The first thing you should notice about X are the pretty, skinny people with shiny hair and long legs and very shiny, big eyes. The art in this movie is fantastic and some of the best I've seen. It's some real eye candy. The art is the best thing about this movie and unfortunately the other parts of this movie aren't as fantastic. Although, the story and the characters are good they don't reach the potential that they could. Let's start with the good things. The story is good. The earth is coming to an apocalypse during the year 1999. The dragon of the heaven vows to protect humankind and all the civilization on earth. The dragon of the earth wants to destroy mankind and the corruption and sin that have plagued the earth. By destroying mankind, earth can be purified. Kamui, the main character, must choose to fight on the side of heaven or earth. His decision will effect the fate of mankind. That's the story in a nutshell. It is a good story that is squished into a 90-minute movie, unfortunately so, as characterization, is non-existent.

The characters are all right. They all have a distinct look but seem to fall into the stereotypical category. The main character is a pretty boy. His best friend is a pretty boy. His best friend's sister is a pretty blonde girl. The dragons of the heaven consist of a bad girl, a smart man, a naive schoolgirl, a strong man, and a girl that closely resembles sailor mars. The "bad" guys, the dragons of the earth, consist of a whole bunch of pretty boys. The only notable exception is the leader of the dragon of the heaven, Hinoto. She has a very cool design and is very original. As you can imagine 6 dragons of the earth and 6 dragons of the heaven lead to six massive psychic powered fights. There is blasting at each other with psychic energy and attacks. While the battle could've been huge, they are disappointing. They are very short and need some more explosions and just more action. Not just, one fireball and you're dead. However, I don't think the focus of this movie is on battles as it seems to be more on Kamui and the decision he must make. His decision will hurt him either way and the emotional pain it causes him is immense. I don't want to ruin it but it is one of those irony type things.

The movie is also very very depressing. Pretty much everyone dies. It's awful. Also, character development is nil. They just seem like characters that were created to be skewered by a sword. Which is sad, because some of the characters are interesting and if they had better defined personalities and more of a history than this movie could've worked. I know the movie is only 90 minutes long, but with an extra 45 minutes, there could have been so much more. The dubbing is lame. Kamui sounds feminine and the schoolgirl has an English accent even though I think she is supposed to be Japanese. Everyone else's voice acting is tolerable but could have been much better. The music is pretty good. I like the end theme, Forever Love. I also like the atmosphere of the movie. The dark atmosphere of Tokyo is recreated nicely. Some other things like the power shields that prevent damage to the city and the use of cherry tree petals are cool. The dream sequences are cool too but can be a little much at times.

I do like this movie, but it is hindered by it's length. With another 45 minutes, the battles, characterization and explanations of things could have been better. (What is the point of the computer? AND why is this movie called X?) It is one of the better animes out there and is worth a look if you like eye candy and stories that are darker than most. People who are looking for a deep movie with character development and underlying meanings might want to pass this one up, it is basically a shallow bloody feast for the eyes and that's about it. I watch this movie from time to time. I like it. It's a good if not depressing movie. It's pretty and since I am a fan of CLAMP stuff, (like Magic Knight Rayearth and Cardcaptors.) I bought it. It has a certain charm to it that brings me back to watching it again and again. What I really reccomend is to pick up the manga. The movie is nothing more than eye candy and is just a shadow of the manga. The manga has more personality, depth, and backround than the movie, and to top it off, it's more exciting.