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.
Rating: 
Summary: True Story Telling of the Highest Caliber
Review: Seldom in animation does a story told through this unique medium reach the hights of the Twelve Kingdoms. This series demands a great deal from the viewers and rewards them with the kind of character development that is hard pressed to find. If you choose too watch this series you will learn the vocabulary of the Twelve Kingdoms but more than that, you will learn about yourself. Because the characters of the Twelve Kingdoms are so thoroughly fleshed out that you cannot help but identify with them. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: 12 Kokuki ¿ An Impressive Epic Story
Review: The Twelve Kingdoms is a very complex and at the same time very intriguing story about a high school girl, Yoko Nakajima, on her way to discover her destiny as the Empress of Kei. She is initially transported to a strange land where she finds mysterious wild beasts, strange customs, and unfriendly people. The appearance of the countries in this world looks a lot like ancient China (500-800 B.C.) 12 Kokuki has all the air of a Fushigi Yuugi (FY) but it is darker and more realistic than FY. It is more logical and reasonable than FY. The characters are more matured because they have to face the harsh reality from basic personal survival to furious political fights. There are many volumes to the Twelve Kingdoms series. The first set of books is called "Tsuki no Kage - Kage no Umi" or "Sea of Shadow, Shadow of the Moon." There are 14 animated episodes devoted to this set with episode 14 as a recap. "Sea of Shadow, Shadow of the Moon" starts off by introducing us to Yoko, the perfectly nice, considerate class prefect (president) of a typical high school in Japan. She has been having nightmares lately. One day, a man called Keiki showed up in her classroom and asked her to be his master. After getting rid of some troubles, Keiki took her to an alternate world and over there Yoko faced a series of attacks against her. No one came to her rescue and no one came to give her shelter. No one fell in love with Yoko but she became a fugitive herself being hunted by the local authorities and giant wild beasts. Feeling betrayed, Yoko became very aggressive, wild, a little bit of cunning, and suspicious of people. The story starts off with a good pace but slows down toward the middle and picks up again from episode 8 on. I literally glued myself to the screen from episode 10 on. Scenery is stunningly beautiful and the animation is pristine. The opening scene of the opening overture, the Twelve Kingdoms Fantasia, is breathtaking. The music corresponds with the scenery by the use of Chinese fiddle. The Twelve Kingdoms Fantasia reflects the gallantry, the strength, and the courage of a warrior and the outro theme song, "Getsumei Tuuei" or "the Mystic Moon in the Shadow of the Wind," reveals the lonely heart as well as the passion of the protagonist. The end credit song is particularly romantic, displaying the soft side of our heroine. The subsequent sets of the Twelve Kingdoms series are:
Ep. 15 - 21: "Kaze no Banri - Reimei no Sora" or "Breeze of Sea, the Shore of the Mystic Palace"
Ep. 22: "The Book"
Ep. 23 - 39: "Wind of a Thousand Miles, the Sky of Dawn"
Ep. 40 : "Riding along with the Moon"
Ep. 41 - still going: "Sea God of the East, Vast Ocean of the West" - the phrase "vast ocean" in its original language is generally used as a metaphor for sadness and unhappy feelings. I originally requested Studio Perriot to have Pioneer distribute the American version of the Twelve Kingdoms because Pioneer did such a great job with FY. Well, I just hope that Media Blasters would do a good job with translation and English dubbing with this beautiful anime. For more information about the series, check out 12Kokuki's Japanese official website. It's got pictures, character descriptions, synopsis of each episode, plus all the latest news and products. Unfortunately, the website is in Japanese but at least you can take a look at the pictures. ^_^
Rating:
Summary: 12 Kokuki -- An Impressive Epic Story
Review: The Twelve Kingdoms is a very complex and at the same time very intriguing story about a high school girl, Yoko Nakajima, on her way to discover her destiny as the Empress of Kei. She was initially transported to a strange land where she finds mysterious wild beasts, strange customs, and unfriendly people. The appearance of the countries in this world looks a lot like ancient China (500-800 B.C.) 12 Kokuki has all the air of a Fushigi Yuugi (FY) but it is darker and more realistic than FY. It is more logical and reasonable than FY. The characters are more matured because they have to face the harsh reality from basic personal survival to furious political fights. There are many volumes to the Twelve Kingdoms series. The first set of books is called "Tsuki no Kage - Kage no Umi" or "Sea of Shadow, Shadow of the Moon." There are 14 animated episodes devoted to this set with episode 14 as a recap. "Sea of Shadow, Shadow of the Moon" starts off by introducing us to Yoko, the perfectly nice, considerate class prefect (president) of a typical high school in Japan. She has been having nightmares lately. One day, a man called Keiki showed up in her classroom and asked her to be his master. After getting rid of some troubles, Keiki took her to an alternate world and over there Yoko faced a series of attacks against her. No one came to her rescue and no one came to give her shelter. No one fell in love with Yoko but she became a fugitive herself being hunted by the local authorities and giant wild beasts. Feeling betrayed, Yoko became very aggressive, wild, a little bit of cunning, and suspicious of people. The story starts off with a good pace but slows down toward the middle and picks up again from episode 8 on. I literally glued myself to the screen from episode 10 on. Scenery is stunningly beautiful and the animation is pristine. The opening scene of the opening overture, the Twelve Kingdoms Fantasia, is breathtaking. The music corresponds with the scenery by the use of Chinese fiddle. The Twelve Kingdoms Fantasia reflects the gallantry, the strength, and the courage of a warrior and the outro theme song, "Getsumei Tuuei" or "the Mystic Moon in the Shadow of the Wind," reveals the lonely heart as well as the passion of the protagonist. The end credit song is particularly romantic, displaying the soft side of our heroine. The subsequent sets of the Twelve Kingdoms series are:
Ep. 15 - 21: "Kaze no Banri - Reimei no Sora" or "Breeze of Sea, the Shore of the Mystic Palace"
Ep. 22: "The Book"
Ep. 23 - 39: "Wind of a Thousand Miles, the Sky of Dawn"
Ep. 40: "Riding along with the Moon"
Ep. 41 - still going : "Sea God of the East, Vast Ocean of the West" - the phrase "vast ocean" in its original language is generally used as a metaphor for sadness and unhappy feelings. I originally requested Studio Perriot to have Pioneer distribute the American version of the Twelve Kingdoms because Pioneer did such a great job with FY. Well, I just hope that Media Blasters would do a good job with translation and English dubbing with this beautiful anime. For more information about the series, check out 12Kokuki's Japanese official website. It's got pictures, character descriptions, synopsis of each episode, plus all the latest news and products. Unfortunately, the website is in Japanese but at least you can take a look at the pictures. ^_^
Rating:
Summary: 12 Kokuki -- An Impressive Epic Story
Review: The Twelve Kingdoms is a very complex and at the same time very intriguing story about a high school girl, Yoko, being transported to another world where she finds mysterious wild beasts, strange customs, and unfriendly people. The places in the alternate world look like ancient China (500-800 B.C.) 12 Kokuki has all the air of a Fushigi Yuugi (FY) but it is darker and more realistic than FY. It is more logical and reasonable than FY. The characters are more matured because they have to face the harsh reality from furious political fights to basic personal survival. There are many volumes to the Twelve Kingdoms series. The first set of books is called "Tsuki no Kage - Kage no Umi" or "Sea of Shadow, Shadow of the Moon." There are 14 animated episodes devoted to this set with episode 14 as a recap. "Sea of Shadow, Shadow of the Moon" starts off by introducing us to Yoko, the perfectly nice, considerate class prefect of a typical high school in Japan. She has been having nightmares lately. One day, a man called Keiki showed up in her classroom and asked her to be his master. After getting rid of some troubles, Keiki took her to an alternate world and over there Yoko had to face a master plan of assassination against her. No one came to her rescue and no one came to give her shelter. No one fell in love with Yoko but she became a fugitive herself being hunted by the local authorities and giant wild beasts. Feeling betrayed, Yoko became very aggressive, wild, a little bit of cunning, and suspicious of people. The story starts off with a good pace but slows down toward the middle. It picks up again from episode 8 on. I literally glued myself to the screen from episode 10 on. Scenery is stunningly beautiful and the animation is pristine. The opening scene of the opening overture, the Twelve Kingdoms Fantasia, is breathtaking. The music corresponds with the scenery by the use of Chinese fiddle. The Twelve Kingdoms Fantasia reflects the gallantry, the strength, and the courage of a warrior and the outro theme song, "Getsumei Tuuei" or "the Mystic Moon in the Shadow of the Wind," reveals the lonely heart of a warrior. The end credit song is particularly romantic, displaying the soft side of our hero. The subsequent sets of the Twelve Kingdoms series are:
Ep. 15 - 21: "Kaze no Banri - Reimei no Sora" or "Breeze of Sea, the Shore of the Mystic Palace"
Ep. 22: The Book
Ep. 23 - 39: "Wind of a Thousand Miles, the Sky of Dawn"
Ep. 40: "Riding along with the Moon"
Ep. 41 - still going : "Sea God of the East, Vast Ocean of the West" - the phrase "vast ocean" in its original language is generally used as a metaphor for sadness and unhappy feelings. I originally requested Studio Perriot to have Pioneer distribute the American version of the Twelve Kingdoms because Pioneer did such a great job with FY. Well, I just hope that Media Blasters would do a good job with translation and English dubbing with this beautiful anime. For more information about the series, check out 12Kokuki's Japanese official website. It's got pictures, character descriptions, synopsis of each episode, plus all the latest news and products. Unfortunately, the website is in Japanese but at least you can take a look at the pictures. ^_^
Rating:
Summary: 12 Kokuki -- An Impressive Epic Story
Review: The Twelve Kingdoms is a very complex and at the same time very intriguing story about a high school girl, Youko, being transported to another world where she finds mysterious wild beasts, strange customs, and unfriendly people. The places in the alternate world look like ancient China (500-800 B.C.) 12 Kokuki has all the air of a Fushigi Yuugi (FY) but it is darker and more realistic than FY. It is more logical and reasonable than FY. The characters are more matured because they have to face the harsh reality from furious political fights to basic personal survival. There are many volumes to the Twelve Kingdoms series. The first set of books is called "Tsuki no Kage - Kage no Umi" or "Sea of Shadow, Shadow of the Moon." There are 14 animated episodes devoted to this set with episode 14 as a recap. "Sea of Shadow, Shadow of the Moon" starts off by introducing us to Youko, the perfectly nice, considerate class prefect of a typical high school in Japan. She has been having nightmares lately. One day, a man called Keiki showed up in her classroom and asked her to be his master. After getting rid of some troubles, Keiki took her to an alternate world and over there Youko had to face a master plan of assassination against her. No one came to her rescue and no one came to give her shelter. No one fell in love with Youko but she became a fugitive herself being hunted by the local authorities and giant wild beasts. Feeling betrayed, Youko became very aggressive, wild, a little bit of cunning, and suspicious of people. The story starts off with a good pace but slows down toward the middle. It picks up again from episode 8 on. I literally glued myself to the screen from episode 10 on. Scenery is stunningly beautiful and the animation is pristine. The opening scene of the opening overture, the Twelve Kingdoms Fantasia, is breathtaking. The music corresponds with the scenery by the use of Chinese fiddle. The Twelve Kingdoms Fantasia reflects the gallantry, the strength, and the courage of a warrior and the outro theme song, "Getsumei Tuuei" or "The Mystic Moon in the Shadow of the Wind," reveals the lonely heart of a warrior. The end credit song is particularly romantic, displaying the soft side of our hero. The subsequent sets of the Twelve Kingdoms series are:
Ep. 15 - 21: "Kaze no Banri - Reimei no Sora" or "Breeze of Sea, the Shore of the Mystic Palace"
Ep. 22: The Book
Ep. 23 - 39: "Wind of a Thousand Miles, the Sky of Dawn"
Ep. 40: "Riding along with the Moon"
Ep. 41 - still going : "Sea God of the East, Vast Ocean of the West" - the phrase "vast ocean" in its original language is generally used as a metaphor for sadness and unhappy feelings. I originally requested Studio Perriot to have Pioneer distribute the American version of the Twelve Kingdoms because Pioneer did such a great job with FY. Well, I just hope that Media Blasters would do a good job with translation and English dubbing with this beautiful anime. For more information about the series, check out 12Kokuki's Japanese official website. It's got pictures, character descriptions, synopsis of each episode, plus all the latest news and products. Unfortunately, the website is in Japanese but at least you can take a look at the pictures. ^_^
Rating: 
Summary: Watch Your Back
Review: Think: "The Wizard of Oz meets The Princess Bride". This first CD should have been subtitled "Betrayal", because our heroine gets sold out by pretty much everybody. I'm typically NOT a fan of stories where the person we're supposed to be rooting for starts out behnd the 8-ball. And in the case of the first disk of "The 12 Kingdoms" our heroine should have succumbed to "Sidekick Syndrome" i.e. dead in the first 12 minutes of the story. But she doesn't. In fact, you're left with a clifhanger worthy of Robert Louis Stevenson by the end of the DVD. You are either going to be hooked, or not. If not, no harm done, it's an interesting story. If you are, you are going to have to buy at least two more DVD's to get to the end of this story. This is anime, get over it. If you wanted a cheaper addiction, you should have tried drugs. What really struck me was the "instructional" quality of the story: "O.K., here the heroine is really beeing too trusting for her own good, you can see how this will not turn out well from a mile away. Now here she's over-reacting to her previous bad experiences. She's just cutting off her nose to spite her face". In short, what I didn't like about this DVD was more a matter of personal style than the content. Overall, it's very good. I'll give the series a chance...at least 2 more DVD's worth.
Rating:
Summary: Watch Your Back
Review: Think: "The Wizard of Oz meets The Princess Bride". This first CD should have been subtitled "Betrayal", because our heroine gets sold out by pretty much everybody. I'm typically NOT a fan of stories where the person we're supposed to be rooting for starts out behnd the 8-ball. And in the case of the first disk of "The 12 Kingdoms" our heroine should have succumbed to "Sidekick Syndrome" i.e. dead in the first 12 minutes of the story. But she doesn't. In fact, you're left with a clifhanger worthy of Robert Louis Stevenson by the end of the DVD. You are either going to be hooked, or not. If not, no harm done, it's an interesting story. If you are, you are going to have to buy at least two more DVD's to get to the end of this story. This is anime, get over it. If you wanted a cheaper addiction, you should have tried drugs. What really struck me was the "instructional" quality of the story: "O.K., here the heroine is really beeing too trusting for her own good, you can see how this will not turn out well from a mile away. Now here she's over-reacting to her previous bad experiences. She's just cutting off her nose to spite her face". In short, what I didn't like about this DVD was more a matter of personal style than the content. Overall, it's very good. I'll give the series a chance...at least 2 more DVD's worth.
Rating:
Summary: Watch Your Back
Review: Think: "The Wizard of Oz meets The Princess Bride". This first CD should have been subtitled "Betrayal", because our heroine gets sold out by pretty much everybody. I'm typically NOT a fan of stories where the person we're supposed to be rooting for starts out behnd the 8-ball. And in the case of the first disk of "The 12 Kingdoms" our heroine should have succumbed to "Sidekick Syndrome" i.e. dead in the first 12 minutes of the story. But she doesn't. In fact, you're left with a clifhanger worthy of Robert Louis Stevenson by the end of the DVD. You are either going to be hooked, or not. If not, no harm done, it's an interesting story. If you are, you are going to have to buy at least two more DVD's to get to the end of this story. This is anime, get over it. If you wanted a cheaper addiction, you should have tried drugs. What really struck me was the "instructional" quality of the story: "O.K., here the heroine is really beeing too trusting for her own good, you can see how this will not turn out well from a mile away. Now here she's over-reacting to her previous bad experiences. She's just cutting off her nose to spite her face". In short, what I didn't like about this DVD was more a matter of personal style than the content. Overall, it's very good. I'll give the series a chance...at least 2 more DVD's worth.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully animated, skillfully written, insanely addictive
Review: This anime is absolutely amazing. There are just so many things to talk about. First is the beautiful animation. Although the character designs are nothing I haven't seen elsewhere, they are beautifully rendered. Every character's facial expression is so strong, and close-ups show incredible amounts of detail. People in this anime are ugly, beautiful and everywhere in between; each of them have distinct faces. All the movements are incredibly graceful and the fight scenes are some of the most gorgeously animated since Escaflowne or Princess Mononoke. The music brings us perfectly into the scene; the visuals complement the content. And what content. This series will have you obsorbed from the moment you begin. Each character is portrayed realistically; Youko, although she is the "good girl," is slowly realizing that her darker side is inexorably attached to her. Yuka has a pathetic realism--caught up in the word of fantasy, she wants nothing more than to be the hero of the story Youko seems to figure so prominently in. This desire drives her mad, making her personality increasingly hostile and delusional. Asano, the pragmatic of the group, seems like a nice guy. But soon even his "loyal sidekick" nature begins to show it's weaknesses. The plot complements the series perfectly. We are only given a taste of the plot in this volume, but it manages to keep it intriguing, without pulling Lain or Evangelion-like tactics where the viewer wants to learn more simply because they are so confused. Things aren't confusing, but they are mysterious. And with a 68 episode series, there is plenty of time to develop each plot point. Some people will compare the premise of this series to Fushigi Yuugi; I can concede the similarities. The vulnerable heroine, the antagonistic friend, the mysterious Chinese empire. But this series leaves Fushigi Yuugi in the dust. There are no Mary-Sue like heroines, whose greatest "fault" is their innocence and kindness. There are definitely not legions of androgynous males chasing Youko. And unlike the sometimes cheesy, unrealistic tone of Fushigi Yuugi, every moment in this series hits you hard and makes you think "I would do that in Youko's shoes."
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