One of the best-known and more difficult-to-find CLAMP series is X, also known as X/1999. An eschatological doomsday thriller, the Y2K-esque X was easily one of the creative team's darkest stories at the time. Due to this sometimes gruesome nature, the manga was eventually put on a still-in-effect hiatus. There have been other versions of the story, however, with the series receiving an anime movie and a TV adaptation.
They follow the same basic plot, but the X/1999 movie and anime differ significantly due to their content and where and how they end the otherwise incomplete story. Here's what the infamous series is about, and how both of its adaptations tell wildly different versions of it.
How the X/1999 Movie and Show are Similar
Both the movie and the show adapt the CLAMP manga X/1999, which began in 1992. The story tells the tale of Kamui Shiro, a young man with extranormal abilities who returns to his old home in Tokyo. However, he soon becomes embroiled in the affairs of the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth, two groups seeking to either save the Earth and humanity or to wipe out both in an apocalyptic cleansing.
What results from these conflicts is a breathtakingly beautiful yet horrifying tale of the Earth's end, and the machinations that finally put the planet on the brink. This central conflict and many of the characters were present not only in the manga, but also both adaptations. This is where the similarities begin to dissipate, however, as both adaptations are set at different points in the story and end in different ways.
How the X/1999 Movie and Anime are Different
The 24-episode anime of course tells a lot more of the original story than a 100 minute movie ever could, and that fact's long been one of the biggest criticisms of the X/1999 movie. The film was noted by fans for essentially being an extended music video for the franchise, rushing through a small part of the story in order to get to the world-breaking ending. Characterization is incredibly light, with the supporting cast downplayed to better get to the end of the world in under two hours. The show does a much better job of defining the entire cast, in doing so strengthening the impact of the story itself.
One major difference between the movie and the show was which characters were included. For instance, Kakyou had not yet debuted in the manga by the time the movie was made, but he does show up in the anime version. Characterizations are also different between the movie and show. Foes such as Kusanagi and Fuuma are far more ruthless and violent in the movie version, whereas their manga and anime counterparts aren't nearly as prone to violent outbursts.
Then there are the controversial endings, with both productions having to make something up due to the manga still lacking a conclusion. Given the apocalyptic tone, it makes sense that both endings are pretty bleak, but the movie version definitely takes the cake. The show's ending has Kamui sacrificing himself to undo what the Dragons of Earth had done, saving everyone and reverting the villainous Fuuma back to how he originally was. Other characters are shown afterward having gone on with their lives and become relatively happy considering what had taken place beforehand.
The movie, on the other hand, is truly apocalyptic, with the Earth itself being one of the only survivors. The Dragons of Earth and Heaven are all dead as Tokyo is left in an ashen ruin. Kamui survives, but is traumatized by the dire course of action that he had been forced to take. There were several characters who die in the anime that hadn't yet in the manga, but even this body count is nowhere near that of the movie.
However, the movie fails to truly define the many dying characters anyway, feeling more like a proof of concept for the eventual show than a complete story on its own. If all of this, plus the other several changes, sound like a bit too much for fans of the manga, the X/1999 anime adaptation is likely a much better way to watch the apocalypse unfold.