Rating: 
Summary: A Lackluster Item
Review: * In the beginning of the first volume of the THE TWELVE KINGDOMS, an
anime DVD series, we meet Youko Nakajima, a Japanese schoolgirl with
the ethnically unlikely feature of scarlet hair. She is plagued with
strange and unpleasant dreams whose nature she does not understand.Then, one day, when she is at school, she is confronted by a
mysterious stranger with long blonde hair and strange clothing. He
identifies himself as "Keiki" and pays homage to her as if she were
royalty. However, Keiki's arrival is quickly followed by that of
murderous beasts, and Youko and Keiki are forced to flee through the
funnel of a waterspout to the unknown land of the Twelve Kingdoms.
They are accompanied by two of Youko's classmates -- Yuka, a sullen
and obstinate girl who insisted on coming along; and Asano, a
good-natured but clueless guy who was dragged in along with Yuka. The travelers are attacked when they arrive in the Twelve Kingdoms,
and the three schoolkids are abandoned to try to survive on their own,
in a land where the people are dangerously xenophobic and the trio
are hunted by strange beasts. * THE TWELVE KINGDOMS seems like a reasonably interesting series at
the outset. Although it becomes quickly obvious that the production
values are unexceptional, they do have their moments, and the
style -- sort of an interesting combination of Western and Chinese
mythology -- seems to have potential. The intrigues of the plot seem to have potential as well, but on
progressing through the five episodes on this disk it becomes
increasingly obvious that the plot is less developed than it is, as is
often the case in anime series, simply strung out from episode to
episode, going from one incident to the next without building up the
story in any hurry or in a very interesting way. Most significantly,
not much is done to develop the characters: although the viewer is
rooting for Youko, she remains through all five episodes a bundle of
adolescent insecurities (though that's not inappropriate behavior
considering her circumstances), while Yuka develops only by becoming
increasingly malevolent, and the clueless Asano stays simply
clueless. The characters are two-dimensional and unappealing. As a result, by the end of the fifth episode I had lost all interest
in going further with the story. I think THE TWELVE KINGDOMS may
very well appeal to its clear target audience: high-school fantasy
addicts who like to read fantasy book series. However, THE TWELVE
KINGDOMS does not hold much interest for those outside the target
group. It's sort of a pity, since it seems that something might
have been made of THE TWELVE KINGDOMS, but it is clear that the
production crew lacked the skill to really fly with the concept.
Rating: 
Summary: extremely impressive.
Review: First of all, to start this off, I would have to disagree with the reviewer who wrote that there would be no characters in disk 1 to like to begin with. For me, it's not the matter of liking a character, so much as it is being able to relate to one. It's so much more meaningful that way. Nakajima Yoko is in the beginning selfish and despicable, yet despite that she's put in the role of heroine for a specific purpose. Juuni Kokki is one of my favorite anime because it has realistic characters, rather than your average damsel in distress or invincible superman. they face dilemmas that are far-fetched but nonetheless manages to grab your attention or belief that it is also realistic. acting on the voice actors parts are done EXCELLENTLY. well, the japanese audio, that is. i haven't heard the english one, and i don't think i'll ever want to, having had my taste of english dubs already. Now onto my actual rating of the first DVD: a bit lacking on the extras department, but what english version of any anime isn't, right? now now, i won't be too greedy. visual quality is excellent, as everything else is all-around nice. i won't comment on the subtitles, since i personally think the fansubbed vers. i downloaded and watched was better in terms of translation. i wish that this first volume did come out with a box for the whole series though, like the other anime generally tend to. or i would have to hope for a boxset, because i am a crazed collector of those things. comparing this to escaflowne is not a far-fetched comparison--they're both leaning towards the side of a female heroine, who eventually learn this and learn that, get transported to different worlds, the etc. bishounen. and juuni kokki plus side, beautiful music and beautiful art. lot of drama, political conflict. only difference between juuni kokki and escaflowne is that hitomi, the main character of esca, tends to save the day with her abilities and whatnot. yoko doesn't. she gets pulled along in other people's plots, and she actually suffers to get what she ends up getting. so in fact, if i had to make a personal comparison.. juuni kokki, or twelve kingdoms, is equivalent to a japanese lord of the rings in animated form. just check it out. i can talk all day about this. you probably don't have all day to decide what you want to buy. your choice.
Rating: 
Summary: Looks great, cant wait for the whole series to finish.
Review: First off I don't buy dvds until the whole series is out, that way I dont have to wait in anticipation for the release of each volume. That said, I received a DVD sampler from Media Blasters with my new issue of Newtype USA and a partial preview of the first episode was on it. From what I have seen this looks like a high quality series with great animation and an intriguing story. It will be probably a year or 2 before I buy it but I have plenty of anime to hold me over till then. If your not sure if you would like this series or not I suggest buying the new issue of Newtype it comes with 2 DVDs one from Media Blasters which has 4 different shows on it including this one, and one with Saint Saiya and Pretear.
Rating:
Summary: i have rarely liked an anime this much
Review: i bought this dvd because it looked interesting. i took it home and watched it and found myself howling at the end: "what?! they're leaving us here? no way! how long 'till the next one comes out?!" there is the typical "ordinary-girl-is-actually-someone-very-special" type plot. where this one succeeds where others fail is in the way the characters react (though i'm still not sure why asano went with sugimoto to this strange new world) to everything around them. even though sugimoto is the enemy in many cases, you can somehow see things her way (sometimes). at first nakajima is almost hysterical in battle. however, by the end of the dvd, she's plucked up some courage and resolve. the hardest thing to get into at the beginning of this series are all of the new terms which pop up with frightening speed. taiho? hou? shoku? however, this does add to your sense of being thrust into a new world along with nakajima. overall, i would recommend this dvd to anyone who enjoys a good, long story.
Rating:
Summary: Unique
Review: I was very fascinated by this anime. It's great, all through this first installment...the only problem is the other world that she ends up in. She is brought there by a mysterious man, 'Keiki', and his summoned beasts. The weird thing is that everything from this other world looks extremely cartoonish, and doesn't seem to fit. Once she enters that world, the animation is inconsistent. It resembles ancient China, and that all looks well. However, the way the beasts are done can leave you pretty skeptical at times. But--the story is really intriguing. Youko is well developed, and since she refuses to accept the world she has been dumped into, she grows slowly. The plot advances in every episode, and it's delightful to see Youko grudgingly drawing her blade (since you know she has to accept it sooner or later, apparently later). It's an unpredictable, exciting story.
My main problem is that randomly shoddy animation. I know the series is long and all, but they surely could've done a little better.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, mysterious and colorful
Review: I won't get into the plot of this series, because that's already been done by others. What I will say is, I love this first volume because it draws you in by combining excellent writing with very good pacing (unlike a lot of other "adventure anime" which compensates for lack of plot by racing through what plot there is). I also like the non-human characters, who all have motives of their own.
There are elements of stories like Lord of the Rings, Neverending Story, and others, but the way in which this is told is probably best with a "Japanese accent".
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: If someone tells you it's like Fushigi Yuugi, don't believe a word. This is a gripping epic fantasy set in an imagined world of impressive intricacy and richness. The characters, likewise, have rare depth and complexity--Youko's transformation, while frustrating at times, is well paced and ultimately a pleasure to watch. (If she gets on your nerves at the outset, have patience!) Fans of mythical critters are guaranteed to love the kirin, and there's plenty of drama on both the personal and political levels, plus the occasional bout of demon-slaying to please the battlemongers in the audience. One caveat: if you're looking for comedy or sparkly romance, look elsewhere. That said, it's a fantastic series, and I can't recommend it enough.
Rating:
Summary: Great Anime Series
Review: It starts out good, and just continues to build, I can't wait to purchase the rest of the series. We have magic, character development, you name it this has it. Buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful storytelling
Review: Just found out it's 96 eps long which makes it about as long as Kenshin. This one's a little bit Fushigi Yugi & a little bit Kenshin. It's apparently based on a series of books(I usually prefer anime based on literature/manga)
Youko Nakajima(Aya Hisakawa/Midge Mays), a girl who tries hard to do well/be liked/fit in(ok, little bit Kare Kano) is approached by a beautiful tall blond man, Keiki(Takehito Koyasu/Kurt Strauss), who tells her to accept his declaration of loyalty/servitude & as soon as she does, all you-know-what breaks loose. Demons attack her in her classroom, but of course Keiki protects her.
They escape to the roof which involves her "friend" Yuka Sugimoto(Aya Ishizu/Kirsty Page) & Yuka's guy Ikuya Asano(Yuji Ueda/Joshua Seth) who Youko also has been eyeing. Sugimoto decides she's the one all this is about & insists on going wherever Keiki's taking Youko, so all 3 end up in another land--the magical 12 Kingdoms where Sugimoto does her best to outdo Yui from Fushigi Yugi in the former friend turning on out heroine, & so far, Sugimoto's winning--she's horrid. In this new land, Sugimoto & Asano are obvious strangers, yet strangely Youko's looks have changed & she understands the local language.
This show has action, but isn't overdone(too much action in one ep), the emphasis is on the storytelling, which is great. The land & its rules seem quite real.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wobbly Start
Review: On first appearances this new series appears to be a more or less typical 'magical girl' clone. Youko Nakajima is a young student who comes from a strict, traditional family, where her red hair is looked on with dismay. In fact, she is ordered to dye it black to that it won't look like she dyed it red. Her friend Yuka Sugimoto is an alienated unhappy woman. Both are friends and competitors for the affection of Ikuya Asano. All of these teenagers are a bit too hapless for my tastes. Suddenly Youko is attacked by mythical beasts at her high school, and Keiki, a spirit rescues her. He is maneuvered into bring along her two friends. Youka, who desperately wants to fit in and be normal, is devastated by this sudden incursion into her life. Catapulted into a strange unknown land, she is more worried about what her parents will think than the nitty-gritty of her survival in a hostile world. A place where strangers such as herself are labelled Kaikyaku and blamed for a series of natural and social disasters. When Keiki disappears, Youka, who is supposedly a chosen princess given a magical sword, makes a total mess of everything in which she gets involved. Her weeping and moans so irritate her friends that Yuka finally decides that some mistake has been made and that she is really the chosen princess. If it weren't for the fact that Yuka is every bit as nasty as Youka is hapless, the viewer would probably agree with her. In any case, the dramatic circumstances of being uprooted to a magical land where spirits serve fortunate residents (just as they do in Final Fantasy) take place against a backdrop that plays out a complex of dysfunctional personality traits. So far the story is showing all signs of being a coming of age story where Youko, whose personality has been totally suppressed by her parents and scholl either develops something that resembles self-definition of dies trying. Hopefully, the plot will avoid being that quite that predictable, but the producers and writers have been in a great hurry to set up that scenario and develop Youko and Yuka into antagonists. Artistically, it is an attractively done series, set in a land which more resembles China than Japan (we are assured that it definitely isn't China). On the whole, I can't get completely excited about this series yet. Although the artwork and music are good, the acting is stiff and the characters not particularily sympathetic. Perhaps this will shake out in the end, but right not I would recommend a wait and see attitude. Two technical issues. I had repeated problems with this DVD in my player. One which has so far been completely reliable. In addition, either the original DVD or the Anime Works remaking left the focus a bit too soft.
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