X/1999 Manga Review

When I was first introduced to CLAMP I had watched Magic Knight Rayearth. My second CLAMP experience was just as awesome as the first with X/1999 the movie. This was before I really got into manga, so I had never heard of X before. When I found out there was one, I was all over X/1999 the manga.

I recently just finished it to be honest. I had started it when I was younger and was on Volume 10 when I found out there was a TV series. So I watched that, giving up on the manga knowing it was not going to be finished any time soon… That was about 10 years ago. CLAMP still has not finished X/1999 the manga yet (It really urks me)! It is really disappointing especially where it leaves off in the manga.

The Story of X/1999

The plot of X/1999 is about a teenager named Kamui. He is involved with the end of the world along with several other people. He is the key decider of the fate of the world basically. When he was young his mother moved him away from Tokyo and his friends because her best friend had died. She died so the Kamui’s mother would have more time to prepare Kamui. Years later, Kamui’s mother dies and he heads back to Tokyo and to protect the ones he cares about. He must decide to become a Dragon of Heaven and save the Earth and the people or become a Dragon of Earth and destroy the people but preserve the Earth.

Honestly, there are a lot of plot twists and things you really do not see coming so I do not want to spoil it for you. You should really read this manga series!

The Characters and Art of X/1999

Each character from X/1999 has a wish they want to be granted. Only Kamui can see these wishes. Every character is dynamic and has a back story. Some of their back stories are just quickly brushed over such as Subaru’s and Seishiro, but they are detailed enough to allow you to understand them. CLAMP always delivers very unique characters, even if you can’t physically tell them apart!
CLAMP art is very well known style. You can usually tell when CLAMP was involved with something, artistic wise. The art in X/1999 was amazing as always. CLAMP is always so detailed and yet not to over whelming when it comes to the background.

The Themes of X/1999

There are a lot of religious themes based around this manga. It is set up for the Apocalypse basically and that there are angels (Dragons of Earth) who want to destroy mankind, but there are seals (Dragons of Heaven) that want to protect the people on the Earth and the ‘Now.’ There are also other religious views in the manga such as Buddhism and other Japanese religions.

CLAMP Crossovers

From what I picked up there are a few set of other CLAMP characters in this series, the first three being from Tokyo Babylon. Subaru Sumeragi (Dragon of Heaven), Seishiro Sakurazuka (Dragon of Earth), and Hokuto Sumeragi (Subaru’s dead twin sister), all appear in the manga and the TV series of X/1999. This is a continued story of their lives and what happened after the Tokyo Babylon section of their lives.


The next three: The CLAMP School Detectives crew, Nokoru Imonoyama, Suoh Takamura, and Akira Ijyuin. The three play small roles in X/1999 and only Nokoru Imonoyama has a lot to say in the series. Of course the boys are much older in this manga.

Read X/1999 Here.
Support CLAMP Here.

Grade: 8/10 (9/10 when completed!)