Chicago Sun-Times 


March 24, 2000, FRIDAY, Late Sports Final Edition 

SECTION: WEEKEND PLUS; MOVIES; Pg. 30; NC 

LENGTH: 531 words 

HEADLINE: Anime loses its storytelling luster in 'X' 

BYLINE: By Kevin M. Williams 

BODY: 
      X 

(STAR)(STAR) 

Kamui Shiro Tomokazu Seki 

Kotori Mono Junko Iwao 

Fuma Mono Ken Narita 

Palm Pictures presents a film directed by Rintaro. Written by Asami Watanabe, 
Nanase Ohkawa and Rintaro. Running time: 98 minutes. Rated R (for graphic 
violence and nudity). Opening today at Pipers Alley. 

As an art form, anime can excel in its ability to tell stories of a more adult 
nature, beyond the G-rated world of good ol' cartoons. 

Characters can do the impossible, the only limit being the designer's 
imagination and the animation budget. The potential pitfall of anime, one that 
is evident in "X," is a reliance on wild animation and action sequences that 
would be impossible in a live action film. It also lacks an interesting story to 
go along with the ocular majesty. These flaws make "X" tedium personified. 

At its core, "X" is a Christ allegory. We first meet Kamui as his mother is 
pulling a sword out of her guts. Handing over the weapon, she tells him that he 
is the One, destined to save the world, yada yada. 

In a plot reminiscent of "The Matrix," Kamui is dropped into Tokyo, ground zero 
for a battle being waged for the existence of mankind, which pits the Dragons of 
the Earth against the Dragons of Heaven. One side wants to obliterate mankind 
because of all the harm that was done to the planet, while the other wants to 
leave man alone, letting the world carry on as it is. 

A pair of sibling dream weavers, Kanoe and Hinoto, both see an ultimate Dragon 
warrior, though they differ on which side the One will do battle. Kanoe and 
Hinoto guide the characters with dreams that are riddles wrapped in enigmas, 
surrealist tapestries that reveal "one possible destiny." 

Based on a manga (comic) of the same name, "X" doesn't attempt to advance its 
tale beyond comic book level. The first half of the film is saddled with 
time-wasting dream sequences, flashbacks and the establishment of useless 
characters whose only purposes are to serve as dramatic bludgeons. 

There is the Beast, a computer capable of monitoring and controlling the world 
whose serial number of course is 666. There are dream weavers, phantom dogs, 
wisecracking characters galore, and of course stylized, visually sumptuous 
violence. Guts are pulled out and severed heads are cradled. The lazy, obvious 
plot is liberating in an odd way, as it frees your mind to get into the 
spectacular graphics that couple anime and computer animation. 

As the battle is joined in earnest, a development that takes far too long, "X" 
gets moderately interesting. But the war's outcome is as obvious as the day; 
it's further flawed by rather ordinary fight sequences and a climactic moment 
that gets dispatched with "whoa, look at the time" efficiency. 

Anime classics like "Princess Mononoke" and "Ghost in the Shell" transcend 
animation because of their interesting stories. We get involved with their 
characters in a manner that transcends animation. But "X" is so shallow and 
obvious that you won't care about anyone in the film. It's a blizzard of imagery 
with absolutely nothing interesting to say. With all the possibilities that 
anime offers a storyteller, we have a right to expect more. 

GRAPHIC: Nataku, the evil Dragon of Earth, unleashes his fighting power in "X."