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Kamui Shirou hides in the shadows while attempting to steal the Divine Sword.
Fate and destiny are the controlling forces in X -- the plot moves because two groups are fighting to change destiny and keep destiny on course, respectively. Characters obsess over their fate; some do not seem to think of anything aside from how they will meet their death. People know how events will turn out, but they seem powerless to stop them from happening. The weight of this knowledge is heavy, and it drives the characters of X to act in interesting, fascinating ways that make the show worth watching.
The plot of X follows Kamui Shirou (voiced by Kenichi Suzumura), a powerful esper who is fated to align with either the Dragons of Heaven (who will fight to save humanity and preserve the status quo) or the Dragons of Earth (who will fight to destroy humanity and bring revolution to the Earth). While Kamui struggles with this choice, the leaders of the respective groups -- dreamseer Princess Hinoto (Aya Hisakawa) on the side of the Dragons of Heaven, and Hinoto's younger sister, Kanoe (Kaho Kouda), on the side of the Dragons of Earth -- work to gather the remaining members of their groups and begin the battle for Earth's fate.
Most who have seen the movie adaptation of the X manga agree there are basically two good things about it -- the action, and the production values. On these fronts, the X anime does not disappoint. X is not an over-the-top action series (most of the time), but when characters throw down, it is definitely thrilling to watch. It is cool that a lot of characters have basic elemental powers (water, fire, wind, lightning, etc.) but do interesting things with them. Once you see the first battle between a Dragon of Heaven and a Dragon of Earth, you'll be clamoring for more throughout the show.
Perhaps the main weakness of X is there are just too many characters. There are seven Dragons of Heaven, seven Dragons of Earth, the two groups' respective leaders and a few other characters on the side. Most of the main characters get an equal amount of plot and character development, with Kamui and the main villain (who I won't reveal here) getting a bit more development than everyone else. To be fair, Madhouse handles it about as well as can be expected, but certain characters just aren't developed enough to be all that interesting or likable.
However, certain characters are inherently good enough to weather through that, and the X's best sub-plots drive home the series' themes in interesting, exciting ways. For instance, there is the blood feud between Subaru Sumeragi (a Dragon of Heaven, voiced by Tomokazu Sugita) and Seshirou Sakurazuka (a Dragon of Earth, voiced by Otoya Kawano) -- neither can die except by the other's hand, and both fighters' motivations heading into battle are wildly different than expected. (It also helps that the two are probably the coolest characters in the series.) Then there is Sorata Arisugawa (Mitsuaki Madono), who knows the circumstances of his death, accepts them and forges onward; his decisions lead to possibly the best, most shocking storyline in the latter half of X.
Unfortunately, the two characters who should be the strongest and most interesting -- Kamui and the antagonist -- are not. Kamui has cool powers and is a good fighter, but he spends the first half of the series being an unlikable a-hole and much of the second half in a mopey funk. There is a fine line between interesting angst and grating angst, and Kamui is on the wrong side of that line much of the time. The antagonist is a compelling enough character at first, but as the series goes on, he is just not as intriguing as his followers and becomes more of a generic, superpowered villain. It could be different for everyone, of course, but I never really felt either as the main hero and villain.
Despite its flaws, however, X is a solidly executed series with enough interesting characters and stories to make it a worthy watch. Its themes of fate, destiny and choice resonate well and give the viewer some worthwhile things to think about.
For those interested, here is X's OP, "eX Dream" by Myuji:
