Saiunkoku Monogatari 2nd Season

The second season of Saiunkoku Monogatari is even better than the first - too bad I can't rate it higher than a ten.

Story - 10

The second season starts off around where the last one ends, so I recommend you watch the first season before you tackle this one. Anyway, the second season is easily even more intricate than the first, with Ryuuki finally taking charge as emperor, something not all members of government appreciates. New enemies appear, and the clans continue to feud as always. Every detail in the story is important, something viewers should be used to by now.

Animation - 9

I really appreciated all ... the costumes this time around. Everyone's hair, the jewelery, and building designs, all of it is so wonderfully done. Actions scenes could be a bit better, but that's not really what the story is about.

Sound - 9

It's the same, top-quality sounds as the first season. The OP/ED haven't changed, which makes me glad. They're really fitting. The seiyūs are kind of awesome and wonderfully casted. Some standouts include: Serian, played by the same seiyu as Xingke from Code Geass (ironic since they're both very similar characters) and Ran Ryuuren (Hei from Darker than BLACK). Okay, the whole cast is amazing.

Character - 10

All the characters from the previous season appear once again, gaining even more development. Kourin and Eigetsu get a particularity epic storyline, something I did not expect, but ended up loving. Shuurei is as motivated as before, trying her hardest to succeed. Ryuuki is also doing his best, and slowly building a group of loyal supporters. Seiran has found a place for himself in the royal guard, and is finally allowing his true personality to show through. Everyone is wonderfully written as usual, probably thanks to Saiunkoku Monogatari being based off a series of novels.

Enjoyment - 10

The second season takes everything I love about this series and adds even more. All my favourite secondary characters get their chances to shine, and some new characters bring fresh life to the show (Go Jyūsan-hime!). I was impressed by the costumes and soothed by the sounds of the erhu. Usually, second seasons aren't as good as their firsts, but Saiunkoku Monogatari does not stick to this norm.

Its very interesting since you don't often see main characters which are intelligent but this one differs.The only thing that i think is wrong with this one is there long and redundant dialogs its kind a boring if you would just listen for about 30 minutes of dialog then all in an instant it ends. And the characters are very similar to that of the 'fushigi yuogi' characters. Its up to me to find out whether there creators are the same, so ill update you later.But the LOVE TRIANGLE is very ironic if you watched the first season then you'll know.Tragic yet fantastic its ... all i can say besides its not too bad to know a little about ancient politics.<hehehe>

I don't write reviews. Ever. It's an unwritten rule for me. But, I just HAD to write a review for Saiunkoku Monogatari. It was THAT good.

You know that series that you obsess over continuously like some druggie? The series that makes you even risk staying up at night and pretending to be asleep when your parents check on you but you have to watch it? It was that sort of series for me.

The thing about this anime is that it completely sucks you in. At first I was very reluctant to watch it because of the whole 'harem' thing which really annoys me but I ... decided to give it a shot when the "ohmygosh exams are coming" craze hit my head. And then I couldn't stop watching.

I watched both seasons in a week. I sacrificed a lot to finish it. AND I DON'T REGRET ANYTHING. The characters are all so different and they feel so real, it feels good to be able to distinguish between them. In season two the story just got better and there were times I bit my pillow in frustration or to simply stop myself from screaming. My family caught me talking and gushing while pointing at the laptop screen but they decided to leave me alone. I would like to thank them for that.

Then there were the new costumes and Shuurie got some new hairstyles. Good for her. BY THE WAY, Shuurie (am I spelling her name right? I can't tell. I feel like a mindless zombie because I just finished watching the last episode) is my all time favorite heroine now! I rarely get to see such a strong female lead who doesn't annoy me and, for some funny reason, in my eyes she just got prettier and prettier after every episode. And I was like, have you ever met such a beautiful character, both inside and out?

New characters were introduced and some older characters' background details were explored. Very touching stuff, actually. These people feel real to me. I'm glad Ryuuki became stronger in the end and found his resolve and learned to be a better emperor.

There's so much going on inside my head right now. It's a jumbled mess. But, the most important question is, WHERE IS SEASON THREE? Breaks my heart. honestly.

Excuse me while I go look for the novels online. Goodbye (^_^)/

[Spoiler Warning]

Second seasons are always better than the first and this is no exception. This season has three to four arcs. The longest one being the first which focuses on the character Eigetsu who was the co-governor with Shurei in the first season. His past is revealed and seems to have something to do with some medical situation in another town.

The second arc is about forgeries and counterfit coins. They are the main focus for about three episodes.

The third arc is about a demoted Shurei trying to help other people, as well as herself, find jobs while figuring out why there is sand in salt.

The ... fourth arc is about Shuei's sister coming to the palace to be another potential wife for Ryuki or Seiran. While at the same time Shuei is trying to come to terms with his role as the king's guard and his duty of being a member of another clan. As well as Ryuki wondering if he is a good emperor after all this time.

This season has a few recap episodes which serve of a wrap up for the episodes before it so you can tell when a new arc/situation is about to start.

It also introduces new characters who seem much more relevant than the first season's characters.

I didn't care for the first or last arc because I don't care for the characters of Eigetsu or Shuei's sister.

One thing I didn't like art wise was how the eyes were always seen through the character's hair. This applies to the first season as well. It doesn't look right and really is not realistic.

The politics and government, as well as the economy, in general, was fun to watch. It felt realistic. Especially in the first arc when they discovered surgery on humans.

Character wise I don't care for most of the new character like Seiga and Tan-Tan. And it just dawned on me from the first season that while she is steadfast toward men and romance, Shurei has no problem with men kissing her. It's kind of annoying. She just stands still and lets them get close, but when Ryuki tried doing it in the last episode of the first season, she made him stop and he never tried again since.

Despite all that, I like that this season has more plots and situations. I wish the first one wasn't so long though.

I agree with the other reviews that this season was better and more eventful, however I feel like a 3rd season is necessary to explain some backstories. I feel like there were a couple loose ends that they failed to explain. For example:
-the guy from the Hyou family just suddenly decided to leave Shuurei alone doesn’t make sense
-shusui’s relation to the Hyou family
-the Hyou family in general?? (The ghost + Riou)
-the corrupt Ou Ki story
-what is Seiga’s deal tho???
I can go on forever but despite all this, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the anime! I rly liked the second season, especially certain new characters (Tan-Tan!)

I am so glad. I orignaly thought that this was going to be a story were everyone either fall in love with her for no reason, or she is a mary sue who has everything handed to her and everyone talks about how smart, brave, and kind she is and how much they love her without her ever proving it. But in this story shuueri proves that she is smart, brave, and inteligent by her own actions, I would sing her praises more than anyone in the show. I also love the other characters, because they are characters, they do have some gimics like ... one persone get lost all the time, but that is not what happens all the time. Or that the king doesn't give everything to Shuueri just because he likes her romanicly, but puts is dutey as ruler of a country before his feelings and also respects the power imbalance in there realtionship and doesn't expliot it. Also the story is great and doesn't stay stagnete on one point but always changes. The action in this story is also excelt, some of these battles are more excieting than most action anime i have seen, not only that but the nogations witch should bore me half to death have me on the edge of the seat. I absoulutely love this show

The first season is an anime of my teen years, one of the first I've ever watched and I love it so much after all those years. After rewatching it recently, I discovered there was a second season!

Throughout the first half of that season I was very excited to learn about the story, the arc with the disease is so interesting and captivating, but after that it kind of... stops feeling like Saiunkoku at times? Characters and plot points start to appeare out of nowhere and the context often doesn't elaborate much about them, it feels a bit off.
From what I know the light novels ... have much more content and the anime hasn't covered all of it, plus we didn't get another season - I guess there must be some reason behind that and behind second season feeling a bit weird aometimes.

Either way this is an amazing series and I really recommend watching it in its entirety!