X (Manga)
| X | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (Ekkusu) | |||
| Manga | |||
| Type | Shjo | ||
| Author | CLAMP | ||
| Editor |  Kadokawa Shoten | ||
| |||
| Preprint | Monthly Asuka | ||
| Initial release | 24 May 1992 - ongoing | ||
| Volumes | 18 | ||
X (, ? ), also known as X/1999, is a manga studio CLAMP. First pre-published periodically in the magazine Monthly Asuka , it was translated into French by Editions Tonkam. The work was expected to total 21 volumes, although the series is currently unfinished, at the stage of 18 volumes published and pre-published five other chapters. Translated into many languages, manga has been adapted successively animated film and then television series.
The work describes a modern replay of the Apocalypse according to Saint John , embellished with other traditions esoteric , the protagonist Kamui Shiro, returned to Tokyo after the death of his mother, finds himself involved in the fighting against the Angels and must Seals in the determination of the (possible) end of mankind. Earth abused and polluted by human activity, sends its representatives, the Angels, to exterminate the species in the Apocalypse. Seals, they believe in the possibility of peaceful co-existence of Man and Nature. Through this struggle are developed on various topics, such as the opposition between determinism and free will , the ecology , the critique of modern societies and mysticism.
The story unfolds in the same fictional universe as Clamp School Detectives , Tokyo Babylon , Dukalyon and The Thief of a hundred faces. Like Tsubasa and xxxHolic later, X was supposed to serve as the keystone of the studio CLAMP works by linking, where a large amount of elements borrowed from previous manga.
Summary |
1999: the young Kamui Shiro Toru and his mother hurriedly left Tokyo six years ago, leaving behind Fuma and Kotori, childhood friends. While his supernatural powers grow, Kamui sees her mother leave voluntarily burn in a fire: his last wish is that it returns to Tokyo. It runs, but does everything to avoid with great coldness Fuma and Kotori. They do not understand that so they try to avoid the troubles that seem to pursue him wherever he goes: Kamui is regularly beset by demonstrations magical hostile and suspicious individuals try to contact him. Yielding to their entreaties, Kamui will eventually understand that it is the key battle of the Apocalypse to come, "one whose destiny is not written." The six angels and the six Seals, human representatives of the divine will, must compete, some to exterminate mankind that corrupts and attacks the Earth Mother, the other for protection from the vengeance of nature. Kamui has become the seventh member of one of two camps and to ensure his victory, yet he has no use for the End of the World and its issues, mainly concerned with the fate of Fuma and Kotori. The situation seems frozen, but the prophecies made about the nature of Kamui is incomplete: Destiny is embodied in events beyond all predictions, and force a choice of the most painful ... Although the outcome of the Apocalypse seems to depend mostly on the actions of Kamui, X has a very large number of main characters developed more or less equally: the six Seals (Dragons of Heaven), the six Angels (Dragons of Earth) their families, and other characters. Occasionally, their past is revealed in independent chapters.
- The following reveals the entire plot of the work.
Each side comes to understand through his prophets, that two "Kamui" are actually supposed to join a camp and compete. First incomprehensible, this prediction is explained when Fuma learns he is the "Gemini" Kamui, his "twin star": if Kamui chooses a side, it is intended to replace the other in his name. Kamui, just as indifferent to the fate of humanity (the punishment? forgive him?), finally agreed that only the welfare of Fuma and Kotori it really matters, and can not accomplish that goal by joining the Seals. As soon as his final choice is assumed, Fuma loses his personality, now owned by the reflection from that Kamui would have had if he had chosen the other side: he is himself called "Kamui". Sub his horrified eyes, Fuma / Kamui Kotori murders, demonstrating acceptance of its role as the Earth Dragon. He then goes to collect the scattered Angels, while Kamui falls into a catatonic state following the trauma he experienced.
Characters
- Dragons of Heaven: Shiro Kamui , Arashi Kishuu , Kasumi Karen , Sorata Arisugawa , Subaru Sumeragi , Yuzuriha Nekoi , Seichiro Aoki.
- Dragons of the Earth: Fuma Mono , Nataku (Kazuki), Satsuki Yatoji , Kakyo Kuzuki , Seishiro Sakurasuka , Kusanagi Shiyu , Yuto Kigai.
- Other: Hinoto , Kano, Kotori Mono, Saya Mono Mono Kyogo, Tooru Magami, Tokiko Magami, Daisuke Saiki, Hien and Sohi, Inukai, Hokuto Sumeragi, Nokoru Imonoyama, Suoh Takamura, Akira Ijyuin.
Publication
Begun in 1992 , the series has continued to arouse controversy, although its tone may seem less engaged at certain points that his spiritual predecessor, Tokyo Babylon. The Apocalypse is manifested by intrigue, by earthquakes , supposedly expressing the anger of the Earth to Humanity, the "starting point" of the End Times located in Japan , area extremely seismically unstable, is therefore a sensitive subject. The manga stopped and a time to be released by the publisher Kadokawa after the great earthquake in Kobe in 1995, after numerous letters from readers . Kodokawa not yet seem unwilling to abandon the series: in 2006 came a Newtype spent Clamp, comprising five chapters not yet available in bound editions. It is therefore possible that X is mostly stopped now because of the concentration of the studio on other CLAMP series.
Themes
CLAMP influences are many, and find themselves mixed elements from different religions or beliefs:
- The Buddhism : with Sorata is a priest of Mount Koya;
- the Shinto religion : the worship of Amaterasu with Arashi, priestess of the hidden sanctuary of Ise; worship with Kami Yuzuriha and Inuit;
- Onmyjyutsu (Yin and Yang) with Subaru and Seishiro;
- the Christianity : with Karen;
- the Kabbalah and the Freemasons : with Satsuki;
- the Apocalypse of St. John: X is clearly inspired by the Apocalypse. It includes the concepts of mass destruction and purification of the planet, combined with a Christian iconography; each Dragons of Earth is associated with an Angel of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse;
- The Tarot : Each character is associated with a map of the Tarot of Marseilles as a function of his character.
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