X

Plot

 

In 1999, a teenager named Kamui Shirō returns to Tokyo after a six-year absence. He comes to protect those dearest to him, Kotori and Fūma Monou, and fulfill his mother's dying wish of changing fate. The end of the world is fast approaching as superhuman individuals gather and take sides in Tokyo, the battle site of Armageddon. Following Kamui's arrival the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth, the two factions in the final battle for humanity's future, vie for the young man's allegiance, convinced his power will assure their victory. The Dragons of Heaven are the first to contact Kamui. The Dragons of Heaven are guided by Hinoto, dreamgazer for the Legislature of Japan. They are the protectors of the kekkai (結界^?), spiritual barriers (in the form of buildings such as the Tokyo Tower) that hold the fabric of nature together. As long as the kekkai survive, Judgment Day is postponed. The Dragons of Earth are the counterpart to the Dragons of Heaven. Their mission is to destroy the kekkai and unleash earthquakes so the Earth can be cured of the plague of humanity. They were assembled by Hinoto's sister Kanoe, secretary to the Governor of Tokyo.
As Kamui is forced to choose between the two sides, he concludes he only wants to protect Kotori and Fūma, and becomes a Dragon of Heaven. At the same time, Fūma has a change of personality and becomes the "Kamui" of the Dragons of Earth as he was destined to be Kamui's opposite. Fūma kills Kotori and swears to kill Kamui. Deciding he wishes to bring Fūma back to normal, Kamui joins the Dragons of Heaven in their fight against the Dragons of Earth. Because of the issues regarding the manga's serialization, the plot from the series has yet to be concluded by Clamp.
The animated films and the TV series follow the manga's initial story and come to two different endings. In the film all the Dragons of Heaven and Earth die in the ensuing battles, leaving Kamui and Fūma as the last Dragons. In the final battle, Kamui decapitates Fūma and the film ends with Kamui crying why he ended killing his best friend. In the TV series, all the Dragons of Heavens lose their powers to create kekkai because of they lose their most important people leaving the Tokyo defenseless. As Hinoto commits suicide to stop her alternate self from attacking the Dragons of Heaven, Kamui goes to face Fūma. In the fight's outcome, Kamui is killed by Fūma, but uses his last forces to transform his body into a kekkai that protects the world from the change from the Dragons of Earth, and causes Fūma to return to his old self.

Kamui Shirō
The protagonist of X, Kamui Shirō (司狼 神威, Shirō Kamui^?) is a powerful esper whose destiny is to decide whether the world should be destroyed so it may be reborn without humanity or save the world so humanity can continue to live in its current state.
In Kamui's childhood, he lived in Tokyo. Shortly after moving in, Kamui became fast friends with Fūma and Kotori Monou. Kamui and Kotori showed affection for each other at a very early age, which culminated in Kamui asking Kotori whether he could become her "bride". He sworn to Fūma to protect her and never make her cry, and in exchange Fūma promised to protect him. At the age of nine, Kamui left Tokyo with his mother Tōru and moved to Okinawa. They lived in relative peace for six years until Tōru's death. As Tōru burned alive, using her own power to prevent Kamui from saving her, she implored Kamui to return to Tokyo to seek his destiny. TV series director Yoshiaki Kawajiri decided not to explain his relation with his mother in the series' start to expand his cold demeanor. Kawajiri also pointed out that Kamui was a weak person because of how he expresses his emotions.
Upon his return, Kamui appears cold, ruthless, and unsympathetic but this is an act to drive Kotori and Fūma away in an attempt to protect them. Kamui's goal is to retrieve the Sacred Sword from the Togakushi Shrine and leave Tokyo as quickly as possible. Kamui comes into contact with Daisuke, Arashi, and Hinoto in quite abrasive manners, resulting in several pitched battles. Kamui ultimately chooses his destiny as one of the Dragons of Heaven, forcing Fūma to join with the Dragons of Earth.
Kamui has stated that his wish is to protect Fūma and to return him to his former self at all costs — even if he has to injure Fūma in order to accomplish this goal. However, the Dragon of Earth Kamui, who can see other peoples' wishes, states that this is not Kamui's true wish, and Kamui won't be able to win against him unless he realizes and changes his true wish. This is also given as the reason that Kamui is, as of yet, unable to generate a Spirit Shield in the manga. In the TV series he achieves his goal, though it cost him his own life, whereas in the movie Kamui decapitates Fūma, and remains the only character who stayed alive.
An alternate version of Kamui makes an appearance in Clamp's crossover series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, as one of the vampire twins Seishirō is after. He leads the fighters of the City Hall faction (alternate versions of the Dragons of Earth) in a battle to protect their water source, although he is colder and is fiercely protective of his twin, Subaru. He is hostile towards the hunter siblings Seishirō and Fūma, especially Seishirō, who has been hunting for Subaru across various dimensions. In Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations, he is voiced by Mamoru Miyano in Japanese and Micah Solusod in English.
In the X Tarot set, he represents The Magician.
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Alan D. Marriott (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese), Steve Staley (as a teenager) and Ian Hawk (as a child) (English) in the TV series

Fūma Monou
The primary antagonist and Kamui's best friend, Fūma Monou (桃生 封真, Monou Fūma^?) is initially kind and gentle. He helps his father dutifully, dotes upon his younger sister Kotori, and excels at high-school sports. After Nataku attacks Kyōgo and steals the first Sacred Sword, Fūma's dying father tells him that he is Kamui's twin star. Accordingly, when Kamui chooses the Dragons of Heaven, Fūma is forced to become a Dragon of Earth, immediately attacking Kamui and killing Kotori. He proceeds to grant wishes to the characters with whom he interacts, in ways that often lead to their death or that of a loved one. Though he is portrayed as sadistic in the movie and TV series, the manga portrays Fūma in a less fiendish light.
Fūma, as the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, can view, or in some other way sense, the true, heart-felt wishes of others. Fūma reminds whoever is looking at him of the person they care most about. After Fūma's transformation into the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, he is referred to in the manga solely as "Kamui" (神威^?). Fūma is able to enter any Spirit Shield and has no noticeable aura. After his awakening, he is, with the (theoretical) exception of Kamui, the most powerful of all the Dragons of Heaven and Earth. He has shown absolute confidence and certainty in that he will win over this battle in the end. Besides the dreamseers, he is the only person who seems to know how everything will end. While Fūma survives and returns to his normal self after Kamui's noble sacrifice in the TV series, Kamui beheads him with his Sacred Sword towards the end of the movie and starts crying over Fūma's corpse, wondering why such a tragedy had befallen him. Fūma is the only main character from X not to have his own X tarot card.
An alternate version of Fūma appears in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. He is Seishirō's younger brother, a friend of Yūko Ichihara and de facto leader of the people of the Tower. He is on friendly terms with the main characters in the series. In Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations, he is voiced by Yūji Kishi and Joel McDonald in English.
Voiced by: Ken Narita (Japanese), Adam Henderson (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese), Crispin Freeman (English) in the TV series