The Christian Era 1999 -- X -- Their Destiny Was Foreordained
the apocalyptic super hero romance of love and friendship

Background
X, an intersection, a signal of danger, the cross of salvation , the number of completion... All these were the metaphoric meanings CLAMP had intended when they started the manga story of X in 1991. Though Biblical terms such as "Angels" and "Seals" are being used, X is by no means a religious story. The destiny of earth and the human race is placed into the hands of several people in Japan. They are people having superhuman capabilities, and even the government has noticed them and would like to make use of their extraordinary talents. However, all of them are from different backgrounds, and most of them are teenagers. While they are still in the age expected to be of gaiety and full of ambition, harsh circumstances have made these young people suffer from bitterness and, at the same time, gathered them thogether. Eventually, they are confronted to make the choice between the conservation of the old and revolution for the new, between protection and destruction, between Heaven and Earth.

Story
The story started as Kamui Shirou, a young school boy, returned to Japan after the death of his mother, Tohru (Magami) Shirou. Before, they left Japan because of the mysterious death of his mother's best friend Saya Monou, Kyougo Monou's wife and the mother of Fuuma and Kotori; but now he came back because his mother had told him that his destiny awaited him in Tokyo. He came across much more misfortune before he finally joined the Dragons of Heaven upon the pleadings of the dreamgazer Hinoto. Although he has been careful not to get involved with his two dearest friends, Kotori and Fuuma, too personally in case they might get hurt because of him, Kotori died shortly after he has become a Dragon of Heaven, being killed by her own brother Fuuma, who has been chosen by destiny to take the place as the "dark Kamui" among the Dragons of Earth. The rest of the Dragons of Heaven stand by Kamui and his sorrow has eventually abated. Now, he has decided to get Fuuma back and would do anything to save the only person he cares in this world.

DoH & DoE
There are altogether seven Dragons of Heaven and seven Dragons of Earth. The former are supposed to make kekkai and protect earth and all its inhabitants from destruction, and therefore are also known as the Seven Seals. The latter believe in renewal or hope brought by destruction of the human beings, and they are the Seven Angels who, according to the Bible, are the ones who carry out God's order to bring about the ruins of the human society. The following lists all their current members:

Readers of Tokyou Babylon should have recognized the last member on each list. What happened between Subaru and Seishirou is a long story to tell, but in short is that Subaru has lost a bet to Seishirou which he didn't realize he was playing at all, and out of love for his twin brother his sister Hokuto died in his stead. (OK, I know the way I put it seems pretty artless to all the TB fans, but how should I put the seven-volume long story here?) Therefore, readers should expect these two will have a fight all to their own without the interference of the rest.

However, there is also a pair of friends each from the two groups. It sure is amazing to see a young girl like Yuzuriha and a tough man like Kusanagi talking about dogs and trees and sky and sea together amiably. Yuzuriha comes from a family whose members are protected by some spirit dogs which are not visible to normal people. Since Kusanagi can see her dog, Yuzuriha feels that he is very special and likes him very much.

Speaking of liking each other, Sorata's fondness of Arashi is no secret to anyone. Although he is raised to be a monk, he always has an eye for women... The truth is that he knows he is must die because of a woman, therefore he has promised himself to die for a BEAUTIFUL woman. Thus, when he met the pretty but unmoved Arashi, he decided to die for or killed by her. (Don't worry, Sorata is not that sort of guy who is always thinking about death. ^_^)

On the other hand (or, shall I say, in the other group?), Satsuki might be loving Yuuto secretly... well, at least in the X movie. Satsuki is a computer genius, not only can she control the supercomputer "the BEAST", she actually can communicate with the thing as part of it. But every girl must have a crush once a while, and though she is pretty occupied by all the digital data, Yuuto being the often visitor sure makes her to admit that he is quite special to her.

Could we possibly have some triangular relationship among these people? Nataku is supposed to be a lifeform without gender or any related reaction, but when he/she (your choice!) saw Fuuma, Nataku recalled someone in his/her memory and called out "Father". An extreme case of Electra complex... Will Kamui and Nataku fight against one another out of jealousy??

Just quite the opposite, Karen is a sexy being. The story I heard is that because she has the ability to control fire, she has to work in places like night clubs so that she could conceal her true identity. However, many male readers should appreciate her generosity of always wearing too little...

Nonetheless, some of the Dragons are quite detached. Seiichiro has a wife and a daughter, so he has no excuse to befriend Karen (just kidding!). But he is the only (hardworking) married man among these people and there is his peculiarity. Also Kakyou, since he claims that his beloved has ceased to exist in this world, he would forever lie dormant until the "Appointed Day". I heard people saying that his lover could be Subaru's sister Hokuto... I will leave you guess at that.

Other Characters
You may also want to be reminded of that Hinoto and Kanoe are TWIN sisters, and Daisuke Saiki is Hinoto's admirer. The reason why the two sisters are on opposite ground is still not certain, though the movie said it was because Kanoe wanted to free Hinoto from her dreamgazing duties, CLAMP said it would not be the same for the manga. There are also the CLAMP Campus Trio: Nokoru Imonoyama, Suoh Takamura and Akira Ijyuin, who are now guarding the second Sacred Sword. A recent introduction of Keiichi Sekawa finally brings us some fresh air. This guy is so cool that he doesn't show much sadness after her mother died in the earthquake. Kamui needs a bright, healthy friend like Keiichi, or he would become a smoke like Subaru or a flirtatious guy like Sorata. (Personal comment)

Back

Last updated on Jun 13, 1999. KatKo All rights reserved.