Review for X: Volume 6

Introduction

X has been a slow build of a series, so slow in fact that I do have concerns that there just isn't room to give the story a fitting send off in this final volume. Regardless of my reservations, this final volume has arrived, and now I get to find out how this series ends. I've missed out on the original CLAMP manga from which it is adapted (and from which the ending deviates), so all I have to compare it to is the earlier feature film. Now that's a low benchmark that this series long ago surpassed. It's just been getting better and better since the first volume, and hasn't put a foot wrong yet. Now would be a poor place to start.


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 final four episodes of X are presented on this MVM disc. Normally I would offer episode synopses at this point, although with it being a final disc, I'd normally keep the final episode to a simple 'The conclusion' to avoid giving too many spoilers away. Not this time. This time all four episodes are so spoilerific that I'm just going to leave it at the episode titles. All four episodes comprise the conclusion of the story, and the important thing is that we learn whether or not destiny can be changed…

21. Current
22. Betrayal
23. Earth
24. Legend

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.

Conclusion

I was unduly worried. X nails the ending; it delivers a finale of dramatic and emotional intensity that approaches perfection. From the first episode on this disc, it's all about putting the story to rest, resolving the major character arcs, and making sure that at no point does the tension, or the suspense slacken for an instant. It keeps on piling up the revelations and plot twists right up until the final frame, and it made me intensely grateful that I stuck with the show to the end, especially since I was so lukewarm to it at the beginning, and only gradually warmed to it as the volumes progressed.


With all this talk of perfection, you may be wondering why I shied away from a perfect 10 score. Well, for all the drama and emotion of the conclusion, there are one or two plot holes and narrative gaps that remain unfilled. Fortunately, they're the sort of plot holes that don't make you swear at the television screen, rather the sort that suddenly have you scratching your head four hours afterwards, wondering, 'Hold on a minute!' There are some ambiguous conclusions for certain characters, certainly one in particular seemed left in limbo, although some may consider the final scene particularly fitting. More significant is that another character's motivation remains unsatisfactorily explained in these episodes. It's important because this character's potential betrayal risked disaster in the previous volume, and as the first couple of episodes on this disc intimate, the character's internal conflict was literal rather than metaphorical. Yet I found this to lack suitable explanation in the story.


Of course by far the biggest sticking point for some may be the actual conclusion itself, which hits all the suitable emotional notes, action packed and thrilling, but also so, so right for the story that has unfolded over the previous six discs. It's the epitome of hope and faith in the face of implacable destiny and fate. It leaves you with just the right feeling as the end credits roll. Then, the four hours later effect kicks in, and it's at this point I am dumbstruck by the unreality and impossibility of the conclusion. Given what has happened, there's no way that there should be a happily ever after. The events that have transpired, and the actions that the characters have taken ought to preclude them from a happily ever after; they really should have a bleak lifetime of guilt and remorse to look forward to. Of course that would be utterly the wrong ending for X, it goes against everything that the story is about, but I can't help a smidge of realism sneaking into my appreciation of the show.


You'll notice that I have been oblique about my criticisms; I have named no names and left things as ambiguous as I could make them. That's because X's finale deserves no spoilers, and you really ought to experience it for yourself. This series has been truly a revelation. I don't like stories about predestination and implacable fate, but with every rule there is an exception, and X is that exception for me. The strength is in the writing and the characterisations, and watching this series at the civilised pace of one disc a month has made the experience even more enjoyable. You shouldn't be put off by the show's age, as MVM have brought out an anime classic. This is a show that you'll return to when flashier, more modern titles are long since forgotten.