Acid Tokyo and the X/1999 ending
The ending of X/1999 has always been my white whale, the one that got away from me, the one I would give so much for a real answer, or even a plausible one. But after my recent of Tsubasa, I'm increasingly convinced that Clamp gave us an answer - or at least a strong hint - in Acid Tokyo.
X/1999 opens with a page showing 7 cloaked figures among the ruins of Tokyo, three of which are identifiable: Subaru, Arashi, and Kamui. Later, we get a repeat of that page with everything the same, except that Kamui has been replaced by Fuuma, and the dialogue has been slightly altered.
Since Subaru ended up defecting, and it's heavily implied that Arashi will do the same, these are the Dragons of Earth here, as confirmed by Fuuma's presence later. The first page suggests that originally Kamui was supposed to be a Dragon of Earth instead of Fuuma, but ended up joining the Dragons of Heaven instead. This doesn't change anything on the surface, because Fuuma takes over the role instead and Kotori still dies, but I think it must matter on some level, since Kamui is conflicted, and everyone keeps insisting that his stated wish to save the world + Fuuma isn't his real/only wish, and he has to realize it before it's too late. The last published chapter even has the Dragons of Heaven telling him that it's okay to wish for whatever he wants to, without worrying about anything else.
And since Kamui hasn't been able to make a kekkai, which is the number one ability of the Dragons of Heaven, on some level, it seems like he wants to be a Dragon of Earth after all. Which means that in order to grant that wish, he and Fuuma will have to switch places again so that things can go back to the "right"/original future we saw at the beginning. (Cue Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" in the background.)
And this is exactly what we see in Acid Tokyo.
Now, Acid Tokyo is a different continuity inasmuch as Kamui, Subaru, and Fuuma are all foreigners to this dimension, Kamui and Subaru are vampires, and Seishirou and Subaru aren't in either of these line-ups, which is why Nataku's younger self and Saiki have taken their places. But we still end up with the "reversed" set-up from X/1999, with Fuuma and Kamui in the roles that were originally intended for them.
All of Tokyo is in ruins, and the two sides' respective headquarters are the only places where humanity can survive. And the arc ends with the two sides coming together in the wreckage of the ruined world, with each bringing something essential for survival to the table, which ends up being the start of something new, while Kamui, Subaru, Fuuma and Seishirou depart.
...and I can't help wondering if that or something very much like it was also Clamp's endgame for the original X/1999 series, even if we got there by a very different route. Or is this Clamp's meta-commentary on the ending they would have published back then, now that they've had more time to reflect on it?
The X/1999 anime ends with Kamui sacrificing himself for the world, creating a kekkai that covers the earth as he dies and bringing Fuuma back to himself. The X/1999 movie ends with Kamui cradling Fuuma's severed head and sobbing as the credits roll. Neither one is Clamp's intended ending, which was apparently violent and disturbing enough that they didn't end up publishing it.
But the fact that the world is starting to flood by the point where X/1999's published chapters stop, coupled with water as the wellspring of life in Acid Tokyo, feels important somehow - as if X/1999 is indeed moving towards Acid Tokyo.
I mentioned earlier that the final published X/1999 chapters imply that Sorata will die and Arashi defects, but one thing I've always wondered about is whether or not she's pregnant with his child and if that might change her mind about protecting the world when she finds out. Maybe that's too cliche, I don't know, but "life emerging from death" feels in keeping with the overall theme, assuming that X/1999 isn't a complete and total tragedy in the end (I know, I know, big if).
I should probably go back and re-read X/1999 again - maybe this time I'll spot something that would help me figure out an ending.
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