X/1999 Review by aznwolfe
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	Audience:	13+
	Genre:	Drama/Action
	Availability:	Available in Animerica Extra Magazine
	Average Cost:	$15.95 graphic novel/$4.95 mag U.S.
	Contains:	Graphic Violence
	Animation:	A
	Plot/Storyline:	A-
	Rating:	A-

X/1999, also known as just "X" in Japan, was created by the awesome all-woman team CLAMP, where the best is always expected. Kamui Shirou, a young man, comes back to Tokyo years later to meet the destiny he's been told about from his recently deceased mother. Because much of the past haunts him, Kamui tends to be cold and quick-tempered to everyone, even to his childhood friends Fuma and Kotori. Shirou wields an awesome power that would be the deciding factor in the fate of Earth in the year 1999.  Anyway, people with power such as he, realizes his power. Hinoto, a some hundred year old child-like princess, foresees in her dreams that Kamui holds the key to the future of Earth. She knows that his role in the future of Earth may sway either side: to the Dragons of Heaven or Dragons of the Earth, and tries to persuade him to favor saving Earth.  She shows Kamui that his decision not only concerns Earth's future but of also the two most important people in his life (Fuma and Kotori).  Will Kamui choose the right side? And who are all these mysterious and powerful people appearing in Tokyo and what do they have to do with the fate of the world?

I must say that the drawings are absolutely beautiful!  And I just love the story.  It's the usual good versus evil, but more complications are thrown in.  The characters are beautifully designed and their personalities complex.  The only thing I hate about the manga is that the fact that the mood is pretty much always "dark" and "mundane". Very depressing. A little comedy is thrown in once in a while to lighten the mood, but still, X can be very violent and gory so it is not recommended for young kids.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I heard that it is hard to keep up with what is going on without reading the manga first. I've read the first 3 graphic novels as well as the monthly comics shown in Animerica Extra.  I'm waiting for the next graphic novel to come out, which should be out in August.

Forms Available:

Manga (Viz Entertainment)
Comic (Animerica Extra)
X: The Movie (already out in Japan)

X/1999 is available @ www.viz.com

1999.  Original story and concept by CLAMP/Kadokawa Shoten, Inc.