X is the latest anime offering from the CLAMP team.

X. V.1-V.8
TV series (24 episodes), 2001-2002. Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri. V.1, four episodes/95 minutes; V.2-8, three episodes/75 minutes. Price & format: DVD bilingual $29.98. Distributor: Pioneer Entertainment.

X (the TV series) is the latest and most detailed anime adaptation of the adult manga serial by the four-woman artistic team CLAMP. A blend of sci-fi, mythology and mysticism, X tells of the secret battle between seven “Dragons of Heaven” who want to preserve the world including humanity, and seven “Dragons of Earth” who believe that humans are destroying the planet and must be exterminated. These 14 warriors are a mix of ancient priests and seers, scientists and technicians, and youths who do not yet know they are the reincarnations of powerful supernatural warriors.

The story is heavy on moody psychosexual overtones and Oriental and Judeo-Christian themes (yin-yang, the Tarot, the Kabbalah), leading to the apocalyptic Last Battle as predicted by Nostradamus (the 1999 date is now being downplayed since we are past that year).

CLAMP’s X manga has been running serially in Asuka magazine for more than a decade. Viz Comics is publishing the U.S. edition. X was first animated in 1993 as a 25-minute music video, X2 (X squared). A theatrical feature followed in 1996, but the story was too complex by then to fit into one movie, so it concentrated upon the Last Battle alone. Reviews agreed that the direction by Taro Rin was spectacular, but it was non-stop bloody action that was incomprehensible to anyone not familiar with the manga.

The long-awaited TV series, animated by the Madhouse studio, is a fuller adaptation of the manga. Director Kawajiri explains, in a DVD extra, that it includes all the favorite dramatic scenes, but has otherwise been re-plotted to add some new elements and focus upon the cast in different ways. It began with X: An Omen, a 20-minute direct-to-video teaser released August 25, 2001 (on the first DVD as Episode 0), followed by 24 episodes of X on the WOWOW satellite channel Wednesdays at 6:30 pm, October 3, 2001 through March 27, 2002.

Astronomers and occultists observe a shift in the stars, which the latter realize foretell the imminent battle for the end of the world. Adolescent Shinto temple acolytes are told they are among this generation’s Dragons of Heaven “Seals”, and must go to Tokyo to defend humanity against their Dragons of Earth “Angel” counterparts. Fuma and Kotori Monou, two high schoolers, are delighted to learn that their childhood friend, Kamui Shirou, who left six years ago, is moving back to Tokyo. They are shocked when Kamui turns out to have become bitter and sullen.

Violent supernatural events begin happening around them including a deadly attack upon their father. Kamui is the key Dragon; he can join either the Seals or the Angels. But the battle has already resulted in the death of his mother, and he resents having the “burden of destiny” thrust upon him.

X is so complex that the first DVD includes a 24-page character guide booklet. There are 18 distinct main characters. Anime character designer Yoshinori Kanemori enhances CLAMP’s attractive art style. The Madhouse studio was also working on sequences for the American The Animatrix while X was in production, and its influence can be seen in the replacement of the Angels’ traditional Oriental “shadow demon” supernatural assassins by modern Men in Black clones. In fact, X’s basic plot of a secret war for the fate of unsuspecting humanity is close enough to The Matrix that it should be popular with its fans.