X/1999, Volume 05: Serenade

X [エックス] #5

by Clamp, Fred Burke

Series Description: A tale of dark poetry and prophecy foretelling the end of the world and the fate of the lone young man who holds Earth's destiny in his hands -- Kamui, heir to incredible psychic powers. Alone in the world, with no purpose except to protect his two dearest friends, Kamui finds himself sought by two opposing sets of occult forces. In this entry, more members of the Seven Seals reveal themselves -- Yuzuriha, a young girl with a dog spirit companion, and Karen, a beautiful woman with power over fire. Meanwhile, Sorata shares a shocking secret with Arashi -- Kamui isn't the only one with knowledge of his own destiny!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Supernatural, Shojo, Fiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Ōkawa Nanase 大川七瀬
[born: 2 May 1967; Ōsaka, bloodtype: A]

Mokona Apapa もこなあぱぱ
[born: 16 Jun 1968, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]

Nekoi Mick 猫井みっく
[born: 21 Jan 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: O]

Igarashi Satsuki 五十嵐さつき
[born: 8 Feb 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]


CLAMP originally began in 1989 as a twelve-member dōjinshi circle, but by 1990, the circle had diminished from twelve to seven. Of the remaining seven, Tamayo Akiyama, Sei Nanao, and Leeza Sei left the group during the production of the RG Veda manga. Other former members of CLAMP also included Soushi Hishika, O-Kyon, Kazue Nakamori, Yuzuru Inoue and Shinya Ōmi. Currently, there are four members in the group.

In 2004, CLAMP's 15th anniversary as a mangaka group, the members changed their names from Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona Apapa, Mick Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi to Ageha Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi (her name is pronounced the same, but written with different characters) respectively. The August 2004 issue of Newtype USA, a magazine specializing in events of the anime and manga subcultures, reported that the members of CLAMP simply wanted to try out new names. In a later interview with Ohkawa, it was revealed that initially Mokona wanted to drop her surname because it sounded too immature for her liking, while Nekoi disliked people commenting that her name was the same as Mick Jagger's. Ohkawa and Igarashi, wanting to go with the flow of Nekoi's and Mokona's name changes, changed their names as well.

In 2006, they made their first USA public debut at Anime Expo in Anaheim, California. They were well received at the convention, with 6,000 fans in attendance at their panel.

Reviews

[psyche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot starts plotting y aunque sentía algo vacía a Kotori al inicio ahora entiendo a Kamui 😭 BTW el amor de mi vida y el ser más despreciable fueron mencionados omggggggg quiero besar el cerebro de las CLAMP

[✨Meryem✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are definitely going to see a villain origine story

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

The images, even by manga standards are magnificent...however as far as story goes, the X series, or what I've read of it is a bit thin on the ground.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for volume 1-18



While arguably less famous than some of CLAMP'S other works such as Card Captor Sakura, Tsubasa and xxxHolic, I personally believe X/1999 to be CLAMP's true masterpiece. It is all the more a shame that this series has been left as incomplete with only little hope of there ever being a conclusion. While on one hand, I would recommend this as a masterful manga, it always comes with the grain of salt that you will be left with more questions than answers.

Kamui returns to Tokyo where, much as he would like to see them again, he avoids meeting his childhood friends Fuma and Kotori. Strange things seem to happen around Kamui - earthquakes one after the other shatter the city. Soon, mysterious people called the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth try to recruit Kamui to join their cause: one to save the earth, and one to destroy and reform it.

Although one shouldn't expect any less from CLAMP, X/1999's art is stunning. The characters are beautifully drawn with intricate details and there is no other word than dedication to describing the Tokyo backdrops. The art does change significantly between the first and latest volume, which is quite natural to a longer running series.

Kamui certainly doesn't start off as the most likeable protagonist. But that changes fast enough once we become more familiar with his circumstances and also see his change toward others. Although this story has a lot of action, I believe it is foremost a character-driven plot. In addition to the seven Dragons of Heaven and the seven Dragons of Earth, there is still quite a vast cast of important and also lesser characters. What makes X/1999 so special is that they all have their legitimate intentions and wishes. If you like grey characters, well, this series consists of nothing but. There is really no saying which character is in the right or wrong - as the characters themselves point out - there is no ideal outcome in which everyone can be happy.

Not only are all characters relatable, they all have their own story to tell and are anything but flat characters. There must be at least one character everyone can adore, and - ok - relatable or not, I confess, I don't like Satsuki - at all. But apart from her? I can't say there is a single character who I don't care for. You'd wish each and everyone one of them could have their happy ending - unfortunately, you know it won't happen. And to make matters worse, we likely never will find out. I think, X/1999's status of being incomplete will forever be one of my personal biggest manga tragedies.

On another note, for those who have read Tokyo Babylon and/or CLAMP School Detectives, characters from both make a comeback in this series and the truly open ending of Subaru and Seishirou receives a somewhat decent conclusion. I say somewhat because, although their story continues and comes to a close of sorts, the last volume of X/1999 takes on a new turn which could go anywhere, so it's questionable whether it can really be called a satisfying conclusion.

[Daniel Bosé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se está desarrollando muy bien está historia. No puedo evitar emocionarme con las referencias a Tokyo Babylon, y sin duda la gracia de Sora ayuda mucho a contrastar y alivianar el ambiente de esta historia. Creo que por fin ya estoy conociendo a los personajes iniciales, pero aún siguen integrándose unos nuevos ¿A caso las Clamp metieron a todo Tokio a este manga o khe?

[Doremili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me debes mucho Clamp, muchoooo

[Clau MZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5, the plot keeps thickeninggg

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sorata is getting some back-up in the humour department among the Seven Seals when he meets Yuzuriha, a very young Dragon of Heaven with a spirit dog, whom joins the meeting Kamui is having with Hinoto. Just in time to provide back-up of another nature, for Seishiro decided to introduce himself to Kamui and his companions with his usual theatrical deadliness bringing lethal illusions which fade into sakura petals. Not that he actually showed his face…yet. Kamui was unamused by both the attack and the fate which he’s found waiting for him in Tokyo, the one his mother warned him about before he died. Painful memories of her death, of being separated from Kotori and Fuma, of his mother’s cryptic comments about their mother dying, yet they weren’t completely without hope. Meeting Kotori, seeing her talking to birds like a story book princess softens him a little bit, yet he can’t forget his terrible visions of her fate. In the meantime Sora comes clean to Arashi about his own fate and what he meant by telling her that she was “the one”, much to Arashi’s shock. More shocks await both Arashi and Sora when they are surprised by Karen, yet another one of the Seven Seals who may well be Sora’s match (and Yuuto’s) in suggestive playfulness.

Sora truly is a ray of sunshine, even when he’s causing mischief, a quality he’s nourished ever since he was a child, making the other monks at Koya smile even when they’re trying to chastise him for his pranks. He’ll need to be, because Subaru may well be joining the Seven Seals, and the 13th Sumeragi Head will be no help with the humour or flirting, even if Sora is convinced that Subaru’s beauty combined with Kamui’s, Arashi’s, Yuzuriha’s, and his own will guarantee victory by prettiness alone. Sorry, Yuuto, Satusuki, hey, you Harbringers will have sexiness on your side if Seishiro cares enough about the cause to join you. I have a feeling he’ll be interested if Subaru, his marked prey and almost beloved is on the opposite side. It’s not as if Subaru’s eventual appearance wasn’t foretold with the very first panel of this series. The way his coming is hinted at suggest he may be connected by destiny to Kamui as well as Seishiro, although most of the Seals and the Harbringers feel a connection to Kamui or take an interest in him from what’s been shown. The plot is picking up speed, easing up for a moment here and there, allowing the characters to breathe, and the reader to gawk at, err, enjoy the exquisite, intricate art, how it foreshadows what’s to come. I’m eager to read the next volume.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

X Clamp #5.


Kamui: "Aku ingin bertemu Fuuma dan Kotori."
Ibu : "Sekarang belum bisa."
Kamui: "Kenapa tidak bisa?"
Ibu : "Kau tak ingin mereka berdua dalam bahaya seperti bibi Saya kan?"
"Bibi Saya tewas demi kita dan demi pedang suci."

Ibu : "Kamui, kalau kau sudah jadi kuat untuk hidup seorang diri, ibu akan mati."
Kamui: "Tidak!!! Ibu jangan mati!"
Ibu : "Kamui punya orang yg ingin dilindungi? Orang orang yg kau ingin mereka bahagia tanpa kau
sendiri sengsara?"
Kamui: "Kotori.... dan Fuuma."
Ibu : "Tidak apa apa kalau begitu. Kau tak akan salah jalan. Mungkin kau bisa mengubah masa
depan, karena kau adalah 'Kamui'. Jadilah kuat, untuk melindungi orang orang yg kau
sayangi, agar kau tak ragu saat memegang pedang suci untuk berperang."

Saat semua naga langit telah berkumpul, Kamui harus menentukan pilihan takdirnya.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 2 out of 5]

No te digo que me molestó tanto como el tomo 1, pero sin duda este es el segundo tomo más prescindible en lo que voy leído de la serie. Y como me prestaron hasta acá nomás, no creo que la retome por un buen tiempo, aunque no creo que la cuelgue durante cuatro años más. Y si las amigas de CLAMP se deciden a continuarla en el interín, mejor aún.

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that it's very nice that Sorata is grateful to his "master."

[andie]

grey cover light blue x
isbn 9789812410481

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ya me gustó más, aparece Karen 💜 y hay algunas buenas batallas. Pero de nuevo más relleno con la princesa inútil y se repite mil veces la "destrucción del mundo", ya entendimos.

[Ricardo Marín]

5 / 5