The fictional characters of the X manga series were created by manga group known as Clamp, composed of Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Mick Nekoi, and Mokona Apapa. X takes place in the year 1999 when the end of the world is fast approaching as superhuman individuals gather and take sides in the city of Tokyo, site for the battle of Armageddon. Most of the series' characters with Kamui Shiro's exception originated from Clamp's dōjinshi they created before creating X while characters like Subaru Sumeragi appear as returning characters from the manga Tokyo Babylon meant to support the lead due to his parallel and tragic past. Ohkawa wrote the script while the other three members made the art.
The series follows Kamui, a young esper who goes back to Tokyo to fulfill his role in the Armageddon. He can join two groups for different objectives: either Dragons of Heaven and protect mankind from being extinguished, or the Dragons of Earth to protect the planet at the cost of ending the society. Kamui joins the former due to his only wish being protecting his childhood friends Fūma Monou and Kotori Monou. However, this causes Fūma to develop an alternate personality as Kamui's rival, filling his empty role in the Dragons of Earth and becoming his nemesis. The war between the two factions who involve seven members who each side begins. Due to the manga not being finished by Clamp, a film and an anime television series have provided the manga an alternate ending where the outcome and fate of the cast is created.
Critical reception to the series' cast has been positive due to their role in the armageddon, Kamui's early characterization also earned positive responses for his brooding nature until he becomes a more heroic warrior and his past is explained. As the film provided little focus on the entire cast with the main ones' exception, the television series was praised more for giving each member from the two Dragons their own screentime to explore their personalities like the manga did. The Japanese voice actors for the cast has been met with positive response though the English dub received mixed reactions for not fitting their roles.
Creation and development
thumb|left|The members from the manga group Clamp. From left to right: Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Mick Nekoi, and Mokona Apapa.
After finishing Clamp School Detectives, the manga artists group Clamp decided to write a story in which readers see the development of two groups, the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth led by Kamui Shiro and Fūma Monou, respectively. Ohkawa specifically chose the idea of seven characters from two groups because she was influenced by religious groups but wanted to avoid Christian references. Instead, she created the concept of the Dragons of Heaven and Earth and avoided less characters due to similarities with the tokusatsu genre. However, rather than starting the manga with the war between the Dragons, she instead envisioned the "high school manga" to introduce the cast in a more fashion mode. As Kamui and Kotori's characterization were changed due the negative response, Clamp wrote the idea of Kotori's post traumatic disorder and her eventual death which resulted in sad responses from readers. Though he had few appearances in the beginning, Ohkawa envisioned Fuma's transformation into the series' villain which the other artists from the group enjoyed and thus looked forward to draw.
Several of the series' characters were created using the Osamu Tezuka's Star System technique were old designs incorporated in new characters with Kamui's exception which proved challenging due to his role. He was made to stand apart from other characters, and Ohkawa called his hairstyle and school uniform average. Clamp's lead artist Mokona believes this was influenced by the heroic character-type upon which he was based. During serialization of the series, Clamp found issues with the amount of gore they aimed to portray especially Kotori's death which is foreshadowed in dream scenes. This was mostly affected by the themes of violence and video games present in the 1990s but the writers feared that toning down the violence would negatively affect the manga. Another death scene that left Clamp facing issues was when Fuma decapitates Saiki which resulted in more negative response from the readers. Ohkawa claimed that they were meant to be cruel with the narrative which did not fit in the magazine's demography. The fight sequences were inspired by the manga Dragon Ball most specifically by how the author Akira Toriyama used white backgrounds. A common theme involves the series' fate, Subaru Sumeragi expresses no interest in the future of the Earth, but still he and his counterpart are drawn to Tokyo on the Promised Day. As a result, even with the fatalist atmosphere that persists in the series. His rivalry with Seishirō Sakurazuka parallels Kamui's rivalry with Fūma Monou. Clamp referred to Kamui and Subaru as siblings; Kamui is supposed to learn from Subaru's final fight with Seishirō and avoid his final fight against Fuma having the same tragic conclusion. Ohkawa also applied to Kamui and Fuma ideas she had during middle school such as the fact that both possess a dual nature as she states people can be considered good or evil.
When drawing characters, Mokona felt Fuma was the hardest one to draw as they often had to make him look like other characters like Kusanagi due to members from the cast seeing similarities between the others who they cherished. As a result, they avoided the idea of Aoki meeting Fuma since they would be forced to make Fuma androgynous due to the potential need of drawing Aoki's wife. Igarashi found drawing the Dragons of Heaven and Earth at the same time proved difficult because of their multiple unique clothes which left her wishing they instead wore the same outfits.
For X animated adaptations, the characters experienced changes from their original versions. For the 1996 film, Ohkawa helped director Rintaro in writing the script. The character Shogo Asagi was created exclusively to the movie. The characters were designed by Nobuteri Yuki. Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri aimed to portray Kamui and Kotori as stronger than their manga counterparts. However, he still wanted to highlight their psychological weaknesses across later episodes. Kenichi Suzumura had a poor understanding of Kamui during early recording of the television series as the pilot original video animation gave Kamui small screentime and dialogue. Fuma's actor, Junichi Suwabe, faced difficulties in voicing him due to his different alterego that makes him look like two characters. Koshinori Kanemori adapted Clamp's character designs and served as art director along with Yuji Ikeda.
Kotori Monou
: in the TV series
: in the feature film
is Fūma's younger sister, a delicate child with a congenital heart condition, and a developing dreamseer. She is also able to communicate with plants and animals. Like her brother, she was Kamui's very close childhood friend, and despite his initial coldness when he returns to her life, remains steadfastly kind to him. Kotori remembers with horror the day her mother died as she gave birth to the first sacred sword; when she sees the same thing happen to Tokiko Magami, she loses her mind, able to communicate rationally only in the dreamscape. Before she reawakens, she is crucified and killed by Fūma as he becomes the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. In spirit form she stays with the Dragon of Earth dreamseer Kakyō Kuzuki for a time, encouraging and thanking him, and telling him that the future has not been determined yet. Initially, Kotori was disliked by the manga readers as Clamp pointed out she did not any major appeal other that being cute. However, the constant foreshadowings of her death displeased the readers for giving her such a gory death.
In the TV series, her dream is to become an indigo dyesmith (in the style of Japan's Edo period), well aware of the commitment necessary, and she spends time in her school's library reading up on the subject. Her character was modified for the TV series as director Yoshiaki Kawajiri wanted to portray her as a more regular teenager. In addition to generating powerful electrical discharges, he is also capable of calling upon a gohōdōji, a magical being similar to a shikigami (or familiar spirit), manifesting as a massive, hideous ghostly creature. It is psychically linked to Sorata, allowing him to spy on others and act at a distance from himself, but he suffers any damage inflicted upon it. In the manga his gohōdōji follows Arashi until it is needed, functioning much like a guardian angel, while in the anime he dispatches it once, to protect Arashi when he cannot intervene himself. Sorata is based on the policeman from a Romeo and Juliet-like dojinshi Clamp wrote where he had a romance with Arashi. Arashi is based on a yakuza heroine from Romeo and Juliet-like dojinshi Clamp wrote where she had a romance with Sorata. Multiple changes were made to her design.|Wendee Lee in the TV series.
: in the feature film.
A devout Catholic, was abused by her fundamentalist mother when her power to manipulate fire manifested in her childhood. After her mother died, she was, according to the anime television series, raised by a kindly priest, but she continued to remember her mother's last words: "No one would be sad if you died!" In the CD dramas it is shown that Karen was scouted by several religious sects in her childhood, but her mother would always shoo them away, saying her daughter was a demon and not a messiah. As an adult, Karen works as a call girl for the soapland brothel "Flower", and often enters battle wearing her "work clothes", though she retains some of her childhood innocence in her beloved teddy bear. The relationship between Karen and Aoki is often mistaken as her feeling affection-in a romantic sense-for him.
At the end of the TV series, Yuzuriha is seen sitting by a waterfall with Inuki and Kusanagi (the same waterfall that the original Inuki led her to earlier in the series). In the movie, however, Yuzuriha's relationship with Kusanagi is not acknowledged, and she is killed in a battle with Yūto and Kusanagi while protecting Kamui. In the movie, she dies while holding Kanoe's dead body (as she was killed earlier by Fūma) as the Diet Building collapses around her.
In the X Tarot set, she is The High Priestess.
Kanoe
: in the TV series
: in the feature film
, Princess Hinoto's younger sister and the primary antagonist, supports the Dragons of Earth mainly to spite her (although, in the motion picture and the manga, it seems that her motivations are more out of love for Hinoto, wishing to free her from her limitations as a dreamseer). She can enter and leave dreams like Hinoto and Kakyō, but cannot see the future unaided. She works as a secretary in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for the governor of Tokyo. She is in a sexual relationship with Yūto, but sometimes she also flirts with Satsuki and (briefly) Fuma Monou.
Kanoe has the ability to spy on the dreams of others, including those of Hinoto and Fūma. The TV series portrays her as truly despising her elder sister, who was always treated better than her. However, when Hinoto commits suicide, Kanoe is crushed and cries for her sister. It is not seen whether Kanoe dies in the anime television series, which may imply that she could still be alive, long after the final battle is over.
In the manga, Kanoe enters Hinoto's dreams when she hears Hinoto crying for help. Unfortunately, Kanoe discovers that her older sister is trapped in the dreamscape and becomes confused when Hinoto's dark side appears and directly confronts her. Soon afterwards, Kamui senses Kanoe's death, though who caused Kanoe's death remains ambiguous.
In the movie, Kanoe is a complete dreamseer, an equal to her sister Hinoto. She is killed by Fūma just before the Final Battle, but not before she can explain her reasons to a crushed Hinoto, ultimately dying in her sister's arms.
Tokiko Magami
: in the TV series
is Kamui's aunt and the nurse at Fūma and Kotori's school when Kamui returns to Tokyo from Okinawa. Tokiko attempts to alert Kamui to the significance of his ancestry and of his role in the end of the world, but they are interrupted by a battle at Togakushi Shrine in the manga, while Kamui is highly skeptical of her claim to being his mother's younger sister (despite her unmistakable resemblance to Tōru) in the anime television series. After being attacked by shikigami in the form of "men in black", Tokiko arrives at the Togakushi Shrine severely injured just in time to give birth to the second Sacred Sword before the very eyes of Kamui and Fūma. Tokiko was apparently in contact with Nokoru Imonoyama and the former Chairman of Clamp Academy. Her final message to Kamui is delivered through a video entrusted to the director of Clamp Academy, where she explains the choice Kamui must make and to carefully consider who he wishes to protect as well as what he truly desires for the Earth's fate.
Tōru Shirō
: in the TV series
: in the feature film
is Kamui's mother and shadow sacrifice, as one of the Magami clan. Tōru burns along with the house that she and Kamui lived in while on Okinawa. It is explained in the anime that she died to postpone or alleviate the disasters that would befall Kamui in the time leading up to the promised day (thus acting as his shadow sacrifice), and in the manga, that she acted as a sacrifice to prevent the premature destruction of the planet itself. Hinoto attributes Tōru's fiery death to the concentrated effect that global warming was having on the Earth. Originally, she was supposed to give birth to the first Sacred Sword, but Saya took her place. Tōru was personally in contact with the former Chairman of Clamp Academy — indeed, Tōru was just ending a phone call with her when the effects of acting as shadow sacrifice of Kamui/the Earth were set into motion, igniting her flesh. Tōru's death occurs just prior to the beginning of the first volume of the manga (chronologically) and is what causes Kamui to return to Tokyo after a six-year absence. In the movie, she dies in a similar fashion by being burned to death, however she was able to give Kamui his Sacred Sword while she was dying and her last words were for Kamui were for him to go to Tokyo for the final battle and informs him about the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth at the beginning of the film.
Saya Monou
: in the TV series
is Kotori and Fūma's mother. When they were children, she died giving birth to the first Sacred Sword, which burst forth from her body. This sword is intended to be wielded by Kamui; instead, it is stolen by Nataku and taken by Fūma. It is later revealed that Saya and Kyōgo's relationship was akin to a Lavender marriage: she married him to be at the Togakushi Shrine to take the place of her true love, Tōru Shirō, as the vessel of the Sacred Sword. Kyōgo knows that Saya never loved him romantically, but, regardless, continues to love her; by her part, Saya still had non-romantic affection for him, and her last words in the manga included an apology for not being able to return his feelings. In the TV series her relationship with Tōru is not acknowledged, and neither she nor Kyōgo appear in the X movie.
Kyōgo Monou
: in the TV series
Fūma and Kotori's father, is the resident priest of the Togakushi Shrine. He marries his friend Saya even though he knew that she actually was in love with Tōru and was only marrying him so that she could protect Tōru; filled with remorse by this revelation, she weepingly apologizes to him for her deception, right before she dies in front of him, giving birth to the first Sacred Sword. To fulfill his own destiny, Kyōgo hides the Sacred Sword in the shrine as its sacred object; he swears to protect it with his life and is killed by Nataku as a result. Right before he dies, he reveals to Fūma his destiny as Kamui's twin star.
Hokuto Sumeragi
: in the TV series
is Subaru's twin sister who was killed by the Sakurazukamori at the end of Tokyo Babylon. While she was still alive, Hokuto became friends with Kakyō after the dreamgazer drew her into his dreams. Being the first person he ever really met, she left a lasting impression on Kakyō. Hokuto is the reason he wants to die—so he can join her in the afterlife. In the manga she appears in his reminiscence, while towards the end of the anime she actually appears to him as a ghost and persuades him to turn against Fūma in order to attempt to change the future. Kakyō enables her to cross into her brother's dreams, where she urges Subaru to rise from his catatonia and continue the fight, an important action that later buys Kamui enough time to understand what he should do.
Daisuke Saiki
: in the TV series
Seiichirō's nephew is also a wind magician, though not of Seiichirō's calibre. Saiki and Kamui initially do not get along very well, as the stoic and strictly by-the-rules Saiki was not completely convinced that Kamui was the one on which the fate of humanity rested; later, they understand each other better and become friends. Saiki lives to protect Hinoto, whom he seems to have affections for. In the manga, he is brutally decapitated by Fūma while protecting Hinoto; in the anime, he was killed by a powerful blast by Fūma.
In Tsubasa, he appears as Subaru's replacement as a fighter of the Tower faction in Tokyo.
Sōhi and Hien
and are the twin daughters of a family that has protected Hinoto for generations. Out of respect for the dreamgazer, they address her as . In the TV series, they are actually Hinoto's shikigami.
Nokoru Imonoyama
is the former chairman of the elementary level student board and current director of the famous Clamp Academy, as well as one of the Clamp School Detectives, along with Akira Ijyūin and Suoh Takamura. A child of the fabulously wealthy zaibatsu Imonoyama family (who, in fact, founded the Clamp Academy), Nokoru has practically limitless resources at his command. He personally knew Magami Tokiko through his relative, the former Chairperson of Clamp Academy, and following the events leading to Fūma's awakening as the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, Nokoru graciously provides the Dragons of Heaven housing, admitting the younger Seals (Kamui, Yuzuriha, Arashi, Sorata and for a while Subaru) to the Clamp Academy at the junior and senior high school levels (and college in Subaru's case).
Suoh Takamura
is the former secretary of the elementary level student board of Clamp Academy and currently the personal bodyguard of Nokoru Imonoyama. He is a child of the Takamura family, infamous for their prodigious skills in ninjutsu. Suoh does not appear in the anime.
Akira Ijyūin
, the former treasurer of the elementary level student board of Clamp Academy, is currently working for Nokoru Imonoyama (presumably as an accountant, and possibly his personal chef on the side). Strangely enough, Akira has two mothers, who are later revealed to be sisters. Also, Akira is secretly the infamous thief 20 Mensō ("20 Faces"). He's married to his childhood sweetheart, Utako. Akira does not appear in the anime.
Keiichi Segawa
Kamui's classmate in CLAMP Academy after Kamui transfers, is a boy who enthusiastically tries to become friends with Kamui. Despite the fact he is often seen with a cheerful smile, he dislikes earthquakes greatly as his father was killed in the earthquake that resulted with the spirit barrier at Nakano was destroyed. Keiichi first appears in volume 11 of the manga.
Reception
While enjoying the narrative, Mike Crandol from Anime News Network found Kamui among others supporting characters likable due to their early brooding personalities. Manga News felt that the main cast became more enjoyable when Subaru helps Kamui to abandon his catatonic status to face reality and become a more appealing hero. Within other characters, Subaru and Seishiro were praised. Anime News Network referred to his confrontation with Seishirō in the TV series was praised mainly because how their character designs were updated from the ones from Tokyo Babylon. Beveridge also agreed with Bertschy, calling the episode of their final battle one of the best ones from the series focused on how their backgrounds are shown and tragic elements portrayed. Sandra Scholes from Active Anime shared similar feelings calling Subaru "one of the most endearing characters" within the series based on his tragic backstory and his fight against Seishiro. Finding most characters interesting, THEM Anime Reviews found Sorata and Arashi's bond as one of the best written relationships too due to how close they become and the plot twists the television series they give them for the climax. DVD Talk had positive thoughts about the characters' relationships, finding them "special" and praised the amount of violence provided by them in the anime's second half.
However, many critics focused on the relationship between Kamui and Fūma, many considering it one of the strongest areas in Rintaro's 1996 film as they are major focused on the tragic storyline rather than the supporting cast who get little screentime. Animerica was positive by how the drama focused on Kamui, Fuma and Kotori, finding it intense. the book Anime Classics Zettai!: 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces noted that both the feature and television series provided attractive adaptations of Clamp's manga, with the film achieving an appealing atmosphere based the combination of animation and music while complimenting the character designs. In comparison to the film, Zac Bertschy from Anime News Network felt that Fuma's transformation into the series' villain is more realistic in the television series. Fuma has stand out as an appealing villain due to the crimes he commits with the original manga portraying during gore. Manga News enjoyed his interactions with Seishiro, as they form a friendship while causing an earthquake, coming across as strong villains in the process.
While there was no shonen ai unlike in Tokyo Babylon, Subaru's relationship with the man he loves, Seishiro, also attracted writers. Manga News stated that while Subaru and Seishiro's fight was one of the most anticipated ones based on how Subaru changed ever since his sister was killed, he still could not bring himself to stop loving Seishiro. This is further noted by Subaru's depressed portrayal when Seishiro activates Hokuto's spell to make Subaru kill him, ruining his will to live in the process. Nevertheless, in a later review, Manga News found that while Subaru was still highly affected by Seishiro's death, Fuma giving him the eye from his dead body positively affected him. Since Seishiro's wish was giving Subaru his eye to fill the gap in the Subaru's blind one, the character now obtained a legacy from his love that gave him hope to live. Several fans reading the series have wondered whether Clamp was hinting at a romantic relationship between Kamui and Fūma. In the book Understanding Manga and Anime writer Robin E. Brenner stated Clamp had none of those intentions, and compared them with the more explicit relationship between Subaru and Seishirō.
The original voice actors received praise, most particularly Kamui's, Tomokazu Seki. Tomokazu Sugita's portrayal of Subaru in X was praised by Merumo who also enjoyed the older characterization envisioned in this series. On the other hand, there were mixed responses to the English cast for not being as appealing as the Japanese ones. A big exception according to Anime News Network was Kotori's actress. DVD Talk found the English actors suitable for their roles in the television series.