u/Meltlilith_

I've been reflecting on this specific manga for a bit and while I do think it has many other issues such as pacing or tone shifts, my biggest problem is with Kamui, Fuuma and Kotori to an extent

The best part about X for me was the characters. Almost everyone has their own reasons for their actions and dynamics with others and their all done well. Arashi and Sorata are great, Yuzuriha and Satsuki's confrontation is thought provoking, Kakyou and Nataku are interesting by themselves and everything with Subaru and Seishirou... really good stuff. The character drama is the highlight of X for me.

Kamui, Fuuma and Kotori on the other hand... feel lacklustre and bland? CLAMP seem to have been trying to do the same thing with Tokyo Babylon's ending with the first 8 volumes but we barely knew or learnt anything about Kotori or Fuuma during then(not helped by Nanase saying that the first 8 volumes could have been cut down to 3, which yes they very much could have) so when Kotori died and the twist with Fuuma happened i felt nothing cause I had no attachment nor did i know anything about them, infact, we still know basically nothing about Fuuma during the second half but im supposed to care about him because Kamui does? X has all these great characters with great side plots yet Kamui and Fuuma's conflict is the most important one despite it being the least interesting to me. You can give me lots of symbolism, double spreads about them being "the two kamuis" or "the twin star" or about fate and destiny in general but outside of the symbolism, they don't really have much else going for them

Fuuma is a plank piece of wood for the first 8 volumes, then is a wish granter for the rest and aside from a couple cryptic words that is his whole character. Kamui is kind of interesting in the first half and then after that only cares about Fuuma. The story tries to give him more people to care about such as Keichii and Subaru but ultimately all he cares about Fuuma and since I don't care about Fuuma I don't care about Kamui either. And Kotori...I mean she was there. Again all the side characters are great but I just wish Kamui and Fuuma had more going on for them cause they drag what could have been a really good manga. I think having Kamui bond more with the other DOH at the start and second half would have helped and for Fuuma... I honestly don't know what CLAMP was trying to go for with his character outside of being a plot device(doesn't help that he also just kinda exists in tsubasa in comparison to everyone else)

Basically the main protagonist and antagonist is the weakest part of the story and I'd rather spend time with characters like Yuzuriha, Arashi, Kakyou, Satsuki or literally anybody else. Alteast Fuuma gives other characters good moments but when Kamui is in focus i just wanna snore

Also can I just say I wish Subaru and Seishirou weren't in X? Not cause they were bad but because they were too good. Nanase said they were added in X to parallel/boost Kamui and Fuuma which is ridiculous to me cause Seisub are the far more compelling characters and have the more compelling relationship than anything Fuukam has had in all of the thousands of pages X has had. Subaru and Seishirou should have gotten another manga for themselves and X could have worked without them

I love CLAMP in general but works like Tokyo Babylon, RG Veda, xxxHolic and Tsubasa, especially the second half have my favourite parts of any of their work (I liked the vibe of X/1999 but the story wasn't for me)

I have also just started reading Kaori Yuki's works such as Angel Sanctuary, Count Cain, Godchild... and im loving it alot! I plan on going through all of her mangas soon

Could you recommend me other shoujo titles by different creators in the same vein as these works?

Not minor antagonists, like the main ones of the story(Zagato, Eriol, Fei Wang, Seishirou, Fuuma, Taishakuten) How do you feel about their actions and about them as characters?

Im gonna be honest I only really care about Seishirou and Eriol, but what about you?

Which era has your favourite works and what makes those specific works your favourites?

View Poll

It was only like shown to us once and it's really a blink and you miss it moment but I can't help but to think about how we were shown that Yuuko and Subaru know eachother in the first volume of holic

Looking back on it now i was thinking that she was referring to the vampire twins since she knew them as well however she specifically mentions him being a medium, having a twin sister and talking about his lack of happiness, so it is TB/X Subaru

Both series put alot of focus onto fate and wishes so them having maybe some sort of linked story could work if done right, especially if it involves Subaru considering the very interesting place his story was left on

It could be Shopkeeper Watanuki interacting with Subaru too, it would be interesting considering how they both have essentially went through the same story (Both stories at first focusing on their selflessness, that being challenged by one person, at the end when said person dies they end up taking on their role and in result both of their futures seem to be looking extremely bleak, atleast where they have been left off on currently)

I know this is just me mostly looking too deep into what was basically a nod for fans familiar with older clamp works and since im pretty sure Ohkawa mentioned having an idea about the ending for X years ago but if clamp can put holic rei on hold for years for clear card and then immediately reference clear card like a few chapters into rei once it resumes who can say that something similar couldn't happen with X, especially again when they share many of the same themes

Idk I don't actually think they will crossover aside from that one mention but the idea is kinda cool to me lol