Anime Discussion Thread - Page 2648

On February 10 2013 14:02 BlackMagister wrote:
So I finished watching Juuni Kokki aka 12 Kingdoms which I found through the recommendation list. It was interesting, but I still have some mixed feelings.

I did like the concept of the world even if it was a bit too fantastical at times. The premise of show is that the world is divided into 12 kingdoms with a ruler chosen by a servant of the Heavens a Kirin, a mythical beast who can turn into a human and also control a small amount Youma. As long as that ruler lives Youma will not be a problem, the land will not face natural disasters and the land will be fertile. The King/Queen themselves becomes immortal unable to die from aging and are aided in their rule by the Kirin as well as other people who they can make immortal too who can serve as councils as administrators. The kingdom can fail if the ruler or their Kirin dies however there is no war between nations as it is not allowed by the Heavens, but civil war and Coup d'état are still a problem. The kingdom can also fail by poor rule as the land will start to become unhealthy and it becomes really bad they will be punished by Heaven. However the series shows how their can still be problems in this paradise as the Heavens do not punish people until the land goes really bad (it's never shown in the anime) so for example when one King starts executing people who break any law no matter how small the people revolt and kill him instead of waiting for Heaven.

Anyways the series focuses on Youko a timid schoolgirl in Japan who is brought into the world of 12 Kingdoms by the Kirin who picks her to replace a ruler who has died. Unfortunately it's not a smooth transition as the Kirin is followed by Youma who want to stop him and two of Youka's school friends get dragged into 12 Kingdoms too and separated from the Kirin. During Youko's journey she must survive a foreign and hostile world as people from Earth are considered demons, struggle with the relationship with her friend and battle a literal inner demon who knows her darkest thoughts. For this reason I considered dropping the anime as it was very depressing until she does defeat her inner demon and achieve some character growth. It doesn't stop with the character trials there, but at least there was an upside which is rather interesting to follow as she struggles whether she should lead a Kingdom, becoming Queen then successfully ruling her Kingdom.

If it were just Youko's story it would be a nice little anime the problem it spends a lot of time on other story lines that are never as well done. The source material for 12 Kingdoms is Light Novel that focuses on a character for each book, but the anime filters all information through Youko who is the main character for the anime. The Taiki arc for example is blatantly ignored after a point even though they spend a long time introducing it, but at the very least they did a decent job with King of En. Though reading about 12 Kingdoms it was supposed to be a 68 episode series but was cancelled at 45 and the most likely speculated ideas are creator poor health or the show losing its audience by having story arcs without Youko.

On February 10 2013 14:21 BlackMagister wrote:
Oh 12 Kingdoms Light Novel ended on bad terms? Even though I'm probably not going to read it that's disappointing to hear.

I watched Shikabane Hime anime around when it aired. It's been a while so I forget exactly what happens but I thought it was decent so maybe I'll check the manga. Though I'm not sure how 12 Kingdoms and Shikabane Hime are related in anyway except the female lead.