X (manga). X (manga) © Anastasia Rozanova, World Art

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  The space battleship Yamato sets off on a dangerous space expedition. His goal is the planet Iskander, which is the last hope of the devastated and radiation-poisoned planet Earth. The war with distant aliens did not pass without a trace: endless deserts and destroyed cities, widespread mutations, high radiation levels in the atmosphere. Planet Iskander stores the neutralizer and only it can help our Motherland...

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  Bonus for exclusive limited editions of the 26th, 27th, 31st, 35th, 38th and 39th volumes of the manga.

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  Bonus for the exclusive limited edition of the tenth volume of the manga.

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  Bonus for the exclusive limited edition of the game Yahari Game demo Ore no Seishun Lovecome wa Machigatteiru.

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  Bonus for the exclusive limited edition of the seventh volume of the manga.

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  Bonus for exclusive limited editions of the tenth and eleventh volumes of the manga.

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  Sato Kazuma - OYAH (regular Japanese hikikomori). He constantly sits at home and just plays his favorite MMORPGs. But one day, having decided to go outside for a new version of the game, he gets into an accident and... dies. But will this be the end of his story? Or will someone on the other side offer him a different path?

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  The OVA takes place after the final events of the series, and could be considered an alternate ending.

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  Bonus for exclusive limited editions of the fifteenth and sixteenth volumes of the manga.

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  A year has passed on Earth since the unofficial friendly visit of Princess Lala Satalin Deviluk. The daughter of the ruler of the entire Galaxy left her home to avoid annoying suitors, and on the very first day on the new planet she met true love in the person of Rito Yuki, of course, a simple Japanese schoolboy. True, some sources claim that a misunderstanding is to blame for everything, but a woman’s intuition is not mistaken in such matters, class and cultural barriers are not afraid of it! And let Rito himself honestly admit that his heart has already been given to his classmate and longtime friend Haruna Sairenji. Whatever you say, Lala has a much better and more extensive education, one of the tenets of which is: princesses always get what they want!

  Time passed, problems arose and were solved, the Earth became a popular holiday destination in the Galaxy, and a whole alien colony arose in the house of Yuki’s family: Lala, her sisters Nana and Momo, the robot Peke and the intelligent flower Selina. Here you can also add the pretty hunter Yami, who arrived for the head of the main character, and remained for... uh... scientific purposes. Seeing such attention, the students of the Sainan school, where almost all the “distinguished guests” transferred, also drew conclusions. Gradually, Rito realized that when reaching the interplanetary level, he had to expand his worldview, that is, try himself in the difficult role of a harem master. The Masaki family has long proven that the galactic prince cannot do otherwise!
  

  © Hollow, World Art

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  Bonus for the exclusive limited edition of the fourth volume of the manga.

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  The plot tells the story of Ichijo Raku, a scion of the Yakuza clan family, who dreams of a normal school life. However, we don't always get what we want and on the first day of high school, Raku is kneed in the face by an energetic exchange student, Kirisaki Chitoge. And as if this were not enough, it eventually turns out that this is his newly-made bride, who is being matched to the boy in order to reconcile his family with the local gangster gang. And what will Raku do now?! After all, his heart is already occupied with dreams of a sweet classmate, and his neck is weighed down by a medallion, symbolizing a mystical promise.

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  Bonus for exclusive limited editions of 15-16 manga volumes.

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  Bonus for the exclusive limited edition of the sixteenth volume of the manga.

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  Adaptation of volume 10.5 of the original novel, which came as a bonus to the limited edition of the second visual novel for PS Vita.
  The main character is Isshiki Iroha.

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  Get off Negishi came to Tokyo to compose and play music. He loves gentle “pop”, soft guitar strums, lyrics about first love and the raspberry taste of a kiss. But luck found Negishi-kun in a completely different field - he became the lead singer of the metal group “Detroit - City of Metal”, the creepy Krauser, the author of hits glorifying violence. According to the official legend, Krauser killed his parents as a child, and then escaped from the colony to found DGM. What is it like for the chaste Negisa-kun, a loving son and a convinced pacifist, to embody the idol of aggressive anarchists?.. but success is success. And while the modest Negisa wants fame, Johann Krauser will bite the strings with his teeth, call for pogroms and promise to fuck all the fans.

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  Somewhere, deep in the bowels of the earth, there is hell, divided into many sectors. Demons and all other creatures known to man live there. In a huge ghost town, there are diabolical gangs operating and the head of one of them, Staz, is a vampire who, as a matter of principle, does not feed on human blood, but is obsessed with modern Japanese culture (games, anime, manga, Japanese technology, etc.). Suddenly, a human girl from Japan, Fuyumi Yanagi, appears in the city. Staz, filled with happiness that he will see with his own eyes a person and a representative of Japan, takes the girl to him, but as soon as he is distracted for a moment, Fuyumi is devoured by a monster plant. All that remains of the girl is one skull, which Staz places on the game console, and Fuyumi herself suddenly appears naked, but like a ghost. Now the main goal of the vampire and the newly made ghost girl is to resurrect Fuyumi by any means, having gone through a difficult path for this.

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  2017 The EU is suffering disasters and destruction due to the British Empire. There is no hope of deliverance and independence for a long time. But the countries that are members of the European Union (including, by the way, Russia, so in the third season we may meet our compatriots) are not going to give up so easily. A small group of Japanese were selected to carry out a secret mission. What is the essence of their task, who these people are, is unknown. It is only said that among them there is a guy named Hugo Akito, the main character of the spin-off. It is obvious that he will become the new Lelouch, but will he have the courage to challenge Britain and the whole world by replacing Zero?

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  The Earth is in danger - aliens from another dimension, by the very fact of their appearance in our world, are causing terrible disasters. As expected, they frequented the Land of the Rising Sun, and people quickly got used to the fact that in addition to tsunamis and tremors, they also had to be afraid of “disturbances in space.” Yes, the ostrich method cannot solve the problem, but is it worth fighting to the death with uninvited guests? Of course, there are mobile groups equipped with modern weapons, but the solution still does not lie there. The key to it, if anyone hasn’t guessed it, is an ordinary Japanese schoolboy!

  16-year-old Shido Itsuka was left without parents in early childhood and now lives with his younger sister Kotori in the suburbs of Tokyo. One day, out of concern for his sister, Itsuka found himself right in the epicenter of a cataclysm and learned that unknown Spirits were coming to Earth... exclusively in the form of cute girls! The breaking of the pattern was completed by the “sister”, who turned out to be the commander of a secret battle group. She told poor Sido that only he can seal the destructive powers of the Spirits, but on one condition - the girl must sincerely love him! This is a state matter, so the young fighter’s course will be serious – and then there is a chance to outshine Keima Katsuragi himself!

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  High school student Ju Juzawa is strong, determined and courageous. He does not give in to fights, does not bend to the school rules, in a word, he is a real master of life. Probably, because of the strength of his personality, girls flock to Ju: some cling with nagging, like the headman Fujishima, some flirt, like classmate Satsuki, and Ochibana Ame went the furthest - she swore vassal allegiance to him!

  In the meantime, Juzawa is dealing with the girls' advances, a maniac is frolicking on the streets of the city: he kills random passers-by and posts photographs of still living victims on the Internet...

  © Anastasia Rozanova, World Art

This is unforgettable...

About the graphics: the beauty is indescribable. One of the most graphically perfect manga in history. True, to see this perfection, you need to be patient a little. CLAMP were also once beginners, and "X" was their early work. In the first 4-5 volumes, Mokona's style is not yet polished enough. But then... There are no words, only admiration.

But the plot is quite naive. In 1999, the time comes for the Last Battle for the Future of the World... 14 people with various supernatural abilities will fight. Dragons of Heaven, also known as the Seven Seals, are for the preservation of humanity. Dragons of the Earth, aka the Seven Angels - for cleansing the planet polluted by people (from people). Naturally, Their Fate Was Predetermined, The Future Has Not Yet Been Decided, This is the Desire of the Earth, and many more pretentious phrases in the same spirit. Not a very promising plot, right?

Don't be afraid, everything is much more interesting in the manga itself. I will quote a statement on this matter from one forum: “The earth is neither cold nor hot from this self-sacrifice. DN and DD, in essence, reflect only the desires of humanity itself - to survive or self-destruct. And beautiful words about ecology ... are beautiful and frankly meaningless words about ecology." In general, the authors very soon abandoned the original plot - and took up the personal problems and relationships of the characters. Moreover, the heroes themselves gave up on him. Of the seven “destroyers of humanity,” there is not a single one of principle. Those who are not involved in this extermination at all, those who pursue their own personal goals (very far from the stated “Greenpeace”), those who simply fulfill desires... And the seven “defenders” protect their loved ones, and for all of humanity, by and large , don't care. Even the ideological inspirers of the parties - clairvoyant sisters - end up not being ideological at all: each has their own interests. All this takes “X” beyond the pretentious saga about the Fates of the World and turns it into a story about people and feelings. A story that really makes you empathize.

The characters were a success. Each of them is a person, and an extraordinary person (possession of superpowers is not in vain). The relationship between them is complicated and confusing. Both characters and relationships change and develop as the action progresses. But the main discovery of the authors is true desires. Everyone has them, they relate to the most important things in life, and are often not realized by the hero himself (and sometimes they are directly opposite to his conscious aspirations). And when a character comes on stage, endowed with the power to see and perform them, surprises await us.

I would like to warn you that the manga contains many violent and shocking scenes. From simple murders to sophisticated sadism. As well as elements of shounen and shoujo ai. And the last warning: whoever starts reading and falls in love, after 18 and a half volumes, the cruel torment of the unknown awaits. If CLAMP have not finished the manga by then, which was cut off at the most interesting point due to disagreements with the publisher... I sincerely hope that they will finish it.

Despite the shortcomings, I give it a rating of 10. Yes, biased. Love in general is a biased thing.

The manga is currently on hold due to controversy between the authors and the publisher regarding the manga's storyline.

In 2006, the anime series “X” was licensed in Russia by Mega-Anime, in 2007 it was released on DVD, and in 2008 the series was shown on the GamePlay TV channel. It was also shown on the channel “Real Scary Television.” In April 2010, the Comics-Art company announced the acquisition of a license for the Russian edition of the manga series “X”, and the first volume was released on February 1, 2011.

Plot

The action takes place in Tokyo 1999, where after a long absence, fulfilling the will of his deceased mother, fifteen-year-old Kamui Shiro, one of the few people with special abilities, returns. He meets his best childhood friends - Fuma Mono and his younger sister Kotori, people whom he wants to protect from all dangers even at the cost of his own life.

Kamui's whole life is predetermined - in the coming battle of the Apocalypse, he must act either on the side of the Dragons of the Earth, Angels who seek to destroy the world, to cleanse the suffering Earth of humanity, or on the side of the Dragons of Heaven, the Guardians, protectors of people guarding the kekkai in Tokyo - the last barrier, keeping the world from destruction.

In an effort to protect his friends, Kamui chooses to side with the Guardians, and causes an irreversible chain of events that brings pain and suffering to him, and his friends and associates.

Movie

The first anime adaptation of the manga was made by the studio Madhouse in 1996, the director of the feature-length film was Shigeyuki Hayashi, better known under the pseudonym Rintaro. Since the manga was not even a third complete by the time the film was made, many of the storylines were greatly simplified and changed, focusing on the relationship between Kamui and Fuma during the Last Battle. Much less attention is paid to other characters, and most of the screen time is occupied by colorful fights between them.

In the film, all the Dragons of Heaven and Earth die before the Final Battle, in which Kamui kills Fuma. The dreamer Kuzuki Kakyo is not present in the film, either because he was not fully introduced in the manga, or because his abilities were not very spectacular for the short length of the film. Instead, Shogo Asagi, the Lord of Water, was introduced into the plot (Yuto Kigei's ability to control water was not reflected in the plot of the manga, so there is no conflict of abilities between the characters in the film). After Kamui kills Fuma, he is left alone, having lost everyone he wanted to protect.

TV series

Differences

Due to the longer duration of the television series compared to the film, the plot is more detailed, and less focused only on the confrontation between Kamui and Fuma. In addition, several manga volumes have been published since the film's release, which made it possible to clarify the storyline. Computer graphics were widely used in the creation of the series.

At the end of the series, some of the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth remain alive, and Kamui dies in the battle with Fuma, before his death bequeathing to him his desire to preserve peace, thus destroying the forces of the Dragon of Earth and winning the Last Battle.

Music

Music for the anime series, including the main theme song "Sadame" ("Fate"), was created by composer Sato Naoki, the opening composition (opening) "eX-Dream" performed by the Myuji group, and the closing song "Secret Sorrow" ("Secret Sorrow") - Koizumi Kohei.

Characters

Each character depicts one of the Tarot cards, images of which were printed on the covers of the volumes and in the art book ZeØro.

Dragons of Heaven

Dragons of Heaven (Japanese: 天の龍 Ten No Ryu) , or Seven Guardians (Japanese: 七の封印 Nanatsu No Fu:in) - a group of seven people who have special abilities and use them to protect humanity in the coming Battle of the Apocalypse. Unlike the Earth Dragons, the Guardians believe that humanity is as valuable as the Earth itself, and believe that the wisdom of humans will allow them to peacefully resolve the conflict between them and nature.

The Dragons of Heaven have varied origins and were typically raised by various religious sects in Japan. The main feature of the Guardians is the ability to create kekkai, a magical barrier that protects the population from the consequences of battles between the Dragons of Heaven and Earth. If the Dragon of Heaven loses the person he wanted to protect most or the goal he lived for, then he loses the ability to create kekkai and ceases to be one of the Seven Guardians.

• Fuma Mono (Japanese: 桃生封真 Mono: Fu:ma) - “twin star” Kamui. Whatever fate Kamui chose, the Sky Dragon or the Earth Dragon, Fuma had to take the opposite side. At a time when Kamui was getting closer to choosing the side of the Dragons of Heaven, the Dragon of Earth awakened in Fuma. Fuma grew up in a Shinto shrine with his sister and father. They lost their mother at a young age, as she took upon herself the fate of giving birth to the Divine Sword. Fuma himself is a kind and sympathetic person who still remembers the promise he once made to Kamui - to protect him, no matter what. He motivates his actions by “fulfillment of desires.” For this reason, he deprived Subaru of his eyes and killed Sorato. Also, having become the Dragon of the Earth, he killed his sister.

So, I finally finished with this universe (I even leafed through the manga a little), I watched it all for a long time, although not as much as Madhouse tried to tell this story, and I won’t beat around the bush - I liked the series the most.

The plot was interesting, in which the idea of ​​the inevitability of the line of fate and attempts to resist it at all costs clearly stood out. For the most part, the motivations of the parties did not let us down, giving the series shades of gray. Sometimes banal but vital truths were revealed about what makes our lives valuable and why we need to take care of what is dear to us. Let everyone do it in their own way and not always right in the eyes of others. Well, or I already turned it down...
Overall, the script isn't exactly brilliant, but the characters really lift things up. Everything is as I like - in addition to the mentioned motivations, there is also a disclosure with backstories and interactions, which sometimes gives rise to strong plot twists and powerful drama. It seems like you look at a template on a template, but somehow they are presented and revealed here in such a way that they catch you and that’s it. Or is it just that in modern anime everything is bad with the characters...
The music also contributes to the atmosphere of what is happening; the list of compositions, although not rich, they all sound simply great and are inserted, as they say, “into the theme.” The graphics in the series are very advanced, in another 5 years many series will look approximately the same, although the number of animation frames and large-scale scenes using it is not even amazing. But I can attribute a lot to CLAMP’s corporate style, which I met in Code Geass.
Now about the cons. I won’t point my finger at the numerous blunders and holes, at the number of “random” coincidences, at the sometimes illogical behavior of the characters, my quibble lies elsewhere. Unfortunately, the epic battle didn’t work out. The battles are spread thinly throughout the entire duration, it seems like this is how it should be, but in the end it wouldn’t hurt to give in to a dynamic confrontation, which is constantly brought up to and broken off in the end. Yes, there is a revelation of the characters and so on, this is good, but I repeat, the dynamics suffer greatly from this. And the ending still manages to be monstrously crumpled, and they don’t even bother to tell the fate of some of the characters in a more complete way. I don’t know, maybe it was all intended that way, the narrative itself sometimes looks more like a theatrical production, but even so, the last episode, unfortunately, was undercooked.
In this regard, the weak movie wins over the series - everything is ok with the dynamics, and the animation will be richer, but there are already major problems with disclosures, well, that’s why it’s a film, watch at your own risk. For some, scenes with hints of shonen-ai will be a controversial point. Of course, there is nothing serious here in this regard, but for some, even hints are already deadly. Although in modern anime this is sometimes much worse. By the way, if you are still planning to watch this series, it would be a good idea to first watch Tokyo Babylon and X OVA, for a more complete understanding of the context, the film is mentioned above, you can skip the clips.

Well... Conclusion?
Despite the fact that the series has a whole bunch of problems and objectively, it hardly deserves the 8 out of 10 I gave, and I may even reconsider the rating someday, although, God forbid. Nevertheless, it was interesting to watch from beginning to end, and I believe that an emotional response is sometimes much more important than any objectivity and dry analysis, and this series touched me to the depths of my soul (yes, that’s how naive and simple I am) , and more than once.

I will be outrageously biased. Because it was with “X” that I consciously entered the world of Japanese animation.

The very first anime I watched as if by decision

fate. Well, how can I think otherwise? When you live in the early 2000s, far from urban civilization. And you see in a poor rural CD store a cover with a delightful picture of “CLAMP”, gasping with the joy of recognition. When you've been sighing for a year already at unidentified anime clips shown by your city comrades, and thinking longingly - what kind of anime is this? Where can I get it? And then the disk... It's still in the stack, right there, next to me as I type. To stumble upon a not very popular anime, and in a place where this is almost impossible - why not fate?)

Just like in the theme of the idea, a thread stretched in the series. What is “fate” and “destiny”? Why do people do exactly these things and not others? Why, after all, is the world so cruel? Anime will not give answers to these questions unambiguously, it will simply tell a story.
The story is probably what got me hooked. It is pretentious and Clumpian, just as dramatic and delightfully beautiful, with a cover from the art that captivated me once and for all. More precisely, not history, but stories. As they correctly noted before me, there are many characters here, and we will be told about them as the series progresses. Two opposing factions, where it is often difficult to separate the good and the bad. Everyone has their own, albeit sophisticated, motivation. And if it doesn’t exist, the authors will create it, oh, it’s not at all difficult.
Almost all the heroes had a difficult life anyway, and how it came to the main plot narrative... In general, get your scarves ready, everything there is very harsh in the Japanese way.

Kamui At first he doesn’t seem like the most pleasant character, to be honest. Capricious, pretentious, carrying his tragedies like a sack. But as I watched, looking around at the madhouse going on around me, I involuntarily became imbued with the hero, I just felt stupidly sorry for him.

I waited a long time for it, and in the end I never expected to see Kamui in the role of a vampire along with the quiet Subaru. However, their “special” relationship, which began in “X,” became even more obvious in “Chronicle.” Oh, these mangaka-(not) shippers)

I, like the last sensitive girl, at one time almost burst into tears when I saw him in the Chronicle, alive, cheerful and happy. Sorata was the first character from X to be introduced during the Chronicle's narrative.

For some reason, the relationship between Arashi and Sorata was deeply touched; it was so childishly stupid and naive, how Sorata approached Arashi, and she did not want to accept him. And how cruelly their love story ended, stupid, cruel and somehow beautiful.

To be honest, I very much doubt that “X” will appeal to modern audiences. This is not a classic that even a newfag can love; let’s be honest, this is a specific product. Pathetic and dramatic, with a rustic and sometimes logical plot. More, perhaps, aimed at a female audience, with clear hints of shonen-ai, beloved by the original manga artists, with beautiful subtle bishounens. Slow, with a lot of empty dialogues. “X” needs to be loved as an interesting person, but with shortcomings.
The advantage is that the quality of drawing is still a reference for me. She is magical, lively, very stylish and recognizable. Graphically, “X” still pleases my eyes, although many people prefer the film, it is closer to the mangaka’s drawing. If you're interested, take a look at the art books, they're wonderful.
Music. Yes, it's outdated. But holy shit, from the very first seconds it hits me like an electric shock, the opening “eX Dream” gives me goosebumps. And again, the group “X-Japan” has already been mentioned here, they sang for the official video for X (or it was the other way around... In general, they are also cool). The instrumental music in the anime itself is also not bad, but perhaps the track that caught my attention the most was “Sadame” - the quintessence of drama.
I'm afraid to blurt out something about the plot so as not to spoil it. Let me just say that it will not be of interest to everyone. It is spiritually close to many TV series of that time - an abundance of tragedy, words about an unchanging predetermination, fights, heroes with a difficult fate. There is maltsa and humor, and slice, and even time to relax and relax the buns (but don’t overdo it!).

My biased 9 out of 10. Simply because this is my first love, and even though I see the shortcomings of the anime, I still love it.

A close friend of mine at the time praised this anime to me. An unusual twisted plot, bright characters, beautiful graphics...
Unfortunately, all this refers to some other title, which she confused with this one, which has become for me a kind of standard of bad anime. Why the standard? Because I didn’t like everything here. That's right, totally. The only thing that amused me was

But this was not enough to get at least a two grade.
The plot... Yes, the twist of an incredible level: we were born and raised for a great mission, we don’t want to play out an apocalyptic multi-step game, we will overcome, we will turn fate upside down, no, we will not be able to turn it over, we will never overcome, and, with a liquid fart, one by one Let's go limp to the sobs of the thirteen-year-old spectators (to be honest, at that time I myself was not much more than thirteen, but still, such a crude forced drama could no longer evoke any emotions). This was a retelling of all 24 episodes, I mean it. Of course, even on such a simple foundation you can build a fascinating, memorable story. But alas, something went wrong.
Vivid characters. This is not about a wizard who wants to offer MFM to his friend and his sister, but believes that they will not understand him (and in vain, this would add at least some zest to the anime), and others like them, and others like them - sorry, but this cannot be taken seriously.
Beautiful graphics. Many people liked it, but those character simfaces! They can be distinguished from each other only by their hairstyle and clothes; their faces are drawn as if they were carbon copies. This would not be critical if not for the two points above. Together with them, the shortcomings of the graphic aggravate the depressing impression. Mmm, and these feathers, feathers, it’s a pity there’s no fly in the ointment.
Music. In some places it is very inappropriate for what is happening on the screen.
However, there are positive aspects to everything. If I suddenly get poisoned by something, I can use this anime as an emetic.