Oooku

Aug 17, 2010

rebmastu

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/79 chp)

Wow.

Any words I can use to describe this series pale in comparison to the writing, the art, the direction, the flavor of the series on a whole, and indeed I can already feel myself completely at a loss as to how I should go about reviewing it when it is clearly a series that speaks for itself. Nevertheless, I'll see what I can do.

Simply put, this is shoujo, nay, manga itself done right. When people ask, "What is the greatest manga of all time," they are more often than not met with, say, Berserk. For me, now, that series is Ooku. (While Berserk is a ... decent series, it fails to live up to the hype after a certain point, while Ooku continuously surmounts the already-nigh-insurmountable hype it builds for itself, but this isn't meant to be a comparison review, so I'll stop there.) I had the pleasure of stumbling onto this series courtesy of ANN's review with classic shoujo author Moto Hagio (whose works are sadly well before my time and I have thus not had a chance to read), who recommended Ooku as one of her favorite manga, and for good reason. Without going into detail for squeamish readers, Ooku tastefully yet firmly tackles the idea of gender identity within a male-oriented society and the societal chaos which ensues once those boundaries are torn asunder by tragedy and disease.

The author, Fumi Yoshinaga, builds what at first seems to be a reverse-harem story, for those familiar with the term, focusing on the myriad of attractive male members, but quickly proves otherwise: this is set in a prison, with the appropriately brutal mentality to go along with it. Yes, there is sexual hazing and non-graphic homosexual intercourse, but I hesitate to call this a shounen-ai title, as MAL lists it, in much the sense that you wouldn't call any of these characters homosexual so much as desperate. From there, we're met with a variety of different characters, many of whom are met with a tragic end, as this story builds an alternate history of feudal Japan, shaping it into a form, well... quite unknown at this point.

The artist uses her pen to craft these emotive characters which, while sparse and not necessarily detailed, evoke some of the most emotive and subtly expressive characters I've ever seen in a manga. One can look at a character from panel to panel and see a dynamic evolution of the characters' thought processes, the furrow of a brow showing slight agitation one panel to be wiped away by some slight joy in the next. I can, in all honesty, say that this is the only author I have encountered who can literally soften a character's expression. (Others I've seen rely almost solely on contextual design.)

And, my God, that translation. Viz's Signature-line translators shine in resplendent glory, choosing to, instead of falling back on a standard modern translation, completely transform the script into a beautiful, flowing piece of literature by opting to infuse the script with a "Shakespearean English" flavor, completely immersing the reader in this grand world which genuinely feels like it could have come from the time period. Where other translators and editors would feel satisfied simply by peppering the dialogue with "thees" and "thys" and forgoing any appropriate research outside of that, this script was obviously written by someone with experience in the field, and it shows. Inu Yasha, this ain't. To be honest, though, this lends a higher level of reading difficulty to the series, so readers who haven't at least dabbled in Shakespearean language might want to crack open a copy of Romeo and Juliet before tackling this series... Oh, and have a dictionary handy, because this was obviously written by a very well-educated writer, for what I can only assume to other well-educated readers. As a reader personally frustrated by the oft-vanilla translations of other inferior titles, I appreciated the extra challenge this script-on-steroids provided.

That said, there is literally nothing of negative value I can say about this series. It's smart, witty, the translation is utterly superb, the characters are engaging and sympathetic, and I'm excited to see the direction it takes from this point onward. At the very least, it's worth a try.

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Apr 11, 2022

Shellshock123

Recommended

Funny

An excellently crafted series that keeps you entertained. Also Incest. Like a lot.

Suicides, Rape, Incest, Cooking, Love triangle, More Rape, More Incest, Sex, Nudity, Violence, Socially acceptable incest, Socially unacceptable incest and Murder but enough about me. Let's talk about the manga.

The series set early in 1605 when the red pox disease that takes the lives of many men reducing the male population to 1/5th. Women outnumbering men from 5 to 1. In a patriarchal society this results in a massive shift of workforce and social behavior somewhat. The political figures become women. The breadwinners become women, the workforce in itself becomes a massive shift. ... This story specifically however is about the shogun. Political leaders and merchants that were originally led by men have now been replaced by women. The shogun which now have become woman. As a king or a leader of course you have an absurd of women to impregnate but with the roles reversed, the shogun now has an abundant of men to be used as stallions. These men live in the Chambers Known as Ooku. This what the manga pretty revolves around more or less.

A good aspect of the series is that you only need to read volume 1 or not to realize whether or not this manga is worth reading. Though the manga does get better it really is more of what you see in volume 1 with more characters and bigger twists and higher stakes. Its fantastic and exceptional. Genuinely I have not enjoyed a manga as much as I have in quite a long time.

The series revolves around the shogun and there love interests essentially. The main shogun (FMC depending on which year) and either the consort or Main concubine (The MMC). Now the reason I mention depending on the year is because the series does not actually have a main character. It spans an era of 300 years in 19 volumes. We go through so many characters it can become a mess but its so continuously engaging as well.

The 3 big issues I have is that, There is no Main character, No 1 person journey to follow, The dialogue is incredibly dense. If you have read western comic books you know what I'm talking. Each volume that takes me 20 minutes to read would take me 1 hour or more to read. Not to mention each volume is 220+ pages. It can get literally exhausting read that much. I recommend a bottle of water next to you and of course the reason you might have heard before. The archaic use of the Language. Old english does not bode well. But personally this is not a big deal. You can understand the words via the context given. I do believe there is very little usage of the Old English as well especially in the later volumes. Perhaps this is a show of the fact that the world in the manga has changed. So pretty clever but irrelevant as well.

There is a lot to unpack about this series. The male characters suffer from the red pox disease so we have less men and more women that need to step up. I'm a bit disappointed in the role reversal though tbh. Maybe it was the author's point that power and money is what changes the world not the gender but regardless there is a little change. Since men did most of the heavy lifting type work they have set a precedent on how much work needs to be done. To make up this gap there has been slight technological advances to gain the same rewards as men but that was it.

The characters are by far the most enjoyable aspect. Each character has a finesse or is followed by character development that makes them have finesse. It is such a joy reading each story about every character. Like I mentioned before there is no main character but there is tons of individual arcs to follow. Some of the stories you read are insane filled with incest, rape and just a whole bunch of addictive nonsense. It is an excellent that takes its time (perhaps too much sometimes) to develop and showcase each character's individual personalities and characteristics and this is exactly despite not having a main character, each character went through that I wanted to see fully.

There is a character that is no nonsense business. Dealing with political rifts while giving birth to a baby. A women in love with her mother's lover, A women molested by her father and it just goes on. Either with events that occur to them, or be the events that occur due to them shift them into the character they become and we see that change and its glorious.

When we get a stereotypically unattractive character that is meant to be the focus the series focuses on other things such as cooking with a more sexually enticing cast instead. The political battles are just as entertaining but it is more hard to keep track due to the confusing names and similar character designs that some characters end up being plagued by.

I also love the costume designs in this series. the costume designs are *chefs Kiss*. Fantastico in every way. So many call backs when you least expect it. The series hooks you in far deeper than i anticipated.

Also Threesomes. Not tell me this series isn't a masterpiece.

I love this series I really do. This is why I read manga. Yeah it has its problems but these are nitpicks in regards to overall quality. I truly believe this is one of the better manga I have read to this day. Do yourself a favour and read this manga.

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Dec 16, 2022

kageyama_9

Recommended

Medieval Japan has been struck by a disease that only affects young males, causing the male population to plummet to 25%. Society shifts to a new normal where women must take up all the duties and the men are hidden and protected. The Shogunate, not bereft from this, is also forced to appoint a female shogun.

"Ooku: The Inner Chambers" is a reimagining of Japanese history in which women held the reigns instead, following the Tokugawa Shoguns and the Inner Chambers over the course of several centuries. Originally intended to be the harem for a male shogun, the Inner Chambers now house about a thousand men ... of all ranks and status for the shogun's picking.

The characters in Ooku are its greatest strength: they will make you laugh, rage, swoon, and cry (a lot). As someone with little experience with Shojo manga, I was pleasantly surprised by the delicacy and depth of the characters and their interactions. They have a richness that will make you fall in love with them. The manga offers a glimpse into the lives of not just the shoguns and nobles, but people of all walks of life, making for a captivating read.

Ooku doesn't shy away from portraying the flaws of its characters, only to develop them in a way that evokes such a strong sense of attachment that you rejoice and weep when they do.

Ooku is a series that spans around 300 years and doesn't hesitate to move on from its beautifully developed characters, replacing them with a cast just as good, if not better, time and time again. We see how people conspire to bring about the most heinous plots, but also the feats that people can achieve when they work together with the support of capable leaders. We see the beauty of love but also the pain of unrealised dreams.

The series explores themes like politics, love, gender roles, sexuality, intrigue, and tragedy. It's quite verbose and while the script is written in Old English to reflect the period, the dialogue is captivating and keeps you engaged. The series focuses on the clothing of its characters quite intently and possesses a gorgeous artstyle to display the various fashion trends through the years.

One of the things that disappoints me in some series is a mediocre climax, but I'm happy to say that Ooku avoids this pitfall. Without giving spoilers, the manga ends with a satisfying conclusion that perfectly encapsulates the epic journey of the series and leaves you wanting more.

Ooku reminded me of Rakugo and House of Five Leaves, and fans of those series will definitely enjoy the setting and characters in Ooku.

Overall, Ooku is a fantastic series that explores a range of themes with fascinating characters and a fulfilling ending. It's a shame that it's so underread, and I strongly recommend giving it a chance.

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Feb 17, 2017

MysteriousBean

Recommended

Preliminary (40/79 chp)

Many people who look at Ooku do not wish to read it because of it's historical context and feel like they are expected to have a large assortment of knowledge in Japanese history. This, however, was very enjoyable and understandable regardless of the nonexistent knowledge I had beforehand. Please do not believe you have to be a history fanatic to understand it when (in all honesty) it does not require much pre known text at all. If it does, the volume has a list of explanations for each new term and gives good examples.

Instead on focusing on one person's story, it connects generation to ...

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Jul 26, 2023

Bellipon

Recommended

The premise of this manga is an interesting one. I'm all for viewing events from different angles.
At first, I thought it might be a story about female empowerment. Which it certainly is to some extend, but also a tale of tragedies, helpessness and finding a place somwhere you never thought had a space for you.

You get to see the views and perspectives of men from all walks of life who end up in the inner chambers for one reason or another. But also the women who, after being left with every task rise up to the occasion. Peppered with the obligatory intrigues, and ...

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Oooku
Oooku: The Inner Chambers
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