Anime brilliance enlivens solid story of 'X'

MomSeattle · DadSeattle · SPI · MySeattlePix · My account

Local

US/World

Sports

Business

A&E

Life

Comics

Photos

Opinion

Blogs

Buy Ads

Jobs

Autos

Homes

Rentals

NWsource

Movies

Anime brilliance enlivens solid story of 'X'

Friday, March 10, 2000

By JIM PETERSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Anime (Japanese animation) has been the pop culture buzz word recently with the U.S. arrival of Hayao Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke," Mamoru Oshii's "Ghost in the Shell," and the ever-present anime juggernaut "Pokémon." Now comes the North American theatrical premiere of Rintaro's dark yet fascinating "X," which was first released in Japan in 1996.

"X" is an intriguing and well-scripted look at the Earth's final days in 1999, when a battle between two armies, the Dragons of Earth and the Dragons of Heaven, threatens to either destroy or save mankind.

MOVIE REVIEW
X. Directed by Rintaro. Written by Clamp. Manga Entertainment. Varsity. 98 minutes. Unrated, but has graphic animated violence and nudity. Dubbed in English.
Grade: B

A young man named Kamui is at the center of this conflict. He is reluctantly forced to decide whether to join the Dragons of Earth, and let all of mankind's creations perish so the planet can start anew, or join the Dragons of Heaven, who seek to preserve Tokyo and the Earth in its current state. The oracle for each army, sisters Hinoto and Kanoe, vie for Kamui's attention, knowing that whichever side he joins, another "Kamui" -- his "twin star" -- will join the opposite army, forcing a fated duel that in the end will test Kamui's heart, faith and friendship.

Rintaro, a part of anime for more than 30 years ("Astro Boy," "Kimba th

"X" is a visually stunning, but emotionally uninvolving, work of Japanese animation.

e White Lion"), teams up with the four-woman animation group Clamp to produce a visually stunning film that blends drawn animation and computer graphics. The action comes at you full-force, and attention is needed to follow the quickly paced battle scenes throughout the film. The animation detail, from huge city buildings down to small creases in the clothes, is much better than most Disney pictures, and the haunting score gives a nice touch to the overall dark feeling of the story.

Be forewarned, "X" is graphically violent. The film abounds with limbs being severed, buildings exploding, bodies being crushed and lots of the main characters perishing in various methods along the way. Needless to say, this isn't an animated movie for children. The violence, however, almost seems to happen in a surreal, dreamlike state that isn't as shocking as it would be in a live action film.

The biggest flaw in "X" may stem from the effort to condense the story from a huge manga (comic book) series into a 98-minute film. As with Ralph Bakashi's lackluster animated "Lord of the Rings," it is very difficult to squeeze a complex story into the confines of one film and have it be totally effective. Most of the characters never receive the depth needed for us to care what happens to them; in "X," most are gone before we can even remember their names.

Another annoyance is the poor quality of the English overdubs. It is obvious the voices in this U.S. version do not belong to big-name actors. Dialogue is almost laughable in some spots, with quick release and flat effect in scenes that should be a bit more emotive. I watched this movie again in the original Japanese with English subtitles, and it worked much better.

Whether anime ever reaches the mass popularity in this country that it has in Japan remains to be seen, but "X" is a beautifully drawn film and engaging story marred only by its vague character development and mediocre voice-overs.