John Doe I enjoyed the movie, it is based on the manga by Clamp. It has beautiful animation and voice acting but the story is cut down from the original manga.I give X: The Movie a 6/10

LainEverliving Honestly, people are unfair to this film. CLAMP (the original creators) at the time were in the middle of the amazing 'X' manga, and they created this film as an alternate telling of the story which focused primarily on the main characters (Kamui, Fuuma, and Kotori). The other characters are, regrettably, reduced to less interesting background roles, where their unique personalities do not have as much impact. This is the unfortunate circumstance of the movie, because to me, characters like Subaru, Sorata, and Kakyou (who was not even in the film at all!) are who make the 'X' manga come to life. Also, this is a remarkably long film for an anime, so I was surprised that the level of quality of the animation was kept up for a full 100 minutes and that as many of the subplots as were mentioned were included. Whenever a great manga, like 'Akira' for example, is turned into a film, a lot of the other material that make the story so wonderful is lost. However, just as in 'Akira,' the film version of 'X' creates an interesting alternate telling of the story that is accessible to many and is particularly of interest to those who have read the manga or seen the television series.There are some theories that CLAMP did not have full approval of the film, but they are completely baseless. I have looked into the matter extensively and spoken to the producer, Masao Murayama, at the 2004 Anime Expo. The film was not only made with full approval, but in addition Nanase Ohkawa, the original author of the manga and main writer of CLAMP, wrote the first draft of the screenplay. She is reported to have said at the time that it was exceedingly difficult, since she had to reduce her story (which she had been working on since middle school) down to its barest essentials. However, ultimately it was her decision to try and tell the story of Kamui and the choices he must make. That to her was the most important.Lastly, I will say that, with some knowledge of the Japanese language and a limited ability to speak and understand it, the subtitling on the official DVD released by Manga Entertainment in the states is abysmal. It is rare indeed that I see such a truly awful representation of the original dialog of an anime, and in a film like this where what is being said is VERY important, it is really unforgivable. Furthermore, the English dub is unspeakably bad. On my initial viewing of this film, I thought it was really not at all good, and the treatment of it by the U.S. distributor had a lot to do with it. However, I had the good fortune of buying the Japanese laser disc release, and upon re-watching it I realized just what a wonderful film this is, if you can give it a chance. Tomakazu Seki's acting as Kamui is second to none (to hear his delivery, especially near the end of the film, is a truly remarkable experience in hearing a master voice actor at work), the mood is dark and grim (especially if you watch the film late at night), the music is minimalist and filled with traditional Japanese instruments that help the spirit of the story, the ending credit song is performed by the ultimate in Japanese rock groups X JAPAN (and this is one of their greatest songs), and the animation is second perhaps only to 'Pinnochio' in an astounding level of detail that has not been matched since. Of all the great anime epics of the apocalypse, this is one of the most intriguing and thought-provoking, especially when the dialog is understood without the tethers of a bad dub or subtitling. Some leaps of logic are required, but if you are patient, open-minded, and especially if you are willing to read even a little of the original manga, the 'X' movie can be seen for what it really is: a fascinating portrait, an exciting look into Japanese societal worries about the then-coming millennium, and one of the greatest stories ever told by the ever-amazing CLAMP. Give this movie a chance. You won't regret it.

neon47 X/1999 is a great manga, it really is. I bought this movie as my introduction to anime, luckily I didn't let this movie ruin anime for me. X is the story of a boy who has the power to choose the future by choosing a side to fight for: the Dragons of Heaven who want mankind to continue to exist or the Dragons of Earth, who want mankind purged from the planet like a bad disease. Personally I would've chose the Dragons of Earth. But enough about me. The move is a short 90mins. Not NEARLY enough time to squeeze in a huge story like X. The most frustrating thing about X is that once you're introduced to a character they die within 10mins or so. The animation however is beautiful, and the girls who created the characters did an excellent job designing them. The violence is brutal when it needs to be which is often times a must for me. But this movie just doesn't flow well. Maybe if they would've shoved an extra hour in this there would be less confusion. But now that I've seen the series and read the manga I've got this movie down to a science. But that doesn't raise the rating. I still love the ending to this movie, and I love it even more now because the ending to the series sucked. If one watches this movie about 5 or 6 times they may start to get it a little more. If one is looking for a dark depressing movie this should be on the top of their rent list right next to Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (which out shines this movie in every way imaginary). Overall, if you've got the patience to watch it a few times go for it, but the only thing I watch it for is the ending.

Dr_Midnite i disagree that this is a terrible movie because it seems to that many of you are taking this film for face value. in order to fully appreciate this anime and most anime one must actually think while watching. not just stare and think the animation is crap.in order to enjoy most anime people must concentrate for example Ghost In The Shell, X, Akira and Patlabor Two.So i implore you anyone who reads this above comment don't let it dissuade from watching X. Watch it when you are willing to concentrate and think about what is on screen.Just because the animation isn't necessarily of the best quality doesn't mean this isn't a good film, it may be less attractive than most popular anime but it is no worse.