X/1999

The future of the universe rests on one young man, Kamui Shiro, who must destroy either the Dragons of Earth or the Dragons of Heaven - two opposing armies. He alone must decide whether humanity should be destroyed to create a purified universe, or whether it should be protected to preserve civilization.

Two oracles, the sisters Hinoto and Kanoe foresee the coming of the Dragons and predict opposite outcomes. Each sister gathers strength and ammunition to insure her own vision for the future. However, neither sister realizes that there is one man who has an even greater power than the Dragons, and that ultimately he will determine the fate of the earth.

Which sister will prevail and how does Kamui fit into their struggle? The answer to this question will forever affect humanity.

(Source: Manga Entertainment)

Shirou, Kamui Main

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

Monou, Fuuma Main

Narita, Ken Japanese

Sumeragi, Subaru Supporting

Miyazaki, Issei Japanese

Sakurazuka, Seishirou Supporting

Furusawa, Tohru Japanese

Arisugawa, Sorata Supporting

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Kishu, Arashi Supporting

Shinohara, Emi Japanese

Monou, Kotori Supporting

Iwao, Junko Japanese

Kasumi, Karen Supporting

Koyama, Mami Japanese

Yatoji, Satsuki Supporting

Mitsuishi, Kotono Japanese

Nekoi, Yuzuriha Supporting

Yukana Japanese

Maruyama, Masao Producer

Ikeguchi, Kazuhiko Producer

Iwase, Yasuteru Producer

Rintarou Director, Script, Screenplay

Reviews

Nov 21, 2025

zettai-jin-stray

Recommended

Rintaro adapts X by Clamp, and the scenario of the movie is different from the manga which I believed hadn’t continued long enough for it to be a full drama. Rintaro had previously done a music video for X in 1993, so it makes me wonder if Rintaro had an interest in making animations of it because of its similarities to Genma Taisen, psychics in an urban setting saving the world from apocalypse. On all three of these animations, Yoshinori Kanada is a key animator, and his synergy with Rintaro is spectacular. Rintaro was known for having sequences planned for him. Anyway, the resulting movie ... is one of breathtaking animation sequences and Rintaro’s one of a kind stylism. Rintaro said he wouldn’t have Oshii be the only one destroying Tokyo in theater animation and he certainly had less restraint than Patlabor 2 about it. But the story is about as disastrous as the plot is literally about disaster. The movement of the story with the antagonism between Kamui and Fuuma didn’t have a good logic but was affective in terms of pathos, of course it had to bring in female characters for this motivation. The visions Fuuma and Kamui see with the crucifixion and wire have certainly some of the most memorable images of the movie, the sound design and music made those scenes surprisingly horrific and dreamlike, which carries over to the rest of the film to a lesser degree. The amount of hair and eye detail is beautiful and of course the fashion design is great since it’s Clamp. The lighting is very dark but the use of black and white in the film was well done. The film is all about the fights though, which look great and the personalities of those lesser characters involved in them are adapted to their respective amount of prominence. As for the 2001 version, the art direction and animation are way worse in comparison and the story is belabored, it doesn’t feel cinematic at all so I recommended X1999 if there’s a consideration there.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jul 24, 2019

Starfleeting

Mixed Feelings

So, I finally found a full version of this movie and I can't say I like it much more than the first time around. The only reason I'm giving this the overall rating that I am is because the animation and art is lovely to look at. If you love animation, this is a great-looking movie.

Aside from that, I can't say it does well as a film. Even if I was more familiar with the characters (and had watched the tv show prior to this), I don't think I would be all that satisfied when barely anyone has a decent amount of time. It just ... jumps from character to character, scene to scene at a speed that feels like mental and emotional whiplash. Characters dying left and right and I'm just "...what the fuck is going on?"

Not really sure why this was made but at least it looks pretty?

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 18, 2024

ghostbishnu

Not Recommended

This was utterly predictable.

At no point was I surprised by any plot element. The narrative leaves no room to develop a reason to care about any of the characters. The main character and his nemesis have no redeeming qualities or possess any nuance that makes them interesting. They are just functions of a 1 dimensional story. The only vaguely identifiable characteristics of the protagonist could be selfishness or cowardice.

Cliches can be useful when they are leveraged to usurp the expectations of the viewer. This was not done here.

-2 oracles gather the chosen spiritual avatars
-The chosen of the light and dark (surprise)
-2 who are ... close, ultimately oppose each other in 'the final battle for the future of mankind'
-The female lead serves only as a passive plot device
-Those assembled neutralize each other at regular intervals (they are disposable and undeveloped characters)
-None of the consequences the conflict or final outcome are explored to imbue meaning or moral value

The only message I can take from this is that the creators want to show that mankind's wholesale destruction of the natural world is 'justified' by the will of god, however they make no efforts to explore this subject and its opposing views in any detail outside of the obvious.

The narrative victory of a heroic figure is only as meaningful as the complexity of the antagonist they have overcome. In this case, the villain has no motive, or humanizing quality whatsoever. The villain only assumes his role as prime antagonist because that is what is required to mirror the path (I would say choices here but there wasn't any) of the protagonist. The dialogue between the two even covers this truly weak reasoning.

The only thing that could have redeemed X/1999 is if the Earth Dragon had prevailed and annihilated both mankind and the natural expectations of the viewer.

Also the soundtrack was so empty - this added significantly to the monotony of what was a foregone conclusion.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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