List of X characters
This article describes the fictional characters of the X manga series by Clamp. X takes place in the year 1999. 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.
The characters are represented by a Tarot card included in each manga volume, including the first artbook (ZeØro).
Main characters
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.
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Alan D. Marriott (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese), Steve Cannon (as a teenager) and Brianne Siddall (credited as Ian Hawk) (as a child) (English) in the TV series
Fūma Monou
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 TV series and in the case of the movie a psychotic murderer, 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.
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
Kotori Monou
Kotori Monou (桃生 小鳥 Monou Kotori) 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. 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 more regular teenager.[1]
She 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. Hinoto however tells Kamui that she was destined to die — that whichever boy became a Dragon of Earth would have killed her. 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.
In the movie, Kotori dies when the second Sacred Sword is removed from her body. When Fūma first attempts to do it, entering the dreamscape with such a purpose, Kotori actually escapes with Kamui's help and reaches Hinoto's room where he is waiting, but ultimately Fūma catches her and pulls the Sacred Sword out of his sister's belly with his bare hands, killing her much to Kamui and everyone else's horror. Kamui takes her body to the Tokyo Tower just before the final fight.
In the X Tarot set, she represents The Lovers.
Voiced by: Junko Iwao (Japanese), Larissa Murray (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English) in the TV series
Dragons of Heaven
The Dragons of Heaven (天の龍 Ten no Ryū), or The Seven Seals (七つの封印 Nanatsu no Fūin), are a group of seven individuals who are fated to stand against the Dragons of Earth in the apocalyptic battle on the Promised Day to determine the fate of the Earth and humanity. The Dragons of Heaven ideologically represent the belief that conflicts between man and nature can and must be resolved peaceably, and that humanity is no less precious than the Earth itself. Each of the Dragons of Heaven has a unique background (usually involving Japanese religious or occult sects), but all of the Dragons of Heaven are united in their desire to protect others. The Dragons of Heaven each exhibit the ability to create Spirit Shields in order to prevent innocent people from being harmed when battle with the Dragons of Earth erupts. It is heavily suggested that when a Dragon of Heaven loses the person or people that they wish to protect, or loses the will to protect others, the Dragon of Heaven concurrently loses their ability to create a Spirit Shield and is no longer considered a Dragon of Heaven. The term "seal" is an allusion to the Book of Revelations, but with a twist instead of seals on a scroll to be broken by the lamb of God, the Seven Seals are to be broken by the Seven Angels.
In Tsubasa, their alternate versions exist in Tokyo, an apocalyptic world continually corroded by acidic rain as fighters of the Tower faction, who spar with people of the City Hall faction (alternate versions of the Dragon of Earth) for the scarce pure water left. They are led by the alternate version of Fūma, who is secretly a treasure hunter across dimensions, and Daisuke Saiki replaces Subaru as one of the seven.
Sorata Arisugawa
Sorata Arisugawa (有洙川 空汰 Arisugawa Sorata) is an upbeat teenager possessing considerable occult abilities, raised by the Shingon Buddhist monks of Mount Kōya after being taken away from his mother at a young age. A gourmand, he was frequently in trouble at the shrine for stealing food between meals (insisting that he couldn't wait until dinner), and is also a competent cook. It was prophesied that he would protect Kamui with his life, but that he would die for a woman; the first time he meets Arashi, he decides she will be the one. An incessantly friendly young man, he wears down the resistance of both Kamui and Arashi and worms his way into their affections, despite their initial coldness and his own unrefined Kansai dialect. He is surprisingly perceptive, being able to read both Kamui and Arashi's thoughts from their facial expressions, and with Kamui, is able to discern that other forces besides the Dragons of Earth may be working against them.
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. His barrier field is shaped like a cube.
In the anime, the prophecy is realized as he dies defending Arashi from Fūma's Sacred Sword, despite her earlier attempts to kill Kamui. He similarly dies in the movie version battling Fūma, again giving his life to protect Arashi.
Sorata also appears several times in Tsubasa as a relatively prominent crossover character: in the Republic of Hanshin, he's a history teacher married to Arashi and acts as host to Syaoran's group, briefly appears as a Dragonfly Racer in Piffle World, and in Tokyo, as one of the seven fighters of the Tower faction. In the X Tarot set, he represents The Chariot.
Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese), Mike Fitzpatrick (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono (Japanese), Tony Oliver (English) in the TV series
Arashi Kishū
Arashi Kishū (鬼咒 嵐 Kishū Arashi) is a foundling girl raised by Shinto priests at Ise Shrine (her mother was a priestess there until she left the shrine after learning of Arashi's destiny; her father apparently never knew of the pregnancy), and she is the Dragon of Heaven most immediately in touch with Princess Hinoto. Called the "Hidden Priestess of Ise", her specialty is sword fighting, and she can summon a massive sword emerging from her left hand. Her barrier field is shaped like a pyramid.
Despite her cold, stoic front, Sorata falls in love with her, and ultimately she comes to reciprocate. In the manga, Sorata and Arashi consummate their feelings for each other after Sorata injures himself while saving Arashi's life. As a result of losing her virginity, Arashi loses the power to summon her sword, just as her mother did before her. Upset, Arashi is placed under a spell by Hinoto's dark half such that when she reawakens, she will fight as a Dragon of Earth.
In the anime series, she is convinced by Fūma that she must join the Dragons of Earth and kill Kamui, in order to release Sorata from his obligation to defend her. In so doing, she ends up causing the death of her lover, and loses her abilities as a Dragon of Heaven. She is last seen at the Mount Kōya shrine reminiscing about Sorata. In the movie, she is stabbed and killed by Fūma, after witnessing Sorata's last moments.
Arashi also appears twice in Tsubasa as a relatively prominent crossover character: a retired miko married to Sorata in the Republic of Hanshin and a miko siding with the Tower faction who can foresee disaster in the world of Tokyo. In the X Tarot set, she represents Temperance.
Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (Japanese), Teresa Gallagher (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Ryoka Yuzuki (Japanese), Lia Sargent (English) in the TV series
Subaru Sumeragi
Originally from Tokyo Babylon, Subaru Sumeragi (皇 昴流 Sumeragi Subaru) is an onmyōji and the 13th Head of the Sumeragi clan. His barrier field is shaped like a pentagram. Once a cheerful teenager, he has grown into a sad, reticent young man, obsessed with settling the score with Seishirō Sakurazuka. Subaru is initially uninterested in the battle for the end of the world, but is convinced to join the Dragons of Heaven. He shares a close friendship with Kamui, based on the similar hardships they have faced.
Subaru had at first searched for Seishirō intending to take revenge, but discovered he couldn't banish the love he felt for the assassin. Therefore, he wishes for Seishirō to kill him instead, and trained hard as an onmyōji in the hope that the Sakurazukamori would one day consider him enough of a threat to carry this out.
The confrontation at Rainbow Bridge ends with Subaru killing Seishirō. In the manga, this causes him to inherit the duty and the powers of the Sakurazukamori and to join with the Dragons of Earth. In the TV series, the knowledge that he had killed his one "special person" sends Subaru into catatonia until the final battle when he regains his senses after seeing his sister deep in his subconsciousness. In the 1996 film, Seishirō and Subaru's powers end up causing both their deaths in a battle between the two.
In the X Tarot set, he represents The Hanged Man.
Voiced by: Issei Miyazaki (Japanese), William Dufris (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Dave Wittenberg (English) in the TV series
Seiichirō Aoki
The wind magician Seiichirō Aoki (蒼軌 征一狼 Aoki Seiichirō) is a mild-mannered copy editor with a wife and child. In the TV series, upon discovering that the battle between the Seals and Angels is at hand, Aoki secretly divorces his wife Shimako in order to spare her grief should he be killed. He impresses Karen, who eventually dies saving him in the anime. He is last seen visiting Karen's grave with his family. Aoki is a very gentle and even-tempered man and is only seen to become angry once in X, when Karen attempts to sacrifice herself for his sake. He is a wind master, with the ability to conjure and control wind currents. This is his family's gift; his nephew Daisuke Saiki has the same ability, though he isn't as strong. His barrier field is shaped like an octagon.
In the movie, Aoki is badly wounded by Nataku, but during their fight, Aoki grabs his opponent and leaps off the top of the Sunshine 60 building, killing them both.
Aoki appears as a crossover character in Tsubasa. He lives in the world of Tokyo as one of the seven fighters of the Tower faction. In the X Tarot set, he represents The Hierophant.
Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese), David Harris (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese), Steven Blum (English) in the TV series
Karen Kasumi
A devout Catholic, Karen Kasumi (夏澄 火煉 Kasumi Karen) 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 TV 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. Her barrier field is shaped like a cruciform prism.
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. Aoki visits her at work for an interview, but, like a gentleman, refuses to take advantage of her; she comes to admire him for this. The relationship between Karen and Aoki is often mistaken as her feeling affection-in a romantic sense-for him. However, their relationship is more or less like a brother and sister.
In the anime series, Karen sacrifices her life to kill Yūto in order to protect Aoki. In the movie, Karen and Shōgo battle in the subway. Karen causes a massive explosion, causing them both to be crushed by debris.
Karen appears twice in Tsubasa as a crossover character: in the world of Shara-no, she's the leading woman in an entertainment troupe and in the world of Tokyo, one of the seven fighters of the Tower faction. In the X Tarot set, she represents Justice.
Voiced by: Mami Koyama (Japanese), Toni Barry (English) in the feature film.
Voiced by: Yōko Soumi[2] (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English) in the TV series.
Yuzuriha Nekoi
Yuzuriha Nekoi (猫依 護刃 Nekoi Yuzuriha) is a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl descended from the keepers of Mitsumine Shrine, masters of inugami (dog-spirits); their family name, which literally means "reliant on the cat", was deliberately chosen to conceal this. A fan of sweets such as ice cream and Pocky (fictionalized as "Pooky" in the manga and "Rocky" in the anime), Yuzuriha is exceedingly energetic, often defusing latent tension between Kamui and the rest of the Dragons of Heaven. Yuzuriha's uncanny ability to allay Kamui's suspicions and earn his trust seems slightly tongue-in-cheek in that Yuzuriha essentially has dealt with wolf-like inugami her entire life, and Kamui's demeanor towards the rest of the Dragons of Heaven prior to Yuzuriha's appearance was rather wolfish—a play on Kamui's familial name.
Yuzuriha is attended by her own personal inugami, Inuki (犬鬼), who can shapeshift into anything she desires and who can only be seen by others with occult powers. She was teased throughout much of her childhood as her classmates believed Inuki was her imaginary friend. Because of this, Yuzuriha made a vow that she would never fall in love with (or even date) a man who could not see Inuki. However, the first person outside of her family that she meets who can see Inuki is Kusanagi Shiyū—a Dragon of Earth. Yuzuriha falls in love with Kusanagi, regardless of their conflicting fates. Her barrier field is shaped like a cylinder.
When Inuki is killed by Satsuki, one of the Dragons of Earth, she becomes greatly depressed, and Fūma confronts her, prepared to grant her apparent wish to die; however, as he is forced to admit, her true wish is to live, and a new inugami (which she also names Inuki) is born from her heart.
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.
Yuzuriha appears in Tsubasa as a relatively prominent crossover character: she's paired up with Kusanagi Shiyū as a player in Edonis Country and is one of the seven fighters of the Tower faction in Tokyo. In the X Tarot set, she is depicted with Inuki to represent Strength.
Voiced by: Yukana Nogami (Japanese), Anne-Marie Lawless (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Kumi Sakuma (Japanese), Philece Sampler (English) in the TV series
Dragons of Earth
The Dragons of Earth (地の龍 Chi no Ryū), also known as the Seven Angels (七人の御使 Shichinin no Mitsukai), are a group of seven individuals who are fated to stand against the Dragons of Heaven in the apocalyptic battle on the Promised Day to determine the fate of the Earth and humanity. The Dragons of Earth ideologically represent the belief that conflicts between man and nature cannot be resolved peaceably, and that humans are on an irreversible path that will ultimately lead to the murder of the planet itself unless they are stopped. Unlike the Dragons of Heaven, the Dragons of Earth seem to have no common rationality for their acceptance of their roles as the destroyers of humanity. Many of the Dragons of Earth are textbook cases of antisocial, narcissistic, or avoidant behavior. They either lack the ability or desire to form meaningful bonds with other humans, or tend to form unhealthy relationships. Many of them seem to be amoral, not truly understanding why killing is intrinsically wrong. Although they all realize that humanity is destroying the Earth and that by removing humanity, they would be allowing for the Earth to be revived, they seem genuinely indifferent to this matter. Again at odds with the portrayal of the Dragons of Heaven, the Dragons of Earth lack the ability to create Spirit Shields, and it seems to be the case that whenever a Dragon of Earth finally forms a sincere bond with another person or realizes that they wish to protect someone dear to them, they are shortly thereafter killed.
Unlike the Dragons of Heaven who are shown to have strong bonds for each other as well as unity within the group, the Dragons of Earth are only seen together once in the entire manga, when they meet up after Fūma's awakening. They are encouraged by Fūma to simply go their own ways. Only Nataku and Kakyō always stay with Fūma.
The Dragons of Earth are also known as the Seven Angels (translated also as the Seven Harbingers and the Seven Minions). Regarding the multiple translations for the title of the Seven Angels, the kanji 御使 is often translated into English as "angel"; however, its literal meaning is closer to a "messenger of authority" or a "servant of authority". While this ties in rather well with the etymological origins of the world angel (Ancient Greek, αγγελος, meaning "messenger"), the literal meaning of the kanji made for an awkward translation in the Viz manga, resulting in the Angels being called "Harbingers". The official merchandising of the X movie in Japanese translated 御使 into "Minions" in English. The official translation, as per Clamp's final word, stands as "the Seven Angels", which would logically balance out the Biblical allusions, to seven angels pouring bowls of sorrow and strife upon the world at the End Times.
In Tsubasa, their alternate versions exist in Tokyo, an apocalyptic world continually corroded by acidic rain as fighters of the City Hall faction, who spar with people of the Tower faction (alternate versions of the Dragon of Heaven) for the scarce pure water left. They are led by the alternate version of Kamui, who is a vampire, and Nataku's original, Kazuki, replaces Seishirō as one of the seven.
Yūto Kigai
Yūto Kigai (麒飼 遊人 Kigai Yūto) is a polite but largely amoral young man who originally appeared in the Clamp dōjinshi work Hagun Seisenki, as a college student at Clamp Academy and a comrade of Takamura Suō. A bureaucrat working at the Ward Office, he never lets on to any of the happy couples turning in their marriage licenses that he is seeking to destroy humanity, assuming an air of bland cheerfulness which he maintains even in combat. Usually sporting a pink shirt and white overcoat, people have been known to remark that he looks like a pimp (except in the American translation of the manga, where this is softened to "someone in showbiz"). He is in a sexual relationship with Kanoe, but is amused by the knowledge that Satsuki has a crush on him; he sees the latter as a sort of younger sister and protegée, and attempts to educate her about emotions.
In combat Yūto wields a sai dagger capable of severing human hands with one swipe, and which bears a powerful whiplash attachment that can smash through concrete. He is also a water master (an ability that in X he had not used for some time), capable of summoning floods and hurling water bolts, as well as arranging more benign fountain displays for the amusement of others. In the anime, he can even transform himself into water and travel in this form (on one occasion entering a room through fire sprinklers).
In the TV series, he dies from wounds sustained after a mortally-wounded Karen incinerates him, while in the movie he is brutally killed by Fūma who practically dismembers him before impaling him with his Sacred Sword. In the movie, he does not display water-based powers, these being given to Shōgo Asagi instead.
Yuuto appears in Tsubasa as a crossover character: he lives in Tokyo as a fighter of the City Hall faction and receives Syaoran's group more amiably than the rest of the group. In the X Tarot set, he is The Devil.
Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese), Nigel Whitney (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Michiaki Furuya (Japanese), Ezra Weisz (English) in the TV series
Satsuki Yatōji
A complex and ingenious young woman with utter contempt for humans, Satsuki Yatōji (八頭司 颯姫 Yatōji Satsuki) has a love for the digital world instead. At a young age she developed the uncanny ability to interact with computers through cables inserted into her skin, and to hack into any technological system. This led to her father sending her to a lab for further study; she amazed the scientists by mastering the Sephirot at the age of 14. However, she rebelled against the boredom she felt and in the anime TV series, through her "friends" in the computer world, arranged for the death of her father (in a road traffic accident), along with anyone else who stood in her way. While escaping from the lab she encountered Kanoe and joined her cause, having learned from the digital world that she was one of the Dragons of Earth; later Yūto forcibly convinced the scientists to never bother her again. In the manga, she kills the people in the lab (who are implied to be Freemasons), but it is unknown if complications arose from this or when and where she met Kanoe.
Satsuki is an extreme rationalist, and attacks Yuzuriha when the latter cannot explain why killing humans is more wrong than the killing of the natural world. She spends much of her time wired into a massive supercomputer named the Beast (provided for her by Kanoe), through which she can physically control cables across Tokyo, using them for reconnaissance and offensive purposes. She develops feelings for Yūto, one of the few people who managed to befriend her, and who in fact gave her the answer that Yuzuriha couldn't; in the TV anime and movie versions, this causes the Beast to become jealous and kill her by invading and impaling her entire body with its cables.
In Tsubasa, Satsuki is one of the fighters of the City Hall faction. She studies medicine and initially receives Syaoran's group with suspicion; however she's notably less apathetic than her X version, her personality more bordering on seriousness. In the X Tarot set, she is The Hermit.
Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Anne Marie Zola (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English) in the TV series
Seishirō Sakurazuka
Originally from Tokyo Babylon, in which he appeared to be a kindly, magically-aware veterinarian, Seishirō Sakurazuka (桜塚 星史郎 Sakurazuka Seishirō) is in fact the Sakurazukamori, the Guardian of the Cherry Blossom Burial Mound, a lone assassin whose signature is cherry blossoms and the inverted pentagram. A powerful onmyōji, Seishirō can control shikigami and confound his opponents in illusions. The assassin defeats Subaru in battle when they meet for the very first time since the events in Tokyo Babylon, but leaves the younger man alive. Subaru believes himself not worthy of killing, but in their final battle at Rainbow Bridge, Seishirō arranges for Subaru to kill him. In the feature film, Subaru and Seishirō annihilate each other in magical combat during the first ten minutes.
In the X Tarot set, he represents Death.
Voiced by: Tōru Furusawa (Japanese), Garrick Hagon (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Otoya Kawano (Japanese), Dave Mallow (English) in the TV series
Nataku
Nataku (那吒), an androgynous clone of extreme psychic ability, was born of genetic material of Kazuki Tōjō (塔城 霞月 Tōjō Kazuki), the deceased granddaughter of the president of Tōjō Pharmaceuticals, and her father Masaki. Nataku is sent to retrieve the Sacred Sword by Chairman Tōjō, who wishes to destroy the sword so that Nataku cannot become entangled in the matter of the Promised Day. In the process of stealing the Sacred Sword, Nataku mortally wounds Kyōgo Monou, Fūma and Kotori's father, who was attempting to protect the Sacred Sword. Nataku later battles both Karen and Aoki, the former refusing to believe Nataku can possibly be unemotional and regarding Nataku as a "lost child". Nataku is haunted by the memories of their previous life as Kazuki, and they follow Fūma unquestionably as Fūma resembles the person Kazuki cared most for - her father. In the anime, after Fūma is badly wounded by the spell Sorata casts as he dies, he absorbs Nataku's flesh into his own and is healed. In the manga, Nataku dies when Fūma realizes their greatest wish, to die by the hand of the one they love most (Fūma, who resembles Kazuki's father) while protecting the person most important to them (Karen, who resembles Kazuki's mother). In the movie, Seiichirō Aoki kills Nataku and himself by both of them falling from the Sunshine 60 building to their deaths.
In Tsubasa, Nataku is one of the fighters of the City Hall faction. Nataku is also one of the characters who underwent most significant changes: unlike in X, Nataku is a mentally developed adult and takes care of Kazuki, alternate version of X's Kazuki (who substitutes Seishirō's place). In the X Tarot set, Nataku represents The Moon.
Nataku is the Japanese name of the Chinese god Nezha.
Voiced by: Rika Matsumoto (Japanese), Don Fellows (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Motoko Kumai (Japanese), Mona Marshall (English) in the TV series
Kakyō Kuzuki
Kakyō Kuzuki (玖月 牙暁 Kuzuki Kakyō) is a dreamseer in a permanent coma, appearing as a tall man with a sad expression, golden eyes, long, pale hair, and almost always dressed in white. His ability to see the future in dreams was discovered at an early age, and as a result he was kept a prisoner by an unknown political group. Having never seen the outside world, he drew Hokuto Sumeragi into his dreams and fell in love with her after she showed him the sea through her own imagination. However, he foresaw that she would go to her death at the hands of the Sakurazukamori (as seen in the last volume of Tokyo Babylon), and broke out of his room in an effort to stop her; shot by one of his guards with a sniper rifle, he failed to reach her in time and sank into the coma in which he spends the duration of the X story. He came to believe that the future was immutable, and began to wish for his death although unable to kill himself being in a physical coma.
In X he meets and befriends the fledgling dreamseer Kotori Monou within the dreamscape, but realizes that she, too, will soon die at the hands of her older brother Fūma. To grant Kotori's last wish that Kamui should be spared, Kakyō possesses her corpse during its "death dream" and clings to the Sacred Sword, preventing Fūma from removing it from Kotori's body and using it to kill Kamui. However, in doing so Kakyō alerts Fūma to his presence, and the Dragon of Earth hunts down the dreamseer and convinces him that he will grant his wish to die in peace, provided Kakyō aids him as one of the Seven Angels. They grow intimate over times, as Fūma continually consoles Kakyō during his still-existent fits of grief over Hokuto's death.
In the anime, Kakyō is coerced into manipulating Princess Hinoto's own future-seeing dreams, but finally turns against Fūma after encouragement from Hokuto and Kotori that the future is not, after all, unchanging. He enables Hokuto to enter her brother Subaru's dreams and talk him into helping Kamui during the crucial moments of the final battle. At the end of the series he dies peacefully, and his spirit is finally able to join his beloved Hokuto and "go outside".
In Tsubasa, Kakyō is one of the fighters of the City Hall faction. He has the ability to divine the future through his dreams and welcomes Syaoran's group with much less hostility than the rest, as he has foreseen their coming. In the X Tarot set, he represents The Wheel of Fortune.
Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (Japanese), Terrence Stone (English)
Kusanagi Shiyū
Kusanagi Shiyū (志勇 草薙 Shiyū Kusanagi) is a member of the Japanese Self-Defense Force who is telepathically linked to the plants and animals of the Earth, and thus strongly resents humanity's pollution and destruction of the natural world. Although his punch carries the force of an earthquake, he is the least antisocial of the Dragons of Earth, and the least active in the destruction of Tokyo. He meets Yuzuriha (and is the first man she ever met who can see Inuki) and develops an affection for her; although she falls in love with him, his intentions appear to remain unromantic. He frequently rescues Yuzuriha from death at the hands of other Dragons of Earth and, indeed in the anime, threatens Fūma and ultimately switches sides; as a result he is attacked and grievously wounded by Nataku and Arashi, the latter having also defected to the other side. In the manga, he has, at the very least, expressed personal opinions that run contrary to the goals of the Dragons of Earth—specifically that life is sacred and should never, under any circumstances, be willfully destroyed. He also seems to think that conflicts between nature and humanity should be resolved with as little harm to either as possible. In the movie, he does not show these pacifist qualities and instead actively attacks the Dragons of Heaven without hesitation and is a very violent character. Additionally, his relationship with Yuzuriha Nekoi does not exist in the movie. Later on in the movie he was killed by Fūma, but he survives in the anime TV series.
Kusanagi appears twice in Tsubasa: as a player paired up with Nekoi Yuzuriha in Edonis Country and a fighter of the City Hall faction in Tokyo. In the X Tarot set, he represents The Star.
Voiced by: George Nakata (Japanese), Jeff Harding (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Masaki Aizawa (Japanese), Jamieson Price (English) in the TV series
Supporting characters
Princess Hinoto
Hinoto (丁) is a dreamseer in the employ of the Japanese government, residing in the basement of the Japanese Diet Building. She is blind, deaf, mute, crippled, and must communicate telepathically, but her dreams have never failed to come true. She foresees the battle between the Dragons of Heaven and Earth and the advent of Kamui, but cannot determine which path he will choose. Either way, she foresees that the Dragons of Heaven will lose, but conceals this from them. For a time, she is possessed by her dark half, which causes a disastrous battle to occur within Hinoto's own consciousness (played out on the dreamscape), as well as many complications for the Dragons of Heaven.
The rationale for Hinoto's dark half attempting to destroy Kamui and the other Dragons of Heaven seems to stem from the fact that she foresaw her own death at the hands of Kamui. While Hinoto's good side seems to desire this outcome (either for the simple fact that she wishes to be freed from her duties as a dreamseer, or possibly in that her death could somehow alter the future in favor of the Dragons of Heaven), her evil side is striving to prevent her own death at the expense of the lives of others, and as a result repeatedly attacks the Dragons of Heaven with swarms of shikigami.
Her evil persona has kept her good persona trapped in the dreamscape and continues to set up the Dragons of Heaven in hopes of bringing about their deaths. Kamui suspects her of foul play and relays this to Sorata, who creates a gohōdōji to observe her, which is last seen confronting her for her actions.
In the television series, she kills herself in the dreamscape (thus taking her life in the waking world as well) so as to end her possession and save Kamui. This precipitates the Final Battle. 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.
Voiced by: Yuko Minaguchi (Japanese), Stacey Jefferson (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Bridget Hoffman (English) in the TV series
Kanoe
Kanoe (庚), 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) Fūma.
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. We do not see Kanoe die in the anime TV 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 ambiguious.
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.
In the X Tarot set, she is The Empress.
Voiced by: Atsuko Takahata (Japanese), Denica Fairman (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Kaho Kouda (Japanese), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (English) in the TV series
Tokiko Magami
Tokiko Magami (真神 時鼓 Magami Tokiko) 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 TV 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 Imonoyama Nokoru 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.
In the X Tarot set, she and her sister represent The Tower.
Voiced by: Misa Watanabe (Japanese), Philece Sampler (English) in the TV series
Tōru Shirō
Tōru Shirō (司狼 斗織 Shirō Tooru) (née Magami) 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.
In the X Tarot set, she and her sister represent The Tower.
Voiced by: Masako Ikeda (Japanese), Liza Ross (English) in the feature film
Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English) in the TV series
Saya Monou
Saya Monou (桃生 紗鵺 Monou Saya) 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.
In the X Tarot set, she is The Fool and appears as a mermaid-like humanoid who also appears to Kotori in a vision in the manga, where she explains her feelings for Tōru to her among other things.
Voiced by: Michiko Neya (Japanese), Barbara Goodson (English) in the TV series
Kyōgo Monou
Fūma and Kotori's father, Kyōgo Monou (桃生 鏡護 Monou Kyōgo) is the resident priest of the Tokagushi 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.
In the X Tarot set, he is The Emperor.
Voiced by: Kōji Ishii (Japanese), Michael McConnohie (English) in the TV series
Minor characters
Hokuto Sumeragi
Hokuto Sumeragi (皇 北都 Sumeragi Hokuto) 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.
Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English) in the TV series
Daisuke Saiki
Seiichirō's nephew Daisuke Saiki (砕軌 玳透 Saiki Daisuke) 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.
Voiced by: Kishō Taniyama (Japanese), Edward Villa (English) in the TV series
Sōhi and Hien
Sōhi (蒼氷 Sōhi) and Hien (緋炎 Hien) are the twin daughters of a family that has protected Hinoto for generations. Out of respect for the dreamgazer, they address her as "Princess" (姫様 Hime-sama). In the TV series, they are actually Hinoto's shikigami.
In Tsubasa, "Sōhi" and "Hien" are a pair of swords Syaoran and Kurogane obtain in Ōto Country.
Nokoru Imonoyama
Nokoru Imonoyama (妹之山 残 Imonoyama Nokoru) 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 Ijyūin Akira and Takamura Suoh. 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
Suoh Takamura (鷹村 蘇芳 Takamura Suō) is the former secretary of the elementary level student board of Clamp Academy and currently the personal bodyguard of Imonoyama Nokoru. He is a child of the Takamura family, infamous for their prodigious skills in ninjutsu. Suoh does not appear in the anime.
Akira Ijyūin
Akira Ijyūin (伊集院 玲 Ijūin Akira), the former treasurer of the elementary level student board of Clamp Academy, is currently working for Imonoyama Nokoru (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.
Shōgo Asagi
Shōgo Asagi (浅黄 笙悟 Asagi Shōgo) is a water master who appears in the motion picture in place of Kakyō, who had not made a formal appearance in the manga during the movie's production. A smart-aleck high school student, he appears to fight for the Dragons of Earth solely to cause trouble, and is actually the first one of either group to contact Kamui after his arrival, telling him through telepathy that they are fighting for the future of the world. He meets his end in the film during his battle with Karen in the subway, when Karen causes a massive explosion that causes them both to be crushed by debris.
Shōgo Asagi also appears in Tsubasa, first in the Hansin Republic, then in Piffle World as an employee of Tomoyo Daidōji.
Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (Japanese), Rupert Degas (English) in the feature film
Keiichi Segawa
Kamui's classmate in CLAMP Academy after Kamui transfers, Keiichi Segawa (瀬川 景一 Segawa Keiichi) 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.
References
- ↑ "X: The Complete Series; Director's interview (DVD). Funimation Entertainment. June 15, 2010.
- ↑ "マウスプロモーション公式サイト：所属タレント" [Yoko Soumi Talent Profile]. Mausu Promotion (in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-02-25.