X/1999, Volume 2: Overture

While X/1999: Vol 1 (Prelude) was an introduction of some of the major characters in the series and merely hinted at the plot, volume two is an overture. The instruments have begun to play and although the story hasn't started yet, many of the characters have arrived on scene. Here we learn about some of their pasts and signs of things to come. Volume two picks up right after volume one leaves off. Kamui is left injured after fighting a strange figure with strange powers. As he sleeps, he is plagued with disturbing and graphic dreams. The blind seer Hinoto attempts to reach him, to get him to understand the gravity of the situation and to get the young man on her side. After reading volume two the reader is still left with so many questions unanswered. So many characters step in for just a scene or two, giving away only hints about their true intentions. Who are all of these people? What are the seven seals, the seven harbingers? What is going to happen next? Although not all of our questions are answered, we are still presented with a stunning manga. The artwork is beautiful. It's main flaw, the fact that most of the male characters are far from anatomically correct, is more of a stylistic choice. So much attention is drawn to detail, whether it is the swirls of magic in an action scene, the entrails and body parts of a mauled character, or the shading in Kamui's hair. The story is as compelling as it is graphically violent and gory. Although the main character may not have one your heart yet (he can be a rather unlikable sort of fellow) it is quite likely that one of the other characters have already drawn you in. My personal favorite is Sora, who brings a sense of comedy to this rather depressing manga. By the end of the volume, the reader will be curious to see what happens next. I suggest buying this series more than one volume at a time. You're not going to want to wait for number three!

X/1999 is a wonderful series. It has a compelling storyline, interesting characters, and even a little humor. It's great for anyone who likes manga, except that it's not. While it adds to the story, several scenes in Overture contain gross depictions of violence (including dismemberment). If you are squeamish or sensitive to violence, you should not pick up this book. I'm not even that squeamish, yet I was unable to eat for about half an hour after reading Overture. I highly reccomend this book, but take caution.

This is a vast improvement over the movie which suffered for lack of time. There are very graphic moments, perhaps more than the movie, but we get a better feel for the characters & the plot. In the movie the Dragons are almost interchangeable, but we get to know them better in the manga. A fairly fast read--more image than word.

"X" is CLAMP's venture out of little kid mangas and into the dark world of Sci-fi horror. The plot is a web of mysteries and the characters are very complex. Having read the first 6 English Graphic novels and all of the Japanese ones now I can clearly say that somethings were lost in the translation but other things take their place.The plot line is centered around a young man name Kamui Shiro who has returned to Tokyo to honor his mother's dieing words to 'go to Tokyo to find your destiny'. When he arrives he joins up with his two childhood friends, Kotori (a fragile girl with a heart condition) and her brother Fuuma. Not soon after he arrives he learns of his two destinies and is forced to make a decision, will he aid in the destruction of the world or will he help to protect it from destruction. Whichever path he chooses, Fuuma must go the opposite.When compairing X with CLAMP's other works it dephanitly stands out but, also all the other preceiding works seem to lead up to it. In comparision with Magic Knight Rayearth it seems almost completely different until you reach the end. Magic Knight Rayearth appears to be another of CLAMP's little kid mangas until the end when the reader, as well as Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are stuned to find out that the person they thought they were going to save has now become evil and they had really been summoned to kill her. The end is dark and that darkness is carried over into Magic Knight Rayearth 2. Unlike this though, X is fully based on this darkness and there aren't many light humored moments in the story (Unless Sorata is around that is). There are also two characters from other CLAMP series in X who are only there really to try and kill each other. (they're either from Tokyo Babalon or Weib Kreitz, I don't remember which).Anyway, X is a great Manga and the movie (Which is being released on July 28th, 2000) is wonderful too. But be warned, the ending to the movie is different than that of the manga because when the movie was made the Manga saga wasn't finished yet.

In truth, I don't have this book. However, when I couldn't find it, I went through the trouble of finding each and every comic book that makes up this graphic novel, which, for someone living in culturally-stale wisconsin, is pretty difficult to do sometimes. That's how good it is. CLAMP is one of the most amazing group of artists I have ever seen. Their artwork is incredible, sometimes moving, and always impressive. The story line is familiar, the end of the world, but the emotions behind it are one-of-a-kind. The characters and their roles (not to mention the artwork) really draw you into the story, and make you part of it. If you ever get into the movie, it is dark, but also well drawn and spectacular. The soundtrack is also good, if you don't mind it being in Japanese :) But to make a long story short, X/1999 (X in Japan) is definate for anyone longing for something new and beautiful... it would make the top of my Christmas list any day.