X: Volume 5

Introduction

We're already at the penultimate volume of X. With this monthly release schedule, it feels as if we've barely begun to know this story, and already we have to face the final curtain. Actually, that is something of an issue with this show. Its pace has been quite slow, and it's really taken its time to impart all that it has to impart. It's been meticulous in the way it has developed the characters and unveiled the story. And therein lies the problem. We've only eight episodes to go, and it still feels like the start. To contemplate bringing the story to an endgame and completing it in a mere two volumes seems ridiculous, especially given the first episode on this disc. Still, there's no point crying over milk that hasn't even been spilled yet. X has been a surprisingly alluring fantasy series, and I have enjoyed it this far. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope that it continues in this vein right up to the end.

The millennium is impending, which as we all know means the end of the world. In this case, the end of the world will come about when the Dragons of Earth battle the Dragons of Heaven for the fate of mankind. The Dragons of Earth aim to destroy humanity, and give Earth a clean slate to start afresh. The Dragons of Heaven are their counterparts and they aim to protect humanity. The seer Hinoto has foretold that the fate of the world rests in the hands of one man, Kamui Shiro, and how events will unfold will depend on which path he chooses. When Kamui returns to Tokyo, he's reluctant to even get involved, staying aloof and uninterested. But he's forced to make a choice when his childhood friends Fuma and Kotori Monou are drawn into the conflict.


The next four episodes of X are presented on this MVM disc.

17. Wish
The dreamseers are abroad. Following a tense conversation between Kakyou, Hinoto and Kanoe, the Dragons of Earth's dreamseer Kakyou pays a visit to Kamui in his dream, offering a chance for him to reconsider his path by reminding him of the torment he has already gone through.

18. Newborn
Nekoi takes time out to visit her soldier friend Major Kusanagi. It's a welcome break from the impending apocalypse, and besides, Kusanagi is the only 'normal' person who can see Inuki. But their pleasant evening together is interrupted when another attack occurs. The Dragon of Earth Satsuki is using her supercomputer, The Beast to lay waste to another section of Tokyo. When Kusanagi sees Nekoi raise a barrier field in the city, he realises who she is. It isn't good considering he is a Dragon of Earth. The inexperienced Nekoi may have the power to protect the city, but she's stymied when Satsuki asks her why human life is so precious. It's just the opening she needs, and disaster strikes. Now Kusanagi's loyalties are torn.


19. Inferno
Karen Kasumi is surprised to see Seiichiro Aoki at the government offices, but has to restrain her enthusiasm when she overhears just why. The impending apocalypse is having an effect, and Aoki is there to present divorce papers, in the hope of keeping his wife and daughter safe. The civil servant behind the desk is none other than Yuto Kigai, Dragon of Earth, and after doing his civic duty, the next logical step is to issue a challenge to the Dragon of Heaven. Karen is dismayed to see the defeatist frame of mind that Seiichiro has, and so it is that scandal is afoot at his publishing house, when the 'lady of the night' calls for Seiichiro. It's just an invitation to a cup of tea though, drugged, so that she can go and fight in his place.

20. Ripple
Given his previous encounter with Fuma, Kamui is understandably downhearted, and so it falls to Sorata and Nekoi to try and cheer him up with a dinner. They also rope in Arashi to help, who although she wields a mean sword, isn't too sharp in the kitchen. Sorata's culinary pep talk has the intended effect, before Hinoto calls with another vision. The Dragons of Earth will appear in two places simultaneously, and the girls and the boys split up to cover both eventualities. It's a trap though. Fuma appears where Nekoi and Arashi are, and he has a prophecy of his own to impart. Arashi will be the one to kill Sorata.

Picture

X gets a 4:3 transfer reflecting the original source. It's a splendid presentation, up there with the best of anime releases, smooth and clear, and as sharp as possible given the inevitable NTSC-PAL conversion. About the only flaw I could pick at is some minor shimmer on fine detail, but it crops up rarely enough to be a major issue. From 2001, this is one of the earlier anime shows to be accomplished within the bowels of a PC, instead of hordes of animators using inks, paints and cel acetate, and it does show, with a uniformity of colour in the characters, and a somewhat excessively clean feel to the animation. But the animation is of decent quality, certainly holding up well today. As you would expect from a director like Yoshiaki Kawajiri, it simply drips atmosphere and style. CLAMP's designs are evident too, in the tall, elegant characters, with distinctive features. X as an anime from the early part of the decade has aged visually, but it has aged well indeed.

Sound

As mentioned before, you have a choice between DD 5.1 English, and DD 2.0 Japanese, along with an optional translated subtitle track. It's disappointing that there isn't a separate signs only track, as there is plenty of onscreen text that has to be translated, and it means that dub aficionados will be flipping the subtitles on and off to see what various signs and captions mean. As usual, I only sampled the English dub, and despite such anime dub stalwarts as Crispin Freeman, Lia Sargent and Michelle Ruff in the cast, it's aged worse than the animation has, sounding very much of its time. It's a shame really, as the 5.1 audio is very impressive. It's vibrant, expressive, and put to good use to convey the atmospheric action sequences. X also boasts grand orchestral themes for its incidental music, and helps the show sound epic in scope and scale. Another shame then, that the 5.1 Japanese mix created for the US remix edition couldn't be sourced, although the 2.0 stereo option does sound quite pleasant given the pro-logic polish.

Extras

There are trailers on this disc for Desert Punk and Fate/Stay Night. There is also a 2-minute screenshot gallery, preceded by a ten-second spoiler warning. Therefore, I didn't check the gallery to see if it was all present and correct.

Conclusion

It's more of the same from the fifth volume of X, more of the same deliberate and considered story development, and more of the same well thought out and interesting characterisations. The clock keeps ticking towards doomsday, and the story continues to unfold incrementally, slowly building up the suspense and ratcheting up the tension. Normally that would be a good thing, but this is the penultimate volume, and after this there are just four more episodes to go. It doesn't seem enough time to satisfactorily resolve all the story threads, and I keep looking on the Internet to check if there isn't a second season of X to come after this one (there isn't), as it certainly seems as if there could be enough story to fill another 26 episodes, let alone just four. Of course I may be jumping at shadows, and it is indeed possible to resolve a story as deep and intricate as this one in the space of one more DVD, without sacrificing those things that make this series so compelling.


It doesn't help that this disc starts with a recap episode. It could be argued that with a narrative this complex, taking time out for a reminder wouldn't be a bad thing, and admittedly the way the episode is structured, with Kakyou, the dreamseer of the Dragons of Earth, trying to convince Kamui to alter his path does actually make sense in terms of the characters and the story. But it's still an episode devoted to going over what has already occurred, adding little new to the story. And with just eight episodes left in which to resolve all this, taking one episode out for a recap just feels like a waste. The next three episodes on this disc still feel very much like the middle game of a chess match, with the various pieces on the board really just testing the water, engaging in little skirmishes, rather than approaching anything near the fireworks that Hinoto's prophecy indicate.


Newborn is another Nekoi focussed episode, developing her rather ill advised relationship with Kusanagi and also exploring the depth of her connection with Inuki. The stakes are raised when Fuma gets involved, and how Kusanagi reacts is interesting indeed. Inferno harks back to the movie, like so many of these episodes do, when Aoki decides to battle Yuto, but then Karen and Nataku get involved. Unlike the movie, this battle has a different conclusion though, and again, while it promises something earth shattering, it doesn't quite deliver, holding back for a potential rematch.


It's the final episode, Ripple where things promise to get climactic, even though the first half of the story is given over to blissful domesticity. But it's really about progressing the relationship between Sorata and Arashi, and the fateful prophecy that links them. Once again, Fuma gets involved, and there are some of the fireworks in this battle that are worthy of the endgame of a story, but once again, in terms of narrative arc, no major loose ends are tied up, and at no point do you think that this is where the series conclusion begins. Except of course for the epilogue, which sees one of the characters walking into the lion's den.


Don't misconstrue me though. There is nothing wrong with the episodes on this disc. On the contrary, this is still anime storytelling of the highest order. The way the characters are explored, and the way they develop in this volume is of the same high standard as what has come before. Things happen, people are affected, they grow, they react, it's all absolutely compelling stuff, and I couldn't tear myself away. It's just the sort of quality that you want in the middle of a series. But this isn't the middle of a series. My only concern now is that there are only four episodes left in which to resolve the story. Personally, I can't see how it can satisfactorily be done in the space that is left, what with all the character arcs, plots and subplots still to resolve. I fervently hope that volume 6 will prove me wrong. I've nudged the score down a bit for this volume because of that recap episode.