X: OVERTURE
October 15th 2008 02:14
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
Their Destiny was Foreordained…
Publisher: 1992 Kadowkawa Shoten Publishing Co/2005 Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd.
Story & Art by: CLAMP (Ageha Ohkawa – story/script/graphic novel design, Mokona – cover illustration/manga illustration, Tsubaki Nekoi – art direction & Satsuki Igarashi – graphic assistance).
Layout & Lettering: We Swee Pheng.
Cover Design: We Swee Pheng.
Cost: AU$14.95
With a rather fatalistic tagline you’d think that this particular manga would be full of doom and gloom, in a way it is but then again this is a story concerning the end of the world so some gloominess is to be expected. Following along with the tarot motif this particular volumes card is the High Priestess, a card denoting intuitive wisdom, the influence of the feminine as well as visions, omens and portents. It is also a card that denotes the need for complementary influences, the hidden message being that although the high priestess is versed in the world of the feminine she needs the balancing influence of the masculine to fully comprehend what is going on, or on another angle light compliments dark, and vice versa the two are in a balance and need each other. To be without one is to lessen the other.
In the drama that is unfolding there is a high priestess character, Hinoto, a powerful seer who dwells beneath the Diet building in Tokyo, the centre of Japan’s government. She is someone who understands something of what the visions she receives are pointing towards but is unable to comprehend the whole of the picture. She knows the world is about to end, that Kamui, the story’s main protagonist is pivotal to what will happen, but how this is going to all occur, when and why she is not privy to or unable to grasp. She seeks that which will be able to guide her into steering a course and thus providing advice for the various politicians and officials that know of her existence and come to consult her in her abode beneath the Diet building, in much the same way that the Romans and Greeks used to consult the Cumaean Sibyl or Delphic oracle.
But even though a seer can predict the future, or perceive a course through the constant motion that is the future (Hmmm…hard to see the future is, always in motion…hmmm) they are not omniscient, their ability does not confer total and absolute knowledge and in some ways it is the curse of foresight. Hinoto is able to perceive a great deal of the unfolding events as well as hints and fragments but she does not know all, she is unaware that her younger sister who is allied to the forces of darkness is watching her, nor does she know the significance that the keeper of the Togakushi shrine has in events, although she suspects that Fuma and Kotori have some deep connection to Kamui.
Because of the return of Kamui to the city of Tokyo everything is beginning to focus on this vast urban sprawl, making it the focal point for what will occur. Already the competing forces of the Seven Seals and the Seven Harbingers have clashed in an effort to speak with Kamui, Sorata and Yuto clash within the confines of a psychic barrier erected by Sorata. The two seem evenly matched in sorcerous skill but then suddenly things pause for a minute as the unthinkable happens; an individual walks into the region protected by the psychic barrier, an event that should not be possible. Yuto and Sorata wonder who this individual is and it turns out to be none other than Fuma, Kotori’s elder brother and Kamui’s friend.
Mysteries abound, it seems that Fuma is not just your ordinary high school student after all, the ability to pass through a psychic barrier is no mean feat and it is even more impressive when the barrier is one created by one of the Seven Seals. But this isn’t the only startling revelation to unfold in the pages of this particular volume, the story of why Kamui and his mother left Tokyo is gradually revealed as is the mysterious death of Fuma and Kotori’s mother; a death that is horrible in its significance as well as its manner. It seems that the Keeper of the Shrine, Kotori and Fuma’s father has initiated a chain of events all those years ago that are coming back to haunt him, his children and Kamui.
As far as anyone is aware Kotori and Fuma lost their mother due to a massive heart attack brought about by a hereditary condition, which is the story that the children and the community have come to believe over time, the truth is somewhat more horrifying. Their mother was brutally killed all in order for the keeper to gain a sacred sword of great significance, a sword that he has been guarding on the grounds of the shrine for the last six years waiting for Kamui to return to Tokyo. It is a secret that he has kept but like so many secrets they are not often as well kept as we might believe. When Fuma brings Kamui to the shrine his father realises that this is now the time to bring forth the blade and pass it on to its rightful wielder…someone else though knows about the sacred sword and is quite determined to prevent it from being handed over to Kamui.
Naturally this individual isn’t just some ordinary Joe from the street and his power is both impressive and terrifying as he duels with the keeper of the shrine, Mr Monou unfortunately even with the sword is no match for this enigmatic intruder who goes by the moniker of Nataku. The sacred sword thus passes into the hands of a member of the Seven Harbingers; a member who it seems has been given explicit orders to take the blade from its keeper, by who precisely is not revealed although it does seem likely that the younger sister of Hinoto is probably involved along with her allies. It looks as if the someone has let loose the dogs of war and cried havoc, for the end of the world is now on track…the final legend of the earth has begun…and its only the second volume. As usual CLAMP have produced another piece of superlative work filled with mystery, action, budding romance, horror, magic and truly lush artwork. The story is engaging, the drama fast paced, X: Overture is definitely worth getting your hands on and reading, I sincerely doubt that there is a better end of the world story going around than this.
Publisher: 1992 Kadowkawa Shoten Publishing Co/2005 Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd.
Story & Art by: CLAMP (Ageha Ohkawa – story/script/graphic novel design, Mokona – cover illustration/manga illustration, Tsubaki Nekoi – art direction & Satsuki Igarashi – graphic assistance).
Layout & Lettering: We Swee Pheng.
Cover Design: We Swee Pheng.
Cost: AU$14.95
With a rather fatalistic tagline you’d think that this particular manga would be full of doom and gloom, in a way it is but then again this is a story concerning the end of the world so some gloominess is to be expected. Following along with the tarot motif this particular volumes card is the High Priestess, a card denoting intuitive wisdom, the influence of the feminine as well as visions, omens and portents. It is also a card that denotes the need for complementary influences, the hidden message being that although the high priestess is versed in the world of the feminine she needs the balancing influence of the masculine to fully comprehend what is going on, or on another angle light compliments dark, and vice versa the two are in a balance and need each other. To be without one is to lessen the other.
Because of the return of Kamui to the city of Tokyo everything is beginning to focus on this vast urban sprawl, making it the focal point for what will occur. Already the competing forces of the Seven Seals and the Seven Harbingers have clashed in an effort to speak with Kamui, Sorata and Yuto clash within the confines of a psychic barrier erected by Sorata. The two seem evenly matched in sorcerous skill but then suddenly things pause for a minute as the unthinkable happens; an individual walks into the region protected by the psychic barrier, an event that should not be possible. Yuto and Sorata wonder who this individual is and it turns out to be none other than Fuma, Kotori’s elder brother and Kamui’s friend.
Mysteries abound, it seems that Fuma is not just your ordinary high school student after all, the ability to pass through a psychic barrier is no mean feat and it is even more impressive when the barrier is one created by one of the Seven Seals. But this isn’t the only startling revelation to unfold in the pages of this particular volume, the story of why Kamui and his mother left Tokyo is gradually revealed as is the mysterious death of Fuma and Kotori’s mother; a death that is horrible in its significance as well as its manner. It seems that the Keeper of the Shrine, Kotori and Fuma’s father has initiated a chain of events all those years ago that are coming back to haunt him, his children and Kamui.
As far as anyone is aware Kotori and Fuma lost their mother due to a massive heart attack brought about by a hereditary condition, which is the story that the children and the community have come to believe over time, the truth is somewhat more horrifying. Their mother was brutally killed all in order for the keeper to gain a sacred sword of great significance, a sword that he has been guarding on the grounds of the shrine for the last six years waiting for Kamui to return to Tokyo. It is a secret that he has kept but like so many secrets they are not often as well kept as we might believe. When Fuma brings Kamui to the shrine his father realises that this is now the time to bring forth the blade and pass it on to its rightful wielder…someone else though knows about the sacred sword and is quite determined to prevent it from being handed over to Kamui.
Naturally this individual isn’t just some ordinary Joe from the street and his power is both impressive and terrifying as he duels with the keeper of the shrine, Mr Monou unfortunately even with the sword is no match for this enigmatic intruder who goes by the moniker of Nataku. The sacred sword thus passes into the hands of a member of the Seven Harbingers; a member who it seems has been given explicit orders to take the blade from its keeper, by who precisely is not revealed although it does seem likely that the younger sister of Hinoto is probably involved along with her allies. It looks as if the someone has let loose the dogs of war and cried havoc, for the end of the world is now on track…the final legend of the earth has begun…and its only the second volume. As usual CLAMP have produced another piece of superlative work filled with mystery, action, budding romance, horror, magic and truly lush artwork. The story is engaging, the drama fast paced, X: Overture is definitely worth getting your hands on and reading, I sincerely doubt that there is a better end of the world story going around than this.
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