Juuni Kokuki

I finally find a fantasy anime with genuine depth and complexity in 12 Kingdoms. I just wish they had finished it...

STORY

I'll give this anime major points for consistency. 12 Kingdoms establishes its tone and story world rules and sticks to them. The 12 Kingdoms are heavily influenced by classical Chinese philosophy (particularly the Mandate of Heaven, which governs the entire political system) and stays with these influences even when it means making good guy characters act in ways that don't fit with more modern worldviews- everyone doesn't simply act like 21st century people in medieval costumes. The anime is also consistent in its willingness to ... deconstruct 'Transported To Another World' fantasy tropes: what do you think would really happen to somebody who suddenly and unwillingly found themselves in a different place where you can't speak the language and the laws and customs are totally alien to you? It probably wouldn't go well, and characters from our world who wind up in the 12 Kingdoms generally have a rough time of it.

There is a truly staggering amount of worldbuilding in 12 Kingdoms- almost too much. You need to pay attention to the huge glossary of terminology covering everything from religion to politics to geography and it can be a bit of a challenge to keep your head above water. Because of the numerous ongoing plot lines there is usually a recap every 10 or so episodes just to help you keep track. Unfortunately, this anime is an incomplete adaptation of a longer series of novels meaning some major story threads are left hanging- mostly in the second of the four major arcs, which ends with a massive cliffhanger (skip episodes 14-21 if you don't want to deal with this arc). Arcs 1 & 3 tie together to make one long super-arc that wraps up neatly, while Arc 4 is a short stand alone story. I wish we could have seen this story through to the end.

ART & SOUND

Production values are pretty decent for an anime that's over a decade old. There are a few moments of obvious CGI and flying creatures never look terribly convincing but the animation is OK overall. The backgrounds and character designs have considerable detail, going the extra mile to sell the East Asian fantasy feel of the story. Dub vs Sub is a toss-up, I watch the first arc in Dub and the rest in Sub and I'd have to call it a tie. The music is very good, using lots of classical orchestras and Chinese folk music to set the tone. The OP is particularly strong with a very cinematic feel, like it's trying to get you ready for The Lord of the Rings rather than an episode of anime.

CHARACTERS

I hope you have a good memory, because this cast is MASSIVE and it's common for characters to be referred to by multiple names and titles. Character development is strong, with the cast having a wide range of personalities and character arcs. As mentioned earlier, this show isn't afraid to have it its cast 'stick to their guns' when it comes to their traditional Chinese philosophies and at times it seems like watching a historical drama that simply happened to be animated. You may not agree with even obviously heroic characters all the time, but over time you'll at least come to understand them.

OVERALL

With a complete adaptation, this show could have gone down in anime legend. As it is, for all its strengths it suffers from the all too common fate of only receiving a partial adaptation. I swear, an anime fan needs to have a masochistic streak to put up with some aspects of this medium.

Those viewers who love watching anime in relation with politics and without romance then this is it. One thing that I liked about this anime was how the story flows, and the growth of the main character’s attitude from self-centred girl, who protects her own comfort zone, to a strong girl that only think was how to build a kingdom that is befitting to her people. The High School girl named Nakajima Youko was drifted away to the world that is beyond Hourai or Japan through the power of a Kirin called Keiki. She was then chosen by this Kirin in order to rule the ... Kingdom of Kei (one of the 12 kingdoms) who was being controlled by an imposter queen, Jyoei. Youko suffered a lot from understanding the whole situation that was brought in her as a queen of Kei. She did experience all kinds of misery, and even doubted every people that she encountered along her journey. However, through the Help of the King of En, En Taiho, especially Rakushun she did realize so many important thing that she was blind about it all along. If I would rate the story line of this anime, I would say I’ll give it with a 9. The creators of this anime were really something, creating a whole new concept of an alternate world that no one could ever think off (even though I know this is of course an anime, everything is possible…hehe), but the fact of its creation makes me wander and be amazed. To those people who are trying to look for an anime that is beyond other anime’s domain, I recommend this one.

This was such a pleasant surprise of an anime honestly; While the story can meander at times, along with having somewhat dated art, the characterization and world-building more than make up for it.

[Story - 7]

It sounds pretty generic - girl gets whisked away to an alternate fantasy world, complete with roaming demons, a beat-down feudal society, and magical guardians. While it does take a while to break out of the mold, it is worth the wait when that finally happens; This setting is merely just a backdrop for a web of politics, not-so-subtle commentary on xenophobia, and introspective characterization.

The world-building is exquisite in ... its detail: when the episodes don't meander around, the details come at you sharply focused and relevant to the current story. They actually /serve/ to enhance the story's emotional impact; the various conditions of Kei as our protagonist, Youko, rises up to the throne (big shock!) is actually quite compelling due to how they reflect Youko's current mental/emotional state. There are other examples, but this one was the most poignant to me.

While the themes may seem 'political' at first, they also hold a lot of personal feeling: i.e. extensively covering the feeling of 'belonging' in societies, the choice to isolate or not, and many other topics that can resonate deeply with a lot of demographics. I don't think Pierrot was quite going for this, but to me it felt really accomplished.

The pacing and ordering of stories, however, is what drags this down from a '9' to a '7'. It definitely takes its time with uping the stakes, which results in the investment of the viewer dropping drastically. Some of the episodes are actually /recaps/ or just 'interludes'......I watched them anyway, and you aren't really missing much save for incremental character development. The ordering is also rather annoying; After Youko's first arc, it switches to a random Magical Guardian, then another Youko arc, and it ends with an arc about another king. See what I mean by 'annoying'?

[Art - 8]

The art is.....decent for its time, but did not age well ultimately. I ADORE the character design (lots of colours used to reflect their 'internal' natures or futures), and the settings are well-realized for an Alternate Fantasy World. However, the action scenes can be rough on time, and sometimes Pierrot noticeable skimps on background details (i.e. character lip-syncing, costume effects, etc. etc.). I can't be too harsh, I guess, so I'll leave it at an 8.

[Sound - 8]

The soundtrack is absolutely AMAZING. It definitely suits the 'high fantasy' vibe this show has going for it, yet it definitely injects the appropriate Chinese influences. The OP being instrumental works extremely well, as it sets the tone for each episode well; It honestly does remind me of other high fantasy media and their great OST's. The ED changing into an alternate version halfway into the show was also really cool. Overall, amazing job to the people behind the music.

The voice-acting and SFX are solid too. Pretty much what good voice-acting is: lots of distinct voices, enough intonations that you can tell what they mean if body language doesn't cover it, and so on/so forth. A couple of pretty big-name voice actors (Takehito Koyasu, for example) are actually part of the cast, so it's fun to try and see who shares a VA with a popular character.

[Character - 9]

The bread and butter of the show, frankly. I didn't expect this detail of characterization from a shojo author, but I should have known considering her previous work on Shiki. I'm not sure how to start, so this will come out messy but bear with me here.

Youko Nakajima, our protagonist, is admittedly rather whiny at first. She acts like such a crybaby, and many people are annoyed about this. While I love her growth into a powerful young woman who can take charge of her destiny, I'm peeved that so many people don't like this. It's a genuinely real reaction to being displaced into a foreign world when you already don't quite fit in with everyone. If anything, it just makes her arc BETTER.

The cast is rather expansive, considering the fact that it adopts approximately 7 novels worth of material. Other major players include Shouryuu, the bold king of En who holds a lot of internal pain behind a jovial spirit; Keiki, Youko's guardian who helps to guide both her and fellow guardians while also struggling with intense guilt; Suzu, Youko's friend from her high school who believes she is the true queen as a result of an inferiority complex, and so on/so forth. You would be hard-pressed to not find at least ONE character you are deeply invested in.

[Enjoyment/Overall - 8]

This show was a beautiful and rewarding journey. It's not perfect, but it ranks as one of the strongest anime I've watched in a long time. As with most greats, I would recommend this to ANYONE; whether you be a noobie or a veteran, feel free to come and watch this fantasy tale so you can experience some of the most loving characterization and world-building found in a light novel adaptation.

Juuni Kokuki is a great anime adaptation of a long running novel series. That said, the anime takes some liberties here and there with the characters, and it's not hard to see which ones were anime original in hindsight.This is my second time watching this show. The first time, I never read the novels. Now, after having read the novel series and going back to the anime, I can still confidently say that the anime is good.

It's hard to not give the show credit where credit is due: the worldbuilding, characters, and storytelling is phenomenal. It introduces a fantastical world with different concepts. Rulers are ... bounded by heavenly mandate, and as such, the world is quite a ways different from our world today. It's not just some stupid "fantasy with magic" world set in some generic medieval European civilization. There's an actual world that was envisioned, and more than enough time was spent on building and propping up that world. The show also doesn't just throw in random information and calls it a day. It get elaborated on. In Juuni Kokuki, people are born from eggs. Most high fantasy novels just will call it a day with that. In this show, it's shown that the eggs hatch from a tree called Riboku, and that both beast and man respect the tree with respect, never fighting under it. People who want children have to live in the same village and tie a wish on the tree for a child to be born. People even get married to live in the same village, and later divorce in order to live in a better area. The world isn't different for the sake of being different. There's actual meaning that gets elaborated upon. This is something that many fantasy novels fail to do.

However, the anime is not just good at worldbuilding. It actually manages to weave in a strong cast of characters as well as have a good story to go along with it. Youko Nakajima is a timid, shy, and a meek person that just goes along the path with least resistance. She studies because she doesn't want to stand out, and wants to be praised. This type of person is then forced to go to a different world and fight for her life. The journey that Youko goes is multi-faceted. She meets many different people, becomes jaded at human nature, yet also finds redemption at the end of her journey. She experiences as much as a turmoil for survival as she does in an internal one to discover herself as a human being. The show does this not through episodic arcs, but a continuous one where it finally culminates to a climax in which she ascends the throne as Queen. There's an explosive beginning, good character development, good story, and pacing is perfect. This show deserves praise. In fact, it does what other shows and books do in less time, yet it doesn't feel rushed, and it feels holistic.

Of course, that brings me to the filler characters. The not-so-good aspects of the show. Sugimoto and Asano are 100% filler. I suppose these characters are there so that the monologue heavy novel could be adapted to anime form easier. Youko's internal monologue and her struggles are affixed to external characters in the form of Sugimoto and Asano so that there's something to watch on screen. And to be fair, both Sugimoto and Asano were actually pretty good to start off. They mesh fairly well in the story and don't stray off of the main motifs and themes of the original novel. However, it's pretty clear that near the end of the first story arc, that Sugimoto becomes a mere plot device to advance the anime original plot, and Sugimoto and Youko's conflict and relationship become trivialized. The anime writers realized that Sugimoto really had to get booted off the first story arc to stay on track, so they just crammed a million fast paced and formulaic plot points to force her to "make up" with Youko and let her basically never influence the story again. Asano wasn't as bad, but he surely was a useless character that wasn't really relevant to the story. You could tell he was filler, as he basically does not accomplish anything. His character development arc is dubious at best, and doesn't really make sense at all. It didn't help that it was rushed through since he was just a foil to Youko's sentiments and feelings, just as Sugimoto was. I think that Sugimoto made the show a lot more PG-13. The show downplayed a lot of the negative happenings in the first arc where Youko gets washed up to shore, and it continues to do so. I think the show would have been more impactful if it had been more negative and depressing as the novel was, but oh well. Have to consider the audience as well.

Other than the first arc where Youko eventually ascends to the throne, the other arc concerning Youko is also amazing. In the first arc, there were maybe one or two good characters besides Youko. Who am I kidding? It was basically Rakushun and that was it. In this second arc with Youko, there are multiple converging storylines concerning different people that really bring the story together. The multiple perspectives is not just a gimmick, but one that fits the story perfectly, and develops all of the characters so well. It's one of the few shows that manages to nail the multiple perspectives, making the individual story arcs interesting, and making the convergence of them explosive and meaningful (I'm looking at you odd taxi).

Of course, the other arcs are good, but this show honestly would be complete with just the ones concerning Youko. I say the same for the novel series as well. While all of these stories concerning other people, like King En, Enki, Taiki, etc are good foundations for creating a lot of worldbuilding and characters, it never really culminates to a story arc that makes sense for all of this worldbuilding and backstories. Most of the novel series does end up being flashbacks and worldbuilding. That's fine, but eventually, the novel should transition into story arcs that are grand in scale, involving all of the characters introduced. That simply never happens. Most arcs are individualized, and only have certain characters involved at a time, never really building off previous story arcs. It's a shame.

Still, the anime is good. Novel too. I'm a bit nitpicky with the lack of solid story arcs that don't involve Youko, but the writing is good still.

I really enjoy historical and fantasy genre-type anime. There's just this great feeling of starting on a new adventure on a different time of ours that gets my adrenalin pumping. I expected such greatness in this anime but unfortunately this ain't my cup of tea. This series ain't a bad series but in truth, the plot and background wasn't as a appealing as I thought it would be.

So in the anime, the series mainly focus on Youko who is wisp-ted away along with her two companions to the world of the twelve kingdom to meet her destiny. And this world is another dimension which is ... similar to classical China and yet has its own lore. Such as in the twelve kingdoms have each its own rulers and the rulers are selected by a Kirin a divine being (like unicorn) who embodies the will of the worlds heavens and are able to bestowed immortality to the chosen rulers. But if the ruler does not govern the land well then the Kirin turns ill and as a result the ruler dies as well. So where does our heroine fit in this context? She, Youko, is destined to become the ruler of Kou who's ruler destroyed the land previously. Yet, Keiki the incompetent Kirin does not inform her well on this and even got separated from her. So she has no choice to survive on her own.

The first few episodes was a pain to watch. Our main heroine is so low in self-esteem that even when her character has developed significant well my enthusiasm for the show has dropped. As well as when she finally had the strength to get back her throne it was cut short since we didn't even get to see the action. Instead, the triumphant victory of getting her throne was anti-climatic and it just narrated what was happening. In fact the whole anime feels like a narration and it was also exhausting how there's a lot of retelling going on here. Don't get me wrong the lore on this world was extremely interesting but the animators failed to make it shine and just make it outright boring. The only sense of enjoyment is the character development and its not much in upholding the anime.

The music is great and well suited the environment of historic genres. And I really love the song Shoukei sang "I will dress my doll in a new gown of gold" and is still addicted to it. Too bad the anime didn't give justice on the music.

Overall, I feel extremely exhausted when I finish watching this. This historical anime didn't uplift me or put me on edge it just felt like a cliche fable. This anime could have lots of potential but it fell short of it. There's no big underlying themes and sadly I was bored of it. I feel if I had watch it when I was younger maybe I would enjoy it more since I feel like this was made for a younger demographic audience. I can understand how many other people may enjoy it since the lore is great so I only recommend this to people who has tons of patient and have an aptitude for this type of genre. To conclude, this anime was fine but not as spectacular as I thought it would be.

This anime blew me out of the park personally. At first I watched the first episode and at the time I was very confused and gave up on this anime. But a couple months later I went pasted episode one and I am glad I did. This is a great Chinese inspired tale of a empress from another world going back to her own. The characters are interesting and do not bore you. This was made after novels. This anime was so good I bought three out of six of them so far. I ... am still waiting for the rest to be released haha. This anime is worth watching!

9/10

Too much politics. Not enough character development. Too many characters that end up either getting killed off or abused. Reusing the theme of abuse. Most of the best characters get too few screentime and most of the time is devoted to characters the creator wants you to hate when it is obvious they will do a heel turn. The taiki teenager scenes are filler. The art is not the best, there is barely any good sound. The story is basically all over the place, showing moments of badass and awesome and then suddenly, nothing/boring, slightly pointless scenes.
All of the characters seem to be bipolar/not ... able to act like rational humans would. Most of the characters get at least 1 or more psychotic breaks. I also like how yoko somehow gets the ability to command an entire squadron later in the series when it was never shown that she had prior experience in leadership, I know I would not offhand.
The series gets much better and ends much too quickly considering it was only getting started.
I understand the purpose of the first arc but, as a summary on wikipedia for the first book says, it was much too padded.

All in all, its better than most. A bit too hyped. And doesnt seem to revel in things it should.

"I don't need a scabbard to sheathe my mind."

Juuni Kokuki. A profound, thoughtful, feminist masterpiece directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi (Eikoku Koi Monogatari Emma) and written by Fuyumi Ono (Shiki, Ghost Hunt). If you like rich and carefully constructed fantasy worlds, this might be for you. I can't think of any other series that excels in this discipline as much as this one.

Picture this: It's a perfectly normal day at school. Suddenly, a weird magical man appears out of thin air and demands your consent to protect you, after which your school gets full on assaulted by huge bird-like creatures. You are given a ... magical sword, with which you are prompted to kill one of said creatures, which is four times your size. Then you get kidnapped and thrown into another, dangerous world, that works, looks and feels nothing like your own. You are left to fend for yourself, alone.
What would you do? If your answer is something along the lines of "I'd totally be down, I don't like this world anyway!", then kindly stop lying to yourself, you little nerd. We all now we would be crying for our moms. This is something that, unlike a lot of modern Isekai shows, Juuni Kokuki gets completely right. In that regard, Youko might be one of the most realistically written character I've ever seen.

I've seen some people online being annoyed with her, since in the beginning of the show she's a rather timid, naive, and kind of spineless girl. She would rather blend in with the crowd and be a picture-perfect daughter to her parents, then stand up for what is right. To me, the stark contrast between this and how she develops throughout the show makes it all the more gratifying to watch.
*mild spoilers for Youkos character development*
She changes. Like a lot. But at no point does her development feel unmerited or forced. Through dangerous encounters, bitter betrayals, but also alongside new allies she slowly transforms into a confident and strong woman, and eventually a worthy queen of a kingdom she owes nothing to.
I'm not going into further detail about her development throughout the series. Let me just tell you, it is one of the best written character developments I have ever seen.

Alongside her, it's truly a joy to travel through this strange, wondrous world, experiencing its ugly and its beautiful sides and slowly coming to understand its ways and people.

Unfortunately, the show was never completed and dropped mid-story, leaving most major questions unanswered and a lot left to be desired. I decided to disregard this fact for the sake of this review, because I don't think you can really hold it against the show itself.

Spoiler Free Review so, you guys can continue reading it with easy

Bad Points:
Aired way back at 2002... so animation may not be satisfying for some people... Heavily influenced by the Chinese Mythology so, the name of characters is a bit hard to understand. And I have to admit... Started a bit off...

Good Points:
If you stick with the story then what you will get is a very wonderful story. This anime basically shows you the things which happens inside a kingdom, stuffs like problems that citizens faces in absence of a good emperor, qualities which an emperor must posses to run a kingdom, etc. In ... short, has unique story and have to admit the character development.

Conclusion:
This is something that you can go for if you need something different from the regular anime series. For me this series was not that great but definitely not a bad one either. Could've been better if there were some more episodes. And truly deserves a remake...

I'm one of those people who either loves, or hates, an anime. I have no middle ground. Although this didn't even need one. Undeniably this is one of the best animes I've ever seen. It has good characters, an amazing story, and overall its just fun to watch.

Even so, if you're going to watch it, and I sincerely recommend you do, you need to get past the first few episodes. I tend to drop things after watching the first episode if I don't like it, and I have to say if I had just watch the first episode or even the first three I would've ... dropped it in a heartbeat. I swear if Yoko, the main character, yelled "where are we"/"who are you"/"whats happening" or started screaming or crying once more in those first episodes I was going to kill her. But a friend said to stick in there, that it would get better. And it did. Characters began to adjust to new circumstances, and the story began to develop. Then it soon becomes something you have to watch continuously. The story turns out to be amazing. It goes into great depth about how the world works and why certain things are the way they are, and they manage to convey all of this in a way that seems seamless and makes sense in the way the story is working out at the time. Characters also turn out to be more than they seem. They have great personalities, and don't have moments when they just seem to be out of character for a while which can ruin a scene. They work together, at least if they're on the same side, and they interact in an understandable and entertaining way. The main character, Yoko, has a quality of being related to how real people might act in a situation like the one she's in, and makes you wonder if you could do the things she did.

I gave it a ten, but there were just a few things that just weren't up to par. First, they spend an inordinate amount of time reviewing, there are entire episodes devoted to going over what happened in the previous episodes, and I simply believe that this is unnecessary. But it does make sure you understand what happened, so I guess it isn't all bad. Another thing is they leave a few loose ends that you just really really want to be tied up, mainly Taiki's story. This isn't too bad, but it does leave you wondering. If I could I'd rate it a 9.7 or something. Closer to a ten than a nine, but still with a little room for improvement even if it isn't much.

Overall, I thought it was great. There were lovely characters, well developed and likable (after the first few episode of course), a story that made sense, and an overall feel that just made you want to keep watching it. I recommend it to any and everyone out there. You won't regret it if you can just make it past the first couple episodes, I promise.

I don't know why I'm such a huge fan of this anime but I think I can give a few reasons that should inspire others to check it out.

One thing I like about this series is it's long enough to really develop the storyline and characters but not long enough to make you want to give up on anime altogether. Unfortunately it does end before it was scheduled to but it's not a very abrupt end that leaves you dangling and wanting to pull out your hair.

Through all the seriousness and drama and "woe is me" moments there are a few good humorous parts and ... some really sweet ones as well.

At times it can seem very slow but it pays off with the depth of the characters and really showing you how the whole world works.

A warning to those who hate Mary-Sues, Yuuko is pretty annoying for the first, I'd say, dozen episodes or so but she grows on you and when more characters are introduced it gets better so if you can, be patient and you'll most definitely be rewarded.

The Twelve Kingdoms is a mixed bag of things that are really good and things that are really bad. One thing about the twelve Kingdoms that is really strong, especially when the story gets going, is the deep lore and politics. I think these are places where the series really shines. And characters can be deep and everyone has different motives. But despite those things, I can also make a huge list of problems with this show. The episode recaps and the loose ends at the end of this series are probably the biggest complaint I could have. But ... there are also lore inconsistencies and characters that change on a dime. Still, if there were more episodes to watch, I would watch them. And that must mean the anime did something right.

When the episode first started I was amazed by the great art and dubwork. However, one thing I am not pleased with is Sugimoto's emphasized and expanded role in the anime. I HATEHATEHATE animes where a friend of the main character ends up trying to harm the main character (which is part of the reason why I dropped Fushigi Yuugi) . Even so, I believe fans of Fushigi Yuugi would definitely enjoy this anime and maybe some Inuyasha fans will as well.

Marvelous Epic Fantasy, but Heed this Advice

The Twelve Kingdoms features many of the trappings of epic fantasy: a complex fantastic realm with plenty of back-story, powerful monsters, and spectacular sword duels. But at its heart The Twelve Kingdoms is really a wonderful study of how seemingly worthless people can be tempered by severe hardship into people of great character; from people you would avoid to people you would be happy to call friend. I actually felt like a better person when I finished it; not a feeling I normally get from watching anime.

But you should know a few things before you get into this excellent ... show: It features four separate story arcs, and only two of them actually involve the main protagonist Yuoko. I highly recommend new viewers only watch episodes 1-13 and 22-39; my 9/10 rating pertains primarily to just those episodes. The episodes in-between tell an unfinished and unrelated story, and are likely to leave viewers feeling frustrated. Episodes 14 and 21 are unimportant "recap" episodes I'd only recommend watching if you still feel confused after watching the first 13.

The first few episodes (1-5 and 22-29) of these story arcs can be tiresome, as the protagonists start as annoying, whiny characters; but I urge everyone to "stick with it" and keep watching as the payoff at the end is certainly worth it: Twelve Kingdoms features one of the best endings I've ever seen (at episode 39). It's important for us to see these characters as annoying and somewhat pathetic so that we fully appreciate the strong, self-aware people they become in the end. For this reason re-watching the series is a special treat; I recommend watching it again at least once.

The setting of The Twelve Kingdoms is complex and the myriad of special terms may put some people off; but I would again urge people to be patient; Yuoko generally knows less than us, and her lack of understanding is important to the story, so a bit of confusion on our part helps us to empathize with her.

Finally, I'd recommend watching the Japanese audio with English subtitles if you can stand to do so. Yuoko's voice is much more expressive on the Japanese track and features noticeable changes in tone that reflect and highlight the changes in her attitude as the story progresses. However, most of the other English voice-overs are actually fairly good.

Twelve Kingdoms is from 2002 and so the quality of the animation, while good, isn't quite up to par with more modern animes like Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. There is no sexual content of any kind (and although some characters are depicted taking baths, nothing racy is seen), and almost no romantic content whatsoever. There is no gore, almost no blood shown, and most deaths occur off-screen. While many episodes feature exciting and well done action, fighting isn't quite the focus of The Twelve Kingdoms and the entire first half of the third arc (episodes 22-32) features almost no action at all. Although the content is probably safe for kids, I can't imagine any kids being able to follow the complex plot, or deal with the intense emotions portrayed within. Twelve Kingdoms isn't tame for the sake of a PG rating; it simply understands its focus is storytelling and therefore doesn't need to delve into sex or violence to make for a truly entertaining experience.

Not without its bad parts, but generally great music, visuals, world, and atmosphere as well as a lot of great moments.

A slow paced show, it's biggest strengths are the original, intriguing, and detailed worldbuilding, the sense that what is happening in the show is real, and the beautiful and colorful animation.

_

One small warning (which I wish I'd had): Don't get too attached to Sugimoto. Despite her prominent role in the first few episodes, the author clearly considers her a disposable side character rather than a protagonist, and uses her more like a puppet than treats her like an individual.

This also represents a somewhat critical ... flaw with the show that repeats several times, though not so majorly.

But if you can ignore this 1 method of callous corner-cutting (occasionally treating foregrounded characters like puppet side characters) which the author uses, the show is almost flawless, and has very little competition for what it is: an Isekai that lives and breathes, an Isekai that feels real.

a Madclown review.

anyone who has seen the handful of other reviews i have done knows that I don't play by the rules. there are lots of "official" and "proper" reviews out there. i'll just tell it as it is.


in summary:-

did i enjoy it
Yes.

... would i rewatch it?
yes. but i'm skipping the first 13 episodes

why yes for the questions above?
nostalgia, character development and likeability,its actually a really decent story with a nice score and soundtrack to accompany it.

score 9/10 with biases below
8/10 as a neutral

i think there's enough here for any and everyone to enjoy, but you have to bear in mind that its going to require commitment to keep track of the story and see it through to the end. If you do then once this is your cup of tea i don't see anyone not liking it, if you don't. my bet isn't on a flaw of the anime, but rather that this wasn't the one for you.

***

I honesty came to gripe because this anime for me is a tale of 3 animes.

it starts off with the first arc... and it pissed me off... 13 episodes of Youko being a nag that she's not strong enough not sensible enough weak and hopeless etc.... i was amazed by her perseverance to piss me off.

after that though... that's when things get juicy and the quality of the work shines.
that is around episodes 14-39 thereabouts.

another nuisance i had was the extensive glossary... taiho taika saiho youm... the only easy think was kirin being a ki or a rin and the names of the kings.... expect to be overwhelmed... which makes it annoying... but also adds heavily to the re-watch value. its alot like LoTR in that regard... you're going to miss things no matter how slowly you watch it to try to understand all of it... meaning that much like LoTR, i anticipate the second time around, to make some discoveries and have this all make more sense to me.

but... honestly... i can't knock it... maybe if it was like bleach an entire 90-odd episodes it would have been easier to follow along... but then it would have been too slow and dull so.. kinda hard to balance... in that context, they did a pretty good job.

anyways, the middle episodes i found myself quite emotionally invested, it is a pretty simple plot but, i couldn't shake the wonder of it all... "how is this going to work out exactly?" ... that desire drove me through this patch and made it very enjoyable... that middle part could probably get a rating of 10/10 from me.. the middle was DENSE... for 20 mins... alot happened... felt more like 25/30 mins... probably sounds bad but... like it was dragging but... it wasn't... by dense i mean heavy in quality... not like 20 mins to advance a story 5 mins.... or 0 mins aka making it a filler.... as i mentioned above.. i'm glad it wasn't thinned down.. because then 'd DEFINITELY be pissed

the last part really... after going through the middle... it kind of was hard to pay attention to such a small side story really... but.. it served it's purpose... i gained closure through it.

in the end... what probably could have been 10/10... didn't get 10/10... because it has to be really super for that 10... so all anime start at 9 for me... so i gave it the maximum because of the development of a multitude of endearing characters.
it probably was a Raw 8/10 though... but this is from 2002, i was in my teens back then.. so the nostalgia of watching something from back then... including the ancient artwork... the music also ... lots of anime had great scores back then and this is no different. amazing to think that this was 2 years before bleach... how is that for context? so the nostalgia component made me biased and give it an entire extra 1 point.


in summary:-

did i enjoy it
Yes.

would i rewatch it?
yes. but i'm skipping the first 13 episodes

why yes for the questions above?
nostalgia, character development and likeability, decent story, nice score and soundtrack,

score 9/10 with biases above
8/10 as a neutral

i think there's enough here for any and everyone to enjoy, but you have to bear in mind that its going to require commitment to keep track of the story and see it through to the end. If you do then once this is your cup of tea i don't see anyone not liking it, if you don't. my bet isn't on a flaw of the anime, but rather that this wasn't the one for you.

as an addendum:-
i realised that the manga is still ongoing, not a surprise to me because the concept is good, perhaps ahead of its time. lots of potential, i wouldn't be surprised if this anime gets remade or rebooted, but regardless i think this original will remain a classic.. especially given the era and the fact that some of these original voice actors (Keiji Fujiwara) have passed on.

The twelve kingdoms has a masterful plot however missing many things that would have made the series even better. The series is more like a collection of incoherent but interesting tales of a variety of characters in the mystical twelve kingdoms. The ending will make you wanting to see more, but only because it was not a real ending at all and did not resolve many plots. Side stories were introduced and then forgotten, and the the main plot was resolved so that another random story may be introduced throwing off the balance of the story. At the end, it just felt like watching a ... series of stories like from a textbook, but I guess the title says it all since its just a record of the twelve kingdoms.

The joys of life all in one.

This review is a re-hash to a previous one that I wrote quite a long time ago, after re-watching it recently,and continuing on with the actual light novels for the series I decided to re-write the review into better proportions.

The story of the Twelve Kingdoms starts off with Youko, a student of a high-school in Japan. This world quite a normal world to our own kind; is suddenly turned upside down by a fate of the Heavens placed upon Youko. A man appears before her whilst in school, kneels before her and announces she's the Queen of the Kingdom ... of Kei and that he will serve her, his name is Keiki. This is the main summary from the plot of the anime, but we are only focusing on the anime itself.

There is a world which in fact contains Twelve Kingdoms, within these kingdoms each kingdom has a ruler, and each ruler has it's Kirin, these Kirin are magical unicorns and they serve the King/Queen and only the King/Queen. Both of these people can live forever along with their subordinates until they fall off the wrong foot with the heavens and die.
Kingdoms grow with the aid of their King/Queen, and some kingdoms wish that not to happen so they secretly try to not allow a Kingdoms new ruler to ascend the throne. Keiki has his own creatures who are loyal to him, so they are like his personal army to protect the Royal Family, thus Keiki is taking Youko to see the Kingdom of Kei, winged beasts attack them and they scatter through the Shokuu, from there Youko has to fend for her own. Humans who pass through the shoku are called Kaiyaku these people cannot speak the language of the people unless they are officials of the court or in royalty.

The story is ultimately about Youka ascending the throne, but it does expand to open for new stories, and new books within the series based off new characters including Kings/Queens and even Kirin. It teaches you the rights and wrongs about the world which may apply both in the anime and to real people of this world. Only people chosen by the Kirin can ascend the throne,
but there are false rulers who want the throne but do not receive blessings of the heavens. In Kei the former rulers sister took the throne illegally and it's all about Youko's journey to remove and succeed the throne in the interest for her people and Keiki...

The light novels have been going for quite a number of years and have progressed the story of both Youko and a number of new characters you'll meet within the tales of the anime. I hate reading books myself, but this anime had such an impact on me, I liked it so much, I picked up reading the light novels, it goes to show there are miracles somewhere. Sadly it's quite
a hard series to get ahold of, that includes both the light novels and the anime, if your really interested in watching this, then don't hesitate in messaging me, and I'll hook you up, that also goes for the light novels, sadly the light novels go for minimum sixty dollars a piece.

If you like action, adventure and slice of life which includes wishdom, then the Twelve Kingdoms is for you, I have it rated 10 on my list, because it's worth that in every aspect as it teaches you lessons in life, while entertaining you with a great story. The characters are quite unique, as I said some are human and some are not. Youko's best friend is a Hanjuu, this is a hybrid between man and beast, he looks quite dumb but infact he's one of the smartest characters in the series and he carries a huge proportion of the story on his shoulders which influence the final build of the anime for Youko and new characters.

Story: 10/10 - Truly magnificent.

Art: 8/10 - Quite an old Anime, so some feel disgruntled by the quality.

Sound: 9/10 - Sound is great, opening is calm, ending is smooth.

Character: 10/10 - Amazing Characters

Enjoyment: 10/10 - Truly enjoyed this anime, I shall put forward another recommendation.

Overall: 10/10 - This anime truly deserves a 10 out of 10, it's a masterpiece in itself and to me it's great, I would like to debate to anyone who watches it and thinks it's not good, with an honest opinion.

This anime made me change my life style and interests quite a bit, so it's worth a watch to see what it may do for you, it might
even lead you to read the books that I've already started on, I thank everyone for reading this review.

Considering it as my 4th Review Juuni Kokuki or The Twelve Kingdoms really reminded me why i love the fantasy/adventure genre more than others.

Juuni Kokuki which was done by Studio Pierrot in 2002 and originated from the same named Novel tells us a Story about Youko a former Student which get thrown in a different world with its own rules and culture that challenges and change her whole existence.


Story

I've seen a few fantasy Anime and fantasy Shows/Movies from the west but what really different it from the most of them is the sheer amount of world building which got implemented here with a ... lot of love to the Genre.Its so fascinating to see how much effort they put in to make you believe the world is real and full of live and because of that i love it even through it has its down times by having to much of recap episodes.

9/10

Characters

Just like the Story its characters are fleshed out beeings with their own problems and lives.What really made those characters shine is the character development that they are going through and their change during meeting other characters.Some Characters who first were annoying made themselves to better persons by questioning their purpose in that world and that is something not many Anime can archive.

10/10

Art
Even through its from 2002 it has beautiful Character Animation,Backgrounds and a good Creature Design.The Animation feels flawless and make you really sink into that world.

9/10

Sound

The Ending fits the Show really good and the music overall in the series is always well chosen and helps the scenes to make you feel something.
But even through the Opening sounds nice I'm more the visual type and i would have found it better if it had a ''normal opening'' but that is just my opinion.

8/10

Enjoyment

I've binged the Series in 5 days so i can really say i enjoyed it more than i thought i would because i thought it had some flaws which made the series boring but it didn't and that suprised me.I really sunk into it and loved the world.

9/10

Overall

I think i can say that this series is a thing for all people who wants invest some time in a fantasy anime with rich world building and good characters that really changes through their journey.It can scare off some people who just want some easy written fantasy story but those who love high quality fantasy stories should definitely give it a try

9/10

I dropped it after 31 episodes.

I enjoyed the first story arc pretty well, it was an average enjoyable action fantasy story.
The characters were pretty weak, but at least Yukou seemed to be growing.

Then we get the story arc focused on Taiki, the rare black unicorn (ok, kirin, whatever). It was the most interesting story BY FAR. And then it's just dropped... no resolution. I peeked ahead at the remaining 14 episodes, and no. It never comes back. That's it. I decided to drop.

The story arc I was in when I dropped focused on Yukou (spoilers) learning to rule. It was pretty dull political drama ... stuff. I missed the action. And then 2 random characters one ex princess, one ex Japanese who has been stranded in Sei for 100 years. They're both terrible, and I just wished they would die every time they were on screen. I imagine they'll somehow be "redeemed" but I'm not buying it and after 10 episodes of listening to them play pain olympics, I'm not interested.