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In the fight between the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth, the dream seer Princess Hinoto predicts the end of humanity. A central entity, 15-year-old Kamui Shirou, is to choose whether to ally with the Dragons of Earth and destroy civilization to protect the planet or with the Dragons of Heaven to save mankind.

Following his mother's last wish, Kamui returns to Tokyo after six years of self-imposed exile. There, he attempts to steal the Sacred Sword from the temple protected by Kyougo Monou—the father of his childhood friends, Fuuma and Kotori. However, after Kamui's venture fails, a mysterious person manages to obtain the sword instead.

Believing Kamui to be the man in her prophecy, Hinoto sends the Dragons of Heaven after him to rally him to their cause. Although Kamui first rejects his destiny, the incessant attacks by the Dragons of Earth against those he holds dear push him to decide whether the lives of his friends should prevail over the fate of the Earth and finally pick a side.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shirou, Kamui Main

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Monou, Fuuma Main

Suwabe, Junichi Japanese

Sumeragi, Subaru Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Sakurazuka, Seishirou Supporting

Kawano, Otoya Japanese

Arisugawa, Sorata Supporting

Madono, Mitsuaki Japanese

Sumeragi, Hokuto Supporting

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Kishu, Arashi Supporting

Yuzuki, Ryouka Japanese

Monou, Kotori Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Kasumi, Karen Supporting

Soumi, Youko Japanese

Nekoi, Yuzuriha Supporting

Sakuma, Kumi Japanese

Maruyama, Masao Producer

Sasaki, Shirou Producer

Kawajiri, Yoshiaki Director, Script, Storyboard, Key Animation

Hamasaki, Hiroshi Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation

Reviews

Jan 17, 2021

MimiThePiggyOrc

Recommended

I love clamp, but they are awful at completing a story. I watched this as a teen growing up I enjoyed the art style, animation, and the different personalities of every character. When I watched it I thought it would have an amazing ending which sadly it didn't I had to search to even find the ending for the manga. it is disappointing to love an anime, but find out that the studio didn't finish it or came up with a rushed ending. The story honestly isn't the best what saves this anime is the art style, characters, and the era it aired in. If ... this aired today it would have probably flopped. I would advise those interested in finishing the show to read the manga since it has a solid ending.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Feb 1, 2025

build-a-buta

Mixed Feelings

If you've seen Tsubasa Chronicles and liked some of the side characters, you might take an interest in learning more about their "original" selves' past. This is probably the series' strongest selling point (despite coming before TRC).

That said, X-1999 is solid primarily from a philosophical viewpoint. Its storytelling, on the other hand, leaves crucial gaps that are never really explained but are kind of smoothed over with a butter knife with a crumpled note from the producers saying, "Don't think too hard about it, just go with the flow." Which is a shame--the anime provides the audience with a powerful message, but its execution makes ... you feel a little empty after watching it. Watching X-1999 is a bit like eating an extravagant entree at a high-class restaurant only to be given a 99¢ ice cream bar for dessert.

The OST, created by Naoki Sato, is a mix between riveting and forgettable soundtracks. In particular, "Hyper Battle 2" really evokes a particular feeling from its audience. Kind of like Mirage of Blaze, there's a lot of hidden gems that'll catch your ear. The OP and ED weren't bad, but weren't amazing either.

The characters are...some of them are explained more than others. The latter half does a sort-of decent job at providing insight into the characters, but only as a means to an end. The former half establishes the characters and settings, but does a weird mix of drawing things out with stating and restating things we already know, glossing over things the series THINKS we should know, and finally doing somewhat of a proper job of progressing the story. Given that, at the time of this review, the manga is still on hiatus with no plans to continue, it's a miracle this anime received a decent ending, I suppose.

Would I watch it again? Maybe. This was on my CLAMP bucket list, and after watching the whole series I do see the CLAMP charm all over it. Tragedy, romance, betrayal, action, dubiously slash-y moments, the works. Honestly, it preformed better than a lot of anime nowadays. But maybe it's because it was such an experience with such a unique plot that the ending left a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, I can't recommend it, but it's a disservice to NOT recommend it. The anime does an excellent job at leaving a lasting impact on its audience, but by no means is a "complete" anime. But if you find the summary pulling at you, why not give it a try, see how you feel.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Feb 25, 2025

sailorkugisaki

Not Recommended

I'm writing this review as someone who read the manga just before watching the anime and who was hoping for the adaptation to be complementary to the original work, offering an ending to the source material which is unfinished/on hiatus. Sadly, the anime was in fact not complementary as the events of the last volume of the manga are completely ignored (volume 18 released after the anime ended), therefore changing major elements from the original story. That said, I could see Clamp going for an ending along those lines (but it could also be different), but I wouldn't consider it as replacement to the non ... existing manga ending.

I was extremely excited to watch this anime because I absolutely loved the manga (which I now consider as one of my favourites) and for some reason, I thought it would be faithful to the source material, but I should have seen it coming...it is impossible to have a great anime adaptation with 24 episodes for 18 volumes.

Firstly, the adaptation changed and censored a lot of elements from the original work, which in a way destroyed the build-up of some elements leading to interesting revelations/storytelling. From violent scenes being changed to be less violent, to some scenes and elements being completely changed/ignored, and some things completely invented...the changes are too big to be ignored. They took away some interesting plot points and twisted other ones.

Secondly, some revelations happened way too early in the anime while it takes more time in the manga. The way things were handled do not work in my opinion as they make the scenes much less impactful; the changes to some scenes take away the climax of the manga. Also, the anime is lacking the apocalyptic vibe of the manga, everything feels less daunting, it feels less like a tragedy and catastrophe. The anime feels very disconnected/scrappy, there is, in my opinion, a pacing problem.

Moreover, the relationships between the different characters feel much more powerful in the manga as compared to the adaptation. Again, a lot of things, which could be considered as details maybe, were changed, but these little things, those moments, were the things that created a special bond between the characters. It feels like everything is overlooked and nothing is very deep. Some characters' stories are barely developed as compared to the manga and those were part of the things that were interesting in the original story, those were things that added to the tragedy that this story is.

Finally, the character design feels a bit "meh" after reading the manga. Clamp's artstyle is very difficult to recreate in an anime adaptation as it is so magnificient. That said, you get used to the anime character design. Regarding the animation, I do think it was lacking some animation during the fight scenes.

All in all, it feels like they used a fast pass on the anime, changing important plot points, not developing relationships and plot points so deeply, staying on the surface of things. I mean, 24 episodes won't allow for something deeper. I would not recommend the anime to someone who wants to discover this story; I would recommend the manga even if it doesn't have an ending. Would I recommend the anime to someone who's read the manga? I am not sure, because it is frustrating to witness all the changes to this beautiful and powerful work. I think they did some interesting stuff in the last episode but once it is finished I felt like "okay" because of everything I've explained in this review.

I tried imagining how I'd feel as someone who'd watch the anime without having read the manga, and I think I would have thought that the pacing is weird, that emotional attachement to everything happening is lacking, and that there is not much climax to the episodes.

I'll end this review on a positive note: the opening and the OSTs were very very good and I absolutely loved them!

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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