X - Eight -TV Series Vol. 8-

Amazon.com Deceptions, betrayals, counter-betrayals, and suicides set the stage for the final confrontation between Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven and Fuma, now the Kamui of the Dragons of the Earth. Sorata, Arashi, Yozoriha, Kusanagi, Princess Hinato, and even Subaru (finally awakened from his catatonic trance) all have parts to play before the duel between the two Kamuis with their divine swords can take place on Tokyo Tower. Kamui realizes he cannot protect the Earth or the people he loves by attacking Fuma, whom he vowed to save. Love triumphs over hatred in a conclusion that is as melodramatic as a Kabuki tragedy, but no more coherent than the earlier episodes. Fans of Clamp's disjointed mixture of violence, art nouveau, religious symbols, and bishonen ("beautiful boys") will find in X a significance more apparent than real, (Rated 16 and older: violence, minor profanity, grotesque imagery, tobacco use, brief nudity) --Charles Solomon