X/1999, Volume 08: Crescendo

X [エックス] #8

by Clamp

"Originally published in Japan in 1996 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co. Ltd., Tokyo." --T.p. recto.

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

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[EmpressKoh · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s impossible for me to read this without stopping at least three times to hold back tears. Heartbreaking seeing Subaru and Seishiro together again.

[Clau MZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

TO THIS DAY THIS PLOT TWIST HAS ME IN A CHOKE HOLD!
Never saw something like it, and never will again

[Daniel Bosé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amo esta forma en que Clamp abarca temas que tal vez no todo mundo logra ver a la primera vez. La historia me sorprende mucho tomo tras tomo, porque siempre parece que ya llegó el momento fuerte y luego aparece otro gran momento fundamental.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

HO URLATO DALL’INIZIO ALLA FINE

[it's ya boy harv · Rating 5 out of 5]

:0

[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.

[Once upon a Dream · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
La storia sembra davvero interessante ma la sto trovando davvero troppo ripetitiva.
Ci sono troppi personaggi e non fai a capire chi è chi che ne sbuca uno nuovo dopo 2 pagine, fanno vedere sempre le stesse scene e ci sono troppe cose no sense che non vengono spiegate.
Non so proprio che pensare, da un lato sono un po' delusa, ma al tempo stesso sono curiosa e voglio capire dove vuole andare a parare la storia..
Chissà.

[Zana]

Having trouble keeping track of all the characters. Some of them seem to be crossovers from other series. And there’s so much imagery about death that it’s hard to tell whether someone is actually dying or just that the other characters are afraid they will.

[Don Federico · Rating 5 out of 5]

M A R A V I L L A !

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

WTF!!!!!

[Ctecain · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUBARU ET SEISHIRO !!!!!!!😭😭😭 KAMUI ET FUMA !!!!!! 😭😭😭😭

[psyche · Rating 5 out of 5]

WAT DE FOK

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title is painfully, exquisitely apt for all of the suggestive and build-up comes to crescendo in this; for Subaru and Seishiro, for Kamui, Fuma, and Kotori; perhaps for everyone connected to them. Hinoto and Kakyou certainly seem aware of what’s coming, although Hinoto is still trying to stop some of it. Kanoe is aware of some of it, although she’s not as distressed by it. Tokiko continues to pull strings after her death, getting the CLAMP School Detectives; Nokoru, Suoh, and Akira involved, although they’re much older in this series. She also gets Kamui to think with her advice, pushing him toward his final choice. Being close to Kotori and Fuma, realizing how much they mean to him is the other factor which pushes him. He’s distracted by the battle between Seishiro and Subaru, drawn to its energy, perhaps drawn to Subaru himself even though he doesn’t realize it. Heh, Subaru is distracting everyone. His beauty, power or both when he sailed by Sora-chan and Arashi brough them down to Earth when they leaping themselves toward the broken Seal, a welcome bit of levity amidst all the angst. Sora was at his flirty funniest when he suggested that he and Arashi chase after Subaru. Another welcome moment of levity was Yuzuriha and Saiki catching up with Seichirou, where Seiichirou turns out to be Saiki’s uncle. The way Yuzuriha and Seiichirou bonded over teasing Saiki was a delightful bit of character development for everyone involved. We needed every bit of levity we could get, not that I’m complaining about the intense, intimate, yet spectacular drama, beautifully depicted in panel after panel of Subaru and Seishiro’s reunion and battle; followed by Kamui’s choice and the powerfully dramatic, yet heartbreaking change which comes over Fuma. Fuma starts to give Seishiro hardcore competition as the dark lover/enemy of a tragic young hero in the last panels, which left me literally hanging over my seat, even after reading it several times. Even among volumes of this particular series; Crescendo stands out, shines, and explodes.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

X Clamp #8

Ternyata keberadaan Kotori berkaitan erat dengan masa depan bumi. Ada dua masa depan yang harus dipilih Kamui, tapi hanya ada satu masa depan.
Setelah pedang suci kedua dilahirkan. Datang 3 pria dari perguruan Clamp (yang pernah baca Calmp Detective Tentaiden pasti ingat ke-3 sosok ini). Mereka muncul dan memberikan pertolongan dan suaka pada Kamui dan para naga langit atas permintaan bibi Tokiko. Tujuannya satu. Yaitu menyembunyikan pedang suci milik Kamui untuk dipergunakan pada hari yang dijanjikan.
Setiba di perguruan Clamp, Kamui dihadapkan pada kenyataan pahit ketika ia memilih untuk melindungi Kotori dan Fuuma, dua orang yang disayanginya dari kehancuran yang akan terjadi di bumi ini.
Impian dan kenyataan pun menjadi kenyataan yang tragis.

Di tempat lain, terjadi gempa yang disebabkan oleh Sakurazukamori dan terjadilah pertarungan yang seimbang antara 2 onmyouji (yang pernah nonton Tokyo Babylon pasti tahu dengan dua karakter ini)
Sakurazukamori (salah satu naga bumi) dengan Sumeragi Subaru (salah satu naga langit).

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Más relleno, pero no estuvo mal.

Hay menos diálogo y más escenas de acción. Con los típicos cliqué de Clamp: menciones, relojes, engranes, fin del mundo, batalla, magia, alas, mar y una morra medio loca. Plus yaoi y lesbianismo.

Y hablando de Yaoi: está Seishiro de nuevo. ♥
Plus Kamui y Fuma.

Pero en verdad Seishiro y el otro morro de Tokyo Babylon aparecen aquí, y si bien no es exactamente necesario leer TB, está genial el tipo de protagonismo que tienen, y que no los nerfearan, sino al contrario, les dieron grados altos de poder y me gustó mucho.

Por último, tenemos esos elementos retorcidos que solo los japoneses pueden aportar y que no suenen taaaaaan locos: una niña que es revivida como una especie de golem/robot/espíritu que deseaba casarse con su padre y que quizá ahora evolucione a historia yaoi. Ya se verá, y suena y está cañón, pero técnicamente está planteado bien a la idea del golem, la magia y el (anti)humanismo.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things finally come to a peak in the 8th volume of x/1999 as Kamui finally makes his decision between Heaven and Earth. Unfortunately, no matter what his choice is, the results of his decision will have horrible results. Although x/1999 continues to be a little overstuffed, with all of the character and motivations, there's no denying the excitement that can be found in this volume, and the beautiful artwork. Once you get to the ending (which you can see coming- but it's still shocking) you'll want to pick up the next volume, right away.

[CountZeroOr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent volume, and I like some of the new characters they introduced. However, I really feel like CLAMP rushed the Fuma & Kotari part of Kamui's plot here. It feels like the film handled Fuma and Kotari after Kamui's decision much more gradually then the manga is, which is saying something considering how rushed the movie was.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, the story is getting much better at this point. Not only do we get a certain long awaited showdown, we also have a major turning point in the main narrative. Also, Sorata continues to be made of win.

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's getting more and more interesting because the end of the world is coming and quick.

[andie]

grey cover maroon x
isbn 9789812415745

[Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

asdfghjk

[SzaraReadsComics · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew what was coming and this volume still broke my heart.

[Ricardo Marín]

5 / 5