X/1999 volume 2
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(quoted from the back of X/1999 vol 2)
THEIR DESTINY WAS FOREORDAINED
The fate of the world is at stake in this gorgeously illustrated masterwork from the four-woman artistic team CLAMP!
Kamui Shiro is a young man followed by mystery. Taken from Tokyo by his mother when only a child, Kamui left behind his dearest friends--the gentle Kotori and her brother Fuma--in the aftermath of a mysterious accident that claimed their mother's life.
Returning to Tokyo after his mother's death, Kamui is a changed young man--moody and distant to his old friends, yet determined to protect them from the dark forces that swirl around him. For he is the nexus of a great cataclysm to come, and inheritor to a strange destiny that could decide the fate of the entire world.
OVERTURE
Haunted by his tragic past, and driven by an awful destiny, Kamui struggles to understand his role in the future to come--a terrible fate to which he and his unique powers are inexorably linked... |
X/1999 volume 2 contains:
Overture
Storyline:
This volume definitely has a lot more intensity then the previous volume. While the last volume focused heavily on the introduction of characters, this volume skips that and starts focusing on more action and a lot of foreshadowing. With there being a lot of dream seers in X/1999 it is no surprise that all of the prophets are having visions of the horrors to come as the promise day in 1999 approaches. Also, with more fight scenes added into the story, it makes this volume a lot harder to put down.
Artwork:
Once again, CLAMP lives up to their name with some extremely detailed artwork. The backgrounds and character designs really bring the story to life, and with all of the dreams and action sequences in this novel, CLAMP silences all doubts that they are one of the best artists in the manga industry. Even the character designs are improved in this volume (a slight problem from the last volume); X/1999 is truly a work of art.
Characters:
With all of the action sequences and detail to the art, it is a shame that the characters still haven't been given the depth that they deserve. While they are given brief moments to develop there is too much going on for them to grow. Characters such as Kamui, Fuma, Kotori, and Sorata Arisugawa are the main focus of this novel and they just aren't given the time they need to be adequate characters. Still, they manage to satisfy the need of the volume, but compared to the rest of the areas of X/1999 volume 2, the characters are as deep as manikins.
Summary (Warning: May Contain Spoilers)
X/1999 starts off Sorata battling Yuto Kigai for the rights to talk to Kamui first. Sorata opens up a spirit barrier (like and alternate universe) to protect the real world and they start fighting in it. After they laugh and destroy things Fuma walks into the barrier and starts wondering what is going on. Sorata quickly gets rid of the barrier and everything turns back to normal, scratch free, and then Yuto runs off.
After Sorata and Fuma talk for a bit and then the scene switches over to Kotori watching over Kamui. While sleeping, Kamui starts having a dream about his past and future. He slowly starts to recollect what happened to Kotori's mother and then he remembers how his mother burned to death. After that, Kamui has a vision of Kotori getting tied to a cross and getting stabbed to death and then he starts screaming. At this time, Hinoto tries contacting Kamui and he blames her for the visions that he had, threatening to kill her if she touches Fuma or Kotori. Hinoto jumps out of Kamui's dream and then sighs.
After Hinoto gets thrown out of the dream the scene switches over to her sister, Kanoe. Kanoe makes a lot of comments about how they need to recruit Kamui over to the dark side, the harbingers (Dragons of Earth). Yuto walks in around this time and tells Kanoe about his fight with Sorata and his encounter with Fuma. Kanoe gasps about something and then she walks out of her office and meets Satsuki, another harbinger. They talk for a while about Kamui and stuff.
Back at Kotori's house, an earthquake breaks loose and Kotori zealously tries to protect Kamui. Of course, Kamui wakes up at that time and protects Kotori instead. After some touching moments, Fuma and Sorata enter the room and they all talk. Sorata manages to get the other two out of the room and starts talking to Kamui about why he came. After a discussion about Sorata's past he tells Kamui that he is on his side and that he is one of the seven angles (Dragons of Heaven).
At the back of Fuma's house, his dad is in their family temple holding a mysterious sword. After talking to himself for a bit the scene switches over to Fuma and Kotori talking about their past with Kamui and how they've missed him. Then, the scene goes back to Sorata and Kamui discussing a man that Sorata knew, the Stargazer, who always had accurate predictions and how he knew that Kamui would be returning to Tokyo exactly when he did.
Back in the temple, Fuma's dad gets attacked by a mysterious man with the power of wind. Fuma's dad gets his ass kicked and then loses the sword to him, one of the seven harbingers named Nataku. At the end of the volume, Kamui and friends find Fuma's dad lying in the temple bleeding badly. One of the last words that he said was that the end was near and that Kamui's destiny was about to begin.
Extras:
The only extra in this volume would have to be the recommendations to other Viz titles. Of course, this isn't a big deal because this series does not need extras to make it better. X/1999 is a strong series by itself and no amount of extras could change that.
Content Warnings:
-Language: Yes
-Violence: YES!!!! A lot of very graphic deaths and gore.
-Nudity: No
-Sexual Situations: No
Overall:
With the storyline finally picking up and the art staying as amazing as ever, the second volume of X/1999 is a great addition to the series. The only problem I had with the volume was the fact that little was done to help the huge cast of characters develop, but with 16 other volumes still on the way this series has plenty of time to fix that problem.
+ Excellent artwork and the storyline is much stronger then the first volume's.
- Needs some more character depth to bring this story to life.
Score: 8.5/10
