I'll say it straight out: I'm an anime fan, but the anime has to fit a certain niche. I'm not a big fan of comedy, so it can't be the silly anime, and I'm not real big on fantasy or science fiction. Like, at all. So when I mention that I love anime, those who know me aren't completely unsurprised. "X", a full-length anime feature directed by Rintaro was recommended to me by a hard-core anime fan who knows my limited criteria because of its utter lack of comedy and its fairly straightforward storyline.
The fate of Tokyo lies in the balance (when doesn't it?) when two sides, Dragons of Earth and Dragons of Heaven fight to gain control. The Dragons of Heaven want to protect Tokyo and its inhabitants, and the Dragons of Earth want to go back to a nature-loving society, where the people don't matter, and the Earth is at peace. Kamui is asked by Hinoto of the Dragons of Heaven to help their cause since he has other-worldly powers. By joining the other six warriors, they will be able to protect Tokyo and its citizens from the seven Dragons of Earth. Led by Hinoto's younger sister Kanoe, the Dragons of Earth soon are joined by Kamui's best friend Fuma who has been designated as Kamui's twin; whatever side Kamui joins, Fuma has to join the other. All Kamui wanted to do was protect Fuma and his sister Kotori, and now he's got Kotori in a coma and Fuma fighting him for the domination of Tokyo.
While the story is fairly simple, boy is chosen to protect the world while his best friend unfortunately fights against him (For just one example see Wars, Star in your local library's card catalogue) , what isn't simple is the number of characters involved in this story at least 17 if you pair it down to just the two sides. Over the first half of the film is spent establishing the back story and the characters, so by the time the real action started, "X" was starting to really lose me. Basically, I wanted them to cut the novel and make with the action. When they did, I was not disappointed, and the film ended well and not without a few surprises, but I think that it was just a little too late for me to make the film anything better than just "okay". Additionally, and this is just a purely aesthetic criticism, but I am REALLY not fond of the animation style in "X"; I believe it's pretty standard in Clamp anime, but the pointy chins and ginormous eyes of the character designs are just not my cup of tea. Hey, I'll admit that it's a pretty minor quibble, but anime has to be held up to the same stylistic standards as live action films and as a lover of art I tend to look at character design when I watch my anime. "Cowboy Bebop" and even "Evangelion" or "Lain" contain some really slick animation where I can really appreciate them as "art". As minor a consideration as it is in my overall assessment of the film, I just didn't feel this way with "X".
It probably looks like I disliked "X", but I really didn't. If I had I would have felt that I had wasted my time watching it, and that is far from the truth. There just was nothing that propelled it from average to great, the way I perceive most of Miyazake's films or recent animation offerings like "The Triplets of Belleville" or "Perfect Blue". "X" is seen as a classic anime and all of the elements are there if you're a die-hard fan, and it should be seen if you do enjoy anime. I'm glad I did, but I honestly don't need to see it ever again. 5/10 --Shelly
The fate of Tokyo lies in the balance (when doesn't it?) when two sides, Dragons of Earth and Dragons of Heaven fight to gain control. The Dragons of Heaven want to protect Tokyo and its inhabitants, and the Dragons of Earth want to go back to a nature-loving society, where the people don't matter, and the Earth is at peace. Kamui is asked by Hinoto of the Dragons of Heaven to help their cause since he has other-worldly powers. By joining the other six warriors, they will be able to protect Tokyo and its citizens from the seven Dragons of Earth. Led by Hinoto's younger sister Kanoe, the Dragons of Earth soon are joined by Kamui's best friend Fuma who has been designated as Kamui's twin; whatever side Kamui joins, Fuma has to join the other. All Kamui wanted to do was protect Fuma and his sister Kotori, and now he's got Kotori in a coma and Fuma fighting him for the domination of Tokyo.
While the story is fairly simple, boy is chosen to protect the world while his best friend unfortunately fights against him (For just one example see Wars, Star in your local library's card catalogue) , what isn't simple is the number of characters involved in this story at least 17 if you pair it down to just the two sides. Over the first half of the film is spent establishing the back story and the characters, so by the time the real action started, "X" was starting to really lose me. Basically, I wanted them to cut the novel and make with the action. When they did, I was not disappointed, and the film ended well and not without a few surprises, but I think that it was just a little too late for me to make the film anything better than just "okay". Additionally, and this is just a purely aesthetic criticism, but I am REALLY not fond of the animation style in "X"; I believe it's pretty standard in Clamp anime, but the pointy chins and ginormous eyes of the character designs are just not my cup of tea. Hey, I'll admit that it's a pretty minor quibble, but anime has to be held up to the same stylistic standards as live action films and as a lover of art I tend to look at character design when I watch my anime. "Cowboy Bebop" and even "Evangelion" or "Lain" contain some really slick animation where I can really appreciate them as "art". As minor a consideration as it is in my overall assessment of the film, I just didn't feel this way with "X".
It probably looks like I disliked "X", but I really didn't. If I had I would have felt that I had wasted my time watching it, and that is far from the truth. There just was nothing that propelled it from average to great, the way I perceive most of Miyazake's films or recent animation offerings like "The Triplets of Belleville" or "Perfect Blue". "X" is seen as a classic anime and all of the elements are there if you're a die-hard fan, and it should be seen if you do enjoy anime. I'm glad I did, but I honestly don't need to see it ever again. 5/10 --Shelly