X: The Movie (2000)

In the year 1999 protagonist Kamui Shirou is sent back to Tokyo to fulfil his destiny. It is potentially the end of the world as two groups; The Dragons of Heaven and Dragons of Earth do battle; the former fighting to protect humanity, the latter fighting to cleanse the planet of humanity. Kamui must decide which side he is to fight for. It won't be easy and many of those he cares about will be killed along the way… and to make matters even harder whichever side he chooses to fight for his friend Fuma is destined to fight on the other side.This anime film quickly throws us into the action and that action barely stops until the end… and while the action looks great not enough time is given to introducing the characters. We are told that certain structures in Tokyo somehow protect the Earth and that a battle to protect them is destined to take place but we are hardly told why. The 'Dragons' are people with supernatural powers and their battles lead to widespread destruction which is pretty impressive. The character designs are a little dated in style but that doesn't detract from the film; they are distinctive enough and suit the style of the story. I've neither read the manga nor watched the later series so can't say how this compares but overall I'd say it is okay if you want plenty of action… just don't expect 'cartoon violence' this is pretty bloody and certainly not one for younger viewers.These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.

I have read a lot of mangas and a seen a lot of animes... And X is my favorite one...and everything started with this movie. It has a beautiful animation, charismatic characters, and a story that runs with agility... After seeing it I discovered the manga, and in 2002 the anime series... This two are better in history than the movie itself, that's indisputable... But this movie is a very good point to start in the world of X, because is the story in a very "light" version... After seeing it,and if you really liked, you can buy the manga... Believe me: it's going to be one of the best stories you'll ever read... the only problem is that the manga is still without end (18 tankoubons and part of a 19th one), but I think is part of the emotion that involves X: the eternal sensation of "the end" that never comes. Conclusion: A good movie with a single vision of the complete story. And the end of it is very good (The shots of the exterior of the Tokyo Tower are amazing). I really suggest you this and other works from CLAMP: MKR, Tokyo Babylon, Clover, RG Veda, xxxHolic... and specially Tsubasa Chronicle, because this has a lot of clamp crossovers like Sorata and Arashi from X itself (and without their tragic destiny as lovers).

The movie was great. I love Manga, and when i saw the movie i was very impressed. Not only was it delightfully gruesome, but it had an intriguing story that wasn't filled with a lot of unnecessary adult themes. The action was great the characters were great and the story left you thinking even after the unexpected end. I've watched it over and over and it still impresses me, a revolutionary vision for its time.Even though it was dragging at points it X still made it abundantly clear that it was a well planed movie. I think even though this movie wasn't quite as good as akira it should still receive kudos for the way it was put together. 10 out of 10.

The series, X (known as X/1999 in America) is truly a great series. However, this movie did essentially no justice to it. If its your first time seeing any part of the series, it really wont mean anything to you, and is just plain a bad way to start a good thing.To enjoy this series to its fullest: a)read the Tokyo Babylon manga, b)see both Tokyo Babylon movies, c)read the X manga, d)see the X TV series (but watch episode zero AFTER the rest of the series), e)THEN watch the movie (it has cool scenes that weren't in the series and a MUCH better ending). If you don't do it all in that relative order, you'll really miss out on a lot.If you like the TB and X series, and want more anime/manga that is similar, I highly recommend that you should see the Neon Genesis: Evangelion series, movies, and manga (again, see the series first, and keep in mind that the movies basically replace the last two episodes of the series.Overall: I give the X movie a 6/10 because it really has minimal story, and will instantly have you lost, if you've seen nothing of it before. Otherwise, it is a pretty good anime to compliment the series, plus a much better, clearer, and actually conclusive ending.