub, in my humble opinion, it is very good and professional done, in the same level as CB is done.

The animation is excellent.

As for extras, it has more or less the typical stuff: Textless opening and ending, previews, trailers etc.

As for the box-set: The first DVD comes with the box and every DVD you buy it fits in there; imagine it something like a shelf.

As for the story: It is very emotional, has great character development, solid storyline (that moves forth and back, with flashbacks etc.), many twists and is very mature and character driven.

Tip: The first episode, called X-0, of the first DVD is like a prelude and `summation' of the story. If you don't want anything to be given to you in front but want to be glued to your sits from episode one, that skip this one.

Last but not least, is it worth buying or not? In two words: Definitely yes! However, by collecting all 8 volumes the cost may raise around $200. To be honest, it is worth having in your collection but if the cost might seem to you as an obstacle than try to rent it and to watch it. The show is highly recommended!

I hope that I could help you, if so than please click on the yes button below ^_^

I am not an anime enthusast. Ever since I sat down and watched 1 episode of Dragonball Z I decided I wasnt an anime person. I was wrong. This anime is the first one I watched and actually Liked. If your are a person not sure to buy this since your arent a anime person, buy it, you will love it. I also recomend Hellsing.

Volume of of the series is a bit of a slow burn, but it allows you to really get to know the characters, what drives them, and a glimpse into their powers. This is something X The Movie didnt get a chance to do at all. I watched the film a few times and still had trouble figuring out who was who aside from a few key characters.

You mainly get to touch on the 7 Dragons of Heaven, Kamui, Karen, Seiichiro, Yuziriha, Subara, Lady Arashi, and Soroto who is my personal favorite character. Essentially because he makes me laugh a lot. You do get to meet a few of the Dragons of Earth, but not a whole lot of them. Overall this is really a stepping stone into the real meat of the story. Not that these arent interesting, because they are, but it gets so so much better in the later episodes.

I love the storylines in X, even though Kamui is the typical anti hero which is usually an anime staple he is done so wonderfully. The director took great care into making sure he was both fierce and yet there was a reason behind his ferocity. The musical score is also fantastic, during some of the more intense moments the score was flawless in increasing the tension. You can tell that much attention to detail went into this project. I can't really say enough about it other than its awesome.

I actually gave this product a bad review a while ago. I think it reminded me of the X movie too much. The first episode is basically a preview of the series, while the next episodes are an introduction to several of the main characters of the series.

After watching the first two dvds, I have come to respect the creators of this series. The series does some justice to the manga, which I have started looking at.

I figured out the plot from the X movie, but that hasn't stopped me from being interested in this series. Kamui is portrayed differently from the movie. He is much darker and barely ever shows emotion. It will be interesting to see how he changes throughout the series. Sorata is quite interesting as well. The flashback scenes of him as a young monk are entertaining, and remind me of Evangelion in a way. Each character is extremely important to the series, and more are introduced in the next dvd.

The only negative thing about this series so far in my mind is the fact that the dvds only contain 3 episodes each. They did this because they realized they could get more money. They definetly could of fit more episodes on one dvd, like Cowboy Bebop did. Still, this series is quite interesting, and it's one of the few anime series I have seen where I was more interested in the characters than the story.